Darkest Hour sjt-2

by James Holland

  'For God's sake, Will!' snarled Slater. He took off after her, and as Blackstone, still wincing, got to his knees, he heard a second blast and then, faintly, a splash.

  Tanner had been awake the moment he heard the shotgun. Others were stirring too, but he grabbed his MP35 and ran out of the barn, across the yard and into the house. Flailing in the dark, he was halfway up the stairs when the second shot rang out. Flinching, he hurried on.

  'Sir!' he shouted. 'Sir!'

  It was not Lieutenant Peploe coming down from the top landing, but Slater.

  'Sergeant Tanner,' he said, his voice more animated than Tanner had ever known it. 'I never thought I'd say this, but thank God you're here.'

  'What the bloody hell's going on?' He noticed the sergeant was holding a Webley revolver.

  'It's the farmer,' he almost gabbled. 'He tried to have his way with the nurse. Too much grog. He's whacked his wife, struck the lieutenant with his shotgun, then Blackie and me got there and we had a bit of a tussle. I'm looking for the girl.'

  'What? Where did she go?'

  'I don't know - I think she may have jumped out of a window. I heard a splash.'

  Tanner glanced up to the landing, then into the room nearest him. He went in and ran to the window, forced it wide and leaned out. Then there was a crack on his head and his mind went blank.

  In the top room, Blackstone could hear men shouting and talking outside as they hurried across the yard. The pain had eased, and so he moved Peploe from the bed and swung the door into the lieutenant's head. Looking up, he saw Slater at the top of the stairs.

  'We've got be quick, Will,' said Slater, urgently, as he ushered him back into the room. 'You need to go out into the yard and tell the men what's happened. The sky's cleared and the stars are out. Explain to them that the best course for them is to start heading for the coast. We can use the Pole Star, but my guess is we've been heading north anyway. Make it convincing, all right?'

  Blackstone nodded. 'What about Tanner?'

  'I don't think we need to worry too much about him. I coshed him over the head and pushed him out of a window into the pond. He's probably drowned. You can tell them he jumped after the nurse. I'll go and search for them now. If either of them's found, they won't be making any trouble, that's for sure.'

  'And the farmer's missus?'

  'I've dealt with her.'

  Blackstone swallowed. 'All right, Ted.'

  'Good - you do the talking, and I'll hunt for Tanner and the nurse.'

  He hurried off, leaving Blackstone in the top bedroom. The CSM glanced back at Monsieur Michaud's lifeless body and tried to think clearly. He could hear the men in the yard and in the house downstairs. Slater spoke to some of them as he passed. Hurrying to the window, he leaned out and said, 'All right, boys, everything's under control.' Then, as he dashed for the stairs, he saw Sykes, McAllister and Greenstreet, the medical orderly.

  'What's going on?' said Sykes.

  'A bit of a to-do with the farmer, lads,' said Blackstone. 'Can you come up here and give me a hand with the lieutenant? I'm afraid he must have been coshed.'

  Sykes pushed past and hurried to Peploe. 'Sir?' he said, and then, as he checked the lieutenant's breathing, he noticed Monsieur Michaud's bloodied body. 'Christ alive!' he said, jolting backwards.

  'Slater got him,' said Blackstone, then turned to Greenstreet. 'I'm sorry, mate, but the bastard was trying to have his way with your nurse friend.'

  Panic spread over Greenstreet's face. 'Where is she?'

  'She got away from him - kneed him where it hurt most, I think. We got here just after he'd fired a shot at her on the landing. Then Ted pounced on him and eventually managed to shoot him. We never saw her, but I think she jumped out of the window in the adjoining bedroom.'

  'Oh, my God,' said Greenstreet, leaving Peploe to run down the corridor and into the next room. 'Lucie!' he shouted, from the window. 'Lucie!'

  Following him, and deliberately blocking the top of the stairs, Blackstone said, 'Slater's taken some men to look for her.'

  'Then I must go and help,' said Greenstreet.

