CHAPTER FIFTEEN

NO CALM BEFORE THE STORM

The men at the cave were doing far more than biting their nails. They were pacing up and down, those who could, and Scotti was just about to send Vince and Max off to town to see what had happened.

When Dick walked in, he had so many questions hurled at him at once that he could say nothing at all. Finally he got everyone calmed down, and they sat down on the floor of the cave near Scotti while he told the whole story of the exciting evening. As he got into it, he was not interrupted once, for they all listened with open mouths at the almost incredible story he had to relate.

“And so,” he concluded, “I saw it was really too late to get to the dam tonight. It would be dangerous. We might not be finished before it began to grow light, and that would be just too bad.”

“It shouldn’t take too long at the dam,” Slade said. “I think I can rig everything in half an hour if Vince can help me carry the stuff into the pipe.”

“I know, but we’ve got to allow for all emergencies,” Dick said, “for delays like the one that happened to me tonight.”

“Yes, Dick’s right,” Scotti agreed. “That dam operation is one that can’t be rushed. If everything goes well you can be through in half an hour, yes. But what if there’s a slip-up? What if that other colonel appears in the midst of things, for instance? There are any number of things that might happen to make you lie low for a few hours. And, anyway, I was never too sure about getting everything in there a full day before we were to set it off. We can do it on the last night, all right. Now you boys all get some sleep. You’ll be needing it.”

After a bite to eat from their tins they went to sleep, but all of them dreamed of explosions, of bridges being blown up, of dangerous parachute jumps, or something involving action and danger. The first light of dawn found them all awake, brewing some coffee over a small fire.

And then there was the whole day to pass. They did it by going over their plans endlessly, until they themselves were almost tired of talking about them.

“This is a dull day, all right,” Vince complained. “I guess it’s the calm before the storm.”

“There’ll be no calm before our storm,” Dick said. “The storm starts a few minutes before dawn tomorrow, and we’re going to have a mighty busy night before that time comes.”

“And I guess we won’t be able to sit down and have a siesta rightafterthe storm, either,” Max added.

As it began to grow dark, Max got into his beautiful German uniform. The others admired him greatly as he strutted about in front of the cave trying hard to act like a Gestapo colonel.

“Say—I just thought of something,” he said. “As a big shot I wouldn’t be traveling around without a staff or a few orderlies.”

“It is a little unusual,” Scotti said. “But you’re out to check up on things personally. You’re dropping in on sentries without any warning. In our Army, a private, or even a corporal, might wonder about such a thing, but German soldiers aren’t taught to wonder. They don’t bother to think, especially in the presence of a high officer. And with the plan we’ve got arranged they won’t have time to think much.”

“All right,” Max said. “I just hope these guys react the way we expect them to.”

“If they don’t, you all know what to do,” Scotti said. “I don’t like the idea of gunfire at this crucial moment, but if we have to—well, we have to.”

They set off about nine o’clock, leaving Scotti alone in the cave. He was propped up near the entrance with a sub-machine gun across his knees, two others near at hand, and several boxes of ammunition within reach. After the others had left, he looked through the darkness after them for a long time. Then he angrily brushed away the tears that kept coming into his eyes, and reached out and banged his broken leg.

Scotti Looked After the Others

“Why did that leg have to break?” he demanded. “I ought to be there with my men and here I sit—”

But he stopped and gained control of himself again. Dick Donnelly could carry this thing through if anyone could. He had shown amazing cleverness so far in this matter, even when things got the most dangerous.

Dick was not feeling as confident, however. He felt pretty tired, and this test ahead of him was almost too much for him to carry. It was even worse, almost, to know that your commanding officer expected so much of you, to know that the men under you would do just about anything you said.

They all carried heavy loads—the entire batch of dynamite, lengths of wire, detonator boxes. But they made their way around the hill all right, and came down toward the dam from above, as they had before. Dick went ahead and looked up and down the main road, motioned to the others, and they sprinted across, dropping into the ditch on the other side. Then they slipped down the steep slope toward the power house below the dam. The grass grew high here, and they were able to pile up the dynamite and other equipment not far from the big pipe-line. Then Max and Dick climbed up to the road again.

