Tramp in Armour

by Colin Forbes

  He only had to wait a few minutes before Penn was fast asleep, dead to the world, lying on his left side to take the weight off his wound. He gave Reynolds his orders.

  'You go .down as well. I'll do two and a half hours and then wake you at one-thirty. After I've gone down you're to wake me at four - we must be away very early tomorrow. While you're on guard it's just a matter of keeping a sharp eye along the road in both directions. Down you go.'

  A few minutes later and with some trepidation he watched Jacques drive away towards Beaucaire in his four-seater green Renault, still unable to rid himself of the feeling that this was the fly in the ointment. Physically, he was having an awful time keeping on his feet and he walked up and down the moonlit road to take his mind off his gently throbbing wound, realizing now that it would have probably been wiser to change the dressing, but his brain went on racing round. They'd have to head north for the Boulogne-Calais area, not so far from where Jacques came from. It would mean the devil of a right-hand sweep, west and then north, and he doubted whether they'd ever make it, but at least on the way they might meet some really worthwhile objective. The search for some massive objective against which they could deal the Germans a hammer-blow was now looming larger in Barnes' mind than finding a way back to the Allied lines. The position was becoming terribly serious, the news bulletin proved that. It was a warm muggy night and this-didn't help to keep him on the alert. He'd be glad when morning came, and then they could get on with it. As he paced up and down Barnes had a strong feeling that this was the last haven of peace they would find, that from tomorrow they would be in the thick of it all the way.

  Shortly after midnight the lights in the farmhouse went out and he heard a window open and then close. It was probably Mandel listening to him pacing up and down. In the distance he could still hear the mutter of those guns, but just before it was time to wake Reynolds the guns stopped, and this disturbed Barnes greatly as though it were an omen of disaster. He woke up Reynolds and settled down to sleep under the stars, which seemed far bigger than usual. An hour later he was still awake, his mind twitching with anxiety, then without knowing it he fell asleep. The emergency he had feared came just after dawn.

  SIX

  Saturday, May 25th

  The tank emerged from the outhouse into the eerie light of the false dawn. It seemed to kick up the devil of a row as it moved slowly down the stony track, following the beams of the headlights which made the pale grey gloom even weirder. Across the fields coils of mist floated above the ground and a curtain of vapour fogged the beams.,

  They had risen at four like ghosts in a half-world, bleary-eyed, thick-tongued, thirsty, hardly able to carry their bedrolls along the stony track, but they had the world to themselves, a world which was dark and chilly. They had brewed-up, drunk their tea and, at Barnes' insistence, had a shave. After the tea and the shave they had begun to revive sufficiently to eat some of the remaining bully beef and a packet of biscuits which Reynolds had quietly kept for an emergency. There was general agreement that the morning qualified. The horizon was a faint line against a bleak glow when they drove out of the building and along the track. Barnes already realized that Penn had not benefited from his night's rest to anything like the extent he had hoped and the corporal's peevishness had confirmed this.

  'What about the Mandels?' he had asked. 'Are you running off and leaving them without a word of thanks?'

  'Of course not. We'll park Bert by the road and then I'll pop back to see them.'

  As they moved down the track he saw that lights had appeared in the upper windows of the farmhouse. Mandel must have heard them coming. It seemed ungrateful not to warn him the night before of their plans for a very early start but Jacques had been there until they had left the farmhouse. Rubbing his arm to get the chill out of his bones Barnes looked both ways along the road and saw nothing. It would be an enormous relief when they had left the Mandels in peace. Within ten minutes they would be on their way towards Abbeville. He had chosen that route because it was the only one they had heard to be clear of traffic. They were very close to the farmhouse when he stiffened, swore, and gave the order.

  'Halt! Lights off!'

  From the direction of Beaucaire tiny headlights glowed in the distance, just one pair. They'd have to let the vehicle go past without seeing them. He issued more orders and the tank moved across the field until it was completely hidden by the dim bulk of the haystack, when he ordered a halt. Standing in the turret behind the stack he saw that the top was at least six feet above his head and when he leant far out from the rim his fingers touched the edges of projecting hay. Jumping down, he checked the front and rear: there was at least four feet of stack which concealed the tank from the road at either end. It was just a question of letting this early bird drive past before he went to see Mandel. He might even be able to buy some food off the farmer.

  Going down on one knee behind the rear track he waited, feeling the early morning dew soak through his trousers, gripping the revolver in his right hand. His brain was becoming very alert now as he watched the headlights growing larger, a sense of alarm beginning to sting his nerves: this could be trouble, but at least there was only one car. Pull yourself together, Barnes - one car could contain four Germans armed with machine-pistols. Climbing up on the hull he told Penn to hand him up a machine-pistol, then he assumed his position

  behind the track. The car was very close now, moving at a tremendous speed, probably well over sixty. Tension built up inside him like the crackle of electricity. Thank God he had

  got them up early. With a scream of brakes the car turned off the road, headlights sweeping over the rear of the tank, then it stopped.

