The frogmen (17 page)

It took so long for him to answer that Amos thought he'd passed out—or was dead—but suddenly he said, "Can do."

"You'll be by yourself at the door," Amos told him. "But once it's open, we'll be there."

"The message?" Tanaka whispered.

"It's going to Pearl if we can get in there."

Tanaka's voice was so faint that Amos suddenly wondered how, in all this rain, anyone inside that little fort could hear it, and it worried him.

"Go?" was all Tanaka said.

"You better believe it."

When the building came in sight, gray and wet in the headlights, John slowed and stopped. "How close do you want to get, Amos?"

"Let's make it look official. Right up to the door."

John eased the car ahead, but the rear wheels began to spin in the mud. John let it roll back a

little and tried again but made no progress. "Goofed again," he said, getting out.

"We're in deep," he reported.

"Okay, we'll carry him from here."

Max lifted Tanaka and held him like a baby. Amos walked along with them toward the building. "Just say something to them to get the door open," Amos told him. "That's all you have to do."

"How many?" Tanaka said.

"People? We saw five," Amos said.

"Armed?"

"I guess so. They looked like soldiers." Amos reached over and unsnapped the flap of Tanaka's holster. "Your gun's loaded and ready."

"Very well," Tanaka said.

"Try to get them all in front of you. We'll come in beside you."

Tanaka raised his head a little and looked at the fort. "Yes," he said, "that is the radio station."

"Yeah, so all you have to do is get the door open."

Tanaka seemed to stiffen, and his voice sounded annoyed. "I am in charge here, Mr. Wainwright."

It surprised and scared Amos. This wasn't the time for Tanaka to drift off into some other world, the Naval Academy, or some command situation. "Aye, aye, sir," he said.

At the concrete stoop Max set him down on his feet, steadying him with his hands. "Don't worry about a thing, Commander. Just get the door open."

"Go away," Tanaka said.

Amos and Max glanced at each other, both afraid

now, but Tanaka was standing up fairly well as he faced the metal door.

John came running up the muddy road. "Here," he whispered, handing Max a lug wrench. In his other hand he had a tire iron.

"You and Max on one side, I'll go in first with the gun," Amos said, moving to the side of the door.

"We'd better be around the corner, in case they come out," Max said.

"Okay, Commander, it's all yours," Amos said as he moved out of sight around the corner.

Tanaka looked small and withered and pitiful standing there in the rain, the weak headlights glowing on him. He said something, but his voice was so weak that all Amos heard was a low croaking.

When nothing happened, Tanaka took out his gun and began to beat on the door with the butt, the sound loud and sharp.

Amos saw Max and John fade out of sight as the door began to open, light streaming in a widening band.

Tanaka went in, marched in, erect and military.

Amos motioned to Max and John, and the three of them moved along the wall, Amos holding the gun ready, Max and John with the tools.

The door slammed shut.

Amos stood in the pouring rain feeling the way he had when, as a little boy, great disappointments in matters over which he had no control left him with nothing to do but cry.

John's long dress was plastered to his bony frame. The tire iron in his hands looked like some sort of toy. "Well," he said quietly, "I guess Reeder was right all along."

Max sounded stunned. "I sure didn't think he'd do that to us."

"Something mustVe gone wrong," Amos said. "They didn't recognize him or something."

"Tanaka shut the door," John said. "I saw him do it"

"Well, we've got to get in," Amos said. "I guess the only thing to do is try it your way, Max. You and John stay here, and I'll shoot through the slit."

"Get Tanaka first," John said. "He knows too much."

"Wouldn't it be better to do it with the car?" Max said. "Get it out of the mud and ram the door open."

"That's good!" Amos said and started running back down the road, John and Max following.

At the car, Max said, "You and I'll push, Amos. John, you drive. Once we get it moving, don't let her stop. Get her going as fast as you can and then pile out."

Amos and Max were down in position behind the car when John suddenly whispered, "Hold it! Hold it!"

