Free The Secret Rescue by Cate Lineberry Page B

what else was missing. Soap, socks, underwear, razors, toothbrushes, and mess gear had all been taken. Only a few items, like toothpaste, shaving cream, and the nurses’ makeup, were left behind. Though some scissors had been taken, most of the medical kits were intact. Whoever had stolen their belongings, it seemed, had taken only the items he recognized. When the Americans informed Gina, he calmly explained that Albanians didn’t steal and quickly ended the conversation. There was nothing more the Americans could do, and their already uneasy faith in the partisans was deeply shaken.
    The Americans didn’t know it, but had the partisans caught the perpetrator, they likely would have killed him. Under the partisans’ code, the penalty for stealing or failing to share what had been captured from the enemy was punishable by death. When five boys who had found and sold drugs in one village had been caught, the partisans had sentenced them to be shot. They had been spared only because of their young ages and the desperate pleadings of their families. A man who had stolen cigarette papers from a fellow partisan wasn’t as lucky and had been immediately executed.
    Hayes’s bag still contained the louse powder from the Red Cross, a paperback, his raincoat, and a few other items. Most important, he still had the canteen strapped to his belt, the prayer book his minister in Indianola had sent to him in Sicily in his pocket, and a knit cap, which would help keep him warm if needed. Frustrated that someone had taken things the Americans would desperately need if they were stranded there for any period of time, he decided to keep everything he had with him. He wasn’t going to let any of it out of his sight.
    After the excitement subsided, a couple of partisans gave the group a pitcher of water and a basin. It took the Americans a moment to understand that the water the men were offering was to be used by all of them to wash their hands and faces. They each took their turn, hoping that the washing was in preparation for another meal, but more food never came. It had only been a day since the crash landing, and they were already dirty, hungry, and tired. More than anything, they were anxious to find their way back to Allied lines.

CHAPTER 5

    Unlikely Comrades
    W hen the Americans told Gina their plan to get to the coast and pressed him for information about how he could help them, Gina explained that he needed to consult his commandant in the next village before taking the group anywhere else. He had sent a messenger, and they would soon know more. He added that if they were to pursue their idea, they needed to go to the seaport of Vlorë to get a boat, which was up to a two-week walk. Owen, the former high school football star, replied excitedly to Hayes that they’d have some story to tell the guys back in Catania if they were in enemy territory for that long.
    While they waited, Thrasher decided that he, Baggs, and Lebo should go back and destroy the plane to keep the Germans from salvaging anything if they found it. It had been impossible to even consider burning it the day before with the rain and the Germans possibly searching for them. Hayes, Owen, and a few other medics decided to join them rather than sit around waiting, and Thrasher didn’t seem to mind. Before they left, Gina sent a man to scout the area ahead of them to make sure there were no signs of German soldiers.
    The group headed back to the crash site with a few armed partisans leading the way. As they revisited the rocky trail they’d been on the day before, they remained on guard. The theft of their supplies had done little to calm their concerns about whether they could trust the partisans, and the threat from the Germans was ever present.
    The trip that had taken two hours in the rain while they carried Shumway took only an hour that morning. When they reached the edge of the woods, they waited for a signal from the scout that the area was safe before