Any which way I looked at it, I was in one hell of a jam. If I kept my mouth shut about Hogan's shenanigans, then as soon as the Krauts cottoned to what was going on, they'd lower the boom on the whole barracks, including me. The only way I'd get out of it would be if I could somehow tip off the goons, which would get me in good with the Kommandant, and probably get me lynched by the other prisoners if they ever found out.

Either way, I would end up dead.

It probably goes without saying, I didn't get much sleep that night. Partly from worrying about what to do, and partly because of the beef stew. That little French guy is a great cook, but I wish he wouldn't put so much onion in everything. He knows my stomach can't take it, but he does it anyway. I think he's already trying to kill me.

Anyway, whatever the reason, I was wide awake at two in the morning, when they came sneaking back into camp. Hogan must have been listening out for them, because he came out of his private quarters as soon as the trapdoor over the tunnel opened. I couldn't hear what he said, but I got Newkirk's answer, loud and clear: "Went off without a hitch, Colonel. Turquoise is down below, safe and sound. You might have warned us, though. She wasn't what we expected."

He seemed really ticked off about something. I kind of hoped he'd spill the beans about this dame, but no such luck. Hogan went down into the tunnel, and Newkirk and the other guys went to bed. But it sure sounded fishy, and I made up my mind right then and there. First thing in the morning, I was going to make an excuse to call on Klink and tell him what was going on right under his nose. I felt kind of bad about it, but you've gotta look after number one, right? And with that settled, I finally managed to get some shut-eye.

I thought it'd be a cinch. One of the jobs us prisoners are assigned to do is cleaning the Kommandant's office every day. It's supposed to be on a weekly roster, and Carter was down for it this week. But whenever Hogan's guys have other stuff going on – and boy, did they have stuff going on that day – he calls for volunteers. All I had to do was put my hand up for it. Nobody would suspect a thing.

Sure enough, as soon as roll call finished, the whole gang crowded back into the barracks. Now, I'm not saying anyone did it on purpose, maybe they were just in a hurry to get back indoors. But the fact is, just as I got there, the door slammed right in my face. So there I was, stuck outside in the rain.

Did I mention it was raining? Yeah, it was raining, and I got drenched, and the goddamned door wouldn't open. I pushed as hard as I could for a couple of minutes, but it wouldn't budge. Finally I got mad, backed off and charged at it. Of course that was when someone opened it from the other side. So it wasn't my fault that I kept going, ran right into Carter and both of us ended up on the floor.

Everyone was laughing at us, except for Hogan, who just stood there with a big fat smart-ass grin all over his face. "Glad you could join us, Shipley," he said.

You can't tell an officer to shove it. Not to his face, anyway. So I kept my mouth shut, and pretended like I thought he was joking. But I didn't feel so bad any more about squealing to the Krauts.

"All right, men," Hogan went on. "You all know what to do. Any questions?" So it was pretty obvious, I'd missed most of the briefing while they were keeping me out of the barracks.

Carter was holding up his hand. "Yeah, Colonel. I'm supposed to clean Klink's office this morning, but if I'm...well...you know…doing other things..." He sort of mumbled the last bit, glancing sideways at me like he didn't want me to hear, and he wasn't the only one. Anyone would think they didn't trust me.

"Good point, Carter. Someone else will have to dust Klink's knick-knacks for once." Hogan was looking around the group, but before I could jump in and volunteer, he'd already made a decision: "Addison, you usually do a pretty good job. You'd better take it on."

Addison didn't say anything, but he didn't look too happy about it. So I was still in with a chance. I waited till the meeting had broken up and everyone had started their morning chores, and then I sort of sidled up to Addison while he was making up his bunk. "Say, buddy, it's seems kind of unfair for that lousy job to be palmed off on you again."

He stopped shaking up his pillow, and just stared at me like a dummy, then shrugged and went back to work. It was pretty discouraging, but he's like that. Sometimes I think he's even dumber than Carter. Anyway, I kept going: "You know, some of the guys seem to think I don't pull my weight around here. Maybe they've got a point, but I want to make up for it. You know, start off with a clean slate. And I've been thinking, it'd be a great way to show the fellers that I'm turning over a new leaf if I took on some of the jobs they can't fit in, instead of letting you do everything. So if you want to leave Klink's office to me, I'll take care of it."

Addison gave me that blank look of his again. Then he shook his head, and said one word: "No."

He chucked the pillow back onto his bunk and walked off. Jerk.

Okay, so that didn't work. I'd have to find some other way.

Hogan and his gang had gone down into the tunnel, probably to work on whatever kind of no good was next on their list, and seeing as LeBeau was too busy to get breakfast, and since the rain had let up a bit, the other fellers all headed off to the mess hall. No way was I risking it. The stuff they dish up there could kill a man and embalm the body, all in one go. So I hung around the barracks, thinking maybe if one of the guards came past I could get him to pass a message to Klink. None of them came anywhere near, so I got to thinking about that dame they'd brought in last night, and why Newkirk had been so browned off about her. It wasn't like him, not where women were concerned.

