The Legend of Pentagonius

By T.H. Tetens in Germany Plots with the Kremlin

There was a rich and influential banker named Pentagonius,

whose life had been troubled by threats and attacks from

gangsters. One of the toughest leaders in gangland was a certain

Germanicus who, after a long and most strenuous search

was finally hunted down. Just when the gangster's jig was up,

a bright idea flashed in banker Pentagonius' head: "Wouldn't

it be wonderful to have such a tough fellow as a bodyguard?

This Germanicus," the banker pondered, "certainly knows

all the ins and outs of gangland, he is a most powerful and

ruthless fighter—and if I save him from the electric chair and

gain his gratitude, maybe he can be of use to me and can keep

lots of unpleasantness from my door."

Thus, through his influence, banker Pentagonius saved gangster

Germanicus from the electric chair. Of course, this action

shocked the police experts. The Police Commissioner Lippenwald

warned the banker against such a foolish undertaking. He

called to his attention the long criminal record of Germanicus,

his absolute unreliability, his trickery, his uncontrolled temper,

and so forth. But all these and other warnings were of no avail.

Banker Pentagonius was deeply afraid of another gangster,

Sovieticus, and he firmly believed that gangster Germankus

could give him better protection.

Thus, Germankus became the bodyguard of the banker, and

moved into the gardener's house on the banker's estate. Banker

Pentagonius felt proud and satisfied with what he had engineered.

He was convinced that he had done a good deed, and

felt sure that in the end gangster Germanicus would be reformed

and would show his gratitude and devotion towards his

benefactor throughout his life.

In the beginning, the feelings of the banker were bolstered

by the assurances of eternal gratitude which Germanicus daily

expressed. As time went by, a few incidents occurred which

made the banker a little skeptical of the soundness of undertaking

this self-styled reform work. Yet, considering the fact

that this was an unusual experiment, he did not allow his trust

to be shaken too much by these initial incidents. At any rate,

he was unafraid since he knew that Germanicus was still on

parole and in case his behavior should become improper, the

banker could ask the police to take corrective action.

Germanicus, in the meantime, was fully aware of the situation,

and cunningly worked with promises and little threats until

he had gained a firmer position and was finally free from parole.

Now it was time for him to act in accordance with his new

outlook on life. He was well aware of the advantageous position

he was in and was determined to make the most of the various

possibilities that the turn of events had presented to him. The

banker had indeed opened a new aspect of life for Germanicus.

As a smart, calculating and ruthless fellow, he was set to exploit

these new opportunities to the fullest extent possible. He

convinced the banker that in order to be more useful to him,

he, the ex-convict, would have to regain his self-respect. He

told the banker in unmistakable terms that he would have to

stop treating him in a charitable way by giving him handouts,

and he made it clear that what he wanted was to be treated like

an independent person. Germanicus said that if he could own

the gardener's house or another piece of property, it would

give him his self-assurance and the independence he wanted.

Pentagonius yielded to these requests, all of which were backed

up with menacing tales intended to frighten the banker, but in

which Germanicus himself did not believe. The banker, still

clinging to his faith in the basic soundness of his experiment,

continued to let himself be taken in more and more by Germanicus.

But with every new concession and compromise, the

pressure of new and greater demands grew in increasing proportion.

Finally, Germanicus confronted the banker with the demand

that since he was now a remade man, he wanted to take his

place in accepted society. He asked his benefactor to introduce

him into the circle of high society. Again, Pentagonius conceded.

Thus, at least, in outward appearance, Germanicus entered into

the status of social equality. As a result, however, the banker

lost some of his social prestige for having become too intimate

with a former gangster. Quite naturally some of the banker's

most faithful friends resented the fact that he had foisted this

former gangster on their circle. Many of the old friends of

Pentagonius began to question his wisdom and his sanity.

As things developed, Germanicus became more and more dissatisfied

with his new role. The old "king of gangland" was

determined to use all his tricks to reconquer for himself a

position of power. The more his demands were met, the more

cocky he became. Increasingly, he became resentful at having

to take orders and follow certain directives of the banker.

In the meantime, there were new developments which made

Pentagonius very uneasy. Reports came to him that secret dealings

were taking place between gangster Germanicus and that

other character and archenemy of his, Sovieticus. Pentagonius

found himself in an untenable position. He could no longer

appeal to the police for help, and practically all of his influential

friends had deserted him. The banker became irritated and

lost his cool judgment; he suffered considerable financial losses

under the increasing blackmail tactics of Germanicus. Impoverished

through the expensive protective measures he had undertaken,

and driven nearly insane with fear and worry, he saw

no way out of his sorry plight but to take his life. And so,

Pentagonius met his tragic end by leaping

from a window.

By strange coincidence, Pentagonius' end not only had been

foretold in the diaries of Germanicus (in Christ und Welt,

November 1, 1951), but was also predicted in an article "How

America Took It," published in the Moscow New Times of

January 1, 1952.