Chapter 14
The most interested observer of Clem's arrival in the guardhouse was his cellmate who happened to be none other than Bull. He recognized the lieutenant of MPs who had arrested him and made him the fall guy for Amy's revenge.
It was a miserable and confused young officer whom he greeted sardonically the following morning with a "Welcome, Brother Bum." The liquor that had been poured into Clem the night before left him with a terrific hangover. That plus the jolt of waking in the guardhouse had thrown him completely for a loss and he was in a state of total dejection and confusion.
He sat on his bunk, head in his hands, staring at the floor. He paid no attention to Bull, whose incarceration had not affected his cheeriness. Popular with the men, Bull's period in the guardhouse had not been unpleasant for him, though being broken to a private rankled. Bull had liked his authority that went with his stripes-and the pay was not to be sneezed at. However, he looked forward to recovering his stripes quickly enough, since there was enough inexperienced officers around to make a good sergeant the most valuable property in the Army.
He did not blame Amy for what she had done to him and he had kept his mouth shut about her when he had come to trial, partly out of a small sense of guilt and partly because he had thought his story would not be believed anyway.
His feelings about Clem, however, were not so generous. He was more inclined to blame Clem, since he thought the officer should have seen through the situation. Even if he had not, he could have dropped the matter once they left the bar and dismissed him with a warning. It was inexperience, he knew, but he could not forgive it.
"So you tied one on last night?" he jeered at Clem. "And you wound up in the pokey, just like me."
Clem stared at him without recognition for a moment. Then a wild look came into his eye and he jumped to his feet. Bull, startled, threw up his hands, expecting Clem to swing. But Clem just stared at him and then, shaking his head sadly, sat down again on the bunk. Bull thought he was loco.
"Didn't they sober you up yet, pal?" he asked.
"I was framed," Clem said bitterly.
"That's what they all say," Bull roared with laughter. "You ought to know, being an MP yourself. They're always framed. I was framed too."
Clem looked up at him, thinking hard.
"I'll bet you were," he said slowly.
Bull shrugged his big shoulders.
"Maybe I was," he said with indifference, "but it don't make no difference now. I'm finishing my month today. I pleaded guilty and that was that."
Clem relapsed into silence and Bull ignored him. He really had no interest in this officer, but the fact that a lieutenant of MPs should wind up in the guardhouse after an apparent drunken brawl intrigued him. It was just too much out of the ordinary for him to take.
"Where did it happen, Lieutenant?" he asked.
Clem studied him for a moment.
"Same place," he said wearily.
Bull grinned. "You too!" he said.
He could understand it easily enough now. Amy had become quite a dish since he gave her the business and he could easily see a kid like the lieutenant getting into a mess. They learned fast, these girls did, he thought. He'd never known a girl as naive as Amy but look how quickly she'd changed. He no longer felt sorry for Clem.
After breakfast Bull was turned loose and he waved a cheery boodbye to Clem and walked out to rejoin his unit. But he stopped by to talk to one of his pals in the base office and got the dope on Clem. Bull, however, guessed quickly what had happened.
"The lieutenant is getting a raw deal," he told the soldier. "He was framed, neat and sweet. That little gal is right in the middle of it, but I don't know just where."
"Keep your nose clean, Bull. You just out and you ain't got any stripes now."
"Don't worry about old Bull. He'll do all right. And maybe he'll get those stripes back after all."
He went whistling along and reported to his company officer.
"Glad to have you back, Hanrahan. Maybe you'll keep out of trouble next time you get a pass."
"Thank you, sir. That's what I'd like to ask you about. I was wondering if I could have a pass today, sir."
The captain just gaped at Bull.
"It's pretty important, sir," Bull went on. "I'll give you my word that I won't take a single drink, sir."
"I think the guardhouse has affected your mind, Hanrahan. Maybe you'd better report on sick call."
"No, sir, I feel fine," Bull went on, confident that he would succeed. "It's nothing I can go into right now, sir, but I have to find something out."
The captain looked as if he understood.
"The girl who got you into this mess?" he asked.
"No, sir!" Bull lied. "I never want to see her again. This is about a buddy of mine, sir."
He knew that the captain would not give him a pass to see a girl and he hoped that if the made it sound important enough, the captain might okay it. The captain liked him and he knew he'd like to have him as a sergeant again.
"Okay, Hanrahan. But remember, you haven't any stripes to lose, but I have a pair of bars. No trouble or we're both in for it."
"No trouble, sir. And thank you, sir."
He saluted smartly and walked off, grinning. He felt sure he would get his stripes back now. All he needed was just enough to give the captain something to stand on and everything would be jake. And, of course, it wouldn't hurt to be in good with the MPs. Do them a favor and it can come back to you in a million ways.
It was a little past three in the afternoon when Mrs. Cartison climbed the stairs to tell Amy that there was a soldier to see her.
"A soldier?" Amy asked, confused.
She could not think of any soldier who could come to see her except Clem and she knew it was not he. She told Mrs. Cartison to send him up and she sat back to wait. When the door opened and Bull stood before her the blood drained out of her face. She started out of her chair and then sank back. She said nothing.
