“Pretty smart operation, Dick,” Max said. “You really handled it swell all the way through.”
“Thanks, Max,” the sergeant replied. “But I was lucky that we were able to get away so soon and didn’t have to pin those German forces down for another hour or so. We couldn’t have got out if we had had to do that.”
“No, but you were prepared for every break we did get, and you took full advantage of it,” Max said. “That’s what counts. Why they don’t make you a general is more than I can see.”
Dick laughed. “Wait till I get us back to our forces safely before you congratulate me,” he said. “I hope I’m taking you in the right direction.”
But Max had no doubts. Dick obviously knew where he was going. And even though the group of men went more and more slowly as the afternoon wore on, it was from nothing but weariness. They knew they would get back to their headquarters under Dick’s guidance.
But it was late—almost sunset, when they saw ahead of them the crest of the hill on the other side of which was the ledge where they had landed that morning.
The last pull up that hill was a tough one, and the men grunted as their feet slipped on the rocks. When they were halfway up, they were spotted by an American at the crest, who gave a whoop of pleasure at what he saw. In a moment, others were scurrying over the crest of the hill and running down the slope toward the weary soldiers of Dick Donnelly’s gang. Among the first to reach them was Lieutenant Scotti.
Dick and Max Walked Happily up the Hill