Chapter 15, Niobe Summary

In 1938, customs duties were raised. The border between Poland and the free city of Danzig were temporarily closed, and Oskar's grandmother could no longer bring her eggs and butter to market. During Herbert Truczinski's unemployment, he and Oskar commit two robberies. They find the stolen goods difficult to fence, and soon abandon theft. Finally, Herbert finds a job as a guard at the Maritime Museum. The museum's centerpiece is a figurehead, a beautiful naked woman carved in wood, called Niobe. "The Green Kitten" is supposed to be bad luck, since every ship she has been attached to has sunk. Even the museum directors have suffered mysterious fatal accidents since the acquisition of Niobe. Herbert is paid a bonus for the dangerous job of guarding the nubile, bare-breasted wooden maiden.

Each day Oskar accompanies Herbert to the museum. Each day they spend...