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Halstead made sure that he was at the front entrance of the Burgerbräukeller, flanked by a machine gun and a squad of Ordnertruppe on either side, when the first of the invitees began to trickle in from the cool spring night to the welcoming handshakes of Darbeitpartei notables. Many of the arrivals were startled to see the fugitive leader of the party, who had been referred to in the mimeographed invitations only as a “special speaker,” and some even retreated back into the Bavarian darkness to avoid any disfavor with the reigning Communists. Most of the crowd, however, was thrilled to see the living symbol of resistance to the current tyranny, the hero of the Battle of Froettmaninger Heath, and shook his hand warmly before following directions and entering the hall for free beer in stone mugs. Among the crowd were several who had received personal clandestine visits from Halstead, and all of these now approached their host to thank him for the personal touch. Among these recipients of special favor were two gentlemen with the surnames of Göring and Hess, the former not yet corpulent and the latter not yet completely insane. Göring lingered a while at the front entrance with Halstead, thanking him for the visit in Scandinavia and the personal invitation to be fêted in Munich. It was Rudolf Hess, though, who lingered for the longest time with the leader of the gray-shirted squads. He began the conversation with “Herr Hitler, thank you again for the visit.” Halstead maintained his firm shake to pull Hess to his side and out of the way of those flowing into the beer hall. “My pleasure, Hess, and thank you for arranging to have General Haushofer speak.” Hess kept shaking Halstead’s hand vigorously, until the latter released. “Mine is the greater pleasure, Herr Hitler. The professor was delighted to be given such an honor, even though I had to assure him that there would be no reprisal from the authorities.” Halstead gestured in the direction of the nearest machine gun resting on its tripod. “Oh, he certainly has nothing to worry about, tonight or any night after.” Hess kept his smile as he held his hands behind his back. “What might you mean, Herr Hitler?” |