huge tank, with a squat, thick-muzzled gun. Emerging from the village was a line of men, three or four wide. From their helmets and greatcoats, he knew they were British. 'Jesus,' he murmured.
'What is it, Sarge?'
'You don't want to know.' Several German infantrymen were walking beside them, rifles in hand. As they cleared the village and tramped slowly out on the valley road, they met the line of artillery. Tanner saw the Germans jeering, then strained his eyes to the front of the prisoners and realized with dismay that none other than Captain Cartwright and Lieutenant Dingwall were leading the column.
Poor sods. For the moment, though, he would keep it to himself. No point unduly worrying the others. 'Come on, Mac, we've seen enough. We need to get a move on.'
They found Nielssen and Larsen waiting for them by the track above the farm. Between them they had managed to get hold of some salted ham, a dozen eggs, some cheese and several loaves of bread. Larsen cut Tanner and McAllister some ham now and passed it to them. It was old, almost blue, and as salty as seawater, but to Tanner it tasted delicious. 'Here, have some bread too,' said Larsen, tearing off a chunk.
'Damn me, that's good.' Tanner grinned. His energy was returning.
'Did you ever have chocolate as a kid, Sarge?' McAllister asked him.
'Once or twice maybe. Why?'
'This tastes even better than that.'
Tanner laughed. 'I reckon you're still a bloody kid, Mac. How old are you?'
'Eighteen, Sarge. A fully grown man, I am.'
'And so, old enough to carry a rifle and go to fight a war,' added Larsen.
'Yes, sir,' said MacAllister. 'Although I admit this wasn't quite what I'd imagined.' Larsen sighed. 'Me neither, Private. Me neither.'
The sky was darker now and would be even more so once they were within the shelter of the dense wooded slopes. 'We should get going,' he said. 'Those are dark clouds. We could be in for some snow up here.'
By the time they were nearing the seter, the cloud lay low over the mountain. Snowflakes were falling.
'Bloody hell,' cursed Tanner. 'Of all the luck.'
'This is not good,' said Larsen.
'It might be all right in the valley,' added Nielssen, 'but up here . . .'
Tanner was pleased to see that the guard outside the seter was awake and alert. Hepworth asked him whether they had managed to find food and if the front had fallen back. 'Yes to both,' Tanner replied. Inside, most of the men slept, although they soon stirred with the arrival of the recce party. The two Norwegian officers passed round the food with, Tanner noticed, considerable fairness. Nielssen produced a Primus stove and a mess tin, then put on some water to boil. The men eagerly crowded round.
'I'm gasping for some tea,' said Kershaw, prompting an enthusiastic muttering of agreement from the others.
'Only coffee, I'm afraid,' said Nielssen.
'Perfect, sir,' said Sykes, quickly. 'Anything wet and hot will be pure nectar.'
Tanner went over and crouched down beside Gulbrand, then looked at the civilian still sitting next to him. He was curious about this fellow - what was a gaunt-faced, middle-aged man doing with these troops of the King's Guard? A politician or diplomat perhaps? He wanted to ask, but reminded himself that it was not his concern why these men were here or what they were doing; after all, he hated people nosing into his own business and saw no need to pry into theirs.
The man eyed him, then leaned over and dabbed the colonel's brow. 'It's not good,' he said. 'He's getting a fever.'
'That probably means his blood's infected.' Tanner opened Gulbrand's greatcoat once more.
The colonel stirred. 'Ah, you're back, Sergeant.'
Tanner continued to peel back his clothing. The smell as he lifted the tunic was overpowering. Gangrene was setting in. Probably septicaemia too. The antiseptic hadn't worked; Tanner had never really thought it would. That shard had probably taken soiled cotton and serge with it into Gulbrand's side and liver. A bit of gentian violet couldn't have performed the miracle the colonel needed.
'It's all right,' said Gulbrand. 'I know I'm going to die.' His voice was low and hoarse.
'I'm sorry, sir. If you'd let us take you down the mountain .. .'
'It would have made no difference. But that's not the point.' He gripped Tanner's arm. 'Tell me, Sergeant, can I depend on you?'
'To get your men to safety? I don't know, sir. We've a few problems just at the minute. But you can depend on me to do my damnedest. I've no intention of getting myself killed or spending the rest of my life in some Jerry prison camp.'
Gulbrand released him, then turned to the civilian. 'Sandvold? Will you leave us alone a moment?' The man got up and walked to Nielssen. Gulbrand watched him, then said, 'We should be with the King. We are, after all, his bodyguard. I have been in His Majesty the King's Guard for nearly twenty years. My loyalty is total. The King knows that. It's why he chose me for this task.' Tanner listened without saying a word. 'The ninth of April was a terrible day,' Gulbrand said. 'A terrible day..
The Germans had attacked Oslo. Everyone had been completely unprepared and it quickly became clear that the capital would fall. Prime Minister Nygaardsvold was persuaded by his government that they should leave Oslo and head north where they could continue to govern and manage the crisis away from German guns. The King was informed of the decision and immediately agreed that he and his son, Crown Prince Olav, should go with them. Shortly after, he called for Gulbrand. King Hakon wanted a dozen men to act as his bodyguard and for the rest of the Guard to follow to Hamar as quickly as possible. Gulbrand was to remain with the King, who entrusted to him a number of documents and jewels for safe-keeping. The King had made him swear to keep them about his person at all times.
The train for Hamar had left at seven that morning. 'Imagine what that was like,' said Gulbrand. 'To leave the capital. It felt as though we were running away. It was hard to bear.' But, in truth, they had had little choice. Norway was a peaceful country - a neutral country - and her armed forces were ill-equipped to deal with such an invasion. 'A mobilization order was announced that same morning,' Gulbrand told him, 'but it was too late. Far too late. Most of the men fighting in the valley here have had no training whatsoever. They've been given a uniform and a rifle and sent off to fight. Those serving in the standing Army will have had just eighty-four days' training. That's not even three months. We in the Guards, of course, train all the time, but even so, our equipment is poor so our training has been limited. All my men, Sergeant, can fire a rifle as well as anyone, but that's not enough to stop these bastards. We've got no tanks, no anti-tank weapons, no mines. We don't even have any hand grenades. Our field guns are old. We've got some machine-guns but few men have had any training on them. My God, there haven't even been enough uniforms. Half the men have been issued with 1914- pattern. So, you see, we had no choice but to leave Oslo.'
