SNIPE HUNT: A Viet Nam War Novel by David Allin

Author:David Allin
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2018-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

TEN

Nash used an old tree branch to spread leaves over the hump of fresh dirt that covered Tony’s body, while Harv carved Tony’s name in the bark of the nearest rubber tree with his bayonet. Quan was out by the road, watching for anyone who might be approaching. Nash had suggested that Quan could use one of the ARVN M-2 carbines, but the Chieu Hoi had preferred to keep using the AK-47, with which he was more familiar. Trey was still lying on the cart; he had offered to come help, but he was so obviously weak that Nash had insisted he would be more use standing guard from the cart. Nash was glad Harv had brought his entrenching tool, since it would have been almost impossible to bury Mazzola without it, and if they hadn’t buried him, Nash felt sure Harv would have insisted that they take the body with them, a seriously impractical proposition.

The ARVN radio was a mixed blessing. Harv had disconnected the useless handset and turned on the internal speaker, so they could monitor the radio traffic, but not transmit. Quan had put the radio on his back and was listening to the occasional broadcasts of the ARVN unit to which the dead men had belonged, to see what they were going to do. When Albertson finished the grave marking, Nash handed him the entrenching tool and picked up his rifle. Whistling and waving at Quan to come in, he and Harv trudged solemnly back to the cart. When Quan caught up with them, he tapped the radio over his shoulder with his left hand and told them what he had heard.

“Captain mad sergeant not answer. Maybe he think sergeant steal money. He send tank here to find them.”

Nash doubted the ARVN unit had tanks, but they probably did have armored personnel carriers, and that might be what Quan meant. Regardless, a tracked vehicle could be here fairly quickly, and they would be virtually defenseless against it.

“We need to move,” Nash announced. “Get across the road, head west, and then veer south to Dau Tieng. What do you think, Trey?”

Jefferson lifted his head from the packs he was lying on and nodded. “Don’t want to be here when either the ARVNs or the NVA come. Everybody’s pissed at us now.” His voice creaked, and he was barely audible. Nash was becoming more and more concerned about Trey’s condition. Trey eyed the stacks of money Nash had removed from Tony, now jumbled on the edge of the cart. “What’s that?” he asked. “A bribe?”

“What Tony was carrying. Didn’t want to leave it for the gooks to find. I’ll put it in one of the gook backpacks.” Reaching around Trey, Nash pulled one of the packs free and unstrapped the top. As he dropped the stacks of cash into the bag, he said, “I think I’ll put the ones I’m carrying in here, too. With the cart, we don’t need to carry it on us.”

“Yeah,” Trey agreed, reaching for his own pockets.

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