  'No. You stay here and make sure the lieutenant's all right. There's enough people already searching for her.' Blackstone ran down the stairs.

  'Sergeant,' Sykes called to Greenstreet.

  'Sorry-yes, I'm coming,' Greenstreet replied. 'This is bloody unbelievable.'

  Sykes saw him glance at Monsieur Michaud as he came back in. Then Greenstreet cleared his throat and said, 'We should take the lieutenant back to his room. Can't leave him to come round in here with - with all that blood.'

  Sykes and McAllister lifted Peploe, carried him down the stairs and laid him on his bed. Greenstreet felt his pulse, then put his ear to Peploe's mouth.

  'He's still breathing, all right.'

  'What about his head?' asked McAllister.

  'A bad bump, that's all. He's out cold, though.' He stood up. 'Look, I'm sorry, but I've got to find Lucie.' Muttering under his breath, he hurried from the room.

  When he had gone, Sykes said, 'There's something going on here, Mac.' Now he remembered Tanner. 'And where's the sarge - where the bloody hell is he?'

  'I don't know,' said McAllister. 'I haven't seen him.'

  'Jesus Christ,' muttered Sykes. 'Right. You stay here, Mac, and keep an eye on the lieutenant. I'm going to look for the sarge.'

  He ran from the room, down the stairs, across the hallway and out into the yard. 'Has anyone seen Sergeant Tanner?' he said, grabbing at the others. 'Where's the sarge?'

  'It's all right, boys,' said Blackstone. 'Sergeant Tanner jumped out after the nurse, but there are men looking for them.'

  'Sod that,' said Sykes. 'Three Section! To me!'

  He ran from the yard, around the front of the house and down to the moat, his men following. As he ran he took his torch from his pocket, although up ahead, lights were already flickering along the pond's bank. He slowed now, sweeping his torch across the narrow strip of water. It was still and dark, thick with weed and bulrushes.

  'Keep your eyes peeled,' said Sykes.

  Slater came over to them. 'I'm sorry,' he said. 'We've searched the whole length but there's nothing.'

  'There must be,' said Sykes. 'Didn't the sentries see anything?'

  Slater shook his head. 'They came into the yard when they heard the shots. We've looked - we've had half a dozen torches on it, but there's a lot of weed and God knows what else in there.' He called over the rest of his men. 'Come on, he said. 'I know the CSM wants to talk to everyone.'

  'We'll just have another quick look,' said Sykes. 'He is our sergeant.'

  'I'll stay too,' said Greenstreet.

  Slater nodded. 'Be quick about it.'

  Once Slater and his men were out of sight, Hepworth said, 'Bollocks, Corp, there's only one way to find him,' and began to take off his boots and trousers.

  'He's right, Corp,' agreed Bell, following suit. When they had undressed to their underwear, both men lowered themselves into the water.

  'Jesus, it's cold!' said Hepworth. 'Wherever he is now, I hope the sarge appreciates what we're doing for him.'

  'How deep is it?' asked Sykes.

  'Not very,' said Hepworth. 'Five foot maybe.' They waded up to the bridge, then back again and down the length of the farm buildings. But there was nothing.

  'Where can they have gone?' said Greenstreet. Sykes thought he seemed close to tears. 'She was a great girl, Lucie, plucky as they come.'

  Slater called to them from the bridge. 'Come on, you lot! The CSM wants to speak to you.'

  While Hepworth and McAllister dried themselves with their battle-blouses, Sykes looked into the dark still water. As he did so, a thought occurred to him. 'Hang on a minute,' he mumbled to himself. Then he turned to the others. 'Hey, boys, I don't reckon we need to feel too gloomy just yet. Hep and Tinker haven't had a dip for nothing.'

  'What do you mean?' said Bell.

  'Well,' said Sykes, in a low voice, 'think about it. If he's no
t there and neither is Nurse Richoux, they must be somewhere else, which means one or other must be alive. They're not both going to vanish into five foot of a ten- foot-wide pond, are they?'

