His Imperial Highness will have already told your Excellency that the letters have been picked up.
CONRAD: What letters?
UMANITZKY: The two spy’s letters with money in them, the ones with the code-name “Operaball 13” on them that have been lying around at the post office.
CONRAD: What? I don’t know anything about it.
SALVATOR: Of course you do. Well, if only you listened to me when I’m speaking! I already asked you about the cars—on account of Sherlock Holmes!
CONRAD (to Umanitzky): What’s this thing really about? Quickly!
UMANITZKY: At five-thirty today the letters were picked up by a man. Before the detectives could grab him, he’d jumped into a car and was driven off. He was followed to the Hotel Klomser, and after he left the hotel, he was tailed on the street. He saw he was under surveillance, so he tore up some papers while he was in a
Who? What? Have you lost your mind?
passageway—he was hoping to slow down the agents following him while they picked up the pieces, while that was going on he could get into a car and make his escape. In spite of all that they still followed him, they picked up the paper scraps, then had them reassembled later.
CONRAD: What was in them?
UMANITZKY: Confirmations of receipts from known espionage cover-addresses in the Hague and Lausanne.
CONRAD: From which countries?
UNMANITZKY: Russia, France, Serbia, and Italy.
CONRAD: Italy too?* Who’s the man?
UMANITZKY (haltingly): He is —— is ——
CONRAD: The devil take you! I want to know who the man is!
UMANITZKY: Colonel Redl.
CONRAD (screaming): Who? What? Have you lost your mind! Do you realize whom you’re accusing here? Stand at attention!
UMANITZKY: Your Excellency!
CONRAD: Forgive me —— Colonel Redl? Are you certain?
UMANITZKY: Definitely, completely certain.
* Although a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, Italy’s reliability in the case of war was doubted, especially by Conrad, who constantly urged a pre-emptive strike against Italy.
Suicide is commanded
CONRAD: For God’s sake, for God’s sake! What’s the old Emperor going to say? He put so much stock in Redl.
SALVATOR (secretively): Aha, perhaps the Emperor is also involved in this.
CONRAD: If the world gets wind of this—our allies—the Reichsrat—horrible!—Not a single soul is to know of this—
UMANITZKY: But, Excellency, it can’t remain a secret, not if Redl is taken into custody.
CONRAD (with decisiveness): We can’t allow him to be taken into custody. He has to die tonight.
SALVATOR: Of course, a fellow like this one has to hanged!
CONRAD: Thinking it over, of course, he himself should ... have I made myself understood?
UMANITZKY: At your command, Excellency, suicide.
SALVATOR: For God’s sake, you can’t just go grasping after suicide! Suicide is strictly forbidden by our religion. At least you have to send the rotten swine a priest for his soul, then you can string him up.
CONRAD: Have I made myself understood?
UMANITZKY: At your command, Excellency.
CURTAIN
Collapse
ACT V
HARAKIRI
(Redl’s darkened hotel room)
REDL (he enters, turns on the light, collapses into a chair): It’s all blown away! (He slowly sits up straight and lays his military cap aside.) Adieu, you cap with your cockade! (He unfastens his sword.) They’re going to break you in half. (He looks at his decorations, touches the military stars on his collar, and then tears off his overcoat.) Away with it! (There’s a soft knock on the door, he pulls himself together.) You’re already here? (There’s another knock. He tries to call out “Enter”, but only makes an inarticulate sound.)
FRANZI (she opens the door): Please forgive me, Herr Colonel ...
REDL: Who’s there?
FRANZI: It’s me, Herr Colonel.
REDL: Oh yes, excuse me, young woman. (He quickly pulls his coat back on. Franzi remains standing at the door.) Please, come right in.
FRANZI: Herr Colonel, I’ve come to request something from you.
REDL: “To request something from you”! Somebody comes to request something from me! (He laughs hysterically.)
Two hours are a long time
FRANZI (startled): Are you sick, Herr Colonel?
REDL: Yes, sick. Just a little bit sick, it’s only a lethal illness. But, what ... (he pulls himself together) How may I be of service to you, my dear young woman?
FRANZI: I’ve come here from Stefan. He’s made all his preparations for the trip.
REDL: For the trip?
FRANZI: Yes, he told me that he’s taking a trip with you ...
REDL: Taking a trip with me?
FRANZI: He told me all about it, he didn’t hide anything —— he said he’d given you his word of honor.
REDL: Yes, he did give his word of honor. But that was a long time ago, a frightfully long time ago.
FRANZI: No, it was just two hours ago, right after I left here.
REDL: Two hours ago! ... Two hours is a long, long time, my dear young woman. You don’t realize what can happen in two hours, two hours is the difference between supreme good luck and the worst misfortune, two hours suffice to split up a beautiful blooming tree into firewood —— is it really only two hours since you were last here?
Tell Stefan I send him my greetings
FRANZI: Yes. And I learned something too during those two hours. I’ve behaved badly, I demanded things when I should have been begging a favor from you. I should have presented myself to you for what I am, a weak young woman, a woman who doesn’t have anything else in the world besides him, besides my fine, dear Stefan, and I can’t live without him. I should have thrown myself down at your feet (here she kneels
