The Lost Patrol Page #4

They're our horses.

It's McKay and Cook.

Oh, look at their faces.

Oh, Jock. Jock, Matlow.

Quick, lend us a hand.

We gotta get them out of here.

The dirty, filthy swine.

I'll get one of you for this.

By the cross of Croagh Patrick,

by the blood of the mother that bore me...

you shall suffer.

I'll get you for this. I'll get...

- Quincannon! Come back!

- Come back, you fool!

- Come back, Quincannon!

- Bastards!

Morelli.

Morelli.

Morelli.

Did you see their faces?

McKay and Cook?

Their eyes and mouths...

all choked up with...

Shall you ever forget it?

Oh, shut up, will you?

I'm trying to forget it, blast you!

I was dreaming,

thinking I was back in Blighty.

And you wake me up.

That's what's going

to happen to all of us.

Maybe, I'll be next...

maybe you'll be next.

Why don't you prepare yourself?

Why don't you make

your peace with God?

Because I don't have to. I'm all right.

I ain't done nothing to be ashamed of.

There's only been one in my life.

Shut up and let me sleep, will you?

Now, he's gone.

First, it was the Lieutenant...

then it was Pearson.

Oh, suck it, will you?

What's the use of talking about it?

Then it was Hale...

Abelson...

Bell...

McKay, Cook...

Quincannon.

And now he's gone.

He said goodbye to me.

Then he disappeared.

What are you talking about?

You're not going the way they did.

They weren't prepared.

I'm going to save you, Morelli.

I know my mission now.

I'm going to make you believe.

Listen, Sanders,

I'll blow you to kingdom come.

I will, so help me. I'll splatter

your brains against that wall.

- Now stay away and shut up, will you?

- Steady on, steady on.

Easy with that rifle, Morelli.

- What's up?

- He's crazy, Sergeant.

He ought to be tied up.

If you don't keep him away from me

I'll kill him, so help me, I will.

Morelli, get hold of yourself.

Sanders.

Sanders! Go wake up Brown.

Time I was relieved.

He's gone.

Gone?

- Who?

- Brown.

He went out of that door.

He said you'd understand.

What?

He wrote something in my Bible...

for you.

Deserted?

Insubordinate swine.

Bilged out.

Left us like a rat,

when we needed every man.

Why didn't you tell me?

You're a party to this, you know.

Get your rifle and get out of here.

You take his place.

Yes.

Yes, that's it.

That's it, Sergeant. Yes.

"Sorry, Sergeant...

"but Quincannon was right.

He marked off one for Jock.

"I'll get another for Matlow.

"Taking a long swing to come around

behind them.

"Fine moon tonight.

Should be good hunting.

"Yours contritely, George Brown.

"PS:

"Not a good name...

"but the best I could think of

when I enlisted."

- Have a smoke?

- How many you got?

Six. How many have you?

Four.

Not enough, ain't it, Sarge?

Have one of mine.

Sarge, did you ever hear tell

the tale of Jonahs?

Yeah.

If only something

would move out there.

This... waiting.

- About Jonahs. Listening?

- Yeah.

Well, I'm one of them.

Take that turn of mine before the war.

That was as good a dancing team

as ever you saw, Sarge.

Morel and Moree, acrobatic dancers.

Morel was me, see. Moree was Jessie.

She was a good kid, Sarge.

And dance, oh...

She was a looker, too.

We wasn't exactly married...

but if ever a guy got a wife

that was too good for him...

that's what happened to me

when I hooked up with Jessie.

We sure was happy, too.

Well...

knocking down good money, too.

We're growing so big,

we're figuring on with topping the act.

So we stick in a slack wire dance

for Jessie.

Just for a climax, you know?

It goes great.

The opening night,

we knock them for a row.

We go around hugging each other.

Next night, the wire breaks.

They ring down the curtain to find

me over her crying like a baby.

And Jessie's a-lying there,

white as milk...

biting her lips against the pain,

trying to put on a smile...

and comfort me.

Comfort me, mind you.

She wasn't killed...

'cause I'm a Jonah.

I guess you don't know

what I mean, Sarge.

Guess nobody else does.

You're not bothered with no woman.

Never seen you look at one.

You never was married, like,

was you, Sarge?

- Yes.

- Yeah?

That's funny.

I never heard you talk about it.

She died.

Kind of made me hate the kid at first.

Oh.

- That way, huh?

- Yeah.

Seemed to me

the little beggar was to blame.

I didn't want him. I wanted her.

- Little blighters grow on you, though.

- I suppose so.

I'll never know.

Pretty soon,

all I could think of was the kid.

Wanted him to have

everything I'd missed.

Found myself working

hard for promotion.

More pay. Saving every bob.

Cor, I had it all figured out.

Sent him to a good school.

Oh, he's a fine little fellow, Morelli.

You ought to see him.

That's what I've been fighting for.

What'll happen to him now,

without me?

Oh, forget it.

- If only something would move out there.

- Don't worry.

- You ever had ambition?

- Yeah.

Jessie and me

always wanted to play the Coliseum.

Well, I've had it bad in my time,

but I've never had it like I've got it now.

Swine...

hiding out there.

I'll get them.

I tell you, I'll get them, Morelli.

- And then I'll die.

- Easy, Sarge, don't you go that way.

Hey!

He sees us, Sarge!

He sees us!

Sanders, Sanders, look! See it?

Look!

You see that, Sanders?

We're all right now.

We're all right now.

- He's landing, Sarge.

- Morelli, Morelli, we're crazy.

Hello.

We mustn't do it.

If he goes walking across there...

- Hey, get back! Get back!

- I never thought of that, Sarge.

Get away!

- Don't do it! Turn back!

- Get away!

- Don't do it!

- Turn around!

- Go on!

- Don't do it.

- Get away!

- Hey!

I say...

I say, you chaps should...

You did that! You've killed him!

He came in answer to my prayers,

for me...

and you killed him,

you murdered him!

Tie him up, Morelli.

Tie him up before I kill him.

Look at it out there, mocking us.

What good does it do us?

Better if it wasn't there.

- Ever been up in one, Sarge?

- No.

Let's do something.

I can't stand this.

- Let's take a whack at it.

- Good idea.

- You know how to start it?

- No.

I don't know one

jigger from the other.

All I know is horses.

- Sarge.

- Yeah?

I'm thinking...

if we'd have rushed them, right off,

the minute we got here...

What's the use of chewing the rag

about something we might have done?

Right you are, Sarge.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking!

Perhaps I've done everything wrong.

Perhaps this, and perhaps that.

But what I've done, I've done!

And what I haven't, I haven't!

Sorry, Morelli.

Shouldn't fly off like that.

- I'm getting jumpy.

- That's all right, Sarge.

- Forget it. My fault.

- No, it's mine...

because I...

Well, I blew up like that because...

Well, I've done all the thinking

in this outfit.

Had to meet everything that came along.

My head was twisted silly, thinking.

- Good job you was with us.

- Thanks.

But the thing that gets me most...

is being done in by them sneaking Arabs.

What does the war mean to them?

Might just as well be friendly.

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