Where Eagles Dare

T knew about you,' Smith nodded. 'But we all knew about you, didn't we, Colonel? Three years, you claimed, behind the German lines, served with the Wehrmacht and finally penetrated the Berlin High Command. Sure you did. With the help of the Wehrmacht and the High Command. But when the tide of war turned and you could no longer feed the Allies with false and misleading reports about proposed German advances, then you were allowed to escape back to England to feed the Germans true and accurate reports about Allied plans -- -- and give them all the information they required to round up British agents in north-west Europe. How many million francs do you have in your numbered account in Zurich, Colonel?'

Wing Commander Carpenter stared straight ahead through the windscreen and said very slowly: 'Frankly, old chap, this is preposterous.'

Try batting an eyelid and see just how preposterous that Sten gun is,' Smith suggested. He looked at Wyatt-Turner again. 'You underestimated Admiral Holland, I'm afraid. He's had his suspicions about you and the four section leaders of Department C for months. But he was wrong about Torrance-Smythe.'

'Guess away.' Wyatt-Turner had recovered his composure and most of his self-confidence. It'll pass the time till we get to Lille.'

'Unfortunately for you, there is no guess-work. Admiral Holland recalled me -- and Mary -- from Italy: he could no longer be sure of anyone in London. You know how corruption spreads? Played it very

"That -- that was why I was called in?' Schaffer looked as if he had been sand-bagged. 'Because you couldn't trust -- '

'For all we knew, M.I.6 was riddled... Well, Colonel, you weren't too happy until Holland asked -you to pick the leader. So you picked me. Holland knew you would. You'd only just met me for the first time, but you knew from Kesselring's military intelligence chief, through your pal Admiral Canaris, that I was their top double agent. Or thought you did, Holland was the only man on either side who knew I wasn't. For you, I was the ideal choice. Holland made certain that you didn't have the chance of talking to me either, but you weren't worried. You knew that I would know what to do.' Smith smiled bleakly. "I'm happy to say I did. It must have been quite a shock to your system this afternoon when he told you what I really was.'

'You knew that? You knew all that?' Wyatt-Turner's newfound composure had vanished, his voice was quiet and vicious. He lifted the Sten slightly. "What goes on, Smith?'

'All pre-arranged to force your hand. We had everything -- except proof -- about you. I got that proof this evening; Colonel Kramer knew that we were coming, knew we were after General Carnaby.' He nodded towards Jones. 'Incidentally, meet Cartwright Jones, an American actor.'

'What?' Wyatt-Turner forced out the word as if a pair of powerful hands were squeezing on his wind-pipe.

'General Carnaby is spending a quiet weekend at the Admiral's country house in Wiltshire. As a stand-in, Mr. Jones was quite admirable. He had them all as deceived as that faked plane crash -- you will have realised by now that it was a deliberate crash-landing.' Wyatt-Turner tried to speak, but the words failed to come: his mouth was working and the colour had drained from his ruddy face. 'And why did Kramer know? He knew because you had informed Berlin as soon as Holland had put the plan to you. Nobody else had the chance to. And he knew that we would be in "Zum Wilden Hirsch" this evening. He knew because I told you on the radio broadcast this morning and you lost no time in passing the good word on.'

'Are you sure?' Heidi asked. 'Couldn't the informant have been whichever of the men -- Carraciola or

'I know. No, he didn't have time. I left the inn for exactly seven minutes. Three minutes after I'd left, Torrance-Smythe did the same -- to follow one of the three others he'd just seen leaving. Smithy was clever and he knew something was far wrong. He -- '

'How did he know?' Schaffer demanded.

'We'll never be sure. I think we'll find that he was a highly-skilled lip-reader. Anyway, he caught the man he'd seen leaving in the phone booth outside the Post Office -- before he'd had time to get through to either Weissner or Kramer. There was a fight to the death. By the time the killer had dragged Smithy around to the back and returned to the booth, someone else was occupying it. I saw him. So the killer had to go back into the inn. Kramer it was who told Weissner -- and the Colonel here who told Kramer.'

'Very interesting.' There was a sneer in Wyatt-Turner's voice, but a sneer belied by the deep unease in his face. 'Fascinating, in fact. Quite finished, Major Smith?'