He called for the others. Samuel tried to coax the girl out, but she wouldn't budge. When she saw Kalina, however, she bolted from her hiding place.
"Kal!" she cried "Kal! Don't let them take me away! Don't let them make me a whore!"
Kalina smoothed the child's hair. "It's all right!" she assured, "It's all right. No one's going to hurt you. These are very nice men. They don't do things like that to little girls. There's nothing to be afraid of. We'll take you to some nice people that will take care of you."
"YOU take care of me!" the little girl cried, "Like you did when you used to visit, while mama and daddy were entertaining. Please! I trust you. I know YOU won't hurt me!"
Kalina looked to Samuel. "I think it might be best," he remarked, "after she's calmed down someone else can take responsibility for her."
Kalina looked into the little girl's eyes, then smiled. "All right!" she said, "I don't know where I'm going, I don't know who's going to take care of me, but you can come with me."
The little girl let go and took her hand. "Let's roll!" Samuel ordered. "Leave two men here to guard the house. Call grave registrations to pick up the bodies." He looked to the little girl and asked "Why didn't you go with your mother and sisters?"
"I was afraid," the girl answered. "I didn't think God would approve. So when she told me to take a drink of the wine I only pretended to drink, like when I didn't want to take medicine. Then when we all laid down, I just went to sleep. When I woke up mother and sisters were with God. Anyway I HOPE they're with God!"
Samuel felt like saying her sisters might be but he seriously doubted her mother was. But instead he answered "I'm sure they are, dear!" He turned to their guide. "There's a family in the area," he snapped, "from America called the Redmans, blonde, blue-eyed, think themselves the superior race."
"I know them," the man answered, "Commanders with the crusaders. Bad people. Nobody likes them. But good allies brought us weapons and men."
Samuel looked at the devastation around them. "Yeah!" he remarked, "They were REAL good allies. Take me to them."
They didn't have far to go. When they arrived they found a devastated compound. It had obviously been heavily bombed. Craters were everywhere. Natives and soldiers were digging through the rubble, and in the only undisturbed area at least thirty bodies of differing ages, some only babies, lay covered in blankets. When officers incharge saw Samuel he came up.
"May I be of assistance?" he asked.
"What happened here?" Samuel inquired.
"Enemy command post, sir," the soldier answered. "They were putting up a hell of a fight. We hit them with a compass bombardment. By the time the planes left...well, the pilots knew their job, sir."
Samuel turned to their escort. "You know The Redmans," he ordered. "Examine those bodies. Tell me if they're all here."
Their guide nodded and quickly examined all the bodies."They are all here," he finally announced, "except the old father, their leader. All the rest all here. None of them survived except him."
"Help the grave registrations' people identify them," Samuel ordered. "We dont need you any more. Were returning to the base. Your cooperation will be noted and is appreciated."
"Thank you, sir!" the man answered.
As they drove back the little girl fell asleep in Kalina's arms Samuel looked at her with a sad expression. "Vengeance isn't soo good, is it? It hurts the innocent right along with the guilty."
"I feel bad for her," Kalina admitted "I DON'T feel bad for her mother or her father, maybe for her sisters, but not for her parents. Too many suffered at their hands. The babies hurt you, didn't they? I saw your eyes. It wasn't your fault. You did what's right. They did what's wrong. They were responsible for what happened to their children, not you. You're a good man, they weren't."
Samuel returned her smile. The next few days were spent in cleaning up. The military engineers from all the different countries worked night and day on the cemetary. Samuel praised their work. "Some day," he complimented, "people from both sides will come here to honor the dead. The little chapel you have put together I'm sure, will be an honored place."
The officers thanked him. Finally they withdrew to their staging area, the didfferent troops gathering to return to their own countries. A big celebration was planned in Somalia, a grand pass in review for all the commanders. Samuel and his party had been quartered in a hangar on the air base where they had first departed. One afternoon a tan skinned man approached Samuel.
"Excuse me, sir," he began, "my name is Richardson. I'm a pilot. I've been bringing in supplies and taking out the wounded. Is there a girl with you named Mary? They told me she was with you. I saw her on the news telling her story."
The man took out his wallet and pulled out a battered photograph. "That's her," he continued, "when she was little."

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