Free The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck

please?” And the colonel said to Corell, “Major Hunter is working. He doesn’t hear anything when he’s working.” Hunter looked up from his board and smiled quietly and looked down again. The young lieutenants left the room, and when they were gone Lanser said, “Well, here we are. Won’t you sit down?”
    â€œThank you, sir,” and Corell sat down behind the table.
    Lanser looked at the bandage on Corell’s head. He said bluntly, “Have they tried to kill you already?”
    Corell felt the bandage with his fingers. “This? Oh, this was a stone that fell from a cliff in the hills this morning.”
    â€œYou’re sure it wasn’t thrown?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Corell asked. “These aren’t fierce people. They haven’t had a war for a hundred years. They’ve forgotten about fighting.”
    â€œWell, you’ve lived among them,” said the colonel. “You ought to know.” He stepped close to Corell. “But if you are safe, these people are different from any in the world. I’ve helped to occupy countries before. I was in Belgium twenty years ago and in France.” He shook his head a little as though to clear it, and he said gruffly, “You did a good job. We should thank you. I mentioned your work in my report.”
    â€œThank you, sir,” said Corell. “I did my best.”
    Lanser said, a little wearily, “Well, sir, now what shall we do? Would you like to go back to the capital? We can put you on a coal barge if you’re in a hurry, or on a destroyer if you want to wait.”
    Corell said, “But I don’t want to go back. I’ll stay here.”
    Lanser studied this for a moment and he said, “You know, I haven’t a great many men. I can’t give you a very adequate bodyguard.”
    â€œBut I don’t need a bodyguard. I tell you these aren’t violent people.”
    Lanser looked at the bandage for a moment. Hunter glanced up from his board and remarked, “You’d better start wearing a helmet.” He looked down at his work again.
    Now Corell moved forward in his chair. “I wanted particularly to talk to you, Colonel. I thought I might help with the civil administration.”
    Lanser turned on his heel and walked to the window and looked out, and then he swung around and said quietly, “What have you in mind?”
    â€œWell, you must have a civil authority you can trust. I thought perhaps that Mayor Orden might step down now and—well, if I were to take over his office, it and the military would work very nicely together.”
    Lanser’s eyes seemed to grow large and bright. He came close to Corell and he spoke sharply. “Have you mentioned this in your report?”
    Corell said, “Well, yes, naturally—in my analysis.”
    Lanser interrupted. “Have you talked to any of the town people since we arrived—outside of the Mayor, that is?”
    â€œWell, no. You see, they are still a bit startled. They didn’t expect it.” He chuckled. “No, sir, they certainly didn’t expect it.”
    But Lanser pressed his point. “So you don’t really know what’s going on in their minds?”
    â€œWhy, they’re startled,” said Corell. “They’re—well, they’re almost dreaming.”
    â€œYou don’t know what they think of you?” Lanser asked.
    â€œI have many friends here. I know everyone.”
    â€œDid anyone buy anything in your store this morning?”
    â€œWell, of course, business is at a standstill,” Corell answered. “No one’s buying anything.”
    Lanser relaxed suddenly. He went to a chair and sat down and crossed his legs. He said quietly, “Yours is a difficult and brave branch of the service. It should be greatly rewarded.”
    â€œThank you, sir.”
    â€œYou will have their hatred in time,” said the