thief,’ PT admitted. ‘If it’s there, I nick it. I’m sorry to say I was brought up that way. I took the gold because I thought I might need it to get into Spain, but I didn’t take all of it. I took your pigskin because I liked it … but you’ve been a mate, so I guess that was plain wrong.’
‘Why’d you run, anyway?’ Rosie asked.
‘I don’t care which side wins this stupid war,’ PT said. ‘I’ve been on the run for two and a half years, stealing from here and there, working a few weeks on a boat or unloading on the docks whenever I get bored. It’s not a bad life, but I’ve kept out of trouble by keeping my head down and not taking stupid risks.’
‘If it’s OK here, why did you want to go to Spain with us?’ Marc asked. ‘Why did you come back here when Maxine invited you?’
‘Germans give me the creeps,’ PT explained. ‘And besides, the winters are warmer down in Spain and I feel like a change of scenery.’
‘The Germans seem to be behaving themselves,’ Rosie said. ‘Maybe they’ re not as bad as everyone was saying.’
Marc bared his missing front tooth and glowered at her. ‘Was it decent when the Gestapo ripped that out? Or when they dropped a bomb on your dad?’
‘I know,’ Rosie said, raising her hands defensively. ‘I’ve got as many reasons to hate the Germans as anyone.’
‘I worked a few weeks on the Cardiff Bay’s sister-ship late last year,’ PT explained. ‘A lot of passengers were Polish Jews, crossing the English Channel before heading to America. The stories they told about what the Nazis were doing were horrific. So maybe they’ve got reasons for treating the French OK right now, but I don’t want to stick around and see if it stays that way. And when Henderson started going on about radio transmissions and undercover missions … That’s not for me, and I decided to leave the first chance I got.’
‘Henderson saved my life,’ Marc said. ‘He’s a good guy. He proved that when he had the chance to abandon me at the port and travel on the Cardiff Bay with Paul and Rosie.’
‘He’s good to you, maybe,’ PT sighed. ‘You’re his golden boy, after all.’
‘You stole from Henderson,’ Marc said sharply. ‘You stole from me. It’s your own stupid fault that you’re sitting here all tied up and covered in blood.’
Rosie tried to lighten the mood as she fed PT the last piece of sausage and another mouthful of water. ‘The thing that amazes me is my scrawny little brother knocking you out.’
PT’s mouth was full, so he took a moment to answer. ‘Little swine came out of nowhere.’
Marc laughed. ‘Paul’s weedy. You’re miles taller, and his legs are like little twigs!’so
‘Oh, well.’ PT shrugged. ‘If Henderson puts a bullet through my head in the morning at least I can’t stay embarrassed about it for long.’
He tried to make it sound funny, but the reality of Henderson’s threat pricked everyone’s mood.
‘He won’t kill you,’ Rosie said determinedly.
PT spoke bitterly. ‘Henderson’s a professional spy. He can’t risk someone like me being on the loose and knowing his business.’
‘I’ll speak to him,’ Marc said. ‘Maybe if you apologised and offered to stay with us …’
PT smiled. ‘And we can all eat tea and toast and live happily ever after. What planet are you from, Marc? The only way that I’m gonna live is if you guys untie me and let me escape.’
Marc and Rosie looked uneasily at one another.
‘All our mucking around and stuff over the last few weeks,’ Marc said. ‘I thought you were a friend. But, to be honest, after you tried to steal my bag I don’t trust you any more than Henderson does.’
Rosie had tears down both cheeks. ‘We can’t let you go, PT. But I’m going to speak to Maxine and Henderson and try to sort this out.’
‘You might as well put the bullet through my head yourself,’ PT yelled furiously.
‘Keep your noise ,’ Rosie ordered, as Marc grabbed PT’s gag, raised it back over his mouth and tightened the knot.down
‘Come on,’ Marc said, grabbing Rosie by the arm. ‘Food and water, that’s all we came here for.’
Marc worked hard to hide his feelings, but both he and Rosie were upset as they crept back towards the house.
*
Paul’s soldering expertise meant they got the set powered up just before nine. Henderson’s next step was to encode his message.
‘How’s it work?’ Paul asked