SBS, page 27
‘Well, I suppose that we’ll just have to see how it plays out, won’t we? This place will be crawling with Jerries soon. Hadn’t we better go?’
‘Yes, I think that’s in Ffinch’s plan.’
And together, they began to walk up the hill.
15
Their escape route lay on a direct route to the south coast and Cape Kochinoxos, where they had landed with Gorringe, what seemed to Hunter like weeks ago. But it was not a simple matter of retracing their steps. They had gone too far west for that. First, as Hunter was only too aware, they would have to get across the formidable natural obstacle of the snow-capped Lasithi Mountains. They had started by heading for Anoyeia, the largest village on the island, Ffinch had told him, and the key to the mountains. It lay four miles uphill from their ambush spot and the going from the start was hard.
Every time they paused, which, given the fact that it was now night, was often, Hunter looked to his right and every time what met his gaze was the huge, imposing mass of Mount Ida, its summit capped with snow. If their war was to be lived in caves then there was the cave to outdo them all. The Idaean cave had hidden the infant Zeus from his father Cronos, its entrance and the baby’s crying concealed by the mad war dances of a band of warriors. Hunter was struck by the parallels to his own situation. Although rather than Cronos, they were being pursued by hundreds of Germans who, he was horribly aware, were even now hot on their trail.
There was no real path to speak of and as they climbed the undergrowth grew thicker and more thorny. The journey was made easier though by the moon, which lit their way allowing them to avoid the sides of the ravines along which their path had taken them. A constant chorus of cicadas and croaking frogs provided an almost musical accompaniment to their steps.
At last, after three hours of climbing, they saw ahead the white houses of a village. Yanni drew alongside Hunter. He whispered with pride, ‘Look there. There she is. My village. Anoyeia.’
Hunter looked at his watch. It was one in the morning.
They entered the village in silence, a curious little column. A real mixed bag, thought Hunter, with the Greeks in front with Ffinch, followed by Hunter and Woods and, with them, Eleni and Yanni, and then Hilmann, his hands bound with the same pair of German handcuffs so recently worn by Hunter himself. The colonel was flanked by Fletcher and White. Then came the rest of the commandos: Russell carefully helping Phelps, Miller and Sergeant Knox in their rear, keeping a watchful eye. And finally six more of the andartes.
They did not wake the village as they entered and walked its cobbled streets. Yanni knew exactly where they were headed and took them there immediately. When the door opened it was on to an unexpected sight. The kitchen table was crammed with food and drink.
Knox gasped. ‘Bloody hell, sir. They’ve pushed the boat out for us and no mistake.’
Hunter turned to Yanni and thanked him profusely in Greek. The house belonged to Yanni’s cousin’s wife who greeted him with open arms.
Soon all of them were standing around the kitchen eating their fill of eggs, cheese, bread and olives.
*
Hunter walked over to Ffinch who was standing by Woods eating goat’s cheese and soaked rock bread. ‘So, where do we head from here? They’ll be after us now. That’s for sure.’
Ffinch spoke between mouthfuls: ‘Oh, across the mountains. It’s the only way.’
Woods looked at Ffinch. ‘You’re not thinking of climbing Mount Ida?’
Ffinch shook his head and laughed. ‘No, of course not. Why ever would I want to do that? We’ll sacrifice concealment to speed. Head further east and skirt the highest mountains to get down to Tymbaki. There’s a five-mile climb, but then we drop down and carry on going down all the way to the coast.’
‘But surely the Germans will follow us on that route?’
‘We’re sending a decoy party into the hills. One of them will be wearing the black uniform of the SS and two of them will have your German uniforms. Sorry. But we need to use them. We stripped many of the SS bodies on the road. I’ll also need the colonel’s service cap. But that’s all.’
‘You really have thought of everything, it seems. Think it will work?’
‘I certainly hope so. Anyway, it’s the best we can manage. Oh and, incidentally, the colonel needs a change of clothes too. Here you are.’
