| The guard at the entrance had phoned the Captain, who came up to the jeep to meet the General
"Sir?"
Cummings noddedHow's the battery coming?"
"Fine, sir
"Service battery was supposed to bring up two hundred rounds about an hour agoYou get them?"
"Yes, sir"Have your touch on everything, don't you, sir?"
This pleased Cummings"Have you told the men how successful the battalion concentration was this afternoon?" he asked
"I did say something about it, sir
"You can't emphasize it enoughWhen the men have completed a good fire mission, it's smart to tell them soIt's good for the men to have a sense of participation
The General strode away from the jeep with the Captain tagging at his side"Your routine orders are for harassing fire every fifteen minutes, is that correct?"
"Since last night, sir
"How're you resting your cannoneers?"
The gucci backpack Captain smiled deprecatingly"I've cut the gun crews in half, sir, and each half-squad is on for an hour, firing four missionsThat way the men miss only an extra hour's sleep
"I think that's a pretty good setup," the General agreedThey crossed a small clearing which contained the battery mess tent and the orderly room tentIn the moonlight the tents were silver, and their roofs sloped upward precipitously to give them the appearance of miniature cathedralsThey passed through, and walked along a footpath which cut for fifty feet through a patch of brushOn the other side the four howitzers were extended in a short battery front, not more than fifty yards separating the two flank pieces, their nozzles pointing above the jungle in the direction of the Japanese linesThe moonlight played over them in random mottled patches, tracing over the barrel and trails the prada china stippled outline of the leaves aboveBehind the guns five squad tents were dispersed irregularly in the brush, almost blending into the deep shadows of the jungleThis was virtually the entire battery: the motor pool, the supply and mess, the howitzers, and the tentsThe General surveyed it, scrutinized the few cannoneers who sprawled between the trails of one of the 105s, and had a mild nostalgiaFor a moment or two he was weary, felt an unimportant passing regret that he could not be a cannoneer himself with only his belly to be filled, and nothing more odious to consider than the labor of digging a gun emplacementA curious uncharacteristic mood mounted in him, and furnished a new kind of self-pity, a gentle indulgent one
In the squad tent he could hear an occasional burst of laughter, a few raucous jeers
Always, he had had to be alone, he had chosen it that way, rolex vintage women's watch and he would not renege now, nor did he want toThe best things, the things worth doing, in the last analysis had be done aloneThe moments like these, the passing doubts, were the temptations that caught you if you were not carefulCummings stared at the vast dark bulk of Mount Anaka, visible in the darkness as a deeper shadow, a greater mass than the sky above itIt was the axis of the island, its keystone
There's an affinity, he told himselfIf one wanted to get mystical about it, the mountain and he understood each otherBoth of them, from necessity, were bleak and alone, commanding the heightsTonight, Hearn might have negotiated the pass, be traveling under the shadow of Anaka itselfHe felt an odd pang, composed of anger and expectation, not quite certain whether he wanted Hearn to succeedThe problem of what he must do with him eventually was still not fake fendi spy bag settled, could not be unless Hearn did not come backAnd again he was uncertain what he felt, was mildly troubled
The Captain disturbed his reverie"We're going to fire in a minute, sirWould you like to watch?"
The General started He strolled beside the Captain to the artillery piece about which the cannoneers were groupedAs they approached, the men finished adjusting the piece, and one of them loaded the long slim shell into the breechThey became silent, stiffened, as Cummings approached, standing about awkwardly, their hands behind their backs, uncertain whether to come completely to attention"At ease, men," Cummings said
"All set, DiVecchio?" one of them asked
The General looked at DiVecchio, a short squat man with his sleeves rolled up, and a tangle of black hair covering his foreheadCity-runt, the General thought with a mixture of condescension and gucci ladies watch contemp |
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