Acting as though he had caught the Russian word "thumb," Dugan held up his hands and wiggled his fingers and thumbs. "Tell the big doctor," said Dugan in Japanese, "that I am not angry at you for punishing me. I've done the same thing to prisoners, myself. Just a misunderstanding."
"What did he say?" asked the medical officer.
The camp captain looked more uncomfortable than ever. "He says to tell you that he is not mad at me. He says he's done the same thing to prisoners himself. In a minute he will start his set speech about how Stalin and the Japanese Emperor will effect a reconciliation some day and will then conquer America together…"
The two Russians looked at Dugan. Then the medical officer stared at the camp captain, and asked, "What was the other 'discipline' you used?"
The captain looked relieved. "Just a beating, sir. With a belt. No scars."
"Medically speaking," said the doctor, "I'd say put him on the list. But the politics is something you'll have to approve. And get checked."
"He's harmless that way, Comrade Doctor. Unless he's faking."
"You're sure there's no evidence for one of those sensational 'torture' reports? You know the capitalist press thrives on nothing but scandal. Chiefly about us." The doctor, who remembered something of the old pre-1917 world, allowed himself a grim chuckle. "They might even say you hung a colonel up by his thumbs for two days."
The young captain looked shocked. "They could. Funny how they can twist everything into a lie. They don't want to see the constructive side of things at all."
The medical man said, "Certify him for repatriation, then."