The Book Thief(73)

The sparks were still in his eyes, and he didnt notice until it was too late that Franz now stood above him with a brand-new pocketknife, about to crouch down and cut him.



No! Liesel protested, but the tall one held her back. In her ear, his words were deep and old.



Dont worry, he assured her. He wont do it. He doesnt have the guts.



He was wrong.



Franz merged into a kneeling position as he leaned closer to Rudy and whispered:



When was our Fhrer born? Each word was carefully created and fed into his ear. Come on, Rudy, when was he born? You can tell me, everythings fine, dont be afraid.



And Rudy?



How did he reply?



Did he respond prudently, or did he allow his stupidity to sink himself deeper into the mire?



He looked happily into the pale blue eyes of Franz Deutscher and whispered, Easter Monday.



Within a few seconds, the knife was applied to his hair. It was haircut number two in this section of Liesels life. The hair of a Jew was cut with rusty scissors. Her best friend was taken to with a gleaming knife. She knew nobody who actually paid for a haircut.



As for Rudy, so far this year hed swallowed mud, bathed himself in fertilizer, been half-strangled by a developing criminal, and was now receiving something at least nearing the icing on the cake public humiliation on Munich Street.



For the most part, his fringe was sliced away freely, but with each stroke, there were always a few hairs that held on for dear life and were pulled out completely. As each one was plucked, Rudy winced, his black eye throbbing in the process and his ribs flashing in pain.



April twentieth, eighteen eighty-nine! Franz lectured him, and when he led his cohorts away, the audience dispersed, leaving only Liesel, Tommy, and Kristina with their friend.



Rudy lay quietly on the ground, in the rising damp.



Which leaves us only with stupid act number threeskipping the Hitler Youth meetings.



He didnt stop going right away, purely to show Deutscher that he wasnt afraid of him, but after another few weeks, Rudy ceased his involvement altogether.



Dressed proudly in his uniform, he exited Himmel Street and kept walking, his loyal subject, Tommy, by his side.



Instead of attending the Hitler Youth, they walked out of town and along the Amper, skipping stones, heaving enormous rocks into the water, and generally getting up to no good. He made sure to get the uniform dirty enough to fool his mother, at least until the first letter arrived. That was when he heard the dreaded call from the kitchen.



First, his parents threatened him. He didnt attend.



They begged him to go. He refused.



Eventually, it was the opportunity to join a different division that swayed Rudy in the right direction. This was fortunate, because if he didnt show his face soon, the Steiners would be fined for his non-attendance. His older brother, Kurt, inquired as to whether Rudy might join the Flieger Division, which specialized in the teaching of aircraft and flying. Mostly, they built model airplanes, and there was no Franz Deutscher. Rudy accepted, and Tommy also joined. It was the one time in his life that his idiotic behavior delivered beneficial results.



In his new division, whenever he was asked the famous Fhrer question, Rudy would smile and answer, April 20, 1889, and then to Tommy, hed whisper a different date, like Beethovens birthday, or Mozarts, or Strausss. Theyd been learning about composers in school, where despite his obvious stupidity, Rudy excelled.





THE FLOATING BOOK (Part II)





At the beginning of December, victory finally came to Rudy Steiner, though not in a typical fashion.



It was a cold day, but very still. It had come close to snowing.



After school, Rudy and Liesel stopped in at Alex Steiners shop, and as they walked home, they saw Rudys old friend Franz Deutscher coming around the corner. Liesel, as was her habit these days, was carrying The Whistler. She liked to feel it in her hand. Either the smooth spine or the rough edges of paper. It was she who saw him first.



Look. She pointed. Deutscher was loping toward them with another Hitler Youth leader.



Rudy shrank into himself. He felt at his mending eye. Not this time. He searched the streets. If we go past the church, we can follow the river and cut back that way.



With no further words, Liesel followed him, and they successfully avoided Rudys tormentorstraight into the path of another.



At first, they thought nothing of it.



The group crossing the bridge and smoking cigarettes could have been anybody, and it was too late to turn around when the two parties recognized each other.



Oh, no, theyve seen us.



Viktor Chemmel smiled.



He spoke very amiably. This could only mean that he was at his most dangerous. Well, well, if it isnt Rudy Steiner and his little whore. Very smoothly, he met them and snatched The Whistler from Liesels grip. What are we reading?



This is between us. Rudy tried to reason with him. It has nothing to do with her. Come on, give it back.



The Whistler. He addressed Liesel now. Any good?