Dangerous Waters (A Donald Cameron Naval Thriller) by Philip McCutchan

Author:Philip McCutchan [McCutchan, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Published: 2014-08-18T04:00:00+00:00

9

THERE was a dead silence. Wellington and Lawrence were watchful behind their rifles; Razakis seemed almost to have stopped breathing. Then Kopoulos got up and moved at a crouching run towards the German, who hadn’t moved but was staring back at the party of apparent partisans, wide-eyed and fearful. Cameron got to his feet and joined Kopoulos.

‘See,’ Kopoulos said. ‘As well as the shoulder, he is hit in the leg also. Now we must find out more.’ He bent and took the man by the collar and dragged him unceremoniously towards the group around Razakis. The German whimpered with pain and fear; he was just a youth, Cameron saw, a year or two younger than himself he thought. Kopoulos asked him, roughly, if he spoke English.

‘Ja, ’ the soldier answered. His face was dead white and the lips trembled.

‘Good,’ Kopoulos said. ‘You will now talk. Where have you come from, Nazi?’

‘From Vitsilokoumos.’

‘North of Sphakia... the road from Canea and Suda to Sphakia! Your armies are there, Nazi?’

‘Ja, ja... yes.’ There was no holding back on the young German’s part. ‘We were fighting the Australians, and there were tanks.’ Tears were running down the face now. ‘I... I ran away. I am not a Nazi... and I was frightened.’

‘Not a Nazi, but a coward.’ Kopoulos spat full at the young man; the gob dribbled down the face. ‘I do not like cowards. Now, come, tell me more things. What was happening in your sector, around Vitsilokoumos? Tell me, and do not lie.’

‘The British were coming down the road from Canea. That is all I know.’

Cameron caught Kopoulos’s eye. He said, ‘That must mean the withdrawal from Suda, Kopoulos. It’s begun.’

‘Yes. And the coast near Sphakia will be saturated by the Nazi dive-bombers. It is not good for us — for Razakis.’ Kopoulos turned back to the German. ‘If there is more to tell, tell it. If you do not, I shall shoot your other shoulder, after that your other leg. You will live, Nazi, to die in much pain.’

The agonized voice said hoarsely, ‘There is no more to tell. I swear that. I am — was — just a soldier, a private. I was confused by the noise, by the gunfire, by the screams of men. I knew only that my unit was moving south towards Vitsilokoumos, from Askifou —’

‘And your unit, Nazi?’

‘No. 100 Mountain Regiment, of the 5th Mountain Division under General Ringel.’

‘And you... you were the only one to desert, to run away?’

‘I — I don’t know. I believe so. No one came with me. I am alone. I am at your mercy. I surrender. For me, the war is over, and I am glad. I am not a Nazi, only a private soldier.’ The man was sweating with pain and fear now, and still tearful. Kopoulos walked a little way off, frowning, and beckoned to Cameron.

He said, ‘The Nazi has told what he knows. There is no more to come. If there was, he would tell it. What he has said is useful.

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