Shelter from the Storm
by Eric Eve (2009)
Genres: Historical

It is set in October 1940. Jack is a newly-commissioned sapper officer on his way to his first posting somewhere on Salisbury Plain (in southern England) when his car breaks down. The weather is starting to turn nasty, and his first task is to find shelter from the brewing storm. When he finds it, he'll encounter a whole lot more than he bargained for, as it becomes gradually apparent that things are not as they are meant to seem.

action: %
response: NOTE: Most IF games are narrated in the second person and the present tense (e.g. "You are empty-handed"). Shelter from the Storm lets you choose which person (first, second or third), and tense (present or past) you would like the game to be narrated in. Please select your option by selecting S from the menu below before starting a new game.

I -- Instructions (recommended for new players)

Please type S, I, R, or Q

Please select one of the following to set the person and tense in which Shelter from the Storm will be narrated:

1. First person, present tense (e.g. "I am empty-handed")

2. Second person, present tense (e.g. "You are empty-handed")

3. Third person, present tense (e.g. "Jack is empty-handed")

4. First person, past tense (e.g. "I was empty-handed")

5. Second person, past tense (e.g. "You were empty-handed")

6. Third person, past tense (e.g. "Jack was empty-handed")

NOTE If you later change your mind you can change your choice at any time during play using the commands FIRST PERSON, SECOND PERSON and THIRD PERSON to change person, and the commands PRESENT TENSE and PAST TENSE to change tense.
action: 6
response: I -- Instructions (recommended for new players)

Please type N, S, I, R, or Q
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: 1. How to Play Interactive Fiction
2. About Shelter from the Storm
3. Extra Navigation Commands - GO TO and CONTINUE
4. If you get stuck - THINK and THINK HARDER
5. Credits

Select a topic number, or press 'p' for the previous menu or 'q' to quit:
action: 2
response: Works of Interactive Fiction are typically narrated in the second person and present tense (e.g. "You see a gold ring here"). From time to time there have been discussions whether this convention represents the best way of conveying an interactive narrative. Shelter from the Storm allows you, the player, to experiment with this by choosing the person (and the tense) in which the game is narrated. The opening screen of the game asks you to choose the person and tense of the game before you start, but you can also change your choice during the course of play. In particular during play you can change between first, second and third person with the commands:

THIRD PERSON

You can also change between present and past tense with the commands:



[The End]
Help Menu

1. How to Play Interactive Fiction
2. About Shelter from the Storm
3. Extra Navigation Commands - GO TO and CONTINUE
4. If you get stuck - THINK and THINK HARDER
5. Credits

Select a topic number, or press 'p' for the previous menu or 'q' to quit:
action: 5
response: First and foremost, all credit to Michael J. Roberts for creating TADS 3, and Michel Nizette for his work on devising a neat tense-switching mechanism, which was subsequently incorporated into the adv3 library; without their work this project would have been impossible.

But just as important, many thanks to my sterling team of beta-testers: Jim Aikin, Radical Al, Parham Doustdar, Keaton Graves, Jonathan Li, Reiko, Michael Neal Tenuis, and Jack Welch. Without them a huge number of tense/person switching typos would have gone uncorrected, as well as a number of more serious bugs (including various cunning ways of getting the game into an unwinnable state). As a result of all their efforts this game is a far more polished offering than it otherwise would have been. The blunders that remain are, of course, no one's fault but my own.

[The End]
action: 3
response: As with virtually all works of Interactive Fiction, you can move round the world of Shelter from the Storm using standard compass-movement commands like NORTH, EAST, UP and DOWN. In addition you can use the commands GO TO and CONTINUE to move around.

The command GO TO X or FIND X (the two mean the same thing) sends you in the direction of X. X can either be a previously-visited room, or a previously-seen object (in which case GO TO X will send you to the last location where you saw X).

The GO TO command takes you only on the first step of your journey. To continue your journey you can use the command CONTINUE (which can be abbreviated to C). Note that a CONTINUE command does not have to come immediately after a GO TO or CONTINUE command. You could, for example, enter the command GO TO KITCHEN and then enter a whole series of commands for examining and interacting with your next location before issuing a CONTINUE or C command to carry on towards the kitchen.

[The End]
Help Menu

1. How to Play Interactive Fiction
2. About Shelter from the Storm
3. Extra Navigation Commands - GO TO and CONTINUE
4. If you get stuck - THINK and THINK HARDER
5. Credits

Select a topic number, or press 'p' for the previous menu or 'q' to quit:
action: %
response: NOTE: Most IF games are narrated in the second person and the present tense (e.g. "You are empty-handed"). Shelter from the Storm lets you choose which person (first, second or third), and tense (present or past) you would like the game to be narrated in. Please select your option by selecting S from the menu below before starting a new game.

I -- Instructions (recommended for new players)

Please type S, I, R, or Q
action: 6
response: Please select one of the following to set the person and tense in which Shelter from the Storm will be narrated:

1. First person, present tense (e.g. "I am empty-handed")

2. Second person, present tense (e.g. "You are empty-handed")

3. Third person, present tense (e.g. "Jack is empty-handed")

4. First person, past tense (e.g. "I was empty-handed")

5. Second person, past tense (e.g. "You were empty-handed")

6. Third person, past tense (e.g. "Jack was empty-handed")

NOTE If you later change your mind you can change your choice at any time during play using the commands FIRST PERSON, SECOND PERSON and THIRD PERSON to change person, and the commands PRESENT TENSE and PAST TENSE to change tense.

I -- Instructions (recommended for new players)

Please type N, S, I, R, or Q
action: You go north
response: Few things can be worse than breaking down on a dark night in a strange place, and even more when it looks like it's just starting to rain, and you're in danger of being late for your first posting. Unfortunately, that was precisely what had just happened to Jack that night.

Jack was on his way to the camp he had been ordered to, but he suspected that he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere -- easy enough to do with so many signposts taken down in case of a German invasion. Then just to cap it all, his car had just broken down, leaving him stuck out in in the middle of nowhere (or somewhere on the outskirts of Salisbury Plain, which amounted to much the same thing), still miles away from where he was meant to be.

Jack was standing in the middle of a long road running roughly east-west between thick hedgerows. His car lay abandoned about a few hundred yards up the road to the east. Further to the east the road ran across miles of open countryside (as Jack knew because he'd just driven across it).
action: About yourself
response: Jack was a man of about twenty, dressed in khaki battledress.

It was just starting to rain.
action: You examine the battledress
response: It was khaki, of course, and still a little rough in that Jack hadn't got round to getting his tailor to work on it, as some officers did; he was still rather conscious of the single pip of a second lieutenant on each shoulder.

There was a temporary lull in the rain, but it didn't last long.
action: You examine Jack
response: Jack was a man of about twenty, dressed in khaki battledress.

It continued to drizzle.
action: Inventory
response: Jack was carrying nothing, and was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.

The rain looked like it could soon become quite unpleasant.
action: You look at the beret
response: It was a khaki beret with a Royal Engineers cap badge.
action: You examine the badge
response: Jack knew what it looked like without having to look: a bursting bomb with the motto Ubique.
action: You go to the car
response: He'd just come from there, and he knew there was no point trying further east, since he had just driven through miles of open countryside. Jack's only chance of finding something seemed to lie in the other direction.
action: Go west
response: Jack walked about half a mile down the road until he arrived at a gap in the hedgerow.

The road continued more or less straight east and west from here, with thick hedge on both sides, except just to the north where there was a gap that looked like the end of someone's drive. Unfortunately, the small wooden sign by the side of the gap looked far from welcoming.

Obvious exits: North, East, West

The rain started to get heavier.
action: Dance
response: The word "dance" is not necessary in this story.

(If this was an accidental misspelling, you can correct it by typing OOPS followed by the corrected word now. Any time the story points out an unknown word, you can correct a misspelling using OOPS as your next command.)
action: You examine the sign
response: The wooden sign was firmly planted in the ground next to the hedge. On it was inscribed "Wendle Manor" in relatively ancient lettering, with "Private - Keep Out!" added subsequently in angry red print.

It was definitely starting to rain more heavily.
action: You examine the hedge
response: There were thick hedgerows on both sides of the road; too thick to penetrate and too high to climb, apart from the wide gap just to the north.

A gust of wind blew some rain into Jack's face.
action: Shit
response: (sit)
(You can use the TYPO command to disable the typo-correction feature.)

(on the ground)
Jack sat on the ground.

The rain was getting worse.
action: You enter the porch
response: The brick-built porch is a small, semi-enclosed area that at least affords some shelter from the rain, though little from the cold. It's almost completely bare, apart from the front door immediately to the north; to the south lies the way out back into the drive.

Obvious exits: North, South

As Jack steps into the porch, the rainfall intensifies by twofold or threefold, and a moment later there's a simultaneous searing flash of lightning and tumultuous crack of thunder.
action: You examine the door
response: The front door is made of solid wood, with no sign of a window. Next to the door is an old-fashioned bell pull and an off-putting notice.

The rain continues to pelt down furiously just outside the porch.
action: Firstperson
response: (first person)

Okay, the game is now in the first person.
action: You read the notice
response: It reads: NO HAWKERS, NO CIRCULARS, NO UNNECESSARY CALLERS.

The rain seems to be trying to outdo the days of Noah.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: The brick-built porch is a small, semi-enclosed area that at least affords some shelter from the rain, though little from the cold. It's almost completely bare, apart from the front door immediately to the north; to the south lies the way out back into the drive.

Obvious exits: North, South

There's no let up in the downpour.
action: You ring bell
response: I pull the bell and hear a ringing from somewhere inside the house.

Lightning flashes across the sky, accompanied by loud thunder.
action: You knock on the door
response: I feel it would be politer to give whoever's inside a chance to respond to my first attempt.

I can't hear any immediate response to my summons, but it's a large house and I realize that it might take someone a while to reach the front door.
action: Shit
response: (sit)

(on the floor)
I sit on the floor.

I hear someone moving around inside the house - the sound of footsteps approaching the door.
action: You stand
response: Okay, I'm now standing.

The front door finally opens.

A somewhat stern-looking woman, presumably the housekeeper from her dress and demeanour, appears in the doorway. "Yes?" she says, in heavily accented English. "Vot is it you vant? Can you not read?"
She indicates the sign by the door with a fierce stare and a tap of her hand.

(My immediate thoughts are to either explain my plight, or talk about the weather.)
action: You explain
response: "My car's just broken down," I explain, "half a mile or so down the road. I should be reporting to my camp tonight, only -- well, I wondered if I might use your phone."

"I am sorry," she replies, "but Mr Croxley does not want any callers - not for any reason. You will have to find a telephone somewhere else."

(I feel I could either ask where else to find a phone, try pleading harder, or ask her about Mr Croxley.)
action: Xyzzy
response: A large puff of black and red smoke appears, out of which steps a confused and terrified Adolf Hitler. Now forced by my powerful magic to obey my every whim, Hitler ends the war, surrenders Germany and all its conquered territories to the British Empire in perpetuity, and devotes the rest of his life to advocating social justice for downtrodden peasant farmers in South America.

That's a load of old rubbish, of course. If only things were so easy, but magic words are singularly ineffectual in modern warfare, so the only result of uttering "xyzzy" is to leave me feeling rather foolish.

The housekeeper glares at me, waiting for me to speak up or go - preferably the latter, if her expression is anything to go by.
action: You tell her about the wall
response: "Mr Croxley not seeing visitors, whatever you say," she replies.

(I feel I could either ask where else to find a phone, try pleading harder, or ask her about Mr Croxley.)
action: You tell her about the war
response: "This not my problem; you must try somewhere else," she suggests.

(I feel I could either ask where else to find a phone, try pleading harder, or ask her about Mr Croxley.)
action: You plead harder
response: "Look, I'm really sorry to bother you and all that, but I really am in a bit of a fix here," I plead. "As I said, my car's broken down and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else for miles around. This is my first posting and I really need to get to my camp. Can't you just let me in for half a minute to make a quick phone call?"

"The Croxleys are not receiving visitors," she replies stonily.
"Please go now."

(I feel I could either ask where else to find a phone, try pleading harder, demand that she let me in, or ask her about Mr Croxley.)
action: You ask the woman about Croxley
response: "Why are the Croxleys so anxious to avoid visitors?" I ask.

"It has been a very difficult time for them," she tells me. "So many tragic deaths in the family! They wish to be left alone with their grief - so, please go away!"

(I feel I could either ask where else to find a phone, try pleading harder, or demand that she let me in.)
action: Demand
response: "Now look here, there's a war on and I'm a British army officer in need of assistance," I insist, my outward pomposity masking a growing inward desperation. "I demand that you let me in - in the name of the King! Otherwise I shall have to assume that..."

"Ach - all right, all right!" she interrupts, her shoulders visibly sagging. "Everywhere it is the same; everywhere men in uniform come knocking on doors to bully the Jews! You better come in." With evident reluctance she stands aside to let me pass.
action: You enter
response: I follow the housekeeper inside.

The hall is quite dimly lit, with dark, oak-panelled doors to east and west, the front door to the south, and a passage (effectively a continuation of the hall) leading off to the north. Against the west wall, next to a small table, a venerable grandfather clock faces a pair of stern Victorian portraits staring down from the opposite wall.

On the small table is a telephone.

The housekeeper closes the front door after I follow her inside. She points across the hall and tells me, "The telephone is just there. You may make your call - quickly, please, so that you do not disturb anyone."

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: You examine the housekeeper
response: She is, I would guess, somewhere in her late thirties or earlier forties, a rather morose looking woman with thick black curly hair and dark, unsmiling eyes.
action: You ask her about the germany
response: "The phone is there," she points firmly. "Just make your call."

"The telephone is just over there," the housekeeper tells me, pointing to the handset. "Just pick it up to make your call."
action: You call germany
response: I pick up the receiver, but the line is dead. I try pressing the hook several times, but to no avail; the telephone remains obstinately unresponsive, so I drop the receiver back on its hook.

"So - do you just stare at the telephone or do you make your call?" the housekeeper demands. "Be quick, please, before you disturb the Croxleys; they should not find you here."

I see no germany here.
action: You tell the housekeeper about the phone
response: "I can't get this phone to work," I complain.

"Ach - you're an officer and you cannot even use the phone?" she replies. "You should try harder!"
action: You pick up the phone
response: I pick up the receiver a second time, but the telephone remains just as dead as before, so I replace it again.

