Bomber Overhead

by Graveyard Greg

  Chapter 21

  Out of breath though he was, Jeffery shinned up the tree fast. He could hear the German shouting; sounding angry. He went to the hole in the centre of the floor and peeked down to the ground. His eyes were not yet adjusted to the dim light, but it was brighter than usual because the door was open. The German was waving his Luger, first towards Arthur and then back to Ginger. He no longer gripped her arm, his tunic was half off. The shirt sleeve had been torn or cut off and bandaged around the arm where Jeffery suspected his wound was. He realized that Ginger must have made a bandage from the shirt sleeve. He saw Arthur standing nearby holding the cap full of raw eggs out to the German.

  Quickly he went to the souvenirs room, picked up the incendiary bomb and carried it over to the edge. "I hope this thing works," he muttered. Swiftly, but with care he placed the bomb on the floor before going back to fetch a few bricks. The German was now shouting one word over and over. Jeffery had no idea where Mr. Selkirk was. It was now or never. He took a brick and threw it behind the German. It crashed onto debris on the dirt floor making sharp cracking sound. The German swung around, pointing his pistol in that direction. Jeffery threw another brick, this time in front of the man. Again the German swung. A third brick again went behind. The German swung around and fired in that direction. Jeffery picked up the incendiary bomb and held it over the edge, nose down. He waited for the briefest of seconds then dropped it. As soon as it had gone, he stepped back from the edge and closed his eyes.

  There was a 'whumping' sound followed by a 'whoosh'. He opened his eyes. A brilliant white light glowed up through the opening in the floor and there was the smell of burning wood. He heard Farmer Selkirk shout, and then a cry from the German. Dropping forward he lay face down and peeked over the edge. Arthur had thrown the eggs in the German's face and he was trying to brush egg from his eyes. Mr. Selkirk rushed over, shotgun held high to his chest. He swung it and the butt hit the German on the back of the hand that held the Luger. It went flying. Ginger jumped for it and picked it up as the farmer stepped back and pointed the shotgun at the German. Still wiping egg from his eyes, the airman saw the shotgun and put his hands up. Now resigned to capture he let his body slump a bit.

  The fire started in wood and rubble by the incendiary bomb crept across the junk on the floor and threatened to spread to the stairs. Jeffery swiftly moved across to them and hurried down as fast as he thought safe. Reaching the bottom, he went over to Ginger. "Are you all right?" he asked.

  "Yes. Take this thing." She held the Luger out with two fingers on the barrel as if she held a dead mouse, or something equally awful, by the tail.

  Jeffery took it. "Arthur," Jeffery ordered. "Run to the manor. Tell them to call the police. He's not going anywhere until they get here."

  Whether it was being close to the fearsome farmer and his shotgun, or a desire to get away from the German Jeffery couldn't tell, but Arthur turned and ran from the mill. The fire had now spread to the stairs. The inside of the mill was filling with smoke. Ginger coughed. Jeffery felt they'd all be better outside and said so to Mr. Selkirk who agreed. Ginger and Jeffery went out first, and then the farmer moved to one side, his shotgun waving from the German to the door. The two adults marched out into the open and away from the smoke that poured from the windmill.

  About fifteen minutes later there came the sound of boots pounding through the underbrush. Police, home guards and regular soldiers burst into the open, running toward the mill. With their arrival Jeffery slipped the Luger into the front of his pants and covered it with his pullover. Nobody other than Ginger saw him do it.

  "For Arthur," he mouthed. "Make up for the incendiary."

  Ginger shuddered, shook her head in disapproval, scrunched up her nose, but said nothing. Mr. Selkirk didn't seem to notice what Jeffery did, or perhaps in the excitement he'd forgotten about the pistol. Either way, the German was soon marched off in a column of police, home guards and soldiers. In the rear marched Mr. Selkirk, shotgun slung over his shoulder as usual. The officer in charge called over his shoulder, "Good work youngsters. I'll make sure your headmaster knows about your bravery."

  Arthur had come out of the woods by then. When the men and the prisoner were out of sight, he turned to Jeffery. "That was my bomb," he said. "You should have asked."

  "Wasn't time, was there," Jeffery said, "but this should help make up for it." He pulled up the front of his pullover to show the pistol. "That's if they don't remember it."

  Unfortunately that wasn't to be. Ginger went home to Mrs. Vaux's and the two boys went off the hostel. They were in the dormitory when the Colonel came in.

  "That was very brave of you both, but maybe a bit foolish," he said.

  "Nothing else we could do once he had Ginger," Jeffery replied.

  "I suppose not." The Colonel stood looking at them, waiting. When they said nothing, he said, "All right, give it to me, and don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

  Arthur looked at Jeffery and shrugged. Jeffery shrugged back. Arthur went over to his bunk, fished underneath the mattress and pulled out the Luger. His face drooped as he handed it to the Colonel.

