Allison and Stan opened up on a group of Germans breaking through the hedge above. Their gunfire drove the Germans back and allowed Arno and the general time to get Tony up the bank and into the woods.
Whirling, they ran up the bank and overtook the three who were waiting for them.
"Where to now?" Stan asked.
"We have to stay in the woods and keep moving. Near the top of the ridge we"ll find a small lake. There are a number of small huts up there. We can hide in one of them." Arno spoke quickly.
"But they"ll search every foot of the woods and every hut," Allison objected.
"They do a very good job of hunting down escaped men," Stan agreed.
"We might fool them if we hide in the Sachetti villa. They would never think of looking for us there," Tony said.
"An excellent idea, but how can we get in without being discovered?" the general asked.
"There"s an outside air shaft leading down into the cellars. It is covered with vines and there is a tree growing beside it," Tony said. "I used to be able to slide down that shaft."
"A good idea," Stan said. He was beginning to realize that Tony would not be able to travel very far or very fast. "Let"s get going."
"See, they are making a circle around the woods," Tony said.
Lights were flashing above and below them. But the Germans did not seem to think it necessary to throw a line between the woods and the house.
Arno and General Bolero helped Tony. Stan and Allison brought up the rear. They moved through the trees and across a garden thickly planted with shrubbery and grapevines.
Behind them the woods were filled with German soldiers. The searchers had fanned out into the valley below and upon the hills above the villa.
"Here is the shaft," Tony said as they halted in the black darkness under a tree.
Stan could see nothing that looked like a shaft or like the roof of a wine cellar.
"We must be careful not to disturb the vines or the bushes." Tony laughed softly. "Mr. Sachetti went to a great deal of trouble in hiding the cellar and the shaft. He said they ruined the beauty of his garden."
Tony was pushing aside bushes as he spoke. Finally he called very softly. "Come now."
The raiders moved under the spreading branches of the tree and from there they crawled under a leafy vine. They found an open shaft with a high metal cone over it. Tony and Arno went down first. When the general tried it he had trouble squeezing down the shaft. Stan was the last to slip through. He lowered the guns and grenades to Allison before he descended. Sliding down he found himself in total darkness.
"Now we have to hide. The Germans will be coming down here often for wine." Tony spoke eagerly. "We"ll hide behind the vats containing the new crop of grapes. The Germans will drink only the old wines. They are on this side."
Feeling their way they located a row of huge barrels and crawled in behind them. Stan and Allison located themselves near the outside barrel.
"We can hear the doors open when anyone comes down here," Tony said.
"The hinges are rusty and will squeak loudly."
"How about dressing your wound now, Tony?" General Bolero suggested. "I will tend to it myself."
CHAPTER XIV
NIGHT FLIGHT
The creaking hinges of the wine cellar door served as a warning signal to the hiding men behind the wine casks. Every time a German orderly was sent for wine they knew he was coming before he had even entered the short pa.s.sageway leading into the main room. Usually the men were sent in pairs, sometimes three or four came. The men always had liberal samples of the wine before filling the decanters for the officers.
The cellar was damp and smelled of rotting wood and stale wine. The s.p.a.ce behind the wine casks was limited and legs developed cramps as the night and the next day wore on. Belts had to be tightened over empty stomachs, but there was no complaining. Tony regained his strength and with it his belief that they would escape.
"We can"t very well climb back out of that chute," Allison said for the tenth time. "We"ll have to plan some other strategy. It"s three P.M.
right now and we still don"t have any ideas. We have to be up at that wheat field by midnight."
"I"ll slip out into the hallway and have a look," Stan offered.
"And get caught," Allison said sourly.
Further talk was halted. The hinges of the door creaked dismally. Four men entered and turned on the small light over the row of old wine barrels. They talked and had a few drinks before filling the pitchers they carried. There was much laughing and joking. When they had gone, Allison translated their conversation.
"We finally have some information," he said. "The Germans blame the Italian peasants for our disappearance. They are sure the peasants spirited us away and they are taking reprisals."
"That is like them," General Bolero said sadly.
"And here is the big news. The Germans figure we have escaped and will reach the British lines in the south. They expect a bombing raid upon this spot, similar to the one on the Bolero villa. So tonight they will evacuate under cover of darkness and they will put this place, wine cellar and all, to the torch before they go." Allison laughed.
"When are they going?" Stan asked.
"They plan to get out as soon as darkness comes to cover their movements from our air force, which seems to have taken over the sky. As soon as they have evacuated they will destroy the place. I gather the high command has ordered that every place evacuated is to be destroyed in revenge for Italy"s quitting the war."
"So. We have to get out of here by dark," General Bolero said. "And that we will do."
"I hope so," Stan said.
"We will evacuate with the Germans," the general said. "That is our only chance."
"Right-o," Allison agreed.
"So we may as well lay a few plans." The general seemed eager to get into action.
"We could shoot our way out," Tony suggested.
"We would do better to use our heads," the general said firmly.
"We ought to be able to take over one of the gangs sent here to get wine. The German officers will want to haul away all of this fine wine they can possibly take with them," Stan said.
"Now we"re beginning to get places," Allison agreed.
For the next hour they planned and talked. Tony explained the route they would have to take to get to the field where O"Malley was to pick them up. No one said anything about O"Malley"s not being there at midnight.
Their big worry was to get to the field themselves.
It was well after dark, according to their watches, when things began to happen. An officer and a squad of soldiers entered the cellar. The officer barked commands at the men for a few minutes, then marched off.