124 World War Two and the Partisan Struggle
was going from bad to worse. Kardelj’s bodyguard, who from time to time
went to the door to peep out and see what was going on, paid for this temerity
with his life: a bullet hit his temple, his blood covered the walls, and part of
his brain flew into his cap. Tito ordered his escort to give him a coup de
grâce. “Glory to Comrade Vlado,” he said, kneeling near the body.^386 It was not
until about eleven o’clock, when everything seemed lost, that Ranković man-
aged to send a note through Žujović, advising Tito to climb to the top of the
mountain, where there were no enemy units. Once back, Žujović noted Tito’s
bewilderment and drew his gun, shouting: “Come on out, you old coward! Do
you want to surrender to the Germans and save your skin, you the commander
in chief, and at the same time betray our fight?” He browbeat him into aban-
doning the shelter, calmed Zdenka as much as possible, and convinced her to
come along.^387
It was impossible to use the steep stairs leading to the cottage as they were
continuously under fire. Žujović suggested making a hole in the wooden floor
and lowering themselves with a rope to the bed of the stream that ran through
the cave, and which turned into a small waterfall when it rained. At the time,
the stream was dry and hidden from German fire. They braided silk parachute
cords to make a rope that was strong enough to let them drop down nearly
fifteen meters. They then turned left, climbing in the high noon heat toward
the peak of the mountain. “The bed of the stream that we passed,” Kardelj later
recalled, “was full of rocks and was very uneven, offering good cover, but natu-
rally we were more prudent in descending with the rope and taking the path,
where we climbed up on all fours behind the bushes.”^388 Because of his leg,
injured since birth, Kardelj had at times to be carried piggy-back. Zdenka was
in such a panic that she refused to cross the stream, in spite of Tito’s curses
when he tried to convince her to follow him. Finally, she listened.^389
They had just left the cave when, at about 11:30, a new swarm of aircraft
appeared. Parachutes filled the sky, but Tito’s party was already safe. Crouching
down, they moved from bush to bush along the slope, everyone taking a dif-
ferent path. Tito was so exhausted that he nearly fainted twice. Finally, every-
one reached the plateau, although Kardelj and Ranković and the others were
worried by the fact that Tito was the last to arrive.
They were all there. Ranković and Tito embraced with tears in their eyes.
“Where are the foreign emissaries?” Tito asked. “Marko,” as Ranković was
known, assured him that the Russians were out of danger.^390 Meanwhile, the
Partisan units, joined by the First Dalmatian Brigade, counterattacked so vigor-
ously that the Germans found themselves in trouble. The Germans were saved
from total defeat by a motorized column from Bihać that came to their aid.^391