Posted As Missing

Chapter Thirty-Seven

David and Rachel cleaned and dressed, then they all sat drinking their cool tea, nibbling on the Gruyère and knäckebrot and watching the valley. "It's a good thing I took the tea ball out before I came over," Rachel said, "otherwise this would be terribly tannic."

Maria told them about the activities the activities she had seen in the valley while they were occupied with other things. Two more trains had gone by, one down and one up. All the soldier movement had been back to camp, mostly shortly past five.

"Something must have closed or finished in town at five," she said. "There were two groups; one ten the other eight. After them, there was only a single. None had rifles. The three guard posts are still casually manned in the same disinterested way."

Maria pointed across to the horizon. "Over the top of that ridge, there to the left end of it, there's been steady movement on the road, a regular foot traffic and many automobiles." She passed the telescope to David.

He studied it for a while, then looked at the map. "That appears to be a little beyond Erzingen, this road leading out of town into Switzerland." He passed the scope to Rachel. "What do you think, Mama?"

"That's the border post. I recognise it. It looks like people are crossing. It appears as if they've reopened the border." She looked at the map then back through the scope. "Yes, that's it."

They remained quiet for another long while, watching for activity in the valley. There was none. The six o'clock bell rang, then the seven. A short while later he told the girls to go start dinner.

As the daylight faded, he watched the three guard squads muster and slowly march...

No, saunter is a better way to describe their movement. David corrected himself and looked at his watch. Not quite seven fifteen.

He continued to watch the squads as they moved along the road. There was a random lighting of lamps in both the town and the encampment.

The eight o'clock bell sounded, and he watched the steady lights in the valley for movement, but saw none. Then there was a growing loom of light on the rock slab around him and he turned to watch a candle lantern moving toward him with a shadowy yellow figure faintly behind it.

"The chef has advised dinner will be served in ten minutes," Maria said with a giggle as she bent to kiss him.

"Have you brought matches to relight the candle?"

"No, I didn't think of it."

"Then let's put the light far behind us, lie at the lip, readjust our eyes and look into the valley for a few minutes. One last check for any movement, for any moving light."

Satisfied, he rolled to kiss her again, and they lay in a long, warm embrace. "I love your thoroughness," she said. "Your extreme care and attention to detail. Your mind sees such a broader picture than I ever imagine exists."

"The more we know about the enemy, the stronger we are." He took her hand and assisted her up. "Move back a good distance from the rim before you lift the lamp. Don't let it be seen from below. I'll roll up the bedroll. It's beginning to dampen from the dew. What else is there here?"

"We took the other bedroll and everything else a while ago when we left. That's all there is."

She led him back across the ridge to their camp, deftly swinging the lamp to light his steps and hers. "You use the lantern well," he said as they arrived.

"Six nights a week since early October, walking home after eleven, after the gasthaus closed. Through autumn, winter and now spring, it became second nature."