Esky acted as if he knew something was up. He’d eat Ben alive when he saw him. I thought I could almost kiss the big galoot myself—but unfortunately kissing wasn’t in the manual of arms and it wouldn’t be very soldierly. Anyway I knew I’d feel better with him around.
CHAPTER 10
The Battle of Le Chien Rouge
—1—
Can you beat it? After my going to all that trouble to get Ben transferred, we were informed that the big ape was in the jug at Le Mans!
God alone knew what he’d been up to. I thought of everything, from drunkenness and disorderly conduct to assault upon an officer. When the personnel clerk told me about it, I couldn’t say a word, just vanished in order to digest this information. I couldn’t decide whether to tell the General and ask his help or what to do. Finally I marched back to the clerk and told him that the General said that unless Garlotz was being held on a manslaughter charge, he should be released and transferred here at once. “Will that be much trouble?” I asked disarmingly.
“I’ll see what can be done,” he said. And that was all I knew about Ben for a while.
The General said, “That new man ought to be here to-day, shouldn’t he, Sergeant?”
All I could say was “Yes, sir” and let it go at that.
—2—
The personnel chap told me they had arranged for Ben’s transfer at once and that he was on prison detail, serving out a sentence on which there were several days to go yet.