The Gypsy Moon

by Gilbert, Morris

  When the others started to stir, Gabby asked Liza to help her, and the two went to the spare room Gabby had always used when she would visit her grandmother. She threw open the door of the closet and pulled out an assortment of German uniforms. When Erik had learned that she collected costumes of all types, he had asked her if she wanted some worn-out military uniforms, and she had jumped at the opportunity.

  She and Liza sorted the uniforms into sizes on the bed. Dalton would fit the largest one they had, but they would have to turn the hem of the pants under so they weren’t ridiculously long.

  “Here, Liza, why don’t you try this one on,” Gabby said as she held up one of the smaller uniforms. Liza tried on the slacks, which were actually a pretty good fit, and then put on the tunic. It hung a little loose around her midsection, but other than that it was close to her size.

  “I think I’ve got just the thing,” Gabby said as she pulled out a dresser drawer. “Grandmother always kept extra winter clothes in here. . . .” She rummaged in the drawer until she found what she was looking for. “If we tie this around your waist”—she tied a woolen scarf around her aunt—“it’ll help disguise the fact that you’re a woman.”

  Liza checked her reflection in the mirror. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

  “And with your hair cut short the way you’ve been wearing it recently, we won’t have to do a thing with it.”

  “But what about yours?” Liza asked. “Are you just going to tuck it into a hat?”

  “That was going to be my plan until I remembered this wig I got years ago.” Gabby reached high into the closet and pulled out a box. “Do you remember the time I played the role of a man in that community theater production not long after I came to live with you? This is the wig I wore.” She put her hair in a high ponytail and pulled the wig on.

  “Of course I remember!” Liza helped Gabby stuff a few stray hairs into the wig. “That’ll work.”

  “If you’ll go get Uncle Dalton,” Gabby said, “I’ll get started on his makeup. The Germans probably have a good description of him, so we’re going to have to change his appearance enough that they don’t recognize him.”

  While Liza went to get her husband, Gabby got out her theatrical makeup, as well as her putty and fake hair. When Liza returned with Dalton, Gabby sat Dalton down and pulled another chair close for herself.

  “I’d like to give you a slightly bigger nose and bushier eyebrows,” Gabby explained. “How does that sound?”

  “It doesn’t sound very attractive,” he said with a grin, “but I’ll do what I need to do to get past the Germans.”

  “Excellent. Aunt Liza, while we’re doing this, do you want to take that other uniform down to Dai and see if it’ll work for him?”

  “Sure. And then I’m going to look through your collection of boots and make sure we’ve got the right sizes for everyone.”

  “Good,” Gabby said. “I had almost forgotten about shoes. And then when I’m done with Dalton’s makeup, I’ll give you and me some more masculine eyebrows and maybe a little stubble of a beard.”

  Gabby turned her attention to her uncle. She molded a small piece of putty and gave it a trial fitting on his nose, and when she was satisfied that it wasn’t too big or unusual looking, she dabbed a little spirit gum on his nose and applied the putty, working it until it was smooth and nearly seamless. Next she got to work on his eyebrows, working in some white hair along with some slightly longer brown hair. Next she took out some foundation from a small bag and carefully applied it all over Dalton’s face and neck, giving special attention to his new nose.

  “Done! What do you think?” she asked as she stood him in front of the mirror.

  “I hardly recognize myself! I had forgotten how good you were with your stage makeup.”

  “Thank you. Once we get you in a German uniform, I don’t think anyone will have a chance of recognizing you.”

  ****

  As Gabby finally got into her own uniform, she fingered the necklace she had worn for so many years, thinking about the old woman who had given it to her. It gave her a warm feeling to remember the woman’s prayers. She would never forget what Madame Jana had said, “Jesus will make a way for you through the danger. ”

  She checked her uniform in the mirror and pulled on her hat. With her freshly stubbled jaw and slightly bushier eyebrows, she was pleased with her masculine appearance. She dug deep into the closet and found two old military knapsacks and a couple of canteens Erik had given her to use in one of the skits at the orphanage. She took them into her grandmother’s bedroom and stuffed one of the knapsacks with light blankets.

  She took a deep breath and then joined the others, who were making their last-minute preparations. “How do I look?” she asked.

  “You look like a German soldier,” Dai said as he looked her over in amazement.

  “And so do all of you,” Gabby stated with satisfaction.

  Gabby handed the empty knapsack to Oskar. “We can put food and water for the journey in here.” They went to the kitchen, where he filled the knapsack while Gabby put water in the canteens.

  “I hope this is enough food for the four of you,” he said.

  “I’m sure it will be,” Gabby said as she put the lid on a canteen. “I forgot to ask you if you’ve heard from Matilda.”

  “Yes, she is staying with her sister. She is very sad, as we all are, that Madam died.”

  “We all miss her,” Gabby said gently. She put her arms around the man and hugged him. “Thank you so much for helping us. You’ve been a faithful friend all these years. I’ll come back and see you when this is all over.”

  “I guess we’re ready,” she said as the rest of the group joined them in the kitchen.

  “Let’s pray, and then we’ll be on our way,” Dalton said.

