A murmur of astonishment broke out among the men who were listening, and Hogan held up a hand for silence.
"Okay, I know, it's a long shot, but..." He broke off as the door opened, and Abrahams and Newkirk came into the barracks, with Beauchamp just behind them.
"All okay?" said Hogan.
The question was addressed to all three of them, but the keen look was directed at Newkirk. He gave a shrug, and a slight grimace.
The colonel nodded, and turned his attention to the other men. "Did anybody see where the Kommandant's secretary went, after Hochstetter ordered her out of the office?"
"We saw her just now, as we were coming back from the cooler," replied Abrahams. "She asked Schultz to get the typewriter out of the office and take it to Klink's quarters, so she could finish typing up the daily reports."
"Perfect," murmured Hogan, in a tone of deep satisfaction. "Kinch, get Carter up here, and bring him up to speed. And send Elise to my office, but give me a couple of minutes first. Newkirk..." He nodded towards his quarters. Before he made any definite plan, he needed a few words in private.
As soon as the door had closed behind them, Newkirk spoke. "You heard?"
"Most of it," replied Hogan. "That was pretty low, even for Hochstetter."
Newkirk smiled wryly. "Never thought I'd be clean-bowled by him, of all people."
"Not quite clean-bowled, Newkirk. He didn't get an answer."
"No. But it threw me a bit when he asked me that. It wasn't what I was expecting, Colonel."
"What did he ask? We couldn't make it out."
There was a crease between Newkirk's eyebrows, and a note of unease in his voice as he answered. "He asked if she was safe."
Then, as Hogan didn't speak, he added, "There was something odd all along about how we got out of that hotel, you know. I remember thinking, it was too easy. They had nobody watching the back stairs, one man on guard at the kitchen door, and nobody in the laneway outside. Colonel, I'm starting to wonder..."
"...whether Hochstetter's been playing his own game all along, trying to keep her out of Rohmer's hands," concluded Hogan. "Yeah, that's occurred to me, too. There were a few things I noticed while we were looking for you." He paused in thought, then added, "Earlier, after you were sent back to the cooler, we heard something that might be relevant. Rohmer made the suggestion that Hochstetter's interest in Elise might not be entirely fraternal."
It took Newkirk a few seconds to take it in.
"If it's true, she doesn't know about it," he said at last. "But, Colonel..." His voice died away, as the deeper implication struck him.
"Uh-huh. Puts a whole new angle on the situation, doesn't it? Come in." Hogan turned his head at the sound of a soft tap on the door.
"You wanted to see her, Colonel?" said Carter. "She's here."
Hogan nodded. "Send her in." He glanced at Newkirk, then at the door, and Newkirk took the hint, waiting only until Elise was inside the room before departing.
"Did Kinch tell you?" asked Hogan.
"He told me I'm leaving today." She spoke very softly; she was still in something of a state of shock.
"Did he tell you anything else?" The puzzled, slightly doubtful look on her face was answer enough. "Okay. This might come as a surprise. We have Klink's office bugged. Earlier we listened in on a conversation between Rohmer and Hochstetter. I hate to bring it up, but it'd be helpful - very helpful - to know whether what we heard is true."
She continued to gaze at him, her eyebrows drawn together. "What did they say?" she asked.
"Rohmer made a particular accusation regarding...okay, it's like this." Hogan paused, trying to find a tactful way to phrase what was a pretty nasty idea. "Has there ever been anything in Hochstetter's behaviour that suggested he might be...well, that he might..."
This was awkward; there didn't seem to be a polite way to ask. However, Elise, whatever her other faults might be, was certainly not slow on the uptake. She stared at him, then uttered a short, bewildered laugh.
"I'm sorry, Colonel," she replied, "but it's quite ridiculous. There's never been the slightest hint of such a thing. He's always been quite civil and pleasant, but...no, nothing like that at all."
Her astonishment was transparently genuine. Newkirk had been right; if there was anything there, she knew nothing about it.
"Fine. Probably Rohmer was just testing the water," concluded Hogan. He decided on the spot to keep her in the dark about Hochstetter's question to Newkirk. It was just possible that the major was playing an even deeper game than they suspected.
He moved on to the main business of the day. "I'm sorry to spring this on you, but it's starting to get a little too warm around here for you. I've got a plan to get you out this afternoon. It's a little risky, and you'll have to head out on your own, but we'll cover for you, and you'll be met by friends once you're outside. If you can keep your head and put on a performance, I think it'll work. Are you game?"
She took the time to think about it before she answered; that was a good sign. Then she nodded, her face pale but her expression determined. "You've got me this far, Colonel. If you believe it can be done, then I'll do my best."
"Good. Come with me." He opened the door, and ushered her out into the main barracks. She glanced nervously at the crowd around the table. Newkirk gave her a little smile, and she slipped past the other men to find a safe haven between him and Carter.
"Okay, pay attention," Hogan said. "Burkhalter will be arriving in about four hours, if his weekly staff meeting finishes on schedule. So that's how long we've got to get Elise ready. She'll head out after Burkhalter gets here; he'll keep Klink and the Gestapo busy for us. Now, the guards on the main gate for the afternoon shift are Kranz and Walther, the new guys. So far they've been on night duty, so they've never seen Klink's secretary up close. So between now and then, Elise has to look as much like Hilda as possible."
