Chapter 11

Romance: Another country heard from:11.

Virginia 610 was deserted. Turning left they negotiated the dirt road into Frogmorton. They parked the electric blue 1965 2 door hardtop, four on the floor, SS 396 Chevrolet Impala on the graveled street and took Sultry's brand new four cylinder green Jeep CJ-5 the rest of the way home.

Dirty Sally the lowrider Chebby, doesn't like railroad tracks or the road to Jack's house The exhaust is set up so the tailpipe and mufflers slide back on foot long rods with springs to pull it back. Hangups are bad. That deep throaty sound when the mufflers drag is cool.

Coming up the hill from the street, they noticed a dozen or so four man army green tents. Parking the the jeep in its normal spot by the porch steps. They were interrupted by a Sergeant.

"Would you be so kind as to park behind the house. We have a regular path here to the trucks."

Behind the house were several deuce and a half trucks with the standard green conestoga wagon hoops covering the beds. They parked next to Jacks 1965 camouflaged Jeep. Two spots with the standard army white ground plaque denoting OWNER suggested that they park HERE ... not over THERE.

"Sure a bunch of tents ... I didn't know there were that many soldiers here," said Sultry.

"Don't worry about it, Sultry. If they fuck up the yard we'll have the President come fix it."

Jack and Sultry chuckled all the way to the working area.

They ambled nonchalantly up the steps and onto the porch. There were a couple of staff sergeants writing furiously in journals, the covers of both read, ARMY Acquisitions, 1969. Jack and Sultry Flintkote: contributors. and a series of corporals standing in the doorway waiting their turn. Everybody had machine-guns of some type.

The headings were: WEAPON | MUSEUM NUMBER | COUNTRY | SERIAL NUMBER | YEAR MFG | VALUE | CONDITION |

Each carrier held a weapon with the same information on an embossed brass tag hardwired to the frame. There was also a lead seal with the museum acquisition number stamped into the seal. The books were getting the same information. Jack was interested.

A typical entry:

Beretta Model 1918 | 10 | Albania | xxxxxx | 1936 | 1,000 | UF |

Breda modello 30 | 11 | Albania | xxxxxx |1939 | 5,000 | UF |

U.S.A. M3 | 12 |Argentina|xxxxxx|1943 | 1,000 | UF |

ZB-53

and so on and so forth. It was an interesting way of cataloging.

Standard submachine guns were valued at a thousand dollars until the list came to the Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 submachine gun ... without a doubt the S1-100 was the most expensive submachine gun but the machine work was fantastic. Fit and finish were the finest. Most S1-100's had interior finish that rivaled an interwar Colt 1911's exterior. The S1-100's were valued at 35,000.

Every combatant nation was listed:

Kingdom of Albania, Argentina, Australia, Republic of Austria, Kingdom of Belgium, Federative Republic of Brazil, Kingdom of Bulgaria, Republic of China, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Kingdom of Denmark, Dominican Republic, Republic of Estonia, Republic of Finland, French Third Republic, Nazi Germany, Kingdom of Greece, Kingdom of Hungary, Italian Social Republic, Empire of Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Kingdom of Norway, Second Polish Republic, Kingdom of Romania, Union of South Africa, Soviet Union, Thailand, British Empire, United States of America, Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Every automatic weapon was being listed.

"It would drive me crazy," Sultry said. "And I make lists of my lists."

They went in the house, it wasn't what a sane person would call orderly, but a sane person would have stuck like weapons with like and let it go at that.

Sultry reached out to move a weapon and had her hand smacked for it.

"Hey! Don't mess with the arrangement ... especially the swords. They are almost impossible to catalog without taking them apart and I don't want to do that," Major Austin, BA, MA, Ph.D, said. "Those are educated guesses arranged by who I think is the maker."

"Oh, Lordy," said Jack. "All I wanted was some practice swords."

"Surely you're not going to actually use these!?!" the Major exclaimed.

"That was the plan. Go get a couple of katana and wear 'em out. Now I have to go to the Grundy Flea Market next week and buy bamboo training swords. Ten grand spent and I'm terrified to even touch 'em.

"The guns are brand new, never been fired, perfect examples of type and I don't dare shoot them."

"Where did you get this wonderful collection?" When Major Dave asked that, Jack caught more than a little... Please, oh Please!

"A friend of a friend of a friend knew someone's uncle that had a cousin who knew of a widow ... that kind of thing."

"Not going to tell me, are you?"

"Sultry already spilled the beans about the trucks and tanks."

"Who did she tell?"

"The Pentagon is supposed to be sending some team to look them over."

"Colonel Parker ... that Bastard!" Major Dave was pissed. "That son of a bitch will make the front cover of Field Notes and my study ... I'll be lucky to make page 15. Son.of.a.bitch! He doesn't even have a degree in Archaeology. I'm pissed."

"Should have kept my mouth shut," Jack mumbled. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in ... no ... you wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?"

"I have a hangar full of Aircraft."

"What? Piper Cubs or Cessna's?"

"No ... although I pretty much got a look at the just the first row and a half. The one closest to the door was an Avia B534. Brand new."

"I'm interested! I'm interested!" exclaimed Major Dave in a begging sort of way.

"Well, finish up here and we'll see. If anybody finds a watch?"