Someone in the village must have been keeping watch. As the travelers stopped, the door of the largest house opened and a prosperous looking man came out.
"Ah, Amerikaner," he said, after seeing the rubber tires on the wagon. "Ich bin der Schultheiss des Dorfs, Horst Stoltz. Sie möchten die Nacht bleiben, ja."
Anse, whose German had improved under Wili's tutoring, realized this was the head man of the village and he was asking if they needed a place to spend the night. A bit of bargaining and only mentioning the tents on the wagon twice got the party the use of the empty house for the night in exchange for five old silver dimes.
After the seven horses were crowded into the lean-to and most of the supplies were transferred from the wagon to the house, Lieutenant Ivarsson commented to Anse. "We actually made a good distance today, better than twenty of your miles, I think. I was impressed by the wheels on the wagon. They do make it travel better. How does it work?"
"The tires are solid rubber and give a wider area on the ground. It makes them roll easier. The real secret is the bearings in the wheel hubs."
Captain von Dantz called from the door of the house. "We need to get settled in for the night. If we cover as much ground tomorrow, we can be in Suhl before nightfall."
As the captain vanished into the dark interior, Anse noticed Rau waving from the back of the house.
When Anse and Ivarsson joined him, Rau said softly: "I talked to the Schultheiss like you asked. He says nothing unusual is going on to the south, but I noticed the villagers are keeping their animals closer than normal. Then I talked to the boy who keeps the village pigs. He said that there have been a lot of people on the road. All traveling north—well, toward Grantville. That's actually east from where we are now. And all carrying all they own."
Ivarsson looked thoughtful. "Now, that is odd. There have been no reports of any army moving down that way. What else could put people on the road, this time of the year?"
"The pig boy didn't think it was an army. He just said people were moving. I did a run through the woods close to the village. Just off the road to the south there are a couple of families camped. Three men, four women and eight Kinder. One of the boys is man tall. They are keeping a sharp watch and a cold camp, no fire."
"They didn't see you, I take it?" Anse asked. Rau just grinned.
Anse thought a bit. It was not likely at all that an army could have penetrated Franconia and reached as far as the Thuringenwald without news coming to Grantville. There was a radio in Suhl, after all. Besides, armies rarely moved in the winter, here and now, unless they had to.
He turned and looked at the house they were using. "Okay, change of plans. We keep two people on watch all night. Jochen, I want you to knock a couple of tiles loose on the roof to make a firing point in the loft on the side that overlooks the road. Lieutenant Ivarsson, I want you and Mrs. Reardon up there with your rifles, if anything happens. Jochen, you and me can cover the windows and door on the ground floor. Wili can cover the lean-to, through the door that connects it to the house. I don't think anyone is going to jump us, but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead."
"What about the captain?" Rau asked.
Anse shook his head. He didn't trust von Dantz to be an alert sentry, with his arrogant attitudes. "We'll let him sleep. Hopefully nothing will happen. If it does, he stays with us on the ground floor. Now go make that loophole. I'll bring Wili up to speed. Anything you want to add, Lieutenant Ivarsson?"
"No, your plan seems good. But I think we need Corporal Rau mounted tomorrow. Can you ride?"
Rau nodded, but had a disgusted look on his face as he went toward the door. Anse had to smile, because he knew Rau hated horses.
After a quick supper, cooked by Wili and Gaylynn at the fireplace, the party spread out their bed rolls. Gaylynn walked over to where Anse was sitting near the door. "Which shift do you want me to take?"
"Well, Jochen and Nils are going to take the first watch and they'll wake Wili and me for the second. So you and the captain can have a full night's sleep. Speaking of which, if you want you and Noelle can have the loft to sleep in. That'll give you a little privacy."
Gaylynn looked around the single room of the ground floor and nodded. "Thank you, but I don't want you thinking you have to look out for me. I can take care of myself if it comes to a fight, so none of this `take care of the helpless woman business.' And tomorrow night I'll take a turn on watch."
"Gaylynn, the loft is where I'd want you and your rifle anyway, if something goes down. You'll have a better field of fire, especially after Jochen makes a firing point up there."