Part 20 (2/2)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
_Fate Laughs At Last_
”Right you are, lad, off you go, and good luck!”
The voice of the Lille hospital orderly cah fro him from a sound sleep He lifted his head and mechanically reached for the brake lever of the Daimler built ambulance and stared out of bloodshot eyes at a scene that had become as familiar to him as his own face when he looked into a mirror It was the dirt road that wound away from the Lille Hospital, curved about the small pond and then disappeared from view in some woods a half mile to the east
How many times had he driven over that road today? He didn't know, and he didn't even bother to guess Probably a hundred Fifty at least His brain had stopped thinking about things hours ago For hours his actions had all been ain Help fill the ambulance at the Lille Hospital Get in behind the wheel and start the engine, and take off the brake, and shi+ft into first Start down the winding road and shi+ft into second, and then into high A stretch of brown road always in front of hi shell and boroup of trees whenever he heard the deadly drone of Stuka dive bo crouched at the wheel while death whistled down froround and spray slivers of screa in back to put a slipping bandage back in place Lighting a cigarette for some poor wounded soldier who couldn't use his hands
Giving the, ”We'll be there in a couple of shakes,” a ain
And then finally pulling into the St O to unload, and then the wild ride alone back to Lille for another load of wounded Fifty trips? A hundred trips? He had no idea Maybe this was his one thousandth trip Was he asleep or awake? He wasn't sure of that, either His body had stopped protesting against the aches and pains long ago He si He only acted He droveand droveand drove Nothing elsehis share to le helpless wounded soldier was captured by the hordes of nazi troops streaium in a mad race to cut off the British from the last open Channel port, Dunkirk
As he took off the e into the seat beside hiard, dirt streaked face
”What's thehere?”
”Start her off, Dave,” ca with you The Captain and his staff are using runted and shi+fted into first ”The last load, huh? And it's just getting dark Well, anye licked 'e there Lean back and try to get a nap, Freddy”
”And you perhaps fall asleep at that wheel, and tip us into a ditch?”
Freddy said with a forced chuckle ”No thanks I'll stay awake and try to keep you that way, too By the by, though, Dave You've made more trips than anybody Want me to drive this one?”
”Not a chance!” Dave said and suddenly realized that he was laughing for the first tiaveYou just relax, Freddy But, boy, will I be glad when this trip is over!”
”I'll be jolly well pleased, myself, you can bet!” Freddy s ”I think I shall sleep for another eight days, and not care a darn what the blasted nazis do about it”
For the next twenty minutes that was the last spoken between the two
They were both too tired even to talk Besides, there was little to talk about save the experiences they had had on the road Those they could save until another day And after all there was still this trip to co in silence The sun slid down over the western lip of the world, and night and the Gerhts switched off until it was too dangerous to continue further without the's pilots had found out that the Lille Hospital cases were being evacuated over that road Anyway, the Stukas and the light Heinkels had given it a terrific pounding all day long, and it was noell spotted with craters To try to drive along it in the dark would be exactly the sae of a cliff It would be suicide, to say the least
Dave hesitated a h, with his hand on the switch and listened intently Behind hiuns, punctuated every now and then by the loud thunder of a land s, but the droning was not close
”Keep an eye peeled, will you, Freddy?” Dave said and turned the switch
”I've got to have lights or we'll go right into a shell hole If you hear sos”
”Right-o!” Freddy called wearily and stuck his head out the doorand looked up ”All clear, now, though None of the blighters near us I say, what's up, now?”
Dave didn't bother to answer He, too, had spotted the waving flashlight just up the road He slipped the car out of gear, steered it around the ri bomb crater and let it roll to a stop A British infantry officer, with a Military Police band on his tunic sleeve, ran up to Dave's side of the aht in Dave's eyes for a second
”Where are you headed, lad?” he asked
”St Oot the last load of wounded from the Lille hospital”