"Is he?" asked Monsignor Schrattenbach also pushing his way forward. "I'm not so sure." Once again the intervention of the Vicar General on the side of his enemy Klacel shocked everyone, Brother Matthew not the least.

"Neither am I," said Brother Joseph, speaking for the first time since telling the group about the fire. "Let me ask the Oberstleutnant a question. What part of the conscription lists were burnt?"

For a moment all attention turned on the military officer, who in turn faced his adjutant. "What was destroyed?" he asked. The pasty faced Hauptmann stumbled and stuttered over his answer. "Just a few pages, not very much," he struggled to say at last.

"Which pages?" insisted Lindenthal. "What names were lost in the fire?"

"I think there were some of the names in the middle of the Vicnov section," he said, his eyes flashing around the room.

"But they were a very special set of names, weren't they?" Brother Joseph continued.

"What do you mean?" snapped Darmstaedter, not liking one bit the way events were going. "I say again, what does it matter which names were destroyed, they were all Czechs that Klacel was trying to protect."

"Most of them, maybe," Brother Gregory said, joining the debate once more, "but then why was part of the list removed before the fire started?" Once again Mendel had the full attention of the group.

"Mendel, you are making no sense," hissed Darmstaedter, "how do you know part of the list was removed?"

"Because I have it here," Brother Gregory said, reaching into the slit pocket of his ankle-length black soutane and pulling out the piece of cream colored paper he had prepared earlier. Brother Joseph was right, at this distance and under these highly charged circumstances it looked exactly like the top of one of the conscription lists.

Mendel waved the list, showing the ragged edge where it had been torn. "You see, it wasn't all the names that the arsonist wanted to destroy, only one. But to make sure that name was never found, the arsonist first torn it off. Even if the fire was not completely successful, this name would never be called to the colors, and would never have to fight in the army." He paused dramatically. "That was the real reason for the fire. The arsonist wanted to prevent this one special person from being conscripted. Everything else was just meant to confuse us, and blow smoke in our eyes."

Brother Matthew had been looking around the room as Mendel gave his explanation for the fire and the burning of the lists. One person was missing. He signaled to Brother Gregory and dashed out of the door and into the corridor.

"So," Mendel shouted, before Darmstaedter could recover from yet another shock. "This is the name, this is the person --" But before he could continue there came the sound of fighting and cries from outside. Attention immediately turned to the corridor, where the group saw the soldier guards trying to separate two men wrestling on the floor.

One of the men was Klacel, who raised his head from the scrimmage to shout, "I've got him. Look out for the bag!"

Brother Joseph stepped up to the fight and rescued a soft leather bag from beside the fighting men.

"Guard, break that up at once," ordered Reishach, and watched as the pair were separated. Brother Matthew was first on his feet, looking flushed, dirty, but very proud of himself. The second man took longer, but, getting to his feet, everyone could see that Brother Matthew had been fighting with Hauptmann Steefel, who was now looking like a trapped rabbit.

"I'll break you for this," shouted Reishach, springing to the defense of his adjutant. "What do you hope to gain by assaulting an officer in the Imperial army?"

"I think he was trying to help you," Brother Joseph said, searching around inside the bag he had just rescued. "Steefel was just about to leave the monastery carrying this -- ." He pulled out a large object wrapped in white linen, which he carefully unwrapped. Even in the dim light of the corridor everyone could see what Brother Joseph was holding, and Reishach gave a sharp cry of disbelief.

What Brother Joseph had in his hands was the Krautstrunk Beaker.