Mines then. A strange life. At least four jeeps and ten heavy trucks drove over that point. Why did this particular truck catch it?
"Anyone wounded?"
"Two dead."
The ground has been cleared. I get out and walk to the truck. The two dead will be carried in the ambulance that is placed in the middle of the convoy. One of them had been sitting on the wing to show the driver the way. He was torn to pieces.
"Hey, you there, can you give us a hand?" The commander of the sappers addressed me.
"What then?"
"Have a look at the truck, and see if we can unload anything."
I climb onto the truck, and see boxes of clothes, some food, and four engines. I call some people to unload the engines. The rest is not worth it. Ahijah comes with the Palmach commander. He wants to burn the truck. I am horrified. "Burn it? Do you want to call the Egyptians, so they set an ambush for our return?" He considers. He hadn’t thought of that. Since he is a Palmach man, he accepts sugges-tions even from an ordinary soldier. The truck will not be burned.
At HQ they are getting nervous. The commander orders us to drive on immediately. One after the other the heavy trucks drive around the wreck. We return to our places. We are on our way again.
* * *
We are also getting nervous. Time is passing. The convoy keeps stop-ping. Then it is our turn. The jeep runs roughly for a moment and then stutters to a halt. I look at Ahijah. It is not schadenfreude, but I know what has happened. He had taken a container from the truck that hit the mine, sniffed it, and emptied it into our petrol tank. Apparently it contained water, even if it still smelt of petrol.
Amid curses and insults fired in both directions, we connect our jeep with a chain to the truck in front of us. Reuven Huber is its driver. He is not a trained driver, and this is his first attempt. Every time he pulls away, his vehicle gives a jerk. What if a battle were to start now?
Hardly has the idea entered my head when the first bullets are fly-ing past our ears. According to the map the little hill on our left is the location of a camp of Bedouins5 and refugees. From the noises we can tell what is going on ahead. The jeeps race forward with all eight