“All right, now, Max,” Dick said. “I’ll cut around below the power house and cross to the other side of the dam. Give me about three minutes’ head start.After that, wait for the next car that comes along. Just after it passes walk down this little drive toward the dam wall. The sentries are likely to think you got out of the car they heard. But don’t give them a chance to think much. Bawl them out, raise the devil, call the guards down below at the power house and get them to come up to you. Then you’ll have them all together when I open fire. I’ll be back in the woods on the other side of the lake. I’ll be able to see, by the lights near that little building on the dam wall, when you have them all around you. I’ll give a good burst on the gun and then light out as fast as I can. You send them after me.”

“Okay, Dick,” Max said. “I’ll do my best. And I’ll follow behind them too, to keep them looking for you. I’ll give Slade and Vince a full half-hour, longer if possible.”

Dick went quickly down the hill, alongside the road. He ducked into the ditch when a row of big trucks raced by, toward Maletta. Finally he left the roadside and cut down into the valley, about a quarter of a mile below the power house. He made his way across the trickling brook which was almost dry now that the water gates were shut. Then he headed up toward the dam again on the other side.

Vince and Slade were hiding by their supplies in the tall grass. They saw three sentries around the power house, five more pacing the dam wall. They would be able to see when Max walked out there,acting like a Nazi.

The wait seemed interminable. Then they heard a car go by on the road above them, and there was Max, striding vigorously out on to the dam wall. The nearest sentry snapped to attention and saluted, muttering a command back to the others as he did so. They all came to attention, and Max started bellowing orders.

Vince and Slade could not understand him, but they smiled at each other over the rough sound of Max’s voice. And it was obvious that the sentries were pretty scared. One of them jumped to the door of the little building and out came two more guards, hurriedly buttoning their jackets. At this sight, Max seemed to fly into a rage, and he slapped both the men hard across their faces. Then he called to the men farther along on the dam and they raced forward, snapped to attention in front of Max, and saluted.

Vince shot a glance at the sentries around the power house. They were staring up toward the wall, and whispering to each other. At that moment, Max looked down at them and bellowed an order that sounded so severe it almost made Slade quake in his boots. The three power-house sentries ran forward, climbed the steel ladder that led up to the dam and stood at attention before Max.

“He’s got ’em all lined up,” Vince whispered. “Every one of ’em. It’s going to work.”

“Right,” Slade said, “and I’ve got our hatch in the pipe-line picked out.”

Then they heard Dick’s automatic firing from across the lake. The sentries on the dam were already so scared that they almost jumped off when they heard the sound. After all, one man in the power house had been shot that afternoon for neglect and carelessness, and by the very Gestapo officer, they thought, who now stood before them.

Max rasped out another order, and the sentries started running across the dam wall to the other side of the lake, with Max on their heels. In a flash Slade and Vince were out of the tall grass, running forward toward the pipe-lines, each with a heavy load. Slade took a wrench from his pocket and started work on the hatch opening in the pipe while Vince ran back for another load of material. By the time he returned, Slade had the door open and was boosting himself inside.

Vince handed up one big bundle to Slade, who disappeared with it inside the pipe. Then Vince kept his eyes sweeping over the surrounding land, looking for any sign that someone might approach. Inside the big pipe, Slade was struggling up the sloping steel shaft toward the dam wall. He slipped, he fell, but he picked himself up again and pushed forward. It took him five minutes to reach the end of the pipe, where the water-gate of the dam stopped him. Here he set down his load, turned, and slid down the pipe to the opening, dousing his flashlight before he got there.

Vince was ready for him with the next bundle. This was even heavier, and it took Slade almost ten minutes to get it in position. When he slid down again, one hand was cut and his knees were badly skinned, but he grabbed the coil of wire which Vince handed him and started up again.

