Читать книгу An Affair of State онлайн

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It happened that Jeff's battalion was picked for the night attack, and his company was picked by the battalion commander as the spearhead, and his Old Man chose Baker's platoon as the point. So it was just accident that Jeff Baker led the attack on the Gothic Line.

It turned out that Jeff Baker's platoon did better than expected, and Futa Pass was stormed and held. They named a mountain after him. They called it Baker's Peak. People said we might never have got Futa Pass except for Baker's Peak. The four German divisions were contained according to plan, and final victory came in the spring.

Jeff never spoke of it, and indeed wished he could banish it entirely from his mind, for he felt more guilt than pride in his part in it. He had survived, but the crucible of fire had been too hot. It had altered the tensile strength of his inner metal.

Jeff said, "Mr. Locke, I'm sure with all your experience you'll be called on eventually. But why can't you do anything now?"

Horace Locke didn't seem to hear. He leaned back in his chair and half turned, so that he looked out over the White House, and The Hill beyond. "We were so proud of the Twentieth Century," he said softly. "Why, we even named a train after it."