'Oi 'xpects you're roight, miss,' Sunde answered. His voice sounded hoarse and uncertain. 'But Oi don't want no trouble, see. There's me partner, too. 'E an' Oi were in it tergevver durin' the war an' Oi ain't never done anyone dirt, see.'
Jill sighed. 'Listen, Mr Sunde. Nobody will get into trouble. All we want to know is where Schreuder has been taken. We want to find him and talk to him. We want the truth about Farnell's death. That's all. We don't want to turn him over to the authorities. We just want to know what happened. Please — won't you help us?' She took hold of his other hand. 'Mr Sunde.' she said, and her voice was hardly audible, 'I loved George Farnell. I want to know how he died. I've a right to know. This man Schreuder could help. Now please — where is he?'
The diver hesitated. His dark face was white with exhaustion. He passed his sound hand across his eyes. 'Oi dunno. It's all like a ruddy dream, that's wot it is. But Oi ain't tellin' nobody nuffmk, see. Not wiva't Oi talk ter me partner first. 'E's the brains of the outfit. Oi'm just a diver. The best ruddy diver in the 'ole of Norway. But it's 'im wot's got the brains. 'E manages the business side, see. I bin wiv Mm ever since 'forty. We was in Oslo when the Germans come in, doin' a bit of salvage work da'n in Pipervika. We went up inter the mountings and joined an army unit wot was farming. But we got smashed up by the Jerries and finds ourselves across the border in Sweden. Well, we starts the great trek — 'cross Sweden and Finland, down into Russia, 'cross Siberia inter China. The British Consul in Hong Kong sent us ter Singapore and from there we went to India where they put us in a ship ba'nd for Clydeside. Me partner — 'e organises the 'ole ruddy trip.' He shook his head and sighed. 'We bin through a lot. Peer and Oi. And Oi don't do nuffink wiva't Oi consult 'im first. 'E's always tellin' me — Alf, 'e sez, you ain't got the brains of a louse. Only 'e sez it in Norwegian, see.' He grinned. 'Peer's a great thinker.
Reads books like Altid Amber — wot 'e calls the classics.'
Jill was leaning forward now and a sudden excitement showed on her face.' Alf,' she said. 'What happened after you and your partner got to England?'
'Oh, we didn't stay there long, miss. We does a bit o' training up in Scotland and then we're parachuted back inter Norway. Makes yer laugh, don't it — all that trouble ter get a't o' the country — all the way ra'nd the world we goes ter get ter England — an' they goes an' drops us back inter Norway.' He passed his hand across his face again. He was dead beat with weariness. But he couldn't stop talking. He'd reached the stage where he had to talk. 'But we comes back wiv more than the rucksack we goes a't wiv. They drops a case o' bren guns an' nitroglycerine an' grenades wiv us. Oh, we 'as a fine ol' time. We comes da'n ter Bergen an' starts sabotaging ships. To this ruddy day they thinks the ammoonition ship wot blows up by the ol' Walkendorff Tower is due to carelessness o' German welders.' He giggled. 'Well, it weren't, see. It was me an' Peer. Blimey, Oi'm a ruddy good diver. Ask anyone in the shippin' business in Bergen. They'll say Alf Sunde — his loafs all wood, but 'e's the best diver in Norway.'
'When you were dropped in Norway,' Jill interrupted, trying to conceal her excitement, 'what unit were you with?'
'Why the Norwegian Army, miss.'
'Yes — but what unit?'
'Oh, I see — Kompani Linge.'