Meanwhile, after firing his shots over the lake, Dick had run full speed toward the west, back toward the dam. He had to get past the dam wall before the sentries came racing from it. He heard their pounding feet close at hand just as he slid into a clump of low bushes just below the dam wall. He could hear Max roaring out his orders and he knew that the supposed colonel was ordering the sentries to go to the right, up along the lake, in search of the man who had fired the shots. They all obeyed without question, and then Dick slipped away from the bushes, went down the hill alongside the stream, crossed over, and cut back up to the spot beside the power house at which he had left Vince and Slade.

He smiled as he saw that the hatch door was open in the pipe-line, with Vince standing guard beside it. He whistled a signal and stepped forward out of the tall grass.

“He’s hooking up the wire now,” Vince whispered to him. “Ought to be down in a minute.”

And then Slade, appearing at the opening, leaped to the ground. He had the coil of wire over his arm and was letting it out as he moved away from the dynamite charge at the base of the dam gates. He nodded briefly to Dick, then closed the hatch door, but not so tight that it would cut through the wire. He stepped back toward the tall grass swiftly, still paying out his wire.

Dick and Vince followed him, helping him up the steep slope toward the road. He was heading for a culvert which passed under the road about fifty feet west of the little driveway to the dam wall. He did not even pause as he ducked low and started crawling through the culvert. Dick went up on the road, scurried across and got at the other end of the opening. He could barely see Slade’s flashlight as he made his way through the small tunnel.

After he was through, Vince came across and joined them, and then they made their way up the hill on the other side of the road, into the thick trees.

“Here,” Slade said, panting, “this will be the place. Vince, go get the detonator.”

“I’ll go with you,” Dick said. “I want to get my own stuff, too.”

While Slade sat down to rest, Dick and Vince went back across the road, into the tall grass where they had first put their heavy bundles. There were two detonators, a box of fuses, a length of wire, and one big box of dynamite. They picked them up and hurriedback to join Slade. When they reached him again, they were all exhausted, but happy. There was still no sign of Max or his sentries, who were busy, apparently, chasing through the woods on the other side of the dam and lake.

They sat and waited, secure in the knowledge that now the dam would really be blown up. The charge was laid, the fuses set, the wire hooked up. At the proper moment Slade would just have to push down a plunger, and the dam would be ruined, flood waters would roar down into the valley below, engulfing the German forces and their mighty armored equipment.

Meanwhile, in the country around the town of Maletta, there were many strange sights. Since dark, Italian families had been starting out for short strolls, strolls that led down side streets and then up paths into the wooded hills. They took different streets, different roads, and they walked slowly, casually, whistling or humming songs as they walked. Some carried bundles, and some even took their babies out, when they should have been in their cribs asleep.

But only a few of the Germans seemed to notice. Most of them were too busy to see anything like Italians taking a stroll. An aide did mention to the Gestapo colonel that there seemed to be an unusual number of Italians out on the streets that evening, but the colonel was in no mood to listen. He hadjust discovered one of his newest uniforms to be missing and he was berating an orderly with its loss. Moreover, he had still not located that illegal radio, and his commanding officer had ordered him to appear before him the next day with a full explanation.

Far into the night the imperceptible exodus of Italians from the town went on, and nobody said a word. Tomorrow the Germans expected the big smashing attack from the Americans who were now only ten miles below Maletta.

Another wanderer on those hills was Dick Donnelly. He carried a coil of wire over his shoulder, a box of dynamite in one hand, and a detonator in the other. Vince had begged to be allowed to go with him, but Dick would not listen.

“This is my own private venture,” he said, “this blowing up of the road. I’ll endanger my own life in it, but nobody else’s. The dam is the important thing. You stay here with Slade and Max until it is all over, then head back for the cave fast.”

Max had reappeared just before Dick left. After three-quarters of an hour hunting some fugitive in the woods, he led his sentries back to the dam. And he was fuming. He let forth a stream of abuse that would have made the real Colonel Klage envious. He blamed everything that had gone wrong in the war on those sentries, threatened to have them up for punishment the next day.