"What is the matter?" the housekeeper asks, seeing the way I am staring at the receiver.

(I think I should either tell her about the telephone, or complain.)
action: You tell her
response: What do you want to tell her about?
action: Telephone
response: (the camp)
I try the phone yet again, but it remains obstinately unresponsive.
action: Complain
response: "This phone isn't working," I complain.

"That is odd - it was working half an hour ago," she replies. "Now I try it." She picks up the phone and listens to the receiver with an intense frown, and then starts beating the hook far harder than I did.

Just as she drops the useless receiver back on its hook, there's a second, louder, click as a door opens to the west. Through it walks a strikingly attractive young woman. For a bare moment she pauses in her stride as she and I stare at each other, me in frank admiration, the young woman in apparent irritation. Then, turning to the housekeeper she asks, "What's happening here? Why did you let this man in, Hilda?"

"I am sorry, Miss Croxley, but he insist," the housekeeper explains. "He demands to use our telephone - in the King's name, he say! - but the telephone is kaput."

"That must be the storm, bringing the wires down," the young woman mutters. Then she turns to me and asks, "And who are you, lieutenant, to come barging in here 'in the King's name'?"

(At this point I could either introduce myself, apologize for the intrusion, or explain my plight.)
action: You apologize
response: "I'm really sorry to intrude like this, Miss Croxley," I apologize, "especially as I understand there's been a bereavement in the family..."

"Several," she interrupts me bleakly. "But it's not your sympathies I want, lieutenant, just an explanation of what gives you the right to demand entry into our home."
action: You introduce
response: "I'm Jack Percy," I reply. "My car broke down, about a mile down the road from here, and I'm meant to be reporting for duty this evening."

"That could be a problem," she remarks, her frown starting to soften. "Somehow I don't think you'll be going anywhere tonight - not in this, not without your car. I'm Angela Croxley by the way," she adds, offering me her hand.

(It seems best to either apologize for intruding, or shake her hand.)
action: You shake her hand
response: I shake her hand, saying, "Sorry to intrude on you like this, Miss Croxley."

"Don't mention it, lieutenant," she assures me. "There's nowhere else for miles you could have come. Now..."

At this point there's a loud creak from upstairs. Seeing me glance up, she says, a little hastily, "It's an old house, it does that sometimes. Now, the question is, what are we going to do with you, Mr Percy? Well - I suppose you must be hungry after your travails. Can we get you something to eat?"

(My immediate thoughts are to either say yes or no, thank her, or ask her about the creaking sound.)
action: Thank her
response: "Thank you very much, that would be just what the doctor ordered!" I declare.

"My pleasure," she smiles, "I'm afraid we ate our main meal at lunch and we shan't be eating dinner, what with the rationing and all that, but Hilda will take you to the kitchen and fix you a bite to eat, won't you, Hilda?"

"As you say, Miss Croxley," the housekeeper replies without evident enthusiasm.

"I'll be in the drawing room," Angela Croxley tells me. "Come and find us when you're done with Hilda, and we'll work out what's to be done with you." She flashes me a brief smile and walks back out through the west door.

Hilda meanwhile walks over to the front door and locks it, before turning to me and saying, "This way!", indicating that I am to follow her to the north.

That command can't be used right now.
action: Go north
response: Hilda leads the way down the passage.

This is the widest part of the hall, where it opens out to accommodate the flight of stairs that leads up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stands closed to the west, while the hall itself continues to both north and south.

Hilda is waiting for me to follow her down the passage to the north.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up
action: Go north
response: Hilda leads the way down the passage.

The hall passage comes to an end outside a brown door to the north. Other doors lead east and west, while the passage runs south towards the main entrance hall.

Hilda is waiting for me to follow her through the door to the east.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: You go east
response: (first opening the east door)
I follow Hilda through the door into the kitchen.

The kitchen looks large enough to accommodate the platoon of culinary staff who may have worked here before the war. Circumstances are now reduced, however, leaving the place rather bare: a large wooden table at one end, with a single hard wooden chair right next to it, now comprises the bulk of the furniture. A long, old-fashioned cooking range runs along the east wall, while doors lead off to west, south and north, a calendar being attached to the last of these.

Hilda stops in the middle of the kitchen and turns to face me.

"You are wondering what a German woman is doing in this house," she remarks. "I tell you. I am a Jew, and Germany is no good for Jews now. I leave Germany two years ago and come here. Too many Jews disappearing back home, and very bad things happen to them. So that why I come here. Now I find you something to eat."

She goes over to the oven, takes out a saucepan, and puts it on the stove.

Obvious exits: North, South, West
action: You examine hilda
response: She is, I would guess, somewhere in her late thirties or earlier forties, a rather morose looking woman with thick black curly hair and dark, unsmiling eyes. She's busily preparing something for me to eat.

Hilda adjusts the cooker.
action: You ask Hilda about Jews
response: "You found things bad in Germany?" I ask.

"Very bad. Far worse for Jews than anyone here can imagine," she tells me, "and getting worse all the time!"

Hilda fiddles with a loaf of bread.
action: You ask Hilda about germany
response: She's already told me that things in Germany are unimaginably bad for Jews and getting worse.

Hilda stirs something in the pot.
action: You ask Hilda about herself
response: "How do you come to be working here?" I ask.

"I need position. I see advertisement in paper. I come to interview. They give me job," she replies. "Mr Croxley needed someone to look after the house after his wife was killed," she adds.

Hilda takes something out of a cupboard.
action: You ask about the wife
response: "What happened to Mrs Croxley?" I ask.

"Terrible!" she replies. "Mrs Croxley go to London to visit her sister, about two months ago. There was an air-raid. A bomb fell on the house where she was staying, and they were all killed. Mr Croxley has many reasons to hate Germans."

Hilda takes the pot off the oven and pours the contents into a bowl, which she places in front of me along with two slices of dry brown bread. "Is not much," she says, "but there is a war on, and the rationing..."

I thank her for the soup, and drink it gratefully, dunking the dry bread into it to make it more palatable. Once I have finished she takes the bowl away again and begins to clear up.

"You know where to find Mr Croxley?" she asks. "Back down the hall and the last door on the right."
action: You ask her about Angela
response: "You should go and find Mr Croxley," she tells me. "He will be expecting you."
action: You ask her about the mr croxley
response: "I am not wishing to talk now; I have many things to do," she replies. "You must go and find Mr Croxley."
action: You examine her
response: She is, I would guess, somewhere in her late thirties or earlier forties, a rather morose looking woman with thick black curly hair and dark, unsmiling eyes. She's busily clearing up the remains of my frugal supper.
action: You look around
response: The kitchen looks large enough to accommodate the platoon of culinary staff who may have worked here before the war. Circumstances are now reduced, however, leaving the place rather bare: a large wooden table at one end, with a single hard wooden chair right next to it, now comprises the bulk of the furniture. A long, old-fashioned cooking range runs along the east wall, while doors lead off to west, south and north, a calendar being attached to the last of these.

Hilda is busily clearing up the remains of my frugal supper.

Obvious exits: North, South, West
action: Examine calendar
response: It is one of those plain calendars that simply lists the days of the current month in a square grid; it is currently showing October 1940.
action: You go to Croxley
response: (going west)

The hall passage comes to an end outside a brown door to the north. Other doors lead east and west, while the passage runs south towards the main entrance hall.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: You continue
response: (going south)

This is the widest part of the hall, where it opens out to accommodate the flight of stairs that leads up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stands closed to the west, while the hall itself continues to both north and south.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).

There's another creak from upstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps and a door closing.
action: You continue
response: (going south)

The hall is quite dimly lit, with dark, oak-panelled doors to east and west, the front door to the south, and a passage (effectively a continuation of the hall) leading off to the north. Against the west wall, next to a small table, a venerable grandfather clock faces a pair of stern Victorian portraits staring down from the opposite wall.

On the small table is a telephone.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West

I have arrived at the place where I last saw Angela Croxley.
action: Go north
response: The hall passage comes to an end outside a brown door to the north. Other doors lead east and west, while the passage runs south towards the main entrance hall.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: Go south
response: This is the widest part of the hall, where it opens out to accommodate the flight of stairs that leads up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stands closed to the west, while the hall itself continues to both north and south.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up
action: You go west
response: (first opening the west door)

The pale gold wallpaper in the lounge looks rather splendid, but the furniture seems surprisingly spartan for such a grand house. Indeed, there is little here apart from four upright chairs and a low wooden table, all rather dwarfed by the size of the room. There are also doors to north and east.

On the low wooden small table is a magazine.

Obvious exits: North, East
action: Examine magazine
response: It seems to be some kind of theatrical magazine, dated September 1940.
action: You read it
response: (first taking the theatrical magazine)
I leaf quickly through the magazine, and find it to be full of play reviews and actors' gossip, which really isn't my kind of thing.
action: Go north
response: (first opening the north door)

A polished wooden dining table, large enough to seat eight or ten with comfort, dominates the centre of the room, though only four chairs are placed round it, while a heavy old sideboard stands to one side. Doors lead out to east and south.

On the sideboard is a dinner plate.

Obvious exits: South, East
action: You go to the east
response: (first opening the west door)

The hall passage comes to an end outside a brown door to the north. Other doors lead east and west, while the passage runs south towards the main entrance hall.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: Go south
response: This is the widest part of the hall, where it opens out to accommodate the flight of stairs that leads up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stands open to the west, while the hall itself continues to both north and south.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up
action: Go south
response: The hall is quite dimly lit, with dark, oak-panelled doors to east and west, the front door to the south, and a passage (effectively a continuation of the hall) leading off to the north. Against the west wall, next to a small table, a venerable grandfather clock faces a pair of stern Victorian portraits staring down from the opposite wall.

On the small table is a telephone.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: Go west
response: The drawing room looks commodious and comfortable, but its faded green wallpaper suggests that it hasn't been decorated in a while. The principal furniture is arranged in a broad-U: two large armchairs placed opposite each other with a settee ranged in between at right angles to both of them so that it faces the fireplace. The door back out to the hall stands to the east, behind one of the chairs.

On the mantelpiece are three photographs.

Angela Croxley is sitting on the sofa.

A man I take to be Angela's father is sitting in the further armchair, facing the door.

Obvious exits: East He rises from his chair at my entrance and extends his hand.

"Arthur Croxley," he introduces himself. "How do you do. I trust Hilda looked after you properly?"

(My immediate thoughts are to either say yes, or shake his hand.)
action: You examine Angela
response: She's undoubtedly a strikingly attractive young woman, what some might call an English rose. She's somewhere in her twenties, perhaps a few years older than I, and has a pleasant, open, round face framed by a generous bounty of wavy blonde hair. She is sitting on the sofa.

"Hilda - she looked after you properly?" Mr Croxley prompts me.
action: You look at Arthur
response: He is probably about sixty, or maybe in his late fifties, with a rather suave air about him.

"Hilda - she looked after you properly?" Mr Croxley prompts me.
action: Yes
response: "Yes indeed," I reply, "just what the doctor ordered, thank you."

"Good," he nods. "Now, do take a seat. We've just been discussing what to do with you. I'm afraid it really isn't at all convenient for us to put you up overnight."

"But," Angela breaks in, "we can hardly just turn you out on a night like this! So we thought that we'd wait a bit to see if they mend the phones, and if not, and the worst came to the worst, you could sleep down here on the sofa - that will be all right, won't it Mr Percy?"

(Amongst other things, I could say yes or no, or thank her.)
action: You examine the photograph
response: Which photograph do you mean, the photograph of an RAF pilot, the photograph of a soldier, or the photograph of a woman?
action: Thank her
response: "Thank you, that would be very kind," I reply.

"Good, that's settled then," she declares.

Mr Croxley sits on the further armchair. "Very well, then," Mr Croxley sighs. "Lieutenant, since it seems you're destined to spend the evening with us, do please take a seat. So, tell me, where were you trying to get to?"

(My immediate thoughts are to either refuse to answer, or tell him about my camp.)
action: You sit
response: (on the spare armchair)
I sit on the spare armchair.
action: Shit
response: (sit)

(on the spare armchair)
I sit on the spare armchair.
action: You tell Arthur about the camp
response: "I've been posted to a camp on Salisbury Plain," I tell him, "but that's really as much as I'm at liberty to say."

"Quite so, lieutenant, careless talk and all that," he approves.
"Well, at least it shouldn't be too far for you to reach in the morning."
action: You ask Arthur about himself
response: "So tell me, sir, what do you do?" I ask.

"Oh nothing very exciting, I assure you," he replies with a self-deprecating smile. "I'm just a country solicitor - wills, conveyancing, that sort of thing."
action: You ask Arthur about Hilda
response: "I'm a little surprised to find you employing a German housekeeper," I remark. "I thought they were locking up German nationals as enemy aliens!"

"Not all of them," he replies. "Hilda is Jewish - she came to this country a year or two back. Things got very bad for German Jews after Kristallnacht, and I gather most of the rest of her family managed to get themselves arrested one way or another. I hardly think there's any risk of her being a closet Nazi!"
action: You ask Arthur about Angela
response: "Tell me about your daughter," I suggest.

"I'm sure she's quite capable of telling you about herself," he points out.
action: You ask Angela about Angela
response: "Tell me about yourself, Miss Croxley, what do you do these days?" I ask.

"These last few months I've just been helping my father sort things out," she replies. "What with my mother dying, and Tony, and Adam... well, there's a lot of sorting out to do, and as you can imagine my father needs a bit of support right now."
action: You ask Angela about the house
response: She rather deftly changes the subject, so I quickly find myself talking about something quite different.

"Do you see those photographs, Mr Percy?" Mr Croxley asks suddenly, nodding towards the mantelpiece. "They're the cost of this war, you know!"
action: You look at the photographs
response: Two are of young men in uniform, one army, the other RAF. The third is of a middle-aged woman.
action: You ask the mr about the photographs
response: "The photographs on the mantelpiece - are they members of your family?" I enquire.

"Yes," he replies, a little brusquely. "Mary was my wife. She was killed in an air-raid in London two months ago. The boy in RAF uniform, that's my older son Adam. He was shot down over Kent in July - he didn't make it, I'm afraid. The other boy is my younger son Tony. He got trapped at Dunkirk and didn't make it either."

(Amongst other things, I could say how sorry I am.)
action: You say sorry
response: "I'm so sorry for your loss, sir," I say. "To have lost any one of them would be terrible enough, but all three in the space of a few months - I hardly know what to say!"

