Clash by Night Read Online Free PDF

chairs, and off to the side stood a tristaff holding three flags: U.S., state of North Carolina, and the scarlet and gold banner of the Marine Corps. The commander, Major Forrest, took his place behind the podium and watched the men settle down. When all was quiet he conducted the usual preliminaries and then came to the point of his address.  
    “Men, this meeting will be brief as I’ll get right to the heart of the matter at hand. All of us would like to do something about the developing crisis in Europe, and it now appears that one of you will have that opportunity. We’re looking for a volunteer to undertake a mission there, and you have been summoned here today because you are all qualified for the job. We’re asking for volunteers because the task will be difficult and dangerous, and I’ll think no less of any man who doesn’t speak up for it. I’ll need to hear from you soon, because the selection must be made by Friday. Get in touch with Lieutenant Gray if you’re interested. That’s all. Dismissed.”
    Forrest saluted smartly and walked out of the room as the men rose to their feet. Harris and Gamble exchanged glances as a buzz of conversation rose around them.
    “Going to volunteer?” Gamble asked slyly, already knowing the answer.
    “Hell, yeah,” Harris replied. “It beats marking time around here, making practice jumps into tobacco fields and playing the pinball machine every Saturday night.” He extracted a packet of cigarettes from his breast pocket and lit one, his carefully measured movements designed to conceal a growing inner excitement.
    “I noticed you haven’t been taking advantage of the local talent,” Gamble observed, referring to the available area women who hung around the PX and the bars frequented by the enlisted men. “What’s the matter, you religious?”
    “Not religious,” Harris answered mildly, as they went back outside. “Just particular.”
    “Well, Danny boy,” Gamble said, slapping him on the back, “it sounds like Forrest’s little mission could be just the thing for a particular guy like you. But count me out, buddy. This war is coming for us too, but until it does I’m keeping myself safe and sound in the Old North State.”  
    Harris didn’t reply because he wasn’t listening. He exhaled a stream of smoke, wondering how he could get the major to choose him from the field of applicants.
    He volunteered that afternoon. That night, he lay awake in his bunk amid the nocturnal sounds of the camp while the rest of the men slept. He tried to think of the possible questions he might be asked when screened for the mission and planned his responses. It was a technique that had served him well since he was quarterback of the football team in high school, waiting to be grilled by the coach about his choice of plays in a game. But this time there was more at stake than the county championship, and his role in the outcome was a moral issue as well as a sporting one.
    Could he persuade Forrest to pick him for the mission? He rolled over onto his stomach as he thought about it, dying for a cigarette. But getting nailed for smoking after lights out wasn’t going to endear him to his superiors. He propped his chin on his crossed arms and fought off the nicotine fit, blinking in the light from the guardhouse beacon as it passed the window above his head.
    Harris was sure that he could get in the running, but the actual choice was going to be unpredictable, up for grabs. Straight laced types like Forrest sometimes went for a rigidly obedient tin soldier rather than an innovative guy who could think on his feet. The military viewed too much imagination and independence with suspicion, but that’s exactly what they needed for an act like this, if only they would see it. There was no doubt in his mind that he was right for the job. His confidence had a nice edge of arrogance and it gave no sign of failing him now.
      He turned restlessly again, and stared at the peeling,