Chinese Literature

when he heard that a boy messenger had been killed, following his example of “listening” to delayed action bombs, he was both deeply grieved and inspired. ;

“J went on and registered at the field hospital, and transferred my Party records,” he wound up, “but I wasn’t going to hang around just to get something to eat and have my dressing done, and I got out when the nurses’ back was turned. I want to dismantle that bomb, so that it won’t be able to terrorize us again.”

‘Have you handled that type of bomb in your munition factory?” I asked.

“No, not that kind.”

“What makes you think you can dismantle them, then?”

“The principle will be the same—most bombs run true to type! My guess is that this kind will have some kind of time-mechanism, which ticks over like a watch, until a certain time, when the detonator breaks and the bomb explodes.”

“And does it make a noise before it goes off, as you said last night?”

“T suppose there’ll be some kind of indication when the detonator gets going, but I don’t know if there’s actually anything audible. Then again, if there is a sound, I have no idea how much time there’d be between the sound and the explosion. It may be all right if you’re pretty nippy, but I don’t know.”

‘Why were you so confident last night, then?”

“Oh well, that was really only for a try-out, and to encourage the others. I was bitterly disappointed I wasn’t there when the bomb went off this morning. That would have given me the chance to know if there was time.... Anyway, whether there’s any obvious sign or not, if I had some tools, I’m sure I can dismantle those bombs. Comrade, I ask you to tell the Commandant to let me have a try. Tell him I’m not irresponsible, I won’t risk my life for nothing. Even though I’m a cripple at present, I still love my life, and‘besides, the Party has done a lot for me. Um not going to waste it.”

He showed me his sketches in his notebook, the diagrams and cross sections, and hypothetical diagrams of the workings. All the drawings were carefully done to scale, and produced with great delicacy.

As he showed me the drawings he dilated on them with enthusiasm, accompanying his words with gestures. I listened, fascinated, and finally was completely convinced. ‘You must let me do it, and quickly at that,” he concluded. ‘Because we shan’t get such a chance again, if we let all these bombs go off.” I realized that the C.O. felt as I did, and why he thought he would not be justified just to hold Tsui Yi under arrest and why he had sent an urgent message to the Commandant. Tsui Yi had worked his magic on him already! As I came to realize later, once his mind was made up, there was no stopping him. He went straight ahead without deflection.