| 2:39a |
@@@@@He swallowed it againHe felt his cheeks
@@@@@He swallowed it againHe felt his cheeks puckering, and he lapsed into a gentle weeping which issued easily out of himHe noticed it with surprise
Suddenly he was aware of his mouth again, felt his tongue lolling in his throat"Gimme some water, huh, men?" There was no answer and he said again patiently"Jus' a little drink, huh, men?"
They would not answer him, and he was angry"Goddammit, men, gimme a little water
"Hold off," Ridges said hoarsely
"Men, Ah do anythin' for ya, y' gimme a little water
Ridges set him downWilson's cries rasped against his sensesIt was the only thing that could arouse him by now
"You men are just sonsofbitches
"You cain't have it," Ridges saidHe could see no harm in it, which made it harder for him to refuse, but he was also bitter at WilsonWe done without, neveh made any fuss, he told himself"Wilson, you cain't have it His voice was final and Wilson lapsed into reverie again
They picked up the stretcher and tugged forward a few yards, laid it down againThe sun was drifting toward the western horizon and it grew cooler, but they paid little attentionWilson was a burden they had to carry; it would go on and on and they could never let him goThey did not understand this, but comprehension was lurking behind their fatigueThey only knew that they must move on, and they didAll afternoon until it was dark Ridges and Goldstein staggered forward their few inches at a time, and slowly the inches added upBy the time they had stopped for the night, covered Wilson with one of their two blankets and bundled up together beside each other to sleep in stupor, they had advanced Wilson five miles from the place where they had left Brown and Stanley |