Ffinch handed Hunter a pile of clothes. He took them across to where Hilmann was sitting eating a piece of cheese, still with his hands in handcuffs. ‘Colonel, we need you to change your clothes. These will probably fit you.’
Hilmann looked at him in disbelief. ‘Don’t joke with me, Lieutenant. I am a German officer. An officer in the SS. I am not like you. I will not give up my uniform so easily.’
‘Well I’m afraid you’re just going to have to. Or we’re going to have to help you. Please don’t give me an excuse.’
Hilmann picked up the garments with distaste and looked at them, holding them up, one by one. There was a typical Cretan waistcoat, a pair of baggy trousers and a blue shirt without a collar, along with a crimson scarf.
He stared at Hunter. ‘Really? You expect me to dress as a clown?’
‘There wouldn’t be much of a difference, would there?’
Hilmann ignored the jibe and looked again at the clothes. ‘The jacket yes, and perhaps the shirt. But I am keeping my own trousers and my boots.’
Hunter nodded. ‘Quick as you can please. Your friends can’t be far behind. We’re moving off.’
He left Hilmann with the clothes, watched over by Fletcher and White, who unlocked one of the handcuffs to allow him to put them on.
A few minutes later Hunter walked back to them and was amused to see the colonel clad in what could easily have been taken for the typical dress of a Cretan peasant. Even his riding breeches and jackboots seemed to fit the bill. All that was missing was facial hair.
Hunter reached out for the black, silver-trimmed SS officer’s tunic that Hilmann was holding. Reluctantly, the colonel surrendered it to him.
‘Thank you, Colonel. I assure you your tunic will be returned to you before you meet my own general, in Cairo. We wouldn’t want you to make the wrong first impression, would we? Oh, and I’ll need your cap, please.’
Hilmann handed over the peaked officer’s cap. ‘I’m sure that you will have a clever plan. A decoy. Someone dressed as me? It’s so obvious, Lieutenant. Not even the most idiotic of my men would fall for it. Not even an imbecile. You underestimate the Germans, Lieutenant. You always have done. You are a very arrogant people, Lieutenant. We will prevail. In the end, we will win.’
Hunter walked up to him so that their faces were almost touching. He spat out the words: ‘You’ll never win. And d’you know why? Because you’re evil. Pure evil. Just like your master. Now shut up, you Nazi bastard, or I’ll change my mind and kill you myself. Got it?’
He turned and walked away, leaving not just Hilmann, but also Fletcher and White, speechless.
Hunter stood and fumed. He had not intended to do that, but the man was insufferable. Grabbing his glass of raki, he looked up and his eye caught that of the girl, Eleni. For the first time since they had met, she smiled at him. And in that smile he thought for an instant that he saw a glimmer of real affection. And that was something he had not seen for a very long time.
He smiled back and then quickly looked away at his watch, which now read 0230. They had spent over an hour at Anoyeia and needed to make up ground. He could almost feel the enemy upon them now, could sense their presence, growing closer by the minute. Ever since the ambush he had been aware that there was nothing now to hold the Germans back. The inevitability of their arrival hung over Hunter like some ominous black spectre that grew in intensity with every step they took.
Ffinch led the way, with Yanni now as they moved off through the streets of the village to its southern side and then moved quickly from the cobblestones back on to the stony surface of the hillside. Soon they had begun to climb again.
Before they did so, Ffinch sent off a group of the andartes away to the west. Three of them were dressed in German uniform. One as the colonel, complete with his cap and the two others in Hunter’s and Phelps’s tunics, which they had swapped for their original battledress tops. Their kepis, sadly, had disappeared in the airfield. Nevertheless the group made an impressive impersonation of their own. Soon, said Ffinch, the Germans would see them and start to pursue them and providing they were not caught, they would lead the enemy through the White Mountains off to the west and as far away as possible from the real evaders, as they made their way south.