He gave a final order for them all to stay on the dam wall the rest of the night, and to keep their eyes constantly on the other side of the lake. Then he stalked away. The sentries were lined up like wooden Indians, facing the other direction. They couldn’t have seen as far as the main road anyway, to see that Max just ducked across it into the woods above, but they didn’t even dare try to see.

Max was proud and happy. “I ran the legs off those guys,” he said. “And it did me good to hit a couple of them, too. They like to go around doing that kind of thing to people who can’t hit back. I wonder how they liked a taste of their own medicine.”

Dick told Max what a fine job he had done, but the big soldier just said, “I guess I’ll go in for acting after I get out of the Army. It’s fun.”

ZERO HOUR

Tony Avella was nearing the end of his long vigil in the top of the bell tower. He was feeling restless, cramped, and uneasy. He kept telling himself that this radio job was just as important as any of the rest of it, but it did not make him feel any better about having to spend almost a whole week in that cramped space, hot in the day, cold at night, with a stone floor beneath him. Most of the time he had nothing whatever to do, and he had covered the floor with scratches playing tick-tack-toe with himself.

But now the end was approaching. It had been some time since he’d heard about the latest plans, but he knew that the dam was scheduled to go up at exactly five-thirty A.M. And he thought that Dick was going to try to get around to the northwest road to blow it up at the same time.

“At any rate, I’ve got box seats for the whole affair,” he told himself. “I’ll be able to see both explosions from here. But I can’t wait around very long after that.”

Although there was still a half-hour to wait, he sat down beside his radio and felt for the cranks of the generator. He put on the earphones and took themoff, adjusted the microphone before his mouth and then moved it a half inch further away. Then it was time to look at his watch again, the watch that he felt sure must be running down.

“Wonder where Dick is now,” he said to himself.

Dick was almost as nervous as Tony. He sat behind a huge boulder above the northwest road where it was cut into the side of the hill. He had laid his charge just where Slade showed him, and hooked up the fuses and wire. Now he sat waiting beside the plunger box for five-thirty to come.

“I hope everything’s still okay at the dam,” he muttered to himself.

Except for nervousness again, everything was all right there. Max and Slade and Vince sat on the side of the hill, looking at their watches, laughing about the sentries who still stood on the dam wall, looking at their watches again.

“Scotti must be kind of lonesome,” Vince said.

Lieutenant Scotti wasverylonesome. The night had been particularly long for him, with nothing whatever to do, without any way of knowing how the affair at the dam had gone. He looked at his watch.

“Pretty soon I’ll hear it,” he said to himself. “Then I’ll know the answer. And Tony will flash word to headquarters at once.”

At that moment Tony was beginning to turn the crank on the generator. He got it going at a steady pace and kept it going easily. Then he turned a switch, looked at his watch. Any minute now—

He jumped, when it finally did come, after all those hours of waiting. A great roar to the east. He saw a flash, saw black smoke against the sky that was beginning to be gray, felt the earth tremble a little, and then heard the booming roar go echoing through the hills.

But—was that an echo? No, it was another roar, though not so loud, from the west. Looking quickly, he saw a cloud of smoke and dust rising from the northwest road.

“Julius Caesar to Mark Antony!” he cried into the microphone. And he got the answer back right away, “Mark Antony to Julius Caesar. Come in.”

He did not bother with code. He was not going to say anything that the Germans wouldn’t know in two minutes anyway.

“Dam blown up at five-thirty on the dot,” he said swiftly. “Northwest road ditto one minute later. Repeat.”

The man at the other end repeated the news once, and Tony was on his feet. He tossed the headphones and microphone to the floor, threw the rope out the opening and let himself over the ledge. Sliding down it like a streak of lightning, his feet hit the roof of the wing, and he ran in a crouch to the rear. He leaped to the ground and stumbled—into Tomaso’s arms.

“Uncle Tomaso,” he cried. “Why aren’t you in the hills?”

“I couldn’t go and leave you here, Tony,” the old man said. “I had to make sure that you were safe.”

“Come with me, fast,” Tony said. “We have to hurry to get across the road before the water is too deep.”

