| I.4.033 |
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It was as Willis said: to pass down the main street and reach the square without loosing
control of one's faculties required a tremendous effort of will. By the time he reached the
square, Carl had lost Ursus and Helen in the jostling throng and as far as he was
concerned, they might as well have been gone forever. He wandered about aimlessly,
struggling with his self-control in the face of so much noise, stench and
hysteria. Once or twice he saw a familiar face. First it was his brother-in-law Iram shouting
'Ruth, Ruth, it's after twelve and the children still aren't sleeping. Come and help me Ruth!'
Iram was pointing wildly and did not recognize Carl at all even when he seized him by the
shoulders and slapped his face, saying 'Iram, did you get something to eat and drink? Go
back and stand in the line like the voices say.' Iram barged off in
the right direction then ran into someone else and fell down. He got up again then
disappeared into the crowd. Then Carl saw Theresa's sister in the distance. He shouted at her but she disappeared before he could attract her attention. His feeling of desperation increased and he slumped against the wall of a hut, closing his eyes and trying to compose himself. Directly above his head a loudspeaker wailed, causing him to start, cower down and cover his ears. 'Attention. Attention all persons from the town of Drummerton. The Drummerton Brigade is now registering. Persons from Drummerton should return to their places in the line at once and move forward to the barricade showing the yellow banner.' Fortunately for him at that moment, some poor soul tripped over him, kicking him in the stomach. He opened his eyes and saw that the hut wall was covered with notices. The notices were easy to read and as he read them his composure returned. He got up and moved along the wall, reading. There were directions of various kinds relating to things that he did not really understand such as the use of the wash-houses, sleeping areas and cafeterias. On the next hut he found announcements of the mobilization and procedures for induction. Finally he came upon registration notices for the individual Brigades and among these he found one, freshly posted that related to the Dentonsville Brigade: 'Members of the DENTONSVILLE BRIGADE will arrive at the Induction Center no later than the 4th day of MAY. Induction Procedures will commence promptly at 12 a.m. of the 5th day of MAY. Members of the Brigade should listen for announcements of induction commencing at 0600 hours on that day and form a line commencing at the yellow banner.' At the base of this notice was another, in small print: 'Enquiries concerning this notice should be directed to the Senior Clerk or Registrations at the main Registration Office.' As Carl was reading this a man with a red cap and a red armband came walking along the line of notices. He was completely oblivious to the commotion around him except that, if any were in his way, he pushed them off roughly. This was in fact Fogart, brother of that Fogart who was the Senior Clerk of The Collecting Center, come to paste up another notice. He pushed Carl away. 'Move over, country bastard! Can't you see there's work to do?' Carl fell over but he got up quickly and stood at the man's shoulder. 'Excuse me, Sir. Are you the Senior Clerk?' 'What's that to you?' said Fogart, already pasting. 'Sir, I am the Corporal of the Company of the 'Men Apart' in the Dentonsville Brigade. This notice says that my Company must stand in line to be inducted on the fourth of May. Since today is only the third of May, I'd like to know if there is anywhere my people can sleep tonight. The sleeping areas are all full.' Fogart was astonished: in the weeks that had passed since the Brigades had begun passing through he had hardly met a rational person. 'What? Are you crazy? That's not my department. You'll have to see the Quartermaster.' 'And where can I find him, sir?' 'Down beyond that barricade there. Down by the station. On the left. If you can get there, that is.' Fogart laughed irritably. 'Now get away from me. You people give me the creeps.' |
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