Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Just the Facts

By Suzie2b

Hitch walked into the mess hall with a book under his arm. He got his breakfast and joined Tully at a table. He set the book aside and reached for the salt and pepper for his eggs and potatoes. "Morning."

Tully swallowed. "Mornin'."

"No Charley?"

"She's already gone to headquarters. Something to do with typing up some reports before she goes on her rounds." Tully picked up the book and looked at the cover. "'A Book of Facts for the 1800s'. Where'd you get this?"

Hitch smiled. "Pete Givens gave it to me. Don't know where he got it."

"Did he read it?"

"Says he did.

Tully asked, "Are you really gonna read it?"

Hitch shrugged. "I thought it might be fun."

Tully grinned as he opened the book. "Maybe you'll actually learn something."

Hitch made a face. "Ha, ha."

Tully chuckled, then said, "Listen to this. 'The Library of Congress was established by Congress in 1800. It was set up as the research library of the United States Congress and the Library's primary mission was for researching inquiries made by members of Congress. The Library is open to the public and is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books.' Did you know that?"

"Sure I do." Hitch smiled and admitted, "Well, I remember hearing about the Library in school and that it was set up in 1800 … but American history wasn't my best class." He took the book and flipped through the pages. When he stopped, he read, "Did you know 'In 1848, Niagara Falls stopped flowing for 30 hours because of an ice jam blocking the Niagara River'?"

Tully had finished his breakfast and pushed the tray aside. "I did not know that."

Hitch flipped through more pages. "How about this. 'West Point is located in Orange County, New York. Originally the United States Military Academy was the U.S. Corps of Engineers training school, but was made the U.S.M.A. by Congress on March 26, 1802. It was officially opened as such on July 4 of that year'."

"Interesting."

#################

Hitch and Tully met Troy and Moffitt at the motor pool. Their mission was recon of an area about 120 kilometers into German territory. They were to find out why the enemy was congregating in the area.

That first night in a well-hidden wadi Tully was taking his turn at making some dinner. Hitch was reading the book with the help of his penlight. He read aloud, "Listen to this. 'In England, in the 1880s, 'Pants' was considered a dirty word.'" He looked at Moffitt, who had just sat down with a mug of tea. "Why would you think 'pants' is a dirty word?"

Moffitt smiled. "I do hope you don't think I'm that old. By way of explanation, the word 'pants' was not spoken aloud in polite circles, especially during the first half of the century. The word 'pants' was what the British called underwear at that time. Trousers were what they called 'pants'. Acceptable alternatives were inexpressibles, unmentionables, nether garments, and sit-down-upons."

Tully furrowed his brow and said, "'Sit-down-upons'? Seems easier just to say 'pants'."

"I have to say that I agree with you there."

Hitch said, "Well, what about this one? 'In the 1800s anyone in England who unsuccessfully attempted suicide faced the death penalty.' That makes no sense at all."

Moffitt sighed. "I have heard of that … but I have no idea why it was ever made a law. Actually, I believe it still is."

Troy arrived after time on watch as Tully was serving up dinner. As he took a plate from the private, Troy said, "It's awful quiet out there."

Tully asked, "Isn't that a good thing, sarge?"

"Not when we've been told there's activity in the area. We haven't seen any signs of the Germans."

"Maybe they moved out before we showed up."

Troy sat down with his food. "Could be … but I have a bad feeling about things out here." He watched his other private eat and read the book that was in his lap. "What have you got there, Hitch?"

He looked up and said, "A book of facts from the 1800s. It's kinda interesting."

Troy smiled as he joked, "I don't remember seeing you read anything other than comic books."

Hitch returned the smile. "Comic books can be very intellectual, sarge."

"Intellectual?"

Hitch said good naturedly, "Sure! I've learned all kinds of things from comic books."

Troy couldn't help but chuckle and chose not to ask just what the private had learned. "Okay, smart guy, you're next on watch after you've eaten. Just leave the book here."

Hitch nodded. "Sure, sarge."

Later, after having cleaned up and stowed their cooking gear, Tully spotted the fact book and picked it up. He sat down at the fire, took his penlight out of his jacket pocket, and opened the book to a random page. "'The first stamp issues were authorized by an act of Congress and approved on March 3, 1847. The earliest known use of the Franklin 5¢ is July 7, 1847, while the earliest known use of the Washington 10¢ is July 2, 1847. Remaining in postal circulation for only a few years, these issues were declared invalid for postage on July 1, 1851.' But 'In 1840, the first stamp is issued which featured a black and white portrait of Queen Victoria costing one penny.'"

