The Nightingale

In October, Isabelle boards a train to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, followed by MacLeish, who is posing as a Flemish farmer; the other three pilots will join at different stops along the way. When she arrives at Madame Babineau’s house, Isabelle gives the woman her false identity (Juliette Gervaise) but also says she was sent by Julien Rossignol. Madame Babineau calls for a man named Eduardo, who questions Isabelle aggressively before agreeing to act as the group’s guide.

Before leaving that night, Isabelle admits to Madame Babineau that she is frightened and asks her to send word to Julien if things go wrong: “If we…don’t make it, tell him the Nightingale didn’t fly” (269). Eduardo gives the group strict instructions to remain silent and keep moving, and they begin hiking up into the mountains. The climb quickly becomes cold, wet, and difficult, and everyone except Eduardo is exhausted and in pain by the time they take shelter for the daylight hours. They set off again as the next evening falls; by the time they stop at daybreak, they have begun going downhill.

On the third night of walking, the group makes it out of the mountains. To enter Spain, they need to cross a river guarded by a checkpoint, so they wait for night to fall.