 section five of three soldiers this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by MB three soldiers by John Dos Passos section five four Yvonne tossed the omelette in the air it landed sizzling in the pan again and she came forward into the light holding the frying pan before her behind her was the dark stove and above it a row of copper kettles that gleamed through the bluish obscurity she flicked the omelette out of the pan into the white dish that stood in the middle of the table full in the yellow lamp light yeah she said brushing a few stray hairs off her forehead with the back of her hand your some cook said Fuseli getting to his feet he had been sprawling on a chair in the other end of the kitchen watching Yvonne slender body and tight black dress and blue apron move in and out of the area of light as she got dinner ready a smell of burnt butter with a faint tang of pepper in it filled the kitchen making his mouth water this is the real stuff he was saying to himself like home he stood with his hands deep in his pockets and his head thrown back watching her cut the bread holding the big loaf to her chest and pulling the knife towards her she brushed some crumbs off her dress with a thin white hand you're my girl Yvonne ain't ya she sully put his arms around her sal bet she said laughing and pushing him away there was a brisk step outside and another girl came into the kitchen a thin yellow-faced girl with a sharp nose and long teeth my cousin who tea American they both laughed if you selly blushed as he shook the girl's hand and then bar said Yvonne roughly me my petite it is charm on vote American they laughed again if you selly who did not understand laughed to thinking to himself they'll let the dinner get cold if they don't sit down soon get my mom down said Yvonne if you selly went into the shop through the room with the long oak table in the dim light that came from the kitchen he saw the old woman's white bonnet her face was in shadow but there was a faint gleam of light in her small beady eyes supper ma'am he shouted grumbling in her creaky little voice the old woman followed him back into the kitchen steam gilded by the lamp light rose in pillars to the ceiling from the big terrine of soup there was a white cloth on the table and a big loaf of bread at the end the plates with borders of little roses on them seemed after the army mess the most beautiful things if you selly had ever seen the wine bottle was black beside the soup terrine and the wine in the glasses cast a dark purple stain on the cloth she selly ate his soup silently understanding very little of the French that the two girls rattled at each other the old woman rarely spoke and when she did one of the girls would throw her a hasty remark that hardly interrupted their chatter few Sally was thinking of the other men lining up outside the dark mess shack and the sound the food made when it flopped into the mess kids an idea came to him he'd have to bring Sarge to see Yvonne they could set him up to a feed it would help me to stay in good with him yet a minute's worry about his corporal ship he was acting corporal right enough but he wanted them to send in his appointment the omelette melted in his mouth damn bone he said to Yvonne with a mouthful she looked at him fixedly boom boom he said again you damn boom she said and laughed the cousin was looking from one to the other envious Lee her upper lip lifted away from her teeth and a smile the old woman munched her bread in a silent preoccupied fashion there's somebody in the store said few Sally after a long pause joyer a he put his napkin down and went out wiping his mouth on the back of his hand Eisenstein and a chalky faced boy were in the shop hello you keep in house here asked Eisenstein sure said few Sally conceded Lee have you got any chocolate asked the chalky faced boy in a thin bloodless boys few Sally looked around the shelves and threw a cake of chocolate down on the counter anything else nothing thank you corporal how much is it whistling there's a long long trail of winding few Sally strode back into the inner room come be and chocolate he asked when he had received his money he sat down to this place at table again smiling importantly he must write Al about all this he was thinking and he was wondering vaguely whether Al had been drafted yet after dinner the women sat a long time chatting over their coffee while few Sally squirmed uneasily on his chair looking now and then at his watch his past was still 12 only was already getting on to 10 he tried to catch Yvonne's eye but she was moving about the kitchen putting things in order for the night and hardly seemed to notice him at last the old woman shuffled back into the shop and there was the sound of a key clicking hard in the outside door when she came back few Sally said good night to everyone and left by the back door into the court there he leaned sulkily against the wall and waited in the dark listening to the sounds that came from the house he could see shadows passing across the orange square of light the window through on the cobbles of the court a light went on in an upper window sending a faint glow over the disorderly tiles of the roof of the shed opposite the door opened and Yvonne and her cousin stood on the broad stone doorstep chattering few Sally had pushed himself in behind a big hog's head that had a pleasant tang of old wood damp with sour wine at last the heads of the shadows on the cobbles came together for a moment and the cousin clattered across the court and out into the empty streets her rapid footsteps died away Yvonne's shadow was still in the door Dan she said softly few Sally came out from behind the hog's head his whole body flushing with the light Yvonne pointed to his shoes he took them off and left them beside the door he looked at his watch it was a quarter to eleven yeah she said he followed her his knees trembling a little from excitement up the steep stairs the deep broken strokes of the town clock had just begun to strike midnight when few Sally hurried in the camp gate he gave up his past jauntily to the guard and strolled towards his barracks the long shed was pitch black full of a sound of deep breathing and of occasional snoring there was a thick smell of uniform wool on which the sweat had dried few Sally undressed without haste stretching his arms luxuriously he wriggled into his blankets feeling cool and tired and went to sleep with a smile of self-satisfaction on his lips the companies were lined up for retreat standing stiff as toy soldiers outside their barracks the evening was almost warm a little playful wind oozing with springtime played with the swollen buds on the plain trees the sky was a drowsy violet color and the blood pumped hot and stinging through the stiffened arms and legs of the soldiers who stood at attention the voices of the non-coms were particularly harsh and metallic this evening it was rumored that a general was about orders were shouted fury standing behind the line of his company if you sell his chest was stuck out until the buttons of his tunic were in danger of snapping off his shoes were well-shined and he wore a new pair of patease wound so tightly that his legs ached at last the bugle sounded across the silent camp parade rest shouted the lieutenant if you sell his mind was full of the army regulations which he had been studying assiduously for the last week he was thinking of an imaginary examination for the corporal ship which he would pass of course when the company was dismissed he went up familiarly to the top sergeant say Sarge doing anything this evening what the hell can a man do when he's broke said the top sergeant well you come down town with me I want to introduce you to somebody great say Sarge have they sent that appointment in yet no they haven't few Sally said the top sergeant it's all made out he added encouragingly they walked towards the town silently the evening was silvery violet the few windows in the old gray-green houses that were lighted Sean orange well I'm gonna get it ain't I a staff car shot by splashing them with mud leaving them a glimpse of officers leaning back in the deep cushions you sure are said the top sergeant in his good-natured voice they had reached the square they saluted stiffly as two officers brushed past them what's the regulations about a fellow Mary and a French girl broke out few Sally suddenly thinking of getting hitched up are you hell no few Sally was crimson I just sort of wanted to know permission of CO that's all I know they had stopped in front of the grocery shop if you sell a peered in through the window the shop was full of soldiers lounging against the corner and the walls in the midst of them you're merely knitting Sadie Vaughn let's go and have a drink and then come back said few Sally they went to the cafe where Marie of the White Arms presided few Sally paid for two hot rum punches you see it's this way Sarge he said confidentially I wrote all my folks at home I'd been made corporal and it'd be a hell of a note to be let down now the top sergeant was drinking his hot drink in little sips he smiled broadly and put his hand paternal fashion on few Sally's knee sure you didn't worry kid I've got you fixed up all right he said then he added jovially well let's go see that girl of yours they went out into the dark streets where the wind despite the smell of burnt gasoline and army camps had a faint suavity something like the smell of mushrooms the smell of spring Yvonne sat under the lamp in the shop her feet up on a box of canned peas yawning dismally behind her on the counter was the glass case full of yellow