The Mistery of Belicena Villca insurmountable ethnic differences : a German could not infiltrate as a spy in the Chinese army in the same way that a Chinese could not spy in the barracks of the SS . Without being able to enter the prison and without the possibility of buying or fooling the guardians the only remaining resource is to deliver a message to the prisoner .
However sending a message seems to be as difficult as introducing a spy . Indeed ; in the unlikely event that a diplomatic effort obtained the authorization to present the message and the promise that it would be handed over to the prisoner , it would be of no use because the mere fact of having to go through seven levels of security , where it would be censored and mutilated , renders this possibility completely useless . In addition , by such legal means ( prior authorization ), the condition would be imposed that the message be written in clear language accessible to the Enemy , who would later censor part of its content and transpose the terms to avoid a possible second message encryption . And let us not forget that the secret of the hidden exit is just as important for the prisoner to know as it is for the Enemy to ignore it . And the first thing : what to say in a mere message to get the prisoner to wake up , get oriented , understand that he must escape ? As much as we think about it , it will become evident at the end that the message must be clandestine and that it cannot be written . It cannot be optical either because the small window of its cell allows only to observe one of the interior courtyards , to where signals from outside the prison do not usually reach .
Under the conditions I have set forth , it is certainly not obvious what way can their Kameraden solve the problem and help the prisoner to escape . Perhaps the light will come if we bear in mind that , despite all the precautions taken by the Enemy to keep the captive disconnected from the outside world , they failed to isolate it acoustically . ( For this they should have kept him , like Kaspar Hauser , in a soundproof cell ).
I will now show , as an epilogue , the mode chosen by the Kameradens to provide effective help ; a help such that 1st : wakes up and 2nd : reveals the secret , to the prisoner , orienting him towards freedom .
When deciding on an acoustic route to get the message across , the Kameraden realized that they had a great advantage : the Enemy ignores the original language of the prisoner . It is then possible to transmit the message simply , without double meaning , taking advantage of the fact that it will not be understood by the Enemy . With this conviction the Kameradens did the following : several of them climbed a nearby mountain and , armed with a huge conch shell , which allows to greatly amplify the sound of the voice , began to broadcast the message . They did it uninterruptedly , for years , for they had sworn not to abandon the attempt while the prisoner was not free again . And the message came down the mountain , crossed the fields and rivers , crossed the walls and invaded every corner of the prison . The enemies were surprised at first , but , as that language to them didn ' t mean anything , they took the musical sound as the song of some fabulous and distant bird , and in the end they got used to it and forgot it . But , what did the message say ?
It consisted of two parts . First the Kameradens sang a children ' s song . It was a song the prisoner had heard many times during his childhood , there , in the golden fatherland , when the black days of war were still far away and perpetual captivity could only be an impossible nightmare to dream about . Oh , what sweet memories that melody evoked ! what Spirit , no matter how asleep it was , would not wake up , feeling eternally young , hearing again the primordial songs , those that he would listen enraptured in the happy days of childhood , and which , without knowing how , turned into an ancient and mysterious dream ? Yes ; the prisoner , no matter how asleep his Spirit was , even though oblivion had closed his senses , would end up waking up and remembering ! He would feel the nostalgia for the distant homeland , would check his humiliating situation , and he would understand that only that who has infinite courage , with boundless fearlessness , could perform the feat of escape .
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