Chapter 217
Deep in the night, crackling flames were burning deep in the harbor, and the enslaved men ended their work and returned to their camp under the surveillance of sentinels.
The murmur and miscellaneous discussion filled the dirty air, which all pointed to the young nun.
The guy took out the food from his traceless backpack and distributed it to the refugees one by one. Gradually, she became familiar with the refugees. They put down their guard and surrounded her, looking at her with the same eyes as Jesus, full of respect.
Because of her strong belief, Hoffa can't persuade her not to do such a thing. She can only stay in her inner position and keep her away from her sight.
But her behavior undoubtedly angered the local thugs.
After Frank's death, these thugs still submit to the widow Mary in name. In fact, this kind of submission is totally superficial. Their actual leader was the baboon man named Matthew.
What he did was to arrange more than a dozen men to watch Hoffa and Chloe in shifts on the distant tower.
At about ten o'clock in the night, Chloe came back. She sat by the campfire, took off her nun hat and rubbed her hair wearily. After rubbing her hair, she straightened her arms and moved her muscles in the same way that Jesus had been crucified. Then she squatted by the campfire, spilled Hoffa's spare marching grain in a small tin pot and cooked it.
The food in the tin pot began to boil. The nun tasted it with a spoon and asked, "have you eaten it?"
"No
"Your slave owner friend didn't entertain you?"
She asked as she served porridge.
"He's dead. Don't tell me you didn't hear."
"What?" Chloe spoon meal, stunned: "I don't know, how did he die?"
"Cut in half by a fool with a brain full of muscles." Hoffa said calmly.
"Hoo..." the nun sighed, put down the spoon that stirred the food, pointed a trinity on her body with her fingers, and murmured an inaudible prayer.
After the prayer, she said to Hoffa sincerely, "I'm sorry."
Hoffa has no expression: "I'm not sad, what do you apologize for?"
"My God..."
the nun groaned: "OK, you are really cold-blooded."
She served Hoffa porridge and asked, "well, how are you going to get a boat to take me to England?"
"I didn't think about it." He stares at the darkness, his palm flicking the flame unconsciously.
To be honest, he didn't know the widow named Mary. After Chloe's quarrel, he felt that his hope of borrowing the boat was very slim.
"By the way, when I was taking care of the refugees, they told me a bad news."
"What?"
"There's only one ship here, the one we saw at the dock during the day."
Hoffa was stunned, then sneered: "impossible, Frank has at least 20 ships."
"Yes, but there was a big bombing a few days ago. Most of the ships were destroyed in that bombing. There is only one left here."
The only boat...
he said in secret that it was terrible. He thought that if there were 20 boats here, it would be very easy to borrow one by himself. But if there is only one boat, it's not so easy to borrow. Everyone knows that scarcity is the most important thing.
Just then, a figure came up in the distance. It was Mary, the young widow I met during the day.
Wearing the black dress of the day and the black headdress with flowers, she walked slowly to the campfire, rubbed her skirt awkwardly and waved to the two people sitting on the ground.
Chloe got up and Hoffa got up.
"Are you... Sleeping out tonight?"
The widow was very polite.
They nodded.
Mary: Er... You can't live here. There are many places in my house where you can sleep, if you like
"I don't care." He nuonu mouth, light kick the ball to Chloe.
"No
Said Chloe decisively.
She smelled and looked very upset at each other.
The widow laughed awkwardly, but didn't leave.
Hoffa: Thank you for your kindness, but what can I do for you to come to us so late
The young widow rubbed her hands uneasily: "I have something to trouble you."
"What's the matter?"
"There will be a funeral tomorrow, and the funeral needs a priest. But now there is no priest in this area, so... "The woman's eyes turned to Chloe," I want to ask my nun to help us with the funeral. "
Hoffa was stunned. He didn't understand the funeral customs in Europe, so he turned to Chloe, only to find that Chloe's face was very ugly. She resolutely refused"That's the duty of the priest. As a nun, I can't touch it."
"No... no, not so much trouble." Mary quickly waved her hand: "as long as you can read it..."
"don't be kidding, OK?"
Chloe interrupted Mary: "mass and burial are sacred. They are the gate to heaven for the dead. They are the basis to help God judge the soul. Do you think people in any church can preside over them?"
Chloe Yizheng said sternly. After the call, Hoffa couldn't help laughing, but the widow Mary was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.
Chloe cold face: "if you just want to find someone to deal with, in fact, do not have to church people to preside over, general male friends, can also preside over."
"But... Frank didn't have many friends."
"Who says no friends, it's not a ready-made friend?"
Chloe pointed to Hoffa and then crouched down to look after the porridge.
The widow then turned to look at him, a porcelain doll like pretty face full of uneasiness and helplessness.
The ball was kicked back into Hoffa's hands, and he thought that if he agreed to preside over the funeral, it would be an opportunity to ease the relationship. There was only one boat left. Frank died again. If he wanted to borrow the boat, he would have to pay a price.
So he showed a sincere smile: "that's right. Frank was also a good friend of mine. What should I do?"
...
...
in the early morning of the next day, the sky was gloomy, like a thick ink splashing on the horizon, without any white. It seemed to fall down, and the whole world was quiet.
In the morning after Hoffa came to Normandy, Frank's coffin began to be buried. The funeral in Europe was not as complicated as that in Asia. At the ceremony, only Frank's wife, Mary, and several of his men were present.
Standing in front of the big hole, Hoffa coughed with a crumpled piece of paper. Dry recitation of Chloe's professional eulogy.
