The escape game, p.23
The Escape Game, page 23
James and Kenneth turned over every playing piece and every card in the game, searching for something that looked like a map. Not finding anything, they stopped and crossed their arms, gazing at the game. “We’ve looked at everything,” James said. “Maybe that’s all there is.”
“No, I don’t think so. She mentioned the places for a reason.” He paused, and then he picked up the board and ran his fingernail along the edge until the printed side of the game began to separate from the cardboard underneath. He carefully worked his way all the way around. Then he gently lifted the paper, and it came away from the cardboard.
Lying underneath was a silk map.
“Bingo!” He retrieved the map and held it up to the light. “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” He laid it down so James could see it.
“Is that Germany?” James asked, peering at the map.
“Yes, and the countries around it, France, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden…”
“What do you think are these little red dots?” James used the magnifying glass to look.
“Could they be safe houses?” Kenneth blew out a breath. “James, this is just what we need! Man, this map is worth more than gold!”
“And it’s an answer to our prayers, Kenneth.”
Kenneth hated to take credit for praying, but he appreciated James’ effort. “Well, look at this,” he said, running his fingers over the exposed inside of the cardboard. Barely visible were indentations where a magnifying glass and a file were placed. “How ingenious!”
“We’re going to have to share this with Wilson and Gilmore,” James said. “Everyone needs to know about this.”
“You’re right, of course,” Kenneth said, despite wanting to keep the treasure to himself. His hands shook slightly as he folded the treasured map and laid it back onto the cardboard. Then they carefully put the paper playing surface back on the board and placed it and the other parts of the game in the box before closing it up. “And we’ll probably have to copy that map a few times so others will have it.”
“You’re the man for the job, then.”
“You know, James, I didn’t think this Christmas was going to be a very good one, but I think we just got the best Christmas gift ever!” Kenneth said, grinning.
“I have to agree, the timing is fortuitous. We’ll have to write Beryl and thank her for her Christmas gift, so to speak.”
“Your arm seems to be healed up fine now, so I guess you don’t need me to write it for you. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to send her a letter from myself anyway.”
“You go right ahead. I believe she’ll be very happy to hear from you directly and not just from me.”
“I can’t wait to tell her ‘thank you’ in person!” Kenneth envisioned what that reunion would be like, putting his arms around her and pulling her close, then giving her a great big kiss. His heart pounded at the thought, and that reunion couldn’t come quickly enough, as far as he was concerned. But they still had more work to do before they’d be ready to escape. He tucked the box under his arm. “Shall we go find Wilson and Gilmore and see if they’d like to play a game of Monopoly?”
“Absolutely, let’s go.”
Fortunately, both men were in Wilson’s room when they knocked on the door.
“Enter,” the colonel’s voice answered.
Kenneth and James went inside and closed the door behind them.
“Gentlemen, we’d like to discuss something with you privately, please.” Kenneth laid the game down on a small table in the room. “We just received a package from one of the humanitarian organizations, and this game was in it.”
Wilson and Gilmore stood with their arms crossed, eyeing the game. “And just why is this important?” Gilmore asked.
“First, I want to tell you that we’ve been corresponding with James’ sister in Leeds, England, who works for the company that makes these games. She kept mentioning the Monopoly game in her letters, and we couldn’t understand why. But today when we opened this one, we realized she was trying to give us clues that they were making escape kits in some of the games. This is one of those games.” At that, Kenneth opened the box and revealed the escape items they’d found.
Wilson and Gilmore leaned over to look. Wilson surveyed the stack of money. “This would have come in handy when I was out.”
“But look here,” Kenneth said. “This is what we’ve been needing.” He lifted the stack of Monopoly money and retrieved the silk map.
Wilson set down the money and took the map from Kenneth. Gilmore eased over beside Wilson as they studied the map. Wilson gave a low whistle.
James pointed to the dots. “We think those are safe houses.”
“I think you’re right. So this is what MI5 was working on,” Wilson said.
“We need to see if anyone else in camp has received one of these games, or at least let the other POWs know to be on the lookout for them. We’ll need more than one of these,” Gilmore said.
“I believe the clue is the red dot on the Free Parking place, because that’s what she mentioned in the letter,” James said.
“Meanwhile, we can’t wait around until another one of these kits shows up,” Wilson said. “We need to start copying this map and make enough for our big escape.”
“I’m on it, sir. Will start right away,” Kenneth said. “Do you think Habersham can get some onionskin typing paper from his friend? Or maybe there’s another guard who will cooperate.”
“We can find someone,” Wilson said. “There are now several safe goons who have become more cooperative. We have to be careful not to get them in trouble though, or they’ll be no use to us anymore. I heard that yesterday one of them was thrown in the cooler for being too friendly with kriegies. In addition, the commandant threatens to send them to the Russian front if they are caught collaborating with us. And trust me, no one wants to be sent to Russia during the winter.”
Kenneth almost felt sorry for the nice guards, the safe ones. These guys just wanted to get home to their families too. James told him they needed to pray for the guards. If he was a praying man, he might consider praying for the safe ones. But the others, like Gooseneck? No way. He’d prefer they meet less pleasant ends.
