Rite of Passage

“Shh,” Jimmy whispered, holding my arm. “There’s the guard.”

We waited until he had passed and then we ran low to the iron fence. Jimmy gave me a boost and I grasped the spikes, the points sharp under my thumbs. He pushed me up and I got a knee on the top bar between the spikes. I paused there for a brief moment and then I jumped clear on the far side, ripping my pants on one of the spikes. I looked both ways to see if the noise of my landing had alerted anyone, and then I turned back to the fence. I put both hands through the bars and cupped them for Jimmy’s foot. He stepped into my hands and I pushed up. He got his other foot on the top bar and then sprang over. He landed on his feet with a thud that was noisier than mine and then without pausing we ran- for the nearest tree, where we stopped for a moment before we ran to the shadow of the headquarters building.

There was a partial cloud rack overhead and the light varied from dim to worse as the clouds moved by. We moved to the end of the building, Jimmy preceding, and there we stopped while Jimmy put his head around. Then we went around the corner and I could see the silent and empty parade ground and one or two night lights in the buildings on its edge. I could barely see the scoutship squatting in the dirt. We checked again at the next corner and then we ghosted along the front of the building.

“There should be one man on night duty,” Jimmy said. “The office is just to the right inside the door.”

He pointed up to a window over our heads. I could see light there and shadows on the ceiling. We went up the steps, flattened in the doorway while Jimmy and I took out our pistols and then we went through the door. The hall was dark and quiet. The door to the room on our right was open and light was streaming out.

Jimmy went through the door, gun in his hand, and said, “Put your hands up.”

There was just one man behind the desk and his head had been nodding. He came awake with a start and looked at us.

“You again,” he said.

It was a chubby little man, not particularly competent looking, dressed in a green uniform with red markings and red braided epaulets on the shoulders. The room was large and contained a number of desks, one on the side of the door and two on the side opposite. There were several offices behind the desks. The lamp turned low on the officer’s desk was the only light.

“Keep your voice down,” Jimmy said. “I’ll shoot you if I have to. Now where is my gear?”

The officer said, “I don’t know,” but his voice was uncertain. He was startled and still half asleep.

Jimmy nodded to me to go around the desk. I took out my knife and the man’s eyes watched me. He tried to move his chair, but 1 pushed at the back of it so that he couldn’t rise.

“Careful there, boy,” he said, his voice rising.

I took the point of the knife and I pricked his ear. It didn’t even bring a drop of blood.

“Where is the gear?” I asked.

The man choked and cleared his throat. “Not in any one place. I don’t know where everything be.”

“Where are my saddle bags?”

He shrugged helplessly. “In the stables, I suppose.”

“What about the stuff that was in them?”

Eagerly he said, “They been fooling with that in the mess. Some of the boys.”

“Take us to th mess.”

“I can’t show you,” the officer said. “I can’t leave my post.”

I tickled his epaulet with my knife. “You’ll have to.”

“Don’t cut that!” he said in agitation.

“Show us.” I raised the knife.

“Very well,” he said helplessly. “It be on the second floor.”

I took the lamp from the desk and Jimmy prodded the officer to his feet. He led us out into the corridor and then up the stairs. We walked down another corridor on the second floor, out footsteps echoing hollowly. At last we came to a door and the pudgy little officer unlocked it and threw it open.

“There,” he said.

The lamp light showed a silent room with a great long white-cloth covered table surrounded by ranks of chairs. There was a lounge and a great fireplace.

“Show us,” Jimmy said.

The officer led the way over to the lounge. There was a dart board there and newspapers and games, and on one of the tables Jimmy’s chess board. I recognized it. I don’t know who Jimmy had been intending to play with. Some of his other things were scattered about.

“Jimmy,” I said, in a voice filled with dread. “I don’t see it.”

Jimmy took a quick look himself. “No,” he said. He turned to the officer. “We’re looking for a little blocksized object about so by so. Have you seen it?”

“No,” said the officer. “I haven’t been playing with your stuff.”

I poked him with the knife. “Are you sure?”

With some asperity he said, “I be sure! I don’t remember seeing anything like that.”

“What are we going to do now?” I said to Jimmy.

“I don’t know. It must be somewhere, but I don’t know where we could look.”

I was really beginning to worry as I hadn’t before. We couldn’t run loose around this place for very long without being caught, and if we didn’t find the signal we would never get home at all.