The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-03
--~E
FoRTY-THREE

FUN
Sounds Of activity came IRON
The darkness now. The cllnk o
shovels and the thud of picks: Mui
lied voices - indistingulshapie
Then some orders in a louder toile
and the clinking and rafting q
metal other than shovels n pier
heads. , r.
'.Heavens.." exclaimed Coral, ~
q tone of dismay. do you Aiom
what they're up to now? 1hey re
rigging up a searchlight-they We
Pot two in the Factory, you KNOW
# they get that trained on os'
we're done for. uv,s
'That's torn it, came tommy .
voice, also dismayed.
Then Gun. quietly: :.
1No. it hasn't. They won't be IN
time-look -! At the sky -"
And they all looked up and saw
+he first streaks of a silver dawn
Sitting the velvet blackness OF the
night.
OOOQ SSS.
'.Here. 1 say, why let the beggars
have it all their own way? Let's
liven 'em up a bit"
so they SPRAYED out, Bisley
STYLE, behind their cement bags
and opened up a steady fire. But 1t
seemed to have little effect, and
met with no response beyond some
yelled insults, followed by shouts
of ribald laughter.
''These damned old rifles nave
cot no range, that's the trouble"
said Tommy.
So they stopped firing, and sat
watching and waiting for the light.
When at last they were able to
distinguish things they saw that,
about three hundred yards away.
three impromptu shelters had been
contrived. The holes made by the
dynamite had been supplemented
by piles of sacks, filled either with
earth or sand. And just behind the
middle one stood a small search
light, apparently ready for use. ex-
cept that it was not connected up.
To get their power they would
have to u a cable from the Fac
tory and this. luckily, they had not
had time to do.
Gun surveyed the outlook with
out any sort of satisfaction.
They've got us trapped in here,
all right" was his verdict. They
Just sit there and watch us all day,
and if any of us poke u noses
outside, they'll pot us. Then, as
soon as night comes, they'll get
that Internal searchlight working
and with that in Jul eyes we
shan't stand a dogs chance. And
that's that"
''Cheery!" commented Tommy.
"And meanwhile we're going to be
stuck here all day without a bite
or a drink"
Il can manage the bite" put in
Coral, surprisingly. But not much
more"
They stared at her. In the pale
morning night she looked a slight
ly disheveled, but picturesque, fig
ure. During the nights perform
ance her clothes had been torn ir
several places. Her face was dirty,
and her hair disordered. Over her
shoulders the bandolier was slung
and, to keep her hads free, she
had slung her handbag from her
belt. She leaned on her rifle like a
professional soldier, and smiled
Gown at her surprised companions.
Then she opened her handbag and
produced a large cake of choco-
late and a half-dozen biscuits.
Good" cried Gun. Coral, my
child, you're a treasure straight
from heaven. Lord knows there's
little enough Of it, but we'd better
split that iron ration into two"
They TOOK a biscuit each, broke
the cake Of chocolate into halves,
and then one Of the halves into
three. Then they sat down togeth-
er and munched, making the most
Of it.
1T reminds me of when I was a
child" was Coral's comment.
"You know, making a pennyworth
Of sweets last a long time"
And Gun, rather grimly, quoted
FITZGERALD:
"Ah! Make the most of what
ye yet may spend,
Before ye too into the dust
descend i"