I saw neither among all the navy. Two soldiers gripped either arm, the heavy-necked one and another, and I was frog-marched into the sea of soldiers, some of them trading canisters, others finding damp cigarettes in their pockets and trying to light them in vain.
“She’s a pretty one,” said the toad. I feared from his position he could see down my blouse. “Ain’t she?”
“Shut up, Luderman,” said his comrade, repositioning his grip on my arm. “She’s the earth Charmer. It don’t matter what else she is.”
And yet, the toad’s eyes remained on the split buttons below my neck.
We climbed knolls of no discerning marks until a steam train loomed ahead, on tracks bracketed by hills. The swarm of navy blue cascaded down the slopes toward it.
I was loaded into a carriage with no seats, no benches. J
