Chapter 15 - Shooting

Dirt Jan wakes up sore and tired, but Mrs. Van Mannen tells him there's room for him on Mr. Dirtis's truck to Utskirt. They discuss Everett's condition and Dirt Jan is relieved to know he will be taken care of. Dirt Jan gets a seat in the truck and sits with Mr. Jertus, the driver. They encounter a group of women waiting for a place in the truck, and Mr. Jertus invites Dirt Jan to sit with him in the driver's seat. They see a German military lorry being attacked by English planes, and the prisoners escape. Mr. Jertus helps one of the escapees onto the truck. They pass the wreckage of the lorry and narrowly avoid being stopped by German guards. The escapee plans to find a hiding place to continue studying. CHAPTER FIFTEEN, SHOOTING The next morning, when Dirt Jan awoke, his whole body ached and his feet were sore and swollen. He sighed when he thought it was a long walk ahead of him, but when he went into the kitchen where the five pale Van Maiden children were happily consuming the rest of Dirt Jan's bread and the rest of his milk, Mrs. Van Mannen had good news for him. MR. DIRTIS IS DRIVING HIS TRUCK TO UTSKIRT TODAY, SHE SAID. MR. DIRTIS WILL HAVE SOME CARGO, BUT THERE IS ROOM FOR PASSENGERS. I MANAGED TO GET A SEAT FOR YOU. HE KNOWS YOUR UNCLE. MR. DIRTIS OH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SAID DIRT JAN FERVENTLY. THE TRUCK WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THOSE THAT SUPPLIED THE GERMAN ARMY WITH FOOD. MR. DIRTIS HOW IS EVERETT? MR. DIRTIS HE ASKED. MR. DIRTIS HE IS STILL VERY WEAK, SAID MRS. VAN MANNEN. MR. DIRTIS SOME OF OUR GROUP ARE GOING TO THE HAIG, AND I HOPE THEY'LL TAKE CARE OF EVERETT IN HIS CAR. MR. DIRTIS I WOULD LIKE HIM TO MAKE THE JOURNEY ALONE. MR. DIRTIS NO, AGREED DIRT JAN, EATING HIS BREAD AND DRINKING HIS WATERED MILK. MR. DIRTIS WITH A BETTER CONSCIENCE NOW THAT HE KNEW EVERETT WOULD BE LOOKED AFTER TOO. MR. DIRTIS DIRT JAN HAD TO BE AT THE MORCH SIGNAL AT A SINGLE CORNER TO GET INTO THE TRUCK. A LOT OF WOMEN WERE WAITING THERE IN A QUEUE, ALL HOPING FOR A PLACE. THEY CARRIED THE USUAL BAGS AND BASKETS. IT DID NOT LOOK AS IF DIRT JAN WOULD HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE OF A FEAT. THE WOMEN WERE JABBERING AWAY. MR. DIRTIS I TELL YOU, SORT OF AN ANGULAR SPINSTER WITH A POINTED NOSE, IT'S A MATTER OF CHARACTER. I'M THE YOUNGEST OF SIX. THE OTHERS ARE ALL MARRIED, SO I TAKE CARE OF FATHER. NINETY HE IS, AND YOU SHOULD SEE HIS CLOTHES. THERE'S NOT A SPOT ON THEM, I TELL YOU. IT'S NOT EASY TO KEEP HIM CLEAN WITHOUT SOAP AND THE WAY THINGS ARE, BUT IT'S A MATTER OF CHARACTER. MRS. DIRTIS THAT'S WONDERFUL. OCEAN, CRIED THE WOMAN AROUND, AND THE OLD LADY SAID, YOU'VE EARNED A PLACE IN HEAVEN. BUT THE SHARP-NOSED SPINSTER SHRUGGED HER SHOULDERS. IT'S A MATTER OF CHARACTER, SHE INSISTED, AS FOR THE PLACE IN HEAVEN, IT WILL HAVE TO WAIT. WHEN THE TRUCK ARRIVED, DIRT JAN SAW THAT IT WAS BEING STOKED WITH WOOD AND CHARCOAL. THERE WAS A STOVE AT