CHAPTER TWELVE
A VISIT TO THE DAM
Although Dick and Tony had been entertained by the vain search of theGermans for their radio, they did not fail to note the increasingmovement of troops and equipment into Maletta. Trucks came down bothmain roads into the town, and the Americans could see them both forsome distance from their vantage point high in the bell tower. The roadto the northeast, leading past the dam, they had already seen when theycrossed it at night coming down from their cave in the hills. Now theycould see where it climbed up to circle around the dam itself.
In the other direction they saw the northwest road, over which most ofthe supplies were now coming. It passed through a narrow gorge justoutside of the little town, a pass made by the ridge of hills on thewestern edge of Maletta valley, and the single big hill at the head ofthe town, against which the villa was built. The northwest road had toclimb this fairly steep hill to get through the pass.
“When we get a chance,” Dick said to Tony, “I’d like to have a look atthat road up there. It looks as if it might go through a narrow passthat could easily be blown up. I’m not forgetting that Slade has a gooddeal of extra dynamite, and I’d like to put it to good use.”
“The dam comes first, though, doesn’t it?” Tony asked.
“Yes, of course, the dam is the most important,” Dick said, “but if wecould cut off the German line of escape up the northwest road, it wouldbe mighty good!”
Dick and Tony saw that most of the truckloads of soldiers that cameinto town went right on through, heading down the valley to the southto reinforce the men there beating off the American frontal attack.Tanks, both light and heavy, rumbled along the roads, too, and huge155-millimeter howitzers were towed slowly by tractors.
They got a complete report on the German troop movements shortly afterdark that evening, when old Tomaso crept forward to the bell tower onthe roof of the rear wing of the villa. Dick let down the rope quickly,waited a moment, and then felt three jerks. He pulled it up again andfound a sheet of paper tied to the end. He was unfolding the sheet ofpaper when he saw the dark figure of the old Italian creep back alongthe roof and disappear at the end.
“This is just what we want,” Dick said to Tony. “Your uncle has somegood friends that really know their stuff.”
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_Dick Read the Report of German Troop Movements_]
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“Well, he probably has the local policeman and the grocer and a fewothers looking and listening,” Tony said. “And I imagine Tomaso himselfoverhears a good deal when he’s cleaning up in Army headquarters belowus.”
Dick got down on the floor of the tower and got out his flashlight.Tony stood over him so as to prevent as much as possible of the lightfrom showing. Even then, Dick covered the front of the flash with hisshirt so that only a faint glow came through on to the paper. But itwas enough to read by, and enough to show him what code words he shoulduse in making his radio report.
“The fourteenth motorized division has come through today,” Dick saidto Tony. “In addition there’s a panzer force of forty small and twentylarge tanks. Eighteen pieces of heavy artillery have gone through andare being emplaced about three miles south of the town.”
“The floods will get every one of those,” Tony cried. “The Germanscertainly do think we’re making our big push right straight up thevalley. They’re pouring everything in here to stop it.”
“Okay now, Tony,” Dick said. “I’ve got all the code words in my mind.Let’s give our report and, incidentally, set the Gestapo on their earsagain.”
They went to the radio and Dick began to crank the generator. In amoment, Tony had made contact with the American Army headquarters andrepeated clearly the code words that Dick spoke to him. Then herepeated all again and shut off the radio.
“I’ll be leaving you now, Tony,” Dick said, standing up. “I’ve got lotsof work to do tonight.”
“Wish I could help you,” Tony said.
“Same here, but somebody’s got to stay here with the radio,” Dickreplied. “We’ve got to have someone to keep his eyes on the town,somebody who can get a message from Tomaso in case anything importantturns up, and especially someone to let down the rope when necessary.If we both left, we’d have to leave the rope hanging here for us to getback up again, and that’s out of the question.”
“Sure, I understand,” Tony said, as Dick climbed to the ledge andtossed out the rope to the roof below. “I’ll stick by my radio. Whatabout the next report?”
“Either Vince or I will come shortly before dawn,” Dick said, “whenTomaso sends up his next report. The schedule is each evening afterdark, each morning before dawn—unless something comes up to prevent it.”
“In a pinch I can turn the generator and handle the radio at the sametime,” Tony said. “It’s not easy but I _can_ do it if I have to.”
“Maybe you _will_ have to some time,” Dick said. “But there’ll besomebody here with you as much as possible. So long, Tony.”
“Good luck, Dick,” the radioman replied, and Dick slipped down the ropeto the roof. Then Tony pulled the rope up again and settled down forthe night as he saw Dick’s shadowy figure making off across the hill atthe rear.
Dick’s first inquiry as he approached the cave in the hills was aboutLieutenant Scotti.
“He’s talking some,” Slade reported. “It’s not easy, but he can movearound a bit. I really think he’s coming along okay. There may havebeen some internal bleeding that caused some pressure against thebrain, but that’s stopping now. Anyway, he’s anxious to see you. Heknows about getting the radio up in the bell tower and he’s delighted.”
With a nod to Vince and Max, Dick went on in the cave and knelt downbeside Scotti. The wounded man smiled a little and his eyes shone.
“Dick,” he said, and that was all. Dick saw that it was a great effortfor him to speak.
“Wonderful to see you getting better, Jerry,” he said, “but don’t tryto talk too much. Let me do most of the talking and you answer withnods as much as you can.”
Dick then told his lieutenant about the safe installation of thetransmitter in the bell tower, about getting the first message throughto American headquarters, then about the frantic search by the Germansfor the illegal radio. At this, Scotti started to laugh but it hurt hishead too much and he stopped. But Dick saw that he thought it was awonderful joke on the so-smart Germans.
