Show t a Nil g NiLE W s n CJ'S T jf I 11 PRATT f E Till THUS lt 1 Ki horl rt lour r oKI ear ohl emits who uh II hi operates operate n 11 shop thop In the alley Dark ol of hit his home homr li le by b his Ms draft drall board that he hr h l I lIn In l-A. l l A lit lie breaks tin the hut 1 lions mens to In mv hl his domineering II Otte ife If who II ho herot suddenly tender tit Mr Ir V l le I. sent to 0 lamp Camp 11 1 Squibb a thousand I miles non nun home homr Her Alter I UR from Irom Motor r sro school Mr Mt roc Kor on Oil a II b. b Ent mv knows koll kno him and his doc doe bark at al furiously fl flit O Isly titer Alter returning to 10 camp Mr Ir IrI winkle HInkle I Ink I and ami d its hi Mr Ir Ih linker Inker ire Err unit sent to III a 1 point ol of Soon Hiu on In the hh gar PH S In III Ini Inn i n hit his rontoy They h meet mel sorer some ol or their Ih tl Nr lr II nh aboard and arc ue encouraged I 1111 II XI XIAt XIAt XIAt At lunch time C they IhlY were cro at rU List last la t told where they IhlY wore were going Nothing t was teas said about the Ihl O From Irom the beginning It Il had hail been planned to 10 send them to lo the th Island of Tail a 11 10 ono one of ot the in ill the retrieving of ot certain precious stones slone stolen by b the Japanese when no lie one olle oneas was as looking The south end of lit the long lUty long Island had hart been captured by Ameri Ameri- American American can call forces along with an nil conveniently just lust completed by the Japs who vho stilt still held the northern half of ot They would land some sometime sometime time the till next morning Mr tr Winkle searched In his hili guide guidebook book bool for the entry under To Tot I A ts 1 I N l m t tai r li lif f i ir r 1 t I 4 T t f r It was hot on land alter the sc se seas as they marched through town his satisfaction he ho found that the is island Is land had cannibals It was in fact tact noted for tor them Late that afternoon a II collection of dark dots came out of the sinking sun ahead of at them The Tho gun crews of ot their own and the other ships sprang to their stations alert and tense Dut put soon word was passed about that these were their own planes corne come to protect them in that most dangerous of all times dusk on the sea No enemy from under on or over the sea appeared either cither that night or at dawn when the planes returned to take lake up their vigil and escort the convoy to port Land now made out boldly was seen to be n lying low shore reach reach- reachIng reaching Ing up abruptly to a towering volcan volcan- volcanic ic mountain ridge running along ulong the far side of It was a n scene of such beauty as to be very nearly unreal As they approached closer here and there the white wisp of a waterfall could be seen throwing It Itself It self sell down from the mountain jun jungles and disappearing Into the thick green growth below That war and the killing and maiming of at met mep could exist on this peaceful looking Island did not seem credible Looking at It It all oil you wanted to 10 do was to land here among the palm trees on the white sandy shore and spend the tile rest of at your life Ufe Mr Winkle and his several thou thousand sand companions gazed at It with awe and wonderment The Island was almost the thing for which Mr Winkle searched and he wondered If he would find It here Mr Winkles Winkle's impression of at land land- landIng Ing was not one of ot danger but of ot fascination Their troopship was the first ves Yes vessel sel sal through the mine field and the opening made by a small tug draw drawing ing lug back bock the boom of the submarine net Almost the anchor was down in the harbor landing nets were were being thrown over the sides of the ship and boats lowered They climbed down packing them themselves selves in the lifeboats Three ot of these tied together were pulled by bya a launch to one of at the piers The Themen Themen Themen men stared at a sunken hall supply ship they passed Some of them identified shore chore batteries placed on either point of the harbor It was hot on land after the sea as they marched through town Passin by the thatched huts they saw that most of them were vacant Only here and there were they occupied occupied pied pled by skinned brown brown skinned people whose large dark eyes gazed at them apa A few of them were girls clad in a simple garment of printed cloth which left one shoulder bare and outlined the rest of their slim bodies to their knees you know breathed Mr Tinker TUlker you know Nil tm m u II I Mi l Win Win- Winkle WinI I kle kie W Vr S' S iv ll 1111 to Pt pi II II t tn thi-tn Huts Hut's nil all Sure said lId Mi hl II I Tinker Sure Tic lie twisted his head hlad to lu keep kp in sight 1 j as long as he hI could what he looked for to Il protecting lIc illig I tin Un the till far side of ot the village the Ihl jungle begun bl u n monstrous