Gregory thanked him and said he would try his luck, although he had no intention of doing so except as a last resort. As far as he knew his forged papers were all in order, but the type of such documents was changed from time to time and there was always the chance that the ones with which S.O.E. had furnished him were not up-to-date.
In an adjacent cafe Gregory ordered a drink, then got into conversation with two convalescent officers who were sitting at a nearby table. After a while he again broached the subject of fishing. The elder of the two, a grey-haired Captain, shrugged.
`You'll get no fishing in these parts now, Herr Major. Only the local fishing smacks are allowed to go out, and then only on certain days, under escort. On others they would be endangered by the firing.'
`Surely that applies only when they are a few miles from the coast,' Gregory remarked. `They couldn't come to any harm while far out in the Baltic.'
The younger officer laughed. `If I were the captain of a trawler I wouldn't care to risk it. Big Bertha of the last great war was a pop-gun compared with this huge piece they are trying out at Peenemunde. It's said to be able to throw its shells two hundred miles.'
`Let's hope you're right and from the French coast it will destroy London,' remarked his senior. Then, with a warning glance, he added, `But the Provost Marshal would have us on the mat if it got to his ears that we'd been talking about it.'
Gregory already knew that the secret weapon was not a gun, so obviously no information of value about it could be extracted from his companions. Tactfully, he changed the conversation and shortly afterwards left them to go and have lunch.
In the hotel coffee room there was a cold table of sorts. While standing at it and discussing with the waiter the possible merits of various kinds of sausage he succeeded in picking up a quite pretty young officer of the Women's Army. As she was on her own she agreed to share- a table with him; then, after they had been talking for a while, he tried to pump her. but she had arrived there only that morning on leave from Brussels and was expecting to be collected that afternoon by her father, who owned a property some miles away. Talking: to her made a pleasant break, but as it was over a year since he had been home she knew nothing of recent developments n the neighbourhood.
After lunch he returned to the cafe and scraped acquaintance with another convalescent officer, but again drew a blank. As he could think of no other avenues of covert enquiry, he remained there until three o'clock, when Willi returned from his thirty-four-mile trip to Wolgast and back, and picked him up.
For the next two days he kicked his heels at Sassen, puzzling his wits in vain for a way to establish himself nearer Peenemьnde. Then on the Thursday Herman Hauff paid another visit to the Manor. On seeing Gregory, he expressed his surprise a finding him still there and asked why he had not yet made arrangements for his fishing.
Gregory shrugged. `I had hoped to find suitable quarters at Wolgast, but am told that it lies in the prohibited area.'
`That is true. It applies to the whole of the coast north-east if here; also to the islands of Usedom and Rьgen. But why Wolgast? If you went up to Stralsund, along the coast west of Stralsund there are plenty of places where you could find what you want.'
`Perhaps.' Gregory looked despondent. `But the coast there” faces on the open sea, and even in summer sudden storms are Liable to blow up in the Baltic. Alone, out in a motor boat, it would be no joke to be caught in one. Besides, before I came 'here an old friend of mine told me that the best fishing he had ever enjoyed was in those creeks between the mainland and the. islands. So I had set my heart on it.'
Hauff fingered his knobbly chin thoughtfully for a moment, then he said: `I could get you a permit to go into Wolgast. But whether you would be allowed to fish from there I don't know.'
`That's very good of you,' said Gregory gratefully. `If you would get me a pass, at any rate I could go there and find out.' On Saturday one of Hauff's land girls brought the pass over to the Manor. That evening Gregory went over with Khurrem to the ruin and cheerfully told Malacou of the progress he had made. Then he asked to be allowed to borrow Khurrem's truck to drive himself into Wolgast next day. But the doctor would not hear of it. He pointed out that although it was a Sunday it was also the 13th, so like the 4th, 22nd and 31st a date under the influence of Uranus, which it was undesirable for Gregory to increase. Neither would he agree to Gregory's going into Wolgast with Willi von Altern on the Monday, but insisted that for this first venture into dangerous territory he must wait for a day upon which astral influences would give him maximum protection. That would not be until the following weekend of the 19th/20th, the latter as a Sunday being the better day for him; so, with considerable reluctance, Gregory agreed to wait until then.
Made irritable by the delay in getting to grips with his mission, he continued to lounge about the farm, spending most of his time reading or playing records. Then on the Thursday Hauff again put in an appearance. Greeting Gregory cheerfully, he asked, `Well, what luck did you have in Wolgast?
'I've not been there yet,' Gregory replied.
`Why not?' Hauff enquired abruptly.
`Well,' Gregory prevaricated, `I thought I'd wait until the weekend. After all, my leave is indefinite and I'm having quite a pleasant time here. Besides, it has occurred to me that to explore all the possibilities will take more than a few hours and the pass you sent me is good only for the day. I really need to spend at least one night there. But perhaps you could fix that?'
Hauff frowned. `I see. Yes, as you are an Army officer I don't doubt I could. And if you can get permission to fish there you'd need a permit as a temporary resident. Look, I have to attend a Partei Committee meeting there on Saturday. I'll run you in myself, then unless the authorities turn down your application we can get the whole thing settled.!
'That's fine,' Gregory smiled, `and very good of you. I'll take my bags with me on the assumption that anyway I'll be able to stay the weekend, if not permanently. I suppose it will be all right for me to take my servant?'
`,Jawohl. Being with me they will give him a pass at the barrier; and if you get your permit to stay on that will cover him, too.'
That night Gregory held another conference with the doctor and Khurrem, during which the latter raised a new aspect of the situation. She said:
`I think you will get your permit to stay, all right. Hauff will do his utmost to see that you do. He spoke to me about it after he talked to you. He was in a far from good temper and it wasn't difficult to guess the reason. He doesn't like your staying on here at Sassen.'
`Why should he be concerned about that?' Gregory asked.
`On account of me,' she replied, lowering her grey eyes. `You may not remember it, but the first time you met him you mentioned the Fьhrer having called on all German men to beget as many children as possible. You implied that your heart would not stand up to a series of young mistresses, but that you had been thinking of marrying if you met a quiet woman of a certain age.'
She gave a sudden bitter little laugh. `Well, I suppose I could be described as that. And financially, as the owner of the Sassen property, I'm quite a catch. Then today he found that you hadn't gone to Wolgast to try to arrange about your fishing, and seemed in no hurry to do so. In consequence he has jumped to the conclusion that I'm the attraction that keeps you lingering here.'
Wild horses could not have dragged Gregory into making love to the scrawny, taciturn dipsomaniac that Khurrem had become, but he said tactfully, `I see. Yes; that's very understandable.'