and greenish white cheeses above that shelves rose to the ceiling in the brownish obscurity of the shop where gleamed faintly large jars and small jars cans neatly placed in rose glass jars and vegetables in the corner near the glass curtain door that led to the inner room hung clusters of sausages large and small red yellow and speckled Yvonne jumped up when few Sally and the sergeant opened the door you are good she said je meuré de kafar they laughed you know what that mean kafar sure it is only since the war avant la guerre on the savais pas que c'était la kafar the war is no good funny ain't it said few Sally to the top sergeant a fella can't just figure out what the war is like don't you worry we'll all get there said the top sergeant knowingly this is the sergeant Yvonne said few Sally we wish you say said Yvonne smiling at the top sergeant they sat in the little room behind the shop and drank white wine and talked as best they could to Yvonne who very trim in her black dress and blue apron perched on the edge of her chair with her feet in tiny pumps pressed tightly together and glanced at now and then at the elaborate stripes on the top sergeant's arm few Sally strode familiarly into the grocery shop whistling and threw open the door to the inner room his whistling stopped in the middle of a bar hello he said in an annoyed voice hello corporal said Eisenstein Eisenstein his French soldier friend a lanky man with a scraggly black beard and burning eyes and Stockton the chalky faced boy were sitting at the table that filled up the room chatting intimately and gaily with Yvonne who leaned against the yellow wall beside the Frenchman and showed all her little pearly teeth in a laugh in the middle of the dark oak table was a pot of hyacinths and some glasses that had some wine in them the odor of the hyacinths hung in the air with a faint warm smell from the kitchen after a second's hesitation few Sally sat down to wait until the others should leave it was long after payday and his pockets were empty so he had nowhere else to go how are they treating you down in your outfit now asked Eisenstein of Stockton after a silence the same as ever said Stockton in his thin voice stuttering a little sometimes I wish I was dead hum said Eisenstein a curious expression of understanding on his flabby face will be civilians someday I won't said Stockton hell said Eisenstein you got to keep your upper lip stiff I thought I was going to die in that troopship coming over here and when I was little and came over with the emigrants from Poland I thought I was going to die a man can stand more than he thinks for I never thought I could stand being in the army being a slave like and all that and I'm still here no you'll live long and be successful yet he put his hand on Stockton's shoulder the boy winced and drew his chair away what for you do that I'm gonna hurt you said Eisenstein if you saw he looked at them both with a disgusted interest I'll tell you what you'd better do kid he said condescendingly you get transferred to our company today one bunch ain't it Eisenstein we've got a good loot and a good topkicker and a damn good bunch of fellas our top kicker was in here a few minutes ago said Eisenstein was he said fuseli where'd he go damned if I know if on and the French soldier were talking in low voices laughing a little now and then fuseli leaned back in his chair looking at them feeling out of things wishing despondently that he knew enough French to understand what they were saying he scraped his feet angrily back and forth on the floor his eyes lit on the white hyacinths they made him think of the florist's windows at home at Easter time and the noise and bustle of San Francisco's streets God I hate this rotten hole he muttered to himself he thought of maib he made a noise with his lips hell she was married by this time anyway Yvonne was the girl for him if only he could have Yvonne to himself far away somewhere away from the other man and that damn frog and her old mother he thought of himself going to the theater with Yvonne when he was a sergeant he would be able to afford that sort of thing he counted up the months it was March he read been in Europe five months and he was still only a corporal and not that yet he clenched his fists with impatience but once he got to be a non-com it will go faster he told himself reassuringly he leaned over and sniffed loudly at the hyacinths they smell good he said K. D. Z. Vu Yvonne Yvonne looked at him as if she had forgotten that he was in the room her eyes looked straight into his and she burst out laughing her glance and made him feel warm all over and he leaned back in his chair again looking at her slender body so neatly cased in its black dress and at her little head with its tightly done hair with a comfortable feeling of possession Yvonne come here he said beckoning with his head she looked from him to the Frenchman provocatively then she came over and stood behind him K. Vu Levu Fuseli glanced at Eisenstein he and Stockton were deep in excited conversation with the Frenchman again Fuseli heard that uncomfortable word that always made him angry he did not know why revolution Yvonne he said so that only she could hear what you say you and me get married marry a why to ah that's Yvonne in a puzzled voice we we she looked him in the eyes a moment and then threw back her head in a paroxysm of hysterical laughter Fuseli flushed scarlet got to his feet and strode out slamming the door behind him so that the glass rang he walked hurriedly back to camp splashed with mud by the long lines of gray motor trucks that were throbbing their way slowly through the main street each with the yellow eye that lit up faintly the tailboards of the truck ahead the barracks were dark and nearly empty he sat down at the sergeant's desk and began mootily turning over the pages of the little blue book of army regulations the moonlight glittered in the fountain at the end of the main square of the town it was a warm dark night of faint clouds through which the moon shone paley as through a thin silk canopy Fuseli stood by the fountain smoking a cigarette looking at the yellow windows of the cheval blanc at the other end of the square from which came a sound of voices and a billiard balls clinking he stood quiet letting the acrid cigarette smoke drift out through his nose his ears full of the silvery tinkle of the water in the fountain beside him there were little drifts of warm and chilly air in the breeze that blew fitfully from the west Fuseli was waiting he took out his watch now and then and strained his eyes to see the time but there was not light enough at last the deep broken note of the bell in the church spire struck once it must be half past ten he started walking slowly towards the street where a von's grocery shop was the faint glow of the moon lit up the gray houses with the shuttered windows and the tumultuous red roofs full of little dormers and skylights if you sully felt deliciously at ease with the world he could almost feel a von's body in his arms and he smiled as he remembered the little faces she used to make him he slunk past the shuttered windows of the shop and dove into the darkness under the arch that led to the court he walked cautiously on tiptoe keeping close to the moss covered wall for he heard voices in the court he peeped around the edge of the building and saw that there were several people in the kitchen door talking he drew his head back into the shadow but he had caught a glimpse of the dark round form of the hog's head beside the kitchen door if only he could get behind that as he usually did he would be hidden until the people went away keeping well in the shadow round the edge of the court he slipped to the other side and was just about to pop himself in behind the hog's head when he noticed that someone was there before him he caught his breath and stood still his heart thumping the figure turned and in the dark he recognized the top sergeant's round face keep quiet can't you whispered the top sergeant peevishly Fuseli stood still with his fists clenched the blood flamed through his head making his scalp tingle still the top sergeant was the top sergeant came to thought it would never do to get in wrong with him Fuseli's legs moved him automatically back into a corner of the court where he leaned against the damp wall glaring with smarting eyes at the two women who stood talking outside the kitchen door and at the dark shadow behind the hog's head at last after several smacking kisses the women went away in the kitchen door closed the bell in the church spire struck eleven slowly and mournfully when it had ceased striking Fuseli heard a discrete tapping and saw the shadow of the top sergeant against the door as he slipped in Fuseli heard the top sergeant's good-natured voice in a large stage whisper followed by a choked laugh from Ivan the door closed and the light was extinguished leaving the court in darkness except for a faint marbled glow in the sky Fuseli strode out making as much noise as he could with his heels on the cobblestones the streets of the town were silent under the pale moon in the square the fountain sounded loud and metallic he gave up his past to the guard and strode glumly towards the barracks at the door he met a man with a pack on his back hello Fuseli said a voice he knew is my old bunk still there damned if I know said Fuseli I thought they'd shipped you home the corporal who'd been on the Red Sox outfield broke into a fit of coughing hell no he said they kept me at that goddamn hospital till they saw I wasn't gonna die right away and then they told me to come back