Chapter 3: Bug Problems
"Raus, raus, raus," yelled Sergeant Shultz. "Everyone out for roll call."
At the first "raus", the door to Barracks 6 opened and the men quickly walked out single file to their places in line. Once there, they stood at attention.
Men from the other barracks quickly staggered out in several groups, some of them grumbling about the early hour. Shultz walked over and started to count the prisoners from Barracks 2.
Klink, who had been watching the scene from his porch, walked down the steps towards the prisoners. Instead of beginning with Barracks 2 as usual, he bypassed them and walked directly over to the men of Barracks 6. Noticing the change, Shultz quickly followed and began counting the men there.
Klink surveyed the men. "Impressive," he said. "Very impressive."
"All prisoners present and accounted for," stated Shultz.
Klink walked over and stood in front of Carter. "You're the Barracks Leader, now, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir," Carter replied.
"Good job. I hope this will serve as an example for the rest of the barracks."
Carter smiled. "Thank you, Sir."
"Dismissed," said Klink. Then, he left to inspect the prisoners from the other barracks, returning first to Barracks 2.
Once they were alone, Carter had his men gather close. "Today, I want you men to mingle around the camp," he ordered. "See what news you can pick up. Be inconspicuous. Pick up some equipment from the Rec Hall. Play some games. Invite some of the other prisoners to join you. Doc, take half of the men and work on this project. Sandy, you'll take the other half of the men and see what you can overhear from the guards. Your group will get supplies and use the upkeep of the grounds as your cover."
"Yes, Sir," acknowledged both Miller and Nelson.
"Dismissed," stated Carter, and Miller and Nelson started choosing their teams.
- - -
Over at Barracks 2, Shultz had just finished counting the men. "All prisoners present and accounted for," he told Klink.
"Good," acknowledged Klink. Then, he walked over to Hogan and admonished, "You know, Hogan, you and your men could take a few lessons from Barracks 6."
"There's nothing in the Geneva Convention that says we have to be THAT orderly," countered Hogan.
"Yeah, you can't expect us to be our best this early in the morning," added LeBeau.
"Yeah, that's right," several of the prisoners loudly protested, some of them adding their own additional comments.
Klink was furious. "Hogan, control your men," he warned, "Or some of you will end up in the cooler."
"All right, quiet," Hogan ordered his men, and they fell silent. Then, Hogan smiled at Klink and flippantly promised, "We'll try to do better in the future, Sir."
Klink wasn't convinced. Clenching his fist, he said, "Dismissed." Then, he and Shultz moved on to the next barracks.
The prisoners broke formation. Newkirk, LeBeau and Kinch came over to join Hogan. "You should take lessons from Barracks 6," Newkirk mimicked Klink. "And Carter. 'Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.' What do you think that little weasel's up to?"
Hogan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Maybe you should plant those bugs so we can find out," he suggested.
"Right, Sir. I'll get on it right away."
"And be careful. Try to make sure the barrack's empty before you go up. If you do get caught, make up some excuse."
"Yes, Sir." agreed Newkirk. "But I don't plan on getting caught." Newkirk headed inside to perform his task.
Hogan reached into his pocket and pulled out two small sheets of paper. He handed one to Kinch and the other to LeBeau. "Here's a list of the men you need to check on," he said. "Find out as much as you can and test the men on your list. Report back to me by 12:30."
"Yes, Sir," acknowledged both Kinch and LeBeau, leaving to perform their appointed task.
Hogan entered the barracks. He went over to the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee. Then, he went over to the table, sat down and waited for Newkirk's return.
- - -
About ten minutes later, the bunk entrance opened. Newkirk came up and walked over to join Hogan. "Got 'em planted with no problem," Newkirk declared. "The place was empty."
"Good," stated Hogan. "Now, we can keep track of Carter. Make sure he doesn't create any problems." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a third slip of paper which he handed to Newkirk. "Here's the men you're to check out and test. Report back by 12:30."
"Right, Gov'nor," said Newkirk, taking the paper. He walked over to the door and went outside. Hogan finished his coffee and soon followed.
