Operation Kingfisher Read Online Free PDF Page A

‘Oh, Luke! Our caseswere in the van. He’s gone off with them. Everything we needed for the journey.’
    ‘
Merde
!’ Luke exclaimed. He thought for a moment, frowning. ‘It could be worse. Once we get to Montbéliard, Uncle Marcel will be able to fix us up with what we need. I’m sure he’s got friends who would lend us some old clothes. And once we get home to England—’
    He was cut short by a cry from his sister.
    ‘Luke! Your satchel! You didn’t leave that in the van, did you?’
    Luke struck his forehead with the back of his hand.
    ‘Oh God! I did. What a fool!’
    ‘And your papers?’
    ‘They are all in the satchel.’
    ‘Oh no! Luke, what on earth possessed you? What are we going to do without them?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ he groaned. ‘But we’d better move. We can’t stand here in the middle of nowhere getting soaked.’
    ‘Just a minute!’ Christine caught his arm. ‘He said he had wine to collect in Vic. It must be either Perrault’s place or the Cave de Veyres. If we hurry we might be able to catch him.’
    ‘Well done, Chris!’ Luke squeezed her arm. ‘Come on. It’s worth a try. We can’t be far from Vic.’
    It took them half an hour to reach the little town, but the first vineyard they tried had never heard of Duhamel and when they reached the second, it was to learn that he had left ten minutes earlier.
    They beat a hasty retreat, but once out of sight they stopped and looked at each other bleakly.
    ‘So he has just left us stranded, the bastard,’ Luke said.
    Neither of them spoke for a moment.
    Then Christine said, ‘Well, it’s done now. The question is, what do we do next?’
    Luke ran his hand through his wet hair. ‘I don’t know. Try to get home? We might be able to thumb a lift if we go back to the main road.’
    ‘We can’t!’ his sister said. ‘You know what Maman said, the longer we are there the more danger she is in. And I honestly don’t think I could bear to go through saying goodbye all over again.’
    ‘You’re right. We’ll have to find our way to Montbéliard somehow. Do you still have your money and papers safe?’
    Christine felt in her pocket and produced a wallet containing the money and her new identity card.
    ‘I might have enough to pay for train tickets for both of us – and perhaps you won’t be asked to show your papers. The
Boche
can’t check everyone at every station. It’s a risk, but I don’t see what else we can do. Where’s the nearest station?’
    Luke screwed up his face. ‘Martres-de-Veyres, I’m afraid. It’s about eight kilometres from here. Come on. We’ll just have to walk.’
    They plodded on for a time in silence.
    Then Luke said, ‘God, I hate this!’
    ‘Trudging along in the rain? I’m not so keen on it myself, especially in these shoes.’
    He shook his head angrily. ‘That’s not what I mean! I hate this whole business. I hate running away.’
    His sister stopped and looked at him. ‘We’re not running away.’
    ‘Yes, we are. Well, I am. I should stay here and fight.’
    ‘Don’t be silly. If you stay here, you’ll end up working for the Germans. You won’t have any choice.’
    ‘Not if I go to the Maquis.’
    She took a deep breath. ‘Listen to me. The Maquis are all very well, but they are not going to win the war. You are going home to enlist, remember? Don’t you think you’ll be more of a danger to the Nazis flying a Spitfire, or dropping bombs on their factories, than you could ever be in the Maquis?’
    He frowned at her, rain dripping down his face. Then he gave her a crooked grin. ‘OK, you win. You’re right, as usual. Let’s press on.’

    They had dressed for the train journey, not for a long tramp in the rain, and by the time they reached the little station, they were both soaked and footsore. It was a relief to discover that there were no German guards or members of the
milice
checking papers, but the platform was empty and it was clear that they were in for a long wait.