Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 The hours crept by. Paul sat in the radio room with Maman, Mr. Spire, Mrs. Bernard, and Mr. Leon. Victor, Pierre, and Marie had left the moment it was dark. Victor said they should be back within two hours. Paul watched the clock on the table. Maman and Mrs. Bernard sat in front of the radio. Mrs. Bernard spun a bicycle wheel that

powered the radio. There was no electricity in the castle, of course. Their light came sputtering from just a couple candles set up by the far wall. They couldn't have them near the windows for fear of the Nazis seeing the flickers. Their supper — bread and stewed onions — was cold. The radio was tuned to the BBC, the London station. That's how the Allies sent many of their most important messages to the resistance. Mr. Leon said a new message was coming soon. But right now there was music playing. The jolly sounds of pianos and horns brightened their dim and chilly room. Paul kept rushing to the window, to peer up at the sky. Mr. Leon had explained that the Allies would be sending thousands and thousands of paratroopers ahead of the ships. These soldiers would keep German troops from getting to the beach to fight the Allies. "See anything yet?" Mr. Spire asked him.

Paul shook his head. The only thing coming from the sky right now was a light, spitting rain. "The paratroopers won't arrive until after midnight," Mr. Leon said. "And I don't know if any are coming this close to the beaches." Paul kept watch anyway. He just wanted a sign that this invasion was real and not just a dream. An hour crept by. Two. Paul was so restless he didn't know what to do with himself. "Paul," Mr. Leon said finally. "Come sit." Maman smiled up at him as he passed. She was tailoring a jacket for one of her customers, a reminder that even resistance fighters still needed jobs. Nobody was paid for spying on the Nazis or blowing up trains. No matter what Maman was doing for the resistance, she still had to earn money to buy food for herself and Paul. Mr. Spire pushed his chair over to make room at the table. Mr. Leon was studying a map. He

showed Paul the beaches where the Allies would be landing. "This invasion is just the start," Mr. Leon said. "After the Allies take control of the beaches, more troops and equipment will be coming from England. The Allies will take back our towns and cities. They'll take back Paris. Then they'll battle their way across Europe, all the way to Germany." Mr. Leon ran his finger across the map, and Paul imagined it was magically sweeping the Germans away. If only beating the Nazis would be that easy. Paul knew the Nazis would fight back ferociously. "Do you think the Nazis suspect anything?" Paul asked. "We hear that Hitler is on vacation in the mountains of Germany," Mr. Leon said. "I'm afraid his vacation is about to be ruined," Mrs. Bernard quipped. They all laughed.

But just then the music stopped. "This is it," Mrs. Bernard said. Paul expected a voice to say, "The Allied invasion has begun!" or something like that. But instead, the voice read what sounded like lines from a poem. Something about someone sighing, and violins, and the autumn. Mr. Leon jumped up. "Yes! That's it!" Paul looked at Maman. "It's a message to resistance groups all over France," she said. "It's telling us that the invasion is about to start." She told him how, all over France, resistance groups had been waiting for this message. "And now they're springing into action," she said. Each group had been given a different assignment by the Allies. Roads to dynamite. Bridges to destroy. Ammunition warehouses to blow up. "We have another small team here in Le Roc that has been listening for this message," Maman went on. "Their mission is to cut the telephone

lines so that local Nazis won't be able to speak to their generals." Maman put her arm around Paul and hugged him. "It's happening, Paul. If all goes well, this war — this nightmare — could be over." Paul's heart rose up. But then a voice rang from the hallway. It was Pierre. "They're back!" Maman said. But something about the sound of Pierre's voice gave Paul a chill. They flew out of the room. He saw Pierre, holding Victor up. There was a trail of blood behind them. Victor's eyes fluttered. Pierre seemed to be using all his strength to support Victor's weight. Paul wondered how he had possibly gotten him back here. Maman and Mr. Leon rushed over and took hold of Victor. "What happened?" Maman cried.