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed fishy. I mean, even fishier than it already was. Now, you'd think I'd be smart enough to keep my nose out of it, but it was bugging me. The last thing I needed was some unexpected complication throwing my whole scheme off track. Plus, the more I knew about what was going on, the more I'd have to tell Klink, and with nobody around, it was pretty safe for me to sneak down into the tunnel and see what I could find out.

Now, I've never been let go down there, and I didn't know that they have the radio desk set up right near the foot of the ladder. Lucky for me, nobody was on duty there just then, so I managed to get down without being seen. But as soon as I got there, I started to think I'd made a real big mistake, because there was a whole bunch of tunnels going off in different directions, and I didn't know which way to go. I probably would have given up and got the hell out of there, but then I heard voices, and before I knew what I was doing, I'd ducked into the nearest passage. Next thing you know, Hogan and Kinchloe turned up.

"All right, I'll try to get word to the Underground," said Kinchloe. "But it's pretty short notice."

"Can't be helped, Kinch. We have to get her out of here before the Gestapo turn up. And before she drives Newkirk around the bend."

Kinchloe sniggered. "I think that train's already been derailed, Colonel."

"Yeah, I'd better go and inspect the wreckage. Keep trying, Kinch. Whatever happens, Turquoise has to go out in the dog truck today."

I kept back out of sight until Hogan had gone past, then peered out. Kinchloe was already on the radio. He wasn't looking my way, but he'd spot me straight away if I made for the ladder. So seeing as I was stuck, I figured I might as well go through with it and see what the big deal was about Turquoise. So I followed Hogan.

I heard her before I saw her. She was speaking English, with a thick accent, so it was hard to understand, but I think what she said was: "Stand up straight, young man. It is very lazy to slouch in this way."

"Yes, ma'am." From how he sounded, Newkirk was about ready to haul off and deck her.

"And do not sulk. You are not a child."

"Oh, for – Colonel, request permission to go out and get myself shot. I can't take much more of this."

"Request denied. Sorry, Newkirk, but she's got a point. Your posture could use some work."

Newkirk muttered something, but I couldn't make it out. It didn't sound polite.

I crept closer, to where the tunnel opened out a bit. It was still pretty cramped and the roof was too low for comfort, but as far as I could tell they'd made it into a kind of sleeping quarters. There were a couple of cots along the wall, and what looked like a storage chest knocked up out of old ammo crates, with a washbasin sitting on top of it.

Newkirk was leaning against one wall, and he was sulking, all right. Hogan stood opposite, with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. And Turquoise, if that was her, was in between them, and she looked just like my grandmother, back home in Ohio. Sounded like her, too.

Hogan was speaking again: "So here's the plan. The local vet takes care of the guard dogs, and he comes in once a month to switch them around. When he comes in this afternoon, we'll sneak you into his truck, and he'll take you to the next Underground station. Our friends there will see you safely on your way to the coast."

"I will be in a truck, with dogs? It sounds most unhygienic." Heck, she even thought like Grandma. No wonder Newkirk was fed up.

"It's only for an hour or so. And it's the quickest and safest way to get you out of here." Hogan was getting tetchy, too. He didn't bat an eyelid, but there was something in his voice which made me wonder what his grandma was like.

Turquoise gave a deep sigh. "Very well, if I must. How will you arrange it?"

"The boys will be doing a litter patrol this afternoon."

"If it stops raining," Newkirk put in.

Hogan ignored him, and kept talking to the woman: "We'll put you into an army coverall and hide you among the other prisoners until we get you to Schnitzer's truck. You'll have civilian clothes underneath, so once you're clear you can ditch the coverall and blend in with the general population. In the meantime, I suggest you get some rest. You've got a long trip ahead. Newkirk, you can go and make sure her outfit's ready."

I didn't wait to hear anything else. If Newkirk came this way, I'd be caught for sure. So I bolted back towards the barracks.

Kinchloe was still on the radio. I had to get past him, somehow, and I could only think of one way. There was another side tunnel, smaller and less well-lit, leading off from this part of the complex. I felt around on the floor and found a loose stone, and I tossed it down that side tunnel. He didn't hear it at first, so I got another rock, a bit bigger, and tried again, and this time he looked up.

He didn't say a word. I guess these guys learn to be pretty careful. But after a few seconds he took off his headset and went to investigate, and I didn't waste a second in getting back up to the barracks.

I had all the information I needed, and more. Now all I had to do was find a way to pass it on to the Germans.

Note: this chapter, and the next one, haven't had the usual degree of proof-reading. I'll be tweaking them over the next couple of days. My apologies for any really bad spelling or grammar errors or general incoherency.