My Heart For Hostage (Annotated) by Robert Hillyer

Author:Robert Hillyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: American fiction
Publisher: Personville Press

Chapter 13

Edward arrived at Bordeaux the night before the steamer was to sail, and went directly to the Hotel Margot, a quiet little place where he had stayed on his arrival in 1917. He was hardly in bed, however, when rappings on his door, shrill invitations and mocking comments on his manhood demonstrated that during the War the Hotel Margot, too, had lost its reputation. He lay sleepless for several hours, at times shaking with laughter at the thought that the République Française seemed determined to ensconce him in a brothel even if it had to send one after him to chase him to the very port of departure. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity—all to be had for twenty francs at the Hotel Margot. Moi, je suis la France! He got little sleep that night.

In comparison, the familiar decks of the old Chicago seemed like home territory. Edward's cabin was a small alcove with two berths far up in the bow. As soon as he had locked the door behind him, he felt relaxed enough to stretch himself out in solitary comfort and sleep. From far away the gong for luncheon penetrated his slumbers just sufficiently to shake them into an unfocused dream. The pine grove behind his mother's house had been wrecked by shellfire and purple gases issued from the smoldering stumps. To his horror, he discovered that he had lost his gas mask. He ran through miles of broken forest, and then suddenly remembered that he had left his mother in a dugout in the artillery lines. Back he raced, while the fumes of gas began to suffocate him. But he ran on and on. Just as he was about to enter the dugout, the words "Mimi-Pinçon" flashed before him, and the portal of the little inn in the forest of Fontainebleau appeared. Germaine stood there waiting for him. She kissed him very sadly, and told him that his mother was dead. He gave a great sigh, and decided that he must take charge of everything immediately. First, he must get out his uniform to wear at the funeral. But something must be done about Germaine. "You must marry me now," he said. "You must come to the funeral as my wife." She smiled, shook her head and led him into an underground ballroom where crowds of people were dancing. For a moment he wondered about the propriety of dancing on the day of his mother's funeral. The rhythm of the music grew more and more insistent, and when Edward slowly wakened he could feel the throbbing vibration of the propeller as the Chicago started down the Garonne.

The air in the little cabin was suffocating, and he leaped from the bunk and opened the porthole. Outside the sunny water hissed and swirled by the ship, and a cool wind blew in sharply on his damp hair. It was after three o'clock. He rang for the bath steward and started to unpack. Three uniforms, two suits, dinner clothes, dozens of shirts—he felt he would never get to the end of them.

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.