@@@@@He stared morosely at the bamboo
@@@@@He stared morosely at the bamboo enclosure Well, what the hell could he do but send a platoon up to occupy that empty bivouac? If they were able to do it without difficulty, he would start worrying then about what to do nextA fragile breeze stirred against his face and he thought with longing of the beach and the pleasantly chill ocean water, the palm trees silhouetted against the shoreSomewhere in the jungle miles away from him something was happening to the JapaneseMaybe their G-3 was sitting on the can now too But something was wrong with themThe Jap corpses lately looked skinnierAll these islands were supposed to be blockaded, not getting any supplies, but of course you could never depend on the Navy to tell the truth on thatWhy did he have to make these decisions? He lost track of the minutes listening to the rapt absorptive buzzing of the flies under the latrine boardsOne or two whipped against his naked flanks and he grunted with displeasureThey damn sure needed a new latrine He lifted himself, did a makeshift job with the sodden paper which had become drenched in the night's rainThere ought to be some better way of making a cover for it than to use a NoThe Major tried to think of some other way to keep the paper dryWhat a lazy day it was He got up and stopped off at officers' mess to get a can of iced beer"How're you doin', Major?" one of the cooks askedSomething was bothering him"Oh, yeah, listen, O'Brien, I been gettin' the GIs againYou keeping your pots clean?"
"You ought to know, Major
He grunted again, looked about under the tent at the empty wooden tables, the benches flanking themThe gray metal officers' dishes were already laid out"You oughtn't to make the setting too early," the Major said"It just lets the flies horse around on them
"Okay, do something about
