Early in World War One, a young Canadian soldier is wounded and trapped behind German lines. He uses quick thinking and ingenuity to evade capture, then deeper into enemy territory, he meets a young woman who recently lost her father and brothers to...
"Sounds like another squad of soldiers," David whispered.
"Trail ahead. Winds up through Oberried," Maria whispered back. "From Kirchzarten to the top of Feldberg. Shorter but more open and populated. Doesn't have cover like this area."
They sat still and listened as the squad descended the trail about fifty yards across the slope from their little grove. As they faded down the hill, Maria returned to her nursing. "We can leave the dressings off to let the fresh air and sunshine do their work. Put them back on before we go to bed." She gently stroked his face. "Let me kiss your wounded lip to make it better."
"That feels much better with the fresh air, but your touch has started another swelling." He winked at her, then looked from her eyes down at his watch. "But back to important matters. It's thirteen twenty. That was likely the relieved lookout squad coming from the top of Feldberg. The timing makes sense."
"It's probably safe to head up the trail a short distance until the start of the big meadows," Rachel said. "From there we can skirt around in the trees. We'll be midway between Feldberg and Schauinsland, more than five kilometres from either lookout post. Within two hours, we can be across the saddle and traversing the southern slopes, well out of sight over the shoulders of Feldberg."
"My study of the maps showed a ridge down toward the Swiss bulge across to the north side of the Rhein. Let me dig out the map."
"No need," Rachel replied, "I know the area like the back of my hand. Maria and I had been planning on heading down to the town of Unterhallau. That's where Edom – my husband – my late husband and his family come from. They still have vineyards there. It's just across the border ..." She paused to sip more water.
"There's a tongue of forest along a ridge from the high lands between the little German villages and farms. The trails and roads are in the valleys on each side, but the ridge top is untamed. That's the route Edom and I would follow when we used to take the shortcut and sneak across the border to go rambling up on the high ridges of the Schwarzwald."
Her eyes wandered as her mind searched. "At the bottom of the trees is a small road, a rail line and then a line of trees beside a small river, the Wutach. The river is the border. We used to cross on the stauwehr. Downstream of the weir, the water is shallow as it runs through the rocks. We can wade across into Switzerland. Unterhallau is only three kilometres across the hills from there."
"That's the exact route I had planned," he replied. "Even the town of Unterhallau. But the geography leaves few other options, so the Germans will be guarding it closely. We'll have to be careful."
They quenched their thirsts and filled their canteens from the stream. Then shouldering their packs, they walked across the slope to the trail and started up it.
"You lead again, David; I want to watch your bum for a while more. I've never watched a man's bum before, and it's great for my imagination. You should watch too, Mama, it's quite warming."
They skirted a large meadow, remaining in the forest. The trees were much shorter and more widely spaced, but they offered good cover as they wound upward, contouring around the undulating ground. At two thirty, they were on their way down, angling off to the left in a gradual descending traverse.
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