  After they finished praying that God would protect and guide them, Dalton came forward and shook hands with Oskar. “I hope you don’t mind staying here at Mother’s house. I want to come back to it after the war is over. I don’t know what I was thinking when I sold my house.”

  “Ja, I will stay here. And God go with you all.”

  They all murmured their good-byes, and then they slipped out the back door into the night. They stayed against the house until they were sure no soldiers were nearby, and then they moved down the street.

  “It’s such a beautiful night, Dai,” Gabby said. “I wish we were on a less dangerous mission.”

  “We’ll make it,” he said. “You’ll have to help me with directions. We’ll want to stay on the least-traveled roads.”

  “I know. Go on up to where the road forks and turn right.”

  “I wish it were raining and miserable,” he said after they had walked several blocks.

  “Why? I think the light of the moon makes it much easier to see.”

  “It does, but if it were raining, the Germans would be less watchful.”

  The two were relieved when they had made it out of the city and into the countryside. “We don’t have to worry much about these country roads, I suppose. We’re more likely to have trouble at the checkpoints.”

  “Our first checkpoint should be fairly easy,” Gabby said. “They’ve been working on one of the main roads, and I’ve had to pass it several times going to the hospital. There are usually only two privates there—no officers. I don’t think they’re expecting anything. They just waved me by after the first time I went through.”

  “I hope that’s the case tonight.”

  ****

  “The checkpoint is just ahead there,” Gabby said. It was just before sunrise, and they had paused once to rest and eat a bite of breakfast.

  “There are just two guards, you say?” Dai asked.

  “Yes, usually only two.”

  “I may have to kill them.”

  Gabby was caught by surprise. She stared at him and saw that he was deadly serious. “I hope not.”

  “So do I, but we’ve got to get through.”

 
As they got closer, they stood up straight and walked with authority. The checkpoint was simple enough. There was no gate, but two German privates had built themselves a shelter, and now they were cooking up some breakfast over a fire. As they approached, they heard one of them say, “Look, Heinrich, someone’s coming.”

  As they came closer, the taller of the two, the one named Heinrich, said, “You fellows wanna play some cards?”

  Dai was the one to answer, as they had planned. “Sorry, guys, we haven’t got time today.”

  “Aw, surely you can spare twenty minutes. There’s not much going on around here.”

  “Maybe on our way back this afternoon,” Dai said as they all passed the shelter.

  “Okay, then. See you later.”

  Gabby didn’t exhale until they were well past the checkpoint. “Whew,” she said, “that was easy, but my heart was pounding so hard I thought they might hear it!”

  “Mine too,” Liza agreed. “I feel like a man in this getup, but I was worried anyway.”

  “Gabby did a good job of turning you into a German soldier,” Dalton teased as he put his arm around her shoulder.

  “I don’t see anyone nearby,” Gabby said, “but we should probably play it safe and assume that we’re being watched.”

  “You’re right, Gabby. I was so relieved at getting through the first checkpoint that I lost my head for a moment.”

  ****

  That evening, they ate dinner by a small stream sheltered by some bushes. They were exhausted, and their feet ached from walking all day, but they were relieved and felt they could let their guard down a little when darkness closed in.

  After they cleaned up after dinner, Liza and Dalton got comfortable on a blanket. They had another one gathered at their feet, but for the moment they were comfortable without one over them.

  Gabby and Dai pulled out the map he had brought, and they studied it by the light of a candle.

  “Where are we going, Dai?”

  “If I were going alone, I would cut across country, but with the four of us together, I think we should stick to the roads.” He put his finger on the map. “We’re going right here.”

  She leaned forward and squinted. “It’s right on the coast.”

  “Yes, it’s a little place called Katwijk aan Zee. I guess that means Katwijk on the sea.”

  “Why’d you choose that place?”

  “Well, it’s isolated, and the water’s deep enough for a sub to come in to within a kilometer of the shore.”

  Gabby traced a logical route with her finger. “We’ll have to stay on the road all the way.”

  “Right, and when General Rahn figures out that we’re not in the area around Amsterdam, he’ll have all the roads watched—probably already has.”

  The two talked about possible alternate routes for a time, but they concluded the most direct route was probably as good as any. Dai folded the map and put it in his pocket. They leaned back on their hands and looked up at the clear sky. She pointed out some of the constellations that she recognized, and they watched as a small cloud slowly passed overhead.

  “Are you cold?” he asked.

  “No, I’m fine.”

  For a time the two were quiet, and then the ghostly sound of an owl cut through the silence. Gabby shivered and said, “I don’t understand how we’re going to find that submarine. And you never did tell me how you managed to arrange for a submarine to pick us up, of all things!”

  “I don’t think you’ve ever understood how important your uncle is. There isn’t a country in Europe that wouldn’t like to get him working for their cause in the war. Some very high people in the British navy were more than willing to divert a submarine to pick us up.”

  “That’s incredible,” she said. “I never dreamed England would put such an effort into getting him out of the Netherlands.”