  Had they seen the tank? The headlights had continued in their ninety-degree turn without a quiver, but a strong-willed driver might manage that. The slam of the car door. Footsteps. A solitary figure reached the front door and hammered on it like a German.drill-sergeant demanding entry. Barnes lifted the gun as the front door opened, shedding a pool of light into the yard and then closing again. Could it be Jacques? The parked car looked like a Renault although in this weird light it was difficult to tell. He wasn't at all sure that there weren't other people inside the darkened car. He'd better check this.

  He ran, racing forward until he reached the side of the house out of sight of the car, creeping along the wall to a window which showed light behind curtains. He couldn't see through the material but faintly he heard voices, one of them excited. This voice was doing most of the talking. Cautiously he crept towards the front of the house and as he reached the corner he heard the front, door open. Footsteps came into the yard. He froze.

  'Sergeant Barnes, it's only Jacques. He's brought some news, some alarming news. Barnes!'

  'Here, Mandel.'

  He stepped out into the courtyard, lowering his machine-pistol, and when Mandel saw it he must have recognized the gun since he looked at it in surprise but without comment. Beside him stood Jacques, his chin unshaven and his collar open, while Etienne waited in the floodlit doorway. Mandel hurried forward, his shirt only half-tucked inside his trousers, speaking quickly.

  'There is great trouble. From his bedroom in Fontenoy Jacques can see across the fields to Beaucaire - or rather to the road here from Beaucaire - and he heard something early this morning. Then he saw a lot of lights so he walked, across the fields and hid behind a hedge close to these lights. A large German column has reached Beaucaire, has come round it to the south, you understand, and camped on this side of the town...'

  'Camped?'

  'No, that is the wrong word. Apparently it has halted for a short time. When they move again they must come this way - past here.'

  'What makes him say it has only halted for a short time?'

  Jacques stepped forward, his manner so different from the night before that he seemed a different person. He spoke urgently.

  'May I explain? It is part of a Panzer division - the usual big tanks and guns. It has to come this way
and may move at any time. They are using this route as their highway to the west - but can you keep ahead of them?'

  'We'll have to. We'd better start at once. Mandel, can I buy some food off you or are you short yourselves?'

  'Etienne.' Mandel turned and took a parcel from his nephew and handed it to Barnes. 'Take this - my wife packed it before we went to bed last night. No, any suggestion of payment will be taken as an insult. Now you must go!'

  Thanking him, Barnes tucked the parcel under his arm and ran back to the tank. The three Mandels followed him and waited while he climbed into the turret, put on his headset and gave Reynolds the order to start the engines. While he waited he looked down and saw grey stubble on Mandel's chin. Looking back in the growing light he could see no sign of traffic on the road from Beaucaire. The engines coughed, sputtered, and died. Barnes said nothing and waited. Reynolds tried again. The engines repeated their surly reaction. Mandel put his hands on his hips and waited. They all waited while Reynolds fought,desperately to start the motors. Five minutes later the dawn light was spreading gradually over the fields and now there was a glint of gold in the east. Soon it would be broad daylight. Reynolds tried again and again but not once did the engines give any sign of activating. Patiently, Mandel stood waiting without showing any traces of alarm but the two lads were now staring fixedly along the road to the east.

  'No good?' Barnes called down from the turret to Reynolds.

  The driver's head inside the hatch turned to look up. 'I think it's the starter system.'

  'Do your best - that Panzer column may be here soon.'

  'I'll still have to look at the starter wiring.'

  'How long do you think it will take?'

  Immediately he regretted the question. How on earth could Reynolds be expected to predict that? It was the only sign of anxiety Barnes had allowed himself to show.

  'Could be two minutes, could be two hours. I noticed it was coughing nastily when we came down that track.'

  'Have another go before you start checking.' Barnes leaned over the turret to" speak to Jacques. 'What exactly made you think the column would be on the move soon?'

  'The men in the tanks hadn't left them - they were eating a meal and they had stayed in the towers to eat.'

  Barnes looked down at Mandel. 'That sounds as though it's just a short stop and then they'll be coming this way.'

  'I think so, too.'

  'We'll have a few more shots at starting.'

  Reynolds was persisting non-stop now and while he struggled to coax life out of Bert it became daylight. Again no one spoke. Barnes stared backwards at the distant hill crest which was now clearly to be seen, the crest over which the Panzers would appear. Jacques and Etienne stood stock still, hands in their pockets to keep warm. Only Mandel was moving during the agonizing wait when nerves were stretched and a fresh chill, the chill of fear, seeped into the waiting men. Walking round the haystack, Mandel disappeared from view and then reappeared at the other side in front of the tank. His face was thoughtful, his thick brow scowling, and he looked at the tank closely and then spoke quickly to Etienne. The lad ran away across the field to an outhouse just behind the farm.

  'Sergeant, it's no good,' said Reynolds firmly. 'I've got to have a look at the engines. It may take quite a while.'

