Waiting for Orders Read Online Free PDF Page B

Professional fussiness, I suppose.
    ‘Has any one of you,’ I asked loudly, ‘ever dealt with a bullet wound before?’
    They stared at me. Then Stephan glanced at Bruno.
    ‘If he moves,’ he said, ‘shoot.’ He raised his voice again. ‘Johann!’
    There was an answering cry of reassurance.
    ‘Has it occurred to you,’ I persisted, ‘that even if you get him here alive, which I doubt, as you obviously don’t know what you’re doing, he will need immediate medical attention? Don’t you think that one of you had better go for a doctor? Ah, but of course; the doctor would ask questions about a bullet wound, wouldn’t he? The matter would be reported to the police.’
    ‘We can look after him,’ he grunted. ‘Johann! Hurry!’
    ‘It seems a pity,’ I said reflectively, ‘that one brave man should have to die because of his friends’ stupidity.’ And then my calm deserted me. ‘You damn fool!’ I shouted. ‘Listen to me. Do you want to kill this man? You’re going about it the right way. I’m a surgeon, and this is a surgeon’s business. Take that cognac out of your pocket. We shan’t need it. The iodine too. And those pieces of rag. Have you got two or three clean towels?’
    The woman nodded stupidly.
    ‘Then get them, please, and be quick. And you said something about some coffee. Have you a flask for it? Good. Then we shall take that. Put plenty of sugar in it. I want blankets, too. Three will be enough, but they must be kept dry.We shall need a stretcher. Get two poles or broomsticks and two old coats. We can make a stretcher of sorts by putting the poles through the sleeves of them. Take this cord of yours too. It will be useful to make slings for the stretcher. And hurry! The man may be bleeding to death. Is he far away?’
    The man was glowering at me. ‘Four kilometres. In a climbing hut in the hills this side of the frontier.’ He stepped forward and gripped my arm. ‘If you are tricking us …’ he began.
    ‘I’m not thinking about you,’ I snapped. ‘I’m thinking about a man who’s been crawling along with a bullet in his thigh and a touching faith in his friends. Now get those poles, and hurry.’
    They hurried. In three minutes they had the things collected. The exhausted Bruno’s oilskins and gum-boots had, at my suggestion, been transferred to me. Then I tied one of the blankets round my waist under my coat, and told Stephan and Johann to do the same.
    ‘I,’ said the woman, ‘will take the other things.’
    ‘You,’ I said, ‘will stay here, please.’
    She straightened up at that. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘I will come with you. I shall be quite calm. You will see.’
    ‘Nevertheless,’ I said rather brutally, ‘you will be more useful here. A bed must be ready by the fire here. There must also be hot bricks and plenty of blankets. I shall need, besides, both boiled and boiling water. You have plenty of ordinary salt, I suppose?’
    ‘Yes,
Herr Doktor.
But …’
    ‘We are wasting time.’
    Two minutes later we left.
    I shall never forget that climb. It began about half a mile along the road below the chalet. The first part was mostly up narrow paths between trees. They were covered with pine needles and, in the rain, as slippery as the devil. We had been climbing steadily for about half an hour when Stephan, who had been leading the way with a storm lantern, paused.
    ‘I must put out the light here,’ he said. ‘The frontier is only three kilometres from here, and the guards patrol to a depth of two kilometres. They must not see us.’ He blew out the lamp. ‘Turn round,’ he said then. ‘You will see another light.’
    I saw it, far away below us, a pin-point.
    ‘That’s our light. When we are returning from Germany, we can see it from across the frontier and know that we are nearly home and that our friends are waiting. Hold on to my coat now. You need not worry about Johann behind you. He knows the path well. This way,
Herr Doktor.’
    It was