~Chapter 3~
Georg, Maria and Max looked at Friedrich with their mouths open.
"What? Are you sure?" Georg demanded, standing up and walking up to his son.
Friedrich nodded vehemently.
"We came out of the bakery, and we almost bumped into two Nazis who were walking past!"
Louisa nodded to confirm her brother's story.
"Yes, and we wanted to wait and see where they were going, but we were afraid they'd see us," she added, still out of breath. "So we ran all the way from the village to tell you!"
Georg looked around at Maria and Max, who were still looking at Friedrich and Louisa in horror.
Georg looked back at his children. "You did well, telling us right away," he told them. They were both looking at him wide-eyed, their scared faces anxious to be reassured by him. It hurt him that he was not able to give them the reassurance they so desperately wanted. He put his hands on Friedrich's shoulders. "Now go upstairs and see if you can help Liesl," he said. "But don't say anything yet."
He patted Friedrich's shoulder and slightly caressed Louisa's cheek. They nodded at him, still looking scared, but turned to go upstairs as he'd told them.
As Georg turned around, he met Maria's scared look.
"How did they find us here?" she asked him.
He shook his head, sitting down again. "I don't know, darling," he said, grabbing her hand over the table and holding it, trying to think of what to do. He had not seen any Nazis himself, when he came from the station - that must mean there weren't too many around. Not yet, anyway. He remained silent while he tried to think of all possibilities.
Maria glanced sideways at him. For a moment, Georg seemed as cool and distant as he had been during most of their ordeal in Salzburg. It still unnerved her to see how quickly her husband could change from a warm and loving man to a calculating Captain.
He noticed her glance, and realising how he must come across, he smiled at her briefly. "We'll be all right," he promised.
***
"Father, how did they find us?" asked Louisa, breaking the silence, phrasing what they all wanted to know.
All ten of them were sitting at the kitchen table, ready to go, waiting for nightfall.
When her father didn't answer, Louisa turned to Maria. "Mother?"
Maria looked at Louisa's pale face. Even though it was usually hard to find out what went on in Louisa's head, this time the girl could not hide her fear.
"We don't know, darling," she answered. Louisa didn't ask any further.
"I thought that we were safe in Italy," came Brigitta's soft voice.
"We'll be safe again soon, sweetheart," Maria told her, trying to convince the children as much as herself.
They were silent again, and seconds seemed like hours as they waited for the time to come when they would leave.
After what seemed like an eternity, Georg stood up.
"It's time," was all he said.
As Maria stood up as well, they exchanged a glance over the table. Two tight smiles showed nervousness, but also trust in each other - and their future.
***
They walked along the dark road in silence towards the village, where they intended to get on the train to Milan. Max carried Gretl, while Georg held Marta's hand. The children's faces were white and solemn.
Maria was walking next to Louisa. Occasionally, she glanced sideways at her daughter, whose trembling lower lip was the only sign that gave away her fear. When Maria caught Louisa's eye, she smiled reassuringly at her.
Suddenly, Georg stopped walking.
"What is it?" Maria asked, but he turned around and motioned to everyone to be quiet.
"There's a car approaching," he said. "Quickly!" He pulled Marta by the hand, shoving her into the bushes by the side of the road.
"Come, everyone, hide," he whispered, nodding his head toward the bushes.
The children and Max disappeared into the undergrowth. Maria walked up to her husband. He was peering into the dark, wondering why he could not yet see the headlights of the car he heard approaching.
Maria felt for his hand, and he looked at her for a second. Squeezing her hand in an attempt to comfort her a bit, he gave her a tight smile and motioned to the bushes.
"Go on," he told her, and she did, glancing back at him with a worried frown. As she knelt to hide from sight, her left side stung and she bit her lower lip. She sent a prayer heavenward, asking for the strength to ignore her pain and guide her children through this.
As the car rounded the bend in the road, Georg could see the headlights were off, and it was suddenly closer than he had thought. He turned around and dove into the bushes, scrambling over the ground while at the same time trying to keep an eye on the car. It passed them slowly, and Georg could make out at least four shapes inside it. It was too dark too see their faces, but it was obvious that they were looking for something, or somebody.
