Chapter Thirteen: Plans and Tricks
It was as if Kinchloe had blinked, and all of a sudden he was involved in something bigger than he had ever imagined.
Things were happening and no one was quite sure what or why; all they knew was that Hogan was in command. The promised outer ring of barbed wire was over two-thirds complete and he still swore that there was a method to his madness. Since Kinchloe's free time had mostly been spent down in the tunnel attempting to fix as much as he could of their radio, all he could figure out was that Hogan's plan had something to do with Sergeant O'Brien who had been studying to be an engineer before he had joined the RAF.
Those who lived in Barracks Two had thrown themselves into the work of Hogan's plan. After all, they had seen the radio and knew that they had the beginning of a tunnel. The rest of camp was another story, especially since Hogan had ordered that details of their plans not leave their barracks.
Hogan and those seen as supporting him where ostracized by the rest of the men. All they saw was their fellow prisoners aiding the enemy, making deals with them, and helping to build the fences that kept them all trapped inside.
No one from Barracks Two dared walk the camp alone.
But that wasn't Kinchloe's biggest concern at moment. As work on the fence would be completed today, Hogan had decided it was time to launch stage two of his plan. A plan that Kinchloe was a little unsure of – even if it meant that they could have some fun at their captors' expense.
He jerked in his bunk as the door to their hut was flung open as Schultz bellowed out in a loud voice, "Roll call! Raus! Raus!"
"Shh," LeBeau's faux whisper echoed throughout the hut. "We're sleeping."
"This is not the time for sleeping. Time for roll call."
Kinchloe didn't spot whose boot had gone flying at the sergeant but the German looked so sad as it bounced harmlessly off his ample stomach. "That is not funny," Schultz pouted.
No prisoner moved.
Becoming increasingly more frustrated, Schultz tried begging. "Wake up. Please."
Kinchloe heard footsteps approach his bed and felt Schultz gently shaking his shoulder. "Five more minutes," he murmured sleepily.
Pretending that he had been roused by the noise, Hogan walked out into the main room and let loose a huge yawn. "Morning, Schultz. A little early this morning, aren't we?"
Schultz was confused. "Early? No, we are late. The men must go outside for roll call."
Hogan seemed to consider the matter. "Anyone feel like getting counted today?" But when snores were his only reply, the officer apologized, "Sorry, Schultz, looks like there will be no roll call today."
Schultz groaned. "Please, Colonel Hogan, you must order the men to be counted."
Hogan's answer was to close his door in the guard's face.
"Schultz!" The frustrated tones of their Kommandant's cry were unmistakable.
With a sigh and one last look of desperation, Schultz stepped back outside – alone.
Leaning over from his bunk, Newkirk cracked open the outside door so the POWs could hear every word of what promised to be an entertaining conversation.
"Herr Kommandant, the prisoners are refusing to get out of bed."
"Well, go back in there and get them!"
"But they won't listen!"
"You're a guard. Make them!"
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," Schultz whimpered.
Schultz reentered the barracks and walked straight up to Hogan's door and pounded as loud as he could. "Colonel Hogan! Colonel Hogan, wake up!"
The door quickly opened and the fully dressed American stood grinning in the opening. "Morning, Schultz, you don't have to be so loud. If you simply need me to get the men to do something, all you have to do was ask."
"But, Colonel Hogan…"
"No buts. Okay, men, time for roll call." And with those words the prisoners of Barracks Two rolled out of their bunks and lined up outside.
"Report!"
Finishing up the count, a weary Schultz announced, "Herr Kommandant, all present and accounted for."
Klink marched over to Hogan. He did not look pleased. "Now, Colonel Hogan, can you explain why your men were five minutes and forty-two seconds late for roll call?"
Hogan's face lit up. "Five minutes and forty-two seconds! That has to be a record."
Newkirk spoke up helpfully, "That would be correct, sir."
Unfortunately or fortunately, Klink failed to find humor in that remark. "A disgraceful record! Your men with will be severely punished for this."
"If you must, sir. Restrict us to barracks, take away our privileges, cut our rations... But if you have but a little bit of mercy in you, I beg you, please don't be cruel."
"I am a Kommandant, not a scout leader. It is my job to enforce discipline."
Hogan sighed. "I guess I'll have to break the bad news to my men."
Klink had no idea what Hogan was muttering about. "Break what news?"
"That we are assigned to latrine duty."
Kinchloe thought that Klink looked way too pleased for a man who had just been manipulated into the punishment Hogan wanted to receive as he announced, "Today, your men will finish the wire. Tomorrow and every day for the next two weeks you will be assigned to latrine duty."
Hogan grimaced. "That's harsh, sir."
"Dismissed," Klink declared with a salute and a smug smile.
As Kinchloe wandered back into the barracks, he tried to decide why in the world Hogan had wanted to them to spend their suddenly valuable time doing the dirtiest job in camp.
"Latrine duty," LeBeau protested once they returned to the barracks. "That was your plan – get us assigned to digging latrines."
As the ten men gathered around the table, Hogan stated, "It was necessary."
"Says the man who doesn't have to dig," Newkirk murmured. His comments were echoed by several other men in the barracks.
Kinchloe watched the scene carefully. Working on that fence had been back-breaking work and digging latrines wouldn't be any easier. If Hogan wasn't careful, he was going to lose the cooperation of his only allies in this camp.
Hogan placed an arm each around Newkirk and LeBeau. "Men, what does latrine duty entail?"
"Digging," LeBeau spat.
"Don't forget about the stench," Newkirk added.
"Yes," Hogan admitted. "But what happens when we dig?"
Kinchloe was the first to get it. "We make dirt. You want us to add the dirt from the tunnels with the dirt from the latrines."
"Exactly, it is time we start making some progress on that tunnel."