The metal door was opening slowly, the light from the fort blending with the car's lights.

Four men in yellow raincoats emerged and stood looking around, as though not wanting to come out into the rain.

Tanaka was standing behind them. Amos heard him say something, and the men moved, huddling over against the rain.

As they came down the road toward the car, Max whispered, "Move to the side. Over there, John. Amos, you get the driver, but wait until I get a crack at the others. Then you come in with the tire iron, John."

John eased along beside the car and crossed the road behind it. Amos and Max disappeared into the jungle on the other side. Crouched there watching the men, Max said, "Don't shoot him. Hit him with the butt of the gun. Just take your time and get him right behind the ear."

Amos checked the safety and then got the Colt by the barrel, weighing it in his hand.

The men were hurrying now, the light making their raincoats look oily. Amos looked past them at Tanaka, who was still standing in the doorway. His hand was on the door as though he were holding himself up.

Then, slowly, Tanaka moving with it, the door began to close. Tanaka's hand fell away, and the door swung the last few inches. Amos heard the metallic thunk of the lock over the sound of the rain.

The four men moved out of the beam of the headlights and stood beside the car. After what sounded like an argument, one of them got into the driver's seat. The others waited in the rain as he started the engine, raced it in neutral, and then slammed it into gear.

The car lurched forward, almost coming free, but then the rear wheels began to spin, throwing back streams of mud and water.

The driver tried going back, then forward again, and then leaned out and yelled furiously at the men in the rain.

They moved around to the rear and got down into position, their feet well behind the car, their bodies

leaning forward into it, their hands on the fenders and trunk lid.

As the driver shifted into low, Max touched Amos lightly and moved toward the road in a crouch.

The car inched forward, the men straining as they pushed it.

Max came out of the jungle low and fast. At the edge of the road he took off.

His body flew straight out, low to the ground, his arms folded loosely below him.

The men went down hard.

There was hardly any sound, just the wet swish of the raincoats, the thud of Max's shoulders, the soft sighing of breath.

Then Amos heard the crunch of the tire iron. He reached the side of the car just as the driver leaned out into the rain to look back.

Amos aimed carefully, the ring set in the butt of the gun swinging a little as he brought it down.

The man's head was like a ripe watermelon, resisting at first and then snapping open.

Amos moved to the rear of the car and looked over toward Max and John, but he was not needed.

Going back to the driver, he pulled him out, dragged him into the jungle, and left him. Then he went back to the car, cut the ignition, and turned off the lights.

John and Max came around the car. "Okay?" Max asked.

"Yes."

Max said, "Amos, turn the gun around."

"There's still one in there," Amos said.

"Probably the radio operator," John decided.

"I don't think Tanaka meant to close it. He was leaning on it, and it got away from him," Amos said.

"The thing is, can he open it again?" Max said. "He hasn't got much left."

"He'd better have that much," John said. "Because this car is in up to the axles. Even with Max, we're not moving it."

"We'll have to give Tanaka a signal," Amos said.

John looked toward the fort. "If the operator's doing what he's supposed to be doing, he'll have headphones on. We can just knock on the door and he won't hear it, but Tanaka will."

They were about to move when the door opened again and they could see a man's head.

"Tanaka?" John whispered.

"I can't tell," Amos said.

Then the man at the door called out something, and they knew it wasn't Tanaka.

The man called again, louder, his voice now sounding angry.

"Tanaka must have passed out," John whispered.

"We've got to stop this," Amos said.

The man called again, really yelling, his voice now sounding alarmed.

"Shoot him," Max said.

Amos raised the gun, but the man stepped out a little farther so that the dark door was behind him and Amos could barely see him in the rain.

Amos had never been good with guns. He held the

big Colt out to Max. "We've got to kill him. We can't miss."

Max pushed it away. "I never shot a gun in my life."

"Me neither," John said.

Amos brought the pistol up and rested it across his arm. "I'll try," he said, "but if I miss he'll lock the door."

