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Show Flying - 143 "I even saw a black officer once." "And we all eat together, man, and there ain't but one latrine for all the enlisted men, right? What more could a man ask for?" says Jackson with the same sweet smile. Jackson stretches his arms and yawns. "How cone they named you John Henry?" he says. "You're the first white man I ever seen who was named John Henry." "They named me after the song," says John Henry. "My father never liked machines much and I guess he was happy somebody fought it out with one and came out on top." "Yeah," says Jackson, "but he died, as I recall it." That he did. He laid down his hammer and he died. And so what was it worth? What did his victory amount to then? He won and he died of it. Under six feet of sand by the bend of the track. The guard truck is coming and they hurriedly separate and start walking their posts. It wouldn't do to be caught talking. When John Henry Jumps off the back of the truck, ready to head for his tent and some sleep, he sees the Systems Control jeep sitting there in full war gear, windshield folded down, mud over the numbers, masking tape over the headlights. Wilberforce is standing beside it with a helmet on and a carbine slung over his shoulder. |