Authors: James Holland
Tanner's patience snapped. 'Christ, I've had just about enough of
this,' he said angrily. 'We're miles behind the lines now - thanks entirely to
you, sir - and all you seem to care about is sodding honour. This isn't bloody
knights-in-shining-armour, this is war. It's nasty and bad things happen. I
don't give a toss about upsetting these Jerries. I care about making sure my
men survive and that we get back to our lines. Regardless of what you may or
may not believe, I made a solemn promise to get Mr Sandvold to safety and I'm
going to bloody well do it. But we're in a whole load of trouble and we need
every bit of help we can get our hands on. These Jerry boots are a damn sight
better than our own, and their kit will not only keep us warm but could give us
a useful disguise, should it come to it. After this little fight our ammunition
levels are down and the extra fire-power might come in bloody useful. If you
think that's wrong, then you're an even bigger fool than I thought. Sir.'
Chevannes' cheek muscles were twitching and his lips moved as though he
was about to answer. Instead, he merely barked orders that they were to get
going and take the prisoners with them.
They set off in a column, the prisoners carrying Riggs and the wounded
Frenchman on stretchers made from rifles and greatcoats, between Chevannes' and
two of Tanner's men. Lieutenant Larsen was in front, keeping his distance from
Zellner and the other prisoners. It was, Tanner guessed, still a few degrees above
freezing, helped by the toneless grey cloud that covered the sky; he wondered
whether it would snow again. The air was crisp, and although the light was
fading, there was still a couple of hours' daylight ahead.
Every so often, Chevannes paused to scan the area with his binoculars,
then they moved on again. Tanner wondered what the French lieutenant had
decided. He wanted to suggest they talk to the Norwegians, find a farm in which
to lie up for a while and make a properly considered plan. His men had endured
so much over the past two days; he felt they had a right to know where they
were heading now and how much longer they could expect to tramp through the
snow.
They had been going for almost half an hour when Chevannes stopped
again, peered through his binoculars, then told them to head up the mountain,
out of the main treeline and towards the open plateau. The men groaned, but
even with his naked eye, Tanner could see the
seter
through the trees above and smiled to himself. Perhaps Chevannes was starting
to listen.
'Not another night in a God-forsaken bloody hut,' said Hepworth.
'Honestly, Sarge, I’m done for here.'
'You're all right, Hep,' said Tanner. 'I'm sure Mr Chevannes knows what
he's doing.'
'You've changed your tune,' Sykes said, in a low voice.
'Only because it's what I told him we should do,' Tanner replied.
'We're going to ditch the prisoners in that basha up there.' He pointed to the
wooden
seter
through the trees above.
'Kill 'em?'
'No, just tie 'em up. And I also suggested it might be a good idea to
find a farm with food and somewhere half decent to rest for a while.'
'Too bloody right. Let's hope he listens to that too.'
On reaching the hut, Chevannes ordered the prisoners to be herded
inside. He looked at Larsen. 'Let Tanner do it, Lieutenant,' he said. Larsen
glared at Zellner, then walked a short way back down the slope.
Tanner pushed the prisoners inside. Using bootlaces and some of his and
Sykes's fuse cable, they bound the men. As they were doing so, Tanner noticed
that the German officer, Captain Zellner, still had his binoculars round his
neck and his empty holster at his side.
'I'll take those,' said Tanner, lifting the Zeiss binoculars over
Zellner's head and removing the holster and bullet pouches from his belt.
Zellner stared at him, then at his rifle, and noticed the scope mounts
next to the breech. 'A sniper rifle,' he said in English. Tanner met his gaze.
'I'll not forget this, Tanner,' said Zellner. 'And next time I see you, I will
kill you.'
'I'm sure you will.' He smiled. 'In the meantime, my apologies for what
I'm about to do.' He drew his hand into a fist and rammed it into Zellner's
temple. The German gasped and lost consciousness.
