The Unlikely Allies Read Free Page B

Africa. Many of the streets were narrow and winding, and blue-and-white trams clattered around the sharp corners of the thoroughfares.
    As they reached the edge of town, Lars pulled up in front of a small farmhouse painted a brilliant yellow with light blue trim. When they went inside, Mallory exclaimed, “What a lovely house!”
    “Yes, it is nice, isn’t it?” Eva said. “My grandfather built it. He’s gone now, of course, so Lars and I will live here after we’re married.”
    “It doesn’t have as many windows as houses have in England or America, but here we like our homes to be cozy in the cold winter. If we want the out-of-doors,” Lars said with a grin, “we’vegot plenty of that. But indoors in the winter, we like to close out the cold and ice and enjoy a nice roaring fire.”
    “You can give her your lectures on Norwegian architecture later, Lars,” Eva said with a laugh. “Come along. Let’s take Mallory’s bags to her room and then go get something to eat.”
    The three went to a restaurant, and Mallory got her first taste of a Norwegian meal. There was a hot fruit soup, which in Norwegian was fruktsuppe, followed by brown river trout, and roasted reindeer steaks with cranberry sauce. For dessert they had a wonderful concoction of golden-colored cloudberries with thick whipped cream.
    “This is delicious!” Mallory exclaimed.
    “Did you really mean what you said in your letter about how the Masai mix blood and milk and then drink it?” Eva asked, leaning forward, her eyes intent.
    “Oh yes. They milk the cow, and then they puncture its neck and drain the blood into the milk. And then they plug the wound with cow dung, stir the milk up, and drink it down.”
    “Oh my! You never tried it, I hope,” Lars said.
    “Certainly! It’s very good.”
    They talked for a while about the new customs she would encounter in Norway and among the Lapps before Eva changed the subject with a touch of sadness. “You’ve come at a hard time. Europe is very unsettled right now.”
    In 1938 Europe was indeed unsettled. Adolf Hitler had risen over the continent like a dark specter. He had organized the National Socialist Party and had unified Germany, which had been practically demolished by the Great War. In 1935 Hitler had defied the Treaty of Versailles, announcing that he would create an army of a million men, which he did. That same year Hitler had marched into the Rhineland, and no one had opposed him. The Nazis had grown in power until finally, in 1938, Hitler took over Austria, annexing it to Germany. Since then he had announced that the Czechs should surrender to the Third Reich, and Neville Chamberlain, theBritish prime minister, had caved in, declaring to his nation, “I believe it is peace in our time.”
    Winston Churchill, a member of parliament, however, had warned, “Be ready for war. We must stop Hitler now.”
    “This man Hitler,” Mallory said, “I don’t understand why England or France doesn’t stop him. Nobody in Africa understands.”
    “We don’t understand either, but we’re safe here,” Lars said. “Norway is neutral.”
    “Lars, no one is safe with a maniac like Adolf Hitler,” Eva said grimly. Then she forced herself to smile. “But let’s not think about such things now. You’re going to love this country, Mallory.”
    “I think I will.”
    “You’ll freeze to death, though,” Lars said with a grin. “I understand you’ve never even seen snow.”
    “No, I never have.”
    “Well, just wait. You’ll see plenty of it!”
    “Yes, and you must learn to ski,” Eva said. “I’ve got an instructor lined up for you. But first you need to settle in here and rest up from your trip.”
    ****
    A week later Eva brought home a tall young man with tawny hair and dark blue eyes. “This is Rolf Bjelland,” she announced. “He will be your skiing teacher. Rolf, this is your pupil, Mallory Anne Winslow.”
    “I am so happy to make your acquaintance,” Rolf said in