Moffitt smiled. "Ah, yes, the 'Penny Black'."

Tully started to flip through pages as he said, "The last time I mailed a letter back home I paid three cents." He continued looking through the book, stopping occasionally to read to himself.

After a time, Troy said, "Tully?" The private didn't look up. Troy and Moffitt looked at each other with smiles, then back at their enthralled friend. "Tully!"

He jumped and looked up a little sheepishly. "Sorry."

Troy said, "Nothing to be sorry about. I just wanted to suggest that you get some sleep. You're next up on watch."

Tully closed the book. "Yeah, probably a good idea."

#################

The next morning after they'd had some breakfast, Troy said, "Hitch, you and Tully go out and scout around. Be back here in an hour."

After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to see who was going to drive, the privates were on their way with Hitch behind the wheel and Tully behind the 50 in the back.

They headed out in a westerly direction intending to make a circle that ended back at camp. Things appeared to still be quiet with no indication that the Germans were in the area.

Hitch glanced back over his shoulder at Tully. "Where do you think they took off to?"

Tully shrugged as he leaned on the spare tire and used the big gun to steady himself. "Couldn't tell ya. Maybe they got word we were coming."

Hitch chuckled. "Yeah, we do get that reaction, don't we?"

Tully grinned, but further comment was cut off when he saw a German column just ahead coming out from behind a hill. "Hey! I think we found them!"

#################

Troy and Moffitt ran to the top of the wadi when they heard the gunfire. They couldn't see anything even with binoculars, but the distant sounds of a lone 50 caliber and German guns were unmistakable.

The sergeants quickly headed out in the other jeep to look for their men. As they neared the area where they were hearing the firefight, it suddenly got quiet.

Moffitt stopped the jeep, their ears straining to hear any sound as he said quietly, "What do you think?"

Troy said, "Either they got away or they've been captured."

There was an explosion and Moffitt said, "That sounded like a German grenade."

"Yeah, it sure did. Let's get to that hill and see what's going on."

At the base of the hill, the sergeants left the jeep and hurried to the top. A thin column of dark smoke was rising from the ruined jeep and two German columns were side-by-side as they headed north.

With binoculars Troy scanned each of the German vehicles looking for Hitch and Tully. Moffitt asked, "Do you see them?"

Troy nodded. "They're in the third halftrack on the right."

"Do they look all right?"

"So far. Looks like they were outnumbered and probably forced to give up."

Moffitt said, "Shall we follow and see where they lead us?"

Troy smiled slightly. "Let's see if there's anything in the jeep to salvage, then we'll go get Hitch and Tully back."

When they reached the smoldering jeep, Troy and Moffitt discovered there was nothing to salvage. The 50 caliber machine gun and supplies were taken before the Germans destroyed the vehicle with a grenade in the engine compartment.

#################

The lone jeep followed the tracks left by the two German columns. Troy was in the back of the jeep watching for the Germans with binoculars. Finally he got a glimpse of the tail end of the columns disappearing behind a grouping of rocky hills and boulders. "There they are, Moffitt." Troy hopped into the passenger seat and pointed to a cut between the hills. "We'll be able to stay out of sight over there."

They left the jeep and climbed to the top of the nearest hill. On their bellies Troy and Moffitt surveyed the area below. There appeared that four separate German columns had made camp.

Troy immediately said in a quiet tone, "There's no way this is one organized unit."

Moffitt agreed and whispered, "I count one captain for each column. What do you think they're doing here?"

Troy frowned. "Twenty halftracks, four tanks, looks like upwards to eighty men. It looks like they're massing forces for something." He saw Hitch and Tully pushed out of the back of one of the halftracks. "There's our guys."

Moffitt shifted and watched as the privates were escorted to a makeshift holding pen. As the gate was close and locked on the prisoners, one of the captains stomped over to confront one of those leading the men who had brought the Americans in.

Troy nodded as he watched the escalating shouting match. "Yeah, I which I knew what they're saying."

"Although I do speak German, I don't read lips. However, I'd guess Tully and Hitch have been recognized – or 'ratted' out as you Americans would say."

Troy chuckled at the pun and said, "You're learnin'."

Moffitt smiled as he said, "I've been around you three long enough to pick a few things up."

#################

Hitch and Tully were searched for a second time before they were pushed into the small pen. The gate was secured behind them with a length of heavy chain and a large lock.

They went to the center of the pen and sat down on the ground so they were generally out of reach of the Germans. A captain hurried over and stood in front of the captain in charge of the column Hitch and Tully had ridden with. The captain that had just arrived was angry and began to shout at his counterpart as he gestured wildly. The argument continued loudly for a minute before the two captains walked away, still attacking each other with words, leaving a guard at the gate.