Surprised to see me, Amy?" he grinned. "Just thirty days, that's all. They don't give you life for that."
"What do you want?" she asked sullenly, her resentment against him boiling up quickly. "I've got nothing to talk to you about."
"But I got something to talk to you about, baby."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not afraid of you, Bull."
"You said it, honey. All you got to do is open your mouth and start hollering and they'll put me away forever. I'm the guy that's afraid, not you."
She smiled nastily.
"You don't see me crying," she said.
"That was a nice trick you pulled on me," Bull said easily. He pulled up a chair and sat down, turning it around so that the back of the chair was in front of him. "I got to admit I fell for it pretty easy. But, after all, I always said you had enough looks for any dame. I ain't sorry I went for you, Amy. And I don't blame you for what you did to me.
You figured you got a raw deal and you got revenge. Okay, we're square as I see it."
It didn't sound like this was what Bull had come to see her about and she waited for him to come to the point. But he made no effort to do so and sat there watching her, looking around at the room. Then he got up and looked into her closet. She started to get angry, but decided that this was what he wanted, so she controlled herself.
"I'm busy," she said finally. "If you want to say anything, you'd better make it quick."
"Nice clothes," Bull said. "Pretty good payoff."
She flushed.
"I can still scream," she said coldly.
"Yeah," he grinned. "Excuse me, I forgot. I hear you've been practicing lately."
His remark hit home and she could not hide the consternation she felt. Her mouth fell open, her eyes widened and she looked away from him quickly. Then she closed her mouth and began to chew on her underlip.
"I don't know what you mean," she said at last, almost whispering.
"I mean the lieutenant," he said flatly. "We were cellmates last night. But I got out this morning. So I decided to look you up."
"He-he told you." She had gone very pale and her breath was coming very fast.
Bull shook his head. He felt very confident about it now and he was going to take his time.
"No. He just said he was framed. I guessed the rest."
She sneered at him.
"Keep guessing," she said.
"He was spoiling your setup," he said.
"I just work there. He's just a soldier and he's like all the rest. He thinks all he had to do is whistle."
"He's just a kid."
"So was I!"
Bull wasn't so confident now. He had underestimated Amy's real hatred for him.
"He sent you," Amy accused him. "He cried on your shoulder and you're trying to fix it up for him so you'll be in good with an officer."
Her shrewd guess about his motives threw him off and he got a little angry that she should see through him so easily.
"You used to be a nice kid, Amy," he said. "Whatever you did to me, I had it coming, but-"
"Used to be is right," she interrupted angrily. "And who the hell are you to come crying around to me now? I'm not a kid any more and I don't care about being nice. You're wasting my time."
Bull got out of his chair and took a step toward her. He glowered down at her.
"So that kid's got to take the rap because you're still carrying a mad against me," he growled. "Amy, you're no good. He's an officer and it don't mean much to me either way. But he's getting the dirtiest kind of a deal I ever heard of. What did he ever do to you that you got to finger him for this? He's finished, if you go through with it. He won't get thirty days like me. He'll get the book thrown at him. Busted, with a dirty rap like that on his record and a long hitch in the can. I got you figured for strictly a louse, if you go through with it."
Amy was shaken by Bull's direct attack on her. She had managed to stave off her feelings of guilt by retreating behind the armor of her hate for Bull. But now his words shattered the wall she held between them and held up directly before her what she herself could no longer deny. She could no longer be defiiant, but she forced herself not to crumble before Bull.
"I don't have to listen to you," she said sullenly.
"No, you don't have to listen, Bull said savagely. "All you got to do is frame guys. Nobody ever did that much to you. That kid's life is up to you and if you let that frameup stand, you're lower than I think you are."
Her face had come apart piteously now but she attempted to hide it by jeering at him. He saw the effect he was having on her but he could not understand the reason for it.
"What's in it for you?" Amy managed to say.
He just glared at her and didn't answer.
"I think you're right," he said. "I'm just wasting my time."
He turned and stalked out heavily, leaving her alone. Amy remained where she was, staring at the closed door. Then she fell across the bed and sobbed without control.
She did not hear Mrs. Cartison come in and she did not see the woman standing there, her cold face unchanging, watching her weep. She only knew she was there when Mrs. Cartison sat herself down on the bed beside her. The older woman made no move to comfort her, just sat and waited for Amy to calm down.
Finally, Amy managed to control herself and lifted her tear-streaked face to Mrs. Cartison.
"What's the trouble, child?" she asked in her clipped speech.
"I've done something terrible," Amy said and began sobbing anew.
Mrs. Cartison waited patiently.
"I don't want to hear about it," she said after a while. "It's none of my business and I don't want to know about it. But if I were you and anything I did made me feel so bad, I'd sure try to find a way to fix it up so's I felt better about it. Now you go ahead and have your cry and when you're feeling a little better come down and have a bite to eat. Never any good to do these things on an empty stomach. Just so long as it wasn't a death or something like that, I guess everything will turn out all right."
She got up and went out without looking back. Amy watched her go. She sat there until nightfall, not stirring off the bed and it was only then that she made her way downstairs to Mrs. Cartison's kitchen.