Run, Boy, Run by Uri Orlev

Author:Uri Orlev [Orlev, Uri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

10. Do You Smoke?

Jurek realized that he was known by too many people in the area. He decided to cross the Wisla River and try his luck elsewhere. As soon as his foot was better, he left the forest and set out. A wagon loaded with sacks of wheat passed on the road. A farmer and his wife were sitting in the front seat. Jurek greeted them and asked if they were traveling toward the Wisla.

"Yes. To the flour mill."

"Can you give me a ride?"

The farmer's wife looked at him and whispered something to her husband.

"Hop aboard," the farmer said.

Jurek climbed onto the wagon and lay on the sacks, which were growing warm in the morning sun. The wagon jolted slowly along the cobblestone road, and he fell asleep.

He awoke and opened his eyes when the wagon came to a halt. He wasn't at a flour mill. There were no waterwheels and no river. He was in the yard of a large, three-story house with pretty trimmings. Surrounding it and several nearby structures was a metal fence topped by barbed wire. The wire pointed outward, against intruders. Jurek had never seen such a fence around a village house. But it was too late to do anything about it. The gate had swung shut and was guarded by a German soldier.

He was at the local headquarters of the Gestapo.

The farmer brought him into the house. A soldier shut the door behind them. The farmer let go of Jurek and stepped into an office. The soldier pointed to a kitchen and told Jurek in German to go there. A Polish woman was working in the kitchen. Without a word, she sat Jurek at a table and gave him a large bowl of meat and rice. He crossed himself and ate hungrily, finishing it all. Then he leaned back with a contented sigh.

"That was a serving for two grown men," the woman said, laughing and taking the empty bowl.

Jurek rose and went to the window. The forest was near.

"Is there a road leading to the forest, ma'am?" he asked.

The cook pointed out the window. "Do you see that wooden shack? The path to the forest is behind it."

He peeked into the corridor to see if he could make a getaway. The soldier at the door spotted him. Grabbing Jurek's arm, he pulled him down some stairs and locked him in a basement. The basement was ankle-high in water. Some broken wooden crates were afloat in it. Jurek sat on one of them. After a long while the door opened and the soldier told him to come out. He led him upstairs and knocked on a door. "Come in!" said a voice in German.

The soldier ushered Jurek into the room, saluted, and left.

The room was a large one. A young, blond, handsome officer was sitting behind a long table. His uniform brimmed with decorations. Beneath the German eagle and the swastika on his officer's cap, which was placed on the table, was the insignia of a skull.

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