Abruptly a retinal image popped into his consciousness, of a man in uniform, wearing a pack and with a child on his shoulders) It was as if the man had suddenly materialized a few meters ahead of the couple. A chill surged over Krieger, accompanied by exultation, then the plane was past, and not wanting to alarm them, he let the pilot continue west.
“Did you see the couple we passed on the road?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“How many were with them?”
“With them?” It seemed a strange question. “None.”
If verification were needed, Krieger thought, that was it. I saw the third and fourth, he did not. Therefore, the man the child is Montag, hidden in some sort of concealment spell. . He’d heard of concealment spells: Because of his own talents, he’d read rather widely on the occult-the traditional as well as popular and quasi-technical literature-but had never seen evidence that concealment spells were real. “Continue down the valley,” he said, “then circle back, wide, so they do not see you. They must not suspect our interest. ”
He took the microphone from its mount and called a young Officer waiting at the airfield outside Kempten, giving him instructions. The officer listened intently, jotting notes on a map, then got his squads quickly aboard their plane. While the twin engines warmed, he briefed the pilot. Ten minutes after the call, the planeload of SS Fallschirmjager rolled down the runway, lifting sluggishly with little tarmac to spare, then climbed and turned south. It would, the pilot told himself, fly better after his human cargo had jumped.
Macurdy had been only mildly concerned about planes. A couple walking along a road didn’t seem terribly suspicious. A couple on a mountain trail had been another matter, but they were over with now. And with a road that led directly to a border crossing, it made sense to use it, even though it ran mostly through open ground, with occasional villages.
He traveled with Lotta sharing his cloak, holding her hand or carrying her. Presumably, hopefully, Edouard and Berta wouldn’t attract attention, but even so, approaching and passing through villages they’d played it safe, all four clustered under Macurdy’s cloak. It was awkward, requiring coordination, but near the border, where candidate routes narrowed to a few crossings, they’d play it safe. The truck had probably been found by now, a compelling clue to their route.
Three times in the past hour or two he’d heard a plane, and twice had seen one, perhaps the same one. It worried him, perhaps needlessly. He could have been written off as unlikely to cause further harm, and not worth committing German manpower to hunt down. Or perhaps the truck hadn’t been found after all. Something might even have happened to Manfred.
But it seemed more likely that Manfred had talked to the SS, that the truck had been found, and that the SS wanted very much to nail him, along with any presumed accomplices.
Then surely they’d have warned the authorities to watch for them, not only as a foursome, but as separate individuals. They’d have descriptions, and if he were one of those authorities, he’d have notified village storekeepers and constables to watch for them. Perhaps even warned the local population by radio, those who had electricity.
Meanwhile all four were limping again, Berta worst of all. He’d healed blisters and muscles each night, and treated them at breaks during the day. Without the healing they’d have been much worse, but even so, they limped.
There’d been more forest the last couple of miles, providing cover for breaks, but Macurdy was waiting for a brook or creek. There they’d have a real rest. He’d work on their feet, then they’d nap until dusk, and continue to Feldkirch after dark.
And reach the border crossing that night. There’d be guards, of course, but with a little luck, they’d get across in a tight group, cloaked.
The road was passing through wide hay meadows, their grass knee high, when a movement caught his attention from a tongue of forest some eighty yards ahead. “Stop,” he said quietly, and gestured the others back. They stopped, and for a moment nothing happened, then uniformed men stepped from behind trees, weapons aimed toward them, or at least toward Edouard and Berta.