As Merrill leads his men toward the embattled Germans, he runs past Culhane’s foxhole and drops down beside him.
“The trap’s working like a charm,” he says and then he sees Culhane’s leg. “Sweet Jesus!” he cries out.
“Don’t let ’em take my leg, Major,” Culhane says, his voice so weak Merrill can hardly understand him.
Merrill looks through the charging company of Marines and sees a red cross. “You, Corpsman, get over here!” he orders.
Culhane grabs a handful of Merrill’s shirt.
“I got you your ten minutes, Major.” His voice gets stronger. “Don’t… let… them… take… my… leg.” He begins to shake. Shock is setting in. The corpsman drops beside them and puts a tourniquet on Culhane’s upper thigh.
“Promise me, damn it!” Culhane yells above the din of battle.
Merrill grabs a leatherneck by the arm. “Listen to me,” Merrill bellows, shouting above the sounds of the Hell Hounds screaming, the peal of bayonets clashing, the thunder of guns. “You stay with your sergeant, get it? You stay with him when you get to the field hospital. You stay with him when they operate, and you tell whoever takes care of Culhane that I said if he takes off that leg, I’ll personally take off one of his.”
“Yes, sir, Major Merrill.”
“Th’nks,” Culhane stammers, and Merrill races into battle. He doesn’t hear Culhane’s last whisper before he passes out: “Good luck.”
1920
The winter rainstorm passed quickly and bright hard sunlight urged buds into blossoms in the winter garden Madeline had loved so much. Eli shifted in his wheelchair and stared at the flowers through the large library window. His mind, as sharp as it ever was, raced back through time and he remembered the first time he saw her. San Francisco. She was wearing a pink dress with an enormously wide-brimmed hat and she was framed by ferns in the corner of the Garden Terrace restaurant. Thirty-two years old and she hadn’t looked a day over twenty, and when she smiled as they were introduced, he was immediately her captive.
His memory dissolved into another image. A young boy in tatters, with such an arrogant, cocky smile, standing beside Ben the first time Eli ever saw him. He saw that image reflected in the window but he seemed older and taller, no longer a teenager but a man in a uniform. Then he snapped out of his reverie and realized he was staring at a reflection.
“Hi, Mr. Eli,” the voice behind him said.
He wheeled his chair around and looked up at Brodie Culhane in Marine dress blues, medals-a Purple Heart, Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre-gleaming on his chest, eyes as bright as new coins, the smile as challenging as ever. He had grown into a handsome man, his face a bit lined by age and harsh experience. And he was leaning on an oak cane.
“Well, look at you, Thomas,” Eli said affectionately and held out his hand. Brodie clutched it eagerly. Eli’s hair, what little he had left, was white and his body looked ravaged, his legs mere twigs, but his face seemed as smooth and ageless as ever.
Brodie leaned over and put his arm around the old man.
“I knew you’d come home,” Eli said, embracing him, patting his back. “Sooner or later, I knew you’d come back to us.”
Brodie hooked a chair with the crook of his cane, pulled it to him, and sat down as Eli wiped his eyes with a handkerchief, then blew his nose.
“So, how’s the leg?”
“Another month and I can throw away the cane.”
“Look at you! I wish Maddy were here to see you. Not a day went by she didn’t mention you.”
“I’m sorry,” Brodie said. “I know how much you must miss her. I tried to write you from the hospital but, you know me, I never was much for writing.”
“How long were you laid up?”
“Eighteen months. They put my leg back together with glue and tape. I had to learn to walk again, but it’s almost good as new.”
“Did you stop at the bank and see Ben?”
“Not yet. Mr. Graham was on the train with me. He remembered me. Dropped me off here on his way home.”
“They have a taxi now, you know. Very sophisticated. My God, Ben will faint with excitement when he sees you.”
“How’s his pitching arm?”
“Not what it used to be. He coaches the high school team now.”
“Got a high school, huh?”
“It was time for a good school. We have twenty-two families living on the Hill now. There are a few families in Eureka who attend. And the kids from Milltown come over on the bus.”
“And Eureka has a sidewalk and paved streets. Never thought I’d live to see that day.”
“Well, Riker had to do something. You hardly see a horse and carriage anymore. All automobiles.”
“Is Cyclone still alive?” Brodie asked. “Last time I talked to Ben, he said the old boy was still kicking.”
“And still as handsome as ever, like his owner.”
“I wonder if he’ll remember me.”
“Animals have an amazing memory. It may take him a while but I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten.”
“He’s twenty-three now. And my godson is almost twenty. I can’t believe it.”
“Quite a young man. Fair college student but more interested in football and girls.”
“Ben says he’s not interested in banking.”
“He’ll be twenty this year,” Eli said, waving his hand. “He’s got plenty of time to make up his mind. He’s down in Los Angeles with Isabel. They’ll be back tomorrow. Why didn’t you tell us you were coming in today?”
“I like surprises. Isabel as beautiful as ever?”
Eli nodded. “Like Maddy, she gets prettier every day. She has a birthday coming up in a few months. Thirty- seven. I think she’d rather forget it.”
“And Buck?”
“Slowed down some but he’s fine. Tells everybody he’s sixty. Hell, he’s got to be at least seventy but nobody knows for sure.”
“Is that why I’m back here?”
“You’re back here because we miss you. And Ben needs you. We talked about that once, a long time ago.”
“I remember the conversation.”
“I’ve worried over that a lot. Was it I who drove you away?”
“Don’t think that. It was time for me to leave here, see what the rest of the world looked like.”
“Well, you certainly accomplished that.”
“Seen London, Paris, New York, Chicago. Been down South.”
“Everybody needs a home to come back to, Thomas.”
“My room over the stable still available?”
“I’ll build you a house.”
Brodie laughed. “What would I do with a house?”
“Get married. Have a family.”
“We’ll talk about that later. I hear Delilah came back to Grand View after the O’Dells were killed.”
Eli nodded. “She turned the place into a private club. Well, that’s what she calls it. It’s a high-dollar bordello. She has a small casino; excellent restaurant; beautiful, educated young women. Movie stars come up from Los Angeles. Businessmen from San Francisco and points east. They come in private train cars, Stutz Bearcats, yachts. She’s made her own fortune in addition to the one her father left her.”
