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joke! And we want such a guest here in our country!”
    “Forgive me, forgive me!” I called out fervently. “But I’m not traveling by choice; it has to do with written orders from my teacher!”
    By saying this I had betrayed myself, doubly so, for I had not only revealed my reason for coming, but I had also spoken in my own tongue rather than speaking innocently in the language of the country from which the passport had been issued.
    “What?” interrupted the man outside who had demanded to see the passport, and who clearly was the commandant, as he shoved his way intothe compartment with the others. “What are you babbling about? You must be a spy!”
    I yelled, “The passport is real. I paid for it with good money. I’m no crook!”
    My earnest protest was met with scornful laughter from the surly men. They buried themselves once more in the document, leafing through it with licked fingers and throwing nasty glances toward me from time to time. Finally the commandant announced, “You’re not a crook, we know that. Only spies have real passports these days. The poor devils who talk about it openly don’t get to travel, or they try to sneak across the border with counterfeit papers.”
    I was defenseless and tried to think how I could make a bad situation a little bit better. It was hopeless, and so I decided to just wait and see what would be done with me, though I was smart enough to realize that the best chance I had was to remain calm and convince the men that I was a harmless passenger who deserved to be trusted. This proved correct, as my composed demeanor appeared to leave a good impression. The commandant looked more at ease and said that the passport and what was written inside it clearly allowed me to enter the country, and that as long as there was no contraband in my luggage there was nothing to stop me from traveling. The order from the teacher, the commandant explained with sharp civility, was nothing but an idle pretense in his considered view, but it was not his job to say if it was or was not, for if it were, half the government could be arrested. That said, he bowed in an officious manner and let my passport, my precious passport, disappear into a deep side pocket of his military coat. I was so struck by this terrible turn of events that I gasped.
    “Sir, my passport! My good passport! I need it! Give me back my passport!”
    “We’re not a country for robbers and bandits. Here every citizen is safe. Foreigners need to list their place of residence with the police. You can apply to the border authorities for your passport.”
    “I want my passport back now!”
    “As a visitor to our country, you must dutifully comply with our rules and regulations.”
    “I’m not a visitor, and I don’t want to stay in this country any longer! I withdraw my request to enter and want to take the next train back!”
    “It’s not as easy as that. What are you thinking? Whoever tries to get in just doesn’t walk away unless we deport him. But we’ve detained you. So you have to stay. Wasn’t that your original intent? No? Then show us your ticket! Indeed, it’s clear as day that you’re headed for the city! The visa is good for four weeks. That means you can stay here for at least another fourteen days.”
    I tried to reason with them some more, but it did no good; I didn’t get the passport back. Then my suitcase was rummaged through and my pockets emptied of their contents, though this procedure was carried out in a relatively quiet manner, something the authorities prided themselves on. I was hit with the requisite fine and handed a receipt. I was told that it had to do with an official tax on foreigners. The levy was high, which was regrettable, but the government, unfortunately, saw no other way to finance the high cost of the border patrol, especially as there had been substantially less travel in recent years. The government had decided not to allow citizens of this free state to travel