"There's nothing you can say - you or anyone else," he replies grimly, "but you'll understand why we're not over-eager to entertain hordes of visitors right now."
action: 2
response: Works of Interactive Fiction are typically narrated in the second person and present tense (e.g. "You see a gold ring here"). From time to time there have been discussions whether this convention represents the best way of conveying an interactive narrative. Shelter from the Storm allows you, the player, to experiment with this by choosing the person (and the tense) in which the game is narrated. The opening screen of the game asks you to choose the person and tense of the game before you start, but you can also change your choice during the course of play. In particular during play you can change between first, second and third person with the commands:

THIRD PERSON

You can also change between present and past tense with the commands:



[The End]
action: You ask Arthur about the wendle manor
response: "This is quite a house you have here, sir," I remark.

"It is quite a pile, isn't it?" he replies. "It's been in the family for years, but it feels like the three of us are rattling around in it rather now. When my sons were living here too, it was different - but those days are gone for good."

I hear the crunch of gravel as a car comes to a halt up on the drive just outside. Mr Croxley throws a mildly irritated glance at the window, as if to say "Who could that be?"
action: You stand
response: Okay, I'm now standing.

"Please do take a seat," Mr Croxley insists, waving towards the vacant armchair.

There's the sound of a car door slamming, and a few moments later the front door bell rings. Angela Croxley starts to get up, but her father motions her to stay put, saying "Hilda will get it; that's what we pay her for."
action: You listen
response: From the sound of the wind and rain it seems there's quite a storm brewing.

"I'm sure you'll get more than enough exercise once you've arrived at your camp," Mr Croxley suggests, "so why don't you give your legs a rest while you have the chance?"

Footsteps clatter up the hall as someone - presumably the housekeeper - goes to answer the front door. There follows a brief rattle as the front door is opened, then an equally brief exchange of voices.
action: You examine the window
response: The window is hidden behind the curtains.

"I really can't have you standing over me all evening," Mr Croxley complains. "Do please sit down, Mr Percy."

There's a quick knock and Hilda pokes her head round the door. "Sorry to disturb you, Mr Croxley," she says, "but there's a Mr Graham here to see you."

Mr Croxley frowns in mild irritation and then gives a curt nod. "Very well, then, Hilda, I'd better see him in the study." Rising to his feet he adds, "If you'll excuse me for a few minutes, Mr Percy, I'm sure Angela can keep you amused."

With a second curt nod, this time to his daughter, he strides from the room.

"I'm sure my father won't be long," Angela Croxley assures me, with just the hint of a smile. "In the meantime, why don't you tell me more about yourself, Mr Percy? Have you been in the army long?"
action: You sit
response: (on the spare armchair)
I sit on the spare armchair.

"Did you not hear me, Mr Percy?" Angela Croxley asks, "I asked if you had been the army long - so, have you?"
action: No
response: "No, not really," I reply. "I joined the TA in '37 and then got called up when the TA was embodied last year. I spent a few months under canvas in muddy fields doing nothing particular, and then got selected for OCTU[1]. I've only just received my commission."

"What made you join the Territorials in '37?" she enquires.

(My immediate thoughts are to either blame Hitler, or say it was my friends.)

(A number in [square brackets] like the one above refers to a footnote, which you can read by typing FOOTNOTE followed by the number: FOOTNOTE 1, for example. Footnotes usually contain added background information that might be interesting but isn't essential to the story. If you'd prefer not to see footnotes at all, you can control their appearance by typing FOOTNOTES.)
action: Friends
response: "Oh, a whole lot of my friends were joining the local platoon, so I thought I'd go along too," I tell her.
action: Note 1
response: "I see," she remarks with a gentle smile, "though somehow I suspect there may have been a bit more to it than that. So, have you been enjoying the army?"

OCTU = Officer Cadet Training Unit, a unit for training the commissioned officers needed for Britain's rapidly expanding wartime army (which obviously couldn't all be supplied by Sandhurst).
action: No
response: "No, not really," I reply, "but it has its moments. In any case, nothing seems that tough after boarding for five years at a public school, believe me! Besides..."

Just at that moment the drawing door opens again and Mr Croxley takes a step into the room. "Angela, I wonder if you could join us for a moment?" he asks, then turning to me he adds, "We'll be back in just a jiffy, Mr Percy, if you wouldn't mind waiting here. I expect Graham will be able to offer you a lift when we're done."

Angela Croxley rises to her feet then follows her father out of the room, pausing by the door to look back and flash me an apologetic smile, saying, "See you in a minute; be good!"

And then they are both gone, leaving me alone in the drawing room.
action: You look behind the curtain
response: I know better than to mess with the blackout at night; I don't want to attract German bombers.

I distinctly hear the sound of someone walking about upstairs.
action: You look
response: Drawing Room (sitting on the spare armchair)
The drawing room looks commodious and comfortable, but its faded green wallpaper suggests that it hasn't been decorated in a while. The principal furniture is arranged in a broad-U: two large armchairs placed opposite each other with a settee ranged in between at right angles to both of them so that it faces the fireplace. The door back out to the hall stands to the east, behind the chair on which I'm sitting.

On the mantelpiece are three photographs.

Obvious exits: East

Somewhere upstairs a door closes.
action: Go east
response: (first standing up)

The hall is quite dimly lit, with dark, oak-panelled doors to east and west, the front door to the south, and a passage (effectively a continuation of the hall) leading off to the north. Against the west wall, next to a small table, a venerable grandfather clock faces a pair of stern Victorian portraits staring down from the opposite wall.

On the small table is a telephone.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: You go to the north
response: This is the widest part of the hall, where it opens out to accommodate the flight of stairs that leads up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stands open to the west, while the hall itself continues to both north and south.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up

I hear the sound of someone coughing upstairs.
action: Up
response: I climb the staircase up to the floor above.

At first sight, this part of the landing has a rather higgledy-piggledy appearance, with doors leading off in all directions, the space being divided by the stair banister, and the landing continuing past the banister to the south. As I get my bearings I observe that the doors lead off to north, northeast, east and west.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down

I hear the sound of a toilet flushing just to the east.
action: Go east
response: (first trying to open the east door)
The east door seems to be locked.
action: Go north
response: (first opening the north door)

My first impression is of the sheer size of this room, almost enough for a couple of football pitches, I think. Of course that is a wild exaggeration, but it is large for a bedroom, with plenty of empty floorspace left over even with a large double bed and heavy chest of drawers occupying their share. Looking around further little else catches my eye apart from the pale cream wallpaper and doors to south and west.

On the chest of drawers is a family photo.

Obvious exits: South, West
action: You examine photo
response: The photograph shows what looks like a family group. Mr Croxley looks much as he does in the flesh, suggesting that the photo is fairly recent. The young man in the picture closely resembles that in the picture of Tony Croxley in the drawing room. The three women in the picture are less familiar. All three have dark, curly hair, worn a bit shorter on the older woman than the younger two. The older woman strikes me as being a bit plain, while the younger two, though sufficiently like her to be her daughters, look moderately pretty.
action: You go to the west
response: The master bathroom looks as if it has been completely refurbished sometime in the last few years; the fittings are all styled with nineteen-thirties chic, while the white tiles covering the walls all look still quite new. The door out is to the east, while a small round waste bin sits under the washbasin.

Obvious exits: East
action: You look in the bin
response: (first opening the waste bin)

There's a screwed-up ball of paper at the bottom of the bin.
action: You get the paper
response: Taken.
action: You unscrew it
response: I flatten out the scrumpled fragment of paper as best I can.
action: You read it
response: Only a few words are visible: "... plan now seems unworkable...
... may be advisable to terminate Durbury..."

Only a few words are visible: "... plan now seems unworkable...
... may be advisable to terminate Durbury..."
action: Thirdperson
response: (third person)

Okay, the game is now in the third person.
action: Go east
response: This is obviously the master bedroom; it is huge. Even with a large double bed and a heavy chest of drawers taking up much of the floor space, a great deal of bare carpet remains. The door out is to the south, and a second door leads west.

On the chest of drawers is a family photo.

Obvious exits: South, West
action: You look at your surroundings
response: This was obviously the master bedroom; it was huge. Even with a large double bed and a heavy chest of drawers taking up much of the floor space, a great deal of bare carpet remained. The door out was to the south, and a second door led west.

On the chest of drawers was a family photo.

Obvious exits: South, West
action: Go south
response: The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: I was carrying a theatrical magazine and a scrumpled fragment, and I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.
action: Examine magazine
response: It seemed to be some kind of theatrical magazine, dated September 1940.
action: Go south
response: This section of the landing was much narrower than the part further north, being no more than a passage between the rooms on either side. The landing ended at a narrow curtained window immediately to the south and continued past the banister to the north, while white panelled doors led off to east and west.

Obvious exits: North, East, West
action: You eat the fragment
response: The scrumpled fragment looked remarkably unappetizing.
action: You unscrew it
response: The scrumpled fragment had already been flattened out as best it could be.
action: You go east
response: (first opening the east door)

My first impression was of a room that felt rather cramped because it contained too much furniture. The large white wardrobe in the corner was the main culprit, although a low wooden cabinet, which didn't match it at all well, also consumed more than its fair share of space, leaving the single bed against the opposite wall to be tucked in almost as an afterthought. This clutter of furniture allowed just about enough room to navigate a path from the bed to the door, which led out to the west.

On the cabinet was a wind-up gramophone.

Obvious exits: West
action: You look at the gramophone
response: It was basically a large black box with a handle protruding from one side to allow it to be wound up. It was closed.
action: You open it
response: I opened it up. Inside the gramophone were a turntable, a pickup arm, and a small brass switch.
action: You look at the turntable
response: It was round, black, and about nine inches in diameter.
action: You look at the arm
response: It was black and just under a foot long, with a stylus fixed to the free end.
action: You open the wardrobe
response: Opening the tall wooden wardrobe revealed a variety of men's clothes.
action: You look at the clothes
response: A number of shirts, jackets and pairs of trousers were hung up on the rail, while a pile of underwear sat to one side. All the clothing appeared to be of a large size, much of it was quite plain, and some of it was distinctly shabby.
action: You examine the cabinet
response: The cabinet was quite long but no more than about three foot high, and could have been made of oak. It had a flat top and pair of carved oak doors on the front. It was closed. On the cabinet was a wind-up gramophone.
action: You open the cabinet
response: Opening the cabinet revealed three gramophone records (a classical record, a jazz record, and a linguaphone record).
action: You look at Linguaphone
response: It was labelled "Linguaphone German I".
action: You look at classical
response: It was labelled "Beethoven Overtures".
action: You examine the bed
response: It was a single bed, freshly made with a clean pillow at one end.
action: You look under the pillow
response: Under the pillow I found a neatly-folded pair of blue striped pyjamas. Careful to leave everything looking undisturbed I put the pillow back on top of them.
action: You look at the jazz
response: It was labelled "Glenn Miller in Concert".
action: You put Linguaphone on turntable
response: (first taking the linguaphone record)
Done.
action: You look around
response: This bedroom was more or less square, and not particularly large. Most of the space was taken up by the bed, a tall wooden wardrobe and a large wooden cabinet, while the walls were covered in striped blue wallpaper. The door out was to the west.

On the cabinet was a wind-up gramophone. On the turntable was a linguaphone record. The cabinet contained two gramophone records (a classical record and a jazz record). The tall wooden wardrobe contained a variety of men's clothes.

Obvious exits: West
action: You look under the bed
response: Nothing happened, presumably because the gramophone wasn't wound up.

I found nothing under the bed.
action: You wind up the gramophone
response: I turned the handle until it was fully wound. The turntable started to turn, spinning the linguaphone record with it.
action: You put the pickup on Linguaphone
response: I moved the arm over the record and carefully lowered the stylus onto it. From the gramophone issued a crackly German voice. "Erste Lektion: Die Familie Schneider. Das Bild zeigt uns ein Wohnzimmer. In dem Wohnzimmer ist die Familie Schneider. Zur Familie gehoren der Grossvater, die Grossmutter, der Vater, die Mutter, der Sohn, die Tochter, und das kleine Madchen. Der Grossvater sitzt in einem Sessel. Er raucht eine Pfeife. Die Grossmutter sitzt auch in..." At that point I decided I had heard enough. My German wasn't up to much, but it sounded like an elementary German lesson to me. I removed the arm from the linguaphone record and switched the turntable off. The turntable stopped turning.
action: You put the jazz on the turntable
response: (first taking the jazz record, then taking the linguaphone record from the turntable)
Done.
action: You wind up the gramophone
response: The handle was fully wound.
action: You put the arm on the record
response: I moved the arm over the record and carefully lowered the stylus onto it.
action: You press the switch
response: The turntable started to turn, spinning the jazz record with it. A rather tinny recording of Glenn Miller's band playing In the Mood emanated from the gramophone. Since I didn't want to attract attention to myself I stopped it after the first few bars. I removed the arm from the jazz record and switched the turntable off. The turntable stopped turning.
action: You put classical on the turntable
response: (first taking the classical record, then taking the jazz record from the turntable)
Done.
action: You press the switch
response: The turntable started to turn, spinning the classical record with it. From the gramophone came a scratchy recording of Beethoven's Egmont overture. After the first few bars I decided I had heard enough. I removed the arm from the classical record and switched the turntable off. The turntable stopped turning.
action: Look around
response: This bedroom was more or less square, and not particularly large. Most of the space was taken up by the bed, a tall wooden wardrobe and a large wooden cabinet, while the walls were covered in striped blue wallpaper. The door out was to the west.

On the cabinet was a wind-up gramophone. On the turntable was a classical record. The tall wooden wardrobe contained a variety of men's clothes.

Obvious exits: West
action: You examine wallpaper
response: The wallpaper had alternate light and dark blue stripes.
action: Close cabinet
response: Closed.
action: You go to the west
response: Not wanting either to be encumbered with other people's property, or to be caught stealing it, I dropped two gramophone records (the linguaphone record and the jazz record) before leaving the room.

This section of the landing was much narrower than the part further north, being no more than a passage between the rooms on either side. The landing ended at a narrow curtained window immediately to the south and continued past the banister to the north, while white panelled doors led off to east and west.