As the car passed the bush in which they were hiding, he released his breath, which he had not even realised he'd been holding.
"Do you think that those were the Nazis, Father?" Kurt's voice was close to Georg's ear.
Georg looked aside to see the vague shape of his son's face in the darkness. He only nodded. "Where's Max?" he wondered, looking around, but not seeing much in the dark jumble of branches and leaves.
"I'm here, Georg. I was just discovering the joys of lying down in a patch of nettles," Max's voice came from behind him. Georg got up carefully and moved towards Max.
"We should stay off the road," Georg whispered to him. Max nodded. Maria joined them, pushing the branches away from her face and trying to pluck a thorny branch from her skirt with the other hand. "How will we get to the station without being discovered?" she asked, keeping her voice down. "It's too dangerous to follow the road," said Georg, looking around and wondering what other options there were.
"Father?" Friedrich had been listening intently. "Louisa and I walked to the village through the fields this afternoon. I'm sure we'll be able to find it in the dark, won't we, Louisa?" He looked around, trying to find his sister. Louisa was right behind him and confirmed what her brother said by nodding.
"Are you sure?" Georg looked at his oldest son with slight admiration. Friedrich nodded.
"Alright," said Georg. "You show us the way then." He looked around, trying to make out the faces of his family in the dark.
"Come," said Friedrich, proud that his father put such faith in him. He dove further into the bushes, followed by his brother and sisters.
Georg felt Maria's hand on his arm.
"Are you sure you should let Friedrich lead the way?" He could feel her breath on his face as she stood close to him, whispering.
"Maria, they've been roaming the countryside for the last two weeks. I think he knows his way around here better than anyone of us."
Maria sighed. She knew Georg had a point, but she was still anxious.
He touched her face lightly. "Are you alright?"
She stole a quick kiss to assure him that she was fine.
"All right then. Let's follow the leader," Georg tried to lighten her mood a little, and took her by the hand while they went after Friedrich and the others.
***
As they emerged out of the bushes Maria looked around, and found that they were on the edge of a field of corn. To their left, she could just make out the dimly lit windows of a farm.
Friedrich and Louisa were standing by a fence, looking up at their father's face a little hesitantly. Georg nodded at them to show his encouragement.
The two turned around, and Louisa started climbing over the fence into the cornfield. Georg shot a glance at Maria before going after them, worried about how she would manage climbing over the fence with her broken ribs. Max was already lifting Gretl over the fence, into the arms of Louisa, who put her youngest sister on the ground on the other side. The other children climbed over easily, as the fence was merely there as a boundary, only a meter high, and not really designed to keep people out. Georg watched Maria's face closely as Friedrich helped her to climb onto the fence and swing her legs over. He saw her face contract with pain for a moment, but she didn't say anything. Knowing that she did not want to worry him, he decided not to comment.
They walked along the fence for a few meters until they reached a path through the corn. The waving plants were two meters high and the small path was pitch black.
"Wait," Georg whispered at Friedrich. Turning around to see if everybody was still close, he said: "Everybody, hold hands. Max, you'll close the line, and I'll go first. Nobody let go of each other!"
Georg went ahead into the darkness of the narrow corn tunnel. Friedrich was right behind him, holding his father's hand tightly. Maria was in the middle, Gretl on one side, Liesl on the other.
For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the nervous breathing of ten people, and the wind rustling through the corn above their heads.
Suddenly they reached the end of the cornfield and were standing near another fence again. Georg looked up at the stars, determining which way to go. He nodded silently as Friedrich pointed to their right.
"Look Father, we have to get over this fence, and then go in the direction of that farm there. That's the beginning of the village," Friedrich indicated.
Again, the whole family climbed over a fence, and started trudging through a muddy field.
They managed to reach the edge of the village without difficulty. As they slipped through the gate of the field onto the road again, Friedrich beamed with pride as his father squeezed his shoulder.