growth lh of ot palms Pit lianas bushes bu vivid dowers breadfruit trees 1118 and anil banana plants Into this thc they marched along a narrow nar nar- row mw white shell road roul that t threw up heal heit In III nearly suffocating waves They began to 10 sweat They Th y cause to 10 n a tent so 50 cleverly camouflaged that they the failed ailed to tn snake nuke It all out at nl once It was wall painted the th exact color 1 of ot the 1111 vegetation limbs IAmbs of ot trues Irell grew over Its roof Nets to which w 1 branches brunches were N t at rut- attached nod anil sprayed a n permanent runt green coveted covered It in other oilier places pl The jungle II was honeycombed with such tents some som of ot them small some sonic of thorn large huge I r I. I enough to 10 house a u small circus Again aln Mr Ir Winkle felt fell safe saCe He Ill told himself hint self nothing could happen to him Idol In such a II hidden Ii id ten in hi- installation lie Inc hail half expected ha to tomake tomake make malt a II landing amidst st n II hall of at bullets and exploding bombs At Al their first I meal In the tress mess tent ten I they tasted new lIew foods potato potato- tn like 1111 taro papaya p. and ami wild wil l chicken Mr 1 Tinker spat most of them out Ami took to lu what ho he called civilized dishes also provided Mr Winkle swallowed SW them If not with relish at least with pleasure In their proving how definitely he was on n o tropic Island The newcomers were asked such n II barrage of ot questions that they had little chance to put pul any of their own men Tho The few they managed to get gel In were mostly answered with a n lifting of at the shoulders Ono One nun man ilia n Jerked his thumb toward the north mimic and said sahl Were Just silting sitting each other out The Tho Winkle Winde and Tinker reported to one of ot the shops where wl re reM Mr M Tinker was open mouthed at lit the equipment and Mr l Winkle was Im Impressed pressed Trucks reconnaissance nail and com cont command stand mand cars and jeeps and peeps were driven Into spacious tents which held as complete com pie Ie equipment as to be bl found at home Ironic The canvas sides were rolled up for tor ventilation giving them a n pleasant air of at being belli outdoors The Tine familiar smell of oiled machinery and carbon corban monoxide fumes reached their lr nostrils These perfumes were more heartening than the sweet curious odors of ot the Jungle with which they competed J Men like hies themselves trained as they had been following the same procedures labored over the vehicles L a Leles des cles one of ot which lurid had Its Us entire rear end missing as If it had been torn oft oR with ti a violent hand The rue Themen men looked look cd up gazing Idly curious curiously ly or with interest at the newcom ers era Only once did they pause In their quick deft attentions to 10 the motors A radio abruptly turned on buzzed and crackled for tor a mo mo- moment moment ment and then from It came the clear clent assured announcement This Tills is the tho United States of America The Tho men went still for an Instant taking It in They glanced at ot each other and some of them smiled brief brief- briefly ly Iy almost shyly As the wave short program went on giving the news from home they returned to work with an added zest Mr Winkle couldn't suppress a tingle that went through him and a choking In his throat It quieted the queasy feeling In his stomach It made marie him know that the jungle of at at least this part of It a and more to come was the U U. S. S S A A. When a mall moll went out Mr Winkle was allowed to write only the barest Information to Amy He lie refrained from saying much for tor the double reason of living up to the censorship regulations and not caring to fright frighten en her He lie omitted certain things he discovered In his paradise such as malaria dysentery white while ants with a pincers attack worse than any war maneuver ever conceived and mosquitoes so profuse that a anet anet anet net over the bed served only to trap them Inside where they could concen concentrate their attack It must he lie thought be enough of ofa a strain for Amy not riot even to know where he was beyond the fact that he was In the South Seas area lie He kept to the cheery things such us as the taste of roasted wild pig and the crawfish shrimp and prawns He Ire described the flowers and dwelt dwelton on the hibiscus which he thought went better with the tropics than anything else ese He Ill told her about the parrots and cockatoos of the jun jungle i gle and how the air was filled with the color of flashing wings lie He said there were no cannibals about just then but he hoped even even- eventually eventually to see one He lie described war as being nothing at all like what he had expected and assured her that he would woud be back some day No Jap lap bullet has ray rny name on