Posted As Missing

15. Drop-in Visitor

"I never imagined such a thing was possible," Rachel said as David and Maria calmed. "Such incredible passion, such beauty, such pure animal freedom and enjoyment ... Sorry, I couldn't help hearing."

"Oh! I had forgotten you were here, Mama. I had forgotten there was much else other than David and me. Sometimes so intense that David wasn't even here."

David chuckled. "I was with you the entire time. I wonder if Fritz is still up there. What time is it?" He pulled his left arm out from under Maria's collapsed body. "Five minutes past noon. If they're like the French and the Belge, they'll have stopped for lunch five minutes ago."

"Unfortunately, they're not that predictable," Rachel said. "The Germans will work until the task is done."

Maria giggled. "As I usually do. Seems I was distracted. Can you pass me two pieces of cotton, Mama? We're rather messy, and I must get on with nursing."

David and Maria pulled apart, and she wiped him with one piece of towelling as she sat on the other. "This is still so large; how do you hide all this in your trousers?"

"It'll go down a bit more; it's been up for a long time and has had some heavy exercise. Usually takes a while longer after this kind of treatment."

David stuck his head out through the triangle and looked around. The sun shone directly into the gully, and all the pools were bathed in its rays. Leaning farther out, he looked across at the entrance ledge to confirm it was empty. Then scanning the tops of the cliffs, he still saw them as impossible to approach safely. He looked at his watch again as he unbuckled it. Twelve past noon.

Back inside, he smiled. "Bath time. A quick dip, a soap and a rinse. I'm going to rinse under the waterfall."

He and Maria scampered out. The sun had heated the dark sandstone and gabbro, and the entire nook was wonderfully warm, almost hot. Rachel hesitated, then shrugged, undressed and joined them. Six minutes later they were back in the shelter, dried and dressing.

"Let me do your cheek stitches," Maria said. "Properly this time."

"That was very proper the last time." He chuckled. "You'll now need to do it improperly."

She carefully snipped and pulled out the stitches and wiped his cheek with an alcohol-soaked piece of gauze. "We're down to your last roll of this, but we won't need so much after ..."

A series of cracking sounds came from above them, accompanied by loud voices, guttural German voices – excited voices. Then, they heard more cracking and a scream, followed by a sharp crack and thud close beside them and the sounds of falling rocks and branches. Voices came from above again, "Oh, mein Fick! Leutnant Herzog!"

David knew it was impossible to see into the nook from above, but still, he was cautious as he poked his head out through the triangle. Ten feet in front of him lay a man in a German officer's uniform, a growing pool of blood on the sandstone beneath his head. He was still, face down, his neck at an impossible angle. A wooden case on a leather strap lay in the middle of his back.

He scanned the cliff tops again, listening to the sounds of cracking and rustling tree branches, snapping of shrubs and dislodged rocks. One rock hit the edge of the canvas and bounced off. A small one, fortunately.

While the excited voices continued above, he looked again at the body, paused for a few moments, and then crawled out.

Recognising the case as a pistol holster, he unbuckled the harness and pulled the strap free. Then, opening the belt pouches, he removed the clips of ammunition and laid them on the rock. After a pause to consider what next, he dragged the inert body the six feet to the brink of the slab and rolled it over, listening to the dull thud as it hit the next ledge, barely audible over the chatter of voices and breaking branches on the cliff tops.