tei0412dam

@@@@@ He wondered if Wilson had noticed the sounds, and then in answer to his question, there was the loud unmistakable clicking of a machine gun boltTo Croft's keyed senses, the sound echoed up and down the river, and he was furious that Wilson should have revealed his positionThe rustling in the brush became louder and Croft was convinced he could hear voices whispering on the other side of the riverHe fumbled for a grenade and placed it at his feet Then he heard a sound which pierced his fleshSomeone called from across the river, "Yank, Yank!" Croft sat numbThe voice was thin and high-pitched, hideous in a whisper"That's a Jap," Croft told himselfHe was incapable of moving for that instant "Yank!" It was calling to himWe you coming-to-get, Yank The night lay like a heavy stifling mat over the riverCroft tried to breathe "We you coming-to-get, Yank Croft felt as if a hand had suddenly clapped against his back, traveled up his spine over his skull to clutch at the hair on his forehead"Coming to get you, Yank," he heard himself whisperHe had the agonizing frustration of a man in a nightmare who wants to scream and cannot utter a sound"We you coming-to-get, Yank He shivered terribly for a moment, and his hands seemed congealed on the machine gunHe could not bear the intense pressure in his head "We you coming-to-get, Yank," the voice screamed "COME AND GET ME YOU SONSOFBITCHES," Croft roaredHe shouted with every fiber of his body as though he plunged at an oaken door There was no sound at all for perhaps ten seconds, nothing but the moonlight on the river and the taut rapt buzzing of the cricketsThen the voice spoke agai