The Gypsy Moon (30 page)

****

General Rahn was furious. He blamed Erik for the events of the day, and Erik tried to defend himself by saying, “Major Poppel would have no help. I offered it, and he refused it. He is at fault.”

“Easy enough to blame a dead man!” the general declared. “We’ll settle that later. These people are still in the area.” A grim smile touched his face. “We’ll capture them, and it’ll be quite a feather in my cap when the führer hears of it.” He paced the length of the office. “Now, the woman that was captured. She must be made to talk.”

Erik Raeder understood that the stories he had heard of torture being used on political prisoners were true. He had tried to put the thought of people suffering unspeakable horrors from the S.S. at the back of his mind, but now the reality had become unavoidable. He was a man of honor and courage and did not agree with the Nazis’ brutal techniques, but as he stood in front of General Rahn, he knew there was no escape. “I would rather someone else do that job,” he said. “I will conduct the search for the others.”

“All right, Raeder. You find the others, and I will take care of the interrogation.”

****

Shadows lay under Erik’s eyes, Gabby saw, as she came into his office. For two days, Erik had conducted the most intensive search for the Burkes possible. “Erik, I’ve come to ask for your help.”

“What is it, Gabby?” Erik’s tone was short, and he gazed at her moodily.

“I need to see Betje van Dych.”

“Why would you want to see her? She’s a traitor and will pay for her crime.”

“She’s my friend. She has been since we were children. She had been living with me.”

“That puts you under suspicion. Everyone that this woman knows is under suspicion for treason against the Fatherland.”

“I can’t help that. You’re going to shoot her, aren’t you?”

“She has been promised she can go free if she will reveal who her friends are.”

“She’ll never do that,” Gabby said evenly.

“She’s a stubborn woman. She will be put to death first thing tomorrow morning if she refuses to speak.” He could not meet Gabby’s eyes.

“Please, Erik, I’d like to see her.”

Finally he said bitterly, “All right. You can see her.”

“I want to take the pastor with me.”

“Very well. I’ll make out a pass.” He took a form out of a drawer and signed it.

“Have you seen her, Erik?”

“No,” he said sharply, “I haven’t.”

“We’ve heard that she’s been tortured.”

He didn’t answer. He handed her the pass and said, “That will get you in for a brief visit.”

He turned away from her, and Gabby, after one look at his back, said good-bye and left his office. She knew that he
was a lost soul, and she grieved that a man of his potential should be destroyed for his blind allegiance to the Third Reich.

****

“You’ll have fifteen minutes,” the lieutenant told Gabby and Pastor Citroen. “She is a stubborn woman and a foolish one!” he said as he glared at Betje.

As soon as the guard was outside, Gabby moved swiftly to take Betje in her arms. The sight of her broke Gabby’s heart, for the marks of the terrible torture she had endured were evident. She held her gently and found herself weeping. “Betje,” she moaned, “I can’t lose you now.”

Betje rested for a moment in Gabby’s arms, and then she drew back. Her face was marked, but there was peace in her smile. “It’s all right now. If they had caught me before the funeral, it would have been awful.”

“What happened at the funeral, my sister?” Citroen said. He put his hand gently on her shoulder.

“When you gave the invitation according to Grandmother’s desire, a light shined in my heart,” Betje said simply. “I knew that I had been all wrong. It was like I had a vision of Jesus on the cross, and He seemed to be speaking to me. When you said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour,’ it was as if I had heard the voice of Christ, and I simply cried out to Him to forgive me.” She smiled at Gabby. “It was so easy. I could have done it at any time, just like you had told me so many times before. He was waiting all the time, the Savior was.”

“I’m so happy to hear that,” the pastor said. “You’re now a child of God.”

Betje nodded vigorously, and Gabby gave her another quick hug.

“What about the Burkes?” Betje asked.

“We have them hidden in a safe place.”

“Will you be able to get them out of the country?”

“Yes,” Gabby said. “God will help us.”

“Is there anything we can do for you, my sister?” Citroen asked gently.

“Tell them that I went out of this life into a far better one with my Savior.”

This was so unlike Betje that Gabby could only marvel at the miracle that had taken place. The three stood talking for a time, and when the door rattled, they bowed their heads and prayed briefly.

“Good-bye,” Citroen said, his hand on the door.

“I once heard that Christians never say good-bye,” Betje said with a smile. “Think of me in the presence of the Savior.”

The two left the jail and went directly to the hospital and found Dai. Karel left, and Gabby spoke of her meeting with Betje.

“They’re going to execute her first thing tomorrow morning unless she gives them the names of the cell members,” Gabby reported sadly. “She’s ready to die for the cause.”

“I’m sorry, Gabby.”

“Did you love her, Dai? At times I thought you did.”

“She intrigued me, but I didn’t love her.”

“She loved you.”

“In her way she did, but we could never have been together. Betje was not the woman who was meant for me, nor I for her.” He put his arms around Gabby and held her close. “You’re the woman for me, Gabby, and I’m the man for you. But first,” he said firmly, “we must get the Burkes to England—and that’s going to be a tough one!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The Fugitives

General Rahn’s face was livid. His eyes flashed, and he stopped stomping around the office to point a finger at Erik as if it were a loaded gun. His voice filled the room and overflowed outside, where two guards grinned at each other, happy that someone besides them was getting severely reprimanded.

“This is all your fault, Raeder!” he shouted. “You have failed completely in your duty, and I have half a mind to strip you of your rank.”

Erik Raeder stood stiffly at attention. His face was as pale as the general’s was flushed, and he said with lips that barely moved, “You must do as you see fit, General.”

