El Alamein by Jack Murray (most popular novels of all time txt) 📕

‘You’re right, Danny,’ said Fitz. ‘You know we never really take time to stop and enjoy the beauty of nature.’

Buller looked at the two men and shook his head.

‘You two are losing it.’

‘And you, my friend, are a philistine,’ replied Fitz with an air of superiority.

They sat on top of a low ridge and resumed a conversation that had started the previous evening.

‘Blair’s getting windy,’ said Buller. ‘I don’t like it. He’s going to cause us trouble, you’ll see.’

‘Do you think?’ asked Evans.

Danny and Fitz were in agreement and turned in surprise to Evans, Perhaps he’d simply not been in North Africa long enough to see the signs that the others recognised. He would have had less exposure to seeing how men could be affected by the relentlessness of the fighting, moving, fighting again and running. He trusted the instincts of his companions and remained silent as they discussed what they should do.

‘Do you think Arnold knows?’ asked Danny, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

‘Aye, he knows,’ replied Buller. ‘I saw him taking a long look at Blair yesterday. He saw him freeze. It was Gray who was running the show. It’s depressing, boys. I don’t like it. C’mon, Fitz. Give us a story.’

‘You’ve heard them all,’ complained Fitz.

‘I don’t care. I need something to take my mind off things. What about the theatre one. You’ve never told Danny that one.’

‘Haven’t I?’ asked Fitz.

Danny shook his head and made himself comfortable. Fitz’s stories, whether true or not, were always great value.

‘Here, Fitz, you’ll like this. So I was asked to review a performance of Hamlet at the town hall in Galway. I was theatre critic as well, I might add. I heard this afterwards from the lad, and it explained a lot. Anyway, this young lad had just joined the theatre company staging the performance. He told me the leading actor playing Hamlet, was very English, had a real attitude towards we Irish. Called us ‘Paddies’ and ‘Micks’. Thought we should be carrying spears. You know the type. By the end of the rehearsal period, he hated him. So did the rest of the cast. Anyway, not sure if you’ve read Macbeth, but, in the middle of the play, the Hamlet does his famous soliloquy. You know the one. This actor’s been waiting to say this famous speech, Jayz, he can’t wait. Meanwhile, this lad’s thinking, I’ll get you back. I’ll fix you on the opening night. So here it comes. The posh English actor’s standing there, looking magnificent, heroic even, with his crown and he shouts, “To be or not to be?” in his posh English accent. This lad wanders on stage as he’s saying this and says, “Well that’s a stupid question.” Then he gives him a salute and walks off the stage to absolute silence. The last thing I hear is the lad shouting for a taxi outside the theatre.’

Danny erupted into laughter, as did Buller who acknowledged he never tired of hearing that story.

‘I met the lad the next day and he told me the full story. Of course, the moron running the paper wouldn’t let me print it.’

-

An hour later the entire column were sitting in a semi-circle. In front of them were Captain Arnold, Lieutenant Blair and two another lieutenants named Jepson and Barrett. Danny kept his eyes on Blair. There was no question he seemed fidgety. His eyes shifted in a manner that contrasted with the fixed stares of the other senior officers. Danny wasn’t sure if he was now just seeking evidence to convict Blair or if he really had lost his funk.

Captain Arnold stepped forward after a few moments and addressed the men. The only sound anyone could hear was the light wind blowing in their ears. And perhaps their hearts beating. Danny could sense that everyone was on edge. Facing the enemy was bearable compared to the uncertainty they now felt.

‘As you know, we were due to rendezvous with the division at Antelat tomorrow. But they’ve moved back due to a surprise attack from Jerry. This puts us in a bit of a pickle. Yesterday’s attack has destroyed a significant proportion of our fuel. In short, we may not have enough petrol to get back to the division. This means we have to find some petrol and water from somewhere. Now the chances of running into a fuel dump in this wilderness aren’t good. Our best bet is to reach an oasis thirty miles march from here and hope to God that Jerry has left some supplies there.’

Arnold paused for a moment to let this news sink in. Danny noted how calmly Arnold spoke. It seemed all like a bit of an inconvenience to him rather than the catastrophic situation that it might otherwise have seemed to Danny.

‘I think the only way for it is to send a small group of men to find the oasis, take what we need and return here. Now, I know that every man jack of you will want to volunteer so I have been consulting with Jepson, Barrett and Blair on this. We will pick a handful of infantry and take one gun crew on this mission. I intend to lead the mission. Lieutenant Blair will accompany me.’

Danny looked at the other men in the crew, ‘That means us, doesn’t it?’

Buller turned to Danny and smiled mirthlessly, ‘That it does, son. That it does.’

-

The new group consisted of Danny’s gun crew, a jeep containing half a dozen infantry, and an infantry truck that would be loaded with any jerricans of fuel and water they could steal, assuming they were able to locate them. Captain Arnold rode in the truck while Lieutenant Barrett rode in a jeep with the other members of the infantry.

The group had set off late afternoon. The intention was to reach the oasis before dark. Along the way they left flags to guide their return. The moon would be a waxing crescent. Even without cloud it would be fairly dark. With