But Hunter was not completely convinced. Every step he took now he knew was being matched by their pursuers. Every snap underfoot of a twig or a branch, every small stone that stumbled away down the hillside, made him feel more vulnerable. More exposed. At any moment he expected to hear a rifle crack ring out across the hillside.
*
They walked through the night and at around 5am, just as the dawn was breaking over Mount Ida, Ffinch signalled them all to stop. He pointed to a shallow ridge about twelve feet above them and said simply, ‘Up there.’
Hunter looked for a means of climbing and saw, half hidden in the stone of the rock face, what could have been carved steps. He approached them and saw that that was exactly what they were, but that a trick of perspective had concealed them. Gradually they climbed up and on the ridge at the top found the entrance to a concealed cave. A man stood in the entrance, an elderly andarte with a fine beard and white hair, his shoulders draped in ammunition belts. Ffinch gave him a huge hug.
‘Michalis.’ He turned. ‘Everyone, this is Michalis. He will guide us down the other side of the mountains. This is his home. Now let’s rest. It will take us another day and a half.’
*
During that day, Hunter wasn’t certain at what time, two young andartes arrived at the cave and sought out Ffinch. They brought news, which he delivered to Woods and Hunter: ‘So, the Germans seem to have fallen for our ruse. The plain west of Heraklion is teeming with them and they’ve sent more troops up into the White Mountains.’
Woods and Hunter both grinned. Ffinch continued, ‘But that doesn’t mean we’re off the hook. We’ve no room for complacency. It could all go belly-up at any moment. We must start again just as soon as it begins to get dark.’
So they waited again, and gradually the evening light crept up on them. Woods had not slept well and at intervals during the day he had wandered in and out of the cave, listening to the chat of the andartes.
Late in the afternoon he found Ffinch. ‘They’re not happy.’
‘You noticed it too?’
‘Yes, we both did. Hunter’s been listening to them. They’re not very happy about the colonel. The general feeling seems to be that we should have killed him. That while that might have brought reprisals down on their people, it would have given them a focus for the fight. As it is they’re now condemned to shuffle around the hills with a man whom they hate, while their band is split up and chased by the enemy. They’re not happy at all.’
‘Which makes it all the more important that we get you to the coast as quickly as possible.’
Woods nodded. ‘I’m going to talk to Yanni. To apologise. To explain.’
Ffinch shrugged. ‘It might help. But in reality nothing’s going to please them unless the colonel dies or we get him away as soon as we can.’
Woods sought out Yanni. The big man was sitting in a corner of the cave cracking his knuckles and sipping raki. ‘Kapitan Yanni.’
It was best to address him formally. To flatter him. Yanni looked up.
‘Kapitan Woods. Please sit with me. A glass?’
He poured another raki and handed it to Hunter, who began, ‘Kapitan, I have to say, I am very sorry for the position we are in. The last thing I want to do is compromise your men.’
Yanni smiled at him. ‘Kapitan, please. My men do as I say.’
‘Yes, of course, but that’s not really the point. They’re not happy. I can tell. And I know why. If I could kill the colonel, believe me I would. And believe me I really do want to.’
‘Oh I believe you, Kapitan. I know what he did to you and to your friends. He must die. But he must die by British methods not by ours. And that is why you need to get him off this island.’
‘Yes, you’re right. Thank you for your help.’
‘Kapitan, you are a great man. Truly, I mean what I say. I know that you will go on to do great things in this war. But first we need to get you away to safety. And that is why God has given me this challenge and this great chance. So now we drink and then we rest and then we must start to walk again.’
He raised his glass and drank to Woods’s health and Woods did the same to him and when he got up and walked back to Ffinch and Hunter, he felt that something had changed. That they had somehow at last become accepted by the andartes.
Ffinch saw him coming. ‘How did he take it?’
‘Well. Very well. He treated me as if I was his own son.’
‘Then he must like you. Believe me, I’ve been practically adopted by several of the local leaders. And I’m godfather to two of their children.’
