Show LU Offered for Your 1 Reading Enjoyment Under the I the TELLURIDE POWER Sponsorship o of f I COMPANY T PF-T 5 tJ L o oSee See Here J Pr Private Harg H Hy 9 Y ove by Ma Orion Marion ion y CY H S E a i r. r r CHAPTER XH XU Orville D D. D Pope Mess Sergeant t of ot Headquarters Battery and mas ter of ot all he surveys so long as he h e stays in the kitchen et strolled pasour past pas t our table like a happy happ night night club clu b owner Inspecting his saloon Photographer Bushemi lifted a forkful of ot creamed potatoes to hi his s mouth made a sour face and inserted insert insert- ed the potatoes as if 11 they were seasoned seasoned seasoned sea sea- with liniment Don Bishop the public relations reporter who sometimes shows a streak of ot sheer shee r sanity lifted his coffee held heM his nose and drank it Sergeant Pope I said in a sma small ll voice earlier in the course of this supper I told you that I had never tasted anything harder or drier than the bread you served us tonight I want to take that back Pope When I said that I hadn't tasted your peanut butter Sergeant Pope paused and gaze gazed d at us with heavy disgust The gentlemen of ot the press he said There ought to be something ng in the I Articles of ot War about letting guys like you Into a respectable mess hall ball Then after they wrote th that t Article Article Article Arti Arti- cle of ot War said Bishop they could put f In i an amendment about abou t letting us in mess halls like th thi thione this s one one ne ol ot yours r fN Some chow youre you're putting out these days Pope said Bushemi Like nothing I ever ate ate What are you doing doing saving saving g money to get married Youre the I ever hear griping about the chow in this battery bat ba t- t tery said Pope Youre the only ones I ever have trouble with You three and If Ill I'll pay fo for r your food tood wont won't you ou please take all your our meals at the thc Sen Service ce Club Lets leave name ou out t of ot this I said Poor poor pl old d we knew nun him well n He e was a good goad boy was the as ts I noticed the place is so quiet tonight tonight to night that you can even en hear Bushemi Bu eating his celery said th the sergeant Where is your dear dea r friend the bum You have run him over the hill said laid Bishop Your food and your you r mess hall and your brutishly iou foul 1 mouth have driven him away H Hhas He e has deserted from the Army an and d his guilt is upon your hands You know the one thing that's that s missing from tram this meal the meal the on one e thing that would make it perfect asked Bushemi Ice cream asked the mess sergeant ser ser- geant Chloroform said Bushemi Pope slapped his forehead might might- fly fly- Why couldn't I have been a I picker dud a horse valet a suicide e anything but a amess amess mess sergeant Where Is hill He wrinkled his forehead Say He wasn't here at breakfast breakfast break break- k fast either Nor lunch said Bishop Nor No r rs tipper supper nor lunch nor breakfast yes yes- ye s He has gone over the hill bill I said aid gloomily He has deserted Lets see said the sergeant t Ho wasn't here all day today an and i he didn't come In yesterday and he b e didn't show up for tor supper the night nigh t before last Is he sick He would have been said Bishop Bishop Bish Bish- Bis Bisop h op If U ho he hadn't got a decent meal me meI al loon oon I can remember ju just st like he was right here with us evenow even eve n now I said He was a fine n noble noble no no- o ble sensitive lad He had a beautiful ful career before him in the Army Fate can ruin any of ot us by tossing h in inthe inthe the tiniest little monkey wrench wrench wrench-or or orthe the toughest little biscuit I hated to see sea go over the hilt hill Cut the clowning the sergeant walled waned convinced at last that hill had flown You cant can't make me think that he left because of ot my food Where is he That sighed Bishop is Js s what the War Department would like to know Pope began drumming w unconsciously unconsciously consciously on the table I know my food Is as good as any in the Center That aint it Did he take offense at something I said to him and start eating at the thc Service Club Acton Dennington Hawkins the Third chief cook passed by h he Wheres your friend e asked us Oh said Bushemi forgetting th the e Play on furlough The mess sergeant rose with a roar The day shall come he screamed all be on KP one of these days Oh will you suffer and will I enjoy myself Finish your supper and get out of ot my mess hall I Get out GET OUT OUTI b bAs As If U I didn't have enough enough trouble trou trouble ble on my hands with payday said Top P Ser Sergeant cant Tate Tale now Q w I l. l I to b be lie exposed to fo brief brIet fife Uie sight of of you ou B B e Sergeant I began when 1 hear people say a soldier canon cant can't live e on the pay he makes Id I'd show like t to them that he can myself as a living P proof r o f Quit beating your our gums h he said e and get to the didn't point You u come in here to compliment t the Army on its pay And take your you our r cap off oil when youre you're in in the orderly room y I didn't come to compliment nobody