The man yelled again, his voice high and hysterical. Before Amos could shoot, he slipped through the band of light and the door slammed shut.

Amos heard Max snort as he started running toward the fort.

John and Amos followed and waited at the door as Max tried it with his shoulder. He backed away from it, shaking his head.

Amos ran around to the side of the building and raised his head to peer in through one of the gun slits.

He could hear a voice. It still had that high, hysterical quality. And it kept on and on.

Tanaka was lying on the floor.

Someone had unbuttoned his uniform jacket, and Amos could see the wet, rough cloth of the copra sacks binding his chest. Blood was running out of his mouth.

John moved beside Amos. He looked in, listened, and then stooped to whisper, "He's on the mike."

Amos turned to Max. "He's yelling for help, but I can't see him. Go knock on the door. Maybe he'll move so I can hit him."

Amos rested the gun barrel in the slit, aiming it chest high, right at the edge of the concrete partition.

The sound of Max's knocking echoed in the room.

No one appeared, but the man's voice rose a little higher.

As Amos waited for Max to knock again, there was another sound. A sharp cracking noise, and Amos looked around in the bleak room trying to find the source of it.

Tanaka's arm was sinking to the floor, the pistol falling out of his hand.

There was absolute silence in the room.

Tanaka was moving again, rolling slowly toward the door. When he reached it, he lay with his hands on it for a long time, and Amos could see no movement of breathing.

Then he moved again, his hands flat against the door, pulling and sliding down, pulling and sliding.

On his knees at last, he reached up to the knob and slowly turned it.

John sat in front of the radio, his hand occasionally reaching out for a switch or a dial but never quite touching anything.

Amos whispered, "Okay?"

John put his hand over the microphone and looked back over his shoulder. "It's all marked in Japanese. I don't know what's what."

Amos went over to Max who had put Tanaka in one of the bunks and was sitting in a chair beside him.

"He stood up too straight," Max said quietly. "One of those ribs must have stabbed him in the lung."

Amos went back to John. "Tanaka's dead," he whispered.

John covered the microphone and looked up. "He did good, though."

"Yeah," Amos said. "Do you think that operator got out a warning?"

"I know he did."

"Then we'll have company. Max and I'll try to keep them away until you get through."

John nodded. "I can't even get started," he said, and then reached out to one of the switches, hesitated a second, and snapped it down.

He slumped in the chair and grinned up at Amos. "At least the mike's off."

Max came over and stood with Amos, watching.

"This doo-dad means on and this one means off," John said, pointing at curiously shaped characters engraved in the metal. "All I've got to do is find one that says key."

Max said, "If they come up the road they'll have to stop at the car. Let's meet them there, Amos."

"After we go out, John, lock the door. If you get it working, give us a sign."

"I'll blink the lights."

"Don't let anybody in, John."

Halfway across the room, Amos suddenly stopped and looked at the operator. "He didn't know anything," he said to Max. "He never saw us."

"Who?"

"The radio operator. All he saw was Tanaka. And

then his buddies disappeared. That's all he could tell anybody."

"He was really screaming something/'

"Yeah/' Amos said, looking around the room. Going to the kitchen alcove, he found a half-filled bottle of what smelled like wine. He brought it back to the table and spilled some wine around. Then he laid the empty bottle down on the table.

Pulling the operator by the feet, he got him out into the center of the room and arranged him so the wound didn't show.

"That operator was just stoned out of his mind," Amos said. "He was only kidding when he said there was a Japanese spy in here." He went over to the bunk and lifted Tanaka up in his arms.

At the door Amos paused and said, "Okay, John, lock it."

It had stopped raining, and the bugs had started making noises again as Amos carried Tanaka around behind the generator shack and into the jungle. He laid him down under a wide-leafed fern and covered him with leaves and vines.

Coming back alongside the building, he stopped at a gun slit and looked in. "I can see you, John," he said.

John moved out of sight.

"That's better."

"I think I've got it," John said. "Wait just a second."