"Well done," Georg told him. He assessed where they were and how far it would still be to the station. Checking his watch, he calculated they would have to move fast if they still wanted to get on the last train to Milan. They would have to get into the streets again, and remembering their encounter with the darkened car before, Georg was not happy with that at all. Still, he had no choice.
He motioned for his family to cross the street. It was lined with trees on that side, allowing them some dark shadows to hide in at least. Georg ran across the street last, looking around carefully. To his relief, the village seemed deserted, and they hurried along in the direction of the station.
Georg looked up as he felt Maria moving up beside him. "Don't you think the station will be crowded with Nazis?" she asked him, looking worried.
He shook his head. "They are probably keeping an eye on it, but I don't think there are very many of them here. It's not like in Salzburg; the Nazis have to keep a low profile while they're in Italy. If we're careful, we should be able to get on that train."
Maria nodded, hoping he was right. She hadn't forgotten what happened the last time they had tried to escape together by train.
Georg seemed to know what she was thinking. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "We will stay together, Maria, whatever happens. I promise."
She swallowed and closed her eyes, praying that he would be right.
As they approached the village square on which the station bordered, Georg made the whole family stop. He looked around, trying to determine if it was safe to cross the square.
"Maria? Children?" he pointed to the left, where a group of trees cast a dark shadow over a little music pavilion. Maria ushered the children into the shadows, casting a worried glance at her husband. Max and Georg remained together on the edge of the open space. Slowly, Georg took a few steps, still carefully scanning around for movement. Apart from a couple walking up the steps of the station in the distance, there was nobody around. Georg and Max walked towards the middle of the square, now completely in the open and clearly visible in the light of the lanterns. Still not seeing anything that worried him, Georg started to feel a little more at ease. Exchanging a glance with Max, he started to turn around, wanting to motion to Maria and the children to follow them.
Just as he raised his hand in Maria's direction, a car drove out of a street to his right at high speed, screeching to a halt only two meters behind him. As Georg turned around and squinted his eyes at the headlights, two men jumped out. A split second before Georg started to run, he recognised a voice he had hoped never to hear again yell: "Get him!"
Georg, Maria and Max looked at Friedrich with their mouths open.
"What? Are you sure?" Georg demanded, standing up and walking up to his son.
Friedrich nodded vehemently.
"We came out of the bakery, and we almost bumped into two Nazis who were walking past!"
Louisa nodded to confirm her brother's story.
"Yes, and we wanted to wait and see where they were going, but we were afraid they'd see us," she added, still out of breath. "So we ran all the way from the village to tell you!"
Georg looked around at Maria and Max, who were still looking at Friedrich and Louisa in horror.
Georg looked back at his children. "You did well, telling us right away," he told them. They were both looking at him wide-eyed, their scared faces anxious to be reassured by him. It hurt him that he was not able to give them the reassurance they so desperately wanted. He put his hands on Friedrich's shoulders. "Now go upstairs and see if you can help Liesl," he said. "But don't say anything yet."
He patted Friedrich's shoulder and slightly caressed Louisa's cheek. They nodded at him, still looking scared, but turned to go upstairs as he'd told them.
As Georg turned around, he met Maria's scared look.
"How did they find us here?" she asked him.
He shook his head, sitting down again. "I don't know, darling," he said, grabbing her hand over the table and holding it, trying to think of what to do. He had not seen any Nazis himself, when he came from the station - that must mean there weren't too many around. Not yet, anyway. He remained silent while he tried to think of all possibilities.
Maria glanced sideways at him. For a moment, Georg seemed as cool and distant as he had been during most of their ordeal in Salzburg. It still unnerved her to see how quickly her husband could change from a warm and loving man to a calculating Captain.
He noticed her glance, and realising how he must come across, he smiled at her briefly. "We'll be all right," he promised.
***
"Father, how did they find us?" asked Louisa, breaking the silence, phrasing what they all wanted to know.
All ten of them were sitting at the kitchen table, ready to go, waiting for nightfall.
When her father didn't answer, Louisa turned to Maria. "Mother?"
Maria looked at Louisa's pale face. Even though it was usually hard to find out what went on in Louisa's head, this time the girl could not hide her fear.
