'We'll pick your partner up either on the way or at Aurland. If we don't will you guide me to Farnell?'
'Yes,' he said. Then he looked at the slim lines of the catcher ploughing up the water as it raced down the fjord. 'Lovaas is a proper bastard.' He turned to me again. 'Mr Gansert,' he said, 'I'll do anyfink you say, 'cos Oi reckon you're the only bloke wot can get Bernt Olsen safe a't o' Norway. Pity we didn't know you was a friend o' his. We could 'ave smuggled 'im aboard your boat instead of runnin'
'im up inter the mountings.' He struck his fist violently against the chartroom roof. 'Ter fink o' Bernt Olsen on the run again. As if 'e 'adn't 'ad enough of it during the bleedin' war. Peer and Oi worked wiv 'im up 'er in the mountings. We was busy derailing trains on the Bergen-Oslo line at one time. Olsen was a brave man. The Jerries caught 'im, but they couldn't make 'im talk. Me an' me partner owe our lives to him. An' a'terwards, 'e still went on working wiv us, till we was sent down to Bergen to sabotage shipping.' He seized my arm. 'Oi don't care wevver 'e did kill Schreuder. It was no more than wot the little swine deserved. Schreuder was up at Finse working for the Jerries. Oi don't care wot Olsen done. If Oi can 'elp 'im ter escape, Oi will.'
The violence in his voice surprised me. 'Why did you tell Dahler where Farnell had been taken?' I asked.
'Cos 'e threatened me,' he answered. Then he looked at me quickly. 'Oi wouldn't 'ave told 'im then only I knew wot Olsen done fer 'im up at Finse an' Oi thought he were a't to 'elp 'im, Mr Gansert,' he added, 'I reck'n Dahler must be mad.'
'Why?' I asked.
'I dunno. 'E says 'e wants ter get ter Olsen sos 'e can disprove the charges wot've bin made against 'im. But Olsen can't disprove them charges. They're true.'
'But I thought Olsen got him and five others away in aero engine cases.'
'That's roight. So 'e did. But 'ow did Dahler fix fer the guard to be relaxed? Oi dunno. But it looks sort 'o fishy ter me.' His gaze wandered again to the catcher, now disappearing round the headland which I was cutting fine. 'As fer Lovaas,' he murmured. 'If the war were still on an' Oi 'ad a tommy-gun-' He made a motion of mowing an enemy down.
'Did Lovaas work for the Germans?' I asked.