to my outfit so here I am did they bust you said Fuseli with sudden eagerness hell no why should they they ain't gone and got a new corporal have they no not exactly said Fuseli five Meadville stood near the camp gate watching the motor trucks go by on the main road gray lumbering and mud covered they throbbed by sloughing in and out of the mud holes in the warren road and an endless train stretching as far as he could see into the town and as far as he could see up the road he stood with his legs far apart and spat into the center of the road then he turned to the corporal who'd been in the Red Sox outfield and said I'll be goddamned if there ain't something doing a hell of a lot doing said the corporal shaking his head seen that guy Daniels who's been to the front no well he says hells broke loose hells broke loose what's happened by gory we may see some active service said Meadville grinning by God I'd give the best cold on my ranch to see some action got a ranch that's the corporal the motor trucks kept on grinding past monotonously their drivers were so splashed with mud it was hard to see what uniform they wore what do you think cast Meadville think I keep store if you sully walked past them towards the town say if you sully said Meadville corporal says hells broke loose out there we may smell gun powder yet if you sully stopped and joined them I guess poor old Bill Gray's smelt plenty of gunpowder by this time he said I wish I'd gone with him said Meadville I'll try that little trick myself now the good weather's come on if we don't get a move on soon too damn risky listen to the kid it'll be too damn risky in the trenches or do you think you're gonna get a cushy job in camp here hell no I want to go to the front I don't want to stay in this hole well but ain't no good throwing yourself in where it don't do no good a guy wants to get on in this army if he can what's the good getting on said the corporal won't get home a bit sooner hell but you're a non-com another trade of motor trucks went by drowning their talk if you sell he was packing medical supplies in a box in a great brownish warehouse full of packing cases where a little son filtered in through the dusty air at the corrugated sliding tin doors as he worked he listened to Daniels talking to Meadville who worked beside him and the gas is the goddamn this stuff I ever heard of he was saying I've seen fellas with their arms swelled up to twice the size like blisters from it mustard gas they call it what did you get to go to the hospital said Meadville only pneumonia said Daniels but I had a buddy with split right in half by a piece of shell he was standing as near me as you are and he was whistling tipperary under his breath when all at once there is a big spurt of blood and there he was with his chest split in half and his head hanging the thread like Meadville moved his quid of tobacco from one cheek to the other and spat on to the sawdust of the floor the men within earshot stopped working and looked admiringly at Daniels what do you reckon's going on at the front now said Meadville damned if I know the goddamn hospital at Orléans was so full up there was guys in stretchers waiting all day on the pavement outside I know that fellas theirs that held broke loose for fair looks to me like the Fritzies was advancing Meadville looked at him incredulously those skunks said Fuseli why they can't advance they're starving to death the hell they are said Daniels I guess you believe everything you see in the papers eyes looked at Daniels indignantly they all went on working in silence suddenly the lieutenant looking strangely flustered strode into the warehouse leaving the tin door open behind him can anyone tell me where Sergeant Osler is he was here a few minutes ago spoke up Fuseli well where is he now snapped the lieutenant angrily I don't know sir mumbled Fuseli flushing go and see if you can find him Fuseli went off to the other end of the warehouse outside the door he stopped and bit off a cigarette in allegedly passion his blood boiled sullenly how the hell should he know where the top sergeant was they didn't expect him to be a mind reader did they and all the flood of bitterness that had been collecting in his spirit seized to the surface they had not treated him right he felt full of hopeless anger against this vast treadmill to which he was bound the endless succession of the days all alike all subject to orders to the interminable monotony of drills and line-ups passed before his mind he felt he couldn't go on yet he knew that he must and would go on that there was no stopping that his feet would go on beating in time to the steps of the treadmill he caught sight of the sergeant coming towards the warehouse across the new green grass scarred by the marks of truck wheels Sarge he called then he went up to him mysteriously the loot wants to see you at once in warehouse B he slouched back to his work arriving just in time here the lieutenant saying a severe voice to the sergeant sergeant do you know how to draw up court martial papers yes sir said the sergeant a look of surprise on his face he followed the precise steps of the lieutenant out of the door if you sell he had a moment of panic terror during which he went on working methodically although his hands trembled he was searching his memory for some infringement of a regulation that might be charged against him the terror passed as fast as it had come of course he had no reason to fear he laughed softly to himself what a fool he'd been to get scared like that and his summary court martial couldn't do much to you anyway he went on working as fast and carefully as he could through the long monotonous afternoon that night nearly the whole company gathered in a group at the end of the barracks both sergeants were away the corporal said he knew nothing and got suckling into bed where he lay rolled in these blankets shaken by fit after fit of coughing at last someone said I bet that kike Eisensteins turned out to be a spy I bet he has to he's foreign born any born in Poland or some goddamn place you always did talk queer I always thought said if you selly he'd get into trouble talking the way he did howdy talk asked Daniels oh he said that war was wrong and all that goddamn pro-german stuff do you know what they did out at the front said Daniels in the second division they made two fellas dig out their own graves and then shot him for saying the war was wrong hell they did your goddamn right they did I tell you fellas that don't do to monkey with the buzz saw in this army for God's sake shut up taps is blown meedville turn the lights out said the corporal angrily the barracks was dark full of a sound of men undressing in their bunks and of whispered talk the company was lined up for morning mess the Sun that had just risen was shining in Rosalie through the soft clouds of the sky the sparrows kept up a great clattering in the avenue of plain trees their riot is chirping could be heard above the sound of motors starting that came from a shed opposite mess shack the sergeant appeared suddenly walking past with his shoulders stiff so that everyone knew at once that something important was going on attention man a minute he said mess kits clattered as the men turned round after mess I want you to go immediately to barracks and roll your packs after that every man must stand by his pack until orders come the company cheered and mess kits clattered together like symbols as you were shouted the top sergeant jovially gluey oatmeal and greasy bacon were hurriedly bolted down and every man in the company his heart pounding ran to the barracks to do up his pack feeling proud under the envious eyes of the company at the other end of the shack that had received no orders when the packs were done up they sat on the empty bunks and rubbed their feet against the wooden partitions waiting I don't suppose we'll leave here till hell freezes over said meadville who is doing up the last strap on his pack it's always like this you break your neck to obey orders and outside shouted the sergeant poking his head in the door fall in attention the lieutenant in his trench coat and in a new pair of roll paties stood facing the company looking solemn men he said biting off his words as a man bites through a piece of hard stick candy one of your number is up for court martial for possibly disloyal statements found in the letter addressed to friends at home I have been extremely grieved to fight anything of this sort in any company of mine I don't believe there is another man in the company low enough to hold entertain such ideas every man in the company stuck out his chest vowing inwardly to entertain no ideas at all rather than run the risk of calling for such disapproval from the lieutenant the lieutenant paused all I can say is if there's any such man in the company he had better keep his mouth shut and be pretty damn careful what he writes home dismissed he shouted the order grimly as if it were the order for the execution of the offender that goddamn skunk Eisenstein said someone the lieutenant heard it as he walked away oh sergeant he said familiarly I think the others have got the right stuff in them the company went into the barracks and waited the sergeant major's office was full of a clicking of typewriters and was overheated by a black stove that stood in the middle of the floor letting out occasional little puffs of smoke may crack in the stove pipe the sergeant major was a small man with a fresh boyish face and a drolling voice who lulled behind a large typewriter reading a magazine that lay on his lap few selly stepped in behind the typewriter and