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@@@@@The tracers spewed wildly into the jungle on the other side of the river But the noise, the vibration of his gun, calmed himHe directed it to where he had seen the Japanese gunfire and loosed a volleyThe handle pounded against his fist, and he had to steady it with both handsThe hot metallic smell of the barrel eddied back to him, made what he was doing real againHe ducked in his hole waiting for the reply and winced involuntarily as the bullets whipped pastBEE-YOOWWWW! Some dirt snapped at his face from the ricochetsCroft was not conscious of feeling itHe had the surface numbness a man has in a fightHe flinched at sounds, his mouth tightened and loosened, his eyes stared, but he was oblivious to his body Croft fired the gun again, held it for a long vicious burst, and then ducked in his holeAn awful scream singed the night, and for an instant Croft grinned weaklyHe saw the metal burning through flesh, shattering the bones in its path The scream froze him again, and for an odd disconnected instant he experienced again the whole complex of sounds and smells and sights when a calf was brandedUP!" he shouted furiously and fired steadily for ten seconds to cover their advanceAs he paused he could hear some men crawling behind him, and he whispered, "Recon?" "Yeah Gallagher dropped into the hole with him"Mother of Mary," he mutteredCroft could feel him shaking beside him "Stop it!" he gripped his arm tensely"The other men up?" "Yeah Croft looked across the river againEverything was silent, and the disconnected abrupt spurts of fire were forgotten like vanished sparks from a grindstoneNow that he was no longer alone, Croft was able to planThe fact that men were up with him, were scattered in the brush along the bank between their two machine guns, recovered his sense of comman