Silver Hand was sure he had his prey this time. ‘If they run we will hunt them down on our horses,’ he told Father Gaulle. ‘It really is over.’

The priest smiled and turned towards the woman at the front door. ‘Good day, Madame. We are looking for a runaway couple.’

Madame Clare said nothing but stared hard. Sergeant Grimm went on, ‘I believe you reported them back in Attilly, did you not?’

She gave a single nod.

‘So where are they now?’ the priest asked.

‘You were offering a thousand francs reward back then,’ Madame Clare said. ‘You didn’t pay.’

‘They got away,’ Silver Hand said. ‘But now the reward is double that.’

‘Show me the money.’

The sergeant reached inside his greatcoat and pulled out his pistol. He pointed it at Madame Clare. ‘What’s your life worth, Madame?’

She swayed and clutched at the door to steady herself. ‘The boy’s in the well.’

Silver Hand grinned. He turned to Father Gaulle. ‘Stay here with the horses, Benedict. Watch this woman.’

He climbed down from the saddle and walked quietly around the side of the house to the back garden. He stopped at the well, leaned over and listened. He could hear the whispering. ‘I know you are down there. I am going to count to five. You will come up or I will shoot you where you are.’

‘Then you won’t get the tank plans,’ Aimee called up. Silver Hand blinked with surprise. So the girl was down there too. Perfect. Two mice in one trap.

‘I will search the house till I find them. That woman won’t stop me.’

‘We’ve hidden them,’ Marius said.

‘Then we have a deal, my young friends. You come up and show me the plans. I will spare your lives.’

‘He’s lying,’ Aimee muttered to Marius.

‘I know. But it’s the only chance we have,’ the boy sighed.

Aimee shifted her hands on the rungs and pushed herself upwards. ‘We must stall him,’ she said. ‘Distract him and make a run for it. It’s only twenty metres to the garden fence, and then we’re in the woods.’

‘Let’s hope he’s a bad shot,’ Marius muttered and began to climb.

They were five metres from the top when Aimee froze. She heard the priest’s voice as he walked across the garden to the well. ‘Madame Clare showed me their backpack. There are no Whippet tank plans in it. They must have destroyed them.’

‘They say they’ve hidden them,’ Grimm said.

‘They haven’t had time, the woman says.’

As Aimee looked up she saw two heads appear and block out the light from the dismal, cloudy sky. ‘Then we may as well shoot them now,’ Sergeant Grimm said.

Aimee heard the safety catch on the pistol click and watched as the man pointed it down towards her. She closed her eyes.