War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 491 Quentin and the Engine
In the simple tent with air leaks everywhere, Wei Ran and others changed into a set of turned out warm knitted underwear in the dark, and then put on a set of German combat uniforms outside.

"There is still some food in the container." Wei Ran and Gail, who was in charge of guarding outside, got dressed and said, "Would you like it?"

"Wait first!"

Kang Tan interrupted Wei Ran's proposal, "Now is not the time to eat, since we already have enough warm clothes, it's best to continue running farther."

"At least one person can eat a piece of cheese"

While Wei Ran was speaking, he had dug out the can of cheese, found a spoon, dug out four equal pieces from it and distributed them to everyone.

"Don't you eat it?" Dorian asked with a look of enjoyment, "God, I haven't eaten cheese since I was captured by the Germans!"

“I have just eaten”

Wei Ran made a perfunctory sentence, and threw the cheese jar in his hand back into the cargo bucket, "Let's go!"

"Put this on"

Gail, who was wearing a motorcyclist's protective overcoat, took out a captured gas mask while speaking. After some research, he threw the canister away, and then tied the cloth bag used to hold the canister. On the connection port, he put a gas mask on his face and explained, "My home is in Grenoble, which is next to the Alps. Before the war, we bought this gas mask designed by the Germans and used it when climbing mountains. This will not only block the wind, but as long as you tie up the vent with the matching cloth cover, your whole face will be very warm."

“A good way”

Quentin followed suit by picking up a metal can with a gas mask and opening it, but when he took out the gas mask inside, he found that there was actually a photo inside.

He took out a lighter that he had just dug out, lit it and took a closer look, Quentin exclaimed, "This woman is so beautiful!"

"Don't waste time." While speaking, Kang Tan also took out a mask from the metal can.

Quentin put the photo on the flame of the lighter and ignited it, and then followed Gail's example, quickly put on the gas mask, and fixed the air hole with a cloth cover by the way.

However, almost as soon as Wei Ran and Dorian imitated each other and put on their gas masks, bunches of car lights dimly lit up in the direction they came from!
Seeing this, Quentin immediately leaned out and untied the belt that fixed the tent on the tree trunk, and Wei Ran and Gail also quickly put the canvas tent away!
"They must have come chasing the tracks! I'll lure them away!" Gail said as he was about to step into the driving seat of the motorcycle.

"you stay"

Quentin pressed Gale, "As you said, your home is in Grenoble next to the Alps, so you must know how to survive in this ghostly weather."

Before Gail could say anything else, Quentin had already untied the sled box attached to the half-track motorcycle, then picked up a submachine gun and said, "Come on, I can speak German, as long as I shout a few times , they will definitely chase me.”

"Quentin, let me"

The oldest Kang Tan was about to struggle to stand up, but Quentin had already tripped and knocked Gale down, and then said, "Uncle Kang Tan, go all the way north, right? If I can escape, I will definitely go find you guys." , Now you guys hide quickly."

Before Gail could stand up, Quentin stepped into the half-track motorcycle, then turned around, put the reverse gear on, and hit the pine tree with the rear of the car.

Accompanied by the muffled sound of "dong", a large amount of snow accumulated on the canopy of the tree crashed down, and everyone subconsciously hugged their heads.

In such an instant, Quentin had already shifted gears and fueled up, and rushed out on the half-track motorcycle.And Gail, who was about to shout something, was also covered by the gas mask still on his face by Wei Ran.

"Dorian, turn off the engine, quick!" Wei Ran shouted in a low voice.

"Alright!" Dorian hurriedly extinguished the remaining half-track motorcycle when he heard that.

"Don't move around, try to cover yourself with snow, don't let Quentin's efforts go to waste."

Wei Ran reminded Gail, and he didn't let go of his hand until the other's tense and struggling body gradually relaxed.

At the same time, Quentin had already driven the half-track motorcycle and ran in another direction, leaving behind only a sudden light and fading away, and a faint German shout "I see them! In that direction! Come after me!"

When Kang Tan, who was lying on the other side of Wei Ran, was about to say something, a series of gunshots rang out from Quentin's direction, and the pursuers who were getting closer to Wei Ran and the others immediately turned around and chased after them. .

After a long time, everyone's bodies were covered with a layer of snow, and the sounds of the lights and engines of those chasing soldiers had disappeared, leaving only the increasingly hoarse wind and the snowfall that was getting heavier.

"We...we continue to go north!" Kang Tan said in a low voice, suppressing his emotions.

Gail hammered the snow in front of him hard, and stood up under Wei Ran's pull.

It was too late to slap the snow off their bodies. Under the command of Kang Tan, the crowd used two belts to fix the sled box full of food that Quentin had just unloaded to the only remaining motorbike. Behind the cargo bed, and Kang Tan personally sat in the driver's seat.

