@@@@@The image still most vivid to him was the
@@@@@The image still most vivid to him was the agony he had felt in his chest and groin as they had started up the embankment, and he thought, I would have let go two seconds later if he didn'tFor this reason, Wyman felt a dulled sense of affection for Goldstein"Well, that's one gun they ain't going to rescue for a little while," he said"I bet it stays there for the whole campaign He was enraged enough to strike GoldsteinWithout saying anything more, Croft left them and went in search of the officer who had led the column
The men in the platoon settled down and began to sleepOccasionally a shell would burst in the jungle nearby, but they hardly caredThe battle had been threatening all evening like a thunderstorm which never breaks, and by now it would have taken a barrage to move themBesides, they were too weary to dig holes
It took Red longer to fall asleep than any of the othersFor many years his kidneys had bothered him whenever he had too much exposure to dampnessThey were throbbing now, and he turned several times on the wet ground, trying to decide if it would be less painful to sleep with his back against the moist earth or exposed to the night airHe lay awake for a long time thinking, his mood turning through a small gamut from weariness to sadnessHe was thinking of a time when he had been caught in a small town in Nebraska with no jobs to be had, and had had to wait until he could catch a boxcar out of townIt had seemed very important to him then not to beg for something to eat, and he wondered if he still had that pride"Oh, I've been tough in my time," he muttered to himself"Lot of good it does me The air was cold on his back, and he turned overIt seemed to him that all his life he had been sleeping in bare wet places, seeking for warmthHe thought of an old hobo saying, "Half a buck in your pocket and winter coming," and felt some of the gloom he had known on cold October twilightsHis stomach was empty, and he got up after a while and rummaged through his packHe found a K ration and chewed the fruit bar, washing it down with water from his canteenHis blanket was still wet from the evening storm, but he wrapped it about him and found a little warmthThen he tried to go to sleep again, but his kidneys were aching too much