Betje rested for a moment in Gabby’s arms, and then she drew back. Her face was marked, but there was peace in her smile. “It’s all right now. If they had caught me before the funeral, it would have been awful.”
“What happened at the funeral, my sister?” Citroen said. He put his hand gently on her shoulder.
“When you gave the invitation according to Grandmother’s desire, a light shined in my heart,” Betje said simply. “I knew that I had been all wrong. It was like I had a vision of Jesus on the cross, and He seemed to be speaking to me. When you said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour,’ it was as if I had heard the voice of Christ, and I simply cried out to Him to forgive me.” She smiled at Gabby. “It was so easy. I could have done it at any time, just like you had told me so many times before. He was waiting all the time, the Savior was.”
“I’m so happy to hear that,” the pastor said. “You’re now a child of God.”
Betje nodded vigorously, and Gabby gave her another quick hug.
“What about the Burkes?” Betje asked.
“We have them hidden in a safe place.”
“Will you be able to get them out of the country?”
“Yes,” Gabby said. “God will help us.”
“Is there anything we can do for you, my sister?” Citroen asked gently.
“Tell them that I went out of this life into a far better one with my Savior.”
This was so unlike Betje that Gabby could only marvel at the miracle that had taken place. The three stood talking for a time, and when the door rattled, they bowed their heads and prayed briefly.
“Good-bye,” Citroen said, his hand on the door.
“I once heard that Christians never say good-bye,” Betje said with a smile. “Think of me in the presence of the Savior.”
The two left the jail and went directly to the hospital and found Dai. Karel left, and Gabby spoke of her meeting with Betje.
“They’re going to execute her first thing tomorrow morning unless she gives them the names of the cell members,” Gabby reported sadly. “She’s ready to die for the cause.”
“I’m sorry, Gabby.”
“Did you love her, Dai? At times I thought you did.”
“She intrigued me, but I didn’t love her.”
“She loved you.”
“In her way she did, but we could never have been together. Betje was not the woman who was meant for me, nor I for her.” He put his arms around Gabby and held her close. “You’re the woman for me, Gabby, and I’m the man for you. But first,” he said firmly, “we must get the Burkes to England—and that’s going to be a tough one!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Fugitives
General Rahn’s face was livid. His eyes flashed, and he stopped stomping around the office to point a finger at Erik as if it were a loaded gun. His voice filled the room and overflowed outside, where two guards grinned at each other, happy that someone besides them was getting severely reprimanded.
“This is all your fault, Raeder!” he shouted. “You have failed completely in your duty, and I have half a mind to strip you of your rank.”
Erik Raeder stood stiffly at attention. His face was as pale as the general’s was flushed, and he said with lips that barely moved, “You must do as you see fit, General.”
Rahn came closer and glared up into Erik’s eyes. “I don’t like to do this, Erik,” he said in a more reasonable voice. “Your father and I go back a long way. He would be terribly disappointed with you.”
“I’m sure he would, sir. But may I remind you, I have repeatedly told you that this is not my kind of duty. I want to be sent to the front.”
“As soon as this mess is cleared up, I assure you that’s exactly where I intend to send you!” he snapped. He stared out the window at some small, brightly colored birds perched on the telephone wires. He watched them for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts; then he crossed to his chair and slumped down. “I’ve been talking with Herr Goebbels on the phone. He says the führer himself is aware of the situation here.”
“I’d think he’d have more important things to occupy his mind, General.”
“This is important! We must not let this man escape! What he has in his head could be worth more than a thousand tanks—so I expect better things from you.”
“Yes, sir!”
Raeder left the room, marching stiffly, reeling from the fiery reprimand. Erik knew that part of his anger was directed at himself. He went over in his mind again and again how Gabrielle had led him on and used him. That was the thing that troubled him most. She had used him! “They won’t get away,” he fumed. “I’ll find them if it takes every man we have in Holland!”
****
A knock at the door brought Dai instantly to his feet. He had been dozing in a chair, and now the revolver that had been resting in his lap seemed to leap into his hand. Stepping to one side of the door, he said, “Who is it?”
“It’s me . . . Jan.”
Slipping the bolt from the door, Dai put the revolver back into his belt and opened the door. Jan came in bearing a large box. “What have you got there, Jan?”
“Food.” He put the box down on the table and looked around. He smiled at Gabby. “I’ll bet you’re hungry, aren’t you, Doctor?”
“Yes, I am,” she said. Actually, she was too frightened to think about food, but she wanted to put on a good face. “Come, Liza, let’s see what we have here.”
As the two women removed the food and two Thermos jugs from the box, Jan spoke nervously. He had always been a little high-strung, but now he seemed to have an especially hard time keeping still. He waved his hands constantly as he filled them in on the news. “The Germans are tearing the town apart. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“What do you mean by that, Jan?” Dai asked.
“They’re searching the town house by house, tearing things apart. They came into our house this morning. They looked in every room, and they made a mess of it. They went up in the attic too. I think they’ve got every German soldier in the Netherlands looking for you.”
