Show t r JAN KARIC FIRED h was a crack shot Tha first bullet hit Stefan who stumbled backward falling into the river 'V Min© i Roses For The Commissar - j You wouldn't think a murderous tyrant could be brought to justice with a few flowers But see what happens to Jan Karic in this taut story of suspense and revenge By OSCAR SCHlSGALL Illustrated by Mac Comer Jf j strange fall in the Communist Party began in November 1956 at the time the Russian tanks moved into Hungary to crush the revolution Jan was on border patrol shortly after midnight when he beard the quiet splashings in the river Instantly alert he moved stealthily in the direction of the sound followed by the four armed men of his patrol He was breathless when he reached the riverbank — a huge figure with d head massive shoulders and an enormous He saw the raft hardly thirty feet away and his hand went to his holstered gun In the moonlight he recognized the fugitives on those logs — the angular pharmacist Anton Debroz with his wife and their two children and helping to pole the raft Anton’s younger brother the schoolteacher Stefan Debroz As Stefan bent against the pole his blond hair shone like a silver target Jan Karic bellowed to them to come back close-croppe- The Hungarian Revolution so spectacularly successful in October 'was doomed in November by the Russian tanks and soldiers pouring into the country And thousands of people like this Debroz family of Budapest were trying to escape Jan Karic considered them fools When he had been 22 tomaton Sometimes she stared at her d husband as she might have stared at a stranger “Enough of this acting!” he told her in disgust “In a job like mine a man can’t be soft” She whispered “But to shoot Trudi and Anton and Stefan Debroz and — ” “They were traitors! The Party will appreciate what I have done” he assured her “You will see” He was right The Revolution did not last long before the onrush of Soviet tanks and once it was crushed it was found that more than forty fugitives had been killed in the sector guarded by Jan Karic His reward was prompt and greater than he had expected He was made a Deputy Chief of Police “This” he said in triumph to his wife “is only the ordered to guard this wooded strip along the river be had told his patrol “Let us begin by setting examples nobody will forget!” This kind of duty would give him a Chance to demonstrate his zeal and he welcomed it Now Karic once more yelled to the Debroz family and then drew his gun and aimed The fact that these people were his neighbors that the woman Trudi Debroz was a close friend of his own wife could not be allowed to stop him heavy-browe- ed At the sight of the raised weapon Stefan Debroz screamed “Don’t Jan! For the and pole dropped God’s sake don’t! The children — ” But Jan Karic fired His first bullet made Stefan Debroz stagger a hand leaping to the side of his head blood pouring between the fingers He stumbled backwards and fell into the river Karic turned his weapon at the others He did not need the help of his patrol One by one he picked the fugitives off — father mother the two children — the shots punctuating their shrieks By the time the raft ran aground on the opposite shore it carried only the bodies of what hlid been a family In the morning Jan Karic’s patrol spread the news speaking of their leader with awe When Karic’s wife Maria heard what had happened she was unbelieving She was left numb Thereafter she seemed to live in a perpetual state of shock moving about like an au beginning ' 1” ' Then on a Saturday afternoon when he had been Continued on page 24 Deputy Chief of Police OSCAR SCHlSGALL - t European-bor- n came to this country at the age of 6 and started writing while he was still in school His stories appear in nearly all the major magazines During World War 11 he served in the Office of War Information THIS WEfK Moooxln IF VI April 3 IJJV L |