“She slep’ in a hammock that night. I seen her. I follered after he went back to the village. I made an excuse an’ cut across to the station. Remember? But I come back after you all left an’ went down the road a piece. I think I could find the house again. I seen her in a hammock underneath the trees.” The men bit hard on their pipes and watched him in silence piercing him through with little narrowed eyes in the smoke haze of the room, grilling his soul to see if it were true. “Well, whaddaya figger?” Taney asked at last. “Ain’t figgerin’ yet. Gotta find out more. Gotta find that girl. Gotta find him. Ef they’re both gone, they’re gone together. You all didn’t think fer a little minute that guy told a straight story, did you? You all didn’t believe he’d give up a business that was rollin’ in the money hand over fist jest fer what he called conscience, did ya? Just because he thought it wasn’t a nice, pretty little business? Not on your bottom dollar he didn’t.” “Mebbe he got cold feet,” suggested Cottar. “Cold feet? That guy get cold feet? Nope, you don’t know him. Nothin’ couldn’t ever make him get cold feet. I know that guy. I seen him in France. He’d walked right outta the dugout just after his bunk had been shot away an’ smoke a cigarette as cool as if he was takin’ a ride in a pleasure park. Nothin’ didn’t never faze him. He’d just eat up danger. He thrived on it. No, sir, the only thing he’d ever fall fer was a skirt, an’ it’s a skirt that’s done it this time fer sure ur I don’t know nothin’. No siree, he’s got that last cache all salted down somewheres, good and rich you bet, an’ he’s throwed us off’n the track an’ thinks we can’t find out where he got it from ner where he’s sold it to, but we’ll show him we’re too smart fer him. I ain’t got red hair fer nothin’. I wouldn’t ha thought he’d a lied to me, we was like brothers, we was; in France, I took him back to the base when he got his, an’ he brang me a drink when I had the fever an’ was left on the field with the little love messages comin’ over constant from the enemy all around me, he just walked out calm as you please, just like he always is, an’ said, ‘Tough luck, kid, but we’ll pull you outta here--’”