'Bloody 'ell, Sarge! Where d'you learn to do that?' asked Sykes.
'The Army can teach you a lot, Corporal,' Tanner replied, 'including
how to box. Damned useful. I must say, I don't really like knocking someone out
like that but he's a filthy piece of work and he threatened to kill me. And we
don't want them following us too soon, do we?'
'No, course not.'
Tanner looked at Zellner carefully. 'Hit too hard and in the wrong
place,' he told Sykes, 'and you can kill a man.
Too soft and
you'll do very little damage at all. One
blow
,
that's what you want. Short, sharp and very much to
the
point. He might not forget me, but he'll not want
to
remember the headache when he comes round.'
With the Germans tied and left in the
seter
,
the men retraced their steps until they were back among the trees, clear of the
plateau. Chevannes called a halt. 'We'll rest a moment,' he said.
Larsen walked over to Tanner. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I behaved badly
... back there with that German.'
'No need to apologize, sir.'
'It was my fault,' he said. 'We stopped at my cousin's farm and took
his truck. I didn't think at the time, but I should have done. It was obvious
the Germans would come back and find it gone.'
'And you think they took your cousin?'
'I do not know. I had thought they might have killed him.' He shrugged.
'I am not sure now. Maybe he was telling the truth. I was angry - but more
angry with myself.' He sighed. 'It has been preying on my mind, you see. I just
wish I knew. I wish I could find out that he is all right.' He looked up at
Tanner. 'Anyway, I wanted to explain.' He wiped his brow.
Tanner nodded. 'Thank you, sir,' he said, then moved a few steps and
leant against a tree next to Sandvold. The Norwegian grimaced as he slipped off
his rucksack. He was as white as a ghost, and Tanner realized that, despite his
preoccupation with getting them all to safety, he had not thought about
Sandvold's physical condition. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder. 'Are you
all right?' he asked.
'I am tired, that is all,' he replied. 'I am forty-seven, after all.
You boys - you are all in the prime of youth. This has been a long trek for a
man of my age.' He smiled weakly, then gasped and slumped against the tree.
Tanner caught him, crouched, and rested Sandvold's head against his rucksack.
'My God, what has happened to him?' Larsen had hurried over and now
stood beside them.
Nielssen joined them. 'Is he all right?' he asked, frowning.
Tanner felt for a pulse. 'He's passed out, that's all.' He took out the
flask of schnapps and tipped it into Sandvold's mouth. The Norwegian spluttered,
coughed and opened his eyes. 'I am sorry,' he said. 'What must you think of
me?'
'It's all right,' said Tanner. 'Drink a bit more of this.' He gave
Sandvold the flask, then stood up beside the two Norwegians. 'None of us can go
much further tonight. We need to find somewhere to rest properly. Get some food
- preferably hot.'
'But what about reaching the Allies?' asked Nielssen.
'They're not in Tretten any more. They've fallen back.' He sighed. 'We
need a new plan.'
Larsen said, 'You are right, Sergeant. I know I could do with a proper
rest. If we keep going like this, none of us will make it, let alone Professor
Sandvold.'
Professor?
Tanner looked down at him - the gaunt face, unkempt
moustache, the dark rings and wrinkles round the eyes. Just what was this man's
secret? He wondered whether he would ever know.
'I'll talk to Chevannes,' said Larsen.
'There are farmsteads along this side of the valley,' added Nielssen.
'It's west-facing here so they will be quite high.'
'We must be careful,' said Tanner. 'With the Germans in the valley,
it'll be hard to know who to trust. There
'll
be
a lot at stake for the civilians.'
'I doubt we will find many pro-Germans up here, if that is what you
mean,' said Nielssen.
Tanner yawned. 'I suppose there's risk with every move we make. It's a
matter of balancing that risk. Right now, we need rest urgently. If that means
we have to take our chance with some farmer, then so be it.'
'Hot food.' Nielssen smiled. 'I would risk a lot for that right now.'
