He broke it into three pieces, giving one to each of them. They were suspicious and waited till Joseph had swallowed his piece before they ate theirs.
‘I don’t understand,’ said the peasant slowly. ‘You speak like a Pole. You look like a Pole. But your uniform –’
At that moment, a bell clanged out from the other side of the valley. It echoed among the mountains.
‘That’s the prison bell,’ said Joseph. ‘It’s a long time since it rang like that – when the last prisoner escaped.’
‘You’ve come to search for him?’ asked the old lady.
‘I am the prisoner,’ said Joseph. ‘I knocked out a guard and stole his uniform. Look – if you don’t believe me here’s my camp number burnt into my arm – ZAK 2473. I want you to hide me.’
The number convinced them that he was telling the truth. They knew that if they were found hiding him they would die. But they were brave people and did not hesitate.
Joseph slept in a warm bed that night for the first time in two years.
In the morning the old man went to work the luggage lift as usual. Before going, he arranged a danger signal. If there were any soldiers coming across in the cage, he would whistle three times. And he showed Joseph a hiding place in the woodshed.
While he was away, Joseph showed the old woman the tattered photos of his family. He had taken them out of his wallet so many times to look at them that they were creased and crumpled and finger-marked all over. He spoke about his wife and children, his school, his capture by the Nazis; about the shortage of food, the destruction everywhere, and the continual fear of arrest. Every day had brought news of more families being split up.
The old woman was moved by his story. While he was speaking, she began to think of ways in which she could help him. He looked starved and needed good food. She had a little cheese and oatcakes, a side of bacon hanging in the cellar, and the remains of a tin of real coffee saved from before the war.
Suddenly there was a loud bang on the door. Was it a search party? If so, why had the old man given no warning?
A voice called out in German. 43
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