Authors: Gilbert Morris
“That’s me. Dai Bando. Everyone calls me Dai.”
A silence fell over the group and then Betje lowered the pistol. “Cut him loose. I think he is who he says he is.”
Groot Dekker pulled out a knife and cut the cords.
“Welcome to Holland,” Betje said with a smile.
“Thank you, Miss van Dych.”
“You know my name?”
“Oh yes, I know all of you.”
“Why have you come here?” Betje asked. She put the weapon away but still watched Bando closely.
“I’d like very much to tell all of you, but it goes against my orders. I can tell only one person, and then it will be up to that one person to do as they please with the information.”
“Which person is that?” Betje asked.
“Dr. Gabrielle Winslow.”
Gabby felt the pressure of the group, and she blurted out, “Why me?”
“I can only explain when we’re alone, Doctor.”
“Is everybody satisfied that this man is who he says he is?” Betje demanded.
The group murmured their agreement, and Karel said, “I’m glad we didn’t have to shoot you.”
“That would probably go against your ministerial ethics, Pastor.”
He grinned. “I’d like to know more about your mission, but I doubt if I can get it out of Gabby. She’s a very private person.”
“A very good thing to be in these dangerous times, Pastor.”
“All right. Let’s break up,” Betje said. She turned her eyes on Gabby. “Are you ready to hear what our newest member has to say?”
“I think I’d better be.”
“Don’t shoot yourself with that pistol,” Betje said with a grin. “You need to take lessons. All right, everyone, let’s get out of here. Thanks for your help tonight. We won’t meet again until I get word to you.”
Gabby waited until they had all disappeared, and the silence fell between her and the tall man who watched her carefully. “You want to talk here?”
“That’s fine with me. Do you want to sit on the hay?” he asked, pointing to some hay bales near the door.
“Sure.” They got settled in the semidarkness. “Go ahead, Captain. I’m listening.”
“I’d rather you called me Dai. Of course, it will have to be Petric when we’re at the hospital or around other people.”
“Is that a common name in Wales? Dailon?”
“Fairly common.”
Gabby nodded, and he said nothing further.
“Well, I’m waiting to hear about this mission of yours and why you can tell only me about it.”
“Did you ever hear of a man named Owen Bando—the same last name as mine?”
Gabby was startled. “Why . . . my father spoke of a man called Owen Bando! He flew with him in the war.”
“Yes, he did. That was my father. I don’t think he ever saw your father after the war, but he never forgot him. I’d be interested to know what your father said about him.”
“Well, Dad didn’t like to talk much about the war. When he did, it was usually to mention some friend that he had made, one of the fliers or the mechanics he had gotten close to. But I do remember he spoke very well of your father—more than once. He liked him a great deal.” She thought hard for a moment. “He said Owen had a keen sense of humor and made him laugh even when things were terribly dark. And he liked to play practical jokes.”
“Yes, my dad was like that.”
“Does this have something to do with your mission, Dai?”
“In a way it does. I would have come anyway, but when I found out you were involved with my mission, it made me want to come even more. You see, your father saved my dad’s life on a mission once. A German was on his tail, and he was sure he was a dead man, when suddenly the German plane blew up. He looked around and saw that your father had broken away from his own fight and came to help him. He always felt like your father gave him life, so I heard a lot about him. As a matter of fact, I still have all of the letters they exchanged.”
“Letters from my father to yours?”
“Yes.”
“I-I’d like to see them sometime.”
“Of course, Doctor. I don’t have them with me, but as soon as I get back to Wales, I’ll get them to you.”
“I’d like that very much.”
He shifted to find a more comfortable position on the hay. “I’m going to break the first rule of successful espionage.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t tell anyone anything that you don’t have to.”
“That sounds like a good rule. But I don’t know much about spying.”
“I’m going to break the rule because, well—in the first place, I’ll have to tell you sooner or later anyway. In the second place, I need your help, and you can’t work in the dark. I’ve come to you because my assignment is to get your aunt and uncle out of Germany.”
“Aunt Liza and Uncle Dalton?”