They took off through the trees, not bothering to hide themselves too carefully. They could hear the shouts from men in front of the villa, the firing of a few guns, the sound of motorcar engines roaring to life. Everyone would be too busy to notice them.

“Dick’s got even further to go than we have,” Tony said, as he trotted beside the old man, who could not move very quickly. “I wonder if he can make it.”

Dick had known that it would not be easy for him to get back to the cave after blowing up the road. It had been a great thrill for him to see the hillside go sliding down across the highway, obliterating it completely for a stretch of a quarter of a mile. But he had lost his own footing and gone rolling down the hill too. Before he caught himself, he was almost at the road, and there, just in front of him, was a German motorcycle messenger pulling up to a screaming stop in front of the mass of rocks that blocked his way.

Dick did not hesitate for an instant. He snatched his automatic from his pocket, fired, and watched the man topple to the ground.

“I’m afraid I’m a little too excited to be a good shot,” he told himself critically. “I believe I just winged him in the shoulder.”

But that was enough for Dick’s purpose. He pulled up the man’s motorcycle, turned it around, started it, and headed straight down the main highway for Maletta. He roared down the main street at forty miles an hour, swerving in and out among the cars, the trucks, the running soldiers with half their clothes on. The sight of such panic made him laugh with pleasure, and everything was in such a turmoil that he was able to race right through the heart of town without being noticed except as a nuisance that got in someone’s way.

“They don’t even know, half of them, what’s happened yet,” he told himself as he sped out again on the northeast road. “But they’ll know mighty soon,” he added, “for there comes the water.”

His motorcycle wheels were already running in water an inch deep. Then it was six inches, eight inches, ten inches. Ahead he saw it boiling down at him like a solid wall, and he leaped from the motorcycle and cut into the fields. The mud and water slowed him down but he raced ahead as fast as he could. Another fifty feet, another thirty! The water was around his knees. Twenty feet—ten feet to go to high ground—and the water was around his waist. And then he made it. He grabbed the trunk of asapling and pulled himself up the slope. Then he sat down, panting heavily. But in another minute his feet were in the steadily rising water, and he pulled himself up again.

“Anyway,” he told himself, “I know the dam really went out. It’s not just cracked and leaking.”

Breathing a little more easily, he got up and started up the hill toward the cave. Halfway up he heard the firing of guns. The sound came from the cave without a doubt. He ran forward, circling around to come at the cave from above if possible. He figured that he must be just a little above the cave entrance when he heard another burst of fire and heard a bulletzingthrough the branches overhead. He dropped to the ground and edged his way down the slope on his belly, keeping behind trees as much as possible. He knew there was a big tree growing out of a split rock just above the cave entrance. If only he could get to that—

“Scotti must be alone in there,” he said. “And—yes, I can see them—they’re German soldiers who have come racing up the hill to get away from the flood waters. They probably would have run smack into the cave by accident if Scotti hadn’t fired to keep them off. I’ve got to get down to him.”

Dick Stopped Behind a Tree and Waited

After each burst of fire from the German guns he made his way forward another few feet, keeping always behind tree trunks. Finally he reached the great tree just above the cave entrance. Then he waited again. There was another heavy exchange of fire and a lull. With one leap, Dick flew down from above, hit the ground and fell on Scotti’s gun just as he was about to pull the trigger.

“Dick!” he cried. “I almost plugged you!”

“I didn’t give you a chance,” Dick said. He crouched low as a hail of bullets spat against the side of the hill all around the cave. He snatched up one of the machine guns by Scotti’s side and returned the fire.

“We can hold ’em off for a long time,” Dick said. “We’ve got a lot of ammunition.”

“Until they think to circle up in back the way you did,” Scotti said. “Dick, you’re a fool to have come back here. I’m done for, anyway, but you can get away. Our men must be right over the crest of the hill. You can get up to them all right.”

“Nothing doing,” Dick said. “I’m sticking with you.”

“That’s plain suicide!” Scotti fumed. “As your superior officer I order you to leave.”

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.

“Scotti!” they called. “Scotti!”

