In the splashing water, the amplified footsteps passing through the waterway became clearer and clearer. The rainbow trout that had originally gathered in the waterway were also driven by the rapid footsteps and the lights that kept shaking with the footsteps to swim towards the gate.
Finally, when more than a dozen fish jumped out of the gate one after another and jumped into the moat covered with reeds with their plump tails flapping, Wei Ran also turned off the flashlight and got out sideways with difficulty.
"Is that you?" Sophie, who was hiding behind a pine tree outside the sluice, asked cautiously, holding an MP40 submachine gun.
"It's me, Sophie, I'm Victor, Victor Loew." Wei Ran responded as clearly as possible.
Hearing this, Sophie jumped out from behind the pine tree where she was hiding, and ran all the way to the floodgates. At the same time, she did not forget to say, "Come here and help!"
Before he finished speaking, Wei Ran had already climbed up and helped turn the metal wheel with a diameter of one meter, slowly closing the gate of the waterway amidst the squeaking noise.
It wasn't until there was only a fist-sized hole left at the gate that a parabola was pouring out that just hit a rock. Sophie, who was wearing a youth league uniform, let out a long sigh and shook her sore hand.
He raised his arm and asked, "Victor, is the journey going well? Is my dad okay?"
"Fortunately, the journey went smoothly and Uncle Letts is safe for the time being."
Wei Ran was not in a hurry to reveal the chained dog he had just seen across the street. He just took off the watch on his hand and gave it back to the other person.
"That's good, come with me." Sophie took the watch and put it in her pocket, then walked in the dark to the ruins of the castle not far away with Wei Ran.
After crossing a stone bridge covered with grass and passing through a locked iron gate, Sophie led Wei Ran around the mostly collapsed platform, then passed through the dead vines and shrubs covering the ruins, and finally got through.
We entered the church, which was mostly destroyed by the bombing.
Compared with the churches rebuilt in later generations, the only ruins of this building covered with weeds and vines that are still intact at this time are the bronze icon, the room behind him, and the bell tower.
As for the church itself, all that remained were three walls covered with vines and a collapsed dome that hit the floor and was also covered in grass.
"You can live here"
Sophie led Wei Ran into the room on the right side of the icon, pointed to a bed facing the fireplace and said softly, "Your backpack and your things are on the bed. The fireplace can still be used, but only
You can burn coal at night, but remember to cover the windows when using it, otherwise you will be discovered by American planes.
In addition, you can only use oil stoves during the day, and remember to put out the coal cover. The reason is the same. No matter whether Americans or our people are attracted, we have no chance of surviving.
Also, whether it is fuel or coal, it is best to save some, our reserves are not large, and no one knows how long this battle will last."
Glancing at Dominic who was sleeping soundly on the bed against the wall to the left of the fireplace, Wei Ran nodded slightly and then asked, "What about you? Where are you resting? And before..."
"Come with me"
Sophie didn't wait for Wei Ran to finish speaking, then took him out of the room and walked to the stairwell to the left of the icon. She closed the wooden door and walked to the small bed placed against the wall.
The heater converted from a US military oil furnace and a German gas mask can turned up the heat while explaining, "Originally I planned to let you live here, but a lot of my things here are, plus you live in
The person next door can help me keep an eye on the direction of the gate, so I’d better move here.”
"It seems I have no reason to refuse to live next door."
While Wei Ran accepted the other party's arrangement, he also used the weak light of the heater to take a quick look at the stairwell that only led to the basement.
In this small space, the stairs that originally led to the basement have been tightly covered by the wooden floor. Sophie's small bed is placed in this position. Under the bed, there are even more
wooden box.
Other than that, it's not that big
There are oil paintings hanging on the four walls of the room. Next to the bedside, near the only window that is tightly covered by an animal skin blanket, there is a wooden easel, with paintings on the tight canvas.
There was a goat and a kneeling lamb, and on the small table next to it, there were tubes of paint, a camera and a wooden box full of film!
Calmly looking away, Wei Ran couldn't help but ask again, "Sophie, where are those children?"
"They're not here"
Sophie yawned and said, "I'll take you to see them tomorrow. They've already gone to bed by this time."
"Okay, let's do it tomorrow, later..." "There's one more thing"
After yawning, Sophie patted her forehead, led Wei Ran to the room and walked outside the ruins of the building. She raised her finger and pointed in the direction of the sluice and asked, "Can you see the water column spraying out from the sluice?"