Hitch whispered, "What was that all about?"

Tully translated softly, "They know who we are. That captain that started the argument is upset that we weren't executed on the spot. He's concerned that, as he put it, the other two 'rats' have followed them here."

"I take it 'our' captain isn't taking his counterpart seriously."

"Something like that. His argument is that if Troy and Moffitt do try to rescue us, they'll be captured too."

Hitch smiled slightly. "Yeah, that'll be the day." He glanced at his friend and asked quietly, "They didn't find your masters, did they?"

Tully replied just as softly, "Nope, but we can't do much on our own until tonight unless Troy and Moffitt stir things up some before then."

#################

Troy and Moffitt went back to the jeep. Troy sighed and said, "We need to think of a way to get Hitch and Tully out of there."

Moffitt said, "We have plenty of ammunition and a full bag of grenades. We can probably make enough of a ruckus to get them out of there and get away."

"Us against eighty Germans? Do you really think that's possible?"

"They're no doubt they'll be expecting us regardless. Besides, we've been up against worse."

Troy snorted, "I think you've been around us a little too much."

Moffitt smiled. "Are you complaining?"

"Not even a little bit." Troy then said, "Okay, I'm going to contact headquarters with what we've found."

"I'll go up and keep an eye on things."

#################

The four German captains were having a meeting in one of the tents. Captain Weber said angrily, "I still do not understand, Captain Becker, why you would bring two members of the Rat Patrol here! You know this is a secret operation! And now you have risked everything!"

Captain Schwarz said, "Weber is right! You should have executed them immediately! You take too many chances!"

Captain Becker opened his mouth to defend himself, but was interrupted by Captain Krause, who said, "I was there when the privates were taken after a rather spirited attempt to escape us. At the time I too argued for execution, but Becker's reasoning is sound. Chances are high that their sergeants will mount some kind of rescue. A foolish attempt that will fail. That is two against all who are here. If we can present the infamous Rat Patrol to our superiors—dead or alive—we will no doubt be awarded commendations."

Captain Becker finally got an opportunity to speak and said, "Krause is right. My intentions were to lure Sergeants Troy and Moffitt here. With so many of us, there is no reason they will not either be captured or killed."

Weber snorted, "I thought the same thing in the past. But when I and the men I was leading at the time went up against them in battle, and believe me we outnumbered them, we were decimated."

"But now there is only one jeep and two men out there. Surely we can take them with the odds so much in our favor."

#################

Unbeknownst to Troy and Moffitt the German argument continued as Troy sent a coded message to headquarters and waited for the answer. When he finally joined Moffitt on the hill, Troy said, "Headquarters wants to nip whatever's going on in the bud. They're arranging an airstrike."

Moffitt said, "An airstrike? Isn't that a bit of overkill?"

"Apparently not according to Boggs and Gleason. I got the idea they have an idea what's going on here and they want it stopped before it gets any further."

"All right, how long do we have?"

Troy said, "Right now it looks they'll be coming in just before sundown."

Moffitt looked at his watch. "Hmm, that's about 1700 hours. I suppose that means we'd better not wait then."

#################

The day passed slowly. Hitch and Tully watched the activity around them, or the lack there of. Sure, there were sentries touring the camp and the guard on their prison's gate was changed regularly, but the rest of the German soldiers they could see were somewhat complacent about their surroundings.

Tully said, "They seem a little sure of themselves."

Hitch nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that. They have to know that Troy and Moffitt will be coming after us."

"But they're probably thinking that will be after dark."

Hitch wiped sweat off his face with a sleeve and sighed. "Wish we had some water." Something flitted passed his eye and he tried to shoo it away with his hand. A moment later it was back. Hitch asked, "Did you see anything?"

Tully replied, "No, what'd you see?"

"Thought it was a bug, but now I'm not so sure."

Something bright hit Tully in the eye and he flinched. "What the…"

Hitch carefully took a look around. When he spotted the reflection, he said softly, "There, on that hill at about 10:00."

Tully didn't move for fear of attracting unwanted attention. "Troy and Moffitt?"

"Who else would it be?"

"They'll be coming in soon then. Keep on your toes." Tully slowly moved so he was slightly hidden behind Hitch's right shoulder. "Don't move."

Tully ever so carefully reached into his jacket near the left side of his collar. Hitch heard a barely perceptible zipping sound. Then Tully moved back to his side and gave Hitch a slight nod to let his friend know he had his master keys in hand.