Obvious exits: North, East, West
action: Go west
response: (first trying to open the west door)
The west door seemed to be locked.
action: You break the west door
response: I was a British officer, not a Nazi one; I didn't go breaking down doors in people's homes.
action: You look at the west door
response: It was a four-paneled door, painted white, and newly fitted with a solid brass lock. It was closed.
action: You knock on the west door
response: I knocked on the west door. There was no response.
action: Go west
response: (first opening the west door)

This generous-sized bedroom immediately struck me as belonging to a woman. There was nothing particularly feminine about the pale blue wallpaper, so that wasn't it. The dressing table by the window was more distinctively female, but perhaps what first hit me was the subtle smell of the place. Both the location and the size of the room made me suspect that the room was far more likely to be Angela Croxley's than the housekeeper's.

In addition to the dressing table a low bedside cabinet squatted next to the single bed, while a built-in wardrobe occupied much of the north wall. The only door out was to the east.

The top of the dressing-table was littered with feminine paraphernalia.

On the bedside cabinet was an alarm clock.

Obvious exits: East
action: You look at your surroundings
response: This good-sized bedroom was decorated with pale blue wallpaper. A dressing-table stood near the window, suggesting female occupancy, as did the feminine scent of the place. A low bedside cabinet squatted next to the single bed, while a built-in wardrobe occupied much of the north wall. The only door out was to the east.

The top of the dressing-table was littered with feminine paraphernalia.

On the bedside cabinet was an alarm clock.

Obvious exits: East
action: You examine the cabinet
response: It was a small, white, square cabinet with a single drawer. It was closed. On the bedside cabinet was an alarm clock.
action: You open the drawer
response: Opening the bedside cabinet revealed two books (a dark blue book and a brown book) and a letter.
action: You read the letter
response: It was dated 10th August 1940, but the sender's address had been deleted by the censor. The body of the letter read:

"My darling Angie, This is just a few lines to say I'm thinking of you. I'm sorry I haven't written more, but things have been a bit hectic here lately - Jerry isn't giving us much rest I'm afraid. Still, I bagged a couple of Messerschmitts yesterday, and I think I winged a Heinkel too. If I carry on at this rate old Hermann will run out of aircraft to send at us! But with any luck I may get a spot of leave then - I can't wait to see you! In any case, Adolf has to give up sooner or later and once this war is over we can be together properly - oh damn, that's the phone going. Probably another scramble, so I'd better finish this now.

All my love, Adam.

P.S. Yes, a scramble. More later."
action: You look at the books
response: brown book: It was a copy of Der Zauberberg by Thomas Mann.

dark blue book: The inscription on the spine showed it to be a copy of the novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore.
action: You examine the zuberberg
response: (x zauberberg)

It was a copy of Der Zauberberg by Thomas Mann.
action: You examine paper
response: (the scrumpled fragment)
It was just a tiny fragment, still badly creased, with just a few words on it.
action: You read the paper
response: (the scrumpled fragment)
Only a few words were visible: "... plan now seems unworkable...
... may be advisable to terminate Durbury..."
action: You look at piece of the paper
response: It looked like a scrap of paper torn from a larger sheet. It was covered in letters and numbers.
action: You take it
response: Taken.
action: You read it
response: The letters and numbers on the piece of paper didn't make much sense, though there seemed to be quite a few crossings-out. It occurred to me that some of the numbers could be page numbers, but looking them up in the book from which the piece of paper fell probably wouldn't tell me much, due to my lack of German.
action: You look at the books
response: brown book: It was a copy of Der Zauberberg by Thomas Mann.

dark blue book: The inscription on the spine showed it to be a copy of the novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore.
action: You examine the lorna doone
response: The inscription on the spine showed it to be a copy of the novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore.
action: You read the lorna doone
response: I didn't have time to read the entire novel, but opening it revealed a handwritten inscription on the title page: "To Angie, from your loving brother Jeremy."
action: You examine piece
response: Which piece do you mean, the dressing table, or the piece of paper?
action: You look around
response: This good-sized bedroom was decorated with pale blue wallpaper. A dressing-table stood near the window, suggesting female occupancy, as did the feminine scent of the place. A low bedside cabinet squatted next to the single bed, while a built-in wardrobe occupied much of the north wall. The only door out was to the east.

The top of the dressing-table was littered with feminine paraphernalia.

On the bedside cabinet was an alarm clock. The bedside cabinet contained two books (a dark blue book and a brown book) and a letter.

Obvious exits: East
action: You check your inventory
response: I was carrying a theatrical magazine, a scrumpled fragment, and a piece of paper, and I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.
action: You examine the wardrobe
response: The wardrobe occupied much of the north wall, into which it was built. Since it was closed, all I could see of it are its doors.
action: You look under the bed
response: Looking under the bed revealed nothing of interest; indeed it revealed nothing at all.
action: You open the wardrobe
response: A modest collection of clothes hung in the wardrobe.
action: You examine the clothes
response: A modest collection of workaday clothes hung in the wardrobe: a small selection of blouses, skirts and trousers, but no dresses or anything particularly fancy. A closer examination of the clothes revealed a long wooden pole half-hidden behind.
action: You examine the pole
response: It was about three feet long, and had a small brass hook on one end.
action: Look around
response: This good-sized bedroom was decorated with pale blue wallpaper. A dressing-table stood near the window, suggesting female occupancy, as did the feminine scent of the place. A low bedside cabinet squatted next to the single bed, while a built-in wardrobe occupied much of the north wall. The only door out was to the east.

A modest collection of clothes hung in the wardrobe.

The top of the dressing-table was littered with feminine paraphernalia.

On the bedside cabinet was an alarm clock. The bedside cabinet contained two books (a dark blue book and a brown book) and a letter.

Obvious exits: East
action: You look at the dressing table
response: It was a reasonably elegant piece of furniture, though a closer inspection indicated that it was probably rather more inexpensive than a cursory glance might suggest. It was white all over, apart from the gold trim round the edges, and had a glass top covering its upper surface and a rather cheap-looking mirror.

The top of the dressing-table was littered with feminine paraphernalia.
action: You look in the mirror
response: I saw my own reflection.
action: Go east
response: The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: Inventory
response: I was carrying a theatrical magazine, a scrumpled fragment, a piece of paper, and a long wooden pole, and I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.
action: You go east
response: (first trying to open the east door)
The east door seemed to be locked.
action: You examine the east door
response: It was a plain white door. It was closed.
action: Go northeast
response: (first opening the northeast door)

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. In the ceiling was a trapdoor that looked firmly closed, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: You look at trapdoor
response: The trapdoor was painted white to match the ceiling. At one end was a small white ring.
action: You pull the ring with the pole
response: (first opening the west door)

It was the smell that first made me think this must be the housekeeper's bedroom, or rather that indefinable mix of smells that I associated with middle-aged women - that and the location of the room in what I took to be the servant quarters. The room was of a fairly generous size, and looked reasonably comfortable. A single bed rested against the north wall, at the far end of the room from the only door, which led out to the east. The other furniture consisted of a small upright wardrobe, a plain dressing table, and a low chest of drawers, all made of some dark wood and all of equally utilitarian appearance.

Obvious exits: East

I saw no ring there.
action: You go east
response: The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. In the ceiling was a trapdoor that looked firmly closed, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: You pull the ring with pole
response: I pulled open the trapdoor with the long wooden pole, and a ladder descended down out of the ceiling.
action: Up
response: I scrambled up the ladder.

Attic (in the dark)
It was profoundly dark up there, with nothing visible apart from the open hatch leading back down.

Obvious exits: Down
action: I guess we need a the torch
response: That hardly seemed called for.

The word "guess" is not necessary in this story.
action: Go downward
response: I climbed back down the ladder.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: You look at the cupboard
response: It was built into the east wall. It was currenly closed, so all I could see are its doors.
action: You open it
response: On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.
action: You look under the sheets
response: Under the folded white sheets was a slip of paper.
action: You get the paper
response: I took the slip of paper.
action: You read paper
response: Which paper do you mean, the scrumpled fragment, the piece of paper, or the slip of paper?
action: Slip
response: It was headed Joseph Mainwaring & Sons - Locksmiths, 24 High Street, Amesbury, under which was written "To cutting one duplicate key: 2s 7d. Payment received with thanks."
action: Go west
response: The room was of a fairly generous size, and looked reasonably comfortable. A single bed rested against the north wall, at the far end of the room from the only door, which led out to the east. The other furniture consisted of a small upright wardrobe, a plain dressing table, and a low chest of drawers, all made of some dark wood and all of equally utilitarian appearance.

Obvious exits: East
action: You look under the bed
response: Under the bed was a small brown suitcase.
action: You get the suitcase
response: I picked up the small brown suitcase.
action: You open it
response: The small brown suitcase seemed to be locked.

The small brown suitcase seemed to be locked.
action: You look at the suitcase
response: It looked rather battered and scratched, as if it had been subjected to a series of indignities over a prolonged period of time. It was closed.
action: You search the bed
response: I didn't really know what I was looking for, but I conducted a rapid search of the bed while trying not to disturb anything; my search proves fruitless.
action: You look at the bed
response: It was an ordinary single bed, remarkable only for the neatness with which it had been made, and for the fact that it stood well clear of the ground with ample storage space beneath.
action: You look at the table
response: The other furniture consisted of a small upright wardrobe, a plain dressing table, and a low chest of drawers, all made of some dark wood and all of equally utilitarian appearance.
action: You find the key
response: (going east)

Not wanting either to be encumbered with other people's property, or to be caught stealing it, I dropped the small brown suitcase before leaving the room.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: You look at the table
response: The sturdy table, made of seasoned oak, looked as if it might well have done duty since the reign of Queen Victoria.
action: You examine the chair
response: It was a plain, straight-backed chair.
action: Examine calendar
response: It was one of those plain calendars that simply lists the days of the current month in a square grid; it was currently showing October 1940.
action: You look up august on the calendar
response: What do you want to look that up in?
action: You look around
response: The kitchen looked large enough to accommodate the platoon of culinary staff who may have worked there before the war. Circumstances were now reduced, however, leaving the place rather bare: a large wooden table at one end, with a single hard wooden chair right next to it, now comprised the bulk of the furniture. A long, old-fashioned cooking range ran along the east wall, while doors led off to west, south and north, a calendar being attached to the last of these.

Obvious exits: North, South, West
action: Go west
response: The hall passage came to an end outside a brown door to the north. Other doors led east and west, while the passage ran south towards the main entrance hall.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West
action: Go south
response: This was the widest part of the hall, where it opened out to accommodate the flight of stairs that led up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stood open to the west, while the hall itself continued to both north and south.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up
action: Go upwards
response: I climbed the staircase up to the floor above.

The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: Go down
response: The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down

I went down the back stairs to the back passage below.

The back passage was a short, narrow space leading from the kitchen door (to the south) to the back door (to the north) between two other doors to east and west. The space was further constricted by a flight of stairs leading up to the floor above.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Up
action: Go west
response: (first opening the west door)

If the location of this modest-sized rectangular room had not in any case suggested that it was the maids' parlour, the mild shabbiness of its furnishings would probably have given the game away. Now that the housekeeper was apparently the only member of domestic staff retained under conditions of wartime austerity, it apparently doubled as her workroom and sitting-room. A battered arm chair nestled against a small, scratched wooden table in one corner, while an ironing board was set up near the middle of the room, strategically close to the fireplace. The sole door out was to the east.

On the peg was a dark coat. On the small table was a wireless.

Hilda was busily doing some ironing.

The wireless was playing the Tannhauser overture.

Obvious exits: East

"Where you get all that from?" Hilda demanded, seeing all the stuff I was carrying. "You have come to rob us? I tell Mr Croxley for sure!"

(My best response seemed to be to make some excuse.)
action: You make the excuse
response: "It's only some bits and pieces I happened to find lying around," I said.

"Too many bits; too many pieces," she complained. "I tell Mr Croxley you are thief!"
action: You hit her
response: I couldn't do that - I was an officer in the Royal Engineers, not the SS!

The wireless continued to play Tannhauser.
action: You tell her about the spy
response: "That is - how you say? - not at all unboring," she remarked.
action: You show the slip to Hilda
response: "What do you make of this?" I asked.

She took the slip of paper from me and glanced at it briefly before handing it back. "Ich weiss nicht - I not know nothing about it." she replied, perhaps just a little too firmly.
action: Inventory
response: I was carrying a theatrical magazine, a scrumpled fragment, a piece of paper, a long wooden pole, and a slip of paper, and I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.
action: You go east
response: (first trying to open the east door)
The east door seemed to be locked.
action: You drop the pole
response: Dropped.
action: You check what you're carrying
response: I was carrying a theatrical magazine, a scrumpled fragment, a piece of paper, and a slip of paper, and I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.
action: Drop battledress
response: (first trying to take off the khaki battledress)
I had no desire to walk round half-naked.
action: Go west
response: (first opening the west door)

If the location of this modest-sized rectangular room had not in any case suggested that it was the maids' parlour, the mild shabbiness of its furnishings would probably have given the game away. Now that the housekeeper was apparently the only member of domestic staff retained under conditions of wartime austerity, it apparently doubled as her workroom and sitting-room. A battered arm chair nestled against a small, scratched wooden table in one corner, while an ironing board was set up near the middle of the room, strategically close to the fireplace. The sole door out was to the east.

On the peg was a dark coat. On the small table was a wireless.

Hilda was busily doing some ironing.

The wireless was playing the Tannhauser overture.

Obvious exits: East

"Where you get all that from?" Hilda demanded, seeing all the stuff I was carrying. "You have come to rob us? I tell Mr Croxley for sure!"

(My best response seemed to be to make some excuse.)
action: You ask her about the Durbury
response: "Who's Durbury?" I asked.

Hilda looked momentarily startled, then snapped, "I have no idea. Why you ask me such things?"
action: You ask her about Jeremy
response: "So?" she shrugged.

The wireless continued to play Tannhauser.
action: You ask her about germany
response: "How was Germany, before you left?" I enquireed.

"Very frightening," Hilda told me, "especially for Jews, but also for everyone else, I think."
action: You show the piece of the paper to her
response: "What do you make of this?" I asked, showing her the piece of paper covered with letters and numbers.

"Nothing," she replied, after a quick glance. "Make no sense to me at all."
action: You ask her about Adam
response: "Do you know anything about Adam Croxley?" I asked.

"Only that he shot down by German plane," she replied. "He was already dead before I come."
action: You ask her about Tony
response: "What do you know about Tony Croxley?" I asked.

