THE SNOW HAD LONG since melted in the mountains. Long, rapidly flowing streams wound their way down the hillsides and through the villages below, leaving muddy paths and trails behind. Gabi, Max, and Eva tried to get back to the forest one night, but their feet sank in the mud as if it were quick sand. In the end, they had to turn back.
“Besides,” said Mama. “You’ll leave footprints that might lead people back here to the farmhouse. It’s too dangerous.” Mama looked relieved. She welcomed any opportunity to keep the children inside. But for Gabi and Max, it felt like a prison sentence. For the time being, the children had to remain patient. They could only daydream about what was happening with the partisans in the woods.
One day, several weeks later, Gabi and Max sat in the hayloft, playing a word game to pass the time. “Okay, Max. I’m thinking of something that is green,” said Gabi impatiently, as she yawned and looked around. The game seemed so trivial in light of what she knew was being planned in the forest. But there was no other way to pass the time in the hayloft.
“It has to be in the barn, Gabi,” complained Max. “Remember, I have to be able to see it.”
“I know the rules,” said Gabi, wearily. “I know how to —”
At the sound of loud voices, the children suddenly froze. They were deep men’s voices, moving closer and closer, barking orders and commands in German.
“What is that?” cried Max, scrambling over to the out-side wall of the barn. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and pressed his face against a crack in the barn board, straining to identify the sounds.
“Max, come away from the wall,” whispered Mama, desperately pulling on her nephew’s sleeve.
“Wait,” whispered Max, “I want to see what’s going on.” The sounds grew louder, until it seemed as though the voices were right beside the barn, directly below their hiding place. Gabi crawled over next to Max, so she, too, could peer out through a slit in the wall. Mama gasped and shook her head furiously, her eyes pleading with her children to come closer to her. Gabi ignored her mother, as she squinted through the boards at the road below.
Dozens of Nazi soldiers were marching in both directions, some toward the village and others away from it. They saluted one another with an outstretched arm, the symbol of greeting used by all of Hitler’s followers. As they marched, their arms swung stiffly back and forth and their legs lifted in rigid unison. Gabi had seen this march before and it terrified her.
Max grabbed Gabi’s arm and pointed below. Two soldiers stood on the road close to the barn, directly below the hayloft, inspecting the army as it passed. They seemed to be in charge of the march, nodding briefly to the soldiers. As the groups of soldiers disappeared in all directions, the two commanding officers spoke to each other in rapid German. Their words were clipped and sharp. Because they spoke so quickly, Gabi had difficulty following their conversation. Gabi could not understand why the Nazi soldiers were here in the village. She turned to Mama, whose face had gone quite pale.
“Mama,” she mouthed, gesturing toward the soldiers below. “What are they saying?”
Mama shook her head and motioned frantically with her hands for Gabi and Max to be still. Desperately, she signaled to the children to move away from the barn wall. But Gabi and Max were glued to their spots by the wall and continued to watch through the cracks.
Finally, the two soldiers saluted and began to walk in opposite directions. One officer glanced up toward the barn before he moved away. Gabi caught her breath, as his eyes seemed to line up directly with her own. She fell away from the wall, shaking uncontrollably. Did she only imagine it or had she actually looked into the eyes of the Nazi soldier? And had he looked straight back at her?
No one moved in the barn. Nobody breathed and not a word was whispered. Minutes passed — minutes that felt like hours — as the sound of the soldiers’ marching feet gradually grew softer, until they disappeared.
“That was so close,” said Max, finally. “I don’t think he saw us, Gabi.”
Gabi was still shaking as she sat forward to face her mother. “Mama, what were the soldiers saying? I couldn’t understand everything.”
Mama still looked pale and dazed. “They said… they said the road is going well. The extra troops will soon be here. They said Hitler’s armies will move in against the Russians and wipe them out.” Her voice faded into a whisper. “They said it would be a glorious victory.”
Mr. Kos appeared later that evening to let them out into the family home. Sitting around the kitchen table, Mama talked with Mr. Kos about what she had heard. Mrs. Kos no longer joined them in the kitchen these days. She fed everyone quickly. And then, just as quickly, she retired to her bedroom. Everyone seemed to agree that the less contact she had with Gabi, Max, and Mama, the better it was for all of them. Joseph arrived that night, bringing some extra clothing and food.
“The soldiers made it sound as if Hitler is winning the war. I cannot imagine what will happen if the Nazis win,” said Mama, shaking her head sorrowfully.
“It’s not true, Judith,” insisted Joseph. “Don’t believe what the Nazis are saying. We hear other reports, late at night on the radio — reports from other countries. Just last month, the Americans along with the British and Canadians landed in Normandy, France and launched a huge attack. They have entered Paris and are moving to reclaim other parts of Europe. The Allies are powerful — more powerful than the Nazis. It’s only a matter of time before Hitler must surrender. The road they are building outside this village is their last attempt to bring the armies up to this part of the country. But they will fail, I am certain. Even the partisans are banding together to create more damage to the Nazis. The war will end soon and Hitler will be destroyed.”
Gabi looked from her mother to Joseph and back again. What could she believe? She too had heard the soldiers underneath the barn. They spoke with such determination and certainty. On the other hand, she knew what the partisans were planning. They were intent on slowing down the progress of the Nazis until the Russians and the Americans arrived. She desperately wanted to believe the partisans would be successful.
“But your experience today is a warning that we must double our efforts to keep you safe,” continued Mr. Kos. “During the day, you must only talk in whispers, no more speaking aloud.” Then he looked directly at Gabi, Max, and Eva. “And I’m afraid there will be no more night walks either. It’s simply too dangerous now for you to leave the barn.”
“But,” began Gabi. “This information is so important. The partisans need to know that the Nazi soldiers were in the village today.”
The look on Mama’s face stopped her from saying any more. Gabi looked over at Max and Eva and nodded solemnly.