stood with his cap in his hand beside the sergeant major's chair well what do you want as the sergeant major roughly a fellow told me sergeant major that he was looking for a man with optical experience few selly's voice was velvety well I worked three years in an optical goods store at home in Frisco what's your name rank company Daniel few selly private first-class company see medical supply warehouse all right I'll attend to it but sergeant all right out with what you've got to say quick the sergeant major fingered the leaves of his magazine impatiently my company's all packed up to go the transfer will have to be today sergeant why the hell didn't you come in earlier Stevens make out a transfer to headquarters company and get the major to sign it when he goes through that's the way it always is he cried leaning back tragically in his swivel chair everybody always puts everything off on me at the last minute thank you sir said few selly smiling the sergeant major ran his hand through his hair and took up his magazine again peevishly few selly hurried back to barracks where he found the company still waiting several men were crouched in a circle playing crabs the rest lounged in their bare bunks or fiddled with their packs outside it had begun to rain softly and a smell of wet sprouting earth came in through the open door few selly sat on the floor beside his bunk throwing his knife down so that it stuck in the boards between his knees he was whistling softly to himself the day dragged on several times he heard the town clock striking the distance at last the top sergeant came in shaking the water off his slicker a serious important expression on his face inspection of medical belts he shouted everyone opened up their belt and laid on the floor at the foot of their bunk and standard attention on the left side the lieutenant and a major appeared suddenly at one end of the barracks and came through slowly pulling the little packets out of the belts the men looked at them out of the corners of their eyes as they examined the belts they chatted easily as if they had been alone yes said the major weren't for this time that damn defensive well we'll be able to show them what we're good for said the lieutenant laughing we haven't had a chance yet huh better mark that belt lieutenant and have it changed been onto the front yet no sir hmm well you'll look at things differently when you have said the major the lieutenant frowned well on the whole lieutenant your outfit is in very good shape at ease men the lieutenant and the major stood the door a moment raising the collars of their coats then they drove out into the rain a few minutes later the sergeant came in all right get your slickers on and line up they stood lined up in the rain for a long while it was a lead in afternoon the even clouds had a faint coppery tinge the rain beat on their faces making them tingle if you sell he was looking anxiously at the sergeant at last the lieutenant appeared attention cried the sergeant the role was called and a new man fell in at the end of the line a toll man with large protruding eyes like a calf's private first-class Daniel few selly fallout and report to headquarters company few selly saw a look of surprise come over men's faces he smiled wonly at meadville sergeant take the man down to the station squads right cried the sergeant March the company tramped off into the streaming rain few selly went back to the barracks took off his pack and slicker and wiped the water off his face the rails gleamed gold in the early morning sunshine above the deep purple cinders of the track few selly's eyes followed the track until it curved into a cutting where the wet clay was a bright orange in the clear light the station platform where puddles from the night's rain glittered as the wind ruffled them was empty few selly started walking up and down with his hands in his pockets he had been sent down to unload some supplies that were coming on that morning's train he felt free and successful since he joined the headquarters company at last he told himself he had a job where he could show what he was good for he walked up and down whistling shrilly a train pulled slowly into the station the engine stopped to take water and the couplings clanked all down the line of cars the platform was suddenly full of men and cocky stamping their feet running up and down shouting where are you guys going asked few selly we're bound for Palm Beach don't we look at someone snarled in reply but few selly had seen a familiar face he was shaking hands with two browned men whose faces were grimy with days of traveling in freight cars hello chrisfield hello Andrews he cried when did you fellows get over here about four months ago said chrisfield whose black eyes looked at few selly searchingly oh I remember you your few selly we was at training camp together remember him Andy sure said Andrews how you make it out fine said few selly I'm in the optical department here what else that right here few selly pointed vaguely behind the station we've been training for about four months near Bordeaux said Andrews and now we're going to see what it's like the whistle blew and the engine started puffing hard clouds of white steam filled the station platform where the soldiers scampered for their cars good luck said few selly but Andrews and chrisfield had already gone he saw them again as the train pulled out two brown and dirt grime faces among many other brown and dirt grind faces the steam floated up tinged with yellow in the bright early morning air as the last car of the train disappeared round the curve into the cutting the dust rose thickly about the worn broom as it was a dark morning very little light filtered into the room full of great white packing cases where few selly was sweeping he stopped now and then and leaned on his broom far away you heard a sound of trains shunting and shouts in the sound of feet tramping in unison from the drill ground the building where he was was silent he went on sweeping thinking of his company tramping off through the streaming rain and of those fellows he had known in training camp in America Andrews and chrisfield jolting in box cars towards the front where Daniel's buddy had had his chest split in half by a piece of shell and he'd written home he'd been made a corporal what was he going to do when letters came for him addressed corporal Dan few selly putting the broom away he dusted the yellow chair and the table covered with order slips that stood in the middle of the piles of packing boxes the door slammed somewhere below and there was a step on the stairs that led to the upper part of the warehouse a little man with a monkey like grayish brown face and spectacles appeared and slipped out of his overcoat like a very small bean popping out of a very large pod the sergeants stripes looked unusually wide and conspicuous on his thin arm he grunted at few selly sat down at his desk and began at once peering among the order slips anything in our mailbox this morning he asked few selly in a hoarse voice it's all there sergeant said few selly the sergeant peered about the desk some more you have to wash that window today he said after a pause major's likely to come round here anytime ought to have done yesterday all right said few selly dully he slouched over to the corner of the room got the worn broom and began sweeping down the stairs the dust rose about him making him cough he stopped and leaned on the broom he thought of all the days that had gone by since he'd last seen those fellows andrews and chrisfield at training camp in america and of all the days that would go by he started sweeping again sweeping the dust down from stair to stair few selly sat on the end of his bunk he had just shaved it was a sunday morning and he looked forward to having the afternoon off he rubbed his face on his towel and got to his feet outside the rain fell in great silvery sheets so that the noise on the tar paper roof of the barracks was almost deafening few selly noticed at the other end of the row of bunks a group of men who all seem to be looking at the same thing rolling down his sleeves with his tunic hitched over one arm he walked down to see what was the matter through the patter of the rain he heard a thin voice say it ain't no use sergeant i'm sick i ain't a go to get up the kids crazy someone beside few selly said turning away you get up this minute rode the sergeant he was a big man with black hair who looked like a lumberman he stood over the bunk in the bunk at the end of a bundle of blankets was the chalk white face of stockton the boys teeth were clenched and his eyes were round and protruding it seemed from terror you get out of bed this minute rode the sergeant again the boy was silent his white cheeks quivered what the hell's the matter with him why don't you yank about yourself serge you get out of bed this minute shouted the sergeant again paying no attention the men gathered about walked away few selly watched fascinated from a little distance all right then i'll get the lieutenant this is a court martial offense here morton and morrison your guards over this man the boy lay still in his blankets he closed his eyes by the way the blanket rose and fell over his chest they could see that he was breathing heavily say stockton why don't you get up you fool said few selly you can't buck the whole army the boy didn't answer few selly walked away he's crazy he muttered the lieutenant was a stoutish red-faced man who came in puffing followed by the tall sergeant he stopped and shook the water off his campaign hat the rain kept up its deafening patter on the roof