I fanned my arms furiously to stay afloat, but knew I wouldn’t be able to reach the shore, not in my heavy clothes. The waves tossed me about so much that it was all I could do to keep my head above water. I couldn’t think of a way to take off my skirt to get rid of some of the weight without using my hands, but I’d sink if I didn’t keep them moving.
“Mina!” I thought I heard Lucas calling my name, but couldn’t see anything over the waves. “Mina!” As I bobbed about, the skiff came over a wave, nearly hitting me. “Mina!” Lucas, alone in the boat, was fighting with the oars to get the boat beside me. I reached out and he leaned over, putting one of the oars within reach. I grabbed it, but couldn’t keep ahold of it. The next wave brought the skiff closer and, giving one strong kick, I pushed myself to it, reaching up with one hand. Lucas took it and pulled me close enough that I could take hold of the edge. Nearly sobbing, I tried to pull myself up, but I didn’t have the strength.
“Mina, hold on!” Lucas tried to pull me in, but the boat tipped dangerously.
“I can’t do it!” I gasped.
“Yes you can! Get one leg up, and then I’m going to move to the other side of the boat. That will tip it enough to bring you partway out of the water and I can help you then.”
It took three tries, but finally I was in the bottom of the boat, coughing and sobbing at the same time.
A few small motorboats were darting back and forth, and I saw them stop to pull other people out of the water. Lucas yelled to try to get their attention, but it was too dark and there was so much noise that no one heard. He tried rowing toward them, but without a motor, our boat was quickly left behind. The remaining ships were moving in closer to the seawall, concentrating their fire on it.
Debris bumped against the boat and Lucas maneuvered it around a jagged piece of metal. The boat bobbed up and down so much, I feared I’d be sick. I wanted to help row, but all I could do was hang on, trying to get enough breath into me. As the searchlights swung back and forth, a gleam in the water a few feet away caught my eye. I tried to make out what it was. It moved toward us, bobbing up and down.
“Stop rowing!” I yelled.
“Why? We have to keep going.”
“No, I see something!”
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
ANOTHER PASS OF the light and I realized what it was. “It’s the cat!” I yelled. The creature was paddling for us, his front legs moving furiously. I leaned over the side and reached out a hand, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. I put him in the bottom of the boat. He gave out a furious yowl, and then, spotting Lucas, scuttled under his seat to huddle by his feet.
The smoke boats went back to work, racing back and forth to create a screen for the British ships. Soon, we were in a black fog, unable to see more than a few feet away even when the searchlights swept near us. Lucas kept yelling to try to catch the attention of the smoke bombers, but the guns that were still firing were so loud that I couldn’t imagine anyone would hear him.
“Lucas, the bottom of the boat is full of water!” I shouted, not knowing if he could hear me. I was sitting in at least three or four inches of it.
“There’s too much coming over the sides!” Lucas shouted back. “We need to get to shore before we sink.” I watched as he strained to get the boat to shore, fighting the waves. As we drew close, he shouted, “When we beach, you’re going to have to get out and help me pull it in.” A wave pushed the boat in and Lucas jumped out. I got out too, falling partway into the water and then picking myself up. I tried to drag the boat up, but my hands were so numb and my legs felt so weak, I didn’t know if I helped at all.
We pulled the boat far enough in so the bow was on sand. A vast expanse of empty beach faced us. Crossing it to the dunes beyond without being seen appeared impossible.
“Watch the searchlights,” Lucas said. “When I say run, run, and don’t stop for anything.” He reached into the boat and grabbed the rucksack, put it over his shoulders, and then reached back to scoop up the cat.
“Heh, buddy, you’re good luck, right?” He put the animal inside his jacket, holding him close to his body with one hand. “We could use some of that luck right now, so how about going for a little ride?”
The searchlights passed right over us and I tensed, waiting to see soldiers pouring out of some of the concrete bunkers or the sound of shots being fired at us. A boom sounded down the beach and an enormous tower of fire spouted from the seawall, reaching hundreds of feet into the sky. I was nearly deafened by the sound, but I could see Lucas mouthing the word “Now!” as he grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
We half ran, half stumbled across the open beach. As soon as we reached the dunes, I fell to my knees. “I need to stop for a moment,” I gasped. My teeth started to chatter. I could feel the wind biting into me. It felt like the cold was seeping inside me. I sat and wrapped my arms around my knees, putting my head down to keep as much of myself away from the wind as I could. It didn’t help.
“If you like,” Lucas said. “I could put my arms around you to warm you up. That is, if you want me to.” I felt a light touch on my shoulder.
“Yes, please.” I scooted over close to him and he took me in his arms, in a manner of speaking. The cat was still in his jacket, his head sticking out, looking back and forth between the two of us, but making no move to give up his spot. I supposed he must have been very cold from his swim in the ocean. Even though Lucas was wet too, I could feel the warmth of him. We sat there for a few moments.
“Did you see what happened to the lieutenant?” I asked when my teeth had stopped chattering.
Lucas didn’t answer for a moment, and then tightened his arms around me slightly. “Something hit him, like a piece of the ship. He’s dead.”
