was waiting.
“Goddamned dog attacked me! It caught me by surprise,” Big Ed explained as he clambered in the back of the truck. “I had to beat it off with the butt of my rifle. Goddamned thing came flying out of the falling snow like some kind of ghost! Still, I got three of them boys!”
“You need a tourniquet?” LeRoi asked.
“Naw, it ain’t spurtin’! I can wait till we get out of here,” Big Ed said as he made himself comfortable between the benches. “All the noise we made, this whole town will be crawling with Germans in no time! We best pick up and get out! I never liked this town no way. Can’t grow nothing here, the soil’s too rocky.”
“Where’s your buddy?” LeRoi inquired as he swung the truck around and drove over to where he had last seen Slick. He slid down the window, then called out, “Slick! Slick! We got to head out, man! You better get your ass over here or you gon’ get left!”
Slick appeared, scrambling over the rubble of the fallen building. He beckoned to the truck, indicating he wanted them to follow him. He turned to go back the way he had come when LeRoi shouted, “We gon’ leave your grave-robbin’ ass!”
Slick turned and shouted back, “I found a box of gold! A real box of gold! It’s too heavy for one man to carry. I can use some help!”
“Leave it!” LeRoi ordered. “We need to get out of here! We gon’ have Germans down on our necks any minute!”
“This is a real box of gold! It’s right here! All we got to do is lift up and carry it away! We can’t walk away from this! Our money problems will be over!”
LeRoi left the truck idling with the brake on and scrambled up the mountain of debris. “If you’re lying, yo’ ass is mine!”
Slick led him to the back side of the destroyed building and there in the snow where Slick had dragged it was a squat metal box. “Open it,” Slick urged. LeRoi flipped back the lid and saw that the box was filled with coins and jewelry made of gold. Slick was excited. “There’s two more boxes like this! This buildin’ was some kind of bank! There’s a big crack in the vault showin’ paper money and everythin’. With a little diggin’ we gon’ be rich!”
“Sorry, Slick, this is all we got time for.” LeRoi closed the box. “I wants that gun mor’n I wants gold! I’s ready to carry this one, but no mo’!”
Slick was aghast. The prospect of unlimited wealth was being turned down. “Nigger, you must be stupid! We got a treasure for the takin’ and you gon’ leave it for some damn gun? Nigger, please!”
LeRoi growled, “Pick up the box! We’ll take this one back to the truck!”
Slick saw something in LeRoi’s eyes that made him swallow any more words of contempt. He bent down and grasped the handle and lifted it in unison with LeRoi. The two men struggled and staggered with the weight of the box, but finally wrestled it back to the truck. Big Ed slid over so that they could push the box onto the truck bed.
“We best get on and pick up that Vickers,” Big Ed suggested. “Them Germans got to come and investigate!”
Slick looked back toward the building’s ruins and then into LeRoi’s eyes. He decided on the wiser course and got into the back with Big Ed. LeRoi jumped in the cab and drove the truck without lights back to their storage site.
Professor met them at the door. “I saw lights coming this way down the road from Saint Die. Looks like a couple of squads coming right for us.”
“Let’s get the gun loaded,” LeRoi urged.
“Damn! What about my supplies, my cigarettes, my uniforms?” Slick groused.
“We’s only taking ammunition and mortars. Everything else got to stay! We ain’t dyin’ over no cigarettes and uniforms!” LeRoi barked as he headed down to the basement to get the Vickers.
With Big Ed keeping lookout, it took them twenty minutes to load the ammunition and the guns onto the truck. LeRoi was directing as he worked. Professor and Slick were sweating from
“Goddamned dog attacked me! It caught me by surprise,” Big Ed explained as he clambered in the back of the truck. “I had to beat it off with the butt of my rifle. Goddamned thing came flying out of the falling snow like some kind of ghost! Still, I got three of them boys!”
“You need a tourniquet?” LeRoi asked.
“Naw, it ain’t spurtin’! I can wait till we get out of here,” Big Ed said as he made himself comfortable between the benches. “All the noise we made, this whole town will be crawling with Germans in no time! We best pick up and get out! I never liked this town no way. Can’t grow nothing here, the soil’s too rocky.”
“Where’s your buddy?” LeRoi inquired as he swung the truck around and drove over to where he had last seen Slick. He slid down the window, then called out, “Slick! Slick! We got to head out, man! You better get your ass over here or you gon’ get left!”
Slick appeared, scrambling over the rubble of the fallen building. He beckoned to the truck, indicating he wanted them to follow him. He turned to go back the way he had come when LeRoi shouted, “We gon’ leave your grave-robbin’ ass!”
Slick turned and shouted back, “I found a box of gold! A real box of gold! It’s too heavy for one man to carry. I can use some help!”
“Leave it!” LeRoi ordered. “We need to get out of here! We gon’ have Germans down on our necks any minute!”
“This is a real box of gold! It’s right here! All we got to do is lift up and carry it away! We can’t walk away from this! Our money problems will be over!”
LeRoi left the truck idling with the brake on and scrambled up the mountain of debris. “If you’re lying, yo’ ass is mine!”
Slick led him to the back side of the destroyed building and there in the snow where Slick had dragged it was a squat metal box. “Open it,” Slick urged. LeRoi flipped back the lid and saw that the box was filled with coins and jewelry made of gold. Slick was excited. “There’s two more boxes like this! This buildin’ was some kind of bank! There’s a big crack in the vault showin’ paper money and everythin’. With a little diggin’ we gon’ be rich!”
“Sorry, Slick, this is all we got time for.” LeRoi closed the box. “I wants that gun mor’n I wants gold! I’s ready to carry this one, but no mo’!”
Slick was aghast. The prospect of unlimited wealth was being turned down. “Nigger, you must be stupid! We got a treasure for the takin’ and you gon’ leave it for some damn gun? Nigger, please!”
LeRoi growled, “Pick up the box! We’ll take this one back to the truck!”
Slick saw something in LeRoi’s eyes that made him swallow any more words of contempt. He bent down and grasped the handle and lifted it in unison with LeRoi. The two men struggled and staggered with the weight of the box, but finally wrestled it back to the truck. Big Ed slid over so that they could push the box onto the truck bed.
“We best get on and pick up that Vickers,” Big Ed suggested. “Them Germans got to come and investigate!”
Slick looked back toward the building’s ruins and then into LeRoi’s eyes. He decided on the wiser course and got into the back with Big Ed. LeRoi jumped in the cab and drove the truck without lights back to their storage site.
Professor met them at the door. “I saw lights coming this way down the road from Saint Die. Looks like a couple of squads coming right for us.”
“Let’s get the gun loaded,” LeRoi urged.
“Damn! What about my supplies, my cigarettes, my uniforms?” Slick groused.
“We’s only taking ammunition and mortars. Everything else got to stay! We ain’t dyin’ over no cigarettes and uniforms!” LeRoi barked as he headed down to the basement to get the Vickers.
With Big Ed keeping lookout, it took them twenty minutes to load the ammunition and the guns onto the truck. LeRoi was directing as he worked. Professor and Slick were sweating from
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