Tramp in Armour (27 page)

Even though he couldn't see it yet he could hear it quite
clearly now. The machine was describing another circle, but this time it was a smaller circle, a circle whose centre could
well be the farmhouse - or the haystack. Very slowly, inch by inch, he raised his head above ditch level, taking care not to
disturb the weeds. The Mandels, all three of them, were out
standing by the roadside as a self-propelled gun rolled past. There was no sign of the motor-cycle patrol which must have
driven off while his head was buried in the ditch. He studied
the Mandels, trying to tell something from the way they stood.
Then between the weeds the plane darted into view, flying straight towards him across the road. He kept perfectly still,
resisting the temptation to duck. As it went over, the Mandels
looked up and then dutifully turned their gaze back to the road as another heavy tank rolled past. The commander's head was
turned towards them. Had he made some remark? The spotter plane swooped even lower and roared over their heads. What
had caught his attention?

He tried to put himself in the position of the pilot. What
would he do? At his first sight of the tank inside its huge box
of hay he would hardly believe his eyes, so he would circle in again for a closer look, which could well be the operation he
had just completed. Then he would circle again and come in for
a third and final look before he wirelessed the commander of
the column. At least that's the way I'd handle it, Barnes told
himself grimly. Had the plane gone away? He strained his ears
for the sound of its engine. His wound was throbbing badly
this morning and lying in that fixed position he could feel his
right knee stiffening, the knee which had struck the under
water rock. No, the bloody plane hadn't gone away - it was
coming back now for the third time round. It flew directly
over the haystack and headed straight for him, waggling its
wings from side to side. Why the waggle? Was it a signal? He
felt stiff, clammy and sweat-soaked. They were trapped and
all they could do was to wait inside the trap, hoping that these
alarming manoeuvres of the plane had some other explanation.
It passed directly over them and turned back to follow its
familiar course. Still counting, he watched the endless column of vehicles move past to the west.

It was only ten minutes later when he was still waiting for a
plane that never reappeared that he grasped the fact that Bert
had not been spotted. For over an hour he refused to accept
the idea completely, expecting that at any moment the hay
stack would be surrounded, but still the column rolled past and
still the Mandels patiently witnessed its progress. Just how
. many Panzers did the Germans possess? He made a rough-and-
ready estimate of what they had seen since leaving Etreux and
then doubled it, arriving at the conclusion that the German
High Command must be deploying three or four full-equipped
Panzer division in northern France.* The BEF complement
was one tank brigade and one tank regiment. A tap on his back
told him that Penn wanted to speak.

'I thought you might like to know, Sergeant, that I've got
ants crawling all over me and cramp in my leg. It's nothing to
worry about, mind you, but I knew you'd want to know.'

'Good of you to keep me informed, Penn.'

'I'll be issuing regular bulletins from now on.'

The ants were crawling over Barnes, too, crawling inside his uniform. He had first felt the tickle of their tiny bodies
when the plane was flying over, at the very moment when they
had to lie as still as death. Since then he had been constantly
aware of this minute enemy. Lying full length in the ditch
there was no way of ejecting them and by now the tickling
sensation had invaded the lower part of his body, crawling
over his stomach and his groin until he thought that he would
go mad if this went on much longer. Penn tapped him on the
shoulder again.

'I haven't heard anything recently ... what's that?'

'The end of the column's gone, I think. A staff car's just
stopped...'

'It's probably the general - they always ride at the rear of the column!'

'The officer's just gone into the house with the Mandels. It
shouldn't be long now - the driver's stayed with the car.'

Fortunately, Barnes was too far away to hear the conversa
tion which had preceded the Mandels' return to their home,
otherwise his mind might have been racked with anxiety.

* Barnes underestimated. General von Rundstedt's Army Group A
deployed seven Panzer divisions - over two thousand armoured
vehicles.

Outwardly Mandel showed no traces of alarm as the staff car slowed down and then stopped. His expression was sleepy, the hands by his sides limp, but he sensed that just at the moment when he had thought all would be well fate had dealt him a
bad hand. The major who sat by his driver's side was immaculately dressed, his uniform newly pressed, the peaked cap resting squarely on his head. He stared down the road after the tail of the Panzer column when he first spoke, presenting them a profile which might have been carved out of stone. His French was highly guttural.

'I trust that you are now convinced of the invincibility of
the German Army after what you have seen?'

'We could hardly fail to be,' Mandel replied quietly.

'Good, good.' The major stood up, got out of his car, closed
the door, and stared down at Mandel from his great height. 'You still have plenty to eat?'

'We have sufficient for the moment, but as to later ...' He spread his hands and dropped them.

'And to drink?'

