I thought. I was cold, wet, exhausted, and the way I saw it I had two choices: either I could go on or go back. But in truth, those two choices were only one choice. If I went back, I might lose the heart forever, because who knew when I’d get chance to look for it again, and where it might end up in the meantime? Added to which, although the older me hadn’t actually led me to the heart, he’d not only removed a couple of obstacles in my path to it, but had given me more than a hint that continuing with my self-imposed mission was the right course of action. What was it he’d said? He’d rolled back time so the Germans wouldn’t be on full alert, which would make it easier for me to get through their lines – something like that. A one-man mission to penetrate the enemy’s defences and retrieve a valuable artefact. It sounded like the plot of a Boy’s Own adventure story. But it was what I was going to have to do if I wanted the heart back. And I was going to have to do it on the double, while it was still dark.