- - -
Later that morning, Carter entered his office to do some planning. There were a lot of details he still had to work out. He sat down at the table, got a piece of paper and started to write. After a few minutes, he stopped and looked around the room. He had a strange feeling that something wasn't right. Everything seemed to be in it's place but he still felt uneasy. Maybe it was instinct. Deciding to search the room, Carter looked for some time, then finally discovered a bug. He continued searching the room thoroughly to make sure there were no others.
Once he was certain his office was clear, Carter returned to the main room. Carter took the bug he'd found and placed it under the pillow on one of the empty bunks. Then, he performed a thorough search of this room as well, discovering two more bugs. These, he left in place.
Carter then went outside. Noticing Miller nearby, he ordered, "Miller, my office, now."
"Yes, Sir," acknowledged Miller, heading his way.
As Miller approached, Carter put a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture and then pointed towards his office. Carter headed back to his office and Miller followed. Once they were inside, Carter closed the door and said, "Seems like we have a pest problem."
"Mice?" wondered Miller.
Carter shook his head. "Bugs. The listening kind. I got rid of the one in here. There were two more out front."
"Klink?" Miller guessed as the source of the bugs.
"Hogan, I think," replied Carter.
"What do you plan to do about it, Chief?"
"Leave them where they are for now. Pass the information on to the men. Tell them to very careful what they say out front." Carter smiled mischievously. "Then tonight, we'll have a little fun."
- - -
It was late afternoon. Hogan sat in his office waiting for Carter's replacement to show up. He and his men had reached the decision a few minutes earlier after going as a group and covertly interviewing each of their final candidates. There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Hogan invited.
A tall, medium built Frenchman in his early twenties, entered the room. Corporal Henri Durand reporting, mon Colonel," the man declared, saluting. "Corporal Newkirk said you wanted to see me."
"Yes, have a chair," Hogan offered. Henri sat down and Hogan continued, "You expressed earlier a desire to continue your fight against the Germans. What if I told you that it was possible?"
Henri couldn't hold back his enthusiasm. "For the glory of France, I would like nothing better. But how is this possible? We are prisoners here. We can no longer come and go as we please."
"We are prisoners here," Hogan agreed. "As to the rest--You must be sworn to secrecy under threat of treason. Agreed?"
"Agreed, mon Colonel. You have my word as a loyal Frenchman. I will not divulge information."
"Good. I must warn you, however. There is considerable danger and our tasks are not always easy."
Henri would not be dissuaded. "To continue the fight for France, it is worth the risk."
Hogan smiled. "All right, then. Welcome to the team. For now, return to your barracks. I'll speak with Klink and arrange to have you transferred here. Once you've moved in, I'll give you a tour and explain our operation."
"Thank you, mon Colonel."
"I'll let you know when I hear from Klink. Till then, dismissed."
- - -
Hogan barged into Klink's office. Klink was sitting at his desk doing paperwork. "Hogan, I'm busy," stated Klink, scarcely looking up."
"But it'll only take a moment, Sir. I need to speak with you," insisted Hogan.
Klink would not listen. "Make an appointment tomorrow," he said, trying to brush Hogan off.
Hogan was just as determined. "But this won't keep," he protested, filling a glass from the decanter on Klink's desk and taking a sip.
Klink finally gave up with a sigh. "All right, Hogan. What do you want?"
"Well, you transferred Carter. We need a replacement."
"Request denied," said Klink, automatically. Then, he stood and walked over to where Hogan was standing. Klink stared at Hogan. "Why do you need to replace Carter?"
"We already had two empty bunks in the barracks. We don't need three."
Klink gave Hogan a sour look, then shook his finger. "Hogan, you're up to something. You're not planning an escape, are you?"
"What! And spoil your perfect record? Look, Klink, you have my word. Stalag 13 will remain as escape-proof as ever. Now how about it? Will you transfer Henri Durand to our barracks?"
"Why him?"
