Partnered by co-spy, Stella, in a Hamburg wine cellar, your mission
is to keep East-West busy for as long as possible, till the
paratroopers arrive. It's the fourth deal.

Partner's 2 is Stayman, asking for a 4-card major. You bid 2.
Stella then bids 3. This is an interesting bid. If she held spades,
she would have transferred to spades over 1NT. You think back to your
bridge codes, and remember that the 3 bid is a slam try in hearts.
How do you proceed?

 South You
   A J
   K Q 6 2
   Q 3 2
   K Q 10 9

You cuebid 4 and hear partner cuebid 4. Now what?

 South You
   A J
   K Q 6 2
   Q 3 2
   K Q 10 9

You bid 4NT to check for aces and partner shows three (remember, it's
1944 and Keycard Blackwood hasn't been invented yet). What next?

 South You
   A J
   K Q 6 2
   Q 3 2
   K Q 10 9

You can ask for kings with 5NT, and this gets you a zero reply, so
you retreat to 6. The opening lead is the club six. This is what you
see:

North Q 7 6 A 9 7 5 A 10 8 A J 7

South You A J K Q 6 2 Q 3 2 K Q 10 9

Opening lead: 6

How will you play it?

 South You
   A J
   K Q 6 2
   Q 3 2
   K Q 10 9

You win the lead and draw trumps, starting with the king and queen.
They break 3-2 and on the third round of trumps East throws a low
spade. It looks like you can discard a diamond from dummy with the
fourth club in your hand, and then the slam depends on the spade
finesse. Can you find any extra edge in the darkness?

 South You
   A J
   K Q 6 2
   Q 3 2
   K Q 10 9

Yes, a very little one. You cash the clubs, throwing the 8 of
diamonds. Then you play the ace of diamonds and ten of diamonds
before finessing spades. You can always win the diamond return in
dummy with a ruff and then finesse spades. But a very lucky thing
happens. West wins the second round of diamonds with the king and
leads a spade into your tenace. Suddenly you hear paratroopers on the
floor above. One comes bursting through the door and your opponents
reach for their pistols, but not in time. You salute. Sorry we
weren't here sooner, sir, madam, says the paratrooper. Glad you
were late, Stella says. We bid a slam on the last hand and my
partner found a very nice play.

THE END

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 South You
   A J
   K Q 6 2
   Q 3 2
   K Q 10 9

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