Chapter 36
You step over to the point where you had discarded
Sgt. Lindstrom's Tommy gun, and you retrieve it. Then you
part the slim stalks of brush cane in search of
your rifle. You see it partially covered by bent grass
where you had lain it down and you pick it
up and sling it on your shoulder. The reel of
telephone wire is also on the ground, and you lift
it with your free hand and tug the unwound strand
loose from the snatching fingers of burr and of nettle.
Egan has recovered the two Japanese rifles which had been
lying where their owners had fallen, and he holds one
of them in each hand. He asks, "What in hell
are we going to do with these?" You say, "Well,
maybe we can use them as splints to give Lindy
more support while he's being carried back to the company
area. Lucky it isn't very far. Only about sixty yards."
He is grasping the weapons by their barrels at a
point a little below the hilt of the bayonet and
you move closer to examine them. They seem to be
a much later model than the old 38th Year and
they have some sort of a mount which can be
folded forward to catch on the stock when it is
not in use. There is a device on the end
of the muzzle which apparently is designed to hide flashes,
but you are mostly interested in the rubberized fabric slings
attached to swivels on the stock, which you see can
be readily removed in order to strap the pieces securely
in place to hold the injured man's sides more firmly.
You make your way back to the casualty, gingerly skirting
a clump of thorny barbs, with Egan following behind you.
In the emergency you have become incautious, and now you
look searchingly at the approaches to the observation post, lest
the sounds of rapid movement and struggle attracted
mmmenemy attention.
Whitney is leaning over Sgt. Lindstrom, who is moaning
mmmsemi-consciously
and turning his head slowly from one side to another.
Whitney whispers, "I think he's coming to." You drop the
Tommy gun and the reel and rest on one knee.
You say, "We'll have to make it PDQ and try
to get him comfortably trussed up before he snaps out
of it. Use the slings on these Jap rifles to
hold the braces in position and tear up a piece
of his uniform to bind them, if necessary. Meanwhile, I'll
make contact with Captain MacDonald over the telephone
mmmand ask
him to have a couple of medics with a stretcher
stand by." You grip the canvas harness of the phone
which Lindstrom had borne across his shoulders, and which has
now slipped within his bent forearm. Egan assists you in
removing the mouthpiece and earphone attachments from
mmmaround his neck.
Whitney takes out the magazine from each of the Jap
rifles and spills the bullets on the ground and covers
them with loose dirt. Then he removes bayonets and prepares
to adjust the guns with their barrels along Lindstrom's legs.
You struggle into the straps of the telephone set, letting
the mouthpiece dangle just below your left shoulder and adjusting
the lightweight reel against your hip so that it will
unwind freely and trail its strand when you move on.
You take the test clips of the handset cord and
connect them to the spool terminals and you hear the
buzz and gurgle of electrical wires in contact with others.
Steady your voice. You are about to impersonate a soldier.
* * *