*
They rose at dusk and began to make their way once again in the direction of the coast. At one point Eleni, who, even though she had been kitted out with a pair of walking boots and a pair of oversized battledress trousers, seemed to be finding the going more difficult, fell back and walked alongside Phelps and Miller. Knox, walking just behind them, saw her and slowly made his way to where Hunter was in the line. ‘Sir, it’s the girl. Reckon she’s getting tired, sir. She’s fallen back a fair bit down the line. Might be good to have a word, sir. See if we can help?’
‘Good idea, Sarn’t Knox. You stay here with the captain; I’ll go and see what’s up.’
Hunter turned and fell back to where Eleni was now walking with Miller, falling in with her in the line. ‘Are you alright? Not too tired?’
She shook her head. ‘Of course not. I’m a Greek. We don’t get tired.’
‘I just wondered. You seemed to fall back a little.’
‘No, no. I just wanted a change of scenery.’
They walked on together for a while before she spoke again: ‘Kapitan Ffinch told me. Told me what you did.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Your captain wanted to leave me here, on the island. I can understand why. I am a hindrance. Another person to carry. Another possibility for being discovered. But if you had left me, I would have been killed by the Germans. Worse. It was bad enough already, but once they had found out what I had done and how many of their soldiers’ deaths I had caused, I would have been no more than a piece of meat. Female meat, to be used and then killed.’
Hunter winced. ‘Yes. I guessed at that. That’s why I had to get you out.’
‘You care that much?’
‘I do. Of course I do.’
She smiled at him again. That same smile.
He went on, ‘I’d do the same for anyone in your position.’
It wasn’t what he had meant to say, but something inside Hunter’s mind was making him take back what he had said before. She had stopped smiling and was staring at the ground.
*
They carried on walking, desperately trying to make ground, and Hunter became aware that they were now descending quickly. They started to slither down over loose rock and found themselves among vineyards and olive groves on the lower slopes. The rest of the night passed as slowly as those before but thankfully without event and before they knew it they had left the foothills of the mountain range. Within another hour they had emerged on to a wide plain and there in the distance, Hunter was at last able to see the moonlit enormity of the sea.
Moving across the fields with their goal in sight their steps seemed somehow lighter and as he walked with them Hunter noticed that the mood of the andartes had become lighter and that they were laughing and chattering as they grew ever closer to the sea and the prospect of returning to their villages.
The cove had not changed since they had landed. But now that moment seemed an eternity away. He found the cave where they had stowed the folboats and to his relief they were still there. The enemy had not discovered their anchorage and it was clear to him and Woods that Gorringe had sailed and they could presume that Martin was on his way to safety.
Ffinch decided that the best thing to do would be for him to leave, along with the andartes.
Woods was not so sure. ‘But, we’ll be hopelessly outgunned.’
‘We would be anyway, old man. This way, if we split our forces then there’s a fighting chance that the Jerries might do the same. Or they might even all follow us. And in the unhappy event of you being taken prisoner, we won’t end up in the bag too.’
Woods had to admit he was right. Hunter also saw the logic of it and so as soon as they were ready, Ffinch said a final goodbye and the andartes slipped away into the night. Yanni gave Hunter a huge bear hug. ‘Kapitan. I am sure we will meet again, my good friend.’
Hunter returned the hug as best he could. ‘Yes, Yanni. I truly hope so.’
*
There were two more hours left of darkness and they posted Miller and Fletcher as sentries, lying on top of the gullies above the beach. Hunter sat in one of the smaller caves among the pebbles and, for the first time in days, lit a cigarette. No one on the land could see him now and it didn’t seem to matter if anyone at sea saw his light. He inhaled deeply and enjoyed the novelty. As he blew out the smoke, a figure appeared at the mouth of the cave, outlined against the night sky and instantly recognisable: Eleni.
‘Can I come in? Do you have another of those?’
Hunter took another cigarette from his pocket and lit it in his own mouth, before handing it to her. She sat down beside him and, blowing a smoke ring, spoke quietly: ‘Do you think we’ll get away? Really?’