look here are you sick if you are report sick call it once said the lieutenant in an elaborately kind voice the boy looked at him dully and did not answer you should get up and stand at attention when an officer speaks to you i ain't going to get up became the thin voice the officer's red face became crimson sergeant what's the matter with the man he asked in a furious tone i can't do anything with him lieutenant i think he's gone crazy rubbish mere insubordination you're under arrest do you hear he shouted towards the bed there was no answer the rain pattered hard on the roof have him brought down to the guard house by force if necessary snapped the lieutenant he strode towards the door and sergeant start drawing up court martial papers at once the door slammed behind him now you've got to get him up said the sergeant to the two guards if you sell he walked away ain't some people damn fools he said to a man at the other end of the barracks he stood looking out of the window at the bright sheets of rain well get him up shouted the sergeant the boy lay with his eyes closed his chalk white face half hidden by the blankets he was very still well will you get up and go to the guard house or have we to carry you there shouted the sergeant the guards laid hold of him gingerly and pulled him up to a sitting posture all right yank him out of bed the frail form in cocky shirt and whitish drawers was held up for a moment between the two men then it fell a limp heap on the floor say sargeez fainted the hell he has say morris and ask one of the orderlies to come up from the infirmary he ain't fainted the kid's dead said the other man give me a hand the sergeant helped lift the body on the bed again well i'll be god damned said the sergeant the eyes had opened they covered the head with a blanket end of section five section six of three soldiers this libra vox recording is in the public domain recording by mb three soldiers by john dos passos section six part three machines one the fields and the misty blue green woods slipped by slowly as the boxcar rumbled and jolted over the rails now stopping for hours on sidings amid meadows where it was quiet and where above the babble of voices of the regiment you could hear the sky logs now clattering fast over bridges and along the banks of jade green rivers where the slim poplars were just coming into leaf and where now and then the fish jumped the men crowded in the door grimy and tired leaning on each other's shoulders and watching the plowed lands slipped by and the meadows where the golden green grass was dappled with buttercups and the villages of huddled red roofs lost among pale budding trees and masses of peach blossom through the smells of steam and cold smoke and of unwashed bodies in uniforms came smells of moist fields and of manure from fresh sowed patches and of cows and pasturelands just coming into flower must be right smarter crabs in this country ain't like that damn pollin yak andy said chrisfield well they made us drill so hard there wasn't any time for the grass to grow your damn right there weren't i'd like to live in this country a while said chrisfield we might ask him to let us off right here can't be that the fronts like this said judkins poking his head out between andrews's and chrisfield's heads so that the bristles of his unshaven chin rubbed against chrisfield's cheek it was a large square head with closely cropped light hair and porcelain blue eyes under lids that showed white in the red sunburned face and a square jaw made a little gray by the sprouting beard say andy how the hell long have we all been on this goddamn train i've done lost track of the time what's the matter you getting old chris asked judkins laughing chrisfield had slipped out of the place he held and began poking himself in between andrews and judkins we've been on this train four days and five nights and we've got half a day's rations left so we must be getting somewhere said andrews it can't be like this at the front it must be spring there as well as here said andrews it was a day of fluffy mauve tinted clouds that moved across the sky sometimes darkening to deep blue where a small rainstorm trailed across the hills sometimes brightening to moments of clear sunlight that gave blue shadows to the poplars and shone yellow on the smoke of the engine that puffed on painfully at the head of the long train funny ain't it how little everything is out indiana way we wouldn't look at a cornfield that size but it sort of reminds me the way it used to be out home in the spring of the year i'd like to see indiana in the springtime said andrews well you'll come out when the war is over and our skies is all home won't you andy you bet i will they were going into the suburbs of a town rows and clusters of little brick and stucco houses were appearing along the roads it began to rain from a sky full of lights of amber and lilac color the slate roofs and the pinkish gray streets of the town shone cheerfully in the rain the little patches of garden were all vivid emerald green they were looking at rows and rows of red chimney pots over wet slate roofs that reflected the bright sky in the distance rose the purple gray spire of a church and the irregular forms of old buildings they passed through a station tijon great andrews on the platform were french soldiers in their blue coats and a good sprinkling of civilians gee these are about the first real civvies i've seen since i came overseas said judkins those goddamn country people down at poland yak didn't look like real civilians they spoke stressed like it was new york they had left the station and were rumbling slowly past interminable freight trains at last the train came to a dead stop a whistle sounded don't nobody get out shouted the sergeant from the car ahead hail they keep you in this goddamn car like you was a convict muttered chrisfield i'd like to get out and walk around tijon oh boy i swear i'd make a beeline for a dairy lunch said judkins hell of a fine dairy lunch you'll find among these goddamn frogs no vin blank is all you'd get in that goddamn town i'm going to sleep said chrisfield he stretched himself out on the pile of equipment at the end of the car andrews sat down near him and stared at his mud cake boots running one of his long hands as brown as chrisfield's now through his light shortcut hair chrisfield lay looking at the gaunt outline of andrews' face against the light through half closed eyes and he felt a warm sort of smile inside him as he said to himself he's a damn good kid then he thought of the spring in the hills of southern indiana and the mockingbird singing in the moonlight among the flowering locust trees behind the house he could almost smell the heavy sweetness of the locust blooms as he used to smell them sitting on the steps after supper tired from a day's heavy plowing while the clatter of his mother's housework came from the kitchen he didn't wish he was back there but it was pleasant to think of it now and then and how the yellow farmhouse looked and the red barn where his father never had been able to find time to paint the door and the tumbledown cow shed where the shingles were always coming off he wondered dully what it would be like out there at the front it couldn't be green and pleasant the way the country was here fellas always said it was hell out there well he didn't give a damn he went to sleep he woke up gradually the warm comfort of sleep giving place slowly to the stiffness of his uncomfortable position with the hobnails of a boot from the back of a pack sticking into his shoulder andrews was sitting in the same position lost in thought the rest of the men sat at the open doors or sprawled over the equipment chrisfield got up stretched himself yawned and went to the door to look out there was a heavy important step on the gravel outside a large man with black eyebrows that met over his nose and a very black stubbly beard passed the car there were a sergeant stripes on his arm say andy cried chrisfield that bastard is a sergeant who's that? asked andrews getting up with a smile his blue eyes looking mildly into chrisfield's black ones you know who i mean under their heavy tan chrisfield's rounded cheeks were flushed his eyes snapped under their long black lashes his fists were clutched oh i know chris i didn't know he was in this regiment god damn him muttered chrisfield in a low voice throwing himself down on his packs again hold your horses chris said andrews we may all cash in our checks before long no use letting things worry us i don't give a damn if we do nor do i now andrews sat down beside chrisfield again after a while the train got jerkily into motion the wheels rumbled and clattered over the rails and the clots of mud bounced up and down on the splintered boards of the floor chrisfield pillowed his head on his arm and went to sleep again still smarting from the flush of his anger andrews looked out through his fingers at the swaying black boxcar at the men sprawled about on the floor their heads nodding with each jolt and at the mauve gray clouds and the bits of sparkling blue sky that he could see behind the silhouettes of the heads and shoulders of the men who stood in the doors the wheels ground on endlessly the car stopped with a jerk that woke up all the sleepers and threw one man off his feet a whistle blew shrilly outside all right out of the cars snap it up snap it up yelled the sergeant the men piled out stiffly handing the equipment out from hand to hand till it formed a confused heap of packs and rifles outside all down the train at each door there was a confused pile of equipment and struggling men