“Yes.”
“I . . . I can’t believe it!”
“I know a little bit about your family and all I could find out about your uncle. He’s needed on our side. He’s like a secret weapon. My superiors tell me he could do terrible damage to the Allies if he gives his keen scientific mind to the Germans, which is what he seems to have done.”
“He’s a very simple man, Dai. He means no harm, but he’s easily swayed. He’s a good man. You have to believe that.”
“I believe it if you say so. You know him, and I don’t. Will you help me, Doctor?”
Gabby hesitated and then said firmly, “Of course—and by the way, my friends call me Gabby.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Grow Old Along With Me”
Betje dismounted from her bicycle and balanced it against the fence. As she headed toward the hospital, she noticed Dai Bando—or Petric, as they were strictly enjoined to call him—loading supplies onto a truck. She paused for a moment, thinking over the past three weeks, during which time she had become very well acquainted with the Welshman. She smiled and changed directions to greet him.
“Hello, Petric,” she said when she neared the truck.
Bando turned and glanced at her, then put the box he was holding on the bed of the truck. “Hello, Betje.” His cap was pulled down over his forehead, and his whiskers had grown shaggy. He looked exactly as he wanted to look, much like a bum. He stooped over, even though no one else was there to observe him, but he knew he had to be cautious. “What are you up to today?”
“I’m here to see Gabby.”
“She’s probably making her rounds now.”
“Good. Why don’t you come over in the shade with me? We can get to know each other.”
“That wouldn’t be too wise,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Someone might be watching from one of the windows.”
Betje shifted her weight to one foot. She reached up and tousled her blond hair while she studied Dai skeptically. “It’s good that you’re being careful. How about if I help you load your truck?”
“Better not. That wouldn’t look right either.”
“Why don’t you show me the ducks down in the canal?” she said with a laugh.
“All right. A break would be nice. You go ahead, and I’ll meet you there.”
Betje nodded and followed the sidewalk that went around the hospital. Behind the hospital was a small grove of trees lining one of the numerous canals that drained the land. She could see one man fishing a ways off in the distance, but other than that, it was an isolated spot. She waited until Dai stepped out of the trees and came over to her. He took his hat off and pulled a handkerchief out of the hip pocket of his baggy pants and wiped his forehead.
“Hot today.”
“Sit down and let’s dabble our feet in the water.”
“You go ahead. I don’t think I ought to be dabbling much. If anybody should happen to come by, I’d have to have my shoes on and get back into my act.”
“Well, sit down with me anyway. I want to know more about you.”
He sat down cross-legged while Betje took off her shoes. She sat down very close to him and kicked some water at him. “You’re going to drown me,” he protested.
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea on a hot day like this.” She took hold of his arm and pressed herself against him. “I like you, Dai.”
He laughed. “Don’t be so shy and retiring, Betje. Just come right out and say what you mean.”
“When I like a man, I like him a lot. Why don’t you and I go out some night and have some fun?”
“And when people see you out with a half-wit, what will they think?”
“How about if we have a picnic in some secluded place?”
Dai grinned at her broadly. He had liked Betje from the first time he had met her. She was a loyal member of the underground, and aside from that, she seemed to have only one
aim in life, and that was having a good time. As she clung to him, he knew exactly what her invitation meant.
“This job is too big, Betje, and dangerous. If we can pull it off, it’ll be a miracle. And it’s going to take all of my attention.” He tried to pull his arm away, but she held it fast. She laughed up at him, and he saw that she was enjoying her game. He let his arm remain where it was, acutely aware of her figure and the invitation in her eyes.
“Did you ever read the story of Joseph in the Bible?” she asked suddenly.
“Why, sure.”
“You remember when he got sold as a slave into Egypt?”
“Yes, into the house of Potiphar.”
“That’s right, and Potiphar had a wife, didn’t he?”
“Sure did. She gave Joseph a hard time.”
“I’ve always thought she wasn’t much of a woman.”
“Well, her morals certainly weren’t what they should have been.”