Hitch continued to watch the Germans outside their prison when he saw several of them laughing as they flipped through a book … a very familiar book. Without thinking, Hitch said louder then he meant too, "Hey, that's mine!"

Tully nudged him hard in the ribs. "Shh!"

The guard turned and glared at the prisoners and Hitch said quietly, "Sorry. But I wasn't done reading that."

"I know. I'll see if there's one in Charley's catalog that I can order for ya."

"Catalog?"

Tully nodded. "Charley's Aunt Emily sends her a new one every month."

Hitch asked curiously, "And they have books?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I can find something that'll replace it just fine."

Hitch smiled. "Thanks, Tully."

"Don't mention it." Tully started to carefully sort through his keys and said, "Take a look at the lock. Tell me what you see."

"Looks like a typical German made lock from here. I did notice it the locking mechanism was on the side."

"It's probably a Major or a Touren. Is it round or square?"

Hitch said, "Definitely round."

Tully picked two keys and separated them from the others with his fingers as he said, "I'm betting on the Touren. When Troy and Moffitt come in, the guard will be distracted…"

"Don't worry, I'll grab him."

They waited in the hot afternoon sun. About thirty minutes after they'd seen the reflection on the hill, Hitch and Tully heard the sound of a 50 caliber open fire.

By the time the German troops started to return fire Moffitt was barreling into the camp with Troy manning the 50. The guard suddenly straightened up from where he'd been leaning on the wooden supports of the gate. He started to glance over his shoulder at the prisoners, but was grabbed from behind in a chokehold.

As Troy worked the 50, Moffitt steered and calmly tossed grenades, Tully took a quick look at the lock, picked one of the two keys, and popped it open. He pulled the chain away and pushed the gate open as he said, "Let's go!"

Hitch let go of the unconscious guard and let him fall to the ground. He followed Tully out into the open where Troy and Moffitt would see them.

Suddenly, Captain Weber appeared in front of the privates with a gun in his hand. "Hold it right there!" Hitch and Tully stopped in their tracks. "I had a feeling this would happen. The file on your group says 'dead or alive' and I do not care which it is."

Heavy 50 caliber slugs hit the ground around them. Hitch and Tully fell to their knees as Weber was cut in half. Moffitt slowed just enough to allow the privates to jump in and then floored it to get them out of there.

They were long gone when the Allied planes dropped their payloads on the Germans even as they tried to make a run for it.

#################

A month later, when Hitch was at mail call, he found there was a package waiting for him. He checked the return address and saw it was from "Thompson's Books and Magazines." Hitch grinned as he ripped the brown paper wrapping off.

Tully was in the mess hall having lunch while working a crossword puzzle when Hitch arrived and joined him with his tray. He showed the book he'd received to his friend and said, "Thanks, Tully. You know you didn't really have to do it."

Tully smiled and gave a shrug. "Wanted to. I couldn't find one from the 1800s like you had. Hope this one will keep you busy."

Hitch read the title. "'Facts from the 1900s … So Far.' This is great!" He took bite of macaroni as he flipped through the pages. When he stopped, he read aloud, "'Idaho Big Burn, August 20-21, 1910 – The Great Fire, also known as the Big Burn or the Big Blowup, began as a forest fire. By the time it was contained and put out, the fire had burned nearly three million acres of land throughout three different states – Idaho, Montana and Washington. More than 80 people were killed and it is often called the worst fire in the nation's history."

"That's one heck of a fire."

"Listen to this. In 1911 'The First Electric Self Start was installed in a Cadillac by GM. Up until this time, all cars needed to be started by cranking a starting handle which was hard work and caused multiple minor injuries when the car backfired during the starting process.' I didn't realize it'd been around so long."

Tully grinned. "Learn something new every day, don't we?"

Hitch quickly chewed and swallowed another bite of his lunch as he flipped pages. Then he said, "Becoming a doctor didn't require any college education: Surprisingly, roughly 90 percent of early-1900s physicians never spent a single day in a college classroom. Instead, they went to substandard medical schools, where they learned just the basics.' Good thing that doesn't happen now in modern times."

Tully ate and did his puzzle while Hitch continued to peruse his new book of facts.

A minute later, Hitch said with a grin, "In 1913 'The first crossword puzzle was published and created by Arthur Wynne, a Liverpool journalist. It was first published as a 'word-cross' puzzle in the New York World'."

Tully simply chuckled, happy that his friend was enjoying himself. He wondered silently how long Hitch would be entertained with facts, but it really didn't matter.