The Führer and his inner circle were grooming and training those who would enforce their cruelty, and would, as time went on, root out all hints of subversion to the Nazi cause. But their presence had not yet fully been felt, nor had fear of the plainclothes secret police gripped every citizen of the nation as it was soon destined to do.

Even now, however, eyes and ears had become more watchful at all levels of society. This was no time to be careless. One had to choose one’s words, one’s friends, even one’s thoughts with prudence.

Booted feet treaded their way through a dense wood. Theirs was not the heavy tramp of storm troopers, and could indeed have been those of a hunter, or merely of a walker out for a leisurely morning’s wilderness stroll.

They were none of these, however.

The owner of the feet that made their way through the brush and trees was bent on an entirely different mission, of an intensely personal kind. Though he was several kilometers from any other human being, the clandestine nature of his quest caused him to choose his steps with care. He would not make any more noise than necessary, just in case someone should be around.

The hour was early. Even in a land where half the energetic population arose with the sun, it was unlikely he would encounter a soul out here. Hares or an occasional deer, perhaps. But he was safe from anyone observing him. His were the only eyes, on this morning, that would be furtively on the lookout—and they would be watching another.

He knew they had been gone, they were supposed to have been back yesterday afternoon. He had to know.

He had been keeping his eye on the place on and off for some time. He knew it almost as well as his own home. He couldn’t see behind the doors and walls and windows, of course, from such a distant vantage point, and so the exterior and grounds had to do.

On he walked, up the gradual incline, the trees thinning now and his way becoming easier.

In another fifteen minutes he reached his destination, climbed to the top, sat down, then put the binoculars he had been carrying to his eyes and scanned the lowlands spread out before him. He focused the eyepieces on the huge house on the knoll. He could see everything clearly. Now all he had to do was wait—all day if necessary.

The workers were already out in the fields. But they did not interest him. Slowly he moved the binoculars about, focusing especially on the two windows on the far left, though not quite to the corner, about midway up the great structure. He could see nothing inside.