Much to the merriment of the onlookers, these two rolled over and over again with Lefty, pounding away unmercifully at Steve’s face and body, crying out for the return of his wallet and papers.
Panama broke through the circle of men and, once within the center of the make-shift ring, gazed down at the two soldiers struggling just as Lefty cried out: “If you tell anyone who I am, I’ll kill you!”
Williams reached down and grabbed both men by the collars of their blouses, pulling them to their feet and holding them at arm’s length.
“Here, you two mugs—lay off that kind of rough-house,” he warned. “I’ll have no war going around here without me in it.”
“He took my papers,” Lefty explained defensively.
Panama eyed Steve and noticed that the other still held the wallet in his hand.
“Give that back to him,” the sergeant ordered, and as Steve complied by returning the wallet to Lefty, “I’ve got a good mind to give you both a bust in the nose!”
The group broke up as each man returned to his task, leaving Lefty and Panama confronting each other.
“Who do you think you are?” Williams snapped at the boy, “What have you got to hide? Get back to work!”
As Lefty slowly walked off toward the plane, Panama again became troubled with the annoying problem of where he had seen this boy before.