THE BACK, BLOCKING HALF OF THE DOOR, AND FUEL WAS STACKED INSIDE THE TRUCK. THE WOMEN ALL BEGAN TO PUSH AND FIGHT TO GET IN. DIRT JAN STOOD ASIDE, UNWILLING TO ENTER THE FRAY. THEN THE DRIVER BECKONED TO HIM. AND YOU, THE BOY MRS. VAN MANAM WAS TELLING ME ABOUT? HE ASKED. YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR UNCLE, SO I GUESSED AS MUCH. COME ON UP TO THE DRIVER'S SEAT AND KEEP ME COMPANY. DIRT JAN WAS DELIGHTED. INSTEAD OF SITTING IN THE STUFFY VAN, SQUELCHED AND SQUASHED AMONG VEILS AND BOXES AND WHITE-SKIRTED WOMEN, HE'D SIT COMFORTABLY ON A SEAT WITH A GRAND VIEW OF THE ROAD. BEHIND HIM, THERE WAS A STUMBLING AND SHRIEKING AS THE WOMEN CROWDED TOGETHER TO MAKE MORE ROOM. GET OUT OF MY WAY! IN THE END, A LITTLE GIRL OF ABOUT TEN WAS LEFT OUT. THE LAST INCH OF AVAILABLE SPACE HAD BEEN FILLED. SHE STOOD STOLIDLY AT THE CURB. WRAPPED IN A BLACK SHAWL, HER ROUND FACE BLANK WITH RESIGNATION. IT WAS TOO OLD AN EXPRESSION FOR SUCH A CHILD, THOUGHT MR. JERTUS. HOP IN, HE INVITED, LIFTING HER INTO THE DRIVER'S SEAT. ASIDE DIRT-JAN, SHE DID NOT SMILE, BUT WHEN DIRT-JAN ASKED HER NAME, SHE SAID, ALAIDA, AND SHOWED NO FURTHER INCLINATION TO SPEAK. THE DOORS BEHIND HAD CLOSED, AND MR. JERTUS JUMPED INTO HIS PLACE. WITH A GREAT DEAL OF NOISE, THE TRUCK STARTED. AT THE GATES OF THE CITY, THE DRIVER HAD TO SHOW HIS PAPERS TO A GUARD, THEN HE WAS WAVED ON, BUT THE GUARD ADDED A WORD OF WARNING. THE SKIES ARE ALIVE TODAY. LOOK OUT. HE WAS A PATRIOTIC DUTCH GUARD. HE PUT UP HIS FINGERS IN THE V-SIGN. THE DRIVER DID THE SAME, THEN HE STARTED THE MOTOR AGAIN. IT'S A PITY THAT ARNHEM COUP FAILED, HE SAID TO DIRT-JAN, WE'D HAVE BEEN WELL OUT OF OUR MISERY NOW IF IT HAD SUCCEEDED, HE SAID, WHAT IF I MISSED MOST MYSELF, OUR CIGARETTES, HE CONFESSED. I GIVE UP FORTUNE FOR A GOOD SMOKE, DIRT-JAN'S FACE LIT UP, HE'D BEEN WONDERING HOW TO REPAY MR. JURDICE FOR HIS KINDNESS, NOW HE KNEW. I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU, HE SAID, I JUST GOT A PRESENT OF IT YESTERDAY, AND HE FISHED THE CIGARETTE THE GERMAN SOLDIER HAD GIVEN HIM OUT OF HIS POCKET, MR. JURDICE WAS INCREDULOUS, HE STOPPED THE TRUCK, TOOK THE CIGARETTE WITH REVERENT FINGERS, SNIFFED AT IT, AND SHUT HIS EYES. LITTLE TOBACCO, HE SIGHED, AND THEN HE WRAPPED IT CAREFULLY IN HIS HANDKERCHIEF, I'LL SMOKE THAT ON SUNDAY, HE SAID, AFTER CHURCH, AND BOY, I'M HIGH LOOKING FORWARD TO IT, HE STARTED THE TRUCK AGAIN. AIRPLANES WERE CIRCLING THE SKY, SOMETIMES THEY FLEW LOW, THEY WERE SHOOTING IN THE DISTANCE, DIRT-JAN SLUSHED WITH EXCITEMENT, MAYBE SOMETHING INTERESTING WOULD HAPPEN AT LAST, THE TRUCK ROARED ON, EATING UP THE MILES WHICH HAD DRAGGED SO INTERMINABLY THE DAY BEFORE, NOW AND AGAIN THE DRIVERS STOPPED TO REFUEL OR CLEAN THE SPARK PLUGS, THE WOMEN IN THE TRUCK WERE SINGING FOLK SONGS AND POPULAR TUNES, DIRT-JAN FELT PROUD OF HIS COUNTRY, AND HIS PEOPLE, THESE WERE DARK DAYS, AND THE PASSENGERS IN THE TRUCK WERE ALL WOMEN WHO'D PROBABLY NOT EATEN A DECENT MEAL IN