Chapter 16: The Russian Zone

The family travels along the Potsdam Road, singing happily. They cross the Elbe, but around
Rosslau, they are ambushed by a large number of Russian soldiers. With Mercedes vehicle
horns screaming, it's crowded and chaotic. Hundreds of looted objects are carried in the
automobiles, which are followed by lorries with banners saying, "We greet the liberating
army!" The sheer number of people passing by is incredible, and Bronia wonders whether
it's the entire planet.
Jan notices a cart with straw on it and hops aboard, but the other youngsters are unable to
do so. They track down one of their own, but they're worried since they can't find Jan.
Thankfully, the caravan comes to a halt that night, and Jan is reunited with his companions.

Food is tough to come by on this journey. Jan's reward money had gone out, as had the
ration cards the officer had given them for discovering the monkey. They stop at UNRRA
food kitchens, transit camps, and welcoming villages.
Finally, the youngsters arrive at the Russian border and cross without difficulty. They've
crossed into the American zone, and they're now in the Thuringian forest.

Chapter 17: The Signal

Edek's condition worsens as the expedition progresses. Ruth believes he has to relax for a
week because he is becoming slower and weaker. They find a beautiful area in a meadow
beside a stream and make camp. Ruth and Edek question if Jan is stealing from the
American depot when he finds food. Edek thinks he must find out, and he sneaks away from
Ruth to follow Jan.

Jan starts out working on a farm, but he leaves before the day is done. Edek follows him and
notices him interacting with another young person. When he witnesses Jan shimmy up a
railroad signal ramp, he wonders if the lad is now truly train-wrecking. He rushes over to Jan
and inquires as to what he is up to, but Jan curses him and orders him to go. Jan screams for
Edek to escape as the train signal light blinks green, indicating that a train is approaching.

Edek hears the train approaching and sees Jan attempting to fix the problem with a wrench
and wire cutters. He begins to ascend because he believes there will be an accident.
Unfortunately, both he and the ramp are in poor condition, making the climb difficult and
risky.

Jan walks past Edek, enraged and red-faced. The train brakes as Jan changes the light to red.
It shrieks and clanks to a halt with its piercing whistle. When the smoke clears, Jan is gone,
but Edek is being threatened with a handgun by an American military policeman.
Chapter 18: Captain Greenwood

Captain Greenwood of the American Army of Occupation, a former lawyer and a kind man,
is 42 years old but greying. Edek Balicki, who appears to be ill and not the kind to tease and
irritate him, perplexes him. However, Edek is refusing to name anyone else, and the trial is
moving quite swiftly. Ruth, Bronia, and Jan have arrived, a corporal whispers to Greenwood.
Ruth urges Jan forward after seeing the children and an interpreter in. Jan admits to his
wrongdoings but withholds a lot of information. Ruth is now his guardian, he claims. When
Jan tries to flee, Ruth tells Greenwood that the boy is terrified of military and would be
more cooperative if the guards would go. Greenwood sends them away and instructs the
youngster to stand up, which he does with astonishment. Only an interpreter, a lieutenant,
a judge, and the children remain.
Jan replies he intended to stop the food trucks when the Captain asks why he stopped the
trains. He was a gang member, but not a rail robber. He was fed by the robbers on occasion,
but he did not undertake the robbing.

The Captain gently reminds him that he is stealing American food, not Nazi food, and asks
whether he believes robbing his own people is a good idea. Jan's eyes well up with tears,
and he declares vehemently that he must feed Edek, who is sick, and that he will always
steal for all of them when they are hungry. In the absence of an apology, all he can muster is
“I speak with respect, sir”, which the Captain accepts with a smile.

Greenwood informs Jan of the commandment not to steal, but the boy responds that it is
ineffective. Greenwood then finds Edek not guilty and Jan guilty, imposing a fine of 200
marks and a sentence of seven days in prison on both of them. Ruth claims that they are
unable to pay the fine because they are saving for Edek's sneakers. Jan is escorted away
from the room.
Captain Greenwood later analyses the day's cases and is troubled by Jan's. Even though the
boy was punished, he had only touched the surface of the problem. Ruth had little chance of
stopping the boy from stealing again. That's what a person goes through after five years of
war and hard living.

Chapter 19: The Bavarian Farmer

A farmer yells for the person or persons) inside his barn to come out as he flings open the
door. He detects a half-sob just as he thinks he might have been misled about what he
heard. A turnip flies out at his head as he grabs a prong and starts probing around.