Someone pounded on the door, and Kenneth quickly put away the Monopoly game.
“Who is it?” the colonel demanded.
“Sir, we just received some important news!” A familiar voice on the other side of the door said. “Permission to enter.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and one of the radio guys who monitored the BBC broadcasts entered. He glanced around, then his eyes rested on Kenneth.
“What’s so important?”
“The Japanese have bombed the American navy base at Pearl Harbor.”
Kenneth’s mouth dropped open. “Is this a fact or a trick?”
“No sir, it was a real BBC broadcast. Apparently, there were several ships sunk and a lot of men killed.”
Kenneth sank down on the nearest bunk and put his face in his hands. He had friends from Louisiana who had joined the navy. He thought they had an easy assignment, being sent to Hawaii and away from the war in Europe. But he didn’t think so anymore.
“President Roosevelt has declared war.”
Kenneth scanned the sympathetic faces looking at him. They all knew what he was feeling. Their country had been going through this for two years now.
“Well, it’s about time,” he said.
CHAPTER 31
Leeds, England
December 1941
The radio played in the background while Beryl tried to make the house more festive for Christmas, decorating the hall tree with sprigs of holly she’d dipped in Epsom salts to make them look frosty. “When is Mr. Cuthbert bringing us the tree from the farm?”
“Any day now. I told him we don’t need a big one, just something to put our ornaments on.” Mum sat on the couch knitting, and Elinor dangled a piece of yarn for Spitfire to play with, chuckling and smiling at the kitten’s antics.
The music on the radio stopped, and a stern voice came through. “We have to interrupt this program for this special news bulletin. The Japanese have bombed the American naval base in Hawaii. Much damage and loss of life has been reported. President Roosevelt has declared war.”
The holly fell from Beryl’s hand. “Mum! Did you hear that?” She hurried to the radio and turned it up louder. The announcer was describing the incident and its repercussions. “Listen. It says Britain will also declare war on Japan.”
Mum dropped her knitting in her lap. “Dear God. Just when we were hoping for an end of the war in this part of the world, the war gets bigger.”
“I wonder what this means. What about Hitler? Are we going to take our men out of Europe and send them to the Pacific Ocean?”
“I think we may send some ships over there,” Mum said, her brow creased.
“Oh dear. So Rodney might be sent over there?”
“I’m sure he could be.”
“Well, thank God, his ship is still at the shipyard being repaired. At least he’s been able to see Veronica another time since they got married.” They’d been married a month now, and Beryl had almost been jealous that her friend was able to see her husband when so many other women were still waiting for theirs. But he might be sent even farther away this time.
“I wonder how this will affect our men who are prisoners in Germany,” Mum said.
“Surely they won’t be treated more harshly,” Beryl replied. She hoped not.
Someone knocked at the door, and Beryl went to get it. Mr. Cuthbert stood with a little fir tree under his arm. “Where shall I put this?”
Beryl stepped back and let him enter. “In there.” She pointed to the sitting room. They placed the tree opposite the window in case its lights peeked through the blackout curtains.
“Thank you,” she said, gazing at the sparse, undecorated tree. “It seems rather odd to be festive at a time like this.”
Mr. Cuthbert nodded. “Aye. But we mustn’t let that devil steal our Christmas spirit.”
Elinor walked over to the tree and gave it a once-over. “What a pretty tree. You are very kind to give it to us,” she said, peering up at Mr. Cuthbert. “Wouldn’t you like to join us for a decorating party?”
Beryl and her mum exchanged surprised glances.
“A decorating party?” Beryl said.
“Why, of course. Harry and I always had a decorating party for Christmas. We’d invite all the neighborhood children to help us. And we’d give them treats and play with Christmas crackers.”
Where would they get treats? And Beryl only knew one child, Nancy, Veronica’s sister.
“Thank you, ma’am, but I don’t believe I can make it to your party,” Mr. Cuthbert said.
“What a pity.” Elinor looked so crestfallen, Beryl thought she might cry.
“We can still have a party, though,” Beryl said. “I’ll ask Nancy if she’d like to bring some friends.” She glanced at Mum, who shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ll be taking my leave now. Happy Christmas to you.” Mr. Cuthbert tipped his cap and left.
Elinor clasped her hands with a broad smile on her face. “We can make Christmas custard! I love custard, don’t you?”
Mum nodded. “Yes, I do. You can help me make it.”
This should be interesting. So far the woman had only been able to make her own tea. Sometimes Beryl believed Mrs. Dowd thought that Beryl and Mum were servants. On the other hand, how capable was she of cooking?
After she closed the door behind Mr. Cuthbert, she went to the telephone to call Veronica.
“I’m sure Nancy would like to come over. By the way, she wants to ask Elinor to come to her Christmas play at school. Of course, you and your mum are welcome too, but she especially wanted to ask Elinor.”
“I’d put her on the phone, but you know she probably wouldn’t be able to hear Nancy.”
“That’s fine. The play is Friday afternoon at the school. Do you think you can get off work?”
“I think Mr. Watson will let me. He’s a family man too.” She paused, afraid to ask her friend about the latest news.
