The Hesitant Hero (12 page)

“You’re the one with funny things in your mind,” Rochelle put in.

“Come on,” Jolie told the group. “Let’s head over to the train station. The train should be pulling in before long.”

They were just getting settled on a bench when they heard the whistle.

“There comes the train,” Jolie said. “I hope we can get on it this time.”

As the first cars of the train passed the platform, they could see there were some soldiers aboard, but there appeared to be plenty of room for civilians. The group boarded and got settled, and a few minutes later they were on their way.

“How long will it take to get where we’re going?” Rochelle asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Tyler said. “It shouldn’t take too long, though.” He said this with as much assurance as he could, but as the scenery flashed by outside the window, he wondered if he was telling the truth.

CHAPTER NINE

“Everybody Off”

Tyler and Damien played every game Tyler could think of on the short trip from Vichy to Varennes. The boy’s attention span wasn’t as long as Tyler would have hoped.

“Why are we stopping here?” Damien asked.

“To let people off or take on more passengers, I suppose,” Tyler told him.

But the train stayed still for several minutes, and Tyler didn’t see anyone getting off or on. A man burst through the door, calling, “Everybody off. This train will not go any farther.”

“Not go any farther! But it’s supposed to go to Paris!”

“Everybody off,” the man called again.

“What a mess!” Tyler groaned. “What do we do now?”

“We’ll have to get off,” Jolie said matter-of-factly.

They gathered their things and got off with everyone else. They soon learned the military had commandeered the train. It was being routed elsewhere.

“But how can we get to Paris?” Tyler asked the ticket agent.

“You could go to Moulins. A train from Italy headed for Paris will go through there later today.”

“But how will we get there?”

“I do not know, sir.”

Tyler was angry and started to argue, but Jolie took his arm. “Come on, Tyler.”

“Moulins. I wonder how far that is,” Tyler said as the train pulled away from the station.

“It’s not all that far, but it’s certainly too far to walk,” Jolie told him.

“Look,” he said abruptly, “you stay here with the kids. I’ll go try to find someone who can take us there. A taxi, a car, something.”

“All right, Tyler.”

At once he began his search. As he left, Rochelle whispered, “Are the Germans going to get us, Mademoiselle Jolie?”

“Certainly not. You’ll soon be in England, far away from here.”

“I wish you’d come with us,” she said. “I’m afraid to go.”

“Monsieur Winslow will take care of you. You like him, don’t you?”

“Yes, but . . . I’d just feel better if you were with us.”

Jolie hugged the girl tightly. “It’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”

****

Tyler checked with people in several businesses but had no success until he saw a car repair shop. He found a middle-aged man there smoking a pipe and working on a car. His hands were greasy, and he did not greet Tyler.

“My name is Winslow. I’m sorry I don’t speak better French, but I’m in a bit of trouble.”

“We’re all in a bit of trouble. My name is Rousseau.”

“Monsieur Rousseau, I am trying to get to Le Havre with three children and a young lady, but I understand I have to get to Moulins to catch a train there. I’ve been trying to hire somebody to drive us there.”

“We have no taxis here. This town is too small.”

Tyler looked at the two cars parked outside the shop. “Would it be possible to hire you to take us? I’ll pay you for your time.”

“These people. Are they your family?”

“No, the children are orphans and the young lady is a physician. We’re trying to get the children out of the country.”

“I’m not a taxi service.”

Tyler argued as eloquently as he could, but Rousseau was adamant and seemed almost angry. Finally he demanded, “Who are these three children? Why would you be taking them out of the country? We can’t all of us be rich and take our children out of the way of the Boche.”

“As I said, they are orphans, but they are Jewish. You know what the Germans will do to them if they don’t get away.”

Rousseau fell silent. He looked down at the wrench in his hand and began tapping it in his palm. “Jewish?” he murmured.

“Yes. All three of them.”

“I had a brother who married a Jewish woman, a Pole. He moved with her to Poland. When the Germans invaded the country, they took his wife and his little boy. When he fought to keep his family, they killed him. I don’t know what happened to his wife and baby.”