“How do you know?”
“He couldn’t have survived what happened to him.” I felt a shudder pass through him.
We just sat there as the enormity of what had happened sank in. What a fool I’d been to wish for adventure. I closed my eyes. Now Lucas was stuck with me, the girl he’d thought was too spoiled to help. I’d have to show him I wasn’t going to be a burden.
All I wanted to do was stay where we were, but I knew we couldn’t. “What do we do now?” I asked.
“We need to move a little farther along the beach. We are supposed to come even with the spire of a church and then wait there until the contact comes. Do you think you can try? We don’t have to go fast.”
“Yes, as long as we can go slowly.”
We got up. I was amazed the cat still made no move to try to get out of Lucas’s coat. We crept forward through the dunes, the booms and flashing lights in the distance disorienting me. Men were still trying to get onto the seawall, but dozens and dozens fell into the sea, their arms waving like they were doing some weird acrobatic air dance. Small boats darted around trying to rescue the men in the sea, but there weren’t enough of them. Shells shrieked all around.
“There! I see it,” I said, pointing to a spire black against the sky.
Lucas found a spot shielded from the battle and we sat down. “Now we just wait,” he said. “You’re still shivering.” This time he didn’t ask before putting an arm around me. I leaned back against him, ignoring the squawking of the cat, who was forced to move over a little.
“Are you getting a little warmer?”
“Yes,” I murmured, though I was actually still very cold.
We watched the force of the battle slow and I could see some of the British ships moving away. As they disappeared into the darkness, I realized we were actually on our own. It hadn’t sunk in before.
“What do we do if no one comes?” I asked, sitting up straight, panicked at the thought of being here without knowing whom to trust. “Can we go on by ourselves?”
“I don’t know. Andrew knew some of the plan, but he said it was better if I didn’t, in case we were captured. If we were, I was supposed to claim ignorance and play on the fact that I was American and say I�
�d been duped into the scheme by the British. And I suppose the lieutenant was told that too. We’ll have to assume people will show up when they are supposed to.”
“Don’t you think it’s about time you told me what you do know, where we are supposed to end up, and what we’re supposed to do once we get there?”
He looked at me. “It’s complicated,” he said.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer, a small figure popped up from behind one of the hillocks and I nearly screamed until I realized it was a girl. She was about eleven or twelve years old, wearing an oversized coat and a cap far too big for her that nearly covered her eyes.
“Hello. No one said anything about a lady on this job,” the girl said in French to Lucas. She leaned in closer to examine the cat, who was still peering out from the top of Lucas’s jacket. “Or a cat,” the girl added. “But what can you expect from the English?” she said, as if she was talking to herself.
I translated for Lucas and then took a closer look at the girl. Even in the dark I could see that her ragged clothes hung on an almost skeletal frame. Her face was smudged with dirt and her eyes were enormous in her pinched face.
“Are we supposed to have some code word or something?” I asked Lucas. “I can’t believe they’d send a little girl for us.”
“There aren’t any code words for this place, at least none Andrew told me about.”
“You shouldn’t be speaking in English,” the girl said in French. “Anyone overhears you and you’ll be arrested right away.”
I switched to French. “He doesn’t know French,” I said, nodding toward Lucas, “so you’ll have to talk to me. What’s your name?”
“People don’t use their real names,” she said, disgust dripping from every word. “You can call me Danielle. That’s a good name.”
“All right, Danielle, if you are here to take us somewhere, let’s go.”
She motioned to my coat. “First you need to do something to your coat. You can’t wear a British soldier’s jacket in Belgium.” She muttered “English” again and rolled her eyes.
I’d forgotten the coat was the one the aviator had given me at Cranwell.
“We have to get rid of the braids and the patches,” I said to Lucas. “I hope there is a knife in your bag.”
“There is.” Lucas got a knife out of his rucksack and worked on the coat, cutting off the braids, which resulted in holes through the fabric in some places. When he was done, the coat looked just as shabby as his.
The girl inspected us and then nodded. “Follow me and don’t say a word. I know every inch of this beach,” she boasted. “Once we get off the beach, if we get stopped, just show them your papers and tell them you’re on your way to visit your sick grandmother.”
I translated again for Lucas and then said to the girl, “I don’t have any papers.”
The girl stopped in her tracks. “They sent you here without any identification? The Germans ask to see it all the time, even if you just look at them sideways. If you don’t have papers, you’ll be arrested.”
I explained to Lucas what Danielle had said. “I’ve got papers for me, and Andrew’s are in my rucksack too,” he told me. “I was going to use them if mine got damaged. But if you are asked and you show them Andrew’s, they’ll certainly notice you aren’t a man.” He took the cat out of his coat and set it down, causing the animal to meow in protest. “Sorry, fellow, I need two hands.” Lucas pulled a folded piece of oilskin out of his rucksack, unfolded it, and took out two pieces of paper.