Rahn came closer and glared up into Erik’s eyes. “I don’t like to do this, Erik,” he said in a more reasonable voice. “Your father and I go back a long way. He would be terribly disappointed with you.”

“I’m sure he would, sir. But may I remind you, I have repeatedly told you that this is not my kind of duty. I want to be sent to the front.”

“As soon as this mess is cleared up, I assure you that’s exactly where I intend to send you!” he snapped. He stared out the window at some small, brightly colored birds perched on the telephone wires. He watched them for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts; then he crossed to his chair and slumped down. “I’ve been talking with Herr Goebbels on the phone. He says the führer himself is aware of the situation here.”

“I’d think he’d have more important things to occupy his mind, General.”

“This
is
important! We must
not
let this man escape! What he has in his head could be worth more than a thousand tanks—so I expect better things from you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Raeder left the room, marching stiffly, reeling from the fiery reprimand. Erik knew that part of his anger was directed at himself. He went over in his mind again and again how Gabrielle had led him on and used him. That was the thing that troubled him most. She had used him! “They won’t get away,” he fumed. “I’ll find them if it takes every man we have in Holland!”

****

A knock at the door brought Dai instantly to his feet. He had been dozing in a chair, and now the revolver that had been resting in his lap seemed to leap into his hand. Stepping to one side of the door, he said, “Who is it?”

“It’s me . . . Jan.”

Slipping the bolt from the door, Dai put the revolver back into his belt and opened the door. Jan came in bearing a large box. “What have you got there, Jan?”

“Food.” He put the box down on the table and looked around. He smiled at Gabby. “I’ll bet you’re hungry, aren’t you, Doctor?”

“Yes, I am,” she said. Actually, she was too frightened to think about food, but she wanted to put on a good face. “Come, Liza, let’s see what we have here.”

As the two women removed the food and two Thermos jugs from the box, Jan spoke nervously. He had always been a little high-strung, but now he seemed to have an especially hard time keeping still. He waved his hands constantly as he filled them in on the news. “The Germans are tearing the town apart. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“What do you mean by that, Jan?” Dai asked.

“They’re searching the town house by house, tearing things apart. They came into our house this morning. They looked in every room, and they made a mess of it. They went up in the attic too. I think they’ve got every German soldier in the Netherlands looking for you.”

“How long do you think it’ll be before they get here?” Dai questioned.

“They’re moving pretty fast. You’d better be out of here before tomorrow, I’d think.”

“That means we’ll have to leave tonight. I think that would be best.”

“But even after dark they’ve got patrols out. I don’t know how you’re going to get away.”

With the soldiers scouring the town, Dai Bando had no idea of what could be done. They were in a steel-tight trap and made an obvious target. The instant they stepped outside the hospital and tried to make a break for it, it would be nearly impossible to escape detection. If the Germans were as thorough as they usually were, there was a good chance they’d all be caught. Dai let none of his concern show, however. “Come back just before dark, Jan, and let us know if anything has changed.” He made himself smile. “It’ll be all right. We’ll make it.”

****

The four fugitives knew they were facing a long and difficult night, so they all tried to get some sleep. On a previous trip, Jan had provided them with some blankets and pillows, and they made themselves as comfortable as possible. The food and hot coffee had helped a little, but as Gabby lay still, she heard Dalton whisper, “It’s all my fault. I should never have gotten you into this.”

“You didn’t create the horrors of the Nazis,” Liza whispered back.

“If we can just get out of here, I’ll do all I can to stop them.”

Liza was quiet for a moment and then said, “We must
pray, Dalton. That’s all we can do at this time. But God will help us.”

Finally, Dalton and Liza stopped talking and dropped off to sleep. Gabby heard their breathing grow slow and regular. She herself was too strung out to sleep, so she sat up and saw that Dai was also sitting up, his back to the wall. She got up stiffly and stretched and then walked over to him.

“Here, sit down beside me,” he said. “We can rest together.” She sat down, and Dai put his arm around her. It felt good and comforting, and she leaned over, enjoying the warmth of his strong body. “It’s good to have someone to lean on,” she murmured.

“Lean on me,” he said. “It sounds like one of those country western songs the Americans like so much.”

The two sat there quietly, listening to the steady breathing of Gabby’s aunt and uncle. After a time, a dog began barking shrilly outside.

Dai stiffened. “That could be one of the German guard dogs.” Gabby squeezed his arm as they waited, their bodies tense. It sounded like the dog was coming closer, and then suddenly it fell silent. Gabby could feel her heart beating and wanted to shut her eyes, as if to block out the trouble that could come, but she did not.

“I guess it was just a dog barking at the moon,” Dai murmured. He looked down at her and smiled. “We’ll be telling about this night for a long time. It’s one of those things you don’t forget.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Sure. It’ll be exciting to tell our grandchildren how we outwitted the German army.”

“I can’t think about grandchildren at a time like this. I can’t even think about having children.”

“You want children, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course.” She released her grip on his arm, embarrassed that she had squeezed it so hard. “Don’t you?” Dai
made a strange nose, and she realized he was stifling a laugh. “What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“I’d probably make the world’s dumbest father—and the world’s dumbest husband too.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Well, I suppose there are some things I’ll have to learn by trial and error.”

The two fell back into silence, and Gabby was pleasantly aware of the warmth of his body and the feeling of safety that he gave her. Although she sat still, her mind was racing with thoughts of all that had happened. “I can’t stop thinking about Betje,” she told him.

“Neither can I.”

“She had so much to live for, and now she’s gone.”

“Not really. She’s with the Lord now.”