Marshall McClintock

“ These men knew, too, that the Rangers would get to the top of their hill on time, even though many of them would be carrying guns and mortars.
“Okay—now here’s where we come in,” Scotti said. “Just after dawn we fly past the Wadizam Pass, to the north of it, circling around as if we were trying to sneak in just when we had enough light to see but before the Germans would see us. Of course, they will see us and we know it. But they haven’t got much of an opinion of us as soldiers or tacticians yet; so they’ll think we’re fools enough to believe we can get away with it.” ”

“ And then they saw the old man making his way up the hill toward them. They waited in silence until he came under the trees, and then Tony spoke.
“Hello, Uncle Tomaso,” he said gently. “We’re here.”
“Yes, I see,” the old man said. “With your radio—and a ladder, too.”
“We have everything,” Dick said. “And these are two more American soldiers. You may have heard of this big fellow—he’s Vince Salamone.”
The old man looked at the home-run king and his eyes shone!
“Of course!” he cried. “Who in the world does not know the world’s greatest baseball player? ”

“ We have heard of a big attack by the American forces.”
“Yes, that is why we must have the radio,” Dick said. “We want to report to our Army how many trucks and tanks and soldiers come here. Can you learn that for us each day?”
“My friends and I—we can learn,” Tomaso said. “Tomorrow morning I will tell them, and each evening I can give you the information. But I do not tell even my friends where the radio is. They need not know, and if the Germans should try to torture the information out of them, they will not be able to weaken.” ”

“ Many others have been evacuated to the factories in the north. And all our young men—they were in the army, of course. Some are dead, others are prisoners of the Germans. We don’t hear much. But here in Maletta we try to keep on laughing and smiling. Why, we still have the opera once a week.”
He glanced apologetically at Dick. “I know that Ricardo Donnelli would find our opera company a poor one. Our costumes are shabby now, our sets falling to pieces. The good young voices are not here, but the performances still give us great joy—almost the only joy we still have in our lives.” ”

“ If the town were to be wiped off the map forever, it would be all right if it meant we got rid of the Germans. But what about the people here?”
“Your own people must be warned in time so they can get to the hills,” Dick replied. “But not too long in advance must they know, lest some word leak out. Tonight you can tell those closest to you, those who can surely be trusted completely. Then, on the night before the wrecking of the dam, these can pass the word to all others. They must filter out into the hills, trying their best to cause no wonderment among the Germans.” ”

“ Dick said, “that not everybody is as agile as you are. And they don’t have the same attitude as you. They feel a little funny at first, jumping out of an airplane. And they’re likely to get mixed up and forget which side the ripcord is on. Some people tighten up and get panicky. They’ve got to learn things slowly, get used to them.”
“What’s so hard about it?” Tony demanded. “You jump, and you don’t even have to worry about the ripcord. It’s hooked inside the plane.”
“Well, they’ve got to teach you how to land right,” Dick countered. ”

“ Max said. “If you want to be just Sergeant Dick Donnelly, then you can be it. You see, I had an uncle and aunt in Germany that I loved a lot. They didn’t like Hitler and they said so. They were that kind. And they’re dead now—died in stinking concentration camps. So I’m not thinking much about anything, either, until I get even for them. It’s going to take a lot of dead Nazis to make up for Uncle Max and Aunt Elsa.”
“For a bunch of guys who say they want to fight so much,” Dick laughed, “we seem to be taking it pretty easy, sitting here in the shade on a nice afternoon.” ”

“ Tony said. “All anxious to get into the thick of it. It seems as if our gang is just about the blood-thirstiest in the Army. That’s why they all joined up with the parachute troops—thought they’d get first crack at the enemy if they dropped behind their lines.”
“We’ve got quite a cross-section in our own plane,” Dick said. “We’ve all got special reasons, the three of us here, for wanting to fight and fight hard. ”

“ As the smoke cleared away, Dick saw that the two grenades tossed by Lefty and his men had done a thorough job. The shack was a pile of lumber, and some of it had toppled to the ground below the dam wall. The Germans who had hidden in the shack during the fake surrender were no more—and neither were their companions alive. Dick and his men advanced on the run, arriving at the dam as Bert’s group rushed up from the left. Lefty’s men stayed where they were, waiting for the others to join them. ”

“ Lieutenant Scotti smiled. A well-placed light mortar shell had just landed in a cluster of three German trucks on the road below. And that had happened shortly after word had come of the Ranger attack on the remainder of the German force in the Wadizam Pass itself. Everything was going not only according to plan, but even more swiftly and efficiently. The enemy had fallen into the trap completely, splitting his forces so that the Ranger attack could sweep him off his feet.
“I wonder how Dick Donnelly’s making out,” he thought to himself. “He’s in the tough spot and may never get back. ”

“ With only a short glance, Tony motioned his men to follow him up beyond the broad ledge, nearer the crest of the hill. There, Dick saw him motion toward a big boulder which lay near a clump of the low, rugged trees. They dumped their boxes, and Tony started to open them at once.
Dick turned to direct men who arrived with heavy machine guns. The first carried the gun itself, the second its tripod mount, the third the water-cooling apparatus for it. Not far behind them climbed four men with boxes of ammunition for the gun. ”

“ Tony agreed. He was becoming more excited at the prospect of placing his radio over German headquarters.
“Then you could pull up the radio equipment with a rope,” Dick said. “And one of us could climb up to help you. After all, you’ve got to have some one with you when you broadcast, to crank the generator handles and give you enough power.”
“How do we know the tower is strong enough?” Tony asked.
“It is strong enough,” the old man said. “It has stood all these years. A bolt of lightning did no more than knock a few rocks off the top.” ”

“ Dick said. “We’ve got a lot of ammunition.”
“Until they think to circle up in back the way you did,” Scotti said. “Dick, you’re a fool to have come back here. I’m done for, anyway, but you can get away. Our men must be right over the crest of the hill. You can get up to them all right.”
“Nothing doing,” Dick said. “I’m sticking with you.”
“That’s plain suicide!” Scotti fumed. “As your superior officer I order you to leave.”
Dick just laughed as they both gave another burst of fire toward the Germans who continued their forward creeping toward the entrance of the cave. ”

“ Tony Avella and Dick Donnelly heaved out the two parachutes carrying the radio equipment, and Tony followed immediately, as if he could not be parted from them for more than a few seconds.
“Go ahead, Dick,” Scotti said, and the sergeant leaped without a word. Then the lieutenant helped Slade and Vince Salamone throw out the four parachutes bearing the containers of dynamite and demolition equipment.
“Right after it, Slade,” Scotti said. “Each man finds his own stuff. Vince will find you and help you with it.” ”

“ Many have run away, to the north, afraid of the advancing Americans and afraid of their own townspeople, too. But there are a few left. There is Garone the banker and Balardi who was Mayor under Mussolini. He is still here. And they have a few sniveling underlings. But there are not many. Some there are who fear for their own necks. They will not actively fight the enemy, but they would never betray us, either.”
“We’ll put ourselves in your good hands,” Dick said. “You can be our guide and helper here in Maletta.”
“Is the town still the same?” Tony asked. ”

“ I can still crawl through the window.”
“Will the Germans come and look in your room?” Tony asked. “Are they likely to miss you?”
“No, they never look for the old man,” Tomaso said. “They never even think about the harmless old man, except when they want their rooms cleaned or their boots polished.”
Suddenly the old man laughed. “Harmless old man, they think! If they knew what I’ve done!”
He no longer seemed to be the broken and tired soul that he was before. He stuck one leg out the open window and climbed through with an agility that surprised Dick. ”

“ Tomaso said. “They feel sure Americans are hiding somewhere in Maletta. They’ve surrounded the town and are going to search it thoroughly. They’ve got a ring around the town now, and it will close in more and more tightly as soldiers go through every house, every building.”
“Oh—those soldiers who went up the hill over there—” Dick muttered. “They’re part of the ring around the town.”
“Yes, I heard them say men must circle up behind the villa, and then walk down so closely that not a person could slip through the ring. They’ll be here any minute. We cannot stay here.” ”

“ Dick said. “If it gives the people pleasure, it is doing all that anything can do.”
“Now tell me what I am to do,” Tomaso said, in businesslike fashion.
“First, we must find a place for my radio,” Tony said. “Uncle, I am a radioman for America’s Army. We have, in the hills where we landed, a complete broadcasting set. I must use it to send messages in code to our Army, messages telling about movements of German troops and supplies through Maletta.”
“That is not easy,” Tomaso said, with a puzzled frown on his face. “The Germans do not like radios, even for receiving.” ”

“ I’m just shootin’ at an idea I hate, an idea that will ruin the whole world if it isn’t stopped. If the other guys are supportin’ that idea with guns, then I’ve got to shoot ’em, that’s all. And it doesn’t make any difference if they’re Italians or not. It doesn’t make any difference if they’re Americans. If any Americans try to make our country like Germany, then I’ll shoot them too.”
Max Burckhardt had wandered up and joined them as they sat under the shade of a palm tree.
“Tony’s right,” the big private said. “But I’m itchin’ especially to get at some Germans, even if my folks were German. ”

“ Dick said. “But the one way to make it a success is to take it easy except when fast action is called for. The main thing to remember tonight is—be quiet!”
They crossed the field and came to the road from the northeast. While Dick clambered up the ditch and looked up and down the highway, the rest of them crouched behind the wall with their loads. The lights of a car flickered a bit away from town, so Dick scurried back and joined the others behind the wall. In a few minutes four big trucks roared past them into the town. Dick jumped up, ran to the road again and motioned the others on. ”

“ Next to him sat Lieutenant Jerry Scotti, who was to be in command on this mysterious mission. There was Dick Donnelly, second in command, and Corporal Tony Avella for the radio work. Taking up enough room for almost two men in the rear seat was Private Vincent Salamone, the home-run king of baseball in peacetime, the toughest paratrooper of them all in war. As the Major later remarked to the general, “Everybody in Italy knows the name of Vince Salamone. He’s an idol over here just the way he is at home. He’ll win over the Italians in a minute!” ”

“ Dick and Tony told the others about finding Uncle Tomaso and then about the plans for placing the radio in the old bell tower. At first they were incredulous, and then they all laughed just the way Uncle Tomaso had laughed.
“If that really works,” Vince exclaimed, “it’ll be the best joke the Germans ever had played on them. They think they’re so smart! But it’s just the sort of thing they’d never dream of doing—or of anybody else doing. ”

“ Yet the look in the eyes showed Dick that the lieutenant recognized him, knew who he was. He felt sure that the wounded man could understand and hear everything, even if he could not speak.
“Jerry,” he said, “you banged your head on a rock when you landed. You’ve been unconscious a long time. But everything is all right. The rest of us are together. We’re in a good cave in the side of the hill. Everything is safe. Tony and I have been to Maletta. Tony’s uncle is there, glad to help us. We’ll set up the radio tomorrow night in town.” ”

“ We’ll fly low so that the plane can’t easily be seen above the hills beyond us.”
“Never landed at night before,” Dick Donnelly said, “except on flat desert land.”
“It’s tricky, all right,” Scotti said, “when there are hills and trees below. And there’s no moon to see by tonight. That’s good from one angle because we can’t be seen easily either. But you can’t tell where you’re coming down. Maybe some of us will spend the night caught in some treetops.”
Tony Avella shrugged his shoulders. “It’s all in the game,” he said. “We’ll make out all right.” ”

“ Tony Avella raised his hand. “Yes, sir,” he said. “I know Maletta pretty well. I’ve got an uncle who lives there—at least he did live there. I haven’t heard about him for some time, and he was no great lover of Mussolini.”
“Good for him!” said the general. “I hope he’s still there. If he is, he may be able to help us greatly. And he certainly can be the go-between in your relations with the Italian townspeople. There aren’t ten thousand people there now, by any means, by the way. Most of the civilians have been evacuated. The Germans have made the town into a fortress. ”

“ If the Germans get any force around there in time, it won’t amount to much and our men can get back here fast without being cut off. The bridge is harder, and the Germans will want to save that. But their force can really come at it from only one direction and our men can just back up the hill here, fighting them off as they do it.”
“Yes, I can see that,” the sergeant said.
“But the dam’s a different matter,” Scotti went on. “In the first place, they’ve probably got a squad or two on guard there, with radio. So you’ll have to make a feint at a real attack to make our bluff work. ”

“ Tony said. “We’re dumb. We’re as stupid as the Germans think we are. In that, we’re safe.”
“But it’s a good idea to avoid any more contact with the Germans than we are forced into,” Dick said.
“I think so, too, Dick,” Tony said. “So I think we ought not to go into Maletta on the main road. They’re likely to have sentries posted on the main roads into town, just to check on people coming and going. We can cross the main road, go through the fields, and cut around to one of the little side streets.”
“Good,” Dick agreed. “The land is leveling out below us a bit. Looks like a farm.” ”