“How long do you think it’ll be before they get here?” Dai questioned.
“They’re moving pretty fast. You’d better be out of here before tomorrow, I’d think.”
“That means we’ll have to leave tonight. I think that would be best.”
“But even after dark they’ve got patrols out. I don’t know how you’re going to get away.”
With the soldiers scouring the town, Dai Bando had no idea of what could be done. They were in a steel-tight trap and made an obvious target. The instant they stepped outside the hospital and tried to make a break for it, it would be nearly impossible to escape detection. If the Germans were as thorough as they usually were, there was a good chance they’d all be caught. Dai let none of his concern show, however. “Come back just before dark, Jan, and let us know if anything has changed.” He made himself smile. “It’ll be all right. We’ll make it.”
****
The four fugitives knew they were facing a long and difficult night, so they all tried to get some sleep. On a previous trip, Jan had provided them with some blankets and pillows, and they made themselves as comfortable as possible. The food and hot coffee had helped a little, but as Gabby lay still, she heard Dalton whisper, “It’s all my fault. I should never have gotten you into this.”
“You didn’t create the horrors of the Nazis,” Liza whispered back.
“If we can just get out of here, I’ll do all I can to stop them.”
Liza was quiet for a moment and then said, “We must pray, Dalton. That’s all we can do at this time. But God will help us.”
Finally, Dalton and Liza stopped talking and dropped off to sleep. Gabby heard their breathing grow slow and regular. She herself was too strung out to sleep, so she sat up and saw that Dai was also sitting up, his back to the wall. She got up stiffly and stretched and then walked over to him.
“Here, sit down bes
ide me,” he said. “We can rest together.” She sat down, and Dai put his arm around her. It felt good and comforting, and she leaned over, enjoying the warmth of his strong body. “It’s good to have someone to lean on,” she murmured.
“Lean on me,” he said. “It sounds like one of those country western songs the Americans like so much.”
The two sat there quietly, listening to the steady breathing of Gabby’s aunt and uncle. After a time, a dog began barking shrilly outside.
Dai stiffened. “That could be one of the German guard dogs.” Gabby squeezed his arm as they waited, their bodies tense. It sounded like the dog was coming closer, and then suddenly it fell silent. Gabby could feel her heart beating and wanted to shut her eyes, as if to block out the trouble that could come, but she did not.
“I guess it was just a dog barking at the moon,” Dai murmured. He looked down at her and smiled. “We’ll be telling about this night for a long time. It’s one of those things you don’t forget.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Sure. It’ll be exciting to tell our grandchildren how we outwitted the German army.”
“I can’t think about grandchildren at a time like this. I can’t even think about having children.”
“You want children, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course.” She released her grip on his arm, embarrassed that she had squeezed it so hard. “Don’t you?” Dai made a strange nose, and she realized he was stifling a laugh. “What’s so funny?” she demanded.
“I’d probably make the world’s dumbest father—and the world’s dumbest husband too.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Well, I suppose there are some things I’ll have to learn by trial and error.”
The two fell back into silence, and Gabby was pleasantly aware of the warmth of his body and the feeling of safety that he gave her. Although she sat still, her mind was racing with thoughts of all that had happened. “I can’t stop thinking about Betje,” she told him.
“Neither can I.”
“She had so much to live for, and now she’s gone.”
“Not really. She’s with the Lord now.”
“That’s right, isn’t it?”
Dai detected a change in her mood. “What is it?”
A smile turned the corners of her lips upward. “I was just thinking that Betje right now is probably saying to Grandmother, ‘There, you see, I made it in spite of everything!’ ”
“You really think heaven’s like that? Where people make jokes and talk about things just like we do on earth?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Dai.”
“Sometimes I get confused about heaven.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, the book of Revelation probably has the clearest pictures of it. Or at least the most vivid. But it sounds like the richest city on earth—walls of pearl and streets of gold and everything so ornate. Actually, I’ve never seen a city I thought was as pretty as a field of tulips.”
“Why, I’ve had that same thought myself!” She laughed softly. “I think we’re trapped in words. That’s all we can use, so God gave us some beautiful imagery, but I’m sure heaven is better than anything we can even conceive of.”
“That’s a comforting thought.”
The two talked some more about the dear woman Betje and Gabby had always called Grandmother, but soon the conversation turned serious again. “Let’s pray about getting out of here alive, Dai.”
“I’m already doing that.”
“I mean together. You know the Scripture says if any two of you will agree on anything, it’ll be done.”
“All right, but I’m not very eloquent with prayer.”
“I think that’s probably a good thing. Let’s just let God know what we want.”
He took both of Gabby’s hands in his own. They prayed silently for a while, and then she began to pray out loud. Her prayer was as simple and straightforward as she was herself. “God, you know who we are and where we are, and you know the danger we’re facing. I ask that you get us all out of this trouble safely. In Jesus’ name.”
“Lord, I agree with Gabby on this,” Dai said. “We can’t do this by ourselves, but nothing is too difficult for you. So we come together and agree that this is the desire of our hearts. Let us make this escape with no loss of life, and we ask it in the name of Jesus.”
