Friday, December 31st, 2010

Time	Event
11:43a	@@@@@The artillery, the small-arms fire they had @@@@@The artillery, the small-arms fire they had been hearing constantly, might be nothing, something scattered along the front, or it might be all concentrated now in the minuscule inferno of combatThe night had broken them into all the isolated units that actually they were He became conscious again of Dalleson's huge bulk against his own large body, and he stiffened a littleAfter a moment or two he fished a cigarette out of the breast pocket of his shirt and fumbled for a match "Better not smoke," Dalleson grunted"The jeep lights are on "Yeah," Dalleson grunted and was silent againHe shifted his seat slightly in the cramped rear of the jeep, and was annoyed at Hearn for taking up so much room, for smokingHe wasn't worried in the least about an ambushIf it came, he would meet it coolly and acquit himself wellWhat bothered him was what they were going to do when they got to the 151st ArtilleryHe had the anxiety of a dull student who was going to enter an examination he dreadedAs the G-3, in charge of operations and training, Dalleson was supposed to know the situation as well as the General, if not better, and without his maps and papers Dalleson felt lostThe General might depend on him for a decision, and that would be fatalHe twisted again in the seat, sniffed gloomily at Hearn's cigarette smoke, and then bent forward and spoke in what he thought was a low voice, although it brayed out loudly, startlingly "I hope everything's okay when we get to the one-five-one, sir," Dalleson shouted "Yes," the General said, listening to the spinning humming sounds of the tires as the jeep splashed through the mudDalleson's bellow had grated on himThey had been driving for ten minutes with the headlights on, and his sense of danger had abatedIf the line wasn't in, they would have to go riding through the mud for another half hour at least, and then there still might not be communicationsThe Japs might be breaking through at this moment There had to be communicationswithout them, it would be as though he were in the middle of a game of chess and someone had blindfolded himHe could guess what his opponent's next move would be and answer it, but it would be more difficult to predict the next move, and the next, and he might be making responses which were wasted, if not fatalThe jeep sloughed around a curve, and as it came out of the turn its headlights shone on the startled eyes of a soldier behind a machine gun in an emplacement by the side of the (Comment on this)
12:42p	@@@@@ The steel band continued its deafening @@@@@ The steel band continued its deafening assault, but now restricted to the confines of the glassenclosed lobby and adjacent dining roomThe speakers on the grounds were switched off on St Jacques’s orders, the owner of Tranquility Inn having been escorted up from the unoccupied villa by the two Uzi-bearing former commandos along with the Canadian doctor and the incessantly chattering MrThe assistant manager was instructed to return to the front desk and say nothing to anyone about the things he had witnessed during the past hour “Absolutely nothing, sirIf I am asked, I was on the telephone with the authorities over in ’Serrat “About what?” objected St“Well, I thought—” “Don’t thinkYou were checking the maid service on the west path, that’s all The deflated Pritchard headed for the office door, which had been opened moments before by the nameless Canadian doctor “I doubt it would make much difference what he said,” offered the physician as the assistant manager left“That’s a small zoo down thereThe combination of last night’s events, too much sun today and excessive amounts of alcohol this evening, will augur a great deal of guilt in the morningMy wife doesn’t think your meteorologist will have much to say, John “Oh?” “He’s having a few himself, and even if he’s halfway lucid, there aren’t five sober enough to listen to him “I’d better get down thereWe may as well turn it into a minor carnivaleIt’ll save Scotty ten thousand dollars, and the more distraction we have, the betterI’ll speak to the band and the bar and be right back “We may not be here,” said Bourne as his brother-in-law left and a strapping young black woman in a complete nurse’s uniform walked out of StJacques’s private bathroom into the office At the sight of her, old Fontaine approached “Very good, my child, you look splendid,” said the Frenchman“Remember now, I’ll be holding your arm as we walk and talk, but when I squeeze you and raise my voice, telling you to leave me alone, you’ll do as I say, correct?” “Yes, sirI am to hurry away quite angry with you for being so unni (Comment on this)

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