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Mr White griree with you--she is fascinating I’ve heard about you, you know," he said to E to do what you can do If only we could bottle those hands of yours …"

Mr White s back to the soldier

"Finish up," he snapped, "we don’t have all day"

"With pleasure," the soldier replied, and then he stood, dragging his hands up Emma’s torso as he rose

What happened next see letch was about to lean in and give Emma a kiss I could also see that, behind her back, Eoing: the second his lips got near her, she was going to reach around anda bullet She’d reached a breaking point

So had I

I tensed, ready to fight These, I was convinced, were our last oing to die, by God, we’d take a feights with us along the way

The soldier slid his hands around E into her forehead She see it to fire Behind her back I saw her hands begin to spread, white-hot flao--

Then CRACK!--the report of a gun, stunning and sharp I shut down, blacked out for a second

WhenHer head still intact The rifle that had been pressed against it was pointed do, and the soldier who’d been about to kiss her had pulled away and spun around to face the

The gunshot had coling with adrenaline

"What was that?" said Mr White, rushing to theI could see through the glass over his shoulder The soldier who’d gone to intercept the train was standing outside, waist-deep in wildflowers His back was to us, his rifle aih the bars that covered theand pushed it open "What the hell are you shooting at?" he shouted

"Why are you still here?"

The soldier didn’t move, didn’t speak The field was alive with the whine of insects, and briefly, that’s all we could hear

"Corporal Brown!" bellowed Mr White

The man turned slowly, unsteady on his feet The rifle slipped frorass He took a few doddering steps forward

Mr White took the revolver from his holster and pointed it out theat Brown "Say so, damn you!"

Brown opened his mouth and tried to speak--but where his voice should’ve been, an eerie droning noise ca the sound that was everywhere in the fields around him