The fires were dowsed before full dark, but the men stayed in a circle talking in that musical language. The women were busy with their several chores. Their fires were tamped down with dirt, with the large pots still warming in the ashes. Soon the old woman climbed into to the sick wagon, followed by that pretty young girl. The three Gorillas roused themselves and waited by the steps. They were rewarded for their manners by a toothy smile from the old crone as the women left. They took this as permission to enter.

Actor reported that Garrison has roused briefly as his bandages were changed, but hadn't regained full consciousness. The younger woman had spoon-fed him some broth, and Luludja seemed pleased with the wounds. She had invited them to stay the night in the wagon.

A hammock had been strung across the back wall, and Goniff leaped lightly into it. He grinned at Casino. "A bit tight for you, mate. Suits me to a T."

Casino scowled, but he really preferred a steadier bed. "Looks like it's the floor for you and me," he said to Chief.

"Pretty crowded," Chief answered. It was dark and cluttered in here. He grabbed a rug and a blanket. "I can sleep outside."

Chief doubled up the rug on the ground under the steps, and wrapped himself in the blanket. Probably didn't need to keep watch, but he'd wake up if anyone went into the wagon. The other wagons were mostly dark, but he could see a glimmer of light here and there. As the nighttime chatter died down, he allowed himself to go to sleep.

Soft footsteps. Chief woke up, the blade open in his hand. It was early daylight, and three young boys were in front of him. They had jumped back a few feet, but stood their ground. He folded up the knife slowly and let them see how it fit into the sheath. One of them grinned and jabbered at him, then motioned him to follow. A few people were up and about, but the sick wagon was quiet.

The kids led him away from the camp, then stopped by some bushes. They unbuttoned their trousers to pee, and Chief did the same. Field sanitation. They headed toward the river, so he followed to see what was what. A dozen or more sturdy horses were staked out, well-hidden by the overgrown trees. They stood quietly while the boys brought out some nosebags of feed. One of them whinnied and was given a sharp rap on the nose, and his feed bag was taken away. These young kids were already good at training them to be quiet. Chief helped them lug buckets of water from the river, then they headed back to the camp.

Casino and Goniff were squatting by the same campfire as last night, drinking coffee. Actor was seated in a chair, conversing amiably in French with one of the Gypsy men.

"How's the Warden?" Chief asked.

"His color is much better today," answered Actor. "Not truly conscious yet, but he is able to swallow the broth that Mala is feeding him this morning."

"Mala. Is that the pretty one?" asked Casino. "They sure have some fine-lookin' babes here. Maybe they'll help us pass the time."

He winked, and Actor frowned him down. "Please mind your manners, Casino. Contrary to popular opinion, the Romani have high regard for the virtue of their women. We are their guests here, and must not betray their trust."

Well, if Actor could keep away from the women, he could too. But some of them were pretty easy on the eyes. Casino just wished they'd smile once in a while. That would be enchanting.

Two women were approaching with steaming bowls in their hands. Goniff leaped up and took a bowl with a slight bow. He inhaled.

"Apples, stewed apples. They been gleanin' the apples." He took a spoonful of the mush and rolled his eyes. "And this beats even me Mum's applesauce. Very tasty. Cinnamon, I think."

They all cleaned their bowls, and Goniff wondered if he could snag some more. He approached the women's campfire slowly, with his bowl held out. One of the women nodded and filled it up. Goniff nodded back and smiled in thanks.

As he rejoined the men, Casino looked up and grinned. "Looks like Goniff's got himself a girl."

A little girl, maybe three or four years old, was toddling behind the Cockney. He smiled at her , saying "Allo, little one." She stuck two fingers in her mouth and stared at him.

Casino grinned. "I think she likes your baby blues, Goniff."

Goniff winked at the girl, then screwed his eyes shut and popped them open again. He was rewarded with a little squirm. He put the bowl down on a chair and pulled a coin out of his pocket. Rolling it over his fingers, he began his guess-which-hand trick. She caught on pretty fast, but he was letting her win one out of three. Soon a small crowd of children, boys and girls, had gathered around, so he expanded his repertoire.

He felt a light tug and quickly snatched the hand that was reaching into his pocket. He turned to face a young boy, who looked coolly back at him.

"Cor, kid, you gotta learn to do better than that." He pulled the pack of cigarettes from the boy's fingers and dropped them back into his pocket. "I'll show youse."

Goniff saw a slingshot in the kid's back pocket. "What you got to do, see, is create a distraction. See, you can be talkin', or whistlin', or lookin' at somefing else." He knew they couldn't understand him, but that was part of the game.

He tapped the boy's left shoulder and like lightening slid out the slingshot with his other hand. They boy grinned as Goniff held it in front of him. Then he looked startled and pointed quickly to the womenfolk. Goniff felt him lift out the cigarettes again, but nodded and grinned back. Who needed language to teach the tricks of the trade?

Before long, he had the gang of kids practicing on each other. He took the cigarettes back from the kid again and sat down. The little girl had crept closer and he winked at her.

Actor spoke with amusement. "You do have a way with children, Goniff. I'm not sure if the lesson is quite proper, but the adults don't seem to mind." The Gypsy men, and some of the women, were indeed watching the children with interest.

"Aw, they got a rough life, " Goniff replied. "This might give 'em an edge when they need it."

He motioned to his knee. The girl gave him a sweet smile and sat on his lap. She reached up to touch his blond hair. He barely felt the tiny hand creeping into his pocket, and she held up the coin triumphantly.

