‘Heeheehee!’
Koskela got up and went to the window, having spotted a few strange men heading down the path to their bunker. ‘So here are the delayed reinforcements.’
The door opened and four men stepped inside. Koskela’s men stared in wonder at the private who entered first.
He was a man of towering height, in his thirties, with big, earnest eyes staring out of his long, horse-like face. The real cause of their astonishment, however, was the bow and arrow dangling from the man’s shoulder. He snapped stiffly to attention and, without moving a muscle, addressed Koskela in earnest, gravely respectful tones.
‘Is this the bunker belonging to Lieutenant Koskela?’
‘It is.’
‘Lieutenant, sir! Might I have a word?’
‘Don’t see why not,’ Koskela replied, amused.
‘Are you yourself Lieutenant Koskela, sir?’
‘Yes.’
‘Lieutenant, sir! Private Honkajoki A, A 1: the first A designates my first name, Aarne; the second A and the one, my fitness grade. Reinforcement reporting for duty in the Lieutenant’s platoon. Prior service in the Fiftieth Infantry Regiment, Second Company, machine-gunner treated for injury in the military hospital and reassigned here by the Personnel Replenishment Center. Hereby reporting for active military duty, firmly prepared to sacrifice my own blood, as well as that which I have received via the military hospital’s blood transfusion service, in the fight for our homeland and the freedom of our people.’
The man remained standing stiffly at attention until Koskela issued the permission to be seated he had been waiting for.
‘Well, welcome. There’s some beds over there. Two guys stay here and two guys go join the other section. You can decide amongst yourselves who goes where.’
Vanhala hesitated a moment, then hissed to Koskela, ‘Keep archer-man here.’
Vanhala was afraid of losing out if horse-face didn’t stay, having sensed immediately that an arsenal of pranks lay behind the man’s peculiar front. It wasn’t like Koskela to dictate anything he didn’t have to, though, so he let the men decide their assignments amongst themselves. The three others were new recruits fresh out of boot camp, eager to join the other section so as to get out of the bunker with the officer whose presence intimidated them. So, it naturally worked out that Honkajoki stayed, finally designating one of the new recruits to remain with him – a boy who shyly whispered that his name was ‘Hauhia’.
The men selected beds for themselves and began settling into the bunker. Honkajoki placed his bow carefully in the gun rack, and Rokka asked him, ‘Ain’t got much faith in those weapons next to yours, huh?’
Honkajoki replied politely, his full attention fixed upon Rokka, ‘In light of the rapid development of weaponry and technical equipment that is currently in use in this great war, I find that from the point of view of the nation’s defense, the adoption of new weapons is essential.’
Everyone’s attention fixed upon this curious crusader, and Koskela asked him, ‘Whereabouts you from?’
‘Lieutenant, sir! My mother brought me into this world in Lauttakylä, but I was still a babe-in-arms when my parents relocated to Hämeenlinna, where I grew into a young man. I then grew into manhood all across Finland, as I led a very mobile life, which I might mention in passing is a reflection of my peripatetic nature. Which is to say, I have a solid dose of the explorer and the researcher in me. In truth, I am a scholar.’
‘What kinda work you done?’ Hietanen asked in turn. Honkajoki turned politely toward him and answered in the same stylized tones with which he had addressed Koskela, ‘Sergeant, sir! I have earned my livelihood in forestry. More precisely, in pine-cone collection. That is merely how I’ve earned my living, however. As I mentioned, I am a scholar. My interest lies in creating new inventions, and my most immediate objective is the creation of a perpetual-motion machine.’
‘Don’t you know nobody can come up with that kinda thing?’ Hietanen said half-seriously, as he was always something of a hard-liner when it came to anything related to the spiritual or supernatural.
‘Indeed, I am thoroughly acquainted with all the difficulties associated with this invention, but I do not permit them to discourage me… Aha, perhaps I’ll take a brief respite. Incidentally, how are the guard duties organized here, if I might be permitted to inquire?’
‘Both machine guns are guarded at night, just one during the day,’ Koskela said. ‘You can each do a shift with one of the other guys so you have a chance to figure out the lie of the land and see how everything works around here. Might be good for Hauhia to do two shifts that way, maybe even three. Rokka, take this fellow along next time it’s your turn and show him the ropes. And Hauhia, try to remember everything he tells you – somehow things look a lot more harmless than they actually are around here. What’s your age class?’
‘1922, Lieutenant, sir!’ Hauhia snapped to attention as he responded, and Koskela said, ‘OK. That’ll be just fine. And you can drop the “sir”. We don’t stand on ceremony around here. We’re all pretty informal, so just make yourselves at ease. This only applies to me, of course. With the other officers it’s a different story.’
‘Understood, Lieutenant, sir!’ Hauhia stiffened to something like attention even though he was seated, the fear of superior officers having already developed into a reflex.
Honkajoki lay down and went to sleep. The others ceased to marvel at his peculiar conduct, figuring that the man belonged to that class of guys who come out of the woodwork in a long war, ready to engage in any senseless shenanigans that will help them and others pass the time. The man had already assumed this role so thoroughly that he no longer even knew how else to behave.
Hauhia, on the other hand, didn’t sleep. He would have been happy to set off immediately on guard duty with Vanhala, but Rokka said, ‘Come with me. Sankia Priha baits the neighbors too much. ’Fyou head out there cold with him, some sharp shot’ll nab you real quick.’
‘Have you lost many men?’ Hauhia ventured timidly. Rokka looked at him for a moment as if weighing his words, and meanwhile Rahikainen cut in, ‘Rare day we don’t have somebody bite the dust.’
‘Don’t lissen’na him. He’s full of it. Just tryin’na scare you. We don’t even man Mount Million for another two months yet. But don’t you go out alone, hear! You keep that in mind.’
‘I have been in an air raid,’ Hauhia said, but added hastily, ‘Though of course that’s nothing compared to a real war.’
‘Ain’t no war more real than that,’ Rokka said smiling, and Hauhia fell silent, thinking Rokka was smiling at his childishness. He looked around at the bunker and the men inside it. He would have asked many questions, had he dared. He was intimidated by Rokka and Hietanen, not to mention Koskela. The fear of NCOs that the training center had drilled into him was still strong in his mind, and he watched and listened nervously as Susling said to Koskela, ‘Toss me that paper.’
‘Here, grab it.’
Rokka shoved his ring-making materials under the bed and said, ‘Awwright, boy. C’mon! Papa’s gonna show you how we fight a war.’
‘Which weapons?’
‘They got ’em out there, don’t worry.’
They climbed out of the bunker into the connecting trench, and Rokka led Hauhia behind a small turn in the trench, where there was a pole.
‘This here’s the toilet.’
‘Are those pamphlets?’
‘Yup. Neighbors’s even provided us with toilet paper.’ Rokka showed him the pamphlets, in which Finnish soldiers were encouraged to kill their officers and switch over to the Red Army.
‘You see what’s written on’na other side? If a fella’s got this note with him and he surrenders, they’re obliged’da keep him alive. So keep that in mind. Take it with you when’na time comes.’