From The Wedding by Joseph Levine Chapter 15

From the Wedding
by Joseph Levine
Chapter 15

Two soldiers steal 5000 rubles, a sled and two good horses.
They arrive in their hometown.

Let us now see what the Russian Commander did. As soon as he was informed of the situation, he immediately notified all the neighboring towns. When he did not get a response, he ordered a Police Colonel to investigate every town in civilian clothes to find out where the thieves escaped. He figured that traveling in civilian clothes would enable him to find a clue as to their whereabouts or at least which route they had taken.

So the Police Colonel traveled from town to town until he arrived in the town in which the two soldiers who stole the money had originally been kidnapped.

The Police Colonel went to the local Police Commissioner and told him that he was looking for two men who originated from this town and had gone to serve in the army. The Police Colonel gave the Police Commissioner the names of the two men. The Police Commissioner sent for the passport official and asked him if these two men had arrived in town. The official knew the two men had arrived because they had come to him for passports, but he answered that he did not know. Then the Police Colonel asked the official if he knew where the families of these two men lived. To this question, the official had no choice but to tell that he did know. He was ordered to take the Police to the homes of the two men.

They waited until the middle of the night and knocked on the door of the man who was married. The man himself answered the door and was told to get dressed and come along. Then they went to the home of the sister of the coachman where they found him and ordered him to get dressed and come along. All of this was done in the still of the night.

The two men were locked in a holding cell. The Police Colonel ordered a watchman to keep the cell locked and instructed him not to allow anyone near them.

The Police Commissioner took the Colonel to his home and they celebrated. They drank and rejoiced over the swift and relatively easy arrest of these two law breakers. They were so happy! They drank and drank until they drank themselves to sleep. They slept very well indeed.

But the people from the town did not sleep, especially the official who had helped arrest the runaway soldiers. He could not believe that the two had actually gone to their homes! The whole town was upset but they did not know what to do. They were most concerned about the furrier. They felt that he was the one in the most danger. The coachman, they felt, would receive a light punishment. But the furrier would certainly be shot.

The synagogue was filled with people who gathered together to try to come up with a solution. It was decided that they would try to find a young man to take the place of the furrier. But where do you find such a person? Who in the world would want to place himself in such danger?

One man was frightened. Another's wife would not allow it. Another's parents would not allow it. Until finally they came to a dead end.

The arrangement with the guard was already settled. He would allow the switch in return for a payment of 25 rubles. But where could one find such a man?

The official suddenly had an idea. Since the young man from Odessa was still in town, possibly he would be willing to go. They came to my uncle's house and woke him up. They asked me if I would be willing to sleep in the jail overnight. First thing in the morning they would get me free. I jokingly responded,
"If you pay me 50 rubles, I'll do it."
They laughed and said,
"For just a couple of hours, you want 50 rubles? Would you settle for 10 or 15 rubles?"
I answered,
"Don't be foolish. This is worth 50 rubles -- and in advance."

When they saw that further bargaining was of no use, they plunked down 50 rubles and took me to the jail where I switched places with the furrier. They immediately gave him a passport and he took off that very night. I remained with the coachman. We ate together and drank some schnapps together. I briefed him on what he should say when they would interrogate him. The others went home to sleep peacefully.

The following morning, the Police Colonel and Police Commissioner awoke. They ate and drank then went to the Commissioner's office dressed in full uniform. There was a formal protocol to follow. Two police officers brought in the two prisoners. They called the passport official as a witness and asked him to identify the two prisoners. The official testified,
"This one I know. That one I do not know."
The Police Colonel became very angry. He asked the official,
"Why don't you know him?"
The official answered,
"He is a Russian citizen, but not one of ours. There is no reason why I should know him."
The Police Colonel became even more angry. He asked the official,
"You mean, he is not even a soldier?"
The official confirmed,
"He has never been a soldier."
The Police Colonel was enraged and screamed,
"Is he the one who was in the house with the woman last night?"
"Yes." he said. "He is a friend of hers and was spending the night with her."

The Police Colonel saw that he had been taken for a fool, but he did not want to give in. In an angry voice, he screamed,
"Put them in chains and take them to Grodna!"

We were all thinking,
"Fool that you are! Had you made the hearing last night and put them in chains then you would not look the fool that you are now. The yiddelach (a term of endearment, literally little Jews) outsmarted you and made you look foolish.

But from where does one get chains? In such a small town as ours, we did not have prisoners that warranted our having chains. After looking around a bit, they found a small piece of chain and tied one of my hands to one hand of the other prisoner. They brought us both to Grodna. Due to his anger and shame, the Police Colonel did not even hold a hearing.

When we came to the Grodna police station, they took us to the District Attorney. I explained to him who I was and how I had just come this Shabbos to Amdur because the Commission was there and they had declared me to be 23 years old. Since it was raining very hard on Sunday, I was unable to leave town. I stayed overnight at the home of a friend. In the middle of the night, they came and arrested me. I was unable to say anything. They told me that I would find out what was going on in the morning.

The coachman testified that he did not know me and the official was also there and corroborated my story. So they told me to go home. The official also left. After we left, the District Attorney interrogated the coachman. I do not know what he said, but they sent him to prison.

Those 50 rubles were the first I had ever earned. And the mitzvah was also valuable. Had I not exchanged places with the furrier, they certainly would have both been shot!