around at the dreary canvas tent and realized that nothing important lay hidden inside the colonel’s tent. He began to feel like it just might be all right to lie down for just a minute. He slowly reclined and felt incredible relief at once. He too closed his eyes, and his last thought was “Yeah, I think I could fall asleep.”
Em opened his eyes and immediately felt panic. Oh no, he thought. How long have I been asleep? He bolted upright and looked at Jack. He was snoring. His hands were still stretched over his head in the exact same position. Em jumped out of his cot and crouched near the front flap of the tent. He didn’t hear anything at first. As his mind slowly caught up with his body and came fully awake, he heard someone talking, but at a distance. No matter how intently he listened, the words were muffled. He tried to discern who was talking. He was only sure of Sergeant Barnes. His New York accent was loud and belligerent. The topic of conversation was not apparent. Em turned around and crawled to the foot of the cot where Jack lay. He gently took hold of Jack’s foot and whispered, “Jack, wake up.” Jack continued to snore. Em shook the cot and whispered a little louder, “Jack, wake up now!” Jack suddenly kicked his foot. It nearly reached Em’s nose. “Jack, wake up, they’re right outside.”
Jack sat upright and rubbed his eyes. “Who? What?”
Em looked at Jack and knew instantly that he was not fully awake yet. “Get down here. They’re out there on the edge of the clearing. I can’t hear what they are saying, but Sergeant Barnes is doing all the talking again. Nobody’s laughing this time though.”
The talking was becoming louder now, so both of them moved to the corner of the tent. Unless someone came inside the tent, they would not know Em and Jack were there.
“So what do you think these little maggots are waitin’ for?” Em could hear Sergeant Barnes very well now, and the feeling of being trapped was beginning to overwhelm him. Em had to hide before he had a chance to see who Sergeant Barnes was talking to. Whoever it was remained silent. “Why do you think Philip wants these little greenies? They ain’t gonna know nothin’! We’ll prob’ly have ta babysit them. Little boys, what in the hell does he want with little boys?” This time, Em listened for the response, and much to his surprise, the silence continued. He was sure there were only two of them. He wondered again how long he and Jack had slept.
Jack breathed hard and said, “That’ll be the day when that fat son of a—”
“Hey, shut up!” Em almost said it a bit too loud.
Sergeant Barnes walked in the direction of the coffee pot. That took the two of them away from the tent. Em heard the coffee as it poured into a mug, then heard someone sit down in the chair. From the sound, he knew it was Sergeant Barnes. The chair creaked and sounded as though it moaned. The fat sergeant yawned loudly and began to talk once more, “If Philip takes the two of them to Japan, somethin’ bad’s gonna happen. I tell ya, Murph, they ain’t ready. I don’t have ta meet ’em to know that. Too green! I don’t care if they are back earlier than anybody else. I coulda been back when I was their age. Too soft, they are. Put ’em in a real situation and see how they react.”
“You aren’t going to Japan either, Kevil. This job is a little too hairy. Philip and Jeffrey will probably handle this one themselves. It shouldn’t take too long. There’s just one piece of cargo to bring home. The hard part is getting there. Hiroshima is a military center. For some strange reason, we are not bombing this particular part of the island. Now that Saipan is under control, our bombers can make the round trip. The colonel needs to get in and get out. I don’t think he’s planning on taking his new pets with him. You said something about babysitting. Well, I think you just might get your chance.” Em did not like the sound of Captain Murphy’s voice. He sounded rather arrogant. Em did not think that Sergeant Barnes was even aware that the captain seemed to be talking “down” to him.
“That’s okay with me. I don’t want ta go over there anyway. I’ll stay right here. This place could be my retirement home.” Sergeant Barnes was so comfortable with the officers. Em could not figure out how he became part of their inner circle.
He must be the best mechanic in the service, Em thought. Then he remembered Jack and looked at him as he crouched in the corner. Just as he anticipated, the fiery look of hatred was on his face. He did not have to talk to him to know how he felt. He remained as still and silent as he could and listened for more.
Captain Murphy talked, but he sounded like he would rather be talking to someone else. “If he takes this Jefferson boy with him, things might get more troublesome. He’s going to stand out in the crowd.” The prejudice sound in Captain Murphy’s voice made Em want to confront him. He wisely decided to shelve those emotions for another time. “I understand that he is awfully close to the situation, but getting in there is difficult enough without taking him along. I hope Philip knows what he is doing.”
“You can’t hurt Philip. He’ll whack a few of them Japs while he’s there too, I bet. We’ll have a little R and R and catch up to him in a few weeks.” Em could hear the fat sergeant stretch and lie back in his chair again. The captain stood still. Em could hear him drinking out of his mug.
What did Sergeant Barnes mean when he said he didn’t care if they did get back early? They had to know they were here, but why hadn’t they looked in the tent? He wanted to talk to Jack, but they were too close to the other men. He could still see the look of hatred on Jack’s face. Em knew that Jack did not take it well when someone did not respect him. Sergeant Barnes’s mouth was about as disrespectful as they came. The annoying way he laughed after everything he said already weighed on Em. He could only imagine how Jack felt.
As if on cue, Sergeant Barnes began to speak again, “When Philip gets back from Pearl, you think he’s gonna tell us what the hell is going on?” Em waited on Captain Murphy to reply. After a few moments, it became apparent that he would remain silent. Sergeant Barnes started up again, “If I ain’t goin’ with ’em, then I sure as hell ain’t gonna be babysittin’. My wife ain’t here, and there’s plenty of island girls waitin’ to shake their skirt at me. I been in Mississippi too long, and I’m gonna have some fun while I’m here.”
“You talk too much, Kevil. You should keep your thoughts to yourself most of the time. That mouth is going to be your ruin.” Captain Murphy said this as he sipped on his coffee.
“Yeah, well, somebody has to say it. Jeffrey is so set on them two, and I don’t know why.” Sergeant Barnes then coughed loudly and spit. “Where the hell are they anyway? I thought Jeffrey said they followed them all the way here.” Sergeant Barnes stood up from his chair, and Em and Jack crouched a little lower. Em could tell that he was scanning the hillsides, looking for them. “What the hell are they waitin’ on? I wish the hell they would just get here so we could get the hell out of here.” The exercise must have been hard on the fat sergeant because it did not take long for him to sit back down.
Captain Murphy just stood quietly by and drank his coffee. The sergeant might just as well have been talking to himself. Em could see through the front flap, and the captain suddenly squinted and pointed beyond the other side of their tent. “Here comes Jeffrey and Sergeant Jefferson.” The captain placed his mug on the table and straightened his uniform.
Sergeant Barnes stood up and continued drinking his coffee. Em and Jack were hardly breathing. They heard the footsteps of their two new friends as they approached. Em knew that any minute they would be discovered. He felt he had no other option but to remain hidden. As Sergeant Cannon walked right past him just in front of the tent, he held his breath. The first thing he noticed was that Sergeant Cannon looked sharp again. Em remembered the way he had looked when he had first seen him that morning. Now it was becoming clear. Sergeant Barnes said that Sergeant Cannon had followed them all the way here. Could he and Jeff had followed them