“I’m so sorry,” Tyler said and started to walk away.

Rousseau tossed the wrench down, took the rag out of his back pocket, and began wiping his hands. “All right. I will take you to Moulins.”

“I appreciate it. We’ll pay you for your time and gas.”

“I do not do it for money,” he said. “And I will take a gun. If I see one of those filthy Germans, I will shoot him!”

Fervently Tyler hoped they wouldn’t see any Germans. They went out and got in the car.

“Where are they?” Rousseau asked.

“At the station.”

Rousseau drove to the station, and Tyler jumped out. “We’re in luck,” he told Jolie as she approached him. “This man is going to take us to Moulins.” Tyler got the suitcases and the children followed him to the car.

“This is Monsieur Rousseau,” Tyler introduced them as the man opened the trunk. “Monsieur Rousseau, this is Dr. Vernay.”

“We are so thankful that you’re going to help us,” Jolie said. “I was getting worried.”

“It is nothing.” They put the two suitcases in the trunk and climbed into the car. Tyler sat in the front with Yolande on his lap and Damien between him and Rousseau.

As they drove out of town, the man began to talk about himself. “I was in the last war,” he started.

“You don’t look that old.”

“I was only fifteen. I was in for the whole time.”

“That was a horrible war,” Tyler said over the roar of the noisy engine.

“All wars are horrible.”

“Did you kill many Germans, Monsieur Rousseau?” Damien piped up.

Rousseau did not answer at once, and finally he stole a glance from the road to look at the boy. “Yes,” he said, “and they tried to kill me.”

Damien began to ask specific questions about how Rousseau had killed the Germans, but Rousseau shook his head and would not answer. Instead he turned his attention to Jolie. “You are a doctor, I understand?”

“Almost. I have some more training to do.”

“Where do you live?”

When she told him Ambert, he said, “I have a sister who lives in your village—Yvette Villon. Her husband is Gaston. Do you know them?”

“Why, yes. Quite well. We attend the same church.”

“Then you know their boy, Pierre. He’s a good boy. He’ll be joining the army next month.”

“Perhaps the whole conflict will be over soon.”

“No, I’m afraid it will be a long while before it’s over.”

“Where did you say you’re going?” Monsieur Rousseau asked.

“We’re going to Paris, and then from there it should be easy for us to get to Le Havre.”

Rousseau shook his head. “Me, I do not think so.”

“You think the Germans have already taken Paris?”

They passed a sign announcing they were entering Moulins, and Rousseau pulled up at the train station.

“It could be. If I were you, I would not go there.”

Everybody got out of the car, and Rousseau opened the trunk.

Tyler opened his billfold and offered him some money.

“No, no, no. You may need your money.”

“Thank you, Monsieur Rousseau,” Jolie said. “May God bless you for your kindness.”

Rousseau stared at her for a moment and then a smile broke the craggy features of his face. “And may God bless you, mademoiselle.”

He got in the car then and pulled away quickly.

“I think he’s a good man, but he’s afraid,” Jolie said.

“Well, he’s like an angel to us.”

“He didn’t look like an angel,” Yolande said, looking up. She grabbed onto Tyler’s hand, her eyes wide. “He didn’t have any wings.”

“Not all angels have wings, Yolande.”

“What do they have, then?”

He winked at her. “Come on. I’ll tell you what angels look like while we’re waiting.”

“Tell me, please.”

Jolie went to check on the train schedule while Yolande and the other two children sat listening to Tyler concoct stories about the appearance of angels. He felt the fragile spirit of the little girl and was moved and very glad that he had returned to her and the others instead of running away.

CHAPTER TEN

Stuck in Nevers

When the group was finally settled on the train coming from Italy, Tyler and Jolie fervently hoped it would take them all the way to Paris. They had never dreamed it could take so long to cross the country. They hadn’t been under way long when the train stopped in Nevers.

Jolie looked at Tyler and sighed. “What now?” she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and tried to smile.

She caught the arm of an employee of the railroad who was walking swiftly through the car and asked him how long they would be there.