"But why does it have to be latrines?"
Hogan attempted to look sympathetic but failed miserably. "Now, LeBeau, no one ever said war would be pleasant."
When Hogan had agreed that their barracks would help build a second ring of fence around the camp, Kinchloe had failed to comprehend just how much work the job would entail. Five days of hard manual labor had stretched the limits of the whole barracks' endurance. Thankfully, they should finish the job today.
Not that we will be getting much of a break with latrine duty starting tomorrow.
Running a hand down the side of the next post to be carried into position, Kinchloe waited for the signal to lift. The posts were heavy, which meant that moving them it was four person job. O'Brien, whom Hogan had appointed foreman of this project, had assigned him, Anderson, Clayworth and Brown to the job. Kinchloe didn't care that they were the biggest and strongest men in the barracks. He would rather have worked with LeBeau even though that meant being carrying more weight.
O'Brien gave the signal and Anderson called out orders to keep them all working at the same pace. They walked slowly to their destination, only to be stopped when a firm hand clapped down on Kinchloe's left shoulder causing him to almost drop his burden.
Hogan could have chosen a better way to get the group's attention. Didn't he know that he was touching a man that no one in his position was supposed to touch? Did he even realize how improper this was? Did he even see?
But Hogan appeared oblivious to any consequences of his action though Kinchloe was not. Anderson seemed more surprised but the glares in Clayworth's and Brown's eyes did not bode well. Especially since Clayworth was still smarting over the fact that he had been required to switch bunks.
"When I start whistling, I need you four to accidentally drop this post into the wire," Hogan ordered, pointed out exactly where he wanted the wire to fall.
"You want to create more work for us, sir?" Anderson asked.
Hogan's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Can you do it?"
When the others didn't answer, Kinchloe answered for them. "Shouldn't be a problem, sir. We can appear to set this post as normal but really set it next to the hole and then give her a nice shove so she falls backward into the wire."
Once Hogan was out of earshot, Clayworth sneered, "So, boy, who gave you permission to start acting like you're better than us."
Kinchloe tried to look innocent. "Just following orders, the same as you. Would you prefer that we disobey the Colonel?"
They four men paused as they set the post's edge on the ground, conveniently missing the hole that had been dug to hold it. Once they were sure that it wouldn't fall until they let go, Brown leaned over so that his face was in Kinchloe's. "I don't know what little agreement you cooked up with Hogan in the cooler but remember your place. If you want to be Hogan's little lackey, go ahead, but be careful that you don't get too big for your britches."
At that moment Hogan started whistling "Yankee Doodle Dandy," which saved Kinchloe from dignifying Brown's words with a response as they all at once let go of the post and jumped to the side.
Kinchloe heard rather than saw that the wooden stake hit its target and knew that now a whole section of the inner fence was down.
The alarm sounded as guards came running toward the commotion. They must have believed that this was part of an escape attempt. Staring at the guns pointed at his chest, Kinchloe slowly raised his hands into the air. He just needed wait until Hogan made his move; for he was beginning to get a sense of how the officer worked. Moments like these were always created with an objective in mind.
"Hogan!" The hunched over form of their Kommandant hurried over to the worksite. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Accident, sir," Hogan replied. "Good thing no one was hurt."
"But my fence!" Klink gasped.
"No worries, Kommandant, my men will have it fixed in no time. I promised that we would finish this job today and we will."
Klink looked as if he wasn't sure whether he should believe Hogan or not. "If you don't, your men will lose their privileges for a week."
The Kommandant looked pitiful when he tried to be threatening and that was not helped by the way he stomped his foot when he turned around and hurried back to his quarters. All bluster and no bite, Kinchloe thought, and he doesn't even know it.
After clearing the wreckage, O'Brien called his team over to the pile of posts. Pointing to a specific one in the pile, he ordered them to pick it up. As he lifted his section of the post, Kinchloe's noticed that this post was not made to the same specifications as the others. What looked like one solid piece of wood was actually two pieces fitted to look like one. Curious as to what this was for, Kinchloe listened carefully as O'Brien explained exactly how he wanted them to place this particular post.
Three more similar posts. Two placed on the outer wire, two on the inner. By the time they finished, Kinchloe's muscles were protesting from the labor. Thankfully, his work was done, and now he could sit and rest while the others fished attaching the wire.
Hopefully, whatever Hogan had wanted to accomplish had been done.
Hogan stood next to O'Brien as the two men watched the last of the wire go up. Knowing that Klink would be over any minute to inspect, the officer casually wandered over to a very special segment of the fence as if to examine his men's work. Carefully grasping the bottom wire, he pulled it up and lifted the entire section several inches off the ground.
That action was mimicked by Olsen on the outer ring. Everything had worked out perfectly.
Hogan grinned as he let the fence fall back down. The fence looked more secure than ever, but with their door in place they now had an easy way in and out of camp. They would just have to be careful to avoid the searchlights.
After gesturing to the men on the outside of the fence to ask their bored guards escort them back into to camp, Hogan turned and faced the rest of his team.
Their reactions were subtle: a sly smile, widened eyes, a slight shake of the head. But Hogan knew that his men were impressed by what they had just seen. Especially since they had built it right under the krauts' noses. And with Klink's 'permission' to boot!
Yet, even as Hogan took great pride in what they had accomplished thus far, he knew that he couldn't afford to be overconfident. For, even though he had his team, he knew that his hold over these men was tenuous at best. Kinchloe still didn't trust him, Newkirk was pessimistic about the whole plan and LeBeau watched him with an eye that said he would be gone the instant Hogan didn't deliver what he promised.
That was alright. Hogan believed that he had picked the right men, and he was willing to give them the time to realize that. Because once they got over their doubts and started working like a real team, that was when Hogan believed they would have the best chance to make his dreams a reality.