ALAS BABYLONRead along PPT Chapter 10

COFFEE!

Randy is having a dream that he is awakening with coffee, but it’s Lib coming in with coffee- he had put coffee in his “iron rations” that he hid before The Day First thing he asks- “Did everybody else get

coffee?” (246)

DAN TELLS WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM

In Marines Park, he saw a notice from a man that his two children had become violently ill and requested Dan’s help He knew the family and had delivered two of

their four children; he liked them and knew if were not an emergency, he would not have sent the note

He arrived to find it was Typhoid- “the unwelcome, evil sister of any disaster in which the water supply was destroyed/polluted and normal disposal of human waste was difficult or impossible” (248)

He suspects they got it from swimming in the river (accidentally swallowed some of the water)

As he drives away, he sees a woman sitting on the edge of the road (pg. 249) She wore jeans and a man’s shirt and she was

rocking back and forth as if in pain “Dan’s first thought is that she turned her ankle;

his second, that she could be a decoy for an ambush” (249) but he thinks highwaymen rarely operate on smaller roads like this so he turns off the engine and gets out to help her

“when her eyes shifted, and she smiled, he knew her performance had been completed….” (249)- meaning she WAS a decoy

We assume they were waiting for him because the woman (when she finds the bourbon) says, “Just like you heard, Buster,…The Doc keeps a traveling bar” (250)

One of the men tells him to leave the liquor and start walking but he argues that he needs his bag and won’t leave- so the men beat him up until he loses consciousness (pg. 250-251) He does this because the things in his bag can

help OTHERS (remember how self-less he is….even here when he sacrifices himself, literally)

When he awakens he is partially blind and disoriented but he walks/crawls himself to the Bragg house

Apologizes to Randy that he lost their transportation, medicines and tools AND worst of all- he lost his glasses…(252)

RANDY REACTS

He knows he has to do something about the highwaymen before they start raiding houses – he plans to “execute” them

Goes to see the Admiral to ask for help/advice He will have to find them and may be hundreds

of miles away already….but even when they’re gone, others will come

Randy wants to form a “provisional company”- a company under marital law (since he figures he is the only active Army Reserve officer in town)

Problem is the highwaymen are mobile, and he’s not

Admiral suggests they put a “four-wheeled Q-ship on the roads around Fort Repose…” (255) Q-ships were heavily armed merchant ships with

concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. The basic idea of the Q-ship was to be a ”wolf in sheep's clothing.”

Problems of transportation- no gas or vehicle… Lib suggests Rita Hernandez and her brother may

have some stored, and they also have a grocery truck (perfect for concealing and would LURE the highwaymen to them)

They question how to get the truck from the Hernandez house, and if Rita would cooperate…Randy says she will because she wants to live

RANDY’S ORDERS (PG. 256-257)

Order #1- He is assuming command of the town and all members of the National Guard/military with any other experienced volunteers will meet at the bandstand at 1200 hours on Wednesday April 20th to form a “composite company” to protect the town

Order #2- Typhoid cases/ rivers are polluted and all water will be boiled before drinking

Order #3- Dr. Gunn was beaten by highwaymen; penalty for harboring or helping these men will result in death by hanging

RANDY GOES TO THE HERNANDEZ HOUSE

Has to walk (all other options did not work out- pg. 257)

Sets out after dark, with his pistol Stops by Marines Park to pin up his “orders” Rita answers the door- Randy explains he

needs her help to catch the highwaymen Reminds her if she is left alone in that house

with all of her supplies, SHE will be a target (so what Randy is trying to do will help her too…)

She agrees to help Has 15 gallons of gas Plans to tell everyone the grocery truck was stolen

PEOPLE ARE GOOD

Randy thinks to himself, wondering at this change in people (that they would get up at dawn and walk 3 miles on an empty stomach to sing hymns), and concludes that “man was a naturally gregarious creature and were all starved for companionship and the sight of new faces” (262) Meaning- even in times of crisis, we still need

one another and get strength from one another

LIB IS WAITING WHEN RANDY COMES HOME

He tells her “you’re a beautiful possession” (263) and says he wishes they had just one room to themselves, and that he wishes they were married

She replies- “I accept” (263) They think about how they are going to

marry, and remember they are under martial law so Randy can make his own rules

They decide to marry before he leaves tomorrow to find the highwaymen- on Easter Sunday

As they embrace, he looks over her shoulder and sees gators (thinks of meat- survival)