no no- n body nor nothing I sai said d laying laing m my y cap on the corner of ot his desk I I just came In to see if U the War De Dc is mad at me They Y haven't given me a cent of at salary Y since the first of ot October What In the sweet name of en are you talking about the top the top tor P kick hooted handing me back th the e cap Weve Veve had bad two regular paydays paydays pay pay- days including the one today And weve we've had two supplementary payrolls payrolls pay pay- rolls for tor people who missed the regular reg reg- ular paydays Mind Und you I put in Im not complaining I eat cat regularly and I have a roof root over my head I can get haircuts and movie tickets and cigarettes and shoe polish on credit but I certainly would like a little cash spending money from time to time Well he groaned slapping his desk wearily here we go again Hargrove the boy who makes a atop atop atop top kicks kick's life exciting Hargrove the hopeless the hopeless the sloppy bunk on inspection in inspection in- in day th the e soap in the soup the thorn In the side Hargrove the boy who can take the simplest problem and reduce it t to its most confusing contusing form torm Now lets let's start atthe at atthe atthe the beginning and take the whole thing slowly You haven't been paid since October first How come That What was because when the November November No No- vember first payday came around T J. J 4 T L A HUU IU feUl b IHal L A l UtU we W lilt October payroll in my old battery All right he said patiently counting off a finger one payday That brings us up to November November Not No No- t vember tenth the day of at the supplementary supplementary supple supple- payroll when you should have got the pay you missed on the first Did you sign the supplementary supplementary supple supple- payroll for that occasion Yes sir I insisted Then when the supplementary payday came around something happened Or to tobe tobe be more correct nothing happened I still didn't get paid two paydays you ou missed the sergeant sighed I will check into the second later Now what Now what about today's pay I I missed out on that one too The battery commander couldn't find my signature on the payroll that just too utterly delightful delight delight- ful tul he cooed find your signature on the payroll You know Ill I'll bet some nasty old thing came along with Ink eradicator and erased your signature from it If It your signature signature sig sig- nature wasn't on the payroll Private Private Private vate Hargrove it was because you hadn't signed the payroll to That makes sens sense sense I conceded I I Ia He patted me on an both shoulders a little heavily and I cowered Wait Walt just a minute Private Hargrove Hargrove Hargrove Har Har- grove he said sweetly Let sar sar- gie gie see what he can find Lid out about the nasty old payroll He returned In a Q few minutes frowning wearily Private Hargrove Hargrove Har Har- grove he sighed dear Private Hargrove You didn't draw your pay on the thc tenth of November because because be be- the tenth cause causo you weren't here on You were on furlough I And you didn't sign the payroll for today because because ber be be- cause you were on furlough while it t r was being signed Your modest pay l r r Private Hargrove liar Dar Walt Wait just a minute Let sar sar- grove lie ho said sweetly sween gic Ie sec see what nhat he can find out ont about our nasty payroll for October has been In the battery sate safe for three weeks just waiting around to picking it for tor you to get up from behind behind be be- He took a small envelope envelop e back Twenty one dollars hind bind his is for tor services rendered through the month of ot October Minus Minus Minus Mi Mi- nus two two forty forty for theater tickets minus ml- ml nus a dollar Jr for r l haircuts 1 cu s minus lIuS seven dollars for canteen checks Private Hargrove I present to you your our I October wages wages- ten ten dollars and sixty cents I took the money looked at it tenderly ten ten- I derly and crammed it pocket into m my Y Yb b f Winter at last is upon us in the rear ranks the surest indication is to be found Cound in reveille All through the late summer and the fall we hopped out of bed as soon as the whistle blew Now we crawl out when the sergeant sergeant ser ser- ser ser- geant puts the whistle to his lips for fo r a out fall blast Since it is still da dart dark since when we stand reveille y anc and we tive are aided occasionally by a sent heaven fog tog there are many saviors sa sa- viors of ot democracy who slip on merely a pair of shoes partially y laced a pair of trousers and a field jacket The field jacket when buttoned all the way to the collar hides tildes the absence of shirt and ti tie e and and the sergeant is none the wiser In Headquarters Battery th the e process of getting up in the morning morn morn- morning ing has sunk Into a rut of repetition Its It's the same procedure procedure every morn ing lag Sergeant Roughton platoon leader leader lead lead- er toots his tits brass at six o'clock k and a few energetic soldiers at th the theother theother I other end of the ris rise e and begin the morning with