MONTHS, ALWAYS GIVING THE BEST TO THE MEN AND CHILDREN, HE KNEW, THEY HAD NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO EXCEPT MORE MISERY, AND YET THEY SUNG, THAT'S WHAT HURT HIM. IT WAS LIKE THE EIGHTY YEARS' WAR WITH SPAN, SPAIN, THE DUTCH HAD NOT CHANGED, THEY'D FIGHT FOR ANOTHER EIGHTY YEARS IF THEY HAD TO, AND THEN HE, DIRT-JAN, WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO DO HIS BIT. IN HIS IMAGINATION, HE WAS RUNNING AROUND WITH A MACHINE GUN, SPRAYING BULLETS INTO THE ENEMY, WHEN A NOISE AHEAD ATTRACTED HIS ATTENTION, A GERMAN MILITARY LORRY DROVE IN FRONT OF THEM, THERE SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ITS ENGINE, IT WAS BACKFIRING AND NOT GOING VERY FAST. MR. GERDES SLOWED DOWN. WHO KNOWS WHO'S IN THERE, HE SAID BITTERLY, PROBABLY YOUNG DUTCH BOYS BEING DEPORTED TO GERMANY FOR HARD LABOR. THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED, THERE WAS A LOUD ROARING OVERHEAD, AND THREE ENGLISH PLANES APPROACHED WITH DIZZYING SPEED. MR. GERDES APPLIED THE BRAKES SO SUDDENLY THAT HIS TRUCK STOPPED WITH SCREECHING TIRES. WE'D BETTER PUT DISTANCE BETWEEN OURSELVES AND THAT LORRY, SAID GRIMLY, IT SEEMS TO BE A TARGET. THE LORRY ACCELERATED AND WAS BREAKING OFF, BELCHING CLOUDS OF EXHAUST, THE PLANE SWOOPED LOW, ALMOST TOUCHING THE LORRY, AND STARTED TO FIRE BULLETS INTO IT. THE LORRY LURCHED AND SWAYED, BUT CONTINUED ON. THE PLANES HAD MOUNTED AND WERE CIRCLING THE SKY. THEN THEY DROVE AGAIN, BATTERING BULLETS AT THE LORRY, THIS TIME A TIRE EXPLODED. THE LORRY CARRINGED DRUNKENLY AND LANDED WITH TWO WHEELS IN A DITCH. AGAIN THE PLANES MOUNTED, AND AGAIN THEY CAME SWOOPING BACK. THE DOORS OF THE LORRY FIRST OPENED AND MEN WERE JUMPING OUT OF IT AND RUNNING FOR COVER, DIVING TO SHRUBBERY OR BEHIND THE DIKES. ZURKJAN AND MR. JURDIS CHEERED. MR. JURDIS WAS BENT OVER HIS STEERING WHEEL, SHOUTING WITH EXCITEMENT, THEY'RE GETTING AWAY, THEY'RE ESCAPING. NOW GERMAN GUARDS WERE JUMPING OUT OF THE LORRY IN PURSUIT OF THE PRISONERS, BUT THEIR CHANCE WAS INTERRUPTED BY THE RETURN OF THE AIRPLANES, WHO BEGAN TO SHOOT AT THEM. SEVERAL GUARDS FELL DOWN, HIT. THE OTHERS CRAWLED UNDER THE LORRY. THE AIRPLANES MOUNTED AGAIN, BUT RETURNED IN DOUBLE QUICK TIME. THE LORRY WAS NOW IN FLAME, AND THE GERMANS HAD TO CRAWL OUT FROM UNDER IT. MEANWHILE, THE PRISONERS WERE SCATTERING FAR AND WIDE, RUNNING FOR FARMHOUSES, COAXES, ANYTHING THAT PROMISED SHELTER. ONE WAS RUNNING STRAIGHT TOWARD MR. JURDIS' TRUCK. THE AIRPLANES HAD VANISHED. THEY HAD DONE THEIR WORK. WE MUST HELP THIS FELLOW, SAID MR. JURDIS, STARTING HIS TRUCK. THE FUGITIVE WAS GASPING FOR BREATH. THE GERMAN GUARDS WERE BUSY WITH THEIR WOUNDED. MR. JURDIS STOPPED AND OPENED THE DOOR OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT. HERE! HE SAID. THE MAN HOPPED IN. BEADS OF SWEAT WERE DRIPPING DOWN HIS FACE. TAKE THE GIRL ON YOUR KNEES, SAID MR. JURDIS, AND PUT ON MY CAP. HIDE BEHIND THE GIRL AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. LITTLE