It was a full minute before any of them found their voice again. "Did you see that?" August breathed from his perch above the other two.
"That tree stump is hollow!"
"And the guy went right inside! Underground!" Theo took a deep breath. "What do you think he'll be doing down there?"
"Maybe it's the entrance to a tunnel?" Werner suggested.
"A tunnel where?" Theo asked. "Surely no one is going to use a secret tunnel to get into a prison camp. And for the rest there's nothing but woods around here."
That made sense.
"Maybe..." August sat up a little straighter. "Maybe it's the secret hiding place of a bunch of bankrobbers! That they hide their booty down there!"
"You mean there's bags and bags full of money down there?"
But Werner shook his head. "He didn't look like a bankrobber."
"How do you know what a bankrobber looks like..."
Werner shrugged. "Besides, it's got to be the worst hiding place ever: right next to the prison camp where all the prisoners can see him, plus that guard up in the tower... And that when he's got a whole forest right behind him to hide that stuff."
That made sense, too.
They each contemplated the possibilities further, until August declared, "It's got to do something with the prison camp – it's right outside the fence, and there is nothing else but trees for miles around. It must be an escape tunnel."
"But that guy went into it, not out," Theo argued. "It didn't look like he was escaping. Rather the opposite."
"But that's silly," Werner said. "No one would want to get into a prison camp." He paused. "Maybe we should tell the soldier at the guard tower."
"He'll never believe us," August scoffed.
"No, that's true," Theo agreed. "But maybe if we had some proof..." His eyes glittered. "Maybe we should go down there ourselves, to see what's there. And then we can report it to the guards."
"But what if that guy is still down there?" Werner asked.
"We can wait a little longer. He won't be down there forever."
They waited. And waited. But youth is generally not blessed with an excess of patience, and these three boys were no exception. So, "Come on. Let's go," Theo said. "Wherever he got to underground, it doesn't look like he's coming back out."
Swiftly, the boys climbed down the tree, and keeping as low as they could, they made their way over to the bushes where their spy in the blue overcoat had been lurking.
"It's that one – the stump in the middle," Theo pointed.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
They scanned their surroundings thoroughly, but there was no enemy prisoner in sight. And the soldier up at the distant guard tower seemed to be looking the other way.
"Come." Theo got up and with a last look around, he jumped towards the middle tree stump. Now how did it open?
August and Werner appeared at his side. Together, they tried to pry open the top of the tree stump; August was the one who got lucky and pulled right.
"Yess!" he let out under his breath.
Inside the tree stump was a crude wooden ladder leading several meters down into the empty darkness.
"Quick!" Theo urged. He glanced back at the guard up the tower, but the guy was still oblivious. Meanwhile, August was already descending below. Theo followed, and Werner brought up the rear, closing the tree stump hatch behind him.
A moment later they were standing together on the dirt-packed floor at the bottom of the stairs, looking around at what seemed to be an underground room. From up ahead, a small oil lamp shed some light on their surroundings. It seemed like there was a tunnel leading that way, and in the distance they could make out the murmur of voices.
Theo put his finger on his lips, and then gestured for the others to follow him. Without making a sound, he moved toward the sparsely lit tunnel. Further down, the light was much brighter – that was probably where the voices were coming from. Stealthily, he moved on, hearing his friends' quick breathing behind him. If they were found out now...
He had almost reached the better lit room now, and pressed himself against the dirt wall to cover the last few meters. August and Werner followed his example. They could clearly make out different voices now – and they didn't speak German. Theo wasn't sure – perhaps it was English. A little further still, and... Carefully, he peered around the corner. There they were: three, four, five men in tattered foreign uniforms. Prisoners from the camp. Underground. Enemies...
He watched them as they talked in their incomprehensible language. The one in the blue overcoat was there, and also the one in the leather jacket who might have murdered the Kommandant. And behind a table with some technical device on it sat a large black skinned man. A real negro!
He felt how August and Werner came closer and peered around him, as mesmerized by the scene before them as he was. What were these guys doing underground? With a tunnel going out of their prison? A tunnel they went into instead of out? And what was that complicated thingamajig on the table?
Suddenly, the incomprehensible conversation halted, and the five enemies turned.
They turned.
And looked straight at them.