naparb38

@@@@@He forced himself to take one more drink Then, feeling an unutterable sense of shame, he handed it to Ridges "Here, you want a drink?" "Yeah Ridges drank thirstilyWhen he had almost emptied the canteen he looked at Goldstein "We're gonna have to rustle in the jungle for food tomorrow," Ridges said Ridges smiled weakly 13 WHEN ROTH missed the leap, the platoon was shatteredFor ten minutes they huddled together on the shelf, too stricken, too terrified, to move onAn incommunicable horror affected them allThey stood upright, frozen to the wall, their fingers clenched into the fissures of the rock, their legs powerlessOnce or twice Croft tried to rouse them, but they shied away from the commands, petrified by his voice as though they were dogs terrified by a master's bootWyman was sobbing in nervous exhaustion, quietly, thinly, a small steady wailing, and into it fitted their own voices, a grunt or a small moan or a hysterical curse, random things, disconnected, so that the men who uttered them were hardly aware that they had spoken Their will recovered enough for them to continue, but they moved at a frantically slow pace, refusing to step forward for seconds at a time before some minor obstacle, clinging to the wall ferociously wherever the ledge became narrow againAfter half an hour Croft finally brought them out, and the ledge widened and crossed the ridgeBeyond was nothing but another deep valley, another precipitous slopeHe led them down to the bottom, and started up the next ascent, but they did not follow himOne by one they sprawled down on the ground, looked at him with blank staring eyes It was almost dark, and he knew he could not drive them any more; they were too exhausted, too frightened, and another accident might occurHe called a halt, giving approval to what was already a fact, and sat down in their midst On the next morning there would be the slope, a few gullies to traverse, and then the main ridge of the mountain to be crossedThey could do it in two or three hours ifif he could stir them againAt that moment he doubted himself seriously The platoon slept poor