'For the moment, just enough.'

'Good, good. Aren't you going to ask me inside? I may even
furnish you with a certificate saying you are reliable citizens.
That would come in useful when the next column arrives.
There have been cases of French civilians firing on German troops and some commanders are a trifle hasty in their judge
ment.'

Without a word Mandel turned and led the way into the
farmyard, his face still expressionless. When he reached the
front door he stopped to let his wife and Etienne enter first and
then waited for lie German officer. The major had stopped in
the middle of the yard to take a cigarette from a gold case.
While he lit it he looked towards the remnants of burnt hay.

'I see that you have had a fire here very recently.'

'It started just before your column arrived - two of your men very kindly helped us to put it out.'

'That does not surprise me - in spite of what the lying
British propagandists say the German soldier is always
chivalrous. Now you will be able to tell your friends the truth
in future.'

Mandel made no reply and the officer stood for a minute
looking round him while he smoked. Gazing at the haystack he
pointed with the cigarette.

'It is a good thing something like that didn't catch fire -
that would be a tragedy for you, I'm sure.'

'We take care not to smoke near it,' said Mandel, feeling it wiser to make some reply.

'Ah well, we must not keep your good lady waiting. And
I'm sure she dislikes smoking inside her house.'

He threw down his smoking cigarette among some pieces of
straw which began to burn almost at once. Seeing that there
was no danger of the fire spreading Mandel walked after the
German and found him standing in the kitchen looking at the framed decoration above the mantelpiece.

'The Croix de Guerre! I am in the presence of an old
soldier then. I imagine you earned this fighting in the last war?'

'Probably at the same time as you obtained the Iron Cross on your tunic,' Mandel replied politely.

The officer glanced at him quickly, fingering the cross. Marianne stood by the table, her arms folded over her chest as
she stared out of the window across the fields. Mandel wished
that she had gone upstairs but he was aware that she was
staying in the hope of keeping down the temperature. By her
side Etienne gazed into the fireplace. The major spoke
abruptly, his voice harsh.

'You said you had plenty to drink. Since my men so kindly
helped you to put out the fire I think they should be suitably
rewarded. Would you not agree? Two or three bottles of
cognac would be acceptable, I'm sure.'

So that's it, Mandel thought, he's after loot. And they make
a man like this an officer. Since he's a heavy cognac drinker
his temper is probably uncertain. I'll have to watch this care
fully.

'I have no cognac, Major, but possibly a bottle of wine or
two? Would your men prefer red or white, do you think?'

'They would prefer cognac.' His voice was a whiplash now. He stood very erect, his nostrils flared, his eyes glowing. 'Since
you say you are running short we will give them three bottles
only, which is a meagre enough reward. Had the fire spread
this house might have been burnt down. And understand this,
my men are here to fight a war - not to help profiteering
French farmers save their capital!'

'I'm sorry - you can search the place. We have wine but no cognac. Not a single bottle.'

The German eyed him grimly. 'You hid it when the first
column came through here. I have little doubt of that.'

Casually, he unbuttoned the flap of his leather hip holster and withdrew the pistol, holding it sideways in one hand, the muzzle pointing towards Marianne. Mandel moved quickly in front of her, while behind
him his wife slipped a hand towards her throat. He saw Etienne's eyes on the heavy poker in the fireplace and almost imperceptibly he frowned, giving a little shake of his head. Knowing that at any moment there might be a tragedy he took the initiative quickly.

'Major, the cupboard in that corner is full of wine - may I show you and then you can make your choice?'

Slowly he moved towards the cupboard and the pistol
turned away from Marianne to point at the wall. Without
further hesitation Mandel threw open both doors and started
lifting out bottles on to the table. The German waited until a
dozen stood in
a
row and then he put away his gun.

'That will have to do if you persist in being obstinate. You
and the boy - bring all the bottles on the table out to my
car.'

They hurried out across the yard, three bottles under each
arm, while the officer followed slowly. The driver snapped
something at them, indicating that they should store the
bottles on the back seat. When they had emptied their arms he
leaned over and pulled a greatcoat across the bottles to conceal
them. The major had left the yard now and strolled along the
road to stand close to the haystack. He looked at it with interest while he extracted a fresh cigarette and lit it in a leis
urely fashion. Mandel sent Etienne away to the farmhouse and
waited tensely, feeling quite sure that their ordeal was not ended yet. From the direction of Beaucaire a motor-cycle
patrol drove up, slowing down arid then speeding away as the
officer waved them on. The driver had started the engine of
the staff car but the major seemed in no hurry to depart: in
fact, the haystack appeared to fascinate him and he began to
walk round it as he took short puffs at his cigarette.