After a while, the engine was started again, and Wei Ran and Dorian sat on the back of the motorcycle. Between them and Kantan, there was only a two-person chainsaw that was still fixed on the hood.

And Gail sat in the first cargo compartment, holding a submachine gun tightly with both hands. The muzzle of the submachine gun was facing the direction where Quentin disappeared from beginning to end.

The lights were still not turned on, and the destination was still unknown, but the half-track motorcycle driven by Kang Tan was stable and fast enough.

I don't know when the cold wind started to weaken a little, but the snow was getting heavier and heavier. Gradually, Gail, who was sitting in the cargo box, was almost buried from the waist down, and Dorian also wobbled to the ground. The body leaned against Wei Ran's shoulder.

"Dorian? Dorian?" Wei Ran shook the young man sitting beside him, but the latter didn't give any response at all.

"Kang Tan, stop, Kang Tan!" Wei Ran turned sideways and poked Kang Tan who was driving, and then found that the other party's reaction was also extremely slow!

"It's broken." Wei Ran's heart sank, he struggled to stand up and shook Kang Tan's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Kang Tan asked in panic as if he suddenly regained consciousness.

"Stop for a moment," Wei Ran greeted, and the latter reacted for four or five seconds before stopping the car.

Getting out of the car with difficulty, Wei Ran moved his numb feet, then walked to the side of the cargo bed and shook Gail who was still holding the gun. Fortunately, the latter was in a good condition, at least Consciousness is still awake.

"What's wrong?" Gail asked, patting the snow on his coat.

"Go and help Uncle Kang Tan." Wei Ran pointed in the direction of the front of the car, "He's about to lose it."

Hearing this, Gail immediately struggled to jump off the cargo bed, and helped the drowsy Kang Tan to climb down from the driver's seat.

At the same time, Wei Ran also found two seized backpacks from the cargo bucket, and after signaling Kang Tan to sit in the cargo bucket, he put the thick sleeping bag on his body, revealing only the Shapka military cap and The head in the gas mask, and the submachine gun that Gelsey gave him.

After placing Kang Tan, Wei Ran and Gail put a sleeping bag on Dorian, who was almost unconscious, and also only exposed his head wearing a hat and a gas mask.

Finally took a sleeping bag, Wei Ran stuffed his lower body into it, and then with Gail's support, he bounced back to the back seat of the half-track motorcycle like a bug that was about to freeze to death.

After he put a Mauser rifle horizontally in front of him to ensure that Dorian sitting next to him would not fall, he turned sideways and patted Gale on the shoulder, and the latter immediately steered the half-track to continue go ahead.

The next journey seems to be extraordinarily long, as long as this endless winter night and the seemingly tireless snowfall.

Along the way, Wei Ran only remembered that Gail stopped once in the middle, watching him drowsily find a barrel of fuel from the cargo box and put it into the half-track motorcycle, and then looked at him drowsily as if he didn't know what to do. He sat back in the driver's seat as if weary, and continued to drive the half-track motorcycle.

In the end, Wei Ran also closed his eyes, buried his face in his sleeping bag, and tried his best to find out. In the pattern drawn by the metal quill, among the four people sitting on the half-track motorcycle, one of them was Is it himself, or Quentin who has already led the pursuers to nowhere.

After a long time, Wei Ran, who did not find the answer, also entered a dream, dreaming of those friends he met on the battlefield in Finland last time.

At the same time, the half-track motorcycle driven by Gail also dragged two cargo buckets and began to cross a frozen lake that was not too wide.

Taking advantage of this rare and smooth section of the road, Gail, who had already lost his way, relied on his skiing experience before the start of the war, turned the handlebars and drove towards a coniferous forest not far away that looked slightly higher.

With such heavy snow and such uninhabited wilderness, even with the courage of a hundred Poles, he would not dare to drive to low-lying places.

Otherwise, maybe at any moment, the captives who managed to escape, together with the half-track motorcycles they snatched, will plunge into the snow nest, and even if they can climb out, then the next...
Before Gail had time to figure out what the consequences would be, the front of the half-track motorcycle stopped violently, followed by a strange noise from the engine under its buttocks.

Before he could react, a thick cloud of water vapor spewed out from the side of the car body, and immediately after, even the engine stopped running.

This sudden change not only startled Gail, even Wei Ran was awakened by the shaking.

"What's the matter?" Wei Ran grabbed the Mauser rifle lying in front of himself and Dorian and asked.

"The engine is off," Gail replied subconsciously.

Wei Ran glanced at the steam that was still spewing out, and already had a bad premonition in his heart. No matter how you look at it, it looks like the water in the cooling water tank has been boiled dry!

　Thank you Gudeng for rewarding 1500 points

　　Thanks to my falling kid and book friend 20191026141010127 for rewarding 200 points each

　　Thanks to Flying Hands and You Don’t Know His World for rewarding 100 points respectively

　　
　
(End of this chapter)