Dick ran to the cave entrance and called out to the men above, “Look out! There still may be some more in the woods below.”

But no shot came from there, and Max, Vince, and Slade scrambled down the hill into the cave.

“What kept you so long?” Dick asked.

“Well, first we waited to see just what went on at the dam,” Vince said. “It went out—every bit of it—dam, power house, water, and all! It was beautiful to watch. And then on the way back here we ran into a few Germans. We didn’t have any guns ourselves, but we sort of took them by surprise and handled them with bare knuckles. That’s where Max picked up the gun he used on the fellow that was about to visit you. Only one of the Germans we met had a gun and that’s it. The others were so panicky because of the flood that they’d forgotten them. But that little tussle delayed us a bit. Sorry.”

“Wonder where Tony is?” Dick mumbled. But before anyone had time to answer they heard the pounding of many feet. They grabbed up guns and waited at the entrance tensely. Then Vince let out a war whoop that rang through the woods.

“It’s our boys!” he shouted. “It’s our own Army!”

AFTERMATH

They were all in the town of Maletta again, two months later. It looked cleaner and neater than when they had first seen it, for the townspeople and the U. S. Army engineers had done a first-rate job of cleaning out the mud and trash left by the flood waters.

Scotti was back in the United States, recuperating from his wounds, but the rest of them were heading back to the front lines again, quite a distance to the north by this time. They took the last day of their furlough for a visit in the town that had been so important a part of their lives for one week.

But there were some differences. Dick Donnelly wore a First Lieutenant’s bars on his shoulders. The General had conferred the commissioned rank on him on the field of action, right after the successful conclusion of the battle for Maletta. And there was the colored ribbon on his left breast which meant the awarding of the Distinguished Service Medal.

Tony Avella was a Master Sergeant now. He and his Uncle Tomaso had been caught on the opposite hill, away from the cave, by the flood waters. But that had meant nothing more than sitting and waitingfor the waters to recede. They had been hungry and exhausted after their ordeal but that was all. Even old Tomaso stood up well under it.

Vince Salamone and Max Burckhardt were both corporals now and everyone in the group had some sort of citation in recognition of his brilliant and heroic work. Boom-Boom Slade, as meek and quiet as always, seemed a little embarrassed at the decoration on his breast.

They all went to call on old Tomaso first of all. They found him in his same old room in the servants’ wing, but not the sad and broken man they had first seen there. He had put on a little weight, decent clothes now enhanced his dignified bearing. With characteristic Italian emotion he gratefully saluted the American flag which now flew above the door of the ancient villa.

“Did they take down the radio from the tower?” Tony asked him.

“No, it’s still there,” Tomaso said. “I think they may just have forgotten about it. And I haven’t said anything because when this war is over I want the town to put that in a museum—as a memorial to the battle of Maletta.”

“Well, it can stay there for all I care,” Tony said. “I had my fill of that bell tower for the rest of my life. I never want to see it again.”

Tomaso led them to a sidewalk restaurant where they sat and drank coffee and talked together. They recalled all their experiences again, reliving in memory those hectic days. It was a good memory, and the result had been a great success. Thousands of German soldiers had been drowned, thousands more killed by the Americans that poured across the two ridges and so caught them in a vise. Hundreds of trucks and tanks and guns had been lost by the enemy and many of these were already repaired and serving the American forces. The general told them that their work had saved at least a month in the Italian campaign, probably more.

While they sat, Enrico came along and said hello to them all.

“Now,” he said to Dick, “I can take time to ask you for your autograph.”

Dick felt foolish, but he signed a note for the young Italian. Enrico thanked the young lieutenant profusely, and then said very seriously, “You know the opera company is singingCavalleria Rusticanatonight. I’m really not up to it. It would be a great treat for me to sit in the audience. How about it, Ricardo Donnelli, will you singTurridutonight?”

“Bravo,” cried Tomaso with a wave of his hand and his black eyes sparkling. “The great Donnelli it is for tonight.”

“No, no,” Dick protested. “I’m not a singer these days, I’m a soldier.”

