“But Captain,” Weller exploded, “the colonel said—”
“Ouvarski’s my lieutenant, and a brave one. It’s my job to see that he and his men get out alive,” Dobie snapped.
“Okay, sir,” Weller said. “It’s me’ll get courtmartialed. But pay no heed.”
The jeep bounded and took to the road.
A few moments later they met Slim with a truckload of men, and instructed him to follow. They whirled past a château set on a hill, with a scattering of cottages on its lower slopes.
Weller tilted rapidly around high stone walls, and pulled up in the shelter of a cottage near the château gates.
“Can’t get any closer,” Weller said firmly. “Ouvarski must be in that barn over there.”
“We’ll stay here till the shelling that the colonel ordered is over,” Dobie ordered.
Slim had his men out of the truck and ready to move in.
Without warning, from unseen guns, a barrage of shells circled the barn. The men crouched near the jeep winced under the explosive pressure on their ears.