The captain nodded, then glanced quickly to one side as a voice said, “Good work, Slim.”
“Oh, it’s you, Sergeant!” the captain exclaimed in relief.
“Captain,” Weller said. “We were worried about you. What you got there?”
“A broken leg, I think, worse luck,” Captain Dobie explained angrily. “If you see a medic, send him back here. But you men get going now. If we don’t pick up that dropped ammunition and equipment soon, we may be in for trouble. Meanwhile, have you seen any place I can use for a command post around here?”
“You can use my father’s house,” André offered eagerly. “My father, he’s a part of the Resistance, so it’s all right.”
The captain turned to Weller.
“Yes, sir. Solid stone, handy to the road, plenty of room, barns. No bomb damage,” the sergeant reported, and added, “Nobody but this kid home, since we cleaned out the loft.”
“Yes?” The captain looked sharply around at the boy. “How’s that?”
André explained quickly. “And my father and Marie should have come back by now,” he finished.
The captain shook his head. “Not from St. Sauveur, they won’t. Not tonight. Our men must have all the roads beyond Ste. Mère blocked off.”