“Forget it, big boy,” exclaimed Vince Salamone with affection and not without humor, for he was a good foot taller than Dick. “You’re going to beTurridutonight and capture the hearts of all the girls in Maletta.”

“You bet you are,” agreed Tony. “He’s my favorite opera hero, and I’d like to hear his role sung proper-like.” Adding with a mock-serious bow to Enrico, “No offense to you, my good fellow.”

And Max Burckhardt exclaimed in his good-natured way, “No kiddin’, Lieutenant. I’d like to find out first hand if all the hullabaloo I hear about those vocal chords of yours is on the level.”

Boom-Boom Slade came out of his customary reticence to add, “It would give me the keenest pleasure, Lieutenant Donnelly, to hear a man sing whose talents as a soldier I so deeply respect.”

So that evening they all went to see Ricardo Donnelli inCavalleria Rusticana. But the next morning it was Lieutenant Dick Donnelly that reported to his commanding officer at the front lines.

Endpaper illustration

WHITMANAUTHORIZED EDITIONS

WHITMAN

AUTHORIZED EDITIONS

NEW STORIES OF ADVENTUREAND MYSTERY

NEW STORIES OF ADVENTURE

AND MYSTERY

Up-to-the-minute novels for boys and girls about FavoriteCharacters, all popular and well-known, including—INVISIBLE SCARLET O’NEILLITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE and the Gila Monster GangBRENDA STARR, Girl ReporterDICK TRACY, Ace DetectiveTILLIE THE TOILER and the Masquerading DuchessBLONDIE and Dagwood’s Adventure in MagicBLONDIE and Dagwood’s Snapshot ClueBLONDIE and Dagwood’s Secret ServiceJOHN PAYNE and the Menace at Hawk’s NestBETTY GRABLE and the House With the Iron ShuttersBOOTS (of “Boots and Her Buddies”) and the Mystery of the Unlucky VaseANN SHERIDAN and the Sign of the SphinxJANE WITHERS and the Swamp Wizard

Up-to-the-minute novels for boys and girls about FavoriteCharacters, all popular and well-known, including—

Up-to-the-minute novels for boys and girls about Favorite

Characters, all popular and well-known, including—

INVISIBLE SCARLET O’NEILLITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE and the Gila Monster GangBRENDA STARR, Girl ReporterDICK TRACY, Ace DetectiveTILLIE THE TOILER and the Masquerading DuchessBLONDIE and Dagwood’s Adventure in MagicBLONDIE and Dagwood’s Snapshot ClueBLONDIE and Dagwood’s Secret ServiceJOHN PAYNE and the Menace at Hawk’s NestBETTY GRABLE and the House With the Iron ShuttersBOOTS (of “Boots and Her Buddies”) and the Mystery of the Unlucky VaseANN SHERIDAN and the Sign of the SphinxJANE WITHERS and the Swamp Wizard

INVISIBLE SCARLET O’NEIL

LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE and the Gila Monster Gang

BRENDA STARR, Girl Reporter

DICK TRACY, Ace Detective

TILLIE THE TOILER and the Masquerading Duchess

BLONDIE and Dagwood’s Adventure in Magic

BLONDIE and Dagwood’s Snapshot Clue

BLONDIE and Dagwood’s Secret Service

JOHN PAYNE and the Menace at Hawk’s Nest

BETTY GRABLE and the House With the Iron Shutters

BOOTS (of “Boots and Her Buddies”) and the Mystery of the Unlucky Vase

ANN SHERIDAN and the Sign of the Sphinx

JANE WITHERS and the Swamp Wizard

The books listed above may be purchased atthe same store where you secured this book.

The books listed above may be purchased at

the same store where you secured this book.

