The Legion of the Lost, стр. 10
Two uniformed men came in with Orleck; they wore the uniforms of the Quisling Party and both were middle-aged.
Romberg was seized; his hands were locked into handcuffs, and he was led roughly away. Orleck closed the door very softly behind him, his hands sliding against each other.
‘That was good, very good!’ he said softly. ‘We shall be able to work together very well, I can see that.’
At intervals during the next hour, Drusilla, Brian and Stefan left 18 Libstrasse to take up their respective posts. Palfrey and Conroy, left alone in the long, bare room when Stefan had gone, looked out of the window and conversed in whispers. ‘We see plenty, Sap,’ he reflected. ‘Orleck certainly gave me the wrong idea of himself.’ The American lit a cigarette before adding, musingly: ‘Will he deal all right with Romberg?’
‘I think we can concentrate on Raffleck,’ said Palfrey.
‘How much does Raffleck matter?’ asked the American.
‘Very much,’ said Palfrey. ‘The first of the many,’ he added, with a reflective smile. ‘It would be interesting to know what will happen before we get to the last of them! But on the whole, it’s probably as well that we don’t.’
They could see the harbour from where they were standing, a little to one side of the stretch of water dotted with tiny ships. Even from there the harbour showed signs of the visits of the R.A.F. but there was a hustling bustle everywhere; several grey-painted ships of medium tonnage were being loaded or unloaded. Palfrey saw three small trawlers transferring their catch to one of the merchant vessels; he grimaced; even fish, their staple food, was taken from the people.
Then Orleck returned, smiling and rubbing his hands.
‘Well?’ asked Conroy quickly.
‘I have found where Dr. Raffleck is working,’ said Orleck softly. ‘He is in the Sigurd Sanatorium, which is on the hills beyond the west bank of the Aker. It is a good sanatorium for your purposes, Dr. Palfrey, because it is so close to the river. If there is an alarm you can go to the river, where you will find a small boat waiting in readiness,’ said Orleck. ‘You will work this time after dark, of course, no other way is safe. You will have a guide in the boat who will take you to Hovedo—you have seen the island?’
‘I don’t know,’ admitted Palfrey.
‘You will when you leave here,’ said Orleck. ‘It is where the old monastery stands. From there you can get back to the mainland or, if it seems wiser, you can go down the fjord. I do not advise that; parts of the fjord are mined, the entrance from the Skagerrak also, much more than anywhere else. I suggest that you delay your attempt to rescue Raffleck until tomorrow night; also that two of you explore the fjord—I will give you a guide, of course—and the others, the hills beyond the sanatorium. It will not then be new ground to you. You see,’ added Orleck gently, ‘when Raffleck has gone—and I have sufficient faith to believe that you will succeed in removing him—then Oslo will be a different place. You will have noticed how all the people give an impression of waiting.’
‘I’ll say!’ exclaimed Conroy.
‘They wait for the next purge,’ said Orleck. The disappearance of Raffleck will cause such an outbreak. No one will be allowed on the streets at night, there will be a widespread search. Many, perhaps, will be arrested, some will certainly be shot. You understand, Dr. Palfrey, that only success in your mission would justify such an outbreak?’
‘I do,’ said Palfrey. ‘There is one other thing, Orleck—you know, don’t you, that some of your most notable men have recently disappeared from Oslo?’
‘Only too well,’ said Orleck. ‘But if you wish to know where they have gone, I cannot help you. There is something else which might be of interest,’ he went on quietly. ‘Delegates from the Quisling Party have been summoned to Berlin. Some are already there. I do not know why—you and your colleagues might be able to find out.’
‘Ye-es,’ said Palfrey.
But he did not spend a lot of time thinking of the delegates to Berlin.
The next twenty-four hours passed quickly enough. With Conroy and a youth – who was able to scramble down the sides of hills and find his way amongst the trees bordering the fjord nearer Oslo, as well as to explain in great detail the island where the crumbling ruin of the old monastery stood – he went as far as Skak village and saw the White House. It was a smaller place than he had expected, but from there, Orleck assured him, a message could be safely passed on.
Stefan, Brian and Drusilla were exploring the hills north of the city. Palfrey wished he could see them, but was satisfied when Orleck told him that they would be waiting near the Sigurd Sanatorium after dark.
Once there, he said, they would be on their own except for the boat on the river.
Chapter Five
Raffleck
It was quite dark.
Trees rose high on either side and cut off what little light there was, although the stars were hidden by clouds and it had turned cold, even for Oslo in autumn; a sharpness about the north wind heralded snow.
The wind whistled and howled through the trees, filling Palfrey’s mind with vague imaginings. He was reassured by the ringing of their heels on the road and the glow from Conroy’s inevitable cigarette.
They came upon a white post driven into the side of the road.
Orleck had told them to wait there, but there was no need to wait for long. Hardly had they stopped before a ghostly voice came out of the gloom: ‘Sap?’
Palfrey called as softly: ‘Yes, who’s that?’
Figures materialised – Stefan’s and Brian’s. Palfrey’s heart missed a beat when he realised that Drusilla was not with them. He said quickly: ‘Where’s ’Silla?’
‘Orleck excelled himself at