For half an hour no one said anything, but even...
For half an hour no one said anything, but even through their prostration other emotions were workingBrown lay on his stomach staring at his hands, which were cruelly blistered and spotted with dried blood from a variety of old sores and cuts which had opened againHe knew abruptly that he was through; he could stand up, even march perhaps another mile of intolerable agony, but he was going to collapseHis entire body was racked; he had been retching emptily ever since they had halted, and his vision was uncertainEvery minute or two a wave of faintness would glide through him, darkening his sight and pocking his back with an icy perspirationAll his extremities were quivering, and his hands shook too much for him to light a cigaretteHe hated himself for his weakness and he hated Goldstein and Ridges coco chanel black wallet because they were less exhausted than he, and he loathed Stanley and hoped Stanley was weaker than heHis bitterness resolved into self-pity for a moment -- he was angry at Croft for sending them out with only four menCroft must have known it would be impossible
Stanley was coughing thickly into his hands, which he held against his faceBrown looked at him, and found a focus for his resentmentHe felt Stanley had betrayed himHe had made Stanley corporal, and Stanley had turned against himPerhaps if they had had another man instead of Stanley they might have proceeded better
"What's the matter, Stanley," he blurted out, "you ready to quit?"
"Aaah, fug you, BrownBrown had taken this detail because he was afraid of continuing with the patrol, and he had brought him into itWhat they had gone chloe through was far worse than anything the rest of the platoon would meetIf he had stayed with them he would have done better, and Croft might have noticed him"You think you're okay, don't you?" he asked Brown"Listen, I know why you took this goddam litter
"Why?" Brown listened with a numb stricken anticipation
"It's because you were too fuggin yellow to keep up with the patrolA sergeant taking a litter detail, Jesus
Brown heard him almost with satisfactionThis was the worst thing he could imagine, it was the moment he had been dreading for so long, and it did not seem so horrible"Stanley, you're just as yellow as I am, we're in the same goddam boat He searched for something with which to hurt him, and came up with it"You're worrying too much about your wife, Stanley But it had caught himIn his omega automatic watches weakness he was convinced now that his wife was unfaithful, and he passed through a cruel montage of her infidelities in an interval of a few secondsIt loosed a whole web of insecurities, and he felt like weepingIt was unfair that he should be left so much alone
Brown pushed his palms against the ground, lifted himself dully"Come on, let's get going He felt dizzy on his feet, and his hands had the spongy powerless sensation of a man awakening in the morning, unable to grasp anything
They all got up very slowly, fastened their belts, knelt beside the litter and started forward againAfter they had gone a hundred yards, Stanley knew he was not going to continueHe had always resented Wilson mildly because Wilson had more combat than he, but now he did not think of Wilson at allHe just knew that he was tiffany cross necklace going to quit; he had gone through too much, and what did it count for?
They set Wilson down for a short rest and Stanley reeled away and then fell to the groundHe closed his eyes deliberately, pretending he had faintedThe others gathered about him, looked at him without feeling
"Shoot, le's jus' put him up on top of Wilson," Ridges said, "an' anyone else we jus' put on top o' thatI'll take y' all backStanley had mocked him so often that he felt a mild revenge nowBut immediately he was ashamedPride goeth before a fall, he told himself soberlyHe listened to Stanley's rapt sobbing with a distant amusementIt reminded him of a mule which had collapsed once after plowing in a summer sun, and he felt the same mixture of amusement and pity
"What the hell we gonna do?" Brown panted
Wilson looked up omega mens watch fake abru