David looked toward the sounds of the voice and spotted Manny at the edge of the trees. He climbed down from the cab and quickly scanned the surroundings before he opened the rear doors. "Quickly five of you in here. Manny and Rick in the front."

He shook hands with each as they climbed in. "Quarter hour of bumpy going, then it smooths. We'll stop for lunch in half an hour." He closed the rear doors, started the engine again, climbed aboard and adjusted it, then shook hands with Rick and Manny.

As they drove down the slopes toward the lake, he had Manny describe the experience. "Marcel is a beaut. He and his sons are woodcutters, and they keep track on the movements of the Swiss patrols. Very easy route with an ace view of the Alps from up there. We've been here nearly a quarter hour. Great little hiding nook with a clear view of the approaches."

"So you watched me drive up, then?"

"We figured it was you heading up to the village."

"The van probably looks out of place, being so clean. I'll have to get it dirty for the next load."

"Next load? There are more of us?"

"Yes, but we'll discuss that later — once we've settled."

"This was a simple operation. An easy route. You going to do it with them?"

"Those were my thoughts. Anything you think could be changed with it to make it better?"

Manny laughed. "Cushions in the wood waggon. That's a rough road he brought us up yesterday. But, really, nothing that comes to mind."

"I'll have you write a report on it so we can give more information to those who follow. We had little knowledge of it to give you, so anything will be helpful."

They continued their conversation as David drove down the hill to the lake and followed the road beside its shore. "Back there, behind us along the lake, is Geneva, about fifteen miles. Did you see it from the ridge tops?"

"Very clearly. Wrapped around the end of the lake. Every time we ventured into a clearing to check the route forward, we had ace views."

"But you were able to remain in the trees for your entire route?"

"Yes, Sir. Only poked out to scout a few times."

"You still have the sir habit."

"Tough one to break with you, S..." Manny laughed. "See, told you it's tough."

Fifteen minutes later, David steered the van into the courtyard of Auberge de Perroy, set the brake and switched off the engine. "We'll have lunch here." He opened the door, climbed down and motioned to Manny and Rick to do the same.

He opened a rear door a bit and spoke quietly, "Wir sind in der Französisch Teil des Landes, aber auch Deutsch sprechen hier... We're in the French part of the country, but some also speak German here, which is what we'll use. Let's keep our conversations to a minimum and speak quietly. Remember, you're construction workers on your way home to Zürich from a project in Genf." He looked around. "Gut. Sie kommen... Good. Out you come."

A woman led the eight of them to a long table and pointed to the slates on the walls. "Les menus sont là. Voulez-vous les cartes?... The menus are there. Do you wish the cartes?"

David looked at the chalked menus, then replied, "Non, ça suffit... No, that will do." After the woman had left, David interpreted the items on the menus and described them for the others, then said, "I'm having the four Franc menu with the onion tart, the papet vaudois and the baked apple."

He heard, "Auch für mich... Same for me, for me also," and its variations all around the table. He asked "Bier?" and saw seven nods. "Let's keep to a third of a litre now. We still have a little over a hundred kilometres to go. We can celebrate when we get to Bern. How's the ride in the back?"

"Much better the last while on the smoother road. The first part was almost as bad as Marcel's waggon."

"We're past the rough now. Nothing but tarred macadam from here. We'll pause part way along to stretch legs and wieners."

Shortly past four, David switched off the lorry's engine in the side courtyard of the British Embassy in Bern. He blew out a loud breath and turned to Manny, then pointed to the two tents pitched next to a greenhouse in the rear garden. "This your home for the next two days. Let's unload so I can show you around."

After they had all climbed out, David took them to the first tent, which was furnished with tables and chairs. "This is your mess where you'll eat and relax." He continued to the second tent. "Eight will sleep here, and the NCOs will sleep in the servant's quarters. There are toilet and washing facilities through that door." He pointed to the rear of the mansion.

"Pick a cot and settle in. I'll show Manny and Rick to their room, then we'll all meet in your mess tent for beer in a quarter hour." He looked at his watch. "The others will be arriving through the afternoon and evening."

After he'd shown them their quarters, David went up to Maria's suite to refresh and to leave a note for her:

Hello Gorgeous;

We've arrived safely. I'm in down the rear garden with the men. I'll see you around six.

He helped a kitchen worker lug a tub of beer to the mess tent, and they were followed by another worker with a platter of cheese cubes, sliced meats, nuts and olives.

After the workers had left, David pulled a bottle from the ice bath, opened it and said, "Dig in. Relax. We've much to do the next while, but now's a time to take it easy."

After they had all taken a beer, he continued. "Tomorrow you'll leave in ones and twos, separated by twenty or thirty minutes to not appear conspicuous. The shopping district begins about a ten-minute walk from here. Avoid each other as you go and while you're in town. Observe the dress of the casual men in the streets, then purchase clothes in a similar fashion. Two changes should be sufficient. You've still your gold coins to use."

David popped a cube of cheese into his mouth, then paused while he savoured it. "Try the Appenzeller. It's delicious." He scanned the faces. "We all need to appear as locals, act as locals and try to think as they do. Remember, you're illegal here until we can get some papers for you. That's taking longer than we had thought."

Half an hour later, two more arrived and joined them, opened bottles and shared their travel experiences. A few minutes to six, Georg poked his head into the tent and was welcomed. "Three yet to come," David said as he pointed outside. "Let me show you your room, Georg." He bent and picked up one of the Sergeant's bags, then led the way.

"This is yours, and Franz is in there with Manny and Rick. You can show him to it when he arrives. I must go and greet my wife."

"Your wife's here? How'd you arrange that?"

"She's here studying at the University Hospital." He motioned to the door "Let's go back to the mess so I can wish good night to the men." As they walked, David explained the catering. "The kitchen staff will bring your meals to the mess at zero eight, noon, sixteen and nineteen hundred. I'll be here tomorrow after breakfast to organise the clothes and kit shopping. We'll leave to drive north Thursday morning. I'll give everyone a full briefing tomorrow afternoon."

He heard Maria's voice as he approached the tent, then saw her as he entered. "I'm surprised to see you here?" He took her hand and smiled, then looked at the men. "Seems you've met my wife. Let me make it formal. This is Maria."

"We've already introduced ourselves while you were off exploring." Maria laughed and looked at Georg. "Though I've not met your fellow explorer.."

"This is Georg, born in the Valais."

Georg took her offered hand and put it to his lips, then looked at David with a sly smile. "Do we each get issued with a beautiful woman also? Everything else seems provided."

"That you'll need to organise on your own." David grinned. "There's a limit to what we can ask from the War Office." He scanned the faces. "Two yet to arrive. They should both be here by the time your dinner is served. I'll see you after breakfast."

He took Maria's hand and led her out of the mess tent, and as they walked across the lawns toward the mansion, he said, "I'm pleased you came down, but it was unexpected."

"Your note... I thought it meant for me to come down."

"I hadn't thought of it that way when I wrote it. I'll have to reread it. Clarity of communication is essential."

"So I shouldn't have come, then?"

"It's perfectly fine you did. I hadn't thought to invite you, but it seems my pen did. I need to begin thinking as two again."