WHITMANAUTHORIZED EDITIONS

WHITMAN

AUTHORIZED EDITIONS

JANE WITHERS and the Phantom ViolinJANE WITHERS and the Hidden RoomBONITA GRANVILLE and the Mystery of Star IslandANN RUTHERFORD and the Key to Nightmare HallPOLLY THE POWERS MODEL: The Puzzle of the Haunted CameraJOYCE AND THE SECRET SQUADRON: A Captain Midnight AdventureNINA AND SKEEZIX (of “Gasoline Alley”): The Problem of the Lost RingGINGER ROGERS and the Riddle of the Scarlet CloakSMILIN’ JACK and the Daredevil Girl PilotAPRIL KANE AND THE DRAGON LADY: A “Terry and the Pirates” AdventureDEANNA DURBIN and the Adventure of Blue ValleyDEANNA DURBIN and the Feather of FlameGENE AUTRY and the Thief River OutlawsRED RYDER and the Mystery of the Whispering WallsRED RYDER and the Secret of Wolf Canyon

JANE WITHERS and the Phantom Violin

JANE WITHERS and the Hidden Room

BONITA GRANVILLE and the Mystery of Star Island

ANN RUTHERFORD and the Key to Nightmare Hall

POLLY THE POWERS MODEL: The Puzzle of the Haunted Camera

JOYCE AND THE SECRET SQUADRON: A Captain Midnight Adventure

NINA AND SKEEZIX (of “Gasoline Alley”): The Problem of the Lost Ring

GINGER ROGERS and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak

SMILIN’ JACK and the Daredevil Girl Pilot

APRIL KANE AND THE DRAGON LADY: A “Terry and the Pirates” Adventure

DEANNA DURBIN and the Adventure of Blue Valley

DEANNA DURBIN and the Feather of Flame

GENE AUTRY and the Thief River Outlaws

RED RYDER and the Mystery of the Whispering Walls

RED RYDER and the Secret of Wolf Canyon

The books listed above may be purchased atthe same store where you secured this book.

The books listed above may be purchased at

the same store where you secured this book.

THE EXCITING NEWFIGHTERS FOR FREEDOMSERIES

THE EXCITING NEW

FIGHTERS FOR FREEDOM

SERIES

Thrilling novels of war and adventurefor modern boys and girls

Thrilling novels of war and adventure

for modern boys and girls

Kitty Carter of the CANTEEN CORPSNancy Dale, ARMY NURSEMarch Anson and Scoot Bailey of the U.S. NAVYDick Donnelly of the PARATROOPSNorma Kent of the WACSSally Scott of the WAVESBarry Blake of the FLYING FORTRESSSparky Ames and Mary Mason of the FERRY COMMAND

Kitty Carter of the CANTEEN CORPS

Nancy Dale, ARMY NURSE

March Anson and Scoot Bailey of the U.S. NAVY

Dick Donnelly of the PARATROOPS

Norma Kent of the WACS

Sally Scott of the WAVES

Barry Blake of the FLYING FORTRESS

Sparky Ames and Mary Mason of the FERRY COMMAND

The books listed above may be purchased atthe same store where you purchased this book.

The books listed above may be purchased at

the same store where you purchased this book.

Transcriber's Notepage 48 - changed "Lieutentant" to "Lieutenant"page 152 - changed "where-ever" to "wherever" on rejoining sentenceTony can get where-ever he wants to gopage 191 - corrected inconsistent spelling - "pipeline" to "pipe-line"("pipe-line" used more often)page 220 - removed extra "to" from sentencehe told the whole story to topage 247 - removed paragraph break after "then said very seriously,"

Transcriber's Note

page 48 - changed "Lieutentant" to "Lieutenant"

page 152 - changed "where-ever" to "wherever" on rejoining sentenceTony can get where-ever he wants to go

page 152 - changed "where-ever" to "wherever" on rejoining sentence

Tony can get where-

ever he wants to go

page 191 - corrected inconsistent spelling - "pipeline" to "pipe-line"("pipe-line" used more often)

page 191 - corrected inconsistent spelling - "pipeline" to "pipe-line"

("pipe-line" used more often)

page 220 - removed extra "to" from sentencehe told the whole story to to

page 220 - removed extra "to" from sentence

he told the whole story to to

page 247 - removed paragraph break after "then said very seriously,"

Back to Index Next