Finally, they give up when a voice says so, and the children emerge. Ruth claims that they
only stayed for one night. The farmer isn't impressed, especially when Jan throws another
turnip his way. Ruth scolds the youngster and then apologises.
The youngsters explain their purpose and mission, and Edek promises him that they will
work to pay for their stay. The farmer accepts gruffly and threatens to hand them over to
the Burgomaster if they don't perform a decent job.
The children are unfamiliar with this term, which the farmer clarifies. The Burgomaster is
the guy assigned by the Military Government with rounding up all the Poles in the area and
returning them to Poland; everyone fears and despises him because of this. The kids shiver,
and Edek declares that nothing on earth could force him to return to Poland.

Breakfast is brought to them by the farmer. Frau Wolff, his wife, is sweet and plump. Ruth
expresses her gratitude for the hospitality by laying out a large amount of food for the
children.
The farmer takes a seat and begins to eat. He tells them that many refugees have passed
through the area, and that some of them have been placed to work on his estate. They are
now only sending German POWs, who are not ideal employees. Edek murmurs softly that he
used to work on a German farm, where the folks weren't quite as nice as the farmer.

The farmer screams angrily that he is not decent and that he would work them hard, but his
wife interrupts, saying that Edek is too weak for the fields and that he will assist her in the
kitchen. The farmer notices her and does not object.

Chapter 20: The Burgomaster

Kurt Wolff's farm is located near the Czechoslovakia border in the Bavarian hills. Thick
woodlands and the flowing River Falken surround his property, while the settlement of
Boding is a few kilometres downstream.

The Burgomaster receives his commands in Boding. He is a Social Democrat who is middle-
aged, slim, and a scientist. He is "shrewd and scrupulous in a pretty dumb sense" (124) and
has struggled in his role as a go-between. The family regards him as the Devil himself, and
they stay away from him. Farmer Wolff lets them remain with him till the situation calms
down. Jan is overjoyed, especially now that he has made friends with Ludwig, a scrawny
dog.He is loyal to the beast and works hard on the farm as well.

The Burgomaster makes them a surprise visit one day, but they hear his jeep coming and
flee. Jan inquires after he has left if the man resembles a young man in a photograph on the
mantel. Ruth inquires about the man, to which Frau Wolff responds that the man is Hans,
her son, who was slain in Tobruk. Rudolf, their other son, was assassinated while battling to
keep the Russians out of Warsaw.
When Jan looks at the photo, his old anti-German feelings come flooding back. Bronia claims
that she liked the troops because they offered her candy, but Jan corrects her, saying that
those were Russians. Ruth adds that some Germans, particularly in the early days of the
war, were pleasant.
Jan examines the farmer and his wife and notices that the farmer's eyes are melancholy.
Finally, he declares that they should be mortal foes. The farmer responds calmly that the
Burgomaster is their sole adversary just now. Jan would not have despised Rudolf, Frau
Wolff says, because Rudolf loves Ludwig as much as Jan does.

Bronia approaches her and asks if she wants to be their mother. Frau Wolff reluctantly
agrees, but insists that they have their own mother and must track her down. She inquires
as to whether Jan wishes to remain; he responds that he does, but that he must accompany
Ruth. He can't stay anyway since the sword won't let him.
Jan pulls out the sword when Frau Wolff inquires about it. They admire it, and the kids
explain the tale of the sword. Jan places it on the mantel next to Rudolf's photo, and it
gleams in the sunlight.

Jan and Edek are piling hay the next day when they see a jeep speed by, disappear behind a
cluster of woods, and then explode with a loud explosion. Edek chooses to assist, but Jan
insists that they have no idea who it is. Edek is already on his way over and inquires in
German if the man stumbling out of the smashed car is okay. They inspect the tyre, and
Edek offers to assist in its replacement. As he works diligently, he forgets to be suspicious,
but he ultimately discovers this is the Burgomaster. He convinces himself that his German is
adequate for the job.

The Burgomaster inquires if he works for Farmer Wolff, remarking that he had assumed all
the refugees had left. Ludwig appears at that precise time, and an acorn falls to Edek's feet.
He notices Jan in a tree when he looks up.
When the Burgomaster inquires about his origins, Edek responds that he is from the North.
He then inquires about the young man in the tree. Edek makes a clumsy request for his
brother "Franz" to come down, claiming that he is deaf and stupid. Jan is well aware of the
situation and is acting foolishly. He lends a hand with the steering wheel.
Everything is OK until Bronia appears, speaking Polish. The Burgomaster appears
unconcerned, thanks the lads, and departs.
They're relieved, and Edek believes they got away with it, though Jan isn't convinced.