For you but not for me:

For me the angels sing-a-ling-a-ling,

They’ve got the goods for me.

Oh! Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling?

Oh! Grave, thy victory?

The bells of hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling

For you but not for me.’

‘What does it mean?’ Marius asked.

‘It means hell is waiting for you, my enemy, but not for me. When you hear the bells they are the bells of hell. When I hear them they’re for heaven.’

‘There are no bells ringing,’ Marius said.

Aimee pulled a face. ‘It’s only a song, Marius.’

The boy sat down beside Aimee and his eyes glowed in the gloom. ‘The bells call me to hell and you to heaven...’

‘Yes, but...’

‘No. Listen, Aimee. On Earth – here and now – the bells call the people to church,’ Marius said.

Aimee grinned. She understood. ‘We are in a bell tower. Pull the bell and the church will fill with people.’

‘Yes. If the priest and Silver Hand come back they won’t dare shoot us in a church full of people.’

Aimee jumped to her feet and dragged Marius up after her. ‘You pull the left rope and I’ll pull the right.’

They wrapped their hands around the ropes and with a silent nod pulled together.

The ropes stretched down to the ground. There was a small creak. Then nothing. Only silence.

Aimee peered up to the roof. ‘There are no bells. There are bell ropes but no bells. Why?’

‘One of the armies – yours or mine – took the bells for scrap metal to turn them into guns or bayonets.’

Aimee looked sour. ‘Or they took them to make belt buckles that say God is on the side of Germany. The German army have been here for four years. The British just passed through a week ago. It has to be your fault. God won’t be very pleased if you stole his bells.’

‘Then I will be punished if Silver Hand comes back and shoots me,’ Marius muttered.

‘That’s fine,’ Aimee said. ‘But I don’t think it’s fair if he shoots me too. I’m getting out of here,’ she snapped and walked to the wall where the wooden stairs climbed upwards.

The staircase climbed up the side of the wall in three stages with a landing at the top of each one. Marius panted up after Aimee and had to rest on each landing. When they reached the top, a platform ran around the tower under the roof. ‘We can’t get out,’ Marius gasped.

‘Of course we can,’ Aimee said. She was growing angrier with every minute that passed.

‘The walls are too thick,’ Marius argued.

‘But the roof isn’t,’ Aimee said. She pointed upwards. ‘Look, the lead has been stripped away.’

‘To make bullets.’ Marius nodded.

‘There are just tiles nailed on... and some of them are already cracked. If I stand on the rail I can push them out. Look...’