"Not very much," she replied. "He was Mr Croxley's son, in army, but not come back from France."

The overture playing on the radio reached a stirring rendition of the Pilgrim's Chorus.
action: You ask her about Angela
response: "I had quite a nice little chat with Miss Croxley," I remarked. "She certainly seems a nice girl."

"Young men are such fools, always going by what seems," she replied.
"I tell you, Miss Croxley not what she seem. She don't tell truth for one thing. And then she creep about at night, waking me up when she walk past my room, but denying it all. No, Herr Leutnant, Miss Croxley only seem nice. Behind that pretty face and pretty smile is different person."
action: You ask Hilda about the attic
response: "What do you keep up in the attic?" I asked.

"What a question? Why you care what Croxleys keep in their attic!" she declared. "Besides, why would I know? I not go there!"
action: You ask Hilda about trapdoor
response: "Where does that trapdoor upstairs lead?" I asked. "And how do you get it open?"

"Why you want to know?" she replied crossly. "What business of yours? Why you go snooping round house? You leave things alone, or I tell Mr Croxley!"
action: You ask Hilda about the suitcase
response: I didn't have the effrontery to ask Hilda about her suitcase; to have done so would have been to admit that I had been searching her room.

The wireless broadcast reached a quieter passage.
action: You examine the coat
response: It was a dark coat, almost black, with a pocket to one side.
action: You examine pocket
response: The pocket looked quite deep.
action: You ask her about Arthur
response: "What you think you doing?" Hilda complained. "Are you the Gestapo now? You leave my coat alone!"

"Tell me more about Mr Croxley," I said. "What's he like?"

"He seem a good man," she replied. "He has been kind to me, and - how you say? - deals well with so many deaths. Inwardly he is sad, I think."
action: You search pocket
response: "Leave coat alone!" Hilda insisted.
action: You ask Hilda about the coat
response: "That's an interesting-looking coat you have there," I remarked.

"Interesting?" she queried, "Is just a coat!"
action: You ask her for the torch
response: "Is there a torch somewhere I could borrow?" I enquired.

"What you want torch for?" she demanded suspiciously.

"In case of a power cut," I lied smoothly. "The storm's already brought the telephone lines down, so I thought the power lines might be next, and I'm not sure I fancy spending the night in a strange house without being able to see anything!"

"Ach! Men are such babies - scared of the dark! And you a soldier!" she taunted. "But I think there is spare torch in - what you call it? - small room off kitchen where we store food."

The Wagner overture continued to play on the wireless.
action: You ask her about scrumpled
response: "What do you think this means?" I asked, showing her the scrumpled piece of paper with the remark about terminating Durbury on it.

For a moment she seemed quite startled as she read the scrap, but then vigorously shook her head, "I have no idea!" she declared. "No idea at all!"
action: You ask her about Arthur
response: She'd already told me that Mr Croxley seemed a good man, who had been kind to her and who seemed to be coping well with so many bereavements, although she also thought that he was sad inside.
action: You tell Hilda about the photo
response: "Who are those people in the photo in Mr Croxley's bedroom?" I enquired.

"How I know?" she replied. "Why he tell me? I not ask such things - I not snoop around like you!"
action: You ask her about Mr Graham
response: "It is like this," she began. "Ach! I have not the words for it in English!"
action: You ask her about the creak
response: "I'm sure I heard some more creaking sounds from upstairs," I said. "There has to be someone moving around there - even if it's only a ghost!"

"No ghosts, no people, just old house noises, like Miss Croxley say," she replied.
action: You ask her about the bedrooms
response: In reply she merely grunted and carried on ironing.
action: You ask her about room with the gramophone
response: "So many questions!" she complained. "You are worse than the police!"
action: You find the torch
response: What do you want to look that up in?
action: You find kitchen
response: (going east)

Hilda watched me go.

The back passage was a short, narrow space leading from the kitchen door (to the south) to the back door (to the north) between two other doors to east and west. The space was further constricted by a flight of stairs leading up to the floor above.

I saw a long wooden pole and a theatrical magazine there.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Up

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: Go south
response: (first opening the south door)

Shelves lined the walls to east and west, leaving a narrow aisle running from the door at the northern end to the small window at the other.

On the shelves were a torch, some tins, some packets, some loose potatoes, and some apples.

Obvious exits: North
action: You examine the tins
response: Some contained flour, others bread, and others broken biscuits[2].

There were all sorts of tins there, including tinned vegetables, corned beef, and various other supplies.
action: You examine the potatoes
response: Most of them looked as if they had been kept a little too long, since they were beginning to sprout.
action: You examine the window
response: Broken biscuits might seem an odd thing to keep, but the point is they weren't rationed.

The small window was hidden behind the curtains.
action: You open the window
response: The small window was hidden behind the curtains.
action: You find the trapdoor
response: Which trapdoor do you mean, the hatch, or the ladder (in the upper passage)?
action: Go north
response: The kitchen looked large enough to accommodate the platoon of culinary staff who may have worked there before the war. Circumstances were now reduced, however, leaving the place rather bare: a large wooden table at one end, with a single hard wooden chair right next to it, now comprised the bulk of the furniture. A long, old-fashioned cooking range ran along the east wall, while doors led off to west, south and north, a calendar being attached to the last of these.

Obvious exits: North, South, West
action: You go north
response: (first opening the north door)

The back passage was a short, narrow space leading from the kitchen door (to the south) to the back door (to the north) between two other doors to east and west. The space was further constricted by a flight of stairs leading up to the floor above.

I saw a long wooden pole and a theatrical magazine there.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Up
action: You take all
response: I took the long wooden pole and the theatrical magazine.
action: Go upwards
response: I climbed the narrow stairs to the floor above.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: Go up
response: I scrambled up the ladder.

Attic (in the dark)
It was profoundly dark up there, with nothing visible apart from the open hatch leading back down.

Obvious exits: Down
action: You examine the torch
response: It was too dark to do that.
action: You turn on the torch
response: I switched on the torch, and it emitted a reasonably bright beam of light.

The attic had accumulated surprisingly little junk for a family home. Bare boards stretched out in every direction from the open hatch with little to clutter them. The beam of my torch picked out hardly anything apart from the odd packing crate and a plethora of cobwebs. Almost by chance it also landed on an old blanket covering a pile of stuff half-hidden away.

Obvious exits: Down
action: You examine the torch
response: It was basically a black metal tube with a silver switch on the side, currently switched on.
action: You look at the crate
response: A number of large wooden crates sat on the floor, each of them quite plain and none of them giving any clue as to its contents. The dust on the ground near one of them seemed to have been disturbed quite recently.
action: You move the crate
response: I pushed one of the crates a few inches, along the lines in the dust, revealing a loose floorboard.
action: You take the floorboard
response: It was shorter than most of the other boards, being only about six or seven inches long.One end was a fraction of an inch proud of its neighbour, and I noticed it wobble when I moved the crate.

Under the loose floorboard was a dull grey key. I picked up the dull grey key and replaced the floorboard.
action: You examine the blanket
response: The blanket was of a dark brown colour, and looked quite worn.
action: You look under it
response: Under the old blanket was a large wooden box.
action: You look at the box
response: Smaller than the packing crates, the wooden box was also of higher quality construction, being made of some dark polished wood - mahogany perhaps. It was about two feet wide, a foot high, and eighteen inches deep. It was closed.
action: You open the box
response: The large wooden box seemed to be locked.
action: Unlock box
response: (with the dull grey key)
Unlocked.
action: You open it
response: (first taking the old blanket)
Moving the old blanket revealed a large wooden box underneath. Opening the large wooden box revealed a radio, a pair of headphones, and a small tin box.
action: You examine the tin box
response: It was a small tin box, painted black, of the sort one might keep various little odds and ends in. It was closed.
action: You open it
response: Opening the small tin box revealed a pencil and a small brass key.
action: You examine brass key
response: It looked pretty new; the brass was still shiny with scarcely any sign of tarnishing.
action: You take the key
response: I took the small brass key.
action: You examine the radio
response: The wireless set fitted snugly in its box, with a coil of wire attached at one end. The most prominent features of the set itself were the tuning dial, the telegraph key and the power switch.
action: You examine the dial
response: The numbers round the dial indicated that it could be turned to any number between 1 and 30; it was currently set to 3.
action: You put on the headphones
response: (first taking the pair of headphones)
Okay, I was now wearing the pair of headphones.
action: You listen
response: The rain constantly drummed against the window.
action: Look around
response: The attic had accumulated surprisingly little junk for a family home. Bare boards stretched out in every direction from the open hatch with little to clutter them. The beam of my torch picked out hardly anything apart from the odd packing crate and a plethora of cobwebs. There was also a large wooden box in the corner by the window.

The loose floorboard was scarcely noticeable, being nearly flush with the floor.

The large wooden box contained a radio and a small tin box (which contained a pencil).

Obvious exits: Down
action: You look at the slip
response: It was a receipt from a locksmith.
action: You examine piece
response: It looked like a scrap of paper torn from a larger sheet. It was covered in letters and numbers.
action: You read the piece
response: The letters and numbers on the piece of paper didn't make much sense, though there seemed to be quite a few crossings-out. It occurred to me that some of the numbers could be page numbers, but looking them up in the book from which the piece of paper fell probably wouldn't tell me much, due to my lack of German.
action: You examine the key
response: Which key do you mean, the dull grey key, the telegraph key, or the small brass key?
action: You press the key
response: (the telegraph key)
I tried tapping out a few letters in Morse code, but though the radio set beeped dutifully, there was no sign that anyone was receiving my transmission.
action: You take the radio
response: The radio seemed to be firmly fitted to the box.
action: You take box
response: Which box do you mean, the small tin box, or the large wooden box?
action: You look at the tin
response: It was a small tin box, painted black, of the sort one might keep various little odds and ends in. It was open, and contained a pencil.
action: You take the tin
response: Taken.
action: You take large wooden
response: Which large wooden do you mean, the crates, or the large wooden box?
action: You take the large wooden box
response: It would have been possible, but cumbersome, to move the box, and probably a bit awkward to carry it down the ladder. On balance it seemed better to leave it where it was.
action: Go down
response: Not wanting either to be encumbered with other people's property, or to be caught stealing it, I dropped the old blanket before leaving the room. I climbed back down the ladder.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: You go to the southwest
response: The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: You unlock it
response: What do you want to unlock it with?
action: Key
response: Which key do you mean, the dull grey key, or the small brass key?
action: Brass
response: Unlocked.
action: Go west
response: (first opening the west door)

I dubbed this the "Goering Room" at once, on account of the large picture of Hermann Goering facing me from the west wall. In normal times this would probably have been a bedroom, but there was no bed there now. The only piece of ordinary bedroom furniture was the tall wooden wardrobe standing in one corner, otherwise much of the floorspace was taken up by a low metal cabinet. The door out was to the east.

On the metal cabinet was a cine projector. On the lower spindle was an empty reel.

Obvious exits: East
action: Look around
response: The most striking feature of this room was the large picture of Hermann Goering hanging on the west wall. In normal times this would probably have been a bedroom, but there was no bed there now. The only piece of ordinary bedroom furniture was the tall wooden wardrobe standing in one corner, otherwise much of the floorspace was taken up by a low metal cabinet. The door out was to the east.

On the metal cabinet was a cine projector. On the lower spindle was an empty reel.

Obvious exits: East
action: You open the cabinet
response: Opening the metal cabinet revealed a single metal shelf, under which was a metal canister. On the metal shelf were a pamphlet and a red book.
action: You look at the red book
response: It appeared to be a biography of Hermann Goering.
action: You read the pamphlet
response: (first taking the pamphlet)
It turned out to be a recent intelligence report on the Luftwaffe, giving details of current German aircraft, photographs of typical Luftwaffe personnel, and coloured plates illustrating Luftwaffe uniforms and insignia. Towards the back the pamphlet gave estimates of the current size of the German air force and the dispositions of its main units.
action: You open the wardrobe
response: Opening the wardrobe revealed a Luftwaffe uniform.
action: You examine the uniform
response: (the Luftwaffe uniform)
It wasn't a standard blue Luftwaffe uniform, instead it was white, like the one Goering was pictured as wearing. Indeed it could have been a copy of the Reichsmarschall's uniform, complete with double-breasted tunic and gold trimmings.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: The most striking feature of this room was the large picture of Hermann Goering hanging on the west wall. In normal times this would probably have been a bedroom, but there was no bed there now. The only piece of ordinary bedroom furniture was the tall wooden wardrobe standing in one corner, otherwise much of the floorspace was taken up by a low metal cabinet. The door out was to the east.

The wardrobe contained a Luftwaffe uniform. On the metal cabinet was a cine projector. On the lower spindle was an empty reel. The metal cabinet contained a single metal shelf, under which was a metal canister. On the metal shelf was a red book.

Obvious exits: East
action: You read the red book
response: (first taking the red book)
I hardly had time to read it all, but a quick skim indicated that it narrated Goering's life from his birth in 1893, through his career as a fighter pilot (with 22 confirmed kills) in the Great War, his first marriage to Karin von Kantzow in 1923, the year after he joined the Nazi Party, his leadership of the SA, his morphine addiction, his subsequent election to the Reichstag, his Nazification of the Prussian police, his second marriage in 1935 to Emmy Sonnemann, his patronage of music, his various other offices of state under the Nazi regime, and finally his leadership of the Luftwaffe.
action: You take the book
response: I was already carrying the red book.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: The most striking feature of this room was the large picture of Hermann Goering hanging on the west wall. In normal times this would probably have been a bedroom, but there was no bed there now. The only piece of ordinary bedroom furniture was the tall wooden wardrobe standing in one corner, otherwise much of the floorspace was taken up by a low metal cabinet. The door out was to the east.

The wardrobe contained a Luftwaffe uniform. On the metal cabinet was a cine projector. On the lower spindle was an empty reel. The metal cabinet contained a single metal shelf, under which was a metal canister.

Obvious exits: East
action: You examine the projector
response: The projector had two spindles, upper and lower, a switch and a dial. On the lower spindle was an empty reel.
action: You search the wardrobe
response: The wardrobe contained a Luftwaffe uniform.
action: Search uniform
response: It was a flat cylinder of a dull metal colour, about nine inches in diameter. It was closed.

