Chapter 27

Passing though the Long Island country side I learned two very important things: Stay away from open spaces and watch out for dogs. I had to be real careful, because I didn't want the police looking for a trespassing Negro. My shoe box disguise wouldn't fool the coppers and I had no urge to visit the big house.

I finally made it to Yaphank and decided to hide in the cat tails near the lake. I ate one of the apples Mr. Blue had given to me. I almost tossed the core away, but I realized that it might raise questions. I tucked it deep in the reeds and took a nap.

When I woke up it was near dark and I had a visitor. A 2 ½ foot long snake was sticking his tongue out at me. I don't like snakes, I was born and bred in the Big Apple. I could deal with rats, even the big ones down on the docks, but the way snakes moved without legs, is unnatural to me. It was reddish brown and right in front of me. I tried not to breathe and stared it down. It finally slithered off and I took a deep breath. I don't think I scared it off, it was probably just hungry.

I got up out of those reeds as fast as I could. I looked at a copy of the map that Sarah gave me. There were four Xs that I had to check out here. I would try visit all of them tonight and look at the spot on the north east coast of the island. The first X was at the front gate on a small hillock. It only took me a few minutes of searching until I found the hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was a lever. I checked to make sure that I was alone and I flipped the lever.

I heard a loud click and saw a rectangular section of turf 1' X 3' rise up an inch. I bent down and grabbed the hatch. It wouldn't lift up but it did pivot to the right. It revealed three steps that led into a small bunker with a machine gun. The bunker was so small that only one person could fit comfortably in it and they would have to lie down. There were shelves within easy reach containing coiled up 50 round belts. I could see where the firing port would be opened and the dirt and grass cleared out of the way. I took the time to break the machine gun down and removed the firing pin. I put the machine gun back together and put it back where it belonged. This would have been a good way to stop unwanted visitors.

I crawled back out of the bunker and closed the hatch with a click. I saw that the lever had gone back to its original place. I closed up the hidden compartment and hid it again. X number 1 investigated and taken care of. Number 2 was behind the grandstand on the parade ground.

There was no moon in the sky, so I was not worried about being seen as I made my way to the back of the grandstand. Luck was with me and I saw someone smoking a butt in the shadows behind the grandstand. That is why you should not smoke while on guard duty.

I moved a little closer and could smell the cigarette. It was the smell of a harsh, cheap cigarette. Definitely not an American butt. A shaft of light split the night as the man opened a hidden door in the back of the grandstand. The man was wearing the uniform of the brown shirts. On the other side of the door a metal circular staircase led down. The gee picked up an innocent looking bit of metal that turned out to be a submachine gun with a large clip. This must be the armory. It would need this level of protection. If that gee hadn't been outside smoking a butt I would have either never found the armory or would have walked into a shower of metal. That's two Xs, found.