"Michener, James - The Bridges at Toko-ri" - читать интересную книгу автора (Michener James A)

The admiral pounced on this. УWhat was he doing at the dumps?Ф
Patiently Cag explained. УBefore we took off we agreed. If we get the bridges, we expend our ammo on the dumps.Ф
Icily, from the empty bitterness of his bosom, the old man asked, УWas that wise?Ф
Cag had taken enough. HeТd stood this angry old tyrant long enough and there was no promotion in the navy that would make him take any more. УAdmiral,Ф he said grimly, Уthis was a good mission. We did everything just right. I put Brubaker in charge of the third division because I could trust him to fly low and bore in with his bombs. He did just that.Ф
Cag, trembling with anger, rushed on, УAdmiral, everybody in the air group knows that you selected Brubaker as your special charge. You do that on every command and we know why you do it. Some kid your own boyТs age. So today I led your boy to death. But it was a good mission. We did everything just right. And it was your boy who helped destroy the bridges. Admiral, if my eyes are red itТs for that kid. Because he was mine too. And I lost him.Ф
The old man stood there, staring stonily at the shaking commander with the bullet head while Cag shot the works. УI donТt care any longer what kind of fitness report you turn in on me because this was a good mission. It was a good mission.Ф Without saluting he stormed from flag country, his fiery steps echoing as he stamped away.
For many hours the admiral remained alone. Then toward morning he heard the anti-submarine patrol go out and as the engines roared he asked, УWhy is America lucky enough to have such men? They leave this tiny ship and fly against the enemy. Then they must seek the ship, lost somewhere on the sea. And when they find it, they have to land upon its pitching deck. Where did we get such men?Ф
He went out to watch the launching of the dawn strike. As streaks of light appeared in the east, pilots came on deck. Bundled like animals awakened from hibernation, they waddled purposefully to their jets. The last to climb aboard was Cag, stocky and round like a snowball. He checked each jet, then studied his own. Finally, as if there were nothing more he could do, he scrambled into his plane and waited. Majestically, the task force turned into the wind, the bull horn jangled and a voice in the gloom cried, УLaunch jets.Ф
Admiral Tarrant watched them go, two by two from the lashing catapult, planes of immortal beauty whipping into the air with flame and fury upon them. They did not waste fuel orbiting but screamed to the west, seeking new bridges in Korea.



THE END.

About the Author
James A. Michener was born in 1907 and raised by a Quaker woman in Pennsylvania. During World War II he served with the U.S. Navy and traveled across the Pacific. His TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947. He lives with his wife in Coral Gables, Florida and is a professor at the University of Miami.
James A. Michener ? THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI




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