  'Just do the best you can as quickly as possible.'

  He had just finished speaking when he heard the purr of a motor. Turning round, he saw Etienne emerging from the building as he drove a large orange-coloured machine towards them. In front of the machine a huge power-grab shovel was hoisted at an angle, wobbling as it moved closer. Mandel came forward and stood directly under the turret.

  'The tank will not move. Is that not so?'

  'Not yet, anyway.'

  'And the German tank column will soon be on the move and will pass here?'

  'That seems pretty evident,' Barnes replied irritably. 'So the only solution is to hide the tank. Is that not so?' 'You can't shift it with that power-grab machine. This tank weights twenty-six and a half tons and you won't budge it an inch with that thing. You're pretty well-equipped out here, aren't you?' he added.

  'I borrow it from a wealthy neighbour to clear my ditches. Now, I agree that this machine won't move your tank, Sergeant Barnes. So we must proceed logically - we must leave the tank where it is" and yet still hide it. That is the only possible solution.' 'I don't follow you.'

  'We shall have to turn it into something else - a haystack.' 'How the devil are you going to manage that?' 'This haystack is constructed of square bales of hay which have been placed on top of each other - this method makes it easier for us to take away only a small portion of the stack when we require it. The bales were lifted up by the power-grab, as you call it. All we have to do is to take the haystack to pieces and then rebuild it round the tank which will, of course, sit in the hollow inside it. But we must start at once - all of us helping.'

  'Even if it would work there may not be time.' 'It will be much quicker than you think. Etienne!' He poured forth a stream of French as Barnes told Reynolds to help Penn out of the tank. Between them they got him sat down on the grass and by now Etienne was working the grab to Mandel's instructions. To start with he tackled the corner of the stack nearest the road, driving the machine forward, inserting the huge metal hand and emerging with a bale of hay which he dumped on the ground. Immediately he began repeating the process as Mandel developed his idea.

  'We leave the wall of hay next to the tank because we can use that where it is. To surround the tank will take a lot of hay but there will be plenty left over by the hollow inside. We shall use that hay to build the roof over the tank.'

  While he was talking Etienne was moving more bales, dropping them at random as he attacked the haystack ferociously along the side nearest the road. Barnes looked again towards the east. In the light of day the deserted highway bore a sinister aspect and he could just picture the scene. One moment it would be still like this, a peaceful scene devoid of traffic: then the first tank would crawl over the crest and head towards them, followed by a whole armada of Panzers. And if they found the tank here all the Mandels might well be shot. He made up bis mind.

  'We'll try it. Penn, your job is to watch that hill crest. At the first sign of movement bellow like the bull of Bashan. Reynolds, stop tinkering with that engine, there's work to do.'

  Between them, Barnes and Mandel organized a work system: while Etienne dismantled the stack on one side, Reynolds and Jacques began lifting bales of hay and moving them to form a wall parallel to the rear of the tank. At the same time Barnes and Mandel formed a second team, carrying their own bales to build a wall across the front of the tank. Even here, Mandel was showing foresight.

  'If the Panzers arrive too soon,' he explained, 'we may at least have two walls up. If we were very lucky they might not see the open back.'

  'Let's hope we don't have to be that lucky.'

  Half an hour later it all seemed to be taking too long to Barnes. The Germans would arrive and catch them in the middle of it. He urged everyone to move faster. It was still chilly but they were all working feverishly, their jackets lying on the ground as they heaved the huge bales up, balancing the load between them, staggering across to the walls to lay their new 'bricks', and then going straight back for another load. The two side walls were still only half-built when Marianne appeared with a tray of coffee. Laying it on the ground she watched them working for a minute and then went indoors without a word. Mandel grinned across a bale at Barnes.

  'You have misunderstood her - she knows that when men are working women must keep out of the way. She is the same when she brings us wine in the fields.'

  'She must be worried, though.'

  'We are all worried. So let us finish building our new haystack and then we can stop worrying.'

  He's wrong there, Barnes thought. If we do get the job done in time the big worry will then start - will the Germans find the tank? He glanced towards where Penn stood leaning a
gainst a fence as he stared towards the ominous hill crest. They're going to catch us in the middle of this, Barnes felt sure of it.

  'Mandel, whether we get the tank hidden or not* in time I think you should clear out until the Germans have gone - take your family into the fields.'

  'We could hide, certainly - and if they come too early we shall. But if we have finished, then we must stay. It would look strange if the place was deserted at this hour of the day.'

  'No, it won't. People are fleeing all over France.'

  'Yes, my friend, but they take things with them. Anyone who goes inside our house will see that we have taken nothing and will know we are hiding. They might well burn down the house. And do not forget Jacques' car - that will show someone is about.'

  'Hide that in the outhouse where we hid Bert.'

  They had laid the fresh bale on top of the wall in front of the tank, a wall which was now about the same height as the rear wall, Reynolds and Jacques were building, and so far both walls only concealed half the hull. It was all taking far too long.