  Hepworth's face brightened. 'Bugger me, Corp, you're right!'

  'Ssh!' said Sykes. 'Keep your flaming voice down! Now, listen, don't let on that the pond's only five foot deep, all right? Not yet, at any rate. Me and the sarge have had our suspicions about the CSM and Slater for some time and if we're right then something fishy's going on and I don't think it'd be a good idea for Slater to think they're still alive.'

  'You think Slater and the CSM tried to do 'em in?' said Bell.

  'I'm not sure, Tinker, but maybe, yes.'

  Bell whistled.

  'Jesus,' said Greenstreet.

  'But listen to me. If you want to help the sarge and Nurse Richoux, you follow my lead, all right?' He shone his torch at them. 'Yes?' They nodded. 'Good. Then let's go'

  Blackstone had assembled the men in the drawing room of the house, a large space with electric lighting where antique tapestries and old portraits hung on the walls. He explained what had happened - how he and Sergeant Slater had been in the yard and had heard a commotion inside the house; how they had found the lieutenant unconscious and the farmer assaulting the nurse. The lieutenant had been hit on the head. It was all very unfortunate.

  'So, boys,' said Blackstone, solemnly, 'it means that, for the time being, I'm in charge. And things have changed a lot for us since yesterday. We've lost our skipper and the lieutenant's out of action. More than that, we know what's going on. We've all sensed the battle hasn't been going our way, but it's now a fact that the BEF is being evacuated. It seems likely that Fifth and Fiftieth Divs are doing a hell of a job holding back the enemy in the Ypres area while the rest of the boys in between make a dash for the coast. But what the hell can we do? Forty-odd men aren't going to make any difference. Our battalion walked out and left us behind in Belgium and now Eighth DLI have deserted us too. We've done all that's been asked of us, and more, but right now, it's time we thought of ourselves.' There was a shuffling of feet and a murmur of agreement. 'Look,' he continued, 'we're all awake now, we've got some grub inside us - and it's not as if we haven't had a rest, is it? The rain's gone and we've a clear sky above us. I know it wasn't what we intended, but last evening we were heading north - you know, maybe someone's trying to tell us something. If we get going now, we can follow the Pole Star and make good progress before all those refugees are on the move. We'll be there by lunchtime and we can rest all we like. With a bit of luck, we'll be back in Blighty by the following morning.' There were further murmurs of agreement. 'The alternative is that we wait here until morning, battle against the flow of refugees, eventually get to Ypres, find our boys have already gone and end up in the bag. Or, worse, dead.' He paused again. 'So, who's with me?'

  Hands were raised, and Blackstone smiled. 'Good,' he said. 'We leave in five minutes.'

  'Hold on a mo', Sergeant-Major,' said Sykes, as he and McAllister entered the room. 'I know my section would rather wait here until Lieutenant Peploe comes round.'

  'But there's an ambulance,' said Blackstone. 'Sergeant Greenstreet can take care of him.'

  'We'd still rather stay here. It sounded to me like you were givin' us a choice a moment ago. What's more, there's also Sergeant Tanner,' Sykes continued. Another ripple of murmuring from the men. 'You see, that pond's not very deep and we've trawled it pretty carefully and found nothing. That makes me think that the sarge and the nurse got out.' The room had gone quiet now as the men listened to him. 'There's no way I could let my men leave this place until we've found both of 'em, and I'd like to think Rosso and Coop would feel much the same way.'

  Cooper and Ross nodded.

  'If they're still alive why aren't they here?' said Blackstone.

  'Perhaps they're fearful for their safety, Sergeant- Major,' Sykes replied.

  'That's ridiculous. Why on earth should Tanner feel that?'

  'Maybe because he's been nearly burned to death, shot in the side, and falsely accused of rape. I'd have thought that's reason enough.' There was an audibly sharp intake of breath from the others.

