Ouvarski steadied himself against a stone pillar. Marie and two of the men eased a wounded soldier they were carrying, to the ground. “Captain,” Ouvarski said hoarsely, “can you get medics? Three wounded--one badly.” Captain Dobie swallowed hard. “Is that all?” “All others accounted for, sir,” Ouvarski reported. “No worse.” “Not any of you are accounted for,” the captain growled. “How did you get _here_? I thought you were in that blasted barn.” Slim gasped as Marie, finished with making her patient more easy, walked forward. Ouvarski simply threw out a hand toward Marie, and said, “She led us out.” Marie walked up to Captain Dobie. “There’s a tunnel to the barn from this gardener’s cottage, sir,” she explained. “I didn’t have time to tell you before. The tunnel is old, but it is open. The Maquis have been using it for months, partly for wounded men. The barn was our headquarters. We just moved out yesterday.” [Illustration: _Marie came up through the old tunnel_] Captain Dobie nodded, speechless with relief. He pushed back his helmet, mopped his forehead, and switched on the radio. “I’ll cancel those smoke shells,” he muttered. At that moment the air overhead whined ominously. A curtain of shells fell around the barn and exploded. A dense pall of white smoke drifted across the field. “Where’s Weller?” the captain asked Slim. “And what about the Nazis still around that barn?” He was interrupted by grenade and rifle fire and the thrashing of men breaking through shrubbery. “Watch it!” Weller’s voice rang above the din. The shooting stopped suddenly, and German and American voices mingled. Captain Dobie listened a moment, smiled, and switched on the radio. “Thanks for the smoke shells,” he said into the receiver. He switched through to his command post. “Say, send along a couple of trucks for prisoners. And a medic and ambulance. At least three wounded here--one pretty bad.” He turned back to the others. “Well, Ouvarski,” he said pleasantly, “I certainly sent you into something. Headquarters said positively no Germans left in this area.” “They came out of this château and we had to take cover in the barn, sir,” Ouvarski said. “Take it easy,” Dobie said, “all of you, till the trucks get here. Sergeant! What ails _you_?” Weller limped into sight along the wall. “We’ve about cleaned ’em all out--finally,” he grinned. Dobie frowned. “But what happened to you?” “Got myself a bullet.” Weller’s smile broadened and turned into a grimace of pain. “I thought I told you to stay away from those Germans,” Dobie barked. Weller limped painfully to the jeep and Slim spun him gently around and into the back seat. “You sure did, sir,” Weller said. “But you forgot to tell them Germans to keep away from me.” [Illustration] Not far behind Weller, a line of Nazi prisoners were coming across the field, hands on head. With them, on each side, strode Americans with Tommy guns ready. Marie was examining the injury to Weller’s leg.