snap it up full equipment line up the sergeant yelled the men fell into line slowly with their packs and rifles lieutenants hovered about the edges of the forming lines tightly belted into their stiff trench coats scrambling up and down the coal piles of the siding the men were given at ease and stood leaning on their rifles staring at a green water tank on three wooden legs over the top of which had been thrown a huge piece of torn gray cheesecloth when the confused sound of tramping feet subsided they could hear a noise in the distance like someone lazily shaking a piece of heavy sheet iron the sky was full of little dabs of red purple and yellow and the purplish sunset light was over everything the order came to march they marched down a rutted road where the puddles were so deep they had continually to break ranks to avoid them in a little pinewood on one side were rows of heavy motor trucks and ammunition casins supper was cooking in a field kitchen about which clustered the truck drivers in their wide visored caps beyond the wood the column turned off into a field behind a little group of stone and stucco houses that had lost their roofs in the field they halted the grass was brilliant emerald and the wood and the distant hills were shades of clear deep blue wisps of pale blue mist lay across the field in the turf here and there were small clean bites that might have been made by some strange animal the men looked at them curiously no lights remember were in sight of the enemy a match might annihilate the detachment announced the lieutenant dramatically after having given the orders for the pup tents to be set up when the tents were ready the men stood about in the chili white mist that kept growing denser eating their cold rations everywhere were grumbling snorting voices god let's turn in chris before our bones are frozen said andrews guards had been posted and walked up and down with a business like stride peering now and then suspiciously into the little wood where the truck drivers were chrisfield and andrews crawled into their little tent and rolled up together in their blankets getting as close to each other as they could at first it was very cold and hard and they squirmed about restlessly but gradually the warmth from their bodies filled their thin blankets and their muscles began to relax andrews went to sleep first and chrisfield lay listening to his deep breathing there was a frown on his face he was thinking of the man who had walked past the train at dijon the last time he had seen that man anderson was at training camp he'd only been a corporal then he remembered the day the man had been made corporal it had not been long before that that chrisfield had drawn his knife on him one night in the barracks a fellow had caught his hand just in time anderson had looked a bit pale that time and walked away but he'd never spoken a word to chrisfield since as he lay with his eyes closed pressed close against andrews' limp sleeping body chrisfield could see the man's face the eyebrows that joined across the nose and the jaw always blackish from the heavy beard that looked blue when he had just shaved at last the tenseness of his mind slackened he thought of women for a moment of a fair haired girl he'd seen from the tram and then suddenly crushing sleepiness closed down on him and everything went softly warmly black as he drifted off to sleep with no sense but the coldness of one side and the warmth of his monkey's body on the other in the middle of the night he awoke and crawled out of the tent andrews followed him their teeth chattered a little and they stretched their legs stiffly it was cold but the mist had vanished the stars shone brilliantly they walked out a little way into the field away from the bunch of tents to make water a faint rustling and breathing noise as of animals herded together came from the sleeping regiment somewhere a brook made a shrill gurgling they strained their ears but they could hear no guns they stood side by side looking up at the multitudes of stars that's orion said andrews what that bunch of stars there is called orion do you see him it's supposed to look like a man with a bow but he always looks to me like a fellow striding across the sky some stars tonight ain't there gee what's that behind the dark hills a glow rose and fell like the glow in a forge the front must be that way said andrews shivering i guess we'll know tomorrow yes tomorrow night we'll know more about it said andrews they stood silent a moment listening to the noise the brook made god it's quiet ain't it that can't be the front smell that what is it smells like an apple tree in bloom somewhere hell let's get in before our blankets get cold andrews was still staring at the group of stars he had said was orion christfield pulled him by the arm they crawled into their tent again rolled up together and immediately were crushed under an exhausted sleep as far ahead of him as christfield could see were packs and heads with caps at a variety of angles all bobbing up and down with the swing of the brisk marching time a fine warm rain was falling mingling with the sweat that ran down his face the column had been marching a long time along a straight road that was worn and scarred with heavy traffic fields and hedges where clusters of yellow flowers were in bloom had given place to an avenue of poplars the light wet trunks and the stiff branches hazy with green filed by interminable as interminable as the confused tramp of feet in jingle of equipment that sounded in his ears say are we going towards the front god damned if i know ain't no front within miles men's sentences came shortly through their heavy breathing the column shifted over to the side of the road to avoid a train of motor trucks going the other way christfield felt the heavy muds burnt up over him as truck after truck rumbled by with the wet back of one hand he tried to wipe it off his face but the grit when he rubbed it hurt his skin made tender by the rain he swore long and whiningly half allowed his rifle felt as heavy as an iron girder they entered a village of plaster and timber houses through open doors they could see into comfortable kitchens where copper pots gleamed and where the floors were of clean red tiles in front of some of the houses were little gardens full of crocuses and hyacinths where box bushes shone a very dark green in the rain they marched through the square with its pavement of little yellow rounded cobbles its gray church with a pointed arch in the door its cafes with names painted over them men and women looked out of doors and windows the column perceptibly slackened its speed but kept on and as the houses dwindled and became farther apart along the road the men's hope of stopping vanished ears were deafened by the confused tramp of feet on the macadam road men's feet seemed as led as if all the weight of the pack hung on them shoulders worn callous began to grow tender and sore under the constant sweating heads drooped each man's eyes were on the heels of the man ahead of him that rose and fell rose and fell endlessly marching became for each man a personal struggle with his pack that seemed to have come alive that seemed something malicious and overpowering wrestling to throw him the rain stopped and the sky brightened a little taking on pale yellowish lights as if the clouds that hid the sun were growing thin the column halted at the edge of a group of farms and barns that scattered along the road the men sprawled in all directions along the roadside hiding the bright green grass with the mud color of their uniforms frisk field lay in the field beside the road pressing his hot face into the wet sprouting clover the blood throb through his ears his arms and legs seemed to cleave to the ground as if he would never be able to move them again he closed his eyes gradually a cold chill began stealing through his body he sat up and slipped his arms out of the harness of his pack someone was handing him a cigarette and he sniffed a little acrid sweet smoke andrews was lying beside him his head propped against his pack smoking and poking a cigarette towards his friend with a muddy hand his blue eyes looked strangely from out the flaming red of his mud splotched face chrisfield took the cigarette and fumbled in his pocket for a match that nearly did it for me said andrews chrisfield grunted he pulled greedily on the cigarette a whistle blew slowly the men dragged themselves off the ground and fell into line drooping under the weight of their equipment the companies marched off separately chrisfield overheard the lieutenant saying to a sergeant damn fool business that why the hell couldn't they have sent us here in the first place so we ain't going to the front after all said the sergeant front hell said the lieutenant the lieutenant was a small man who looked like a jockey with a coarse red face which now that he was angry was almost purple i guess they're gonna quarter us here said somebody immediately everybody began saying we're going to be quartered here they stood waiting in formation a long while the packs cutting into their backs and shoulders at last the sergeant shouted out all right take your stuff upstairs stumbling on each other's heels they climbed up into a dark loft where the air was heavy with the smell of hay and with an acridity of cow manure from the stables below there was a little straw in the corners on which those who got there first spread their blankets chrisfield and andrews tucked themselves in a corner from which through a hole where the tiles had fallen off the roof they could see down into the barnyard where white and speckled