Children of the Dusk by Janet Berliner, George Guthridge

creatures so you could fill buckets," Bruqah said.
    "It's not for me , Neger ." Pleshdimer patted his ample belly. "Sturmbannführer Hempel  personally sees to it that I get the best meat. Nothing is better eating than dog, except..." He winked and snorted. "...except woman." Nodding toward the kennel area, he used his teeth to twist off another enormous bite, and dropped what remained into the bucket. "The shepherds dine fancy tonight!"
    He stood, lifted a leg to fart loudly, and sauntered along the fence. Sol stayed inside the sleeping area and moved laterally to keep up with him. "Does the Oberst know about this?" he asked. "Do the trainers know you're feeding the dogs lemur?"
    Pleshdimer picked meat from between his rotted teeth, and worked his jaws as if to exercise them.
    "Why should they care what goes in those dogs' mouths and comes out their butts?" he said finally. Belching, he ambled across the grass, leaving Solomon to clutch the fence.
    Well, let the dogs eat the lemurs and each other! Sol thought. The shepherds weren't any concern of his and, besides, the meat was probably good for them. Why should Erich care? Why should he, Sol, care even if Pleshdimer did give them something that wasn't proper or--he mentally grimaced--or kosher. As far as he knew, the only thing that differentiated those dogs from the ones at Sachsenhausen was the hand controlling the choke chain.
    He gripped the fence so tightly that the wire cut into his palm.
    ... the hand controlling the choke chain.
    Erich's hand.
    His was the hand that controlled the wireless key, with its connection to Berlin and the Sicherheitspolizei ; held the lifeline of the hundred and forty some Jews, including the one in the womb...if indeed the child was the progeny of Jewish parents.
    His papa's voice came to him from the past: " There is no such thing as being half Jewish. "
    He thought for a moment about what he had just seen and about the uses to which he could put the information. If Erich did not know what the dogs were being fed, reporting it could possibly put him in Sol's debt. Even if he did know, telling him could do no harm. Either way it was a sign of good faith that might ultimately stand the Jews in good stead.
    "Jew wishing to exit on an errand!" he called out as he ran toward the guard at the gate. "Jew begging permission of his betters!"
    Erich had made certain concessions to keep the guards happy.
    After Sol explained that he had important information meant for Erich's ears only, he was allowed to walk alone toward the HQ tent, the guard's glare drilling into the back of his neck. Of the Jews, only Sol had the freedom to move about the camp with relative ease. The soldiers--even the trainers--resented it, and in a way Sol couldn't blame them. He was an enemy, after all. When not pulling guard duty, the soldiers stacked their rifles tripod-style in front of their tents. And the supply tents, crowded with boxes of ammunition and weapons, were within reach if a man bent on destruction were not carefully watched. Once the generator was in full operation, the radio could transmit messages to French forces at Diego Suarez or to the capital, Antananarive, if HQ could be accessed for a few minutes. Even Erich's gun--
    "A gift for you, Rabbi." Bruqah's voice was low and emotional as he emerged from the latticework shadows cast by the sleeping area fence.
    Sol glanced furtively to see if the guard was watching. He was. The man shifted nervously from one foot to the other.
    "If it is not important, may dô snakes slide from my ancestors' eyes!" Bruqah said, passing his hand across Sol's and leaving something metallic in Sol's palm. The shape was familiar, but he dared not look down, for fear the guard would come running.
    "It was in the box of music," Bruqah whispered. "Lady Miriam say it yours. Germantownman would love to possess it, I think."
    Suddenly the shape made sense. Sol passed his thumb across the object, his mind immediately atumble with