Show THEOD 0 o ORE 6 CA aa P PRATT RELEASE THE STORY thug FAR forty tout four year old wilbert winkle who opera operates tea a repair shop in the alley back of his home Is notified by his bis draft board that tha he Is a la in IA 1 A ile brcak the bad news new to amy his dom domineering I 1 wife wh who becomes I 1 it suddenly tender mr air winkle winkl Is sent to camp squibb it thousand miles from homo home alter after graduating from rotor motor mechanics school mr air winkle goes home on a furlough amy hardly knows him all and 4 his dog doe penelope barks at him dim furiously after returning to camp mr air winkle winkie and his bis friend mr air tinker are sent to st A point of embarkation embar hatlon soon they fin themselves on the ille kigh seas in a big convoy they meet some of their friends aboard and are encouraged CHAPTER XI at lunch time they were at last told where they were going nothing was said about the main convoy from the beginning it had been planned to send them to the island ot of calizo one ot of the steppingstone i in the retrieving of certain precious stones stolen by the japanese when no one was looking the south end of the fafty mlle mile long island had been captured by american forces along with an airfield conveniently just completed by the japs who still held the northern halt of 0 talleo they would land some time the next morning mr winkle searched in his guidebook for the entry under tallio to I 1 t was hot on land after the sea they marched through town his satisfaction he found that the island had cannibals it was in tact fact noted tor for them late that afternoon a collection of dark dots came out of the sinking sun ahead of them the gun crews of their own and the other ships sprang to their stations alert and tense but soon word was passed about that these were their own planes 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 that night or at dawn clawn when the planes returned to take up their vigil and escort escort the convoy to port land now made out boldly was teen seen to be a low lying shore reaching up abruptly to a towering volcanic mountain ridge running along the far side of calizo it was a 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 itsell itself down from the mountain jungles and disappearing into the thick green growth below that war and the killing and maiming of meri could exist on this peaceful looking island did not seem credible looking at it all you wanted to do was to land here among the palm trees on the white sandy shore and spend tile the rest of your life mr winkle and his bis several thousand companions gazed at it with owe we and wonderment the island was almost the thing tor for which mr winkle searched and he be wondered it if he would find it here mr winkles impression of landing was not one of danger but of fascination their troopship was the first vessel through the mine field and the opening made by a small tug drawing back the boom of the submarine net almost etore the anchor was down dowa in the harbor landing nets were being thrown over the sides of the ship and boats lowered they climbed down packing themselves in the lifeboats three ot of these tied together were pulled by a launch to one of the piers the men stared at a half sunken supply ship they passed some of them identified shore batteries placed on either point of the harbor it was hot on land after the sea as they marched through town passing by the thatched thatch dd huts buts they a gaw aw that most of them were vacant only here and there were they occupied by brown skinned people whose large dark eyes gazed at them apathetically 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 chadda you know breathed mr tinker chadda you know howll now now cautions cauti ond mr winkle were here to protect them all sure said mr tinker sure he awl twisted e d it his I 1 s head to keep in its as long as II 11 he e could what he looked forward to protecting on the tar far side ot of the village the jungle began a monstrous growth of palms bianas lianas bushes vivid flowers breadfruit trees and banana plants into this they marched along a narrow white shell road that threw up heat in nearly suffocating waves they began to sweat they came to a tent so cleverly camouflaged that they failed to make it all out at once it was painted the exact color ol of the vegetation limbs of trees grew over its roof nets to which branches were attached and sprayed a permanent pei manent green covered it in other places the jungle was honeycombed with such tents some of them small some ot of them large enough to house a small circus again mr winkle felt safe he told himself nothing could happen to him in such a hidden installation stal lation ile he had halt half expected to make a landing amidst a hall hail of bullets and exploding bombs at their first meal in the mess tent they tasted new foods potato like taro papaya and wild chicken mr mir tinker spat most of them out and nd took to what he called civilized dishes also provided mr winkle swallowed them it not with relish at least with pleasure in their proving how definitely he was on a tropic island the newcomers were asked such a barrage of questions that they had little chance to put any of their own the few they managed to get in were mostly answered with a lifting of the shoulders 0 one e man jerked his thumb toward the north and said were just sitting each other out the winkle and tinker reported to one of the shops where mr tinker was openmouthed open mouthed at the equipment and mr winkle was impressed in trucks reconnaissance and command cars and jeeps and peeps were driven into spacious tents which held as complete equipment as to be found at home the canvas sides were rolled up tor for ventilation giving them a pleasant air of being outdoors the familiar smell of oiled mabi machinery nery and carbon monoxide fumes reached their nostrils these perfumes were more heartening than the sweet curious odors of the jungle with which they competed men like themselves trained as they had been following the same procedures