He found Sergeant Holmes in the circus tent.
The NCO had his hands deep into a bucket of fresh petrol, vigorously brushing a series of gears free from rust. Holmes was as big as Burton but with more muscles packed on his thick arms. Dark hair fading rapidly gave the big man a high, intelligent-looking forehead. Dark brown eyes were quick to see Jake walk into the semi-empty and partially burned tent.
“What can I do for you today, sir?” Holmes grunted casually as he continued to scrub the parts of a lorrie’s disassembled transmission which lay eviscerated in its various pieces on the ground around him. “Say, I heard about your wild ride last night. Damn, captain. You must have the lives of a cat. Anyone else would have been dead by now.”
Jake grinned, found an empty five-gallon can and l
