Fable, A - William Faulkner [188]
'Oh, coy,' Buchwald said. 'Dont let that worry you. The smoke cant help it, being coy is a part of what you might say is one of his habits or customs or pastimes. The other one dont even know what coy means yet.'
'Okay,' the sergeant-major said. 'It's your monkey. You ready?'
'Wait,' Buchwald said. He didn't look back to where the other two stood near the desk, watching him and the sergeant-major. 'What is it?'
'I thought they told you,' the sergeant-major said.
'Let's hear your angle,' Buchwald said.
'They had a little trouble with him,' the sergeant-major said. 'It's got to be done from in front, for his own sake, let alone everybody else's. But they cant seem to make him see it. He's got to be killed from in front, by a kraut bullet-see? You get it now? He was killed in that attack Monday morning; they're giving him all the benefit: out there that morning where he had no business being-a major general, safe for the rest of his life to stay behind and say Give 'em hell, men. But no. He was out there himself, leading the whole business to victory for France and fatherland. They're even going to give him a new medal, but he still wont see it,'
'What's his gripe?' Buchwald said. 'He knows he's for it, dont he?'
'Oh sure,' the sergeant-major said. 'He knows he's gone. That aint the question. He aint kicking about that. He just refuses to let them do it that way-swears he's going to make them shoot him not in the front but in the back, like any top-sergeant or shave-tail that thinks he's too tough to be scared and too hard to be hurt.
You know: make the whole world see that not the enemy but his own men did it,'
'Why didn't they just hold him and do it?' Buchwald said.
'Now now,' the sergeant-major said. 'You dont just hold a French major-general and shoot him in the face,'
'Then how are we supposed to do it?' Buchwald said. The sergeant-major looked at him. 'Oh,' Buchwald said. 'Maybe I get it now. French soldiers dont. Maybe next time it will be an American general and three frogs will get a trip to New York,'
'Yeah,' the sergeant-major said. 'If they just let me pick the general. You ready now?'
'Yes,' Buchwald said. But he didn't move. He said: 'Yeah. Why us, anyway? If he's a Frog general, why didn't the Frogs do it? Why did it have to be us?'
'Maybe because an American doughfoot is the only bastard they could bribe with a trip to Paris,' the sergeant-major said. 'Come on,'
But still Buchwald didn't move; his pale hard eyes were thought-ful and steady. 'Come on,' he said. 'Give,'
'If you're going to back out, why didn't you do it before you left Blois?' the sergeant-major said.
Buchwald said something unprintable. 'Give,' he said. 'Let's get it over with,'
'Right,' the sergeant-major said. They rationed it. The Frogs will have to shoot that Frog regiment, because it's Frog. They had to bring a Kraut general over here Wednesday to explain why they were going to shoot the Frog regiment, and the Limeys won that. Now they got to shoot this Frog general to explain why they brought the Kraut general over here, and we won that one. Maybe they drew straws. All right now?'
'Yes,' Buchwald said, suddenly and harshly. He cursed. Tes. Let's get it over with,'
'Wait!' the lowan said. 'No! I-'
'Dont forget your map,' Buchwald said. 'We wont be back here,'
'I haven't,' the lowan said 'What you think I been holding onto it this long for?'
'Good,' Buchwald said. 'Then when they send you back home to prison for mutiny, you can mark Leavenworth on it too,'
They returned to the corridor and followed it. It was empty, lighted by spaced weak electric bulbs. They had seen no other sign of life and suddenly it was as though they apparently were not going to