Hitler's Secret by William Osborne Read Free Book Online Page B

First to rumble past were a dozen Kübelwagen , the standard German Army field car. After them came perhaps thirty Opel trucks, built to carry troops, and even more tank transporters. Otto tugged at Leni’s sleeve. She glanced at him and saw he had his right arm raised in a Nazi salute. Quickly she followed suit.
    But the sight was intimidating, and a shiver ran down Leni’s body as she held a salute she had never imagined making in her life. She hated herself for doing it. Walking through the countryside on a bright sunny morning, she had almost forgotten the war. But seeing these tanks, with the black-and-white crosses on their turrets, she was reminded sharply of the terrible fighting going on all over the world.
    When the last vehicle had passed and the rumble of engines had begun to fade, Otto and Leni decided to cross the Autobahn. As they were about to do so, a battered old Daimler car puttered towards them.
    “Let’s hitch,” said Leni.
    “It’s too risky,” said Otto. He looked on edge. “Remember what MacPherson told us? Avoid all unnecessary contact with strangers. He drilled it into us.”
    “But he also told us to use our initiative — and my feet are killing me already.”
    “No.”
    “Come on, Otto, we’ve got to talk to someone eventually and the driver’s an old man. He looks all right.”
    Before he could protest any further, Leni jumped onto the road and waved enthusiastically. The car slowed to a stop.
    “Just don’t say anything you don’t have to say, all right?” said Otto, but he still seemed reluctant.
    “Good morning, sir. Are you going east by any chance?” Leni smiled politely at the grizzled old man.
    “North, towards Rosenheim, but only for a few miles. Is that any good?” the man said.
    “That would be perfect,” replied Leni in her sweetest voice.
    “Jump in, then. So long you don’t mind sharing with Gunter.” The man jerked his thumb towards the backseat. A large spotted pig was lying there, bold as brass.
    “Oh, we don’t mind,” Leni said, quickly opening the front passenger door and bagging the seat next to the farmer.
    Otto scowled and climbed in the back. The pig appeared to appreciate the company and farted a loud welcome.
    “He’s happy, going to visit his girlfriend in Rosenheim. Make some little piglets for me.” The farmer chuckled and slammed the car into gear. The Daimler accelerated down the road.
    “That was a big convoy,” said Otto.
    The driver grunted. “Been like that for the last month or more. All coming back from Italy and whatnot, heading east. Something big’s about to happen, if you ask me. Where are you two headed?”
    “East,” said Otto shortly.
    “Well, that doesn’t sound like a good idea, does it?” The farmer laughed.
    Leni was inclined to agree.

    Half an hour later, the car pulled up on the side of the road. To the left a track led towards a Bavarian timber farmhouse. A sturdy-looking woman in a black skirt and red blouse was herding some cattle out of a pasture towards the milking shed.
    “Well, young people, this is Gunter’s stop.”
    Leni turned to the back. Otto was sound asleep, his head resting on the pig’s buttocks. She giggled. The farmer whistled loudly, and both Otto and the pig woke with a start.
    Otto and Leni scrambled out, and watched the car bounce down the track to the farm where Gunter’s girlfriend was waiting. Then they set off down a country lane towards Prien. They walked in silence for a good ten minutes, alone with theirthoughts, the only chatter coming from the birds in the hedgerows and the grasshoppers in the weeds.
    “What was MacPherson talking to you about?” Leni suddenly asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Yesterday, before we left. When I went up to my room, he kept you behind. What did he say?”
    “Nothing,” said Otto.
    “Well, he must have said something.”
    Otto shrugged, but Leni could see he was blushing. “He was just running through some details about our