From Here to Eternity_ The Restored Edit - Jones, James [255]
“Man,” Friday said happily when they were outside, “we’ll show him some real git-tar playin, man, when ole Andy comes over with the truck. We’ll show him Infantry.”
“Yeah,” Prew said, stumbling along. “God damn this hole.”
Slade was already waiting for them at the wire.
“I thought you werent going to come back. I was about ready to give it up and go home.”
“Listen,” Prew said, “when we tell a guy we’ll do a thing, by god we do it. And he can count on it. We dont welch.”
Slade turned his flashlight on at their feet. “Sure,” he grinned, “I knew that too. Its just that I’ve been around these pricks in the Air Corps too long, is all.”
“You better turn your light off,” Friday said. “We’re supposed to stay blacked out on this problem.”
“Oh,” Slade said quickly. “Sure.” He shut it off. “You fellows must think I’m awful green. How do I get across this fence?”
“Have to go back up,” Prew said, “and come through the gap we left for our trucks.”
“How far is it?”
“Hundred and fifty, two hundred yards back this way.”
“Okay,” Slade grinned. “I’ll walk it up and come back down by myself. Theres no need for you fellows to have to walk clear up there just for me. You’re doing enough for me the way it is.”
“Oh, no,” Prew said, “we dont mind walking it. You liable to get lost in here if you dont know the path.”
“I can follow the wire down,” Slade said.
“We got to go back ourselves anyway,” Friday said quickly, waving his hand uselessly around his ears again.
“Oh,” Slade said. “Okay then. But I want you to know you dont have to on my account. You’re doing enough for me the way it is, fellows.”
“The kitchen’s back up that way,” Prew explained, as they started back up toward the bivouac, them on one side, Slade on the other, stumbling over roots and bumping into branches.
“Dont these mosquitoes bother you none?” Friday said.
“Naw,” Slade said. He hesitated. “I almost kind of like them, in a way.”
“Like them!” Friday said.
“Yes,” Slade said embarrassedly. “Not exactly like them, you know, but they make me feel like I’m really doing something. They make this horseshit more like real soldiering. You can stand out here and imagine you’re really soldiering. Of course they’re not anything, not really, not compared to what you guys have to put up with, I bet.”
“I dont see that,” Friday said. He thought a moment. “You dont mean you really like to get bit up like this? You dint volunteer for this post, did you?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Friday,” Prew said irritably.
“I guess it does sound kind of crazy,” Slade said embarrassedly. “No, I didnt volunteer for it. I was on the Main Gate, but Follette got me kicked off and put down here.”
“These here is worse than anything I ever seen in the Infantry,” Friday said, slapping.
“Oh, I dont know,” Prew said, slapping. “I’ve had to soldier in spots a hell of a lot worse than this. You take winter maneuvers at Myer now. Say,” he said, “how’d you like to have a cup of coffee, Slade? Before we go up the embankment?”
“Swell,” Slade said eagerly. “You guys even have coffee at nights, hunh? out in the field. We dont even have coffee at night, and we got a permanent guardhouse.”
“No coffee!” Friday said. “Why, man, thats awful. Night guards got to have coffee.”
“Sure they do,” Slade said. “Oh, we got a silex coffee-pot in the dayroom, and we could make it ourselves. But half the time they run us off at night and wont let us use it. Thats the Air Corps for you.”
“Would you like to have a sandwich, too?” Prew said.
“A sandwich?” Friday said. “Say, listen, Prew.”
“You dont mean you have sandwiches too, whenever you want them?” Slade said. “Christ, you guys live like kings.”
“Hell,” Prew said. “What good is coffee without hot sandwiches?”
“You mean they’re hot, too?” Slade said.
“But, listen, Prew,” Friday said.
“Sure,” Prew said. “We got a real mess sergeant in this outfit.”
“You must have,” Slade said.
“He knows how to take care of his men,” Prew said, “when they got to pull guard at night. You dont mind it being rugged, you got a guy like that to look after you.”
“But, Prew,” Friday said.