He looked at me sort of blank. Then he smiled so all his fine white teeth showed between his lips. “Ha! Tallow, it is an American question. I understand. To be sure. How is business? There has not been business. I have not had a single—what do you say?—a single customer.” He stopped and looked sort of disappointed. “You boys have had all the fighting,” he says. “You fight for Motu, yet Motu has no part in it.”
“Don’t let that worry you,” says I. “Guardin’ is as important as fightin’, and harder to do, I expect. Besides,” says I, “if you was tryin’ to keep pirates from capturin’ a treasure you wouldn’t bring it right up to the fightin’-line where they could grab it and run. No, sir, you’d keep it back where it would be safe. Well, Motu, you’re our treasure after a manner of speaking. We’re tryin’ to keep the Japanese from takin’ you, so we want you back where they can’t haul you off in the mix-up. That’s strategy.”
“Strategy maybe,” says he, “but not honorable strategy for the treasure. Where others fight for you you should fight also for yourself, and not in the rear rank, but in front. Let no man be struck a blow in your defense that you yourself can take. So my father taught me.”
I sort of figured it out that Motu had the right sort of a father. My grandfather fought in our war, and that’s exactly the sort of thing he used to tell me. He was great on honor, granddad was. I told Motu about him because I didn’t want him to think American boys weren’t taught about honor as much as Japanese boys were.
“You’ll get enough fightin’ before we’re through with this,” says I, “so don’t worry about takin’ a little rest.”
Then I went on and told Binney, who hadn’t seen any of the enemy, either. He was worried, though, about a spruce-tree that grew pretty close to a window. He’d been thinking that maybe a man could climb it and get out on a limb that almost touched the wall, and from there jump smack through a window. It looked possible to me.
By this time it was getting quite dark and I hurried back to the stairs where Plunk and Mark were sitting. Mark had another big sandwich for each of us, so I carried supplies to Motu and Binney. Both of them asked for water, so I told them we were just out of it, but would have a fresh supply soon. Binney kicked a little about it, but Motu just smiled and said, “If we have to have water your Mark Tidd will get it.”
I went back to my place again. Mark had a couple of blankets spread on the floor. “Two men s-s-sleep,” says he. “You and Plunk take t-t-turns with Binney and Motu.”
“How about you?” says I.
“No sleep for me to-night,” he said, with that look around his jaw that means there’s no use arguing. “I’m the general of this army and my b-b-business is to be on the job.”