(the Luftwaffe uniform)
A thorough search of the Luftwaffe uniform revealed nothing of interest.
action: You open the canister
response: Opening the metal canister revealed a reel of film.
action: You put the film on the projector
response: I put the reel of film on the upper spindle and carefully threaded the film through the projector and onto the lower reel.
action: You turn on the projector
response: The projector started to hum.
action: You look at projector
response: The projector had two spindles, upper and lower, a switch and a dial. On the lower spindle was an empty reel. On the upper spindle was a reel of film.
action: You look at the dial
response: The dial had three settings: BACK, STOP and FORWARD. It was currently on STOP.
action: You set dial to forward
response: Both reels began to turn. The film was projected onto a blank area of wall. It began with a scratchy shot of a young Hermann Goering removing his flying helmet while sitting in the cockpit of an Albatross. Various scenes followed: Goering shaking hands with Hitler; Goering in conference with Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels; Goering making a speech; Goering strutting around an airfield in his new Reichsmarschall's uniform; Goering inspecting a parade of Luftwaffe personnel. Eventually I decided I'd seen enough, so I turned the dial to STOP. Both reels stopped turning.
action: You look around
response: The most striking feature of this room was the large picture of Hermann Goering hanging on the west wall. In normal times this would probably have been a bedroom, but there was no bed there now. The only piece of ordinary bedroom furniture was the tall wooden wardrobe standing in one corner, otherwise much of the floorspace was taken up by a low metal cabinet. The door out was to the east.

The wardrobe contained a Luftwaffe uniform. On the metal cabinet was a cine projector. On the lower spindle was an empty reel. On the upper spindle was a reel of film. The metal cabinet contained a single metal shelf, under which was a metal canister.

Obvious exits: East
action: You wear the uniform
response: I certainly wasn't about to put on an enemy uniform. Anyway it was far too large for me and I would have looked quite ridiculous in it.
action: You take the uniform
response: I took the Luftwaffe uniform from the wardrobe and gave it a thorough examination. Satisfied that it looked pretty much like the genuine article I returned it to the wardrobe.
action: You set the dial to back
response: Both reels span round until the film was fully rewound onto the upper reel.
action: You check your inventory
response: I was carrying a scrumpled fragment, a piece of paper, a receipt, a torch (providing light), a long wooden pole, a theatrical magazine, two keys (a dull grey key and a small brass key), a small tin box (which contained a pencil), a pamphlet, and a red book. I was wearing a beret, khaki battledress, and a pair of headphones.
action: You turn off the torch
response: I switched off the torch, and it stopped shining.
action: Go east
response: Just as I was about to leave, I heard a nearby door open and someone walking around on the landing. To avoid being caught snooping around, I stopped just inside the door. A moment later I heard the sound of a shot from close by, followed by a brief series of thuds.
action: You enter the wardrobe
response: It was a bit too small for me to squeeze into.
action: You wear the uniform
response: I certainly wasn't about to put on an enemy uniform. Anyway it was far too large for me and I would have looked quite ridiculous in it.
action: Go east
response: This section of the landing was much narrower than the part further north, being no more than a passage between the rooms on either side. The landing ended at a narrow curtained window immediately to the south and continued past the banister to the north, while white panelled doors led off to east and west.

A revolver was lying on the ground, near the top of the stairs.

Obvious exits: North, East, West
action: You take the revolver
response: The revolver was too far away.
action: Go north
response: The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

A revolver was lying on the ground, near the top of the stairs.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: You examine it
response: It was a Colt 45, probably a service pistol.[3] There was a distinct smell of cordite from the barrel.
action: Footnote 3
response: I'm relying on my recollections of what my father told me were the sidearms he was issued with as an officer in the Royal Engineers in WW2. IIRC he said he was originally issued with a Colt .45, which was replaced with a Smith and Wesson .38 later in the war. (Yes, my father's name was Jack, and he was posted to Salisbury Plain on leaving OCTU in 1940, but anything else in Shelter from the Storm is purely fictitious; Percy was his father's first name.)
action: Open revolver
response: I broke open the revolver and checked that it was loaded. Finding that it was, I closed it again.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down

Hilda came up the staircase. "Mr Percy, you must come quickly!" she told me. "A man has been shot! Mr Croxley wants to see you. Come! You must convince Mr Croxley I did not do this terrible thing," Hilda urged me, "otherwise I get the blame for sure."

(My best response seemed to be to ask why she should get the blame.)
action: You ask her why she should get the the blame
response: The story doesn't understand that command. Please use ASK ACTOR ABOUT TOPIC (or just A TOPIC).
action: You ask why
response: "Why on earth do you think you'll be blamed?" I asked.

"Two reasons," she replied. "One, I am German; two, I am Jewish. Is not good to be German in this country now - you are at war with Germany. Is never good to be Jewish: Jews always get the blame for everything. If you had been in Germany you would have seen that, but it is not so different here: Shakespeare and his Shylock, Dickens and his Fagin, you English do not like Jews either. So they say I shot this poor man for sure."

(My immediate thoughts were to either reassure her, or ask what happened.)
action: You ask her about the blame
response: "Come! Quickly!" Hilda insisted.
action: You ask what happened
response: "What happened, exactly?" I enquired.

"There is dead man lying at the foot of stairs in hall," she told me. "He has been shot - just now, you must have heard it, ja? I'm the only foreigner in the house, and a Jewish foreigner. I get the blame for this, for sure."

(My best response seemed to be to reassure her.)
action: You reassure her
response: "I'm sure they won't say any such thing," I reassured her. "We're not Nazis here, and the Croxleys seem like reasonable enough people to me."

"You must come quickly and tell Mr Croxley I did not shoot anyone," she insisted, motioning me to follow her down the staircase.
action: You tell her about Goering
response: "Come! Quickly!" Hilda insisted.
action: You shoot her
response: (with the revolver)
I was not a murderer, and I had no desire to harm Hilda.
action: Go down
response: I let Hilda lead the way. I descended the staircase back down to the hall.

This was the widest part of the hall, where it opened out to accommodate the flight of stairs that led up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stood open to the west, while the hall itself continued to both north and south.

A body was lying at the foot of the stairs.

A stranger, Angela Croxley, and Mr Croxley were standing there.

Hilda was standing there.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up

"Ah, there you are, Percy!" Mr Croxley declared. "Did you just shoot this man?"

(My immediate thoughts were to either say no, or ask who the dead man is.)
action: You look at the stranger
response: He was a tall, smartly-dressed man of about thirty.

"I asked if you shot this man, and I want your answer, Percy," Mr Croxley growled. "Well, did you?"
action: You ask who
response: "Who is he?" I asked. "He looks a bit like Hermann Goering!"

"Never mind what he looks like, the point is he's dead and I want to know who shot him," Mr Croxley replied. "Was it you, Mr Percy?"
action: You examine the body
response: Apart from the bullet wound in his chest, the dead man bore a remarkable resemblance to Hermann Goering.

"I asked if you shot this man, and I want your answer, Percy," Mr Croxley growled. "Well, did you?"
action: No
response: "No, I didn't!" I declared. "I've never seen him before!"

"No?" he asks. "Then what's that gun you're holding?"

(My immediate thoughts were to either refuse to answer, or tell him about the revolver.)
action: You tell him about the revolver
response: "I just found it at the top of the stairs," I told him.

"Did you now? How convenient," he remarked. "It looks to me as if he was shot at the top of the stairs and fell all the way down, and you've just walked down those very same stairs. I had just gone back to the drawing room when I heard the shot, Angela had just gone off to find you because you weren't there, and Hilda was doing the ironing in her sitting room."

"While I'd just gone to answer a call of nature," the stranger, presumably Mr Graham, added.

"Quite so," Mr Croxley concurred, "So where were you, Mr Percy?"

(My immediate thoughts were to either challenge their alibis, lie, or tell the truth.)
action: Challenge angela
response: "Where were you, Mr Percy?" he demanded.

That command can't be used right now.
action: Challenge
response: "It seems none of you has an alibi either," I pointed out. "Each of you was alone when that shot was fired."

"But we all know each other," he retorted, "whereas you are a total unknown, Mr Percy. How do we even know that you are who you claim to be? So I'll ask you once more: where were you when the shot was fired?"
action: Truth
response: "I was taking a look around upstairs and came across this room with a whole lot of Hermann Goering stuff it in," I confessed. "I was just on the point of leaving when I heard the shot."

"You have no right to be spying on us like that, at best it's an abuse of hospitality, at worst it's proof of guilt." he frowned. "The fact remains that you were the only person upstairs when the shot was fired, and the shot was apparently fired by someone upstairs. I'd say that leaves you as not only the prime suspect but the only suspect, Mr Percy. Under the circumstances, I think you'd better hand me that gun."

(My immediate thoughts were to either give him the revolver, or refuse.)
action: You refuse
response: "For all I know, you may be the killer," I pointed out, "so I think I'll hang on to it."

"Not good enough," Croxley replied evenly. "Your refusal to hand over the weapon can only be construed as proof of guilt. Now, give me the gun."
action: You shoot him
response: (with the revolver)
I was not a murderer, and I had no desire to harm Mr Croxley.

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: Look around
response: This was the widest part of the hall, where it opened out to accommodate the flight of stairs that led up to the east. On the other side of the hall a dark panelled door stood open to the west, while the hall itself continued to both north and south.

A body was lying at the foot of the stairs.

Mr Graham, Hilda, Angela Croxley, and Mr Croxley were standing there.

Obvious exits: North, South, West, Up

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: No
response: It would have seemed rather rude to walk away in the middle of a conversation.

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."

It looked like he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
action: You examine Angela
response: She was undoubtedly a strikingly attractive young woman, what some might call an English rose. She was somewhere in her twenties, perhaps a few years older than I, and had a pleasant, open, round face framed by a generous bounty of wavy blonde hair. She was staring at me accusingly.

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: You look at the body
response: Apart from the bullet wound in his chest, the dead man bore a remarkable resemblance to Hermann Goering.

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: You give the gun to Graham
response: "The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."

Common courtesy demanded that me answer Mr Croxley before addressing Mr Graham.

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: You look at Croxley
response: (Mr Croxley)
He was probably about sixty, or maybe in his late fifties, with a rather suave air about him. He was standing by the body

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: Shoot gun
response: (with the revolver)
I couldn't shoot the revolver with itself.

"The gun, Mr Percy," Croxley reminded me, "Now, please."
action: You give the gun to Croxley
response: (Mr Croxley)
"Thank you," he said as he took the gun off me. "Hm," he added as he examined it, "this looks like mine. Well, the telephone is still out of order so we can't call the police, so for now we're going to have to deal with this ourselves. Do you have anything to add to what you've already told us, Mr Percy?"

(My immediate thoughts were to either mention the other staircase, or tell him about the radio.)
action: You tell him about the radio
response: "Did you know about the radio transmitter hidden in the attic?" I asked. Seeing his puzzled expression, I continued, "I thought not; so I'm not the only unexplained presence here."

"I hardly see what a radio transmitter has to do with any of this," Croxley frowned. His scowl deepened, then he went on, "Anyway, it's nonsense. If there were a radio transmitter in the house I'm sure I'd know about it!"

"It would do no harm to check, surely," Angela Croxley suggested. "If he's lying we may as well be certain he is."

Her father's scowl deepened even further. After a brief pause he gave a curt nod and said, "Very well, if you must, go and check his story - let him show you this alleged radio. But just in case, you'd better take this." he added, handing her the revolver.

"So, Mr Percy, will you show me this radio, please?" she requested.
action: No
response: "No, I'm sure you can find it perfectly well for yourself, Miss Croxley," I replied. "It's just up in the attic. It seems I have unfinished business with your father here."

"That can wait until we establish the truth about this alleged radio transmitter," he assured me.

"That's settled then," she declares. "Lead on then, Mr Percy."
action: You tell him about Angela
response: "That's entirely beside the point right now, Mr Percy," Mr Croxley pointed out. "All I want to know is whether you have anything to add to your account."
action: You tell him about the other staircase
response: "Never mind that now," Mr Croxley interrupted impatiently. "All I'm interested in right now is whether you can add anything that might shed any further light on this."
action: You mention the staircase
response: "How do you know that I was the only person upstairs?" I asked. "This house has two staircases; that must offer all sorts of possibilities."

"A little far-fetched, don't you think, Mr Percy?" he objected. "We know you were upstairs. Any one of us would have to have been both remarkably quick and remarkably stealthy to have arrived here with the rest of us without inviting suspicion, and without being seen by you."

"Still, it could be possible," Hilda remarked. "Murderer could shoot victim, drop gun, and hurry down back staircase then come here through kitchen. In confusion no one notice, nicht wahr?"

"Thank you for your very fair-minded suggestion, Hilda, but I still don't believe any of us did this. To my mind, that still leaves Mr Percy here as our chief suspect - unless he can come up with anything that changes my mind. Well, Mr Percy, have you anything to add?"
action: You tell him about Goering Room
response: Common courtesy demanded that me answer Angela Croxley before addressing her father.

"This radio you said you saw - are you going to take me to see it?" Angela Croxley asked.
action: Yes
response: "Yes, of course," I replied.

"Good," she replied. "Lead on then, Mr Percy."
action: You go to the radio
response: Which radio do you mean, the wireless, or the radio?
action: You go to the attic
response: (going east)

Angela followed me up the staircase.

The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).

"I'm not impressed, Mr Percy," Angela remarked. "We offer you shelter from the storm, and you repay us by snooping all over our house."

(My immediate thoughts were to either tell her about the noises, or apologize.)
action: You tell her about the noises
response: "I heard noises upstairs," I said. "Not just floorboards creaking, but footsteps, I was sure of it. I thought perhaps you were being burgled - and given that body downstairs..."

"He's not a burglar," she interrupted me, clearly unimpressed.
action: You turn on the torch
response: I switched on the torch, and it emitted a reasonably bright beam of light.

The attic had accumulated surprisingly little junk for a family home. Bare boards stretched out in every direction from the open hatch with little to clutter them. The beam of my torch picked out hardly anything apart from the odd packing crate and a plethora of cobwebs. There was also a large wooden box in the corner by the window.

The loose floorboard was scarcely noticeable, being nearly flush with the floor.

I saw an old blanket there. The large wooden box contained a radio.

Angela was right beside me.

Obvious exits: Down
action: You ask Angela about footsteps
response: "Until I see that radio transmitter I shan't believe a thing you tell me, Mr Percy," she answered. "Neither shall I be at all inclined to give anything away."
action: You show the radio to Angela
response: "There it is," I said.