"Well, for one thing, he's one of LeBeau's countrymen. It'll give him someone to chat with. And a happy chef is a good chef. You do want to keep those gourmet meals coming, don't you?"
Klink thought about it a moment. "All right, Hogan. I'll transfer Durand on one condition."
"What's that, Sir?"
"That you promise your men will follow Barracks 6 example at roll call."
Hogan pretended to consider it. "You drive a hard bargain, Klink. Transfer Durand tonight and you've got yourself a deal."
"All right. Send Shultz in and I'll let him deliver the news to Durand. Now, if you don't mind, I really do have a lot of paperwork. Dismissed." Hogan sat his empty glass on Klink's desk and left, smiling as he went.
- - -
Hogan returned to Barracks 2 and went into his quarters. Kinch, Newkirk and LeBeau followed. "How'd it go with Klink?" asked Kinch.
"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news" Hogan told them. "The good news is Klink agreed to transfer Durand tonight."
"And the bad news?" Newkirk prompted.
Hogan took a deep breath, knowing his men weren't going to like it. "I had to agree that we'd follow Barracks 6 example at roll call."
"You've got to be kidding," protested Newkirk. One look at Hogan changed his mind. "You're not kidding."
"Even in another barracks, Carter's bad news," grumbled LeBeau.
Newkirk frowned. "I'd still like to know what that little weasel's up to."
"Let's see what we can find out," said Hogan, taking their coffee pot receiver and handing it to Kinch.
After accepting the coffee pot, Kinch made a few adjustments to change the frequency to match the bugs in Barracks 6 instead of the one in Klink's office. "Okay, that should do it," he declared, turning on the device.
For over half an hour the four of them listened to the conversations in Barracks 6. They heard the men talking about the news from home, who their favorite athletes were, and what they planned to do when the war was over. Finally, LeBeau excused himself to start preparing their meal. Kinch followed him to go down to monitor the radio. Hogan and Newkirk remained behind to listen.
After a few more minutes, they heard the sound of a door opening. "Hello, Carter," they heard a voice they recognized as Shultz say.
"Hi, Shultz," they heard Carter respond.
"You said to drop in any time so I did."
"Of course, Shultz. You're always welcome here. Hey, Evans, you want to bring Shultz a cup of coffee, please."
A moment later, Hogan and Newkirk heard Shultz say, "Danke."
Then, Carter was speaking again. "Hey, Shultz, we were thinking about talking with Klink tomorrow and seeing if we can have a cookout Friday night. Build a campfire, cook some hamburgers and hotdogs. Sing songs afterwards. If Klink gives the okay, you want to come."
"I do not know if the Kommandant will agree--"
"Oh, I almost forgot. Evans's parents own a restaurant in Chicago. He's an experienced chef. He plans on baking some apple pie for dessert."
Hogan smiled as he could almost picture Shultz's mouth watering and he heard Shultz say, "But if the Kommandant gives his permission, I shall be there."
"Good," was Carter's response. "I'll ask him tomorrow after roll call."
"I must be going, now, Carter. I have work to do. But I shall drop in again, sometime."
"See ya, Shultz," they heard Carter say just before they heard the door close.
Newkirk glanced at Hogan and said, "Carter's getting pretty chummy with the Krauts, don't you think, Sir?"
"Possibly," agreed Hogan. "But then again, maybe he's just being Carter. We'll have to wait and see. For now, except for Shultz's visit, there doesn't seem to be much happening. What say we take this in shifts? I'll take the first hour. Then, you can spell me."
"Sounds good to me, Gov'nor," stated Newkirk, as he stood and headed off to join the others.
- - -
Hogan's watch was as dull as the earlier session. At the appointed time, Newkirk took over and Hogan went out front with the rest of his men. They were sitting around the table talking when they heard an awful racket come from Hogan's quarters followed by Newkirk's shout of "Blimey!!" They rushed in to see what was the matter.
Newkirk was sitting at the table, shaking his head, his hands covering his ears. "What's wrong?" Hogan asked.
"Someone over there dropped something," replied Newkirk. "Heavy. Metal from the sound of it. Probably a pan. Sounded like it fell right next to the mike. Me ears are still ringing. Most likely go deaf."
