The Lost Patrol Page #4

And keep your eyes peeled, because we

don't know what's out there, you know.

Yes, sir.

- Good night.

- Good night, Pearson.

Fall out!

Knifed in the back.

Aye, that's Arabs, Michael.

We've met it before.

The swine.

Bell, Corporal Bell!

- So help me...

- I'll get him!

Where's the horses?

They're gone!

Fall in!

Extended order.

From Cook, right turn.

Double. Left turn.

Keep 25 yards apart.

Circle the mosque.

Sergeant, I found Bell alive.

Just.

There's where the horses went.

Sergeant, can't we put

something over it?

I could get a couple of sticks, Sergeant,

and tie them together and...

Wait. Get Pearson's sword.

Put it there.

I think he'd like that.

See anything?

No.

Beats me, how in the name of holy...

Oh, shut up. We've chewed

the blinking rag about it...

all the blooming morning.

- The horses are gone, ain't they?

- Hey!

Whose fault is it

the horses are gone?

Yeah, they should never have put

that laddie out there, Michael.

Oh, chuck it. Chuck it!

Hey, what kind of lingo is that?

Meant to be Malayan,

or possibly Javanese.

- I forget.

- Been there, Topper?

Cruised around a bit.

- What's it like?

- Ain't like this, I hopes.

Oh, palm trees.

But you don't mind the heat.

Lots of water, flowers, mountains,

a breeze from the ocean.

Cruised around on a yacht

most of the time.

Tell us, what did you have to

drink there, besides water?

Oh, the usual.

Gin and bitters in the morning,

scotch and soda in the afternoon...

and at night, sparkling champagne

served in a bucket of ice.

- Don't, don't.

You're breaking my heart.

- Shut up.

I can't say much for

the women though.

But, oh, the girls.

All Malayan females

should be poisoned at 21.

Before that, they're...

But a wee bit on the dark side,

huh, Brown?

Oh yes, they're dark.

But the longer you're there,

the whiter they get.

Or that's the way it seems.

That didn't bother me, Jock.

I'll never forget

the first time I saw them.

We sailed into a little harbor,

about sundown.

The girls all came swimming out...

flowers in their long hair, singing

and laughing up at us from the water.

Brown skin?

Seemed like gold to me.

A richer, deeper gold than any metal.

I can see that gold shimmer, even now,

on their wet bodies...

as they swam like mermaids to the rail

and climbed on-board...

laughing at us

like a lot of shameless imps.

Ah, man, Topper...

'tis the soul of the poet you have.

They knew they were beautiful.

What happened then?

Oh, then the men came out.

Yeah, in their war canoes.

Seems they didn't quite like the way

we were getting along with the girls...

- entirely too chummy.

- Did you fight?

Yeah, one fellow heaved a spear at me.

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