ELIDA DID NOT MIND. SHE WAS A WAR CHILD, AND THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY THINGS COULD HAPPEN WITHOUT SURPRISING HER. THERE WAS A TIGHT SQUEEZE IN THE FRONT SEAT. DIRT JAN HAD TO SIT ON THE EDGE OF IT AND TAKE CARE HE WAS NOT IN THE DRIVER'S WAY. NOW THE TRUCK HAD TO PASS THE WRECKAGE OF THE LORRY, AND THE GERMAN GUARDS WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY STOP IT AND RECOMPOSITION THE TRUCK FOR THEIR WOUNDED. ONE OF THE GUARDS ALREADY STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, SIGNALING MR. JURDIS TO STOP. MR. JURDIS WANTED TO MAKE A SPURT FOR IT, SO HE DECIDED ON A RUSE. HE BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN OBVIOUSLY UNTIL HE HAD REACHED THE GUARD, WHO STEPPED ASIDE, CONVINCED THAT THE TRUCK WOULD STOP. AS SOON AS HE WAS OUT OF THE WAY, MR. JURDIS STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR, AND THE TRUCK LEAPT FORWARD LIKE AN EXPLODING SHELL. THE GUARD WAS TOO TAKEN ABACK EVEN TO SHOOT, AND THE TRUCK SPED PAST THE FLAMING LORRY AND ON ALONG THE ROAD, WHICH WAS BARE OF PEOPLE, EVERYONE HAVING FLED THE BULLETS. THE ESCAPING PRISONER BREATHED EASY AGAIN. THANKS, HE SAID, TAKING OFF HIS GLASSES AND WIPING THEM ON ELIDAH'S HAIR. ELIDAH WAS A NARROW SQUEAK. HE WAS A LEAN MAN WITH A PALE FACE, WHO LOOKED AS IF ALL HE COULD DO WAS READ BOOKS. HE WAS NOT THE SORT OF PERSON DIRK JAN MOST ADMIRED, BUT HE WAS AN ESCAPED PRISONER, WHICH WAS INTERESTING IN ITSELF. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, ASKED DIRK JAN, THE FUGITIVE SMILED, AND NOW DIRK JAN LIKED HIM. I HAVEN'T THE FAINTEST, HE SAID. THIS WAS UNPREMEDITATED. THE TRUCK IS GOING TO ITCH IT, AND YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME ALONG, THE DRIVER TOLD HIM. NO, THAT WON'T DO. I LIVE IT, SAID THE YOUNG MAN. THEY'D CAPTURE ME AGAIN. I SHOULD HAVE GONE INTO HIDING BEFORE, BUT I WAS INTERESTED IN MY WORK. ARE YOU A STUDENT, ASKED MR. GERDES. I SHOULD BE A COACH, DOING MY THESIS, SAID THE YOUNG MAN, FROWNING. I'LL BE LOOKING FOR A HIDING PLACE, A PLACE WHERE I CAN GO ON STUDYING, SAID THE STUDENT, WHO SEEMED TO DIRK JAN THE SORT OF PERSON WHO DIDN'T LET ANYTHING DISTRACT HIM FROM HIS MAIN PURPOSE, WHO'D CONTINUE TO STUDY ON AN ICEBERG AFTER HIS SHIP WAS WRECKED. HE'D PROBABLY BE A PROFESSOR ONE DAY. THEN AN IDEA CAME TO DIRK JAN. WHY DON'T YOU COME WITH ME, HE ASKED. WE LIVE IN A MILL. IT'S AS QUIET THERE AS ANYWHERE IN HOLLAND, AND WE HAVE UNDERDIVERS ALREADY, SO IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO OUR SAFETY. MY FATHER AND MOTHER ARE GREAT PATRIOTS, HE ADDED PROUDLY. MY UNCLE WORKS IN THE UNDERGROUND. THE STUDENT GAVE HIM A THOUGHTFUL LOOK. HE ASKED MILD, INTELLIGENT. HE HAD MILD, INTELLIGENT HAZEL EYES. ARE YOU SURE, HE ASKED. POSITIVE, SAID DIRK JAN. YOU'D BETTER MAKE UP YOUR MIND, BECAUSE WE'RE ALMOST AT SAITRE WOUD, WHERE I GET OFF. WELL, THANKS VERY MUCH THEN. I WILL, SAID THE STUDENT GREATFULLY, AND THAT'S HOW HILDEBRAND CAME TO THE MILL.