"The Uniform"

Robert Dundas

WWII. Occupied Holland. Her name was Antje. She was a gifted tailor. Caught up in the underground resistance, she made a uniform worn by the mastermind of a plot to blow up a German headquarters. The plot was successful.

But the Germans, using innocuous clues, were able to trace the uniform to Antje. They took her away, tortured her to get her to tell the names of all involved in blowing up the headquarters. She did not tell, mainly because she fainted every time they hurt her. But her face had been seriously disfigured.

After the war, the narrator returned to Holland, looked up Antje, who had warned him she was disfigured, and they married, producing a son on the day they had been reunited.

Rating: *** out of *****.

About the Author: “A native of Scotland, formerly of the British Diplomatic Service, Robert Dundas was educated at Edinburgh University. Fluent in nine languages, including Arabic, he spent much of his diplomatic career in Arab countries. His short stories, travel articles and novels are best known in the United Kingdom.” P. 103.

Short Story International #54. Ed. Sylvia Tankel. February 1986. Pp. 95-103. .