“By whom?”
“Army men. We were nearly stopped but were able to turn off into the thicket and wait.”
“Then there’s no time to waste in talk,” George Emory said curtly. Turning, he spoke to the German flier in his own language.
“He’s telling him to get aboard the rubber boat,” Mr. Parker interpreted tensely. “Now they’re saying goodbye to Emory and Mrs. Deline.”
“Somehow we must hold them all here!” Jerry whispered grimly.
“It’s two against five. And they’re armed.”
Mr. Parker and Jerry looked at each other, fully realizing how slim was their chance of success. They were not thinking of themselves but of Penny and what could happen to her if they failed. Mr. Parker touched her arm.
“Penny,” he whispered. “Slip away in the darkness and make a dash for the hotel. Jerry and I will try to hold them until help comes. Just keep low as you run or those fiends may take a pot-shot at you.” Penny would not desert her father and Jerry. Stubbornly, she shook her head.
“We want to know that you are safe,” Jerry urged. “Please go while you still have a chance. You can help us most by bringing help.”
Penny’s determination to remain, weakened. Yet reason told her she never could reach the hotel and return with help in time to do any good. It dawned upon her that Jerry was only saying what he did to get her safely away.