"can see"
Wei Ran nodded. Not only could he see the parabolic water column, but from such a distance, he could hear the white noise it made as it continued to hit the rocks.
"When you sleep in Dominic's room, you should pay attention to the water column."
Sophie wrapped her woolen coat tightly, handed a shiny whistle to Wei Ran and explained, "If this water column disappears, you must take your weapon as quickly as possible, open the floodgate and blow into it."
Sound the whistle."
"clear"
Wei Ran took the whistle and hung it around his neck. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Sophie, there is one more thing."
"What's the matter?" Sophie asked as she walked back.
"Just before I entered the waterway, I met two chain dogs." Wei Ran paused and described in detail what happened before.
"Have they noticed the mill?" Sophie panicked and said, "I know, I will inform my father."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "You're welcome if you need my help in any way," Wei Ran said as he followed her back.
"I won't be polite"
Sophie glanced at the rusty icon with dry vines climbing on it, then walked to her room and said, "Victor, good night, I will assign you a job tomorrow."
"Good night, Sophie"
Wei Ran watched the other party enter the stairwell to the left of the icon, and waited until the other party closed the thick door before stepping into the room on the right.
Closing the door as well, Wei Ran first glanced at Dominic, who was still sleeping soundly on the bed, and then at the coals burning in the fireplace. Only then did he have time to look at the room carefully.
Still compared with later generations, the biggest difference in this room is that the wooden stairs leading to the bell tower are gone. Not only that, even the top of the head is tightly sealed with wooden boards. If this is the first time here,
I'm afraid I didn't even realize that there was supposed to be a wooden staircase leading upstairs.
Apart from this change, the furnishings in this room are also extremely simple. A fireplace, two beds, a table and four chairs are all the furniture.
In addition, in the wooden box next to the fireplace, there is a tin bucket full of coking coal and a bucket of sand. There are also two American kerosene stoves, a dirty Dutch pot and a
Heating radiator converted from a gas mask can.
Gently pull out the wooden box under the bed. In it are stored potatoes, carrots, onions and other storable vegetables with soil in different categories. On the ceiling above your head, there are also strings of sausages hanging.
Gently pushing the wooden box back under the bed, Wei Ran took off his boots and clothes, got into the American duck down sleeping bag spread on the bed, and thought about it secretly. He knew that what he saw in front of him was by no means everything. Under the ruins,
There must be more hidden there.
There was no talking all night, and early the next morning, Wei Ran, who was still sleeping, was woken up by Dominic's exclamation. When he opened his eyes, Dominic, who was cheering, had already jumped on him.
"Victor, you are finally here! I have been thinking about you for several days!" Dominic cheered happily.
"How are you doing here?" Wei Ran
He sat up and asked, and couldn't help but yawn at the same time.
"It's very nice here, many of my classmates are here!" Dominic said happily, "Victor, get up quickly, we should go help sister Sophie make breakfast."
"Are many classmates here?" Wei Ran was stunned, and quickly got out of his sleeping bag, "I'll get up right away."
Upon seeing this, Dominic immediately picked up the bucket of sand from the box and covered the embers that were still burning in the fireplace with familiarity.
Taking this opportunity, Wei Ran also got dressed. He opened the canvas covering the window and took a look outside. The water column coming out of the sluice had been dyed golden by the rising sun, and at the same time, due to the temperature difference, there were steaming masses.
White mist.
Just as he was looking at the mist, a goat leaned over half of its head and looked at him curiously through the window.
Wei Ran, who was startled, subconsciously let go of the canvas that was being lifted by him. When he opened it again, the goat was already being pulled by its not-so-large horns by a boy about the same age as Dominic.
After walking aside, another boy of the same age came over with a small bucket and squeezed the goat's milk in a familiar way.
And further away, he could see boys working in pairs and two, using sticks and tin buckets to carry water back from the sluice.
"Let's go!" Dominic put down the small iron bucket in his hand, pulled Wei Ran and left the room.
Looking up at the slightly dazzling morning sun, Wei Ran looked around and found that there were only seven or eight boys who could be seen on the ruins. Basically, these boys who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old or even younger were
They had things to do. Some of them were busy milking goats, some were busy fetching water, and some were carrying small buckets filled with rainbow trout and staggered towards the side of the platform building.
.
When Dominic, who was supposed to be the guide, saw this, he immediately ran over and helped the other party lift the clean iron bucket.