Dick went on to tell Jerry about the movement of German troops andsupplies through the town, the detailed reports given them by Tomaso,and the second radio report that had been sent in just a short whilebefore.
“You’re doing wonderful job,” Scotti said slowly and with great effort.“Keep it up!”
“Sure,” Dick said. “We’ll carry on, and I feel better now because I cantell you our plans, and you can tell me if you think I’m doing right ornot. Now we’ve got to have a look at the dam. I’m taking Slade andVince with me to look it over so Slade can decide where his dynamitecharge must be placed, and I can figure out how to handle the guard sohe can get in to do it. It won’t be easy. Max will stay here with youuntil we get back. Tony’s in the bell tower with the radio.”
Scotti nodded his approval of these plans and Dick gave him a pat onthe shoulder and moved away. At the front of the cave he found theothers and gave them the latest news.
“Now we’re going to look at the dam,” he said, and Slade sighed withrelief.
“I was beginning to wonder,” he said, “when we would get around to themain objective of this mission.”
Dick laughed. “Okay, Boom-Boom, tonight is your night. Vince will comealong with us. Max, you stay here with Scotti until we get back.”
The three men started down the hill from the cave. But this time theydid not go as far as the field below. Instead, they kept to t
he woodsand circled around to the east where the hill ended at the right-handbranch of the Y which was the northeastern branch of the Malettavalley. It took them almost an hour to reach the dam, for they were notalways sure of their direction.
It was the glinting of a light on the water of the artificial lake thatfinally told them it was near at hand. They moved forward much closerto the edge of the trees and looked down. From where they stood, on thehill a little above the dam, they had a perfect view of everything.
Directly below them about seventy-five feet was the main northwest roadwhich went part way up the hill in order to circle around the dam andlake. On the other side of the road there was a short drive which ledin toward the dam itself, which was a concrete structure about threehundred yards long, stretching to the opposite hill. On top of the damwall at this end was a concrete building and near it stood severalsentries.
“Probably the control house for the sluice gates,” Slade said, “andheadquarters for the guards. There’s a similar structure at the otherend of the wall, but smaller.”
Below the dam itself, on a stretch of level ground, stood the electricpower station. It was a low building made of brick, about fifty feetsquare.
“Not a big plant at all,” Slade told Dick, “but I imagine in thepresent battle emergency it’s pretty important as a source of electricpower for the Germans.”
Dick and Vince nodded, watching Slade as he looked over the objectivewith a practised eye. There was a long black steel pipe, at least tenfeet in diameter, leading from the bottom of the dam to the powerhouse. That, Dick knew, was the sluice, or pipe-line, which carried thewater under pressure into the power house for turning the turbines thatdrove the generators.
“It won’t be easy,” Slade said. “Even figuring that you can get me inthere despite all those guards, it’s going to be tough to place thecharge so that it will surely knock the dam completely out and not justcrack it.”
“Tell me the place you want to put your dynamite,” Dick said, “and thenit’s up to me to get you there.”
He knew that was a broad statement, for he still had no idea how hecould get Slade and his dynamite past the guards on the wall and aroundthe power house.
“There _is_ one spot that would do the job, without a doubt,” Sladesaid. “But I’m afraid that would be asking too much of you. Do you seethat pipe-line over there?”
“Yes, I see it,” Dick replied.
“Well, if I could get inside that and crawl up to where it comes out ofthe dam itself, it would work,” Slade said. “With the big pipe comingout of it, that’s the weakest part of the whole structure. But thatpipe is filled with water under very high pressure.”
“Wow! That’s a tough assignment all right,” Dick said. “But let’ssee—what if the pipe didn’t have any water in it?”
“You mean if the water-gate at the entrance to the pipe were closed?”Slade asked. “If that were done, I could get there all right. All thosepipes have a couple of hatch-like openings along them so that workmencan get in to clean them out and so on.”
“Then you wouldn’t have to go through the power house itself?” Dickasked.
“No, I could get in the pipe, I’m sure, not far from the spot where itenters the dam,” Slade answered. “And I could place the dynamite rightunder the weak spot of the dam. But the water-gate would have to stayshut completely until after the charge was exploded.”
“I see,” Dick said. “Let me think that one over a bit. You go ongetting the lay of the land completely in your mind.”
Slade and Vince continued their observations while Dick tried to figureout a way to get Slade and his dynamite into the pipe-line. Suddenly heremembered something that Tomaso had said to him on the first nightthey talked together.
“Boom-Boom,” Dick called to Slade, “tell me something. If for somereason the turbines or dynamos were damaged badly and the plant had toshut down for a few days, would they close the water-gate leading fromthe dam through the pipe-line?”
“Of course they would,” Slade replied. “That’s the first thing they’ddo. And they wouldn’t open it again until all repairs were made.”
“There’s our answer,” Dick exclaimed. “Old Tomaso told me that theunderground has several times performed a little neat sabotage at thispower station, stopping it for several days until repairs were made. Ifthey did it before, they ought to be able to do it again.”
“Swell,” Slade said. “Then I could really do the job—_provided_ we canget through all those guards, place the ammunition, lead out my wiresand hook them up to a detonator.”
“All right, I’ll have to figure that out, too,” Dick said. “But I can’tsee how yet. We’ll just have to find some way, but for the life of me Idon’t see what it can be. Anyway, we’ve solved part of our problem.We’ll get our dam blown up right and proper, boys, and don’t you everforget it. But we can’t waste very much time. Tonight is already thethird night. We have just three nights more in which to do our work!”