"We don't know, darling," she answered. Louisa didn't ask any further.
"I thought that we were safe in Italy," came Brigitta's soft voice.
"We'll be safe again soon, sweetheart," Maria told her, trying to convince the children as much as herself.
They were silent again, and seconds seemed like hours as they waited for the time to come when they would leave.
After what seemed like an eternity, Georg stood up.
"It's time," was all he said.
As Maria stood up as well, they exchanged a glance over the table. Two tight smiles showed nervousness, but also trust in each other - and their future.
***
They walked along the dark road in silence towards the village, where they intended to get on the train to Milan. Max carried Gretl, while Georg held Marta's hand. The children's faces were white and solemn.
Maria was walking next to Louisa. Occasionally, she glanced sideways at her daughter, whose trembling lower lip was the only sign that gave away her fear. When Maria caught Louisa's eye, she smiled reassuringly at her.
Suddenly, Georg stopped walking.
"What is it?" Maria asked, but he turned around and motioned to everyone to be quiet.
"There's a car approaching," he said. "Quickly!" He pulled Marta by the hand, shoving her into the bushes by the side of the road.
"Come, everyone, hide," he whispered, nodding his head toward the bushes.
The children and Max disappeared into the undergrowth. Maria walked up to her husband. He was peering into the dark, wondering why he could not yet see the headlights of the car he heard approaching.
Maria felt for his hand, and he looked at her for a second. Squeezing her hand in an attempt to comfort her a bit, he gave her a tight smile and motioned to the bushes.
"Go on," he told her, and she did, glancing back at him with a worried frown. As she knelt to hide from sight, her left side stung and she bit her lower lip. She sent a prayer heavenward, asking for the strength to ignore her pain and guide her children through this.
As the car rounded the bend in the road, Georg could see the headlights were off, and it was suddenly closer than he had thought. He turned around and dove into the bushes, scrambling over the ground while at the same time trying to keep an eye on the car. It passed them slowly, and Georg could make out at least four shapes inside it. It was too dark too see their faces, but it was obvious that they were looking for something, or somebody.
As the car passed the bush in which they were hiding, he released his breath, which he had not even realised he'd been holding.
"Do you think that those were the Nazis, Father?" Kurt's voice was close to Georg's ear.
Georg looked aside to see the vague shape of his son's face in the darkness. He only nodded. "Where's Max?" he wondered, looking around, but not seeing much in the dark jumble of branches and leaves.
"I'm here, Georg. I was just discovering the joys of lying down in a patch of nettles," Max's voice came from behind him. Georg got up carefully and moved towards Max.
"We should stay off the road," Georg whispered to him. Max nodded. Maria joined them, pushing the branches away from her face and trying to pluck a thorny branch from her skirt with the other hand. "How will we get to the station without being discovered?" she asked, keeping her voice down. "It's too dangerous to follow the road," said Georg, looking around and wondering what other options there were.
"Father?" Friedrich had been listening intently. "Louisa and I walked to the village through the fields this afternoon. I'm sure we'll be able to find it in the dark, won't we, Louisa?" He looked around, trying to find his sister. Louisa was right behind him and confirmed what her brother said by nodding.
"Are you sure?" Georg looked at his oldest son with slight admiration. Friedrich nodded.
"Alright," said Georg. "You show us the way then." He looked around, trying to make out the faces of his family in the dark.
"Come," said Friedrich, proud that his father put such faith in him. He dove further into the bushes, followed by his brother and sisters.
Georg felt Maria's hand on his arm.
"Are you sure you should let Friedrich lead the way?" He could feel her breath on his face as she stood close to him, whispering.
"Maria, they've been roaming the countryside for the last two weeks. I think he knows his way around here better than anyone of us."
Maria sighed. She knew Georg had a point, but she was still anxious.
He touched her face lightly. "Are you alright?"
She stole a quick kiss to assure him that she was fine.
"All right then. Let's follow the leader," Georg tried to lighten her mood a little, and took her by the hand while they went after Friedrich and the others.
