"Tea - that looks good," said Devlin. He stopped writing and poured himself a cup. Molly picked up the nootbook. "What's this? Poetry? Is it yours?" she said, full of wonder. ""There is no certain knowledge of my passing, where I have walked in woodland after dark"," she read. "Why, that's beautiful, Liam."
"Of course," he said. "As you keep telling me, I'm a lovely boy."
"I know. I could eat you up." She kissed him fiercely. "I with I didn't have to go home. But I'll come round tonight and cook your supper."
"No, you won't," he said. "I shan't be here."
Her face clouded. "Business?"
He kissed her. "Now you promised not to ask questions. I'm not sure when I'll be back. Best leave it that I'll call for you. All right?"
"If you say so," she said sadly.
As he kissed her again, they heard a car approach. Molly looked out. "It's Mrs Grey. I'm off."
She kissed him hard and he followed her out of the back door, watching her run across the field. He knew this was probably the end. "Ah, well," he said softly, "the best thing for her."
He turned and let Joanna Grey in at the front door.
"I saw Molly a second ago," she said. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
"I know. I'm a terrible bad lot. Well, the big day. What's the news?"
"Radl himself is in Landsvoort with them now."
"And it's still on? In spite of the fog?"
Her eyes were shining. "Whatever the weather, Steiner and his men will be here at one o'clock."
But that afternoon the weather seemed determined to defeat them. As darkness fell, fog still covered most of Western Europe.
Peter Gericke, the pilot who was to fly them across, inspected the airstrip constantly. At eight o'clock the fog was as thick as ever.
"There's no wind," he told Steiner and Radl.
"That's what we need to clear this fog: wind."
In Studley Constable things were no better. Joanna Grey sat by the radio, while Devlin checked the weather as often as Gericke. At ten o'clock nothing had changed. He flashed his torch into the fog and said softly, "A good night for dirty work, that's all you can say for it."
At Landsvoort, too, Gericke was beginning to lose hope. "There's no problem this end," he said. "I could take off blind. But to drop men at the other end, I need to see their landing place, however briefly."
Just then something touched his cheek coldly.
"Wind!" he said. "We've got wind!"
There was a sudden gap in the fog. "Can you go?" Radl demanded.
"Yes. But it's got to be now."
Twenty minutes later Joanna Grey received a radio message. As she hurried downstairs, the dog ran up to her. "No, Patch, not this time," she said.
She had to drive carefully through the fog, and it took her twenty minutes to reach Hobs End.
"What's all this?" said Devlin as he let her in.
"I've just received a message from Landsvoort. The Eagle has flown."
He stared at her. "They must be crazy. The fog's like pea-soup on the beach."
"It seemed a little clearer just now."
He looked outside. "You're right. Come on. We've got work to do."
"I'd close your eyes if I were you," Gericke told Steiner cheerfully, as he started the engines. "This is going to be pretty alarming. Anyghing could happen - and probably will."
The engines roared louder and Steiner smiled. "We have every faith in you," he shouted.
The plane began moving, gathered speed and rushed blindly into the grey wall of fog. suddenly they were in the air. Gericke kept the plane going, straight into the grey wall. At last, at two hundred metres, they burst out of the fog.
Down below, Max Radl stared up into the greyness. "Great God!" he whispered. "He did it!"
It was cold on the beach. Devlin walked up and down to keep warm, holding the radio receiver. It was ten to twelve.
"They must be close now," Joanna Grey said.
As if in direct answer, the S-phone came alive and Gericke said, astonishingly clearly, "This is Eagle. Are you receiving me, Wanderer?"
"Loud and clear," replied Devlin.
"Good. We expect to arrive in six minutes."
Devlin handed the S-phone to Joanna Grey.
"Hold that while I lay out the markers." He had a dozen bicycle lamps with him. These he placed in two parallel lines twenty metres apart, switching them on as he went.
"This damn fog," said Joanna Grey as he came back. "They'll never see us. I know they won't."
It was the first time he'd seen her nervous. He put a hand on her arm. "Be still, girl."
Faintly, in the distance, these was the sound of an aeroplane.
"All ready?" Geric
ke asked."Ready!" Steiner said.
Gericke slowed right down and flew along the beach at one hundred metres. The green light flashed. Ritter Neumann jumped into the darkness, Altmann followed, then the others, Steiner last.
The door was closed and Gericke swung out to sea again. Five minutes later Devlin said clearly over the S-phone, "The Eagle has landed. All birds safe in the nest."
"Thank you, Wandered. Good luck," said Gericke. Then he passed the news on to Max Radl.
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