labored over the vehicles one of which had its entire rear end missing as if it had been torn off w with ith a violent hand the men loo looked k ed u up p gazing idly curiously or with interest at the newcomers only once did they pause in their quick deft attentions to the mo motors tors A radio abruptly turned on buzzed and crackled for a moment me nt and then from it came the clear assured announcement this ibis is the united states of america the men went is still till for an instant taking it in they glanced at each other and some of them smiled briefly almost shyly As the short wave program went on giving the news from home they returned to work with an added zest mr winkle suppress a tingle that went through him and a c hoking choking in his throat it quieted the queasy feeling in his stomach it made him know that the jungle of calizo at least this part of it and more to come was the U S A when a mail went out mr winkle was allowed to write only the barest information to amy he refrained from saying much for the double reason of liv living ingup up to the censorship regulations and not caring to frighten her he omitted certain things he discovered in his big paradise such as malaria dysentery white ants with a pincers attack worse than any war maneuver ever conceived and mosquitoes so profuse that a net over the bed served only to trap them inside where they could concen their attack it must he thought be enough of a strain for amy not even to know where he was beyond the fact act that he was in the south seas area he kept to the cheery things such as the taste of roasted wild pig and the crawfish shrimp and prawns brawns he described the flowers and dwelt on the hibiscus which he thought went better with the tropics than anything else he told her about the parrots and cockatoos cocka toos of the jungle and how the air was filled with the color of flashing wings ile he said there were no cannibals about just then but he hoped eventually to see one he described war as being nothing at all like what he had expected and assured her that he would be back some day no jap bullet has my name on it he wrote he pondered on whether or not he should leave this in it was boasting a little tor for he had yet to hear bear a shot fired on either side in the end he let the statement go deciding it was reassuring more than anything else and he want to give her the impression that he really in the war mr tinker was in it so little that he be think much of calizo as a battleground when a truck was brought in with a few bullet holes through its body it was a matter of some curiosity and the bullets had been fired so far away that the ac fighting seemed remote met and unreal they sa saw w nothing of 0 the enemy and he heard a rd nothing of him there were so few evidences of his existence that they were hardly worth while even the two cots in their tent been vacated by dead men but by men who had contracted tropic fever and been sent home the native girls ran when mr tinker made approaches they trust any human being in n a soldiers uniform all ali in all mr tinker was very much disgusted he said he might as well be home working it his is plumbing and he told mr winnie winkle he might as well aeu be home in his shop mr winkle on the other hand could not conceal from himself the tact fact that he was pleased he breathed easier thinking that if this was all there was to it it so bad to the north he knew lay the airfield and the main part of the american forces of occupation and farther on there was jungle fighting where men stalked each other through the undergrowth and sniped from the trees but this was not his business and he came into contact with none of those whose affair it was mr tinker hoped to be sent north on some mission its the only way I 1 can see tor for me to get me my jap he said mr winkle understand how bow he could expect this be on other duty he pointed out not all the time ilme I 1 wont mr tinker said you tell anybody he pleaded if I 1 went off tor for a while would you pop you wont do any such thing mr winkle scolded mr tinker remained silent looking glum but determined mr tinker had only contempt tor for the south tip of the island to which he and mr winkle were sent several times to rescue vehicles in difficulties he could hope to find to no japs there the shore was lined with american machine gun fox holes and it was here that the alphabet to his chagrin was stationed sergeant and his crew including freddie an and d jack ag agreed reed with mr tinker about their part in the war nothing they felt would happen in the portion given to them they had come come thousands of miles to sit and watch and wait tor for action that would never materialize they with mr winkle overlooked the fact that when you are in a war you are in a war awakened early one morning mr winkle and mr tinker were told to report to the orderly tent 0 on n the double quick their comm commanding and officer looked grim when he told them hop in a leep jeep and get down to corra post number nine repair a cornair 4 1 0 v aw air winkle was allowed to write only the barest information to ama mand car find there and bring it back dont waste any time theres mist off the shore anything can come out of it mr winkles heart leaped loped as he saluted with mr tinker and hurried out something said mr tinker Is up mr winkle was very much afraid that this might be so nine he said the alphabet at the motor park tent they found the men on duty there had the same game tense attitude better take some extra cartridge clips they were told these were given to them they drove out mr winkle like the extra cartridge clips but he did feel better to have rifles slung alongside the bouncing car when they reached the road running south along the shore they saw the mist between hillocks of the beach ridge they could make it out standing like a wall several hundred yards offshore mysterious dangerous unreasonable it made mr tinker enthusiastic the japs know were about ready to push them in the face in the north he held bebb take this chance TO BE CONTINUED |