chickens pecked about with jerky movements a middle-aged woman stood in the doorway of the house looking suspiciously at the files of khaki clad soldiers that shuffled slowly into the barns by every door an officer went up to her a little red book in his hand a conversation about some matter proceeded painfully the officer grew very red andrews threw back his head and laughed luxuriously rolling from side to side in the straw chrisfield laughed too he hardly knew why over their heads they could hear the feet of pigeons on the roof and a constant drowsy ru-ku-ku-ku through the barnyard smells began to drift the greasiness of food cooking in the field kitchen i hope they give us something good to eat said chrisfield i'm hungry as a thrasher so am i said andrews say andy you can talk their language a little can't you andrews nodded his head vaguely well maybe we can get some eggs or something out of the lady there will you try after mess all right they both lay back in the straw and closed their eyes their cheeks still burned from the rain everything seemed very peaceful the men sprawled about talking in low drowsy voices outside another shower had come up and beat softly on the tiles of the roof chrisfield thought he'd never been so comfortable in his life although his soaked shoes pinched his cold feet and his knees were wet and cold but in the drowsiness of the rain and of voices talking quietly about him he fell asleep he dreamed he was at home in indiana but instead of his mother cooking at the stove in the kitchen there was the french woman who had stood in the farmhouse door and near her stood a lieutenant with a little red book in his hand he was eating cornbread and syrup off a broken plate it was fine cornbread with a great deal of crust on it crisp and hot on which the butter was cold and sweet to his tongue suddenly he stopped eating and started swearing shouting at the top of his lungs you goddamn he started but he couldn't seem to think of anything more to say you goddamn he started again the lieutenant looked towards him wrinkling his black eyebrows that went across his nose he was sergeant anderson chris drew his knife and ran at him but it was andy his monkey he had run his knife into he threw his arms around andy's body crying hot tears he woke up mess kids were clinking all about the dark crowded loft the men had already started piling down the stairs the larks filled the wine-tinged air with a constant chiming of little bells chris field and andries were strolling across a field of white clover that covered the brow of a hill below in the valley they could see a cluster of red roofs of farms and the white ribbon of the road where long trains of motor trucks crawled like beetles the sun had just set below the blue hills on the other side of the shallow valley the air was full of the smell of clover and of hawthorn from the hedgerows they took deep breaths as they crossed the field it's great to get away from that crowd andries was saying chris field walked on silently dragging his feet through the matted clover a leadened dullness weighed like some sort of warm choking coverlet on his limbs so that it seemed an effort to walk an effort to speak yet under it his muscles were taut and trembling as he had known them to be before when he was about to get into a fight or make love to a girl why the hell didn't they let us get into it he said suddenly yes anything will be better than this wait wait wait they walked on hearing the constant chirrup of the larks the brush of their feet for the clover the faint jingle of some coins in chrisfield's pocket and in the distance the irregular snoring of an aeroplane motor as they walked andries leaned over from time to time and picked a couple of the white clover flowers the aeroplane came suddenly nearer and swooped in a wide curve above the field drowning every sound with the roar of its exhaust they made out the figures of the pilot and the observer before the plane rose again and vanished against the ragged purple clouds of the sky the observer had waved a hand at them as he passed they stood still in the darkening field staring up at the sky where a few larks still hung chirping i'd like to be one of them guys said chrisfield you would god damn it i'd do anything to get out of this hellish infantry this ain't no sort of a life for a man to be treated like he was a nigger no it's no sort of life for a man if they'd let us get to the front and do some fighting and be done with it but all we do is drill and have grenade practice and drill again and then have bayonet practice and drill again enough to drive a fellow crazy what the hell's the user talking about it chris we can't be any lower than we are can we andrew's laughed there's that plane again where there just going down behind the piece of woods that's where their field is i bet them guys has a good time i put in an application back in training camp for aviation ain't never heard nothing from though if i had i wouldn't be lower than dirt in this hog pen it's wonderful up here on the hill this evening said andrew is looking dreamily at the pale orange band of light where the sun had set let's go down and get a bottle of wine now you're talking i wonder if that girl's down there tonight antoinette um hmm boy i'd like to have her by myself some night their steps grew brisker as they strode along a grass-grown road that led through high head throws to a village under the brow of the hill it was almost dark under the shadow of the bushes on either side overhead the purple clouds were washed over by a pale yellow light that gradually faded to gray birds chirped and rustled among the young leaves andrew's put his hand on chrisfield's shoulder let's walk slow he said we don't want to get out of here too soon he grabbed carelessly at a little cluster of hawthorne flowers as he passed them and seemed reluctant to untangle the thorny branches that caught in his coat and on his loosely wound petees hell man said chrisfield we won't have time to get a belly full it must be getting late already they hastened their steps again and came in a moment to the first tightly shuttered houses of village in the middle of the road was an mp who stood with his legs wide apart waving his billy languidly he had a red face his eyes were fixed on the shuttered upper window of a house through the chinks of which came a few streaks of yellow light his lips were puckered as if to whistle but no sound came he swayed back and forth indecisively an officer came suddenly out of the little green door of the house in front of the mp who brought his heels together with a jump and salute holding his hand a long while through his cap the officer flicked a hand up hastily to his hat snatching his cigar out of his mouth for an instant as the officer's steps grew fainter down the road the mp gradually returned to his former position chrisfield and andrews had slipped by on the other side and gone in at the door of a small ramshackle house of which the windows were closed by heavy wooden shutters i bet there ain't many of them bastards at the front said chris not many of either kind of bastards said andrews laughing as he closed the door behind them they were in a room that had once been the parlor of a farmhouse the chandelier with its bits of crystal and the orange blossoms on a dusty piece of red velvet under a bell glass on the mantelpiece denoted that the furniture had been taken out and four square oak tables crowded in at one of the tables sat three americans and at another a very young olive skinned french soldier who sat hunched over his table looking moodily down into his glass of wine a girl in a faded frock of some purplish material that showed the strong curves of her shoulders and breasts slouched into the room her hands in the pocket of a dark blue apron against which her rounded forearms showed golden brown her face had the same golden tan under a massive dark blonde hair she smiled when she saw the two soldiers drawing her thin lips away from her ugly yellow teeth sa va bien entoinette? asked andrews oui she said looking beyond their heads at the french soldier who sat at the other side of the little room a bottle of van rouge v said chris field you needn't be so damned v about it tonight chris said one of the men at the other table why ain't it gonna be no roll call corporal told me his self sarge has gone out to get stewed in the loots away sure said another man we can stay out as late as we goddamn please tonight there's a new amp in town said chris field i saw myself didn't you too didn't you too andrews nodded he was looking at the frenchman who sat with his face in shadow and his black lashes covering his eyes a purplish flush had suffused the olive skin and his cheekbones oh boy said chris field that'll wine sure to go down fast say entoinette got any cognac i'm gonna have some more wine said andrews go ahead andy have all you want i want something to warm my guts entoinette brought a bottle of cognac and two small glasses and sat down in an empty chair with her red hands crossed on her apron her eyes moved from chris field to the frenchman and back again chris field turned a little round in his chair and looked at the frenchman feeling in his eyes for a moment a glance of the man's yellowish brown eyes andrews leaned back against the wall sipping his dark colored wine his eyes contracted dreamily fixed on the shadows of the chandelier which the cheap oil lamp with its tin reflector cast on the peeling plaster of the wall opposite chris field punched him wake up andy are you asleep no said andy smiling have a little cognac chris field poured out two more