A face appeared in the middle of the room. About ten feet above the floor, it looked around briefly, then vanished.
Cal seemed to see it too. A startled expression appeared on the face of the ragged man. His eyes opened wide. He blinked them hastily when the face vanished, then looked furtively around the room.
Jake said, very loudly, to the face, "Hi, bud. Long time no see. Where you been?"
"Shut up your crazy head!" Cal snarled at him.
"But I just saw an old buddy," Jake tried to explain.
"You saw nothing."
"What are you two talking about?" the lieutenant demanded.
"Nothing," Cal answered. He pointed his finger at his forehead and made circling motions in the air, then nodded toward Jake. "You know he's a looney, lieutenant."
"Oh, yes," the Asian officer said, as if he had just remembered something. Again he lifted the rifle to his shoulder. Jake fell dead.
The lieutenant slid another cartridge into his rifle.