A Walk in the Sun Page #9

of territory and you ain't nothing.

Friedman, I've been good to you.

Every time you needed it,

I'd always give you my last franc.

I treated you like a brother.

And every chance you get,

you needle me up the back?!

I'm antisocial, I got gabosis!

Maybe you should go off somewhere.

- Where?

- How should I know?

Treat you like a brother

and you stick a knife in my back.

He's a crumb, isn't he, Judson?

- Yeah, everybody's a crumb.

Wish I was home in bed.

Anybody who would sleep in the

noontime is a dope.

- A dope!

Take it easy, Arch.

Don't get too far ahead.

- Didn't know I was.

I was almost asleep on my feet.

Didn't get any sleep

at all last night.

Keep awake now.

- OK.

Say, Sarge, do you think I'll make

Sarge by the battle of Tibet?

Sure. They'll make you a General.

- That's all I wanted to know.

How much further's this farm?

- We ought to be breaking into

the field below now.

Keep your eyes open and stop when

you see the field.

- Right.

How's it going, Tim?

- I've been here before.

- How's baby?

I'll wake her up

when it's time to feed her.

Still thinking about apples,

Sergeant?

Yeah. And I've been doing my darndest

to think about other things like

cold well water, cold cider

fresh in a jug, ice-cream.

But it don't do no good.

I still keep thinking about apples.

A guy always wants something

when he can't get it.

- Yep.

We should be thinking about

that farmhouse up ahead.

About how many men are there.

And how we're going to take it.

It's all I keep thinking about,

is a big red apple.

Some day, some country will put out

a rug that says Welcome.

And they're going

to let me walk in on it.

That's what I'm gonna do someday.

When?

- Next Tuesday, chowder head.

How do I know when? 1983.

I'll look you up then.

It's a loving way to see Europe.

- If it hadn't been for this war,

nearest you'd ever got to Europe

woulda been the Staten Island ferry.

- Anybody can go to Europe.

I know a guy, once, wigged

his way over on a cattle boat.

Why?

- He wanted to see it.

Must have been a honey of a dope.

- He was my cousin.

- Then I know he was.

Friedman, after we get to this farmhouse,

I'm going to take you up to the barn

and beat the bajavas out of you.

What with?

- The barrel of this gun.

I thought you were

really going to get tough!

That farmhouse is sure

little apples full of krauts.

Sure as little apples is.

There she is.

That's it, all right.

On the nose.

- On the nose.

What do you think?

- I don't know yet,

but I'm gonna to go up and take a look.

Arch, you come along.

Take it easy.

Wish I had those binoculars now.

Do you see anything?

- Not a thing.

How about the windows?

- Sun's on them.

Wish I knew. Wish I knew.

- Knew what?

Nothing. Let's get back.

How's it look?

- It's quiet.

I don't like it. It's too quiet.

Yeah. It's bad when it's too quiet.

Windy?

- Yeah.

- Come here.

Here's the setup.

There's a stone wall,

runs clear around.

And there's a clear slope

up to the house, from the wall.

Not much cover. Pretty hard

to tell just what the story is.

If I had that pair of binoculars

I would have been able to see more.

Anyone there?

- That's what we don't know.

We're not going to take any chances.

We'll send a patrol up first.

Four or five guys.

- I'll take it.

- I may need you here.

I want to take it.

OK. You take it.

Pick yourself four men.

I'll go.

No, you don't, doughfoot.

I need this little instrument.

I want four volunteers.

Four congressional medal of honour

with ten oakleaf clusters volunteers.

Any extra pay?

- Oh, no.

I'll go anyway, just to make

them feel ashamed.

- Good.

I'm a hero.

I've been up front all day.

I might as well stay there.

- All right.

I'll go along, Sarge.

- OK. One more.

First guys who get to that farmhouse

will get the wine. I'll go.

That's four.

- Pass out the purple hearts, Mother.

You take your popgun down by the road

where you can keep your eye on

the road and the farmhouse.

You got that, doughfoot?

- In my head.

- Keep it there.

And remember to cover if anyone needs it.

- OK, chief. Let's go.

All right. Let's go.

Gotta have portable walls

to go with every war.

I'll see they have them next time.

Wouldn't want you to be disappointed.

It's a pretty good spot.

It'll do for a while.

I ain't planning to raise

a family here.

How's the farmhouse look to you?

I'll rake the joint.

Timing's OK.

You got plenty of grenades?

- Yeah.

OK.

- Stay five yards apart.

Keep on your gut.

Five yards apart.

Go on your gut.

Good luck.

- Same to you.

Fix bayonets.

Let's go.

Go back, go back! Patrol, go back!

Now, Rivera, now.

Why don't we open up?

Why don't we open up?

Go, Rankin, everybody, over the wall!

Did you get hit?

- No.

You shouldn't have tried it.

You shouldn't have tried it.

Did everybody get back?

- Tinker. They got Tinker.

I think they got Rankin.

Rankin didn't come back.

I knew it. I knew.

I thought there was only three.

Is that Tinker?

- Yeah.

Why don't you pull him in?

- He's dead.

How do you know he's dead?

- I can tell when a man's dead.

What a mess. What a rotten,

filthy, stinking, no good mess.

Could have been worse. They could

have waited till you all

got up there.

Could have been a lot worse.

- It's bad enough.

You all right, Tranella?

- In the pink.

Cousins?

- OK.

Tough luck.

Now we've really got

a job on our hands.

- Yeah.

No element of surprise.

They've got us cold.

Probably a machine gun in every

window. Can't get near enough

to use a grenade.

If we only had just one rocket

left for our bazooka.

But we haven't got a rocket.

- No. How about waiting until dark.

We can't. We've got to get in there

and get in there fast.

We'll have to figure something out.

Wonder who they knocked off.

It's too far away to see.

Hope it ain't anybody I like.

Hope it ain't anybody I know.

- Me neither.

It was beautiful,

the way I messed up that house.

It was beautiful.

I could do that 50 times a day.

Keep your eyes open or they'll

be sending a half-back around

with a grenade in his mitt.

They only have to do that once a day.

Knuckles to them!

I seen them coming round

my end by the millions.

They never gained a yard around my end.

I'm indestructible. Nobody dies.

Nobody dies.

OK, corps.

Close. Somebody's careless

with firearms...

Joke.

I can't think of a thing.

They've got us cold.

Pretty and cold.

It's no place for a gentleman.

Please, teacher, can I leave the room?

- You and Tinker.

We should have given

you some cover, too.

It wouldn't

have made any difference.

The only thing I hope is they

haven't put through a call

to send tanks.

That'd really put the screws on us.

- I don't think they will. We've

got a lot of planes around here.

They'd be afraid the planes would

see the tanks.

- What makes you think so?

I just got a feeling.

- I just got a feeling, too.

I wonder if Rankin's dead.

Oh, gee. I don't know.

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