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.
“You’re not my superior officer, right now,” he said to Scotti. “You’re completely incapacitated and I’m acting commander of this outfit and you know it. You told me so yourself. So I order Sergeant Dick Donnelly to stay right here and keep shooting German soldiers.”
There was no more fire from the enemy, however. A long pause followed, and Dick and Scotti glanced at each other wonderingly.
“You know what that means,” Scotti said.
“I’m afraid so,” Dick replied. “They’ve sent some men up to come in from above, the way I did.”
“Help me to the back of the cave,” Scotti said. “We can plug them as they try to come in. At least we can get them before they get a bead on us. They can’t see clear in to the back.”
“That’ll be all right for a while,” Dick said, pulling Scotti backward. “Until they can use the bodies of their own dead as a shield.”
They settled themselves against the rear of the cave with their guns and ammunition beside them. And at that moment four German soldiers were approaching the big tree above the cave entrance.
Just as the first man was about to leap, there was a burst of fire from behind him. He toppled forward, and Dick and Scotti had the pleasure of seeing a wounded German fall flat at the cave entrance, without their having moved a muscle.
The other Germans above the cave turned, just in time to meet another burst of fire from a gun in the hands of Max Burckhardt. They fell without having a chance to fire, and Max, followed by Vince and Slade, rushed forward.