The girl took one of the papers from Lucas and held it up close, rubbing her fingers over it. “This will work for him,” she said to me. “It looks and feels real. If a soldier stops us, pretend you don’t understand German. No Belgian will willingly speak that language now, and the Germans will be suspicious if you do.” She looked over the other paper. “If they don’t look closely, this one will work for you. If they notice it has a man’s name on it, that will be a problem. Maybe you’d better use a pretty smile and speak German and just hope the soldiers like you. They’ll look the other way if a girl is friendly enough.”
I didn’t translate that part for Lucas, and I didn’t want to ask the girl exactly what she meant by “friendly.”
She handed the papers back. “Keep them on you instead of in the bag. It’s safer that way. Let’s go.” We set off and I noticed that the cat followed us, sticking close to Lucas’s heels.
As soon as we reached the edge of town, Danielle stopped us. “There’s a curfew, so the idea is not to be seen. From here on, don’t talk unless it’s life or death.”
“We’re not supposed to talk,” I told Lucas.
Danielle led us on a winding path around buildings and through narrow alleyways until I was unable to tell which way we were going. The town seemed deserted, lit by only a few streetlights, and those were so dim that they gave off just enough light to avoid running into buildings, almost all of which were completely dark. I wondered if there were people huddled inside them or if the town was empty of all but soldiers.
At one point, Danielle took us through a bombed-out warehouse, directing us around and over piles of rubble, showing us where to put our feet. Both she and the cat hopped nimbly about, acting as if it was no more trouble than walking through a field, and Lucas didn’t have much trouble either, but I found it hard to keep my balance.
The cat dashed ahead, as if he knew how to get out. As we drew close to the other side of the building, I saw his gray shape stop and then, as my eyes focused on him, he raised his hackles and arched his back. Danielle held up her hand to halt us. I froze in place.
At first I didn’t hear anything, but then came a soft sound of footsteps outside, slow, as if someone was creeping along, trying not to be heard. A door creaked open, letting in a faint sliver of light. Someone slipped inside—a man, judging by the height. By his furtive motions, I could tell he didn’t want anyone to see him. Whoever it was had a bundle. He walked in a few feet and knelt down.
I tottered a little and Lucas put up a hand to steady me. I hoped the cat wouldn’t move and attract the man’s attention. If he looked our way, he wouldn’t miss seeing our silhouettes. But the man was too intent upon his job to even glance around. He shifted aside a section of roof that had fallen to the floor. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I heard a sound like something metal being stacked up. A few minutes later, the man stood up, replaced the piece of roof and then went back outside. We waited until his footsteps moved away and then I took a deep breath, glad to get enough air again.
Danielle darted over to where the man had been, hurrying to uncover whatever it was that the man had hidden. When we got to her, she already had a tin in her hand. “My lucky day!” she said, pulling back the lid and sniffing the contents. “It’s tinned beef!” She stuck her fingers in it, scooping up some of it and jamming it in her mouth. The cat ran over and wound around her legs, meowing. “You want one too?” the girl asked the animal between bites. “There’s plenty!” She opened another one and set it on the floor. “Go ahead and help yourself,” the girl said, stooping down to get another. I saw stacks of food tins, dozens of them.
“What is this?” Lucas asked.
Danielle didn’t answer until she had finished the second tin and had started filling her pockets with the rest. “Someone is using this place to store what they are selling illegally. Perfect timing for us. Take some, if you want. I’m coming back to get all the rest. Look at all this! I haven’t seen this much food ever.”
“She says it’s food someone has taken to sell illegally,” I told Lucas. “What if you get caught?” I asked the girl.
“I won’t. I don’t think he’ll be back tonight, so if I clear it out before morning, it will be safe enough. Whoever it is would move what’s left as soon as he realized some of it is missing.” The cat finished his tin and then sat down to wash his face, purring with contentment. “Do you want some?” the girl asked. I could tell she
wanted us to say no.
“You take them,” I said. “Shouldn’t we get going?”
“Don’t worry, we are almost there.”
“Um, do you mind telling us where ‘there’ is?” I asked. “We weren’t given much information.”
“And you came anyway?” She smirked, but before she could comment on the English again, I stopped her.
“I know, I know,” I said. “The English are incredibly incompetent. Just tell me.”
“You are better than most.” She gestured at Lucas. “Though I’m sorry you didn’t get a better traveling companion. If that one speaks no French, he must not be very intelligent.” She shook her head sadly.
“What is she saying?” Lucas asked. “She looks like she’s just declared me a lost cause.”
“Don’t ask,” I said. “It will take too long to explain.” I turned to the girl. “Tell me where we are going.”
“You are going on the canal to Brussels, on a coal barge. The barge leaves at six in the morning and the crew reports a half hour before then, so you must be on board and in place before that. The captain will be there a few minutes early to show you where to hide.”
A barge doesn’t sound so bad, I thought, as I explained it all to Lucas.
“Whatever it is, I just want to get there before daylight,” he said.
We followed the girl to the canal, the cat trailing after us. When we reached the docks, they were far more deserted than I had expected.
“I don’t like the look of this. Ask her why there aren’t any guards,” Lucas said. “There should be some.”
All Is Fair Page 15