The Marine from Mandalay by James Leasor

Author:James Leasor [Leasor, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, World War II
ISBN: 9780755100439
Google: DhW3fB7-eNcC
Publisher: House of Stratus
Published: 2001-02-15T03:12:34+00:00

‘Food,’ he repeated, and patted his stomach again. The other nodded, and shook his head in reply; he had no food. That much was clear.

Doyle guessed that he was in charge of the women, known euphemistically as ‘comfort girls’, for the Chinese army. But was the Chinese army, and why should a dozen girls and one armed Chinese soldier be locked up in a truck abandoned in a siding where no train would arrive for months? To answer this question was not Doyle’s most immediate concern. He wanted to survive, and this fellow could be trigger-happy. Doyle shrugged, held out one hand. The Chinese soldier took it. They shook hands solemnly.

Doyle turned and walked back through the station towards the track. As he walked, he found he was tensing his back muscles, as men who have been under fire tend to do when they walk away from danger. This was a totally reflex action, as though by tightening the muscles he could provide a shield to deflect any bullet aimed at him. The idea was fanciful and absurd, and he realized it and consciously relaxed the muscles. Then he looked over his shoulder. The Chinese soldier was still looking after him. Doyle waved. The man made no movement. Doyle walked on. He came out of the station and thankfully reached the track.

Several miles up the road, when he was beginning to wonder where he would find a place to bed down at dusk, Doyle saw something sticking out of the foliage. He came closer, and then stood looking at a pair of shoes worn down at the heel with holes in the soles. He lifted branches that concealed the body of a man. He must have died quite recently, because the corpse had not yet started to putrefy. A handful of greedy flies had gathered at the mouth and nostrils. Doyle wondered how he had died, what had killed him. A stroke? Hunger – or simply because he had lost the will to survive?

Doyle was about to lower the branch and go on his way when he saw a lanyard around the man’s shoulder. Underneath the corpse was jammed an Army issue metal water-bottle in its khaki cloth case. Doyle pulled the lanyard free and dragged out the bottle. It was full. He removed the stopper and drank greedily. The water revived him. He slung the lanyard over his shoulder and went on more cheerfully. With water he could survive, and now he could fill the bottle at every stream he saw. The lanyard had frayed rotten with sweat around the buckle and where it fitted the bottle, and was clearly not the original webbing issue; someone had cobbled up a replacement in a hurry.

He passed little groups of refugees who were lying exhausted under what shelter the trees could give them. Some were obviously ill, suffering from heat stroke, dehydrated, eyes shut, mouths open, gasping for breath, with white salt forming a tell-tale rim around their cracked, dry lips.

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.