When he reached the seter, he was short of breath, but his eyes were wide with excitement. 'They have gone,' he told them, then grinned. 'You have been spotted back over on the other side of the mountain. They think you crossed into the Gudbrandsdal valley again.'
'What about the men in the church?' asked Tanner. 'Was that them leaving earlier?'
Sulheim nodded. 'Yes. I did not let them know that I speak German, but the officer was becoming increasingly agitated. He was convinced you would appear when it was dark. I think he was on the point of leaving anyway when he had the signal.'
'How could we have been spotted?' Chevannes asked.
'A Norwegian reported seeing you.' He grinned again. 'You see? We are mostly patriotic countrymen around here.'
They loaded their packs hastily and headed back down the mountain to the valley. Unease dogged Tanner's every step, as though they were heading inexorably into a trap. Yet no shots were fired, neither did enemy troops appear. At the farm, anxious minutes ticked by as Sulheim replaced the alternator in the truck. His wife gave them bread and cold meat, but Tanner's appetite had left him.
At last they were ready to go. It was some time after six o'clock on the morning of Saturday, 27 April.
'What will you say if the Germans return and see the truck gone?' Tanner asked Sulheim.
'That you came back and forced us to hand it over.'
'Perhaps we should tie you up. Otherwise you'd be obliged to contact them the moment we left.'
'All right.'
Shortly after, with the family bound and left in the house, they loaded themselves into the truck. 'I'll drive,' Tanner told Chevannes. 'I know these vehicles. The British Army's got hundreds of them.' It was true, although the military versions were larger, heavier, and of a more basic construction. Nonetheless as Tanner stepped into the cab with Anna and Lieutenant Chevannes beside him, the driving mechanism felt familiar. Turn the ignition key, pull out the choke and press down the starter in the footwell. The engine turned over a couple of times then fired into life, the speedometer and oil pressure gauge flickering. Tanner put his foot down on the deep clutch, pushed the shaking lever into gear, released the handbrake, then eased them out of the yard and on to the road.
*********
In Lillehammer, Reichsamtsleiter Scheidt had spent another wretched night sleeping little, drinking too much brandy, smoking too many cigarettes and railing against their continued inability to find and capture Odin. With the arrival of morning and his return to the SD offices, his mood had worsened when a signal arrived from Zellner informing him that the night's search had been fruitless and that misinformation from a Norwegian farmer had sent them on a wild-goose chase back to the western side of the Gudbrandsdalen.
'Please stop fretting, Herr Reichsamtsleiter,' Kurz had told him. 'Go out and get some fresh air. Take a walk. But, for God's sake, stop glowering in here.'
Scheidt was contemplating doing as Kurz suggested when a clerk knocked at the door. Kurz looked up.
'A signal, sir. It's just come through.'
Scheidt strode over and snatched the thin transcript paper. As he read it, a smile broke across his face. 'At last,' he said. 'Perhaps your brand of optimism is justified after all, Sturmbannfuhrer.'
'Atmospheric conditions have changed, then?' grinned Kurz.
Scheidt nodded. 'It would seem so, Sturmbannfuhrer.'
A different message was tapped out to Zellner, now back at Tretten after another exhausting night in which he had felt the fear of failure clawing at him. As the clerk brought it to him, he snatched the piece of paper from his hand and read it with mounting excitement.
'Odin located in J0ra valley. They have M/T and are heading north. Stop them. Do not fail. Kurz.'
Tanner glanced in the mirror. Through the window at the back of the cab, he could see Erwood and Hepworth manning the Bren, its barrel resting on the tailgate. Next to them Larsen was scanning the valley with his binoculars to the south. It was meandering and close, narrowing to no more than a few hundred yards wide, the steep, wooded slopes rising above them. It gave Tanner a claustrophobic feeling, as though the world was closing in on them.
They drove in silence at first, which suited him. He wanted to concentrate and keep a watchful guard on the road ahead without distraction, but at length Chevannes spoke. 'Tell me, Anna,' he said, 'have you always lived here in the Gudbrandsdalen?'
'My family have, yes,' she said, 'but I have been studying in Oslo for the past three years.'
'Studying what?'
'Medicine - at the university.'
'A doctor in the making. You must be very clever.'
Anna looked down, embarrassed. 'Perhaps I will not be able to finish now. I still have another year. Everything has stopped with the war.'
'I am sure it will not go on for ever. In any case, people will still need doctors.'
'I will not become a doctor under the Nazis,' Anna replied, anger in her voice.
'No, no, of course not. Anyway, I am sure we will send them packing. Most of the French forces are in the north. With the British and our joint naval forces we will turn the tide. Lack of proper planning has been the problem here, but that won't be the case on the coast.'
'I hope you're right.' Anna sounded doubtful.
'I am, and let me tell you why. France has the largest army in the world. I know we have all seen pictures of Germans goose-stepping at Nazi rallies, but that is for show. They might have swept aside Poland, but the Polish cavalry was still on horseback. There is nothing so very remarkable about beating Poland. France, on the other hand, has an army of more than two million men, and more tanks and guns than Britain and Germany put together. In any case, we have sent some of our best troops to Norway - the Chasseurs Alpins, of course, but also the Legion Etrangere. So all will be well, you'll see.' He patted her knee.
Tanner felt her flinch. Shut the hell up, you French bastard, he thought. This was no time to sweet-talk Anna Rostad.
'Of course,' said Chevannes, after a short pause, 'I never went to university myself, but I did study at St Cyr. That's our national military academy.'
Anna nodded.
'Yes,' he continued, 'it is a fine place. It was established by the emperor himself, Napoleon Bonaparte. Near Versailles. Ah, it was a wonderful time in my life, training to be a soldier - training hard, I should add. It was something I had always wanted to do. And with Paris on our doorstep. I have never been to Oslo, but Paris is a beautiful city. A wonderful city. You must visit one day, Anna. Come to Paris and I will show you around myself.'
'All clear at the back?' yelled Tanner, leaning out of the open window.
'All clear, Sarge,' came Sykes's muffled reply
'And Versailles is magnificent, of course,' continued Chevannes. 'A stunning palace but also the gardens —'
'Where are we now, sir?' said Tanner.
Chevannes stopped speaking and opened the map on his lap.
'We're leaving the river behind,' added Tanner.
Anna peered over Chevannes' shoulder. 'Yes,' she said. 'We are here.' She pointed a finger. 'We are climbing to the Espedalen where there is a mountain lake.'
Tanner dropped down a gear as they drove out of the valley. The road was now rough and potholed, and the truck laboured as the track steepened. 'Come on,' muttered Tanner, 'you can do it.' The Morris kept going, but more slowly with every yard. 'Are you scanning the skies, Dan, Hep?' he shouted.
'Yes, Sarge,' came the reply.
'Don't worry, Sergeant,' said Anna, 'the road soon levels off again.'
'Good. I don't like going so slowly. Too bloody easy for any passing Jerry aircraft.' He leant forward and tried to look up. A few bulbous white clouds but otherwise the sky was a deep and bright blue. Not good for spotting
