Страница 49 из 55
And now Rau, yeah, it was John, with the sword, looked like he was yelling encouragement to his troopers.
Charlie raised the mike. "Well, the Rebels got turned back. But if you know what happened at Brice's, you know Old Bedford kept coming backyou wait and see-till he broke the Federal line. But listen, lemme tell you an interesting fact while both sides are regrouping. There was a Union soldier fought at Second Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg. And you know what he did some twenty years before the war started? His name was Abner Doubleday and he invented the game of baseball-a sport I gave eighteen years of my life to, in my prime able to throw a fastball ninety-nine miles an hour. Any you young boys out there think you can throw that hard, come on over to the Tishomingo Lodge and let's see your arm. We'll measure your throw with a radar gun. If you can throw a ball a hundred miles an hour we'll give you ten thousand dollars on the spot. Well, now I see General Forrest himself out there on his horse, riding up and down the line encouraging his boys to give those Yankees hell. That's Walter Kirkbride of Southern Living Village doing his impression of Old Bedford… And now here they come again charging headlong into those Yankee guns, the Yankees coming out to meet them."
It was too late now to go from Yankee guns to Yankee bats, damn it, the battle was on, a bunch of Rebels in black hats getting more than halfway across the field when the Yankee ca
Hey, but they were crawling forward on their bellies toward the Union line, getting to their feet now and rushing the officer out in front, John Rau, four of them taking him by surprise, grabbing John by his arms and legs between them, lifting him off the ground and rushing him headfirst like a battering ram through the Confederate line, the boys in gray stopping midfield to return fire. Charlie raised his mike.
"You see that, folks. The Rebs made a daring raid there and have taken a prisoner."
They saw it, all right, the whole crowd cheering, loving it, watching the black hats ru
De
"That fucking Robert," Hector said, "he must have thought of that."
De
Hector turned to Jerry staying in the thicket behind them. "The next time they come we go in the woods. You can sneak over there now, get a head start."
Jerry's voice came out of the thicket. "You saying I can't keep up with you?"
Hector turned away, not answering, and said to Tonto, "I insulted him."
"It's easy to do," Tonto said. "We carry him if we have to. Robert wants him there."
"I don't see Robert," De
"He took a hit," Hector said. "See the sword stuck in the ground? That's Robert." He said to De
De
De
He heard Hector say, "Let's go," and he fired and saw Hector and Tonto ducking into the trees, De
Groove and Cedric, both stripped to the waist and wearing shades, stood in the road at the back of the truck.
Now Groove was giving high-fives to Hector and Tonto, and Cedric was raising the truck's loading door, ru
Hector, looking at Jerry approaching the bank worn-out, trying to breathe, said, "We pick up after the general," and said to him, "How you doing, you all right? You have cramps? You feeling dizzy, kinda sick?"
De
"You sweating," Hector said, "that's good. You have a heatstroke you don't sweat none. Drink some water, it will pick you up."
De
Tonto said, "They still playing." He took a Colt from Cedric and handed it to De
De
"Gimme a Colt. I'm leaving this fuckin sword."
And Hector saying, "It's too heavy, uh?"
Insulting him again. De