  “Anyway, the plan is to meet the submarine a kilometer straight off shore from the lighthouse at Katwijk. I’ve made contact with a fisherman who’ll take us out to the rendezvous area, and then the sub is supposed to pick us up at midnight on September second.”

  “Can you send them a radio message if we’re not there right on time?”

  “It would be better if we didn’t. The Germans could pick it up, but we may have to if we get delayed any.”

  Dai moved closer to her. He reached over and picked up her hand, and then to her surprise he kissed it.

  “How sweet,” she whispered. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “When this is over, I want you to court me.”

  “Court you?”

  “Yes, you know, send me flowers and candy, and I want you to write me a love poem.”

  He laughed softly and put his arm around her. “I’ll buy a guitar and learn to play it. Then I can sing you love songs.”

  The two sat there beneath the gypsy moon, as they now referred to a full moon, holding each other, not certain of what the day would bring, but knowing that they were together, and that was enough for the time being.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  On the Road

  Dalton Burke woke up with a stiff back. He shifted himself slightly, trying to keep from awakening Liza, who lay beside him. Accustomed to comfortable beds, Dalton had not easily found a comfortable position the night before, and it had taken some time to drop off into a fitful sleep.

  The gentle warbling of a bird came floating through the air, and Dalton decided it was a mourning dove. He had always liked doves, and he had missed them when he lived in the big city of Berlin. In Holland, he had made a practice of tossing grain to the flock that gathered every morning in their garden. He always loved to awaken to their soft chirping voices.

  Opening his eyes slowly, Dalton saw that the pale light of the morning sun was filtering through the branches. He watched the tiny particles of dust as they danced in the beams and, as always, wondered at the miracle of God, who he was sure knew the exact location of each tiny mote. He was a deeply religious man—not one who showed his religion a great deal outwardly, but one who loved God and saw Him in the far-flung cosmos stretched out on the evening sky and in the tiniest world of atomic particles, swirling about in a mysterious divine dance.

  Liza stirred beside him, and he lay still, hoping she would go back to sleep, but she put out her arm and laid it across his chest.

  “You didn’t sleep well, did you, dear?” she asked.

  “Oh, it wasn’t too bad. I had a good dream.”

  Liza moved closer to him. “What was it?”

  “I dreamed about the time we went to Switzerland and rented that little chalet. Do you remember?”

  “Yes, that was one of our best vacations. I wish we could go back and do that again, but I don’t suppose we can.”

  “Why not? When the war is over, we’ll do it. Maybe we can get the same chalet.” He rolled over to face her and touched her face gently. “You’re still the same sweetheart I loved back in those days.”

  They lay quietly holding each other, listening to the birds and the light wind stirring the branches.

  The two dozed off for a few minutes, and then Dalton heard Gabby and Dai talking quietly as they scurried around. Dalton checked to see if Liza’s eyes were open. “I’ve thought about those two a lot—Gabby and Dai, I mean. I remember what you said about them falling in love, and I think you’re right.”

  Liza smiled in the growing light of the morning sun. “It would be a wonderful thing for Gabby. She was born to be a wife and a mother.”

  Dalton lay quietly savoring the moment. He did not like adventures, and the thought of the danger that lay before them was heavy on his mind. “I’ve made such a mess of things,” he told his wife. “I wish I could do it over again. I’ve ruined our lives.”

  “You’ve done no such thing. We’re going to get out of this, and you’re going to do great things for England. You’re going to help win the war.”

  “I wish I could think that.”

  “ ‘The steps of a good man are ordered by
the Lord,’ ” she quoted, “ ‘and He delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand.’ ”

  “That’s a wonderful passage, but sometimes people make such a mess out of their lives that I wonder if even God can straighten it up.”

  “In Proverbs twenty-four it says, ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.’ We’ve got to believe God that we’re going to get out of this, and that Dai and Gabby will find a wonderful life together.”

  “You’re a comfort to me, Liza. Indeed you are.”

  They were interrupted by Gabby’s gentle wake-up call. “Time to get up. Breakfast is almost ready.”

  Liza and Dalton had slept with their clothes on. Now they pulled on their boots and got up, moving rather stiffly.

  “We’ve got dried beef and raisins and plenty of bread to fill you up,” Gabby said with a smile as they settled into a small circle on the ground. The breakfast cheered them all up, and they enjoyed the warm sun and good company.

  “We’ve got to get moving,” Dai said when they had finished. “I think walking will help us all get the stiffness out of our bones.”

  “Yes,” Liza agreed. “It’ll be good for us.”

  “All right. If we run into any Germans, remember to let me do all the talking,” Dai instructed. “I think my German accent is almost as good as Dalton’s, and they probably haven’t figured out yet that I’m helping him escape.”

  They all nodded their agreement.

  “And, women, try as best as you can to keep your distance from any guards. You look like men from a distance, but up close you still look pretty feminine.” He grinned at Gabby and squeezed her hand briefly.

  Both Gabby and Dai hoisted a knapsack onto their backs, and they headed south.

  ****

  “This road isn’t used much,” Gabby said to Dai as they walked along the rutted road. He was holding her hand, but she noticed that his eyes moved constantly, never ceasing, and was glad for his constant vigilance.