sickeningly sickeningly sickeningly sicken- sicken cheerful horseplay They yank the covers off ocr their neighbors Th The neighbors yank the covers back on Priva Private te First Class Bishop unofficial unofficial unofficial un un- un- un official guardian of the public relations rela rela- lions staff rises from rom his bunk which is next to mine mine Hargrove I Bushemi Bushe Bushe- mi mil Get up Salute the morn Then The he yells down the length of at th the e to the bed of ot Private First Class Class- Thomas Thoss Mul Mul- every morning has already already al already al- al ready been forcibly ejected from his bed by his wild neighbors He Is by this time sitting on the edge of his bunk with his great head sunk between his knees and his fingers fumbling with his shoelaces In a thick and fiery Irish brogue he Is berating whatever forces of ot destiny put him in this mad corner of the I stick a cautious toe out from under under under un un- der the covers The outer air Isn't cold but then again it isn't warm I roll over and look at the next bunk where Private Priva te Bushemi Is snoring gently I roll back get comfortable comfortable com corn and pull the cover over my head Hargrove roars Bishop Get your lazy bones out of ot bed Its It's five after six Call me at ten after six I mut mut- ter Better still just sing out when my name is called at reveille Private Bishop reaches over suddenly suddenly sud sud- suddenly denly and rips the blankets from the bunk I rise cursing him sound- sound I 1 1 r 1 l r Ir Ird r d Git Gil out of there or Ill I'll dump you yon out ly Private Bushemi is still sleeping sleepIng sleeping sleep- sleep Ing with a sweet and childish smile on his face tace I lift lilt a foot toot and give him a firm shove In La the posterior Git out of there you blanked dash dash-dash shiftless good good- nothing for-nothing bum I I shout giving him two or three more shoves Git out of ot there or Ill I'll dump you out Do me a favor Hargrove he growls Crawl off ocr somewhere and die Just one more time youre you're going going going go go- ing to raise that club foot toot of ot yours OUIS and Im I'm going to get up and clip you one Now go away I reach over and grab the tha edge of Bushemi's bunk I joggle it slight slight- slightly ly to give the Impression that I am just about to overturn the bunk Bushemi bounces out of ot bed bcd swingIng swinging swinging swing- swing Ing wildly Youre going to get funny just one morning too often and Im I'm going to beat the eternal perdition n out of ot both of ot you Its It's getting to the point where it aint funny Cunny Then he begins mumbling aimlessly under his breath as he steps Into his trousers Somehow we manage to get into the second shoe just as the whistle blows to call us outside We shiver shiv shiv- shiver er In the dark cold as section leaders leaders leaders lead lead- ers call the roll mostly from tram mem mem- ory The second section of the first platoon is always the last to finish roll call We stand there listening P o Hoh Pulver Here Herel and then the piece de re- re re Peacock Always the answer comes In n the same way way way-an an unbelievably deep bass long drawn long drawn out and rumbling The second platoon snickers and titters Utters tit Ut- just as It t did the day before belore and the top kick shouts Dismissed Dismissed Dismissed Dis missed I Bushemi heads straight back for tor his bunk Call me at will you ou Breakfast time arrives s and again ailin N VS PANGU w we we begin begin t the e- e ordeal of r getting g Bu lIu Bushemi shorn up He lies there fully tully clothed by this time with a blanket thrown over him Call me at seven teen will you After Alter swearing not to lend him money for coffee at t the Service Club on his way to work we strike out for the mess hall fa A ABill Bill a friend of Bushemi's and mine in Charlotte drives a street bus Before he began his service as a driver he served a hitch Inthe in the Army Like all service ex men hes he's ready to and just shoot the breeze any time the conversation turns to the Army There was a young oung first-class first private got on my bus last week he ho told me and he sat in the long scat seat behind me me so we got got started talking Well Nell I thought Id I'd snow him under telling him about the time I was in n the Army So just to start the ball rolling and get the talk turned to the Army I 1 asked him how long hed he'd been in Oh Ive I've been in for well over eight months he said like he was just starting his thirtieth year of ot service Then he started wiping his sleeves so Id I'd be sure to notice his private first stripe I thought Id I'd let him blow off oil about his stripe so I asked him Say what does docs that stripe stand for Cor Oh Oh that he said as much as asto asto to say aw nothing aw that aint That just means Im I'm a sergeant Is that right I 1 asked him looking sort of at him he said real casual In the Army only eight months and Ive I've already been made sergeant Well Vell tell me I said what grade of sergeant are you Ive I've seen some sergeants have three stripes and then Ive I've seen them have havee as many as six How come that TO BE CONTINUED |