“‘Hello and thank you for the ride to Thakhek,’” Phosy read. “‘Not much going on. Quite restful. Wish you were here. Love, Siri and Daeng.’”

“That’s nice,” said Dtui. “They could use a bit of a rest.”

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-three

Silence Is Golden

The villagers were crammed into the school building with an elderly Japanese soldier stationed at each point of the compass armed with some relic from the war. Each had a sword in a scabbard hanging from his belt. The scene was lit with candles and hurricane lamps. Yuki-san was sitting on the teacher’s desk, thumping his fist impatiently onto the wooden boards. He looked around at the old men he’d known as young warriors. They’d suffered as time passed, wasting their lives in the tropics, competing against diseases, malnutrition, wild animals, dysentery. They’d had houses and wives and had sired a battalion of ugly children, but it was not by choice. Every one of them had been waiting for this moment. There had been twelve of them to begin with, thirteen if you included Major Hiro. They were the regular core of the salvage team in Lang Son. They’d dived to retrieve the breeze blocks abandoned by the French gunners. They’d discovered all the other crates and cases. They’d called in a heavy winch to lift them out of the mud. It had taken six days to get it all out, twelve men laboring, the major in his usual trance, staring at clouds, muttering to himself.

But they were all there the day they pried open the two largest chests and saw the morning sunrise reflect off the gold. There wasn’t a single thought in any man’s head as to the glory of the empire or how many armored vehicles that much gold might buy. There was only greed in their hearts and a way out of the insane world they’d found themselves in. Captain Yuki it was who approached the major with his plan.

“Sir,” he’d said. “We’ve done what we’ve been assigned to do. We’ve retrieved the breeze blocks and they’ve been reattached to the artillery. All the big guns are functional. Our operation under your leadership has once again been an unmitigated success. And, as you know, we were also able to salvage other objects that had been thrown into the river at an earlier time. Much of it was ruined and of no use to the military. But sir . . .”

“Yes, Captain?” said Hiro.

“You may recall that there were some items of great value raised from the river. There was gold, sir. And that gold has no claim of ownership against it. The French no doubt stole it originally and the Hor bandits before them. It is technically the spoils of war. Our beloved generals have taught us that victory deserves a reward. Recovering the breeze blocks has allowed us many great victories.”