  "Dangerous things, guns," said the Colonel as he took it gingerly. "What on earth were you going to do with it?"

  Arthur sniffed. "Gonna keep it in case the invasion comes. It would have made a great souvenir, too."

  "Souvenir was it. Like the incendiary bomb, I suppose. If it wasn't for the outcome of this affair and your plucky behaviour, you two would be in a lot of trouble over that. But they're going to let it go. There's not going to be trouble. They did tell me to warn you not to do anything like that again -- ever. If you find a bomb of any sort, you're to leave it where it is and tell the authorities. And everything you find is to be turned over to them, do you hear?"

  "Yes, Colonel," both boys answered in unison.

  "Good. Make sure you behave yourselves in future." Then the Colonel winked at them and left the room.

  Arthur sat down on Jeffrey's lower bunk. "There'll be nothing we can do now, if the German's invade," he said.

  "Maybe they won't come," Jeffrey said. "I heard Mrs. O'Brien talking to the gardener. Somebody had told him the German's were pulling some of their soldiers back from the ports they were going to sail from."

  Jeffrey sat down beside Arthur, and the two boys were quiet for a while immersed in their own thoughts. Then Jeffrey said, "Arthur. If the Germans didn't come and you still had the incendiary, what would you have done with it?"

  Arthur took a deep breath, and then puffed it out. "Don't really know. Maybe find myself a haystack."

  The two boys looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  Epilogue

  On a warm May day with a blue sky wherein the odd fluffy white cloud floated peacefully, an old, gray-haired man got off the bus at the top of The Green. He stood there for a moment, as if to get his bearings. Yes, there was the church steeple, looking a bit fuzzy, at the far end of The Green. He fished in an inner pocket of his tweed sports jacket, found his glasses, and slipped them on. Ah, yes! It was nice and crisp now looking as if it, and the church below it, had recently been scrubbed clean. The whole building had probably been sand-blasted.

  He turned slowly to his right. Yes, the Fox and Hounds where Ginger had been billeted was still there. Farther along, up The Green, was Mrs. Vaux's old cottage. It, too, had been brightened with a coat of white paint. He wondered who lived there now. Turning right around he faced the gate and brick wall of the Manor. He walked towards it and, as he neared, he saw a large sign on the main gate with a smaller one on the side gate. When he got close he read: Pegasus Research Ltd. Private. Absolutely No Admittance. Well, He really hadn't expected a tour of the manor. He swung right and walked round the wall. Selkirk's farm seemed to be still there. He contemplated going over to see if any of Selkirk's family still lived there, but rejected the idea.

  He continued his journey. The gap in the high wall had been rebuilt, and be
yond, where there had been woods, stood neat brick houses, each with an attached garage. Behind them, towering above, stood the stone tower of the old mill. That it was still standing surprised him a little. He made his way along the twisted roads that separated the houses until he came to a low wall that surrounded the tower. Behind the wall was a small, circular lawn bordering a neat garden. In the front of it ran a ring of earth where hundreds of Bluebells bloomed. A path led from the gate to white double doors where the old doors had been, and new windows had been let into the side of the tower. There was no sign of the old tree.

  He stood at the gate trying to get the courage to go up and ring the bell, but he didn't want to intrude on the owner. He was about to move off when one of the doors opened and a neatly dressed a gray-haired woman stood there.

  "May I help you?" she asked.

  He just stared. It couldn't be, but there were still a few strands of reddish-gold in her hair. No! It couldn't be.

  "Did you want something?"

  "Ginger?"

  Surprised, the woman's head jerked back slightly. "Good Heaven's. Nobody's called me that in donkey's years. Who are you?"

  Bolder now, he opened the gate and started along the path. "Surely I haven't changed that much?" He grinned. "It's Jeffery, Jeffery Fraser."

  "Jeffery Fraser?" Her brow furrowed for a second before she remembered. "Oh! Jeffery! What a wonderful surprise! How did you find me? How did you know I lived here?"

  "I hadn't a clue you lived here. It's as much a surprise to me as it is to you."

  He was closer now, and he stopped. "How's Arthur?"

  A look of sadness crossed her face. "He died. Heart attack. Just over two years ago."

  "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "Are you still upset that I married him and not you?"

  "Not really. It was bit of a shock though. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. In London. At the Underground Station."

  "I'm sorry, Jeffery."

  ”You needn't be. I did some time in the navy and then moved to Canada. Met a nice girl and got married. She's gone, too, now."

  "Well I shouldn't keep you out here. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? We can talk over old times."

  "Thank you. I'd really enjoy a cup of tea."

  "Come on in, then," she said and stood aside.

  He walked through the door and she closed it.

  The End