"Well - that certainly does look like a radio transmitter," she agreed, frowning with concern, "and it certainly shouldn't be here." She paused for a moment, her hand pushed deep up into her hair in a gesture of almost frantic thought. "I suppose there's no way you could have smuggled it up here," she continued, as much to herself as to me, "but that still doesn't explain how you found it." Letting her hand fall to her side she finally turned to me and asked, "Why, Mr Percy; why were you up here? Why were you searching our house so thoroughly that you managed to find a hidden radio the rest of us missed?"

(I wondered whether to explain my suspicions, or counter-attack.)
action: Counter attack
response: "Oh no," I said. "You're the one with the explaining to do, Miss Croxley, you're the one with a hidden radio transmitter in your house."

She frowned in annoyance, "I swear I've never seen that radio before.
I had no idea it was here. And I still want to know why you think you have the right to go snooping around our house."
action: You ask her about Goering
response: "Please don't try to change the subject, Mr Percy," she begged. "This is important - I need to know if I can trust you. So tell me, why were you making such a thorough search of our house?"
action: Suspicions
response: "Too much round here seems far too fishy," I replied. "For one thing, it's obvious you've all been trying to conceal that Goering look-alike without anyone knowing about it. So, I thought - well, there is a war on, I do hold the King's commission, so I considered it my duty to try to find out more. For all I know you may all be a nest of German spies - and this radio rather confirms it, doesn't it?" Before she could answer, I continued, "But finding the radio - well, that was a spot of luck really. It was just the more I found, the more suspicious I became, so the harder I looked."

She regarded me steadily for a moment, her lively blue eyes probing my face as if trying to read truth or falsehood there. "I see," she said finally. "I suppose that could be true, but not only does it leave this radio unexplained, it leaves a murder unexplained. So what do we do now?"

(My immediate thoughts were to either ask her about her father, Mr Graham, Hilda, or the corpse, talk about the radio, suggest reporting to her father, or propose looking for more clues.)
action: You ask her about the footsteps
response: "It's more important to decide what we're going to do now," she replied. "So what do you suggest?"
action: You ask her about corpse
response: I could not kiss myself.

"A penny for your thoughts, Mr Percy," Angela remarked. "What should we do now?"

"What about that fellow downstairs - the one who was shot," I asked. "Could this be his radio?"

"I suppose it could," she agreed, "but I don't see how he could have shot himself. I mean, people don't normally shoot themselves in the chest, do they? So what do you think we should do: search his room for further clues - or what?"
action: You ask her about the Durbury
response: "We can talk about that some other time," she insisted. "The immediate question is: what are we going to do now?"
action: You ask her about Hilda
response: "How much do you actually know about your housekeeper?" I asked. "I mean, she is German, and her room is closest to this attic; she'd have plenty of opportunity to sneak up here and use the radio when no one was looking!"

"But Hilda's Jewish, she came here to get away from the Nazis, so why would she want to help them?" Angela protested. "Besides, I doubt she even knows how to handle a gun! No, I can't believe it's Hilda - not without a lot more evidence, anyway! So, what should we do next?"
action: You talk about the radio
response: "We're only assuming that this radio is being used to contact the enemy," I mused. "We don't know it for a fact."

"True, but it seems a pretty safe assumption, doesn't it?" she replied. "I mean, if it was for some legitimate purpose, why would it be kept hidden up here in the attic where none of us knew about it? I don't think either of us could be accused of jumping to absurd conclusions if we assume the radio is linked with spying. So who's the spy and who's the killer, and how are they linked? What do you think we should do about it?"
action: You find the coat
response: (going down)

It would have seemed rather rude to walk away in the middle of a conversation.

I was unable to continue on my journey.
action: You ask her about Mr Graham
response: "What about your visitor, Mr Graham?" I enquired. "Do you know much about him?"

"Not a lot," she admitted. "I suppose he could have shot T... that man downstairs. But I don't see how he could be responsible for the radio! So - what do you think we should do now?"
action: You talk about the suitcase
response: "I'd rather you didn't keep trying to change the subject, Mr Percy," she complained. "In case you've forgotten, there's just been a murder. So, what do we do now?"
action: Clues
response: "I suppose the only thing we can do is hunt around for more clues," I proposed. "I mean, if someone in the house is sending messages to the enemy, they may have some notes of messages sent and received, or something else that gives them away."

She frowned for a moment, then let out a deep sigh. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she agreed at last. "I just don't like the idea of poking around in other people's private possessions. It feels so - so unpleasant. But we don't have much choice now, do we?"
action: You ask her about T
response: "Changing the subject is just delaying the inevitable, isn't it?" she suggested. "You've only confirmed what I really knew all along we were going to have to do, so let's get it over with!"
action: You ask her about Tony
response: "What were your brothers like?" I asked.

"Adam - well, we always thought he'd be a bit of a high-flyer, only we didn't realize he'd take it so literally," she replied, "or that he'd crash to earth quite so soon. Tony was always a one, quite a sportsman - he captained the first fifteen at school - and dead keen to do his bit for King and country when war broke out, but... I loved them both to bits, of course. I still can't believe they're gone."
action: You check your inventory
response: I was carrying a scrumpled fragment, a piece of paper, a receipt, a torch (providing light), a long wooden pole, a theatrical magazine, two keys (a dull grey key and a small brass key), a pair of headphones, a small tin box (which contained a pencil), a pamphlet, and a red book.
I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.

"It seems I owe you an apology, Mr Percy," said Angela, lightly touching my arm. "I really did think you must be the killer, but that radio - well, it does change things. There's no way you could have put it there, which means - well, it seems you may have helped us catch a spy! And - well, you obviously know that we haven't been entirely honest with you, don't you?"
action: You give you the the gun
response: "Please, Jack, don't make this any harder for me by trying to avoid the question. You know I've been lying to you, don't you?" she insisted.
action: Yes
response: "Well, yes, I suppose so," I admitted. "I mean it's pretty obvious that things here aren't what they're meant to seem."

"Quite," she agreed, "For one thing, Colonel Croxley isn't my father, he's my C.O." She flashed a brief apologetic smile before continuing, "I shouldn't really be telling you anything of course, and I still can't tell you much, but, well, let's just say the colonel and I both work for the War Office, and the man who was shot was working with us. And - well - oh golly, I wish this wasn't all so complicated, but perhaps you could just call me Angela from now on." She handed me the revolver saying, "And perhaps you'd better take this. To be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable with it."
action: You ask her about Jeremy
response: "So, is Jeremy really your brother?" I asked.

"That's right," she affirmed, "he's in the army too, and quite safe last time I heard, thank goodness!"
action: You ask her about Graham
response: "Who is Mr Graham exactly, and where does he fit into all this?" I asked.

Angela let out a heavy sigh, "I'm beginning to wonder myself," she muttered. "I'm not meant to say anything, but right now I don't know which way to turn! He's Captain Graham, from the War Office. He came to warn us that our operation here had been compromised, and we were discussing what to do about it."

(It occured to me to ask if she thought Graham shot the man.)
action: You examine the gun
response: I broke open the revolver and checked that it was loaded. Finding that it was, I closed it again.

It was a Colt 45, probably a service pistol. There was a distinct smell of cordite from the barrel.

It was a Colt 45, probably a service pistol. There was a distinct smell of cordite from the barrel.
action: You show her slip of the paper
response: "Could this be significant?" I asked, showing her the receipt. "I found it under some sheets in the airing cupboard."

"That's certainly an odd place for it," she remarked, "but I'm not sure what it means. We all go into Amesbury from time to time, and any of us could have got a spare key cut, though it's a bit irregular - hm, I'm not sure what to think!"
action: You ask Angela about the dunbury
response: My remark proved to be the occasion for an animated discussion which lasted quite some time.
action: Inventory
response: I was carrying a scrumpled fragment, a piece of paper, a receipt, a torch (providing light), a long wooden pole, a theatrical magazine, two keys (a dull grey key and a small brass key), a pair of headphones, a small tin box (which contained a pencil), a pamphlet, a red book, and a revolver. I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.
action: Show scrumpled to Angela
response: "What do you make of this?" I asked, "I found it in Colonel Croxley's bathroom."

Angela took the fragment, read it, and turned very white.

"Oh goodness!" she declared. "He couldn't have, could he?"

She stared at the offending fragment a few moments more, then screwed it back up into a tight little ball. "Let's not jump to conclusions," she said, seemingly as much to herself as to me.
action: You read it
response: Only a few words were visible: "... plan now seems unworkable...
... may be advisable to terminate Durbury..."
action: You ask Angela about the piece
response: That was not something she seemed at all eager to discuss, so my conversational gambit fell horribly flat.

"This looks like it could be some kind of code," I remarked, showing her the piece of paper covered with letters and numbers. "I found it in a German novel, in your room. Perhaps the numbers are references to the pages in the book?"

"No," she replied firmly. For a moment she stared down at the piece of paper, clasping it in one hand, before finally releasing it to me with a heavy sigh. "At least, it's nothing to do with the German novel, that's just something I happen to be reading," she told me, "but it is a code of sorts. It's my attempt to do a bit of code-breaking. That's part of my job."
action: You ask Angela about Goering Room
response: "So why do you keep a room dedicated to Hermann Goering in this house?" I enquired.

"You already know enough to realize that it must be part of our intelligence operation," she replied. "More than that I'm not at liberty to say."
action: You ask her about the pamphlet
response: I chattered away on the subject with her for several minutes.
action: Inventory
response: I was carrying a piece of paper, a receipt, a torch (providing light), a long wooden pole, a theatrical magazine, two keys (a dull grey key and a small brass key), a pair of headphones, a small tin box (which contained a pencil), a pamphlet, a red book, and a revolver. I was wearing a beret and khaki battledress.

Angela turned to me, laying a hand on my arm. "I'm getting to the point where I don't know which way to turn or who to trust," she confessed. "I'm not meant to say anything at all, but what can I do? Well, I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't know if I tell you that our visitor tonight wasn't a client! He's Captain Graham, from the War Office. He came to warn us that our operation here had been compromised, and we were discussing what to do about it. And then, well..."

(It occured to me to ask if she thought Graham shot the man.)
action: You ask her the shot
response: "Are you saying you think Captain Graham might have shot that poor fellow?" I asked.

"Yes - no - I don't know!" she ran her hand through her hair in a gesture of distracted distress. "We didn't know about the radio. At least I didn't. But Captain Graham said the Germans had got wind of - well, we were discussing how to tidy up the mess."

"And shooting that man could have been part of 'tidying up'?" I suggested incredulously.

"I don't know!" she snapped through gritted teeth. "It's driving me half crazy just thinking about it! It could have been Captain Graham - perhaps that's what he really left the study to do. It could even have been the colonel. I thought I knew him, and I didn't think he could - but it was his gun!"
action: You ask her about Hilda
response: "So, how do you find Hilda, Angela?" I asked.

"We get on well enough," she told me. "She's certainly very efficient."
action: You go down
response: Angela followed me down the ladder.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: You find the coat
response: (going down)

Angela followed me down the back stairs.

The back passage was a short, narrow space leading from the kitchen door (to the south) to the back door (to the north) between two other doors to east and west. The space was further constricted by a flight of stairs leading up to the floor above.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Up

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: You search pocket
response: The coat pocket contained two keys (a chunky key and a small silver key).

"I'm not sure you should be searching Hilda's pockets," Angela remarked censoriously, then added, "Did you find anything?"
action: Yes
response: "Yes, a couple of keys," I replied.

"Show me!" she demanded.

The wireless continued to play Mozart.
action: You get the keys
response: I took two keys (the small silver key and the chunky key).
action: You find the suitcase
response: (going east)

Angela followed me through the door.

The back passage was a short, narrow space leading from the kitchen door (to the south) to the back door (to the north) between two other doors to east and west. The space was further constricted by a flight of stairs leading up to the floor above.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Up

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: You show the keys to Angela
response: small silver key: Angela glanced at the small silver key but offered no comment.

dull grey key: Angela glanced at the dull grey key but offered no comment.

chunky key: "That looks like the key to the cellar," Angela told me, "but what was it doing in Hilda's coat pocket?"

small brass key: I showed Angela the brass key, saying, "I found this up in the attic, in the same box as the radio."

"That's very odd!" she declared. "It certainly shouldn't have been there!"
action: You unlock the suitcase with the silver key
response: Unlocked.
action: You open the suitcase
response: Opening the small brown suitcase revealed some clothes.

"What did you find in there?" Angela asked eagerly. "Not just clothes, surely?"
action: You read it
response: There was some faint indentations on the first page, suggesting that someone had written on a previous page and then torn it off, but the indentations were too faint to read.
action: You show the notebook to Angela
response: "That's interesting," she remarked. "Of course it could be completely innocent, but I'd like to see what it says. We should try to find some way of making it legible."
action: You rub the pencil on the paper
response: Which paper do you mean, the scrumpled fragment, the piece of paper, or the receipt?
action: You rub the pencil on the notebook
response: (first taking the pencil from the small tin box)
I rubbed the notebook with the pencil, so that the writing became visible.

"Here, let me see that!" said Angela, peering over my shoulder. "TOTEN SIE IHN SOFORT - that means 'Kill him immediately' doesn't it? And that does look like Hilda's writing. If it was a message she received over the radio, and if the 'him' referred to is ... But look, there's another line of letters above. I imagine that must mean that the message was sent in code and she had to decode it. So where's her code book? I mean, what we've found is certainly suspicious enough, but - well, before we start accusing Hilda I'd like to make absolutely sure, so I'd really like to find her code book, then we'd know."
action: You ask about the corpse
response: "The man who was shot, he really does bear a striking resemblance to Hermann Goering, doesn't he?" I remarked.

"Yes, he does," she agreed, "and that's all I'm saying, so please don't press me any further."
action: You ask her about house
response: "I take it this place isn't your old family home, then," I remarked.

"Obviously not," she concurred. "It's just some place the War Office bought when it came on the market."
action: You ask her about the bedroom
response: I talked about this with her for a while, but failed to reach any very interesting conclusion.
action: You go east
response: Not wanting either to be encumbered with other people's property, or to be caught stealing it, I dropped the clothes before leaving the room.

Angela followed me through the door.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down
action: Up
response: Angela followed me up the ladder.

The attic had accumulated surprisingly little junk for a family home. Bare boards stretched out in every direction from the open hatch with little to clutter them. The beam of my torch picked out hardly anything apart from the odd packing crate and a plethora of cobwebs. There was also a large wooden box in the corner by the window.

