@@@@@"Whoinhell tol' ya to grow there?" he 316
@@@@@"Whoinhell tol' ya to grow there?" he askedWhen he closed his eyes he was very dizzy and his jaws felt as though they were chewing a piece of spongeMan cain't even sleep on guard with the goddam bush, he told himselfHe sighed, and then pulled the bolt of the machine gun back and forthHe sighted along the barrel and aimed it at the base of the bush"Ah coulda tole ya not to grow there," he muttered and then pulled the triggerThe handle of the gun bucked viciously as he fired a long burstWhen he had finished the bush was still standing, and in anger he fired the machine gun again
To the men in recon, who were sleeping about ten yards back of him, the sound of the machine gun was terrifyingIt tore them violently out of their sleep as if an electric charge had bored through them, ground their heads into the dirt, and then pulled them to their kneesThey did not know that Wilson was firing; they thought it was a Japanese attack again, and they staggered through several terrible seconds between sleep and wakