Free The Black Baroness by Dennis Wheatley Page A

might even succeed in putting Norway right out of the war before Allied help could reach her.
    From this he began to speculate on what measures the Germans would take in an endeavour rapidly to subdue the whole country. Obviously they would make every effort to get control of the Government machinery so that an official announcement could be made calling upon the Norwegians to lay down their arms. Paula and her friends had put in so much useful work with Norway’s official classes that the way was already prepared for such a move. But it could be done only by exerting pressure on King Haakon.
    The Ministers who had remained uncontaminated by Hitler’s secret weapon would advise him to fight on and to put his trust in the eventual victory of the Allies; the others would urge him to spare his people the horrors of war and continue to rule overhis kingdom by the gracious permission of the Nazis. What would the King decide to do?
    As Gregory was pondering the point he caught sight of a man driving a car a little way ahead of him. It was the German Air Attaché, Captain von Ziegler. Instantly the snatches of conversation that he had overheard at Paula’s farewell party, between von Ziegler and Major Quisling, flashed back to him. They had been planning for von Ziegler to kidnap somebody and fly him into Germany, and it was somebody who had the unusual height of six-foot-two. King Haakon had that unusual height.
    Gregory’s brain began to race. Could it be? It
must
be. It was the King whom they intended to kidnap and torture into surrender. At that moment von Ziegler turned his car out of the main stream of traffic and shot up a side-turning. Instantly abandoning all thoughts of Trondheim, Gregory jerked round his wheel, narrowly missing a lamp standard, and roared after him.

5

Gregory Sallust Makes His Will
    A few hundred yards farther on, von Ziegler’s car entered the
Stor-Tory
, the great square which is Oslo’s principal market; but no market was being held there this morning. The German attack had opened before the vegetable and flower growers had left the suburbs so the square was innocent of stalls and its permanent booths were shut. Only a few knots of people stood there, gazing skyward at the German planes which were still circling overhead. Passing the massive red-brick tower of the
Vor Frelser’s Kirke
, which dominates the square, the German Air Attaché turned again and Gregory saw that he was heading for the Palace. Jamming his foot down on the accelerator he put on a spurt and drew level with the car ahead. Von Ziegler, catching sight of him, recognised him at once and smilingly waved him on, but Gregory signalled to him to slow down and with a frown of annoyance the German pulled up.
    ‘What is it,
Herr Oberst-Baron
—what is it?’ he called. ‘I am in a hurry—I have urgent work to do.’
    ‘I know,’ nodded Gregory, getting out of his car and steppingover to von Ziegler, who was leaning from the driving-seat of his. ‘I’ve been sent to help you.’
    Before the airman had a chance to express surprise, Gregory hurried on: ‘I’ve done my job already, so Quisling said that the most useful thing I could do now was to lend you a hand.’
    ‘I see.’ Von Ziegler’s bright-blue eyes remained quite expressionless for a moment, then he asked: ‘Do you know what I’m about to do?’
    ‘No.’ grinned Gregory, ‘not officially; but I have a pretty shrewd idea, as Quisling said that I should find you somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Palace. It was by sheer luck that I caught sight of you driving through the
Stor-Tory
just now.’
    Von Ziegler suddenly smiled. ‘You must have a pretty useful imagination, Baron, if you’ve guessed what I mean to attempt when I reach the Palace.’
    ‘I don’t hold down a job on the General Staff for my good looks,
Herr Hauptmann
, and I assume that you’ve got a number of our Fifth Column people reporting to you. It would be fine work if we could surround