The loose floorboard was scarcely noticeable, being nearly flush with the floor.

I saw an old blanket there. The large wooden box contained a radio.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: Down
action: Go southwest
response: Angela followed me through the southwest door.

The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: You go to the north
response: Angela followed me through the north door.

This was obviously the master bedroom; it was huge. Even with a large double bed and a heavy chest of drawers taking up much of the floor space, a great deal of bare carpet remained. The door out was to the south, and a second door led west.

On the chest of drawers was a family photo.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: South, West

"What do you expect to find in here?" Angela demanded. "You've already shown me the radio!"
action: Go south
response: Angela followed me through the bedroom door.

The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: Go north
response: Angela followed me through the north door.

This was obviously the master bedroom; it was huge. Even with a large double bed and a heavy chest of drawers taking up much of the floor space, a great deal of bare carpet remained. The door out was to the south, and a second door led west.

On the chest of drawers was a family photo.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: South, West

Angela glanced round anxiously, as if nervous about trespassing somewhere she had no right to be.
action: You ask Angela about the photo
response: "So all those people in the photos in the drawing room," I began, "who are they?"

"I don't know who the woman is," she admitted. "Colonel Croxley just found that photograph somewhere. His real wife is alive and well and living in Yorkshire, I believe, though she can't be seeing much of him right now, poor thing. But the others are real people - I mean the boy in army uniform really was called Tony and he really was the colonel's son and he really was killed in action - as was Adam, my boyfriend, the pilot."
action: You look under the bed
response: I peered under the bed, but spotted nothing of interest.

"You didn't find anything under there, then," Angela surmiseed. It was clearly a statement, not a question.
action: You move chest
response: I saw no need to start rearranging the furniture; it would probably have achieved nothing except annoying the Croxleys unnecessarily.
action: You look under the chest
response: I couldn't see anything under the chest of drawers.

"We really must try to find that codebook, Jack" Angela insisted. "Hilda must have used something to decode that message, but I'd really like to see the proof!"
action: Go east
response: Angela followed me through the east door.

The bathroom was rectangular, and just a little dingy, with the white enamel bath tucked away in the corner occupying about a quarter of the floor-space. Most of the rest was taken up with the basin and the toilet, with a mirror-fronted cabinet attached to one wall. The bathroom door was to the west.

A small book of some sort was lying on the ground just next to the toilet bowl.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: West
action: You look at the book
response: (the red book)
It appeared to be a biography of Hermann Goering.
action: You get the book
response: I took the ration book.
action: You look at the book
response: Which book do you mean, the red book, or the ration book?
action: Ration
response: It appeared to be a current ration book.
action: You read it
response: Closer inspection revealed it to be the ration book for someone called Timothy Durbury.
action: You ask her about the corpse
response: She'd already agreed that the dead man looked a lot like Hermann Goering, but that was as much as she was saying.
action: You show the ration book to Angela
response: "Look what I've found!" I declared, "A ration book for Timothy Durbury! I assume this belonged to that poor fellow downstairs."

Angela hesitated for just a moment, then nodded. "There's no point denying it, is there?" she replied. "I'm sorry, I've had to live with pretence so long it's become a habit! But yes, the man who was killed was Tim Durbury. Poor Tim!" She wiped the corner of her eye.
action: You open the cabinet
response: Opening the cabinet revealed a safety razor.
action: You examine razor
response: It was a standard safety razor, with a short silver handle and a partially enclosed blade.
action: You ask Angela about Timothy
response: "So who was Timothy Durbury?" I asked. "And what was he doing here? Why all the secrecy? Why would anyone want to kill him?"

"That's an awful lot of questions all at once," she replied with a wan smile, "but I suppose what's secret had better remain secret."
action: Go west
response: Not wanting either to be encumbered with other people's property, or to be caught stealing it, I dropped the safety razor before leaving the room.

Angela followed me through the door.

The main landing comprised the area at the top of the stairs leading down to the floor below. From there doors led off to east, west, north and northeast. The landing continued to the south past the banisters.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Northeast, Down
action: You ask her about the cellar
response: "Where is the cellar?" I askd.

"Just off the back passage," she told me, opposite Hilda's sitting room.'
action: You go to the back passage
response: (going northeast)

Angela followed me through the northeast door.

The standard of decoration was definitely plainer in this part of the house, little more than a stale lick of white paint on every available surface. The door to the southwest marked the boundary between the servants' quarters and the rest of the house, while a second door led west, opposite a pair of cupboard doors to the east. A ladder ran up from the floor through the open trapdoor in the ceiling, while a narrow flight of stairs led down to the floor below.

On the shelves were a pair of folded white sheets.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: West, Southwest, Up, Down

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: Key
response: Which key do you mean, the small silver key, the dull grey key, the chunky key, or the small brass key?
action: Go east
response: (first opening the east door)

Angela followed me through the east door.

The beam of my torch picked out little but dust, junk and cobwebs before settling on the large empty wine rack running along the east wall. A further clockwise movement of the beam located something untoward on the south wall.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: Up
action: You examine south
response: I saw no beam there.

There was a cable running down the south wall - but it looked as if it had been severed.
action: You examine the cable
response: The cable ran all the way down from the ceiling into some sort of junction box. It looked as if it had been deliberately and cleanly cut; the shiny metal wire thereby revealed suggested that it might have been cut quite recently.
action: You talk about the cable
response: 'Have a look at this, Angela,' I said, shining the torch at the severed cable. 'It looks like this cable has been cut.'

'You're right, it does!' she agreed, peering at it closely. 'And there's something else - I think this is the cable for the telephone, so it wasn't the storm that put it out of action!'
action: Search rack
response: At first sight the wine rack looked completely empty, but a thorough search revealed a brown paper bag half hidden in one of the compartments.
action: You get bag
response: 'What have you just found?' Angela asked, as I removed the paper bag from the wine rack. 'Whatever it is was well hidden! Who'd ever think of looking in an empty wine rack? Anyway, what is it?'
action: You look in the bag
response: The brown paper bag contained a dark green book.
action: You read the book
response: Which book do you mean, the red book, the dark green book, or the ration book?
action: You read the green book
response: (first taking the dark green book from the brown paper bag)
The inside of the book was full of columns of numbers and letters.
action: You connect the wire
response: (to the pair of headphones)
I could not attach that to anything.
action: You fix the cable
response: I lacked the necessary equipment.
action: You give the book to Angela
response: Which book do you mean, the dark green book, the red book, or the ration book?
action: Green
response: She took the book from me, and studied it carefully. 'I'd say it was almost certainly a code book of some kind,' she told me, carefully turning over the pages. 'Almost certainly a German codebook of some kind,' she added. 'I imagine that's why it was hidden down here, so it wouldn't be immediately obvious whose it was. I mean it would be pretty damning evidence if it turned up in anyone's things, but I suppose we now know whose it is anyway.'

With a frown of concentration she then re-examined the writing revealed on the notebook. 'Yes,' she nodded, 'I think this was used to decode the message here. So - we found the notebook in Hilda's room, and Hilda had the cellar key in her pocket, and the codebook was hidden in the cellar - I think we have enough now, don't you?'
action: Yes
response: 'Yes, I think we do,' I agreed.

'Good, so let's go and show what we've got to Colonel Croxley,' she suggested.
action: You find the Colonel
response: (going west)

Angela followed me up the stairs.

The back passage was a short, narrow space leading from the kitchen door (to the south) to the back door (to the north) between two other doors to east and west. The space was further constricted by a flight of stairs leading up to the floor above.

Angela stopped beside me.

Obvious exits: North, South, East, West, Up

(To continue on your way use the command CONTINUE or C).
action: You show the notebook to Croxley
response: (Colonel Croxley)
I handed him the notebook, saying, 'We found this in Hilda's bedroom.'

Croxley glanced at it and said, 'TOTEN SIE IHN SOFORT, in what looks to me, so far as I can tell from this, more than a little like Hilda's writing - well, we need hardly ask who she was being ordered to kill at once.' Looking up at the housekeeper he went on, 'Is there anything you'd like to say about this, Hilda?'

'You accuse me?' she asked incredulously, slowly backing away. 'Always they blame the Jews, always. Why?'

'There's more, Hilda,' Angela told her, 'the codebook you hid in the cellar, for example.'

'You're no better than a Nazi!' Hilda shrieked. 'You - how you say? - You plant evidence to make me in trouble. Just because you are blonde and pretty-looking, Aryan girl, you think you can ...' She broke off as she snatched a large kitchen knife out of a drawer and rushed towards Angela, brandishing her makeshift weapon.
action: You show it to him
response: 'Quick! Do something, man! Stop her!' he cried.
action: Punch hilda
response: I rushed towards Hilda. She paused in her stride and turned to threaten me with her knife. In the ensuing scuffle, the revolver went off, shooting Hilda through the heart. She fell to the floor, leaving me gaping at her in horrified silence.

It was Colonel Croxley who broke that terrible silence. 'Well, that's that, then!' he declared briskly, as if commenting on a broken teacup. 'We really could have done with questioning her - but I suppose she realized that, as well as what we'd do to a spy in wartime.' Turning to me he cut off my incipient apology adding, 'Don't blame yourself, Mr Percy, you did what you had to and I would have done exactly the same.'

After a brief pause when nobody spoke he continued, 'This must all seem very strange, Mr Percy, so I suppose I owe you an explanation.'

Angela threw Colonel Croxley a quick, anxious glance.
action: You listen
response: I heard nothing out of the ordinary.

'Mr Percy,' Colonel Croxley broke in on my thoughts, 'I think I'd better explain what's being on here, don't you?'

Angela avoided my eye.
action: Yes
response: 'Yes; it's clear something very odd's going on,' I replied, still trying to recover from my shock at what had just happened. 'Please do enlighten me.'

'Very well,' he nodded. 'First, as you may have gathered, neither this young lady nor myself are who we claimed to be. I'm Colonel Martin, military intelligence, and Lieutenant Angela Dalton is my assistant. The man Hilda shot was an actor called Tim Durbury, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Reichsmarschall Goering. The original idea was to see if we could train him to pass himself off as the real thing and maybe cause some havoc behind enemy lines.'

He paused for a moment, then continued, 'Actually it became obvious almost from day one that the idea was a non-starter; poor old Durbury was never going to fool the Germans for five minutes. If it hadn't been for Hilda we'd've packed up the whole operation weeks ago.'

Angela stared at him in some consternation. 'But...' she began.
action: You wait a while
response: I waited to see what would happen.

'It was sheer luck that Hilda answered our advertisement for a native German-speaker who could pass as a housekeeper,' the colonel continued. 'We already knew she was a spy, and it gave us a perfect chance to use her for our own purposes. She thought we wanted her to help Durbury to learn German well enough to pass himself off as Goering - which was obviously never going to happen in reality. Presumably she also thought we'd given her the ideal opportunity to spy on us and pass damaging information back to the Germans. In fact, we were simply keeping her from doing any mischief elsewhere while using her to pass false information to her masters in Berlin.'

At that point Angela's mouth dropped open in utter astonishment.
action: Wait
response: I waited to see what would happen.

Angela stared at Colonel Martin aghast. 'You never told me, sir!' she cried.

'It was better you didn't know, lieutenant,' he replied evenly.
'You're probably an even worse actor than poor old Durbury, and I needed you to be convincing. In any case, the fewer people who knew what we were really up to the better. Unfortunately we never reckoned with Hilda being ordered to kill Durbury, which I suppose must have happened shortly before you showed up, Mr Percy. And now I have a request. Obviously our little scheme has now gone a bit wrong, but it's still essential that none of this comes out. Can I rely on your discretion?'
action: Yes
response: 'Yes, of course, sir,' I declared.

'Good man,' Colonel Martin replied. 'Well, we'd better see what we can do to start clearing up this mess...'

At that moment Captain Graham walked in, stopped in his stride at seeing the tableau presented, and remarked, 'What happened? I thought I heard a shot!'

'You did,' Colonel Martin told him calmly. 'Hilda's dead. I'll fill in the details later. Right now I think we'd better get Mr Percy out of here and on his way to his camp. The storm seems to have abated, so perhaps you could give him a lift back to his car and help him get it started.'

'Of course, sir,' Captain Graham nodded. Turning to me he said, 'Lead on then, Mr Percy!'

Captain Graham nodded towards the door.
action: Look around
response: The kitchen looked large enough to accommodate the platoon of culinary staff who may have worked there before the war. Circumstances were now reduced, however, leaving the place rather bare: a large wooden table at one end, with a single hard wooden chair right next to it, now comprised the bulk of the furniture. A long, old-fashioned cooking range ran along the east wall, while doors led off to west, south and north, a calendar being attached to the last of these.

A sharp knife lay on the floor, next to Hilda's body.

Hilda's body lay sprawled on the floor.

Captain Graham was standing by the door, waiting for me to lead the way out.

Angela was standing on the far side of the kitchen, trying not to look at Hilda's body.

Colonel Martin was standing there.

Obvious exits: North, South, West

Captain Graham held the door open, evidently anxious for me to leave.
action: You take the knife
response: 'I think you'd better leave that alone for now, Mr Percy,' Colonel Martin told me.

Captain Graham tried to wave me through the door.

'Why?' Angela asked suddenly. 'Why did she have to shoot Tim? Why did they make her do that? If they already knew about him, what harm could he do them?'

'There was probably no good military reason at all,' Colonel Martin replied. 'I imagine it has more to do with wounded egos and Nazi spite. I can just see the real Reichsmarschall Goering huffing and puffing and demanding the assassination of the upstart English actor who would dare to impersonate him.'
action: Wait
response: I waited to see what would happen.

Captain Graham gave a discreet cough.
action: Go outside
response: I handed Colonel Martin back his revolver and walked out of the kitchen, closely followed by Captain Graham. We reached the front door together without a word; it turned out to be unlocked, so I opened the door and Captain Graham followed me through.

'At least it's stopped raining,' Graham remarked, as we stepped out into the drive, 'I understand you ran out of fuel? I've a spare petrol can in the back, maybe we can get your car going again.'

I glanced up at the sky, which was indeed beginning to clear, the storm having spent its fury. For a moment I lingered in the drive, trying to come to terms with everything that had just taken place; then I clambered aboard and caught my last sight of Wendle Manor as Captain Graham turned his car round. I didn't see Angela again until after the war - but that's another story.