‘Twenty-one, locally built. George Kennan spends a lot of time out here. In fact he was out here this morning preparing the boat for us. Come on, let’s push off.’ He raised his chin towards land. ‘Look over there.’

Wilde had already seen the four men behind them on the track at the edge of the woods. They were making no attempt to conceal themselves now. One of them had a pistol dangling from his right hand.

And then they were as ready as they were going to be. Vanderberg untied, and they were off and under sail. A good breeze was up; the sail filled and carried them north, aided by the current.

‘Where now?’

‘Not far, you’ll see.’ Vanderberg laughed, his eyes still to landward. ‘Now look at them.’

The four pursuers were standing on the jetty. Their movements suggested panic. Two of them ran back to their car, presumably to try to follow the boat downstream along riverside trails.

‘They don’t stand a chance,’ Vanderberg said.

‘What about when you bring the boat back without me – what will they do then?’

‘What can they do? I’ll tell them I’m a diplomat and have immunity from questioning – but of course they already know that. If they persist, I will tell them that you wanted to go exploring, that you said you’d make your own way back – and that you were a free man so what you chose to do was none of my business. I’ve seen them before – they’re regulation Gestapo, not Bormann’s men. Now let’s get back to the details of what you’re going to do when I drop you off.’

‘Drop me off? Alone in bloody Germany with the Gestapo and SS hunting me? Good grief, Jim, this is crazy. Fantasy land. I have no transport, no papers – and I don’t really know where I’m going. Tell me – did you suggest me for this assignment? I thought we were friends.’

‘No, Tom. I believe Roosevelt suggested you. Remember you met him a couple of years back? Seems you made an impression.’

‘Why don’t I feel flattered?’ The boat lurched to starboard and the boom almost hit his head as he ducked. ‘Damn it, Jim, why exactly am I putting my life at risk to rescue one girl when thousands of others are dying unaided on the Eastern Front?’

‘Because she’s a ten-year-old child and she’s being hunted by murderers.’

‘But there’s some politics here, too.’

‘Inevitably, yes. This girl is important on many levels. If this works, there is potential to undermine the power base in the Nazi hierarchy. You must be able to see that.’

Wilde sighed. ‘Nothing more to be said, then.’

‘There is one other thing. Your contact is a woman named Sigrun Somerfeld, who has done some work for me these past two years. She has good connections and is pretty fearless. She will meet you when I leave you downriver. As soon as you go missing, you will be a wanted man. You will dress down and become an Aüslander – a foreign worker. She’ll pick up your papers, which are being prepared even as we speak. We have a dead letter drop, from where she will retrieve them.’