It he wrote He pondered on whether or not he should leave this In It was boast boast- boasting boasting ing in a L little for he had yet to hear a ashot ashot ashot shot fired on either side In the end he let the statement go deciding it was reassuring more than anything else And he didn't want to give her the Impression that he really wasn't in the war Mr Tinker Ti er was in it so little that he didn't think ink much of ot as a battleground When a truck was brought in with a II few bullet holes through Its body it was a matter of ot some curiosity And the bullets had been fired so far away that the ac ae ac- ac lighting teemed seemed rl remote end un un- un unreal real They saw nothing of the tho enemy heard nothing of him hon There were so few fw evidences of his exist existence exl t ence enee that tha I they Ihl wore were hardly worth wurth worthwhile worthwhile while r. en the It two tuo rots cols co Is In their tent hadn't hero been v ned vai-ned VII u ted by dead men but hut by turn men who II ho had h. ed rd tropic fever and been hc I sent home The native lIall girls ran when Mr 1 Fink Tink Tinker Finker er made approaches II lIl I they didn't trust any human being In a sol soldiers soldier's Biers dier's uniform All In till all Mr I Tinker was WIS very vry much uch disgusted lie said he lie might ht as ns well be he home working it his plumbing l and he told Mr I Id I'd r. r Winnie he night might as liS well tern be b hone home In his shop Mr Winkle on the Hie theother hand I j could not flout conceal from himself the the tact fact that he t was t ny pleased He lie 1 I c i breathed easier thinking that If it this was all there was sus to It U It wasn't so fiO I had bad To the north he knew lay laythe laythe the ll and till the main part of the American forces of ot occupation And i on there was tuns Jungle lighting I where nun men stalked each other I through the undergrowth and caul sniped from Cram the trees put Hut this was WO not i his business anti and he come came Into con Call contact contact I tact with none of ot those whose affair It was Mr I Tinker hoped to be sent north on some mission Its Ito the only way I can call see srI for me to get me my Jup he said Mr 1 Winkle didn't understand how he hI could expect this be bo on other duty lit he h pointed out Not nil all the time I wont won't Mr I Tinker said You wouldn't tell any ally anybody I body he pleaded If I went off oft for u 11 while would you Iop You wont won't do any 11 iY such I thing thinK Mr I Winkle scolded Mr Tinker remained silent look looking ing log glum but determined Mr Tinker had only contempt for forthe the tho south tip ot of the Island to which he lie and Mr Winkle were sent sev lev several eral ral tines times to rescue vehicles In hl dif dlf- j lenities faculties He lie could hope to find no i Japs there The shore was lined i with American machine gun fox foxholes I holes and It was here that the Al AI Alphabet I to his chagrin was sta I tinned Sergeant and his crew Including Freddie and ond Jack I agreed with Mr Tinker about their part in the war Nothing they felt would happen III In the Ule portion given to them They had come thousands of at miles to alt sit and watch and wait for tor action that would never materialize They with Mr Winkle over over- overlooked overlooked looked the Ule fact tact that when you are aro In Ina a war you are arc in a war A I Awakened early one morning Mr Winkle m and nod u Mr Tinker mu were told laId to i m u mu report to the orderly tent on the double quick Their Commanding looked grim when he ha told them Hop In a jeep and get gel down to Post Number Nine Repair a 8 corn corn- Nt 11 t li d a e 1 v 4 1 1 Mr Winkle was allowed to write I Ionly only the barest Information to Amy mand car you'll find there and bring it back Dont Don't waste any time Theres There's mist oft olt the shore Any Anything thing can come out of it Mr Winkles Winkle's heart leaped as he be saluted with Mr Tinker and hur hur- hurried hurrIed ried vied out Something said Mr Tinker Is Isi up Mr Winkle was very much afraid that this might be so Nine he ha said the Alphabet At the motor park tent they found the men on duty there had the same tense attitude better take lake some extra cartridge clips they were told These were given to them They drove out Mr Winkle didn't like the extra cartridge clips but buthe buthe buthe he did feel teel better to have rifles slung alongside the bouncing car When they reached the road run run- running running ning south along alon the shore they saw the mist Between hillocks of ot the beach ridge they could make it out standing like a wall several hun hundred hundred dred yards offshore mysterious dangerous unreasonable It made Mr Mr fr Tinker enthusiastic The Japs know were we're about ready to push them in the face In the north he held they'll take t e ethis this chance TO BE CONTINUED |