Evening star., 1940-01-21
Chapter 22.

Chapter ~.
Frau Weber shook hands with
Cameron, and he thanked her pro-
fusely for her part in his rescue.
II don't know what I'd have done
If you hadn't given me shelter" he
said. you're brave woman. Frau
Weber. I hope to meet you again
under happier circumstances"
The woman kissed Claire, and
then told Lili it was time to CO. The
girl had slipped quietly out the front
door a few minutes before and list
ened outside. She also had made
sure the stairway was clear, return
ing as silently as she had gone"
At her mothers words, she picked
up the ironing board that could be
extended to nearly twice its length,
and put it under her arm.
All right" she said. Were
ready"
Frau Weber turned out the light
before opening the door, and the
three of them slipped out into the
darkness, Cameron carrying his
crutches and Claire holding the bag
of food the woman had given her.
\ Iili tiptoed along the corridor, and
slowly started up the stairs. At each
landing she whispered for the other
two to wait in the shadows while
she secuted to make sure they would
encounter no one. At last they
reached the roof, over the fourth
floor and, guided by Lili, who held
Cameron's hand while he in turn
clasped Claire's, they crept to the
far edge.
"Now," Lii whispered, "if you'll
put down your crutches and help.me
open out the board"
The Bridge Is Placed.
Cameron did as she told him, and
with her carried the board to the
coping around the roof top. He
steadied it as she pushed and in a
few moments, he felt it firm beneath
the pressure of his hands.
Good" the girl said. "It's in
place. When you both get safely
across, raise the end and push it to
the edge. I can draw it back to
this side"
"I'll go first" Cameron whispered.
He found Lili's hand in the darkness
and shook it as he voiced his thanks.
Slowly he edged his way across the
board, carrying the bag of food.
When he was across, Lili slid the
crutches out on the board, he reach
ed them and drew them over. Then,
when Claire was ready, he held out
the crutches to her and she grasped
the end of each.
II hope all this terrible business
soon ends" Claire paused to say to
Lii, land you will have your Freddy
back again, safe and sound"
When Claire was safely across,
Cameron raised the board as Lili
had directed, and leaning out sup
ported it as far as he could while
she drew it back.
The Escape Furthered.
"All right" she hissed. finally, and
Bill and Claire collected the crutches
an dtheir bundle and started hunt
ing for the stairway. There was a
faint glow from the stars, but 9TH
erwise Berlin was entirely shrouded
in darkness. AS they felt their way
carefully about the roof, it seemed
hours to Claire before they located
the steps leading down.
Bill led the way, his crutches held
in a position for instant defense if
they should meet any one. But
their luck held, and they made their
way to the street without interfer-
ence They had seen faint edges
of light under several doors as they
passed along the corridors from one
flight of stairs to the next, but no
one had appeared to challenge them.
While Claire crouched in the
entrance to the fiat building, Came
ron adjusted his crutches and hob
bled slowly out to reconnoiter. He
was back in a few minutes without
having seen or heard anything, so
they started, the girl touching his
arm as he made his way slowly
along with the aid of the crutches.
His bandaged foot he carefully held
up from the pavement.
At last they reached the corner
where Frau Weber had told them
their bus would stop, and settled
down to wait. Claire glanced at her
watch and by the radium- tinted nu-
merals saw that it was 11:30. They
had delayed longer and taken much
more time than she had imagined.
Too Late for Bus.
mo use waiting for a bus now"
she said. I'm sure they don't run
at night, at least not this late.
They're not permitted to have
lights"
Where can we go? We can't sit
out here all night-it's too cold for
you"
II can stand the cold, Bill, but
I'm afraid there's too much danger
of an officer coming along and ques-
tioning us. Perhaps we'd better get
off the street."
She had looked around carefully
when she arrived in Berlin on the