"And then it was my turn. I was to go with Buster Brown. He looked upon me as his protégé. He reminded me of a nanny I once had. He thought I needed looking after and there was no question of one of us going without the other.
"Violetta, I shall never forget that night. The watch was in position and there was a crescent moon which shed enough light to reveal our escape at any movement, I feared. We preferred the moonless nights, of course, and clouds were welcome; but on this night the sky was cloudless.
"We could take little with us and we had no money; but we did have a little food which we had been storing over the days and which was given to those who were attempting to escape.
"We got through the tunnel-not the easiest of feats, for it was very low and in some places too narrow for comfort-but we were agile and determined. Then there was that glorious moment when we emerged into the open-no longer prisoners, but, for the first time in more than four years, free men.
"The searchlight moved quickly over the expanse of grass outside the chateau. We crouched on the ground when the light came our way.
"It was not easy. I heard the shots ring out and I was aware of a sudden burning pain in my arm. I thought, I've had it. This is the end. Then I heard Buster whisper, 'Keep still. Flat on the ground. Don't move a muscle.’ I obeyed and the searchlight passed over us and went on. "'Now,' whispered Buster, and with a tremendous effort, for I was beginning to feel faint, I rose and ran. Buster was pulling me on. Get a move on, sir,' he whispered. 'Want the Jerries to get us?’ "We crouched in the bushes. I was aware of the searchlight and that we were beyond its range. 'Cor Blimey,' said Buster. 'That was a close 'un. Thought it was goodbye, home and beauty. Come on now, or we'll miss the boat. Got to get going.”
"My sleeve was wet. I touched my arm and my hand came away red with blood. 'You'd better go on, Buster,' I said. 'I think I might "'Don't talk tripe, sir. Begging your pardon,' said Buster. 'Course I'm not going on without you. Who'd look after you? We're going to make it. They've had their bit of fun. They won't come after us now. They're kidding themselves it was a fox they saw. Makes life easy that way.”
"He was half dragging me along with him. I was beginning to feel rather vague. We were on a road and I saw the lights of a lorry in the distance. Buster dragged me into a hedge until it had passed.
Then we went on. I hardly knew what was happening; I think I must have been delirious. Buster told me later that I kept asking where I was and saying, 'Where is Jermyn's? Where's the Priory? I'm coming home.”
'You was saying your own name over and over again,' he told me, 'and talking to some bird called Violet... or something like that.”
"I think he must have carried me, which would have been awkward as I am considerably taller than he is. He probably dragged me most of the way. We had great good luck because in a field he found a wheelbarrow.
He was very good at improvising and I had seen him make good use of the oddest things. Now the wheelbarrow proved to be a carriage for me.
It was easy just to push me along. I think that wheelbarrow probably saved our lives. He would never have gone on without me. He's a marvelous fellow, old Buster. He was as clever as he boasted he was.
He used to say he could get round anyone, from commanding officers to the shyest bird. He saw himself as a powerful manipulator of everything, including women. I used to call him Casanova Brown. He had never heard of Casanova, but he was pleased when he realized the implication.
"In any case, I shall always believe I owe my life to Buster Brown.
"We came to a house, some way back from the road. Buster took a chance. He told me afterwards he thought I would pass out if he did not get me somewhere quickly. I was losing a lot of blood and he couldn't push a wheelbarrow in daylight.
"The house had been a farmhouse and was set in the midst of several acres; there were some chickens pecking round, a pig in a sty, and a donkey in a field. This I discovered later, of course, for I was not in a state to notice anything at this stage.
"When the door opened I was faintly aware of a woman speaking rapid French, of which I might have understood a little if I had been in a better state of health. Buster's knowledge of the language did not go beyond 'Ooh la la.”
"However, he must have managed to convey to her that he had escaped from the chateau, that his friend was wounded, and that he needed help.
"What good luck we had that night! Marianne, as we later discovered her to be, had an intense and abiding hatred of the German invaders.
They had shot her husband before her eyes and if she had an opportunity of harming them in any way she would eagerly have taken it.
