| 2:51a |
@@@@@The idea fed him with a pleasurable
@@@@@The idea fed him with a pleasurable maliceLittle-tit librarian, he would spit on her nowBut the library stalls were still a troop hold, and his fear returned
A whistle blew, startling him"Men for boat-deck fifteen," a voice shouted down, and one of the platoons started going up the ladderMartinez could feel the tension in everyone around him, the way their voices had become quietWhy could they not go first? he asked himself, hating the added tension which would come from waitingSomething was going to happen to him
After an hour their signal came, and they jogged up the ladder, and stood milling outside the hatchway for almost a minute before they were told to move to their boatThe decks were very slippery in the dawn, and they stumbled and cursed as they plodded along the deckWhen they reached the davits which held their landing boat, they drew up in a rough file and began waiting againRed shivered in the cold morning air and the day had already the depressing quality which early mornings always had in the ArmyIt meant they were moving, it meant something new, something unpleasant
All over the ship the debarkation activities were in different stagesA few landing craft were down in the water already, filled with troops and circling around the ship like puppies on a leashThe men in them waved at the ship, the flesh color of their faces unreal against the gray paint of the landing craft, the dawn blue of the seaThe calm water looked like oilNearer the platoon, some men were boarding a landing craft, and another one, just loaded, was beginning its descent into the water, the davit pulleys creaking from time to timeBut over most of the ship men were still waiting like themselves
Red's shoulders were beginning to numb under the weight of his full pack, and his rifle muzzle kept clanging against his helmetHe was feeling irritable"No matter how many times you wear a goddam pack, you never get used to it," he said
"Have you got it adjusted right?" Hennessey askedHis voice was stiff and quivered a littl |