of the thud of boots on deck as the barge was boarded.
Christine said, ‘Maman must be worried about us. She will assume that we’ve got to Montbéliard by now and she must be wondering why she hasn’t heard from Uncle Marcel.’
Luke ran his hand through his hair.
‘
Mon Dieu
! I haven’t even thought about that! We must let her know we’re all right.’
‘How?’ his sister asked. ‘Can we risk trying to find a telephone and calling her?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Bernard told us to stay hidden. But there’s nothing to stop us writing a letter. Marie would post it for us. We needn’t say where we are or how we are travelling. Just a few lines to let her know we’re OK.’
‘Of course! We should have thought of it before. Do you think there’s anything here we could write on?’
‘I don’t like to go rifling through drawers. We’d better wait till Marie gets back.’
‘No, wait! I’ve just remembered something.’ Christine found her coat and rifled through the pockets, to produce a crumpled sheet of lined paper and a pencil. ‘It’s a bit creased, but it’s better than nothing.’
Luke looked at her, laughing.
‘You’re incredible! Is there anything you can’t produce from those pockets?’
‘Well, you never know when you might need to leave a note for someone,’ she said. ‘Now, what shall we say?’
Chapter 5
B ernard returned in the late afternoon. Luke took in the expression on his face.
‘No luck?’
Bernard shook his head.
‘It seems there is no organized escape line coming from the Chalon area. It’s not surprising, of course. Anyone trying to get out of France from there would be heading for the Swiss border, not the Pyrenees. There are three boats in the docks at the moment, all loading cargo for that area, but I’m afraid none of the skippers are willing to take the risk of carrying escapers. Don’t worry! I didn’t tell them I had a couple on board the
Bourdon
. I made out I was sounding them out with a view to establishing another
réseau
to pick up downed aircrew. They won’t blab; they’re not collaborators; just too lily-livered to take the chance.’
Luke looked from him to his sister.
‘Well, it seems as though we’ll have to risk the train after all.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Marie put in. ‘Bernard, suppose they went to Auxerre…?’
Her husband frowned.
‘Well, it’s a thought. But it’s a very long way round to get to Montbéliard.’
‘But the junction with the Canal de Bourgogne is only twenty kilometres or so north of Auxerre, and that canal connects with the Rhône au Rhin at St Jean. That would get them to Montbéliard eventually.’
‘True,’ Bernard agreed. ‘But eventually would be the word. Andwe have no idea whether the
réseau
extends in that direction. All we know is that some of our “packages” have been sent on from Auxerre.’
‘It’s worth a try though, isn’t it?’ his wife said. ‘Better than letting them risk the trains without proper papers.’
‘Does that mean we could stay on board the
Bourdon
with you?’ Christine said eagerly.
Marie shook her head.
‘Not all the way, I’m afraid. As we told you, we’re headed for Nevers.’
‘Look,’ Bernard unrolled the map on the table between them. ‘Let me explain. To get to Auxerre you need to go down the Canal du Nivernais. We can take you as far as Decize, which is another two or three days from here. That’s the junction with the Nivernais, but the locks that lead into it are too small to take a barge like this, a
péniche
. The only boats that can use those locks are the
berrichons
, which are much smaller. As far as I know, there are no boats like that which are part of the
réseau
.’
‘So how do your “packages” get to you?’ Luke asked. ‘You said they come from Auxerre.’
‘Yes, that much we know, but nothing else. The
réseau
works on the strict basis that each member only knows the next link in the chain. That way, if the worst
Christine said, ‘Maman must be worried about us. She will assume that we’ve got to Montbéliard by now and she must be wondering why she hasn’t heard from Uncle Marcel.’
Luke ran his hand through his hair.
‘
Mon Dieu
! I haven’t even thought about that! We must let her know we’re all right.’
‘How?’ his sister asked. ‘Can we risk trying to find a telephone and calling her?’
He shook his head. ‘No. Bernard told us to stay hidden. But there’s nothing to stop us writing a letter. Marie would post it for us. We needn’t say where we are or how we are travelling. Just a few lines to let her know we’re OK.’
‘Of course! We should have thought of it before. Do you think there’s anything here we could write on?’
‘I don’t like to go rifling through drawers. We’d better wait till Marie gets back.’
‘No, wait! I’ve just remembered something.’ Christine found her coat and rifled through the pockets, to produce a crumpled sheet of lined paper and a pencil. ‘It’s a bit creased, but it’s better than nothing.’
Luke looked at her, laughing.
‘You’re incredible! Is there anything you can’t produce from those pockets?’
‘Well, you never know when you might need to leave a note for someone,’ she said. ‘Now, what shall we say?’
Chapter 5
B ernard returned in the late afternoon. Luke took in the expression on his face.
‘No luck?’
Bernard shook his head.
‘It seems there is no organized escape line coming from the Chalon area. It’s not surprising, of course. Anyone trying to get out of France from there would be heading for the Swiss border, not the Pyrenees. There are three boats in the docks at the moment, all loading cargo for that area, but I’m afraid none of the skippers are willing to take the risk of carrying escapers. Don’t worry! I didn’t tell them I had a couple on board the
Bourdon
. I made out I was sounding them out with a view to establishing another
réseau
to pick up downed aircrew. They won’t blab; they’re not collaborators; just too lily-livered to take the chance.’
Luke looked from him to his sister.
‘Well, it seems as though we’ll have to risk the train after all.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Marie put in. ‘Bernard, suppose they went to Auxerre…?’
Her husband frowned.
‘Well, it’s a thought. But it’s a very long way round to get to Montbéliard.’
‘But the junction with the Canal de Bourgogne is only twenty kilometres or so north of Auxerre, and that canal connects with the Rhône au Rhin at St Jean. That would get them to Montbéliard eventually.’
‘True,’ Bernard agreed. ‘But eventually would be the word. Andwe have no idea whether the
réseau
extends in that direction. All we know is that some of our “packages” have been sent on from Auxerre.’
‘It’s worth a try though, isn’t it?’ his wife said. ‘Better than letting them risk the trains without proper papers.’
‘Does that mean we could stay on board the
Bourdon
with you?’ Christine said eagerly.
Marie shook her head.
‘Not all the way, I’m afraid. As we told you, we’re headed for Nevers.’
‘Look,’ Bernard unrolled the map on the table between them. ‘Let me explain. To get to Auxerre you need to go down the Canal du Nivernais. We can take you as far as Decize, which is another two or three days from here. That’s the junction with the Nivernais, but the locks that lead into it are too small to take a barge like this, a
péniche
. The only boats that can use those locks are the
berrichons
, which are much smaller. As far as I know, there are no boats like that which are part of the
réseau
.’
‘So how do your “packages” get to you?’ Luke asked. ‘You said they come from Auxerre.’
‘Yes, that much we know, but nothing else. The
réseau
works on the strict basis that each member only knows the next link in the chain. That way, if the worst
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