“Amen,” they said together.
“I think I’m going to sleep awhile,” Gabby said. “Good night.”
She went over to her blanket and lay down, and she fell asleep almost at once. But before long she woke up with a fresh idea in her mind. At first she rejected it and pushed it aside, but it came back even stronger. As she mulled it over, she realized that this was an answer to the prayer she and Dai had prayed. She let the thought take root, and soon it grew to a full-fledged plan.
Getting to her feet, Gabby said, “Wake up, everyone!”
“What is it?” Liza said, coming to her feet with a startled expression.
Dai and Dalton were also staring at her.
“It’s time to go. We have to leave this place.”
“Go where?” Dai asked quickly.
“I have never been quite certain of people who said, ‘God told me to do this or that,’ but I believe that after we prayed, Dai, God gave me an answer for our situation—and something to do.”
“Who are we to dispute what God is telling you!” he exclaimed. “What is this plan of yours, Gabby?”
She began to explain, and they listened in silence. “Dai, the first part is up to you. You need to go to the other end of the hospital and get the ambulance. If you see the night-shift driver, tell him that Dr. Winslow asked you to make a special run to pick up a patient. Drive the ambulance around to this entrance, and we’ll be waiting for you here. We’ll all climb in the back, and you’ll drive us to my grandmother’s house.” She went on, telling them what they’d do once they got to the house.
“Come on, then,” Liza said firmly. “Let’s do it.”
While Dai left to get the ambulance, the others gathered the food they had left into a single sack and piled the blankets neatly in a corner. When they heard the knock they had agreed upon, they all slipped out the door and into the ambulance.
As Dai drove swiftly through the city, Gabby suddenly felt the pressure of her decision. She wanted to be reassured, and it was her uncle who provided the support she needed. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly as he put his arm around her, warmth in his tone. “It’s good to be in a crisis with someone that God speaks to.” He squeezed her closer. “God always spoke with great clarity to my mother, and now it seems He’s speaking to you in the same way.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“I Was Born for This!”
The moon was full as the party disembarked from the ambulance in front of Dorcas Burke’s house. As Gabby glanced up and saw the rich fullness of the silver circle, she murmured, “It’s a gypsy moon.”
“What did you say?” Liza asked.
“Oh, nothing. Quick, we need to get inside.”
Dai drove the ambulance several blocks down the street and around the corner before parking it and then sprinted back to the house. “We were lucky to get here without being seen,” he said quietly, “but we need to get out of sight.”
Gabby led them all to the back of the house. As she did, a dark figure suddenly appeared, startling her.
“Who is it?” a gruff voice said.
“It’s me, Oskar—Gabby Winslow.”
Oskar came forward, and Gabby saw that he was carrying a shotgun in his hands. He lowered it, and as the moonlight fell on his face, she saw him smile. “Ah, it is you!” he said. “I have been worried about you.”
“We’re all right, Oskar. What are you doing here?”
“I am taking care of the place until we know what to do.” He leaned forward suddenly and gasped. “Professor Burke, it is you!”
“Hello, Oskar.” Burke shook the
man’s hand. “I’m glad to see you again.”
“So, it is you they are looking for.”
“The Germans? They’ve been here?” Dai asked.
“Down the street they are looking. They could come here soon, I think. You cannot stay here.”
“We know that, Oskar,” Gabby said. “I have a plan to disguise ourselves before we make our escape. I think I’ve come up with a workable way to escape right under the noses of the Germans.”
“A disguise?” Oskar’s tone was unbelieving, and he shook his head. “That will never work.”
“I believe God’s told me to do this, Oskar. All we need you to do is to play ignorant if the Germans question you.”
He shrugged his bulky shoulders. “Of course. I will help in any way I can.”
“If there’s any food in the house that we could take with us, would you gather it together? If there’s any dried fruit or beef jerky, that would be easy to carry. We won’t be able to buy anything on the way.”
Oskar screwed up his face and then asked with a voice tinged with worry, “Do you really think you can do this?”
“I was born for this,” Gabby told the whole group with a face that was glowing with faith. “After all, I’ve always enjoyed acting, and . . . well, this will be the role of a lifetime!”
****
The group had planned to leave that night, but the morning was almost upon them. After a quick consultation, Gabby and Dai decided they would spend the day resting up and getting prepared and would leave the following night.
“That’ll work as long as the Germans don’t search the house,” Dai said.
“We’ll just have to hope they don’t. Dai, why don’t you and Dalton and Oskar put your heads together and see if you can work out an alternate plan.”
“Well, the only thing I can think of right now is to go out the back door and run for it,” he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “But we’ll see what we can come up with.”
“There’s a loft in the barn. Maybe we could hide up there if they come here.”
“I’m afraid that would be the first place they’d look.”
****
With Oskar keeping a watch for any German search party in the neighborhood, the others tried to get some much-needed rest. Gabby didn’t think she’d be able to relax with all that was going through her head, but eventually the exhaustion of the last few days caught up with her, and she slept solidly for a few hours.
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