but that did not seem so important here in paradise. It was too easy here in Hawaii, he thought. He felt embarrassed that he nor Jack had thought of this.
“Hey, Kevil, sit back down. I don’t want you to overexert yourself.” Sergeant Cannon walked toward the coffee pot and filled a mug. “Where are they? I thought you said you would see them before they got too close.”
“They ain’t too close. I been here all morning, and besides, I could hear those two comin’ a mile away. If they are so special, then why the hell ain’t they back? They scared or somethin’?” Em cringed when Sergeant Barnes laughed. The only thing he kept thinking was that he must be one outstanding mechanic. He wondered what the other men thought when silence usually followed Sergeant Barnes’s laughter.
“Hey, Murph. You get Philip there?” Sergeant Cannon turned toward the captain.
“I just got back. I took him over to Pearl. He needed to talk to Captain McVay. He’s supposed to give us a ride to Saipan when he takes over the Indianapolis next month.” Captain Murphy smiled when he looked at Sergeant Cannon. “You look a little better. How long has it been since you tracked someone for three days?”
“Way too long. I got aches in places I’ve never felt before. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you this morning. How is Ruth and your daughter? What was her name?” Sergeant Cannon spoke to Captain Murphy like they had known each other a long time.
“Katherine. And she is just fine. As a matter of fact, she is here. She is with her mother. Ms. Kay and Meredith are going to be staying with them for a few months.”
Em felt his legs getting numb and rocked back and forth on his heels to wake them up. He knew that he and Jack were way beyond the point of no return. He decided that their best course of action would be to sit still and listen as long as they could.
That’s when Sergeant Cannon continued, “And you, Kevil, how are Margie and all your brood?” Sergeant Cannon turned and spoke to Sergeant Barnes.
“Ah, she’s still meaner than a rattlesnake, and those kids’ll prob’ly burn New York down ’for’ I get back there.” Then the familiar laughter followed. It was becoming infectious. “I’ll never get back there anyway. This damn war is going to last forever. Them Japs will never give up. We need to bomb them to smithereens.” Sergeant Barnes’s thoughts seemed to continually jump from one thing to another. He belched rather loudly. Em thought he smelled a strong coffee odor as it drifted into the front of the tent. “Where’s these wonder kids at, Jeffrey? Thought you said you followed them all the way here? What are they waitin’ on?” He paused and waited for Sergeant Cannon to reply.
Sergeant Cannon was ready. “Kevil, what if I told you that they were right over there sleeping in that tent?” Em almost fell over and silently tried to back away from the door. “I bet they have been sitting right here all morning listening to everything you said. You still run your mouth as much as you used to? It’s hard to tell what they have found out. If I was them, I would probably sit still and wait for you to tell them something else.” Em knew instantly that Sergeant Cannon was talking to them. Jack looked at him and smiled. There was no doubt that Sergeant Cannon was talking to them. He continued, “What have you been talking about all morning? I guess the boys know that they will be staying with you and Murph for a few weeks. I hope you don’t teach them all the wrong things. But try to let them have a little fun. One thing though, keep them away from Meredith. I have an idea that Jack will definitely attempt to contact her. He doesn’t need the distraction. Think you can handle that?”
“I told you once that I ain’t no babysitter. Why don’t you take them with you? They’re supposed to be a couple of hotshots. I’m sure they’ll help you out over in Jap country. Maybe you can get rid of a few more of them cockroaches while you’re there.”
Em sat quietly and waited for Sergeant Barnes to continue. He knew he could not keep his mouth shut for very long moments. That no one else spoke was a sure sign that all of them knew Sergeant Barnes well enough to know that he would continue.
As if on cue, Sergeant Barnes started again, “I tell ya, Jeffrey, I ain’t planning on spendin’ my precious little free time watchin’ a couple of snot-nosed kids when I could be chasin’ some island girls. Don’t send them with me ’cause them little chickies won’t want me if them two are taggin’ along.” He paused for a brief moment before he hacked up another ball of mucus and spit it toward the front of the tent. “How long you planning on bein’ gone anyway?” Sergeant Barnes was talking to Sergeant Cannon and seemed to totally ignore Jeff. Em thought that Jeff must feel really out of place because he had not heard him speak all morning. “And is he goin’ with you?” Em assumed that Sergeant Barnes was indicating Jeff, but he was still not speaking directly to him.
Sergeant Cannon answered with a slight sound of annoyance in his voice. “Kevil, his name is Sergeant Jefferson. He speaks English.”
“I’m sorry, Sergeant Jefferson. I didn’t mean no disrespect.” Em thought that Sergeant Barnes’s apology did not sound very sincere.
Still, Jeff never said a word. Em had come to think of Jeff as the most confident man he had ever met, and he refused to believe that he would remain silent. When Jeff remained quiet, Em thought that something must be troubling him. Jeff had become a very good friend of Em and Jack. Both young airmen had spent a lot of time over the past month following him around.
Before Em had time to dwell on this, Sergeant Cannon spoke again. “Hey, Kevil, why don’t you and Murph go ahead and head back to Hickam, and me and Jeff will stay here and wait on the boys. They’ll be here shortly. There isn’t going to be any big surprise waiting on them anyway. Philip wants all of us to be there for the king’s celebration tonight. We’ll break camp and be right behind you. I think you need to get out of here before you tell the boys anything else. I believe they have learned enough for one day.”
“Oh, shut the hell up, Cannon. Them little shits ain’t nowhere near here. I coulda heard ’em a mile away. You said this mornin’ they made more noise than elephants while you was followin’ them.” Once again, the laughter followed. He sure thought of himself as funny. Em thought that the silence from the other men would surely give the sergeant a clue, but he just laughed louder and did not stop until an extremely loud belch interrupted his guffaw. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and continued, “Where the hell are we supposed to be goin’ tonight anyway? What kind a damn king is this clown? I thought we put a stop to that a long time ago.” Once again, the laughter.
That’s when Sergeant Cannon approached Sergeant Barnes and told him that he should respect the islands and their gods, or something bad could happen. He told him that the natives had been here for thousands of years, and no matter what the good ol’ USA thought, the king was still a pretty big deal. He also reminded him that the king and Philip were longtime friends, so it would be a very good idea to attend and be pleasant. Then he laughed and slapped Sergeant Barnes on the back and said, “Well, as pleasant as you can be.”
Em breathed a long sigh of relief when Sergeant Barnes and Captain Murphy said they would gladly head on back and let Sergeant Cannon and Sergeant Jefferson be in charge of the camp breakdown. He even sat back on his butt when he heard them start to slowly walk away. He knew what was coming next. He looked at Jack and waited for Sergeant Cannon to beckon them out. Jack was grinning.
“C’mon out, you two. Really, all the noise you made coming across that mountain, and you walk right in the colonel’s tent. If Kevil knew you were in there, I probably would not leave you with him. He already thinks you two are overrated.” Sergeant Cannon did not come toward the tent but just waited on them to come out.
Jack
