Trust is another key motif in the text, as Henry often has to question who is or is not trustworthy while he is on the run. While he is usually trusting by nature, he soon finds out that in German-occupied Europe trust is at a premium. It can mean the difference between life and death. He learns that anyone he meets, even if they seem to be French Resistance members, could turn out to be a collaborator. The working principle becomes: Be cautious in trusting someone you do not know. This first surfaces when Henry is unsure of whether he can trust the man who joins him and the schoolteacher on the boat that is to take them to Basel. He is only reassured when the teacher vouches for the man.

On another occasion, in Grenoble, Henry worries about whether he may trust his two Resistance guides. Later, when he encounters Pierre’s uncle, neither man trusts the other on first meeting. The maquis do not entirely trust Henry at first, not because they think he might voluntarily betray them but because he might give up names and other information if he were captured and tortured. As it turns out, Henry does suffer such a fate, but gives up no information. However, the only reason he is captured is because, on the walk across the Pyrenees, he and his fellow travelers are betrayed by their guide, whom others had warned might not be absolutely trustworthy. Such betrayal is a harsh reminder of how difficult it can be to know who to trust.