Hogan chuckled. "You'll be fine," he reassured him.
"Evans, you know that's my chair," they heard a loud voice over the speaker.
"Yeah, well I'm here now," reported an equally loud voice.
"Well, you can move."
"Not if I don't want to!"
"How about we take this outside?"
"And give you a chance to take the chair when I get up. Forget it."
The voices from the speaker continued arguing. Carter's voice could be heard yelling in the background trying unsuccessfully to quiet his men. "QUIET!!" bellowed still another voice. "The chief ordered you to be quiet!"
Suddenly a shrill whistle came over the speaker. Then, there was silence. "Works every time," Nelson said.
"I'll settle this," they heard Carter say. "Evans, up. I'll sit there." There was the sound of chairs sliding as the men evidently changed seats. Then, Carter enthusiastically asked, "Hey, Monty, is that a trumpet you've got there?"
"Yes, sir," they heard yet another voice.
"Boy, that's my instrument. Mind if I play?"
"Go ahead, Sir."
"How about playing 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean?' " suggested Miller. "The guys and I could sing along."
"You got it," agreed Carter. He started to play, very off key. The men began singing, even more off key and extremely loud.
Newkirk winced. "I'm going to be sick," he grumbled.
"Let me join you," agreed LeBeau. "It's certainly noisy over there."
"You think they're onto us?" Kinch asked Hogan.
"Either that or like LeBeau said, they're awful noisy over there," Hogan replied. "Either way, we're not going to learn much. Newkirk, recover the bugs after roll call tomorrow."
"Yes, Sir," acknowledged Newkirk.
Hogan glanced at his watch. "Durand should be here shortly. I promised to show him around. Let's shut this thing down." Kinch turned off the device and put it up. Then, they all left the room.
- - -
Meanwhile, in Barracks 6, the men finished their song. Carter motioned his five cohorts to his quarters. Once there, Carter closed the door and they all burst out laughing. "If they were listening, I'd have loved to have seen their faces, Carter declared. "Thanks, guys."
"Well, Chief, you said you wanted to boost morale," stated Miller. "I'd say this has helped."
"What are we going to do about those bugs?" asked Nelson.
Carter smiled. "I plan to return them to Colonel Hogan in the morning. Boy, Nelson, that whistle was a great idea. They probably weren't expecting that."
"Thanks, Sir."
"Were you guys able to pick up any information today?" Carter wondered.
"I overheard a couple of guards," explained Montgomery. "Seems like they've just completed a new lab just east of Hammelburg."
"Klink's expecting a visit from General Burkhalter early next week," stated Miller. "Hilda is taking a week off beginning Monday morning. And a week from Saturday is Corporal Langenscheidt's birthday."
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Nelson's face. "I'm not sure but I got the inkling that Barracks 2 has something planned for tomorrow night."
"Okay, we'll ask Klink to have the cookout tomorrow night instead of Friday," Carter declared.
"That doesn't give us much time," protested Miller.
"But it could provide a diversion if they need it. Miller, I'd like to speak with you privately, please. The rest of you are dismissed." Once he and Miller were alone, Carter continued, "Sandy, I'm going to need your help tonight."
"What's up?" Miller asked.
"I want to go to my lab tonight to pick up a few things. I'll need you down there to stand guard."
"Okay, Chief."
"Then, on our way back, I'm going to arrange a cave-in in the branch tunnel leading to our barracks. That should help deter anymore uninvited guests."
Miller was puzzled. "I thought you wanted to use the tunnel system."
"I still do. Tomorrow we're going to start digging an auxiliary tunnel. One to connect with the main system. One that they won't know about. We just have to figure out how to put in a secret entrance they won't find. Now, I figure 01:00 is about the best time to head for tunnels. There shouldn't be much activity then. We'd best turn in and get some rest before then. I'll wake you when it's time."
"Yes, Sir," acknowledged Miller, then turned and left the room. Carter set his alarm clock, then went to bed.