***
As they emerged out of the bushes Maria looked around, and found that they were on the edge of a field of corn. To their left, she could just make out the dimly lit windows of a farm.
Friedrich and Louisa were standing by a fence, looking up at their father's face a little hesitantly. Georg nodded at them to show his encouragement.
The two turned around, and Louisa started climbing over the fence into the cornfield. Georg shot a glance at Maria before going after them, worried about how she would manage climbing over the fence with her broken ribs. Max was already lifting Gretl over the fence, into the arms of Louisa, who put her youngest sister on the ground on the other side. The other children climbed over easily, as the fence was merely there as a boundary, only a meter high, and not really designed to keep people out. Georg watched Maria's face closely as Friedrich helped her to climb onto the fence and swing her legs over. He saw her face contract with pain for a moment, but she didn't say anything. Knowing that she did not want to worry him, he decided not to comment.
They walked along the fence for a few meters until they reached a path through the corn. The waving plants were two meters high and the small path was pitch black.
"Wait," Georg whispered at Friedrich. Turning around to see if everybody was still close, he said: "Everybody, hold hands. Max, you'll close the line, and I'll go first. Nobody let go of each other!"
Georg went ahead into the darkness of the narrow corn tunnel. Friedrich was right behind him, holding his father's hand tightly. Maria was in the middle, Gretl on one side, Liesl on the other.
For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the nervous breathing of ten people, and the wind rustling through the corn above their heads.
Suddenly they reached the end of the cornfield and were standing near another fence again. Georg looked up at the stars, determining which way to go. He nodded silently as Friedrich pointed to their right.
"Look Father, we have to get over this fence, and then go in the direction of that farm there. That's the beginning of the village," Friedrich indicated.
Again, the whole family climbed over a fence, and started trudging through a muddy field.
They managed to reach the edge of the village without difficulty. As they slipped through the gate of the field onto the road again, Friedrich beamed with pride as his father squeezed his shoulder.
"Well done," Georg told him. He assessed where they were and how far it would still be to the station. Checking his watch, he calculated they would have to move fast if they still wanted to get on the last train to Milan. They would have to get into the streets again, and remembering their encounter with the darkened car before, Georg was not happy with that at all. Still, he had no choice.
He motioned for his family to cross the street. It was lined with trees on that side, allowing them some dark shadows to hide in at least. Georg ran across the street last, looking around carefully. To his relief, the village seemed deserted, and they hurried along in the direction of the station.
Georg looked up as he felt Maria moving up beside him. "Don't you think the station will be crowded with Nazis?" she asked him, looking worried.
He shook his head. "They are probably keeping an eye on it, but I don't think there are very many of them here. It's not like in Salzburg; the Nazis have to keep a low profile while they're in Italy. If we're careful, we should be able to get on that train."
Maria nodded, hoping he was right. She hadn't forgotten what happened the last time they had tried to escape together by train.
Georg seemed to know what she was thinking. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "We will stay together, Maria, whatever happens. I promise."
She swallowed and closed her eyes, praying that he would be right.
As they approached the village square on which the station bordered, Georg made the whole family stop. He looked around, trying to determine if it was safe to cross the square.
"Maria? Children?" he pointed to the left, where a group of trees cast a dark shadow over a little music pavilion. Maria ushered the children into the shadows, casting a worried glance at her husband. Max and Georg remained together on the edge of the open space. Slowly, Georg took a few steps, still carefully scanning around for movement. Apart from a couple walking up the steps of the station in the distance, there was nobody around. Georg and Max walked towards the middle of the square, now completely in the open and clearly visible in the light of the lanterns. Still not seeing anything that worried him, Georg started to feel a little more at ease. Exchanging a glance with Max, he started to turn around, wanting to motion to Maria and the children to follow them.
Just as he raised his hand in Maria's direction, a car drove out of a street to his right at high speed, screeching to a halt only two meters behind him. As Georg turned around and squinted his eyes at the headlights, two men jumped out. A split second before Georg started to run, he recognised a voice he had hoped never to hear again yell: "Get him!"