“I cannot say, mademoiselle. The engine has developed a problem. I’m sure it will be at least a couple of hours, or it may even be morning before it is repaired. You’re welcome to stay on the train, though, if you’d like.”

“We may as well get off and stretch our legs—maybe find some food too,” she told Tyler. “There’s no use waiting here.”

“I think you’re right. And maybe we can hear some news while we’re here.”

The troublesome affair of getting off the train and keeping all the children together in the midst of all of the confusion took some time. They made their way to the platform with Jolie leading the way, pushing through the soldiers who covered the area. Some of them were laughing, but others looked totally exhausted as they sat on the dirty asphalt, resting their backs against supports or the wall of the station.

The streets were packed with trucks, military equipment,
and even some horse-drawn guns. All around them the sound of heavy equipment moving through the streets drowned out the voices.

“Let’s go see if we can find a restaurant that’s open,” Tyler suggested. “I’m sure it’ll be crowded, but maybe we can get something.”

Indeed, the town of Nevers was packed. They gave up on two restaurants that had long lines winding out the door but finally found one on the outskirts of town that was not completely filled. They went inside and seated themselves at the one remaining table. The waiter, a small, sad-eyed man with a dirty white apron, said, “We have roast beef sandwiches and potatoes. That is all.”

“Looks like business is good,” Tyler offered, looking around at the crowd. “Is there any news on the radio?”

“Yes—all bad.” The man turned and left.

As they waited Rochelle said, “What if the train won’t go? What will we do then?”

“It will go sooner or later,” Tyler reassured her. “If this engine can’t be fixed, they’ll use another one.” He saw that the young girl was troubled and reached over and touched her shoulder. “Try not to worry.”

After they had all eaten their fill, they took their time going back to the train station, pausing to look in every shop window to kill some time. They got back to the train station and strolled through the area, reading every poster they could find and making up stories about all the people they were encountering. After a time they grew bored with their games and got back on the train.

“We might as well make ourselves comfortable,” Jolie said. It was easier to do now, since most of the other people hadn’t yet returned to the train.

The engine still wasn’t fixed as night fell, so they did their best to settle in and made the most of it.

****

“Where’s Damien?” Jolie asked. The group had descended from the train at the first light of dawn and found an outside faucet where they could wash up. After being assured that they had enough time to get some breakfast, they had gone back to the same restaurant where they had dined the day before and had a scanty breakfast of porridge and eggs.

“Damien? Why, he was here a minute ago,” Tyler said. They were back at the train station, and now Tyler looked around with annoyance. “I’ll go see if I can find him.”

“You’d better hurry. I think the train is going to leave soon.” Worry lines were forming on Jolie’s forehead. “I’ll try to find out while you’re looking.”

Jolie herded the children down toward the front of the train and stopped one of the employees. “The repair is almost finished, madame,” the railroad worker said. He was covered with grease, and his eyes were weary with strain. “Do not go too far. There will be three blasts. When you hear them, it’s time to get on the train.”

“Merci beaucoup.”

Jolie and the children found a bench near their car and waited for Tyler. Ten minutes went by, and then twenty, before Tyler returned.

“Hasn’t he come back yet?”

“No. You didn’t find him?”

“I’ve looked everywhere!” Tyler exclaimed. “I don’t know where else he could be.”

“You watch the children. I’ll go look.”

Jolie walked to the other end of the train, her eyes searching the crowd. It was difficult to find anyone, for the area was filled with military personnel. Civilians waiting for the train to leave were now getting on board, and she began to be concerned. She went into the station office and asked if anyone had seen a young boy alone, but the stationmaster shook his head. “No. He has not been reported, I’m afraid.”

Making her way back to where Tyler waited, she said, “I can’t find him anywhere.”

Tyler chewed his lower lip. “The train is going to pull out pretty soon.”

“We won’t leave him, will we?” Yolande asked anxiously. “We can’t leave Damien here.”

“If we miss this train, there may not be another one,” Tyler said. “Why did that boy have to get himself lost?”