"Look, guv'nor," Newkirk panted after half an hour of cross-country trekking, "we're going to have to stop for a minute." But he continued to put one foot in front of the other, trying to shift the still unconscious airman higher into his arms.
Hogan turned to look behind him at the Englishman. They had put some distance between themselves and the railway siding, true, but they were still too close to the area for much comfort. But Newkirk wasn't the only one who was struggling. Carter was now leaning heavily on LeBeau and the two were trailing back almost as far as Newkirk.
But at the rate they were covering ground, they would barely make it back to the camp before daybreak. Their time had been short enough before the extra time spent with the airman and an injured Carter. "Can we stop for just a second, colonel?" Carter asked, his voice sounding weaker than Hogan would have liked.
Sighing, Hogan looked around at the wall of forest around them. It was rough going, pushing through the forest, but they were much safer from patrols than they would be on the road. But given the circumstances, perhaps this night they would have to take an easier route. They were still quite a distance from the safety of the camp. "Rest here for a minute," Hogan said, a little reluctantly. He knew they needed to stop but he also knew that they had to keep going. Resting would preserve the health and fighting strength of his men, but it could also mean capture.
"I'm going to scout up ahead a bit," Hogan declared. "Newkirk, see what you can do for Carter and our surprise guest." He knew that there was an old wood-cutters' path that ran through this part of the brush somewhere near here. They didn't usually like to use it because there was no guarantee that the Germans wouldn't have the same idea. But perhaps under the circumstances, a quick arrival back at the camp would be the best thing, even if they had to take the risk in taking the path.
It only took a few minutes of foraging before he found the spot where the canopy of trees overhead seemed a little less dense. The thin sliver of the moon shone through the thin covering of leaves. But Hogan, appraising the mossy path, didn't even turn to look upward at it. He had obviously already made his decision because he was turning to hurry back to the tiny clearing where he had left his men almost as soon as he had reached the path.
Carter was sitting propped up against a tree, head bent forward onto his hands. It was difficult to tell anything in the darkness, but Hogan could see a dark line of blood down the side of his face. The airman was still out cold. But he was obviously still alive otherwise Newkirk wouldn't be ripping up the man's flight suit in an attempt to bind some of the worst wounds. Neither of the two injured men appeared to be in the best condition.
"Can you keep moving?" Hogan asked. If the answer was no, they had no hope of making it back before daybreak and roll call. "We still have to try to be back at the camp before roll call."
Carter lifted his head to look at Hogan. "I can make it, sir." But he didn't make a move to get up and it looked like even supporting his own head was becoming a difficult task. Hogan stared at him for a moment. Carter stiffened, placing a hand behind him in an effort to push himself upright. "I can do it." He didn't even make it up off the forest floor.
Hogan reached out a hand, placing it on Carter's shoulder. It was in a position to either help him up or to restrain him back down. "I don't know if I'll make it all the way back," Newkirk volunteered reluctantly. "'e's a deadweight and it's hard pushing through the brush. But 'e needs to get to a medic soon, so I'll keep going as far as I can."
Hogan scooped his hand up under Carter's arm, helping him to an standing position. Carter swayed on his feet, but managed to keep them beneath him. "How about I take the airman for a while and you help Carter. We'll rotate and hopefully the path will stay smooth," Hogan said, helping Carter lean back against his supporting tree.
Newkirk nodded without argument, stepping briskly over to Carter and wrapping an arm around him, up under his shoulders. LeBeau looked at Hogan. "Did you say path, mon colonel?" he asked, surprise evident in his voice.
"We're going to take the path," Hogan said, bending down to scoop the airman up into his arms. "And you need to hurry back to the camp and tell Kinch what happened. He'll need the time to make up an excuse for Klink."
LeBeau nodded, striding quickly away. As he neared the edge of the clearing, he turned, looking back over his shoulder. "What story should we tell this time?"
"We'll be making our way back toward the camp, so say that I heard about an escape and went out to stop it. We'll figure out what to do about him," Hogan shifted the weight in his arms, "when the time comes."
LeBeau scurried away as fast as his legs could carry him. After a second, the sound of his footsteps was lost in the forest.
Hogan started off through the underbrush toward where he thought the path would cross their route, Newkirk and Carter following close behind. "It sure isn't a bomber's moon," Hogan muttered, trying to gauge how far they'd have to fight their way through the trees before emerging onto the path. It couldn't come soon enough.