“Will you be able to see Rodney again before Christmas?”
“I think so. But I don’t know how much I’ll be able to see him afterward. He called today and said he might have to ship out right after Boxing Day. His ship isn’t ready yet, but I think he’s going to be assigned to another ship in the meantime.” Veronica sniffed, and Beryl was pretty sure her friend was about to cry.
Beryl cringed, certain that Rodney was going to be sent to the Pacific. “Well, thank God, he came home long enough for you to be married.”
Veronica sniffed again, then exhaled. “You’re right. I need to count my blessings. God brought him back to me once, so I must trust Him to bring him back again.”
“That’s right,” Beryl said. “So, I’ll see you Friday at Nancy’s school. And tell Nancy that Elinor wants to have a Christmas tree decorating party and would like her to come. If she has any friends she’d like to bring, that’s fine too.”
“A Christmas tree decorating party?”
“Yes, Mr. Cuthbert just delivered our tree, and Elinor suggested the party. I guess we’ll humor her and have it.”
“Well, that’s special. Nancy would love that. She can invite her Brownie friends.”
“And tell her we’ll have some Christmas cake and punch for them too.”
“I will. See you at the school Friday.”
Beryl said goodbye and hung up the phone as the mail slid through the slot in the door.
She went over and picked it up, her heart leaping when she saw a letter from Kenneth.
The letter was addressed to her from him, not to her mum and not from James. Was something wrong? Had something happened to James?
“I’ll go get the baubles and tinsel,” she said, wanting to read her letter privately. She dropped the other envelopes on the telephone chair in the hallway and went upstairs to her room. Her hand shook as she slid a nail file under the edge of the envelope and opened it, removing the letter.
Dear Beryl,
Since James no longer needs my help to write you, I’m out of business as his secretary. However, I still wanted to send you a letter from me, so here it is. We received a wonderful Christmas present through one of the charity organizations this week, and in it was a Monopoly game! Now we can play the game as you suggested and think of you all the time. Although I think of you often anyway. I look at the picture of you every day and can’t wait to see you in person. I’m hoping that day will be very soon and am working on those plans. Maybe we can meet at Piccadilly Circus. I want to take a spin in a car like the one in the game. Will you go with me? Happy Christmas and see you soon.
Yours truly,
Kenneth
Beryl unclenched her fingers, loosening her grip on the paper to let her fingers relax. She read the letter three more times, then lowered it and reflected on its meaning. So they had received the special Monopoly game with the escape tools. Thank God. Hopefully the kit would help them. See you soon? How soon would be soon, according to Kenneth? Her pulse quickened at the notion of him looking at her photo. He truly thought of her all the time? She smiled at the idea of riding with him in a car like the one in the game, enjoying fresh air and having so much fun together.
He was working on those plans, plans to escape. A shudder raced through her, realizing the danger they’d be in. Did she really want them to risk their lives to escape? Wouldn’t they be safer if they stayed where they were? And if they escaped, how would they get back to England since Germany occupied almost all of Europe? She needed to get a copy of a map and see where they might go. Rumors of Nazi barbarism came to her mind, bringing horror and fear. Had she just encouraged Kenneth and James to put themselves in a more dangerous situation than they were already in? She would never forgive herself if they got killed trying to escape, all because she encouraged them.
God, please keep them safe if they try to escape, and lead them back here.
CHAPTER 32
Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Christmas Day 1941
Kenneth’s hands cramped and his eyes burned. He’d spent hours every day copying the map, in addition to his counterfeiting. One good thing about his repetitive job was that now he was completely familiar with the map, so in case he had to destroy it to keep it out of Nazi hands, he would still know where to go and where the safe houses were. Wilson had in fact told the others who were planning to escape that they too needed to memorize the map. It was imperative that the map be destroyed once they got out so the safe houses wouldn’t be compromised.
He shivered from the cold. Even though he was inside, the uninsulated wood huts barely kept out the wind, much less made the temperature any warmer inside than out. He figured it must be at the most freezing because it was below freezing outside. Wilson told them they would escape when it was warmer, probably in March, and only the prospect of being colder and in the snow gave him enough patience to wait. He opened and closed his fists, noticing how red and bony his hands were. He must look terrible, much like his compatriots—skinny and sallow. Some of the guys were even losing their hair due to their poor diet.
The commandant had patted himself on the back for being extra generous to the prisoners today for Christmas. Their rations had been doubled, which meant they were close to what they should have been all along. Today they had received some horse meat and potato soup with their brown bread, an almost hearty meal. But it wasn’t enough to fill their empty bodies. James and Kenneth had received a package from home that contained a fruit cake, which they shared and savored. The package also contained some extra hats and mittens, so they’d given them to Angus and Wilson, who were most appreciative of the gifts. Kenneth felt a little like Santa Claus when he saw the gratitude on the men’s faces. Sharing might have its benefits, especially when it made another person’s life a little better.
A knock on the door made him quickly put away his work. He had gotten very good at hiding it so quickly, less than a minute now. James opened it to one of the guys in the chorus. “We’re going caroling. Put your warm things on.”