"You little mite!" exclaimed Goniff. "Blimey, you're good!" He didn't dare to peck her check, but he grinned and folded her chubby fingers over the coin. "You can buy some sweets with that, right?"

GGGGGGGGGGGG

Garrison woke when the Gorillas trooped in to check on him. He struggled to sit up, and Actor propped some pillows behind him.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"In hiding with some Gypsies," Actor said. "I believe we are camped somewhere along the Girande river."

"Gypsies?" Garrison frowned. "Well, they're no friends of the Germans, but do you think we can trust them?"

Both Chief and Actor nodded. "They have been quite good to us," Actor replied. "I think they are unlikely to, hmm, sell us out. They have little reason to like the Germans, and can be sympathetic towards fugitives. They are somewhat hunted themselves."

Garrison considered. "How far are we from the bay? I assume we've missed our rendezvous. Do we still have a car?"

"We're 'bout 10 miles north of Bordeaux, maybe 40 miles from the pick-up point," said Chief. "We have the car, but you ain't fit to travel yet. You been out cold a whole day and don't wanna start bleedin' again."

Actor agreed. "Your nurses think you should rest for a few days. And since we've missed the rendezvous, another day or two won't matter. We'll have to make fresh contact for a new retrieval anyway."

Garrison closed his eyes; he still felt pretty weak. "If we can get to Margaux, we have some contacts there."

"We can do that, but not today," Actor spoke firmly. "Chief is right, you're in no condition to be driven over rough roads just now…..And here is your nurse."

Luludja stood in the doorway with a tray in her hands, which she set down on a shelf. She glared at the men clustered around. "Za, za," she waved them away crossly.

Actor stayed, "to translate" he said, but told the other three to leave the crowded wagon. "Let the Warden rest and regain his strength."

Luludja unwound the bandages and seemed satisfied with what she saw. Garrison watched with interest as she laid some large leafs in a pan of hot water, and only winced a little as she pressed them against his wounds. After replacing the bandages, she handed him a bowl of stew and waddled out again.

Garrison looked at Actor. "I must have been more out of it than I thought. I'm sure I remember a very pretty nurse hovering over me."

"Mala," Actor smiled. "Very pretty, indeed. But as an unmarried woman, likely she will no longer be allowed to take care of you, now that you are fully conscious."

Garrison found the stew very tasteful, full of big chunks of spicy meat. "And how did the old crone know I'm awake and able to eat solid food?"

"A very skilled healer. We must trust her judgment as to when you will be fit to travel."

Garrison eyed the Italian balefully . "Maybe we'll give it one more day."

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Simzo and Bishidka paid a visit to Garrison later in the day. He felt much better now that he'd had a solid meal, but an attempt to stand up had failed pretty badly. After some small talk about his recovery, they wound their way to the point.

"Chief tell us that you have stole some German papers? Do you sell them?" Bishidka asked.

Garrison frowned. The documents were carefully stashed inside Actor's coat lining. Now he wondered how safe they were. "Not for sale. We're bringing them back to Allied Intelligence in London. That's our job."

Simzo spoke to the old man, who turned back to Garrison. "No, please do not misunderstand. We also know of German papers. We wish these to go to a good place also. Perhaps London is the place for these to go."

"What kind of papers?"

Bishidka spread out his hands. "Simzo and me, we cannot say. Our cousin Kore, he works with la résistance. These papers come to him through many hands. He plans to take them to Marseille when his kumpania goes south for winter. There is much smuggling there. But perhaps you are able to smuggle these more quickly, eh?"

"Maybe," answered Garrison cautiously. "But we're headed north."

"Ah, we believe Kore is also north of here, beyond Margaux. Where do you go?"

In that very direction, Garrison thought. But he still gave them a vague answer. "We have a pick-up point at the mouth of the Girande river."

"At Le Verdon? Many good smugglers there," Bishidka smiled. "Perhaps we help each other."

"Perhaps." Garrison wasn't ready to commit yet. He knew there were some Gypsies that carried messages for the resistance, but how trustworthy was this group?

The two Gypsy men conversed in their own language with some seriousness. Then Bishidka spoke again.

"Our boys tell us the Germans are busy on the main roads. We think they hunt for you. We are also hunted, like vermin. We take you north by our secret ways to where you need to go. You are injured, you will travel better in our wagon. If you wish to meet with Kore, then perhaps you will take his papers also."

"That sounds reasonable. Thank you," Garrison answered politely. "But let me talk with my men first. They may already have made some plans."

"Of course. Please know that the Rom will keep our promises we make." Bishidka held his hand up, palm out in the universal gesture. "You may trust us."

Shortly after the two men left, Actor came into the wagon with a plate of food in hand. The others followed.

"Was that a social call, Warden, or a pow-wow?" asked Casino breezily.

Garrison filled them in. "What do you guys think? How far can we trust them?"

The Gorillas exchanged glances, and let Actor speak first.

"They have no reason to love the Nazis. And while they operate outside the law, the Romani do have their own code of honor. As do we," he added with a smile.

Goniff added, "Yeah, they ain't so different from us. And they been treatin' us good."

"They took us in," said Chief. "They helped us. Like family."

Casino nodded agreement, and Garrison did too. "All right, we'll go along with them, but you guys stay sharp for any tricks. You can probably spot them faster than I could." He thought for a moment. "And we really should see what these other stolen papers are."

"Yeah, right, of course we should," Casino retorted. "When did we ever pass up a chance like that?"

As the men filed out for their own dinner, Casino paused by the door. "Sure you're feelin' all right, Warden? First time you've ever asked us for our opinion."