Newkirk and LeBeau exchanged looks. They knew now what they'd be doing for the rest of the day.
Hogan continued. "I'll square it with the real Hilda to leave by Gate 3, as if she's going to visit her sister in Meilenheim."
"Think she'll go for it, Colonel?" Kinch sounded doubtful.
"I hope so. It's a big step up from what she's been doing for us," admitted Hogan.
"What about documents?" Newkirk put in. "We haven't started on them yet. I thought we'd have plenty of time."
"Yeah, I know. We'll have to use what's available." He looked away for a moment; Newkirk wasn't going to like this. "Carter, while I'm talking to Hilda, you'll get into Klink's office and find Gretel's identity papers. LeBeau, we'll need you as lookout. The rest of you will stage a diversion outside the barracks, to get Klink out of his quarters and the Gestapo out of his office."
"Colonel, we're confined to barracks," Kinch pointed out.
"No, we're not. At least, we think we're not." Hogan gave him a grin. "Klink rang Burkhalter, and got all of Hochstetter's orders rescinded. And seeing as the exercise period was interrupted, it's only fair that we get another half hour of physical activity. Addison, you said you coached a rugby team, right? Well, now you can coach another one. Only they don't quite understand the rules, so it's going to get a little noisy."
He saw from the looks that passed between the men that they understood exactly how the game was going to go.
"Kinch," he went on. "you'll contact Bruno, and let him know to be at the regular rendezvous point at sixteen thirty. Elise will meet him there, and they'll travel to the coast by train - he knows the routine." He paused, looking around at his crew. "Any questions?'
Newkirk raised his hand. "Just one, Colonel. How do we get the Gestapo out of our hair, once Elise is away?"
"Won't Burkhalter see to that?" said Carter.
"Maybe. But it's a good point, Newkirk. I'm glad you brought it up," observed Hogan. "Kinch, when you reach Bruno, I want to speak to him personally."
"Sure, Colonel. Are we allowed to know why?"
"Because Bruno should be able to help us find something for the Gestapo. Something they've been having trouble with all along," replied Hogan.
"And what might that be, if it's not too much to ask?" said Newkirk.
Hogan raised one eyebrow, and a smile of satisfaction played across his face. "A reliable eye-witness."
The first priority was to contact Bruno. If he couldn't make the rendezvous, there was no point in proceeding. However, there was no need for concern on that score. Bruno was already prepared for departure, and he entered into the spirit of Hogan's other request with an enthusiasm suggesting he'd have liked to be the reliable witness himself.
The next part of the plan was put into effect immediately.
"We've only got ten players," observed Addison. "Not enough for a good match. Five a side's no fun."
"Then call out Barracks 3 as well," said Hogan.
The grin on Addison's face told its own story. He was anticipating a glorious free-for-all. So were the other prisoners. Oh, well, they needed a bit of fun, now and then.
The coach certainly knew how to organise his players; within minutes, he'd sorted them into two teams, explained the basics and got them started. It only took a little longer for the game to go spectacularly wrong. There were five nationalities on the field, each trying to apply the regulations of their own preferred code of football. It was obvious to Newkirk, watching from the barracks, that Addison was perfectly capable of keeping the whole thing under control, and equally obvious that he wasn't making the slightest attempt to do so.
The noise in the compound grew exponentially in both pitch and volume, as discussion of the rules got more heated.
Newkirk waited till he saw the Kommandant appear from behind the office building, before leaning into the tunnel entrance. "The referee just arrived," he called down to Hogan, who was waiting below.
The colonel nodded to Carter and LeBeau. "Okay, let's go. Fast."
Fräulein Hilda already knew a fair bit about what went on at Stalag 13, so she wasn't quite as startled as she might have been, when the wood-stove suddenly pivoted to one side.
"Colonel Hogan," she said, with a slow, welcoming smile.
"LeBeau, keep watch. Carter..." Hogan nodded to the seldom-used connecting door that led to Klink's office.
Cautiously, Carter eased it open a fraction, peered through the gap, then slipped into the office.
Hogan turned his attention to the secretary. "Hilda," he said seriously, "I have to ask you a really big favour."
He was more nervous about this than any other aspect of the scheme. His dealings with Hilda had always been mutually enjoyable as well as mutually beneficial, but the emphasis was on beneficial; he provided her with the small luxuries which were hard to find in town these days, she looked the other way now and then while he transacted a little business. This time he was asking her to actually take part, albeit a small part, in the operation, and he wasn't at all sure how she'd react. She was already looking slightly unsure.
He took both her hands in his own, and looked deep into her eyes. He really liked this girl. If this was one request too many, and she showed any sign of reporting it to the Kommandant, he had no idea what he would do about it. "You already know that sometimes we help passing travellers on their way," he said gravely. "Well, we've got someone who we need to send on today, and with our other visitors, it's not going to be easy."
Hilda tilted her head, a little crease appearing between her perfectly groomed eyebrows as she listened. Hogan tightened his clasp on her fingers. "We're very anxious to keep our friend away from the Gestapo - from Hochstetter. There are a lot of reasons why she needs to keep out of his way."
"Your friend is a woman?" Hilda's voice was neutral; he couldn't tell if she was sympathetic or jealous.
He nodded. "Yes." Then he waited.
She closed her eyes, biting her lip as she considered the situation. Then she looked up at him.
"That man mustn't find her," she said resolutely. "How can I help?"