The Stealth Escape
Georg escorted Liesl to her place at the table; then he took his seat beside Maria. She whispered. "Is Liesl okay?"
"Yes, she wanted to know why I didn't want her to go outside if Rolf should come by."
"What did you tell her?"
"That I had seen him throwing stones at her bedroom window right before you and they fell out of the rowboat. He was startled and gave me the new Hitler greeting. She told me things Rolf had told her; but she hadn't believed him. She thought he was trying to impress her.
"She was very surprised when I told her Herr Zeller was hit by lightening and was dead. I then put us both into a happy mood by telling her we had better get to the dining room before Kurt faints from hunger."
Now Maria had to squash her laugh by covering her mouth. And Franz brought the big pot of hot soup to the dining room and set it on the buffet table. A stack of bowls was there too. Before he began to serve, Maria said a prayer of thanks.
"Lord our God, we thank you for all the blessings You have given us. And we also thank You for this food you have provided. May it provide us strength for our journey. Amen."
"Marta and Gretl, I'll serve you first so your serving can cool; it's very hot."
By the time everyone had been served, the little girls serving of soup had cooled enough for them to begin to eat. The older children knew to blow on a spoon full of soup to help it to cool. Everyone ate until they were full. Cookies were served for dessert; along with more milk for the children and coffee for all the adults.
Georg stood when he saw everyone had finished eating. "While the dishes are been washed and put away, everyone should use the bathroom one more time."
"Phillip and I will bring all the bags downstairs so we will be ready to walk to the train station. Georg, I also noticed there is only a quarter moon tonight; I doubt anyone would be able to see us leave."
"That's good."
Once everyone was back downstairs, Georg spoke again. "Franz, I want you to lead and Stephan and Phillip to be last behind Friedrich and Kurt. Isabel and Katia, I'd like you to hold Marta and Gretl's hands. And Liesl, Louisa and Brigitta you can walk behind them. Maria and I will be behind you. And please be very quiet."
The short walk had them to the train station as they heard the distant sound of an approaching train. Soon they heard a far away train whistle. And as the conductor had the station in his sight, he sounded the whistle again.
The conductor had noticed this large group waiting; as soon as the train came to stop, he stepped off and asked.
"Are all of you getting on the train?"
Franz answered him. "Yes, and I have all the tickets."
"Hang on to them; I'll punch them once we are on our way. You can tell your group they can board now."
Franz didn't need to tell them; they had heard the conductor. There was no pushing or shoving; but they did hurry. They quickly found a seat. Gretl sat with Isabel and Katia had Marta with her.
As Georg and Maria boarded the conductor spoke to them. "Don't be startled sir. I know who you are. The main office was informed that starting in the morning one of Hitler's followers will be riding on every train leaving this station."
"Doesn't surprise me. They're an evil bunch. My military intuition told me we needed to leave tonight."
"Once the train leaves the city, it will begin to pick up speed. It's almost a straight line to St. Georgen. The only stops are both in Italy. We should be at St. Georgen almost as the sunrises."
"Do you know if there is an inn near-by?"
"There is; it's only a block from the station."
Two toots of the train's horn announced it was leaving the station. And Georg and Maria checked on the children before taking a seat. They were told. "Try and get some sleep; it will make the time pass quicker."
The conductor had taken all the tickets Franz handed him; he used a device to make a small hole in each one and handed them back to Franz. The hole was proof they had been used.
The train car was quiet; Marta and Gretl were already asleep. The others had separate seats and took a pillow and placed it near the window and slept that way.
The men and ladies simply rested their head on the back of the seat and were able to sleep for at least part of the trip.
Georg had encouraged Maria to sleep but she told him.
"I may try later; right now I'm not sleepy."
"Don't worry, darling. I'm sure we're one step ahead of the Nazis."
"I believe you."
Georg never closed his eyes but Maria rested her head on his shoulder and slept after they had traveled a good distance from Salzburg. She and all the others, except Marta and Gretl, woke when the train made its first stop.
After that, no one could go back to sleep. The next stop even woke Marta and Gretl. And Georg told them.
"The train will be in St. Georgen in about thirty minutes. There's an inn close by where I'm sure we can get something to eat and maybe they have a room where you can wait while Franz and I find the bursar's office where I can collect the war wages which weren't able to be sent to Austria after the war ended."
