The Dead Look On by Gerald Kersh

Author:Gerald Kersh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Published: 1942-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

10

Prelude to Promotion for Pommer

It was scarcely necessary for Captain Johann Pommer to receive the word of command before he went to work. He was a young man of intensely active conscience. His Commanding Officer said: “Collect scrap.”

Pommer went to work.

He had considered, with infinite care, the metallic possibilities of Dudicka. Dudicka was a village, a village like every village in the world. One might have said that it concealed no iron. But Captain Pommer knew everything that was hidden in Dudicka, from precious to base metals.

In his breast pocket he had a notebook. On about the third or fourth page of this notebook there was a list. It ran somewhat as follows:

There is a lead roof to the church.

This is a Catholic village: there are numerous Christs.

They go in for iron stoves. There must be seventy or eighty stoves in Dudicka.

The population is agrarian. Therefore, there will be a considerable quantity of steel as used for plough-coulters, hoes, scythes, sickles, spades, etc., etc.

Tools: picks, shovels, etc., etc.

They have no electricity and no gas. They employ lamps. Most of these lamps are of brass. Each lamp involves about two or three pounds of brass. Granted that there are ninety lamps in the village. There is, therefore, perhaps 150 kilos of brass.

150 kilos of brass makes…(?)…shell-cases.

Precious metal. Rings, wedding, gold.

Rings, wedding, silver.

Watches, etc.

Personal jewellery, etc.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.