"There is no way to know the way to God. In his proverbs and mysteries, we can show his compassion. Although he has given us enlightenment, we still need to consider carefully. When we open our arms, the earth not only takes away our illusory bodies, but also takes in our glorious souls..."
as we read, Hoffa begins to wander It's too late.
(Frank is a violent and hot tempered wizard. Because of smuggling activities, he has offended by no means a few people. Even when dealing with Norbert and himself, we can not meet without meeting. This kind of people, if they can really go to heaven, there will be ghosts.)
"... all the things that pass quietly, the world has no end. Rest in peace, my friend, your soul will continue. Your birth and your survival are just to convey the poem of hope, until forever, I walk through the dark lawn... I will not feel fear, because your soul is with me....
finally, after he read all the eulogy without emotion, there were a few applause below, the coffin was buried in the soil, and the funeral was over.
After the funeral, Hoffa went up to Mary in a black dress and whispered, "can I have a word, ma'am?"
After a day's delay, he gave Frank his last word. It's time to say what he's coming for.
Mary nodded.
They went to the tree far away from the tomb, and did not begin to talk.
One hand between the two.
It was the overseer named Matthew. He looked at Mary and said, "madam, we are ready. When will you board the ship?"
Mary said quickly, "just a moment. I'll talk to Mr. Bach. I'll be right there."
Matthew: OK, hurry up. We'll wait for you
With that, he gave Hoffa a bad look and turned away.
Boarding...
Hoffa felt something was wrong, "where are you going?"
"Oh." Mary said with a smile, "Matthew is going to take me to Switzerland. There's no war there. He said it's safe there."
Hoffa's heart thumped.
It's over.
There's only one boat. It's going to Switzerland.
No wonder when I first came here, I saw the armed mobs driving the refugees to add coal to the boat. So the boat would not lend itself.
Before he knew it, the situation took a turn for the worse, and he encountered a silent crisis. Everything before him turned into a bubble. How could he borrow the boat?
"What's the matter?"
"What can I do for Mr. Bach?" Mary asked curiously
Hoffa's mind moved quickly, but his face showed a relaxed smile:
"madam, it's like this. Norbert and I owe Frank 500 francs worth of raw materials before we died."
He snapped his fingers smartly, and a roll of banknotes tied with a rubber band flew out of the air and fell into Hoffa's hands.Mary looked at his operation, her eyes suddenly a little more fear and respect.
Catching the note, he untied the rubber band and said casually: "although Frank is gone, I think the debt that should be paid still needs to be paid."
"Er... Really? Oh, I'd like to trouble you for a special trip. "
Mary had no doubt of him and bent down with her skirt in gratitude.
"However," Hoffa said slowly, "Frank also promised us that there would be a batch of metal raw materials to be delivered to me and Norbert. Do you know this, madam?"
"Ah..."
Mary took her eyes off the roll of money and said, "this... This I haven't heard of."
"I haven't heard of it. It's a headache."
He put on a pretentious eyebrow, thought for a while, and handed the note in his hand.
"Forget it, I don't know if I don't know. After all, Frank has passed away. I'll go to other suppliers."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Bach." The woman respectfully accepted the money, looking relieved: "well, I'll go first. Mr. Bach. "
"Well." He nodded, with a casual expression.
The little widow put the money in her pocket and turned around contentedly.
"Wait a minute." Hoffa stopped her.
"What else can I do for you? Mr. Bach. " The widow looked at him curiously.
"You know the wizard, right?"
Mary was surprised. He looked around and said in a low voice, "I know."
Hoffa looked a little more serious: "OK, let me be frank. I've come from Paris and heard some rumors."
Looking at each other's serious appearance, the widow was a little curious and nervous: "what's the rumor?"
"A large number of German witches are wanted everywhere for arms smuggling. I have several informants in the military, so I know about it. As Frank's friend, I would like to remind you to be careful of German witches on the road."
"What! German wizard is looking for us....
the widow exclaimed. As soon as she finished, she covered her mouth like a balloon. She was so frightened that she grabbed Hoffa's arm and straightened her back.
"True or false
"Do I have to lie to you?"
Looking at each other for a moment, she stammered, "hold... Sorry, i... what should I do, Mr. Bach."
"I don't know."
He shrugged. "My friend and I will leave this afternoon. Take care of yourself."
With that, he turned and left without nostalgia.
Just a few steps away, an anxious cry came from behind: "wait a minute, Mr. Bach."
Hoffa breathed a sigh of relief. A smile on the corner of his mouth was fleeting. Then he turned slowly and asked, "what's the matter?"
"That... I... I want to ask, where are you going?"
"Sorry, it's none of your business." Hoffa said coldly.
"It's not... It's not..."
the woman waved her hand again and again: "I'm just asking. If I'm offended, I'll take it as if I didn't say anything."
Hoffa looked up and down at Mary for a moment, only to see her anxious nose are out of the sweat, heart snicker. Good guy. Fortunately, this woman has no brain. What others say is what they say. Otherwise, the plan to borrow a boat to go to England will surely be in vain.
"I want to help my friend find a safe place. You know, France is in danger recently."
"Where exactly?"
"....
with an enigmatic attitude, he was silent in response.
The widow's eyes turned. "Er... Er... Well, Frank... Frank has several warehouses in Switzerland. I think all the materials you need may be in the warehouse. If you don't mind, you can come with us. "
With that, the widow rubbed her hands in place and looked at him expectantly.
Hoffa squeezed his chin and thought for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.
"Well, it's nothing. I'll go with your boat once."
"Ah, that's great..."
the restless widow was a little relieved.