glasses unsteadily his eyes were on entoinette again the faded purple frock was hooked at the neck the first three hooks were undone revealing a v-shape of golden brown skin and a bit of whitish underwear say andy he said putting his arm around his friend's neck and talking into his ear talk up to her for me will you're andy i won't let that goddamn frog get her no i won't by god talk up to her for me andy andrews laughed i'll try he said but there's always the queen of sheba chris entoinette jeune ami started andrews making a gesture with his long dirty hand towards chris entoinette showed her bad teeth and a smile jolie garçon said andrews entoinette's face became impassive and beautiful again chris field leaned back in his chair with an empty glass in his hand and watched his friend admiringly entoinette mon ami vous vous admire said andrews in a courtly voice a woman put her head in the door it was the same face and hair as entoinette's ten years older only the skin instead of being golden brown was sallow and wrinkled bien said the woman in a shrill voice entoinette got up brushed heavily against chris field's leg as she passed him and disappeared the frenchman walked across the room from his corner saluted gravely and went out chris field jumped to his feet the room was like a white box reeling about him that frog's gone after her he shouted no he ain't chris cried someone from the next table sit tight oh boy we're betting on you yes sit down and have a drink chris said andy i've got to have something more to drink i i haven't had a thing to drink all the evening he pulled him back into his chair chrisfield tried to get up again andrews hung on him so that the chair up sat then both sprawled on the red tiles of the floor the house is pinched said a voice chrisfield saw judkins standing over him a grin on his large red face he got to his feet and sat sulkily in his chair again andrews was already sitting opposite him looking impassive as ever the tables were full now someone was singing in a droning voice oh the oak and the ash and the weeping willow tree oh green grows the grass in god's country oh indiana shouted chris that's the only god's country i know he suddenly felt that he could tell andy all about his home and the wide cornfields shimmering and rustling under the july sun and the creek with red clay banks where he used to go in swimming he seemed to see it all before him to smell the whiny smell of the silo to see the cattle with their chewing mouths always stained a little with green waiting to get through the gate to the water trough and the yellow dust and roar of wheat thrashing and the quiet evening breeze cooling his throat and neck when he lay out on a shack of hay that he had been tossing all day long under the tingling sun but all he managed to say was indiana's god's country ain't it andy oh he has so many muttered andrews i've seen a hailstone measured nine inches around at home honest to god i have must be as good as a barrage i had like to see any goddamn barrage do the damage one of our thunder and lightning storms will do shouted chris i guess all the barrage we're going to seize grenade practice don't you worry buddy said somebody across the room you'll see enough of it this war is going to last damn long i'd like to get in some licks those huns tonight honest to god i would andy muttered chris in a low voice he felt his muscles contract with a furious irritation he looked through half closed eyes at the men in the room seeing them in distorted white lights and reddish shadows he thought of himself throwing a grenade among a crowd of men then he saw the face of anderson a ponderous white face with eyebrows that met across his nose and a bluish shaved chin where does he stay at andy i'm gonna get him andrews guessed what he meant sit down and have a drink chris remember you're gonna sleep with the queen of sheba tonight not if i can't get them god damn his voice trailed off into an inaudible muttering of oaths oh the oak and the ash and the weeping willow tree oh green grows the grass in god's country somebody sang again chrisfield saw a woman standing beside the table with her back to him collecting the bottles andy was paying her antoinette he said he got to his feet and put his arms round her shoulders with a quick movement of the elbows she pushed him back into the chair she turned round he saw the shallow face and thin breasts of the older sister she looked in his eyes with surprise he was grinning drunkenly as she left the room she made a sign to him with her head to follow her he got up and staggered out the door pulling andrews after him in the inner room was a big bed with curtains where the women slept and the fireplace where they did their cooking it was dark except for the corner where he and andrews stood blinking in the glare of a candle on the table beyond they could only see ruddy shadows in the huge curtain bed with its red coverlet the frenchman somewhere in the dark of the room said something several times avion bush st they were quiet above them they heard the snoring of aeroplane motors rising and falling let the buzzing of a fly against a window pane they all looked at each other curiously antoinette was leaning against the bed her face expressionless her heavy hair had come undone and fell in smoky gold waves about her shoulders the older woman was giggling come on let's see what's doing chris said andrews they went out into the dark village street to hell with women chris this is the war cried andrews and a loud drunken voice as they reeled arm in arm up the street you bet it's the war i'ma gonna beat up chrisfield felt his friend's hand clapped over his mouth he let himself go limply feeling himself pushed to the side of the road somewhere in the dark he heard an officer's voice say bring those men to me yes sir came another voice slow heavy footsteps came up the road in their direction andrews kept pushing him back along the side of a house until suddenly they both fell sprawling in a manure pit why still for god's sake muttered andrews throwing an arm over chrisfield's chest a thick odor of dry manure filled their nostrils they heard the steps come nearer wander about irresolutely and then go off in the direction from which they had come meanwhile the throb of motors overhead grew louder and louder well came the officer's voice couldn't find them sir mumbled the other voice nonsense those men were drunk came the officer's voice yes sir came the other voice humbly chrisfield started to giggle he felt he must yell aloud with laughter the nearest motor stopped its sing song roar making the night seem deathly silent andrews jumped to his feet the air was split by a streak followed by a racking snorting explosion they saw the wall above their pit light up with a red momentary glare chrisfield got to his feet expecting to see flaming ruins the village street was the same as ever there was a little light from the glow the moon still under the horizon gave to the sky a window in the house opposite showed yellow in it was a blue silhouette of an officer's cap and uniform a little group stood in the street below what was that the form in the window was shouting in a peremptory voice german aeroplane just dropped a bomb major came a breathless voice in reply why the devil don't he close that window a voice was muttering all the while just a target formed amat a target to amat any damage done asked the major through the silence the snoring of the motor singsonged ominously overhead like giant mosquitoes i seem to hear more said the major in his drawing voice oh yes sir yes sir lots answered an eager voice for god's sake tell him to close the window lieutenant muttered another voice how the hell can i tell him you tell him we'll all be killed that's all there is about it there are no shelters or dug out stalled the major from the window that's headquarters fault there's the seller cried the eager voice again oh said the major three snorting explosions in quick succession drowned everything in a red glare the street was suddenly filled with a scuttle of villagers running to shelter say andy they may have a roll call said chrisfield we'd better cut for home across country said andrews they climbed cautiously out of their manure pit chrisfield was surprised to find that he was trembling his hands were cold it was with difficulty he kept his teeth from chattering god will stink for a week let's get out muttered chrisfield of this goddamn village they ran out through an orchard broke through a hedge and climbed up the hill across the open fields down the main road an anti aircraft gun had started barking and the sky sparkled with exploding shrapnel the putt putt putt of a machine gun had begun somewhere chrisfield strode up the hill in step with his friend behind them bomb followed bomb and above them the air seemed full of exploding shrapnel and droning planes the cognac still throbbed a little in their blood they stumbled against each other now and then as they walked from the top of the hill they turned and looked back chrisfield felt a tremendous elation thumping stronger than the cognac through his veins unconsciously he put his arm around his friend's shoulders they seemed the only live things in a reeling world below in the valley a house was burning brightly from all directions came the yelp of anti aircraft guns and overhead unperturbed continued the leisurely sing song of the motors suddenly chrisfield burst out laughing by god i always have fun with i'm out with you andy he said they turned and hurried down the other slope of the hill towards the farms where they were quartered end of section six