“If I had been married to Potiphar, Joseph would have been in trouble.” Without warning, she put her hand behind his neck and pulled his head down until they were nearly nose to nose. “What kind of woman do you want, Dai?”
“I guess every man has an idea of the woman that would make him happy,” he said thoughtfully as he gently pulled away. “It’s usually not one woman but the combination of the qualities of many of them.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean he sees one woman with a beautiful figure, another who is generous, another who will be faithful to death. So he makes up a composite of all of these.”
“That’s not very fair, is it? He’d never find a woman perfect in all those ways.”
He shook his head. “I guess when he finds the woman he wants, he has to give up some of those things—but he probably finds some other qualities he likes. I guess every man wants sweetness and honesty in a woman.”
“Have you ever had both of those things in a woman?”
“I . . . thought I did once.”
Betje tightened her grip on him and pulled him so close he could smell the sweetness of her breath. “I think you did find it and you walked away—or she walked away. Most of us do that. Then we’re desperate to fill that void, so we rush into another relationship and wind up with just a wreck of a love.” She sighed. “Do you think you’ll ever find a woman who’ll make you happy?”
“I hope so. Every man hopes that. Our life is made up of little things, Betje. Little pleasures that don’t shake the world. Maybe a beautiful sunset that makes you want to cry. A good friend you can count on to the very death. Things to remember when you’re old.”
Betje suddenly felt sad for him. As she pulled his head down and lifted her face, she felt his arms go around her. She leaned toward him while he kissed her, and she sensed his strong desire. The pressure of his arms told her he was lonely and maybe even discouraged, and she decided he might have a wild side if he would allow it to break out. At the same time, though, from what she had learned about him in the last couple of weeks, she felt sure that this man was decent and would never mistreat a woman.
Ordinarily, she would have prolonged the kiss. She could tell he was struggling to control his desires. She knew all the tricks to stir a man, but she suddenly had no desire to try to take advantage of Dailon. She pulled back and studied his face.
“You know how to make a man want you, Betje.”
“I guess so.” As she looked into his eyes, she recalled all the men she had known and wished it were not so. She straightened up and murmured, “A woman can ruin a man, Dai. You can never do anything about that. Don’t try to.”
A touch of sunlight came out and bathed her face, and her eyes seemed innocent. She dropped her head and put her cheek against his chest. He knew she was saddened and
grieved, and with an unusual gesture, he stroked her hair. He said nothing, nor did she, but finally she pulled back and said almost roughly, “I’ve got to get going.” She yanked her feet out of the water and kicked them until they dried before putting on her shoes. As she stood up, she said, “Don’t look for things in women that they can never give you, Dai.”
He watched her as she left and pondered her last statement. He decided there was much more to Betje than what appeared on the surface.
Betje walked back to the hospital and found Gabby just coming off her rounds.
“You got a minute, Gabby?”
“Yes, let’s step outside.”
They went outside, and the two talked of matters that affected the covert cell. They had to take these moments when they could. As they talked Gabby saw Dai walk across the green grass. Her eyes followed him, and her thoughts were interrupted when Betje said, “He’s good at what he does, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He goes around muttering in Welsh, making everybody think he’s a half-wit. He’s actually very intelligent.”
“He’s very good-looking, isn’t he,” Betje said.
“Oh, I suppose so. Not handsome like a movie star but very masculine.”
“Did he ever make a pass at you?” Betje asked, her eyes wide.
“No!”
“Did you ever make one at him?”
“Betje! You know I would never do that!”
Betje laughed. “You ought to try it sometime, Gabby. It might be good for you.”
“Don’t be foolish!”
“Someday you’ll find a man worth giving everything for. You’ve always held back—for as long as I’ve known you. A man deserves all you have, Gabby.”
“There’s something wrong with that, Betje. You know I don’t believe that’s right.”
“I’ve got to go. I’ll see you later.”
Gabby watched her friend leave and then turned to see where Dai had gone. She found him not far away, turning over the dirt in a flower bed. She walked across the lawn, noting the greenness of the grass and thinking of how the beauty of the world about her was so different from the world that man had made. She came up to Dai and said hello to him.