It began to snow, only lightly, but Tanner was pleased to see the
flakes drifting down from the blanket of grey above them. There was, of course,
every chance that Zellner and his men would free themselves and get off the
mountain, despite the strength of the fuse and the tightness with which he and
Sykes had bound them. And then what? It wouldn't take them long to get down to
the valley, where they would fetch help and begin to search the mountain once
more. Had it been a cold, clear night, the enemy would have found their tracks with
ease. They should have killed the prisoners, he reflected, but he knew he would
have had no stomach for murdering men in cold blood, and neither would his
men. War was cruel and hard, but there were still some lines that could not be
crossed.
He tilted his face to the sky and felt the flakes land and dissolve. At
least the snow would hide their tracks. That was something.
He now saw Sandvold lift himself to his feet, then reach back to the
tree for support. 'Shall I get you a stick, Professor? Would that help?'
'Thank you, yes.'
Tanner picked up a fallen pine branch, cut off the loose twigs with his
sword bayonet, than handed it to him.
'Thank you, Sergeant.' He straightened his back, grimaced, then said,
'You know, I never in my wildest dreams imagined anything like this.'
'Having to escape the Germans?'
'Yes, if you like, but Norway being at
war.
It's so incredible. We may have been Norsemen once, Sergeant Tanner, but that
was a long, long time ago. We have forgotten how to fight. We are a peaceful nation
- a nation that makes no claim on other land and wants no part in other
people's arguments. All my life, Norway has been like this - a neutral country.
While you were destroying each other twenty years ago, we Norwegians were
getting on with our lives. And yet here we are, tramping across a mountain at
dawn, praying we will not be captured and shot.' He shook his head. 'Do you
have a family, Sergeant?' he asked suddenly.
'No,' Tanner replied. 'Only the Army.'
'A bachelor like me,' Sandvold smiled, 'wedded to your work. But I do
have a mother still alive. At least, I pray she is. I was supposed to leave
Oslo, you know,' he added, 'told to leave the moment the invasion began, but my
mother would not come with me. She said she was too old to run away and that
she was not sure she wanted to live if she could not stay in our home in Oslo.
Well, it has been her home for more than fifty years, so I suppose she had a
point. I felt I could not leave her - my own mother, how could I? And then one
day Colonel Gulbrand arrived with three men and suddenly the matter was no
longer in my hands. My mother wept when I left. It is ridiculous, I know, but I
am worried about her and I know she will be worried about me. And all because
of my work - work that I thought would benefit Norway. Now I discover that what
I know is so valuable that my own countrymen will kill me rather than let me
fall into enemy hands.' He sighed again. 'There has been much time to think
since I left Oslo - since I left my mother weeping at the door of the house.
And if I am honest,' he chuckled mirthlessly, 'I have drawn few conclusions,
except that everything I believed in and thought to be right seems to have been
turned on its head. It is as though a kind of madness has descended. The war is
like a plague or flood or some other biblical pestilence. It rips our world
apart, bringing nothing but suffering and, it seems to me, achieving very
little. I pray it will be over soon, but that seems unlikely, yes?'
'God only knows,' said Tanner.
'What am I trying to say to you, Sergeant? I am saying that I would be
most grateful if you could get me to safety. I want to help my country, not
become a martyr for her. And I also want to live for the sake of my mother, if
that is not too sentimental.'
'Why are you asking me this?' asked Tanner. 'Lieutenant Chevannes is in
charge. And there are two of your countrymen to guard you too.'
Sandvold smiled. 'Yes, I like your use of the word. It makes me feel
rather like a prisoner, which I suppose in a way I am. But I am saying this to
you because I know what Colonel Gulbrand told you. Yes, I know. I left you and
Gulbrand to talk, but I heard every word. And, as it happens, I agree with him.
You are evidently a highly capable soldier, Sergeant. Even a pacifist like me can
see that.'