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| would most probably not react at this time. Thus the German staff
left the kitchen and joined the soldiers on foot, who left for Lasalle.
As soon as they entered the town the German officers had their command car stop at a number if houses, where they asked the same question, "Le Maire et le Pasteur?" The first door on which they knocked was the one of Monsieur Galtier, a member of my Church Council. The Mayor, he knew, was far away for sure. But the Pastor? Monsieur Galtier decided to protect me, in case the Germans wanted to take hostages. "We have no pastor in this village," he replied. The next house, on whose door they knocked, belonged to a parishioner, who knew me well, but wanted to be truthful. When the Germans asked him where the pastor lived, he showed them the general direction of the manse, which was exactly in the opposite direction from where they had found me at three in the morning. Back went the Command Car, to the Soulier house, while the officers continued on foot. Five men were assigned to watch the house and be sure that I was not going anywhere. While shaving, I did look out the bathroom window and notice two Germans watching. It was only later that I learned that they had been watching for me, just in case the phony pastor should try to escape. Once again, someone else's well-intended cleverness had put me in jeopardy. Finally, the officers arrived at the Gendarmerie, which they found deserted but for Madame Merell, the widow of the gendarme whose shirt I was wearing. They asked, once more, their ominous question: "The mayor and the pastor?" The mayor, she knew, had left town. But the pastor, she did not know about. Yet, in order to evade the question she told the Germans that she was a Roman Catholic and that she did not know anything about the Protestant pastor. "Surely, you are Catholic. But you must have seen the pastor," they said. "Well yes," she admitted, "Occasionally walking by the Gendarmerie." "So, Madame Merell, I am sure that you will recognize him if we show him to you," the officers responded. Madame Merell acquiesced. Taking Madame Merell back to the entrance of Cornelly in their Command Car, the two German officers placed her between them and sat down on the parapet where the German Lieutenant and the firing squad had stood the night before. They then gave the order to one of the sergeants to bring me to them. I was surprised when two German soldiers asked me politely to join the
officers on the road. I was even more amazed to find the black figure
of Madame Merell seated between them. The Captain then asked me if
I could tell them again about yesterday's assault here on the spot, which
I did without hesitation, but with some misgivings as to the reason for
this strange request. I had explained it to them earlier, in considerable
detail, in the Soulier's kitchen. When I had finished, the two officers
thanked me abruptly and had me taken back by my guards. |