  Blackstone cursed to himself. He was losing them. Damn Sykes to hell. They'd taken care of Peploe and Tanner but overlooked the third man in the trio. Careless, very careless. And now the Cockney runt was on the point of ruining everything. 'And you think I was responsible for all that?' Blackstone said, hoping his feigned incredulity was convincing. 'Don't make me laugh.' He jabbed a finger at Sykes. 'Corporal, you're talking out of turn.'

  'What I'd like to know,' said McAllister, suddenly speaking up, 'is where Madame Michaud is?'

  'The farmer's wife?' said Blackstone. Panic now coursed through him. He glanced at Slater - help me out here.

  'The farmer killed her, then attacked the nurse,' said Slater.

  'You know what?' said McAllister. 'I reckon that's a load of old bollocks. I reckon the whole story's bollocks.'

  'You - be quiet!' said Blackstone.

  'No, I won't,' said McAllister. 'Why would a gentle old farmer suddenly do his wife in and cosh an officer when he's surrounded by that officer's troops? It don't bloody well make sense.' The men were all talking now. Blackstone had his hands in the air trying to silence them when a shot rang out. The effect was immediate. All the men stopped talking and stared at Slater, who held a revolver pointed at the wooden floor.

  'Listen, all of you,' said Slater, and Sykes noticed that several men from Company Headquarters had positioned themselves by the door, fully armed. One held a Bren at his waist. 'We're leaving now. All those coming with us, move to the door. The rest stay where you are. I'm going to count to three. One.'

  Half a dozen men from 11 Platoon stepped forward, but the rest, including all of Peploe's platoon, remained where they were.

  'What are you going to do now?' said Sykes. 'Shoot us like you did those Jerries?'

  'Shut up!' said Blackstone, then said to Slater, 'Don't even think of it, Ted. We'll put them in the cellar.' He wondered for a moment whether Slater might ignore him and shoot them all anyway. Christ alive, he thought, and his stomach lurched. It was one thing killing Nazis, but to slaughter men on your own side - men you'd lived alongside for the past couple of months? That was a step too far.

  'If you insist,' said Slater, pushing past him. 'Right,' he said, waving his Webley, 'those of you with weapons, drop them on the floor and get into single file.' He shoved several men forward.

  The entrance to the cellar was in the kitchen across the hall from the drawing room and the men, most of whom were stupefied by the turn of events, were led there at gunpoint, then shoved through the door. Ten feet below, at the bottom of a flight of stone steps, there was a large, cold, musty cave, its vaulted bays partially stacked with wine. 'There,' said Slater, as he followed them. 'Have a drink on us.' He grabbed a couple of bottles. Then, satisfied that the men were all there, he walked backwards up the stone steps and shut the door.

  'How can you do this?' protested a corporal from 11 Platoon.

  'More easily than you'd think,' said Slater, and closed the door.

  From the cellar, the only light the men could see came from the outline of the door. In silence, they heard a padlock click shut across it. Then there was a heavy scraping sound as furniture was moved in front of it. Finally, the lights went out, and a minute later, they dimly heard the ambulance being driven away.

  Tanner heard the ambulance leaving, too, opened his eyes and wondered where the hell he was. Lying on straw with a pounding head and, he realized, someone close to him with their arms round him. He jolted into full consciousness.

  'You're awake,' said a voice.

  The nurse. 'Where am I?'

  'In one of the stables.' She unfolded herself from him and Tanner felt a wave of cold as her warm body moved away from his. 'I'm sorry for the intimacy, but you were wet and cold. I didn't want you to get hypothermia. How's your head?'


  'Sore.' He propped himself up on his elbows. 'What happened?'

  'One of your men tried to rape me,' she said, her voice catching. 'I got away and jumped from a window into the pond. I saw you looking for me but you were hit from behind and pushed out.'

  'Slater hit me with his pistol. Knocked me out.'

  'I saw you fall and pulled you out - only just in time. One of them - the man who killed Monsieur Michaud - he came looking for us with some other men. They had torches, so I dragged you behind this barn. There was a strut sticking out that hid us. Then I saw this door and inside found all this straw.'