فصل 45

CHAPTER 45

A WHISPER DOWN THE TUNNEL

MOLLY WAS GROWING DESPERATE. For two days, when she thought it was safe to do so, she’d tapped her rock against the bars of her cell, sending h-e-l-l-o in Morse code, and sometimes s-o-s.. But she’d gotten no answer. There was definitely someone in the cell farther down the tunnel; the guard delivered food there. But whoever it was didn’t respond. Molly concluded that the other prisoner either didn’t understand Morse code or simply didn’t care to respond to her messages.

She decided to risk calling out. She waited until there had been no guard noise in the tunnel for a quite some time, then pressed her face to the bars, turning toward the other cell. Keeping her voice to a whisper, and cupping her hand to her mouth, she called out, “Psst! Hello!”

Nothing.

She raised her voice: “Hello! Can you hear me?”

Still, nothing. Molly slumped to the cell floor and put her face in her hands, sobbing. She had resigned herself to the fact that she would never see her family again; that she was going to die in this cold, miserable, filthy place. All she had left to hope for was a stolen moment of communication with another human being. And now even that hope was gone.

Then she heard a voice, a forced whisper from down the tunnel.

“Molly? Is that you?”

Molly sprang to her feet, her face pressed against the bars. Could it possibly be …

“George?” she called out, much too loudly.

“HERE NOW!” shouted a guard’s gravelly voice from down the hall. “SHUT YER GOB OR I’LL COME DOWN THERE AND SHUT IT FOR YOU!”

Molly didn’t dare say any more. She could barely speak anyway. She clung to the bars with both hands to keep from falling as sobs racked her body, an outpouring of the emotion pent up over so many lonely days and nights.

Several long minutes passed. Then the whisper came again.

“Molly,” George said, “is that really you? Are you all right?”

It was several seconds before Molly had regained control enough to answer. Finally she whispered, “It is me, my love. I’m…I’m alive.”

George groaned. “Oh, Molly,” he whispered, “Please forgive me. I should have believed you…I …”

“Are the children all right?” interrupted Molly, fearing the guard would stop their conversation.

After a moment, George whispered, “They’re…fine.” His hesitation troubled Molly. She was about to probe when she heard footsteps coming rapidly down the tunnel.

“George,” she whispered urgently, “do you know Morse code?”

“Of course. Learned it from a friend of my father’s, chap named Robert Baden-Powell. Served in Her Majesty’s cavalry in …”

“George,” she hissed. “I’ve been tapping to you in Morse code for days.”

“Oh,” he said, sheepishly. “I thought that was the pipes.”

“No! It was—”

“I said SHUT YER GOBS,” bellowed the guard, stomping into view. “And since you didn’t listen, YOU’LL GET NO FOOD TODAY. If I hear ANOTHER WORD from either of you, you’ll get ME BOOT IN YOUR FACE.” The guard stomped off, but this time not far. He was clearly waiting, listening. George and Molly remained silent in their cells.

Hungry as she was, Molly didn’t care about the food. She’d survive a day without eating. She felt hope stirring again, after so many nights of despair. She was no longer alone. George was nearby, and even though they couldn’t talk, they could communicate. They would find a way to get out of this horrible place, to get back to their children. They had to.

Molly picked up the rock again and began tapping.