Out Stealing Horses

In 1948, Franz and Trond have breakfast together, and Franz tells him a story about 1942. In 1942, Trond’s father came to this forest near the Swedish border to pass papers and letters for the Resistance, introducing himself to Franz with the code words, “We’re going out stealing horses” (127). They bought an abandoned cabin from Barkald, and Trond’s father spent his time fixing it up and appearing to act like any ordinary citizen. German soldiers patrolled the area with machine guns, and Trond’s father spent time being kind to them, speaking with them in German, and sharing cigarettes. In this way, he was able to pass messages for two years without them suspecting. Jon’s mother also carried messages, but Jon’s father refused to take part. After a while, the “traffic” into Sweden included Jews escaping the Nazis, and one day, when there was snow on the ground, Jon’s mother had to bring a man up the river to Trond’s father’s cabin. She told her husband to cover up the telltale footprints they left behind, but he ignored her.