Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 5: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE GULF BETWEEN 3 “Don’t look dangerous, does it?” Sergeant Wenden asked, his bush of black and gray beard close to the eround as he crawled up _ beside Knight. “‘Real calm and peaceful. Good old Hill Twenty-three—all we gotta do is take it.” The blue of the Pacific gleamed be- yond Hill 23; if they could take the hill it would destroy one of the last remnants of one of the last Russian beachheads on the Korean coast. It would not be difficult—if Cullin would only wait another day until Company B came up. “T have an idea they won’t want to give that hill up,” the sergeant went on. “It’s their last one; their backs are to the sea and they’re goin’ to argue about givin’ it up.” Knight did not answer, studying the terrain of the hill and the basin that lay between; planning the best route for the Fourth Platoon, the best way to give them a fighting chance. “Yep, real calm and peaceful,” the loquacious sergeant repeated. “I won- der if their snipers know we’re lookin’ over the ridge at ’em?” His answer came a half second later; a spurt of rock dust as a bullet struck between them, and a shrill scream as it ricocheted away. ‘**Reckon they do,” he grunted, dropping his whiskers low and scutt- ling backward from the crest of the ridge. Knight followed, and they slid to the bottom of the small gulch that ran behind the ridge. “Of course,” the talkative sergeant remarked philosophically, biting off a chew of tobacco, ‘“‘bullets’il be snappin’ all around us in another hour, but there ain’t no reason to invite one of ’em to hit us any sooner than it has to.” . Knight started back down the muddy gulch and the _ sergeant tramped beside him, paying no atten- tion to his silence. ““The Chinese and Rooshans are about ready to call this war a draw, I hear. Except for Korea, here, neither us nor them is makin’ any headway and they say the chances of an armistice is real good. I hope so; I’ve had all the war I want and I’ve already got it figgered out how I’m gonna settle down in Florida and raise chickens—or somethin’. Wish they'd declare the armistice right now— they’re dug in on that hill and the Fourth is goin’ to have one hell of a time tryin’ to be the decoy and draw their fire and not all of us get killed.” He scowled at Knight, his philo- sophical attitude turning to wrath. “A lot of men are goin’ to die real soon, and for no reason. Company B will be up tonight—why can’t we wait till tomorrow?” Knight shrugged. “‘Orders.”’ “Yeah — orders!”” The sergeant snorted disgustedly.. “Our Captain Cullin wants his company to take that - hill today, then he can tell battalion headquarters not to bother about sendin’ up any support, that he done took the hill all by himself. Then, he figgers, regimental headquarters will be so impressed by his ability to da so much with so few men that they'll recommend he be raised to major. And then’’—the sergeant spat vi- ciously—‘‘he’ll have a whole battalion to give orders to, ’stead of only a company!”’ Knight half heard the sergeant as they walked along, his thoughts occu- pied with the suicidal role his men would have to play. They would be the decoy, as the sergeant had said, deliberately and perhaps fatally draw- ing the concentration of enemy fire upon themselves. “, .. Tm a Regular Army man,” the sergeant was saying. “I’ve been in this game for thirty years, but I ain’t never seen an officer like Cullin. All he thinks about is himself and his own glory. He made it plain to us what he Qa EComichbooksnco m