Seeing this, Wei Ran simply followed behind him, observing the ruins covered with shrubs and vines as he walked along the path.
When he walked around to the side of the half-collapsed platform building, he saw at a glance that in a room that had not yet collapsed, in addition to a 200-liter oil drum, there were also hills piled against the wall.
The same coking coal.
In addition, there are several oil drums that have been thrown away in half in this room. Some of these oil drums are filled with water, some are filled with chopped firewood, and some are filled with dry sand.
The rainbow-scaled fish that Dominic and the boy of his age put in together were poured into one of the oil barrels filled with water and kept there.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Wei Ran simply went to the next door to take a look. To his expectation, in this room, there were several girls of fourteen or fifteen years old, sitting together, talking and laughing, dealing with various matters.
grow food,
Some of them were busy peeling potatoes, some were washing carrots, and there was an unfortunate girl with tears in her eyes, holding a knife and chopping onions on a small wooden board.
Continuing to walk in, after passing two rooms filled with clothes, in the only room with complete windows that survived in this collapsed building, there was a girl holding a rag, wiping the long table and
There are matching chairs and a sewing machine placed by the window. At the same time, there is a tall girl standing on the windowsill, wiping the glass window which is actually very clean.
Wei Ran noticed that the two windows were hung with thick canvas curtains inside and outside, and in the wooden box against the wall, there was a heater and a clean National Defense Force oil drum. The one on the side of the door
The bookshelf, which is not that big, is filled with all kinds of books.
"This is where we do our daytime activities"
Dominic, who followed, explained, "We will read and tell stories here. On the day I came, Sophie even asked everyone to rehearse a play."
When Wei Ran was about to say something, several children, who looked to be about ten years old at most, also walked in, each carrying a US military or German helmet with flowers and plants, and placed them in the room.
throughout.
I picked up a U.S. military helmet with unknown wildflowers planted on it and looked at it. On the outside of the helmet, there was a frame made of wooden strips.
It is the existence of this frame painted with patterns in various colors that allows this helmet filled with mud to be placed firmly on the table.
"We made these ourselves," the girl who was cleaning the table explained, "Sister Sophie taught us, and we also grew these flowers ourselves."
"How long have you... been here?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.
"I came in October," the little girl said, pointing to another girl who was cleaning the glass. "She was the earliest, she came in July."
"July? Summer?"
Wei Ran was stunned. The Battle of Hürtgen Forest only started in mid-to-late September. So she came before the war started?
"right"
This girl, who looked a little older, but could only be sixteen or seventeen years old at most, replied while busy cleaning the glass, "I came here with sister Sophie, and there was another girl who came here together.
By the way, I’m Heike.”
"Victor" Wei Ran asked after announcing his home, "Where is Sophie?" "Sister Sophie is cooking, I will take you there."
Before Dominic finished speaking, he had already pulled Wei Ran's sleeves and left this relatively warm room, walked along the corridor outside to the end, and then walked into a room on the left.
This room has no windows, but on the wall facing the door, there is a thick curtain modified from canvas and an American duck down sleeping bag. In addition, there is a circle of faces placed against the wall.
Basins, and several iron buckets filled with water.
After passing through this curtain, the hot air mixed with the aroma of oatmeal hit his face, and Wei Ran immediately realized that he had entered the basement of the main building of the castle.
Far away, he saw several rooms that looked like cells, as well as a hissing kerosene lamp hanging on the ceiling above his head.
Taking a few steps forward, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, because right at the original entrance to the basement, at the doorway under the tower, there was a German-style cooking cart placed against the wall!
However, this door has been built tightly with stones. By the way, the chimney of the cooking cart has also been built in.
As a result, the tower that was supposed to be the entrance to the basement became an oversized chimney.
It’s not clear whether the chimney is functional or not, but at least he didn’t notice any smoke outside just now, and in this warm basement, he didn’t smell any choking smell other than the smell of oatmeal.
.
Continuing to walk a few steps forward, he also noticed that the basement was divided in detail. The row of "dungeons" with iron railings had obviously been turned into dormitories, and canvas fabrics were installed inside.
curtains.
In addition, he even saw two bathtubs and two piles of clothes waiting to be washed in one of the dungeons!
In the two dungeons closest to the dining car, he also saw wooden boxes filled with various supplies, and two big fat cats lying on the boxes!
Look at Sophie who is busy in front of the dining car. She is taking a girl who looks about the same age as her and is busy filling the lunch boxes on the table next to the dining car.
Curiously, I got closer and saw that these lunch boxes all had different names written in bright yellow or white paint.
Under his watchful eye, Sophie was responsible for filling the lunch box with hot oatmeal, and the other was responsible for putting boiled eggs in the tray. By the way, she also took care of the goat's milk that was being heated on the gasoline stove.
"Do these children usually sleep here?" Wei Ran couldn't help but ask.
"There's not enough room for so many people to live up there, and it's safe and warm enough here. You can even take a shower."
While explaining, Sophie pointed to the table next to her, "Put your lunch box there."
Hearing this, Wei Ran quickly untied the lunch box from his waist and opened it. He took out a few pairs of new socks and a pack of sugar cubes and put them on the table as usual. Then, under the surprised eyes of the two girls,
I took out several boxes of R6 cigarettes from the fortress and several zippo lighters.
Finally, after gently knocking the tray and the main body of the lunch box against each other, Wei Ran placed his lunch box on the table.
"May I have your name?"
While the girl in charge of distributing boiled eggs asked, she had already picked up a paintbrush and a tube of white paint from the table on the other side of the dining car.
"Victor! Victor Loew!"
Dominic answered the question that was supposed to be answered by Wei Ran himself, and said with pride, "Victor is my brother! He is the one who brought me here from Ruhr!"
"Victor, how about giving me a pack of cigarettes?"
As the girl holding the paintbrush spoke, she squeezed out a small amount of paint as big as a soybean, dipped the thin paintbrush in the paint, and carefully wrote his name on Wei Ran's lunch box.
"Of course..." "Of course not"
Sophie said angrily, "Qiqi, you are not allowed to smoke in the basement, let alone smoke outside."
"I can..." "No!"
Sophie put her hands on her hips and said, "The air here is already very bad, so you are not allowed to smoke. We have hidden so much fuel outside, and we can't let you smoke! If the dead grass outside ignites, all of us will have to smoke."
...""Alright alright!"
The girl named Qi Qi reluctantly placed the cigarettes and lighter she was already holding on the table.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "If I find you secretly smoking, you will be responsible for washing the socks of all the boys!"
After Sophie finished speaking, she scooped up a large spoonful of oatmeal mixed with carrot chunks and potato chunks and put it into Wei Ran's lunch box. The girl named Qi Qi also put down her paintbrush and turned off the heating plate.
Gasoline stove for milk.
"Don't I have boiled eggs?" Wei Ran asked jokingly. "The chickens we raise can only lay up to six eggs a day."
Qiqi pouted and explained, "Before you came, there were a total of 22 of us. Not counting Sophie and I and Heike who you may have seen outside, there are 19 people here. These six eggs and three meals a day
A cup of goat's milk can only be enjoyed by the 18 youngest friends in turn."
"Although there are not many eggs and goat's milk, we have enough bacon and sausages." Sophie said, having picked up three pieces of sausages from a plate and placed them on Weiran's lunch box tray, "Of course, at most
We still have rainbow trout, but it’s usually only served at dinner.”
"Dominique, call everyone to come and get breakfast!" Sophie said while handing out sausage slices.
"I'll call them over right away!" Before he finished speaking, Dominic ran out quickly.
After a while, young boys and girls lined up and walked in, waving their wet hands. Each took a lunch box with their name on it, and then lined up and left the basement the same way they came, talking and laughing.
It wasn't until the last child left with his lunch box that Qiqi followed him with an enamel milk jug, while Sophie poured some water into the cooking pot and put the lid on, then took it off and hung it above her head.
While holding a kerosene gas lamp, he asked, "Want to take a tour?"
"Of course," Wei Ran, who had been waiting nearby, responded quickly, "it would be best if you could introduce me, so that I can know how I can help."
"Including Dominic, there are a total of 9 boys here, the oldest is 16 years old, and the youngest is only 12 years old. In addition, there are 13 girls, the youngest is only 8 years old, and the oldest besides me is Qiqi. She
18 years old.”
After a pause, Sophie pointed to a cell and said, "Each cell can sleep 6 people. Dominic suffers from congenital epilepsy. In order to take care of him more conveniently, he lives with me in the church. After all, this place is not absolute."
It’s safe, so it’s better to have someone watching outside.”
After briefly and comprehensively introducing the general situation, Sophie moved a few steps, pointed to the two cells closest to the cooking cart and said, "These two cells are one of our food warehouses. In addition to these, there are some stocks outside."
"Those children..." "Alas..."
Sophie sighed, and after a moment of silence, she turned off the kerosene vapor lamp she was carrying, replaced it with a square box flashlight as a lighting tool, and walked around the basement with the weiran to solve the problem.
Shi said, "Those children are all orphans found by Uncle Carsten and Aunt Heidi in the city. Most of the remaining older ones are Dominic's classmates.
Before this fall, my father received an order to recruit children to dig trenches and repair fortresses in this forest. Dominic's classmates were all included in the recruitment. They were all students of Aunt Heidi, but Dominic, who suffered from epilepsy,
It’s more serious and not within the scope of the symptoms.”
"So before that there was only..." "Right"
Sophie nodded, "Before recruiting those children, only Qiqi, Heike and I were hiding here. They are all my good friends."
"Are they Jews?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.
"Jews? Huh..."
There was a trace of sarcasm in Sophie's tone, but in the end, she shook her head and said, "Don't worry Victor, there shouldn't be half a Jew here."
"So why are they hiding here?" Wei Ran asked rather inquisitively.
This time, Sophie remained silent for a longer period of time. Finally, she turned off the flashlight and led Wei Ran to the small windows on the edge where cats had difficulty getting in.
When the early morning sunlight hit their faces through the narrow window, Sophie lowered her voice and uttered one word - "white rose".
"What did you say?"
Wei Ran looked at the other party in surprise, and also lowered his voice and said, "White Rose? You and Qiqi are members of the White Rose? Wait! I heard that the main member of the White Rose has a girl named Sophie. Could it be?
you..."
"It's just the same name"
Sophie shook her head, "Although my name is Sophie, I am not Sophie Sol. I am Sophie Capet."
Before Wei Ran could breathe a sigh of relief, Sophie continued, "But I am indeed a member of the White Rose. I joined the White Rose in 1941, when I was only 16 years old."
Seeing Wei Ran looking at her in surprise, Sophie spread her hands, then put her hands on her hips and asked innocently, "Qiqi, Heike, I are all members of the White Rose Organization, Victor, don't you know?
Are you planning to betray us?"
"Do not make jokes"
As Wei Ran spoke, he had already pulled out a "picked up" 1911 pistol from the holster on his waist. Under the other party's vigilant gaze, he turned the handle of the gun and handed it to the other party. Then, he hung it with the submachine gun on his shoulder.
on the other person's neck.
"What are you..." Sophie looked at Wei Ran in confusion.
"I also want to join the White Rose" Wei Ran expressed his attitude very bachelorly.
Hearing this, Sophie was stunned, then laughed out loud, and said while returning the weapon to Wei Ran, "My father is right, brother Victor, you are indeed a trustworthy person."
"Thank you." Wei Ran took the weapon and asked following the topic, "So Uncle Letz."
"And my mother, Aunt Heidi and Uncle Carsten, we are all members of the White Rose." Sophie said bluntly, "My mother was the first to join the White Rose. She had just been hired as a professor at the University of Aachen.
teacher."
"Isn't the current situation of White Rose very good?" Wei Ran lowered his voice and asked. "It's really not good."
Sophie nodded slightly and said worriedly, "Since the Sol brothers and sisters were arrested, the White Rose organizations in various places have also been attacked and hunted down. Qiqi and Heike are the damn magic suckers this summer.
Si was already looking for the two of them.
But the main problem now is that the connection between us and the White Roses in other cities has long been interrupted. Now all we can do is to protect as many children as possible and the White Roses who have not been caught.
Member of the Rose.”
At this point, Sophie pointed outside, "Also, don't tell those children our identities, including Dominic."
"Don't worry." Wei Ran nodded in agreement, "Is there anything else I can do?" "I'll leave the security of the floodgates to you."
Sophie said without thinking, "If possible, how about leaving those little boys in charge of you?"
"when
Of course”
Wei Ran thought for a while and asked additionally, "Sophie, don't we have to worry about someone coming from the forest outside?"
“Don’t worry too much”
Sophie explained as she walked outside, "There is a large swamp outside this forest, and there are many mines placed in the swamp. Neither the Americans nor the Germans will pay attention to this place.
Of course, we must pay attention to the use of fire and smoke. More than two months ago, we were blown up by the Americans because we accidentally exposed the fire. That time we were almost buried in the ruins."
"I will pay attention to this problem." As Wei Ran spoke, he picked up his own lunch box on the table.
