'Better pray Jerry doesn't catch up with us on the ground neither,' said McAllister.
Sykes grinned. 'If he does he'll have a hell of a headache after getting through this lot.' He delved into his bag. 'Anyway, I've got something for you.' He produced a dozen packets of cigarettes.
'Stan, you genius, where did you get those?' asked Tanner.
'Saw a box of 'em on the ammo train and half-inched a load.'
The packets were torn open, matches lit and the truck filled with tobacco smoke. Tanner leant back and exhaled. 'I've missed this,' he said, then winked at Sykes. 'I'm ready for action again now.'
At the Marines' position they unloaded and reported to Lieutenant Lindsay.
'A successful trip, Sergeant?'
'Very, sir, thank you,' Tanner replied.
'Now, what had you in mind? The Luftwaffe have had another crack at that tunnel, I see. Mercifully, it's been quiet enough here, but how long that will last, God only knows.'
'We need to get a move on, sir, that's for sure. Perhaps you could show me round.'
'Of course, Sergeant. Follow me.'
It was, Tanner recognized, a naturally strong position. The sides of the valley were steep and rose sharply from the river's edge on both sides. Just behind them, a smaller river cascaded down the mountain sides to join the Lagen, while the valley road and the railway line, the latter lying above the former, had been cut away from the mountain. To the north of the railway, thick forest covered the slopes. For an attacking force, there was only one way any vehicle could pass and that was by either road or rail. Otherwise, the position could be turned only by infantry.
Tanner was reluctant to be too critical of the captain's dispositions. He could see the northern side of the valley and the Lagen, which ran wide and fast, full of melted snow. The mortar team and heavy and light machine- gun crews were dug in behind hastily built sangars, while the rest of the men had made good use of what cover there was.
The tour over, Tanner gathered his men. 'What are your thoughts, Stan?'
'Well, Sarge,' said Sykes, 'we should blow the road in a couple of places, then set up a few booby traps - wires between trees, that sort of thing. As soon as they come we want a fairly clear field of fire, but also to leave ourselves enough time to scarper if it comes to it.'
'So, how far down the track?'
Sykes shrugged. 'Six hundred yards?'
Tanner agreed. 'That should do it. Iggery, lads. Let's be quick about it.'
********
In Vinstra, Reichsamtsleiter Scheidt was having one of the worst days of his life. Woken for the second morning running in the early hours, he had received the shattering news that Odin had eluded them again. Only as the morning progressed did the extent of their failure become apparent. First, Henrik Larsen's body had been found, then reports had arrived from General Geisler's Luftwaffe headquarters that two German Opel trucks had been spotted and strafed heading northwards. Either Odin was already dead, or he had surely made it to Allied lines.
Having badgered Engelbrecht's staff all morning, he was finally granted an interview shortly after noon.
'General, about time, I—'
The general put up a hand to silence him. 'A moment, Herr Reichsamtsleiter,' he said, put a lit cigar into his mouth, stood up, walked round his desk, and led Scheidt into the briefing room.
At the map on the wall he paused, took a puff of his cigar, then pointed to the map. 'Herr Reichsamtsleiter,' he said coolly, 'this is our difficulty. There are three blown bridges here, at Dombas, and here -' He pointed to a small village a few miles further north '- at Hauge. This has considerably slowed our advance.'
'So when do you think your troops will be through?'
Engelbrecht sighed. 'Soon. They'll reach Verma around seven o'clock this evening, I should think. The Luftwaffe are harrying their positions continually and bombing Andalsnes too.'
'But what about Odin? How are we going to capture him now?'
'Odin is no longer my concern, Scheidt.'
'General, do you have any idea how important this man is? You must make another attempt to—'
Engelbrecht turned on him. 'We're not going to do anything about Odin,' he said, taking his cigar from his mouth and jabbing it at Scheidt. 'I don't give a damn about him. I'm sick of him. I'm sick of you! I've already wasted enough time and men on this, running around as you asked me when I've got a battle to manage. And what do I discover? That your intelligence is about as reliable as snow in a desert! Now let me tell you, the enemy are evacuating and it's my task to make sure that as few as possible get away. So, please, leave this headquarters. Go back to Lillehammer or Oslo or wherever you want to go, but stop bothering me.'
'You can't speak to me like that!' Scheidt retorted. He was taller than the general by a couple of inches yet somehow felt as though he was looking up at him. 'I'm going to speak to Terboven about this. I'm sure he'll be delighted to hear about your attitude.'
'Save yourself the bother, Herr Reichsamtsleiter. I've already spoken with him.'
'You have?' Scheidt was incredulous.
'Yes, and believe me, Herr Reichsamtsleiter, he's not very happy. Not very happy at all. Now get out! Go on! Get out of my sight!'
Scheidt was speechless. He turned, twisting his foot as he did so, then hobbled from the room.
Chapter 23
Sergeant Tanner and his men, under Sykes's imperturbable supervision, had blown the road and the railway line three times with fifty yards between each crater. They had also felled a series of trees and linked a web of booby traps among them so that the moment anyone tried to move the barriers one or more cartridges of Nobel's finest No. 808 desensitized gelignite would explode in their faces. In addition, they made liberal use of grenades and safety fuse, preparing a variety of trip-wires between trees further up the slopes away from the road.
Since midday, two more waves of bombers had headed over, dropping loads at either end of the tunnel, then going on to paste Andalsnes, but the tunnel had not been blocked, Lieutenant Lindsay had confirmed, and the tiny port was still open for business. A number of Junkers 88s had swept low down the valley, half-heartedly strafing the Marines' position, but no one had been injured; men dug in and spread out were a far harder target than a lone convoy on a narrow road.
There had been no sign of the enemy on the ground, which had given Tanner and his men the chance to put some finishing touches to their devil's nest of explosives and booby traps. At well-spaced intervals, they were now placing single cartridges of gelignite, some propped up on rocks, others wedged atop mounds of earth and pebbles. All, however, were visible from a number of vantage-points along the Marines' positions.
'A bloody good idea of yours, this, Sarge,' said Sykes, as he handed over his last cartridge.
'Waste not, want not, Stan. Got the box?'
Sykes handed it to him.
