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"I couldn't sleep," he said"Too many goddam...
06:56, 2010-Mar-17
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"I couldn't sleep," he said"Too many goddam noisesWhat time is it?"
"After three-thirty
"You were supposed to wake me at three
Roth had been afraid of this"I began to think," Roth said weakly, "and lost track of the time
"Shit!" Brown saidHe finished tying his shoes and walked out to the emplacement without saying anything else
Roth stood still for a moment, his rifle strap chafing his shoulder, and then began looking for the place where he and Minetta were sleeping for the nightMinetta had pulled the blankets over him, and Roth lay down beside him gingerly, and tried to tug them awayAt home he had always insisted on having the sheets tucked in tightly; now with the blankets drawn up over his feet he was miserableEverything seemed wetThe rain kept falling on his exposed legs and he became very chilledThe blankets were midway between sopping and damp; they had a musty wet odor which reminded him of the smell of feetHe kept turning over, trying to find an accommodating place on the ground, but it seemed as if a root were always sticking into the cartier women's watches small of his backThe drizzle teased him when he pulled the blankets off his faceHe was sweating and shuddering at the same time, and he was convinced he would be sickWhy didn't I tell Brown he ought to be glad I stood an extra half hour of guard for him? he asked himself abruptly, and felt frustrated and bitter that he had failed to answer himWait, I'll tell him in the morning, he assured himself angrilyOf the men in the platoon he decided there was not one of them he really likedThey're all stupid, he said to himselfThere wasn't a single one of them who was the least bit friendly to a new man, and he felt a spasm of lonelinessWhen he tried to wriggle his toes, the hopelessness of warming them overwhelmed himHe tried to think of his wife and son and it seemed to him there could be no more perfect life than to return to themHis wife had a soft mothering look now in her eyes, and his son was staring at him with delight and respectHe thought of his son growing up, discussing serious things with him, valuing his opinionThe drizzle tickled his ear, and he pulled the tiffany cross necklace end of the blanket over his head againMinetta's body was warm and he huddled toward itHe thought once again of his infant son, and felt a swell of prideHe thinks I'm someone, Roth said to himselfHis eyes closed and he loosed a long whispering sigh, immensely wistful in the soft drizzling night
That fuggin Roth, Brown said to himself, falling asleep on guard and maybe getting us all killedNo man's got a right to do something like that; he lets his buddies down and they ain't a worse thing a man can do
No, sir, Brown repeated, they ain't a worse thing a man can doI may be afraid and I may have my nerves shot all to hell, but at least I act like a sergeant and take care of my dutiesThere's no easy way to get ahead; a man's got to pull his share, take his responsibilities, and then he gets what he earnsI've had my eye on Roth from the beginningHe's no good, he's lazy, he's shiftless, and he don't take an interest in anythingI hate these fathers who bitch because they finally got caughtHell, what about us who been sweating it out for a couple of years and Lord chloe knows how long to come? We were fightin' when they were screwin' their wives, and maybe screwin' ours too
Brown shifted his weight angrily on the cartridge boxes and looked out at the jungle, rubbing his hand reflectively over the bridge of his short snubbed noseYeah, what about us, he said to himself, sitting out here in a lousy hole in the rain, sweatin' out every goddam noise while those women are on the loose havin' their own sweet time? I should have known better, marrying a two-timing bitch like thatEven when we were in high school, she was rubbing up against everything that wore pantsOh, I know a lot more now, I know that it's a mistake to marry a woman 'cause you can't make her any other way, holding out on me for all that time, and even now I don't know if she was cherryThere ain't any such thing as a clean decent woman any more, when a man's sister will go up to him and tell him to mind his own business because she's fooling around and her husband's out of town, it's time for a man to open his eyesThere ain't a one of them a man can trust out of replica rolex his sight; how many times have I picked up a piece from a married woman with kids, it's disgustin' the way they all act
Brown took his rifle off his knees and laid it against the machine gunIt's bad enough with all a man's got to worry about out here, with guys like that fuggin Roth who fall asleep on guard, and trying to keep the details straight so no man has to work more than his share, and always wondering if today is the day you get it, so that you'd think a woman would have the decency to keep her legs closed, but, no, there isn't one of them that's worth a snowball in hellAll the time we're out here beating our meat for company, doing it till it's disgusting, but what the hell else is there? I oughta quit 'cause it breaks down your confidence, and I'd be feeling stronger, but how can ya without a goddam woman and nothing to think about? All the men do it
And right now what is she doing, she's probably right in bed talking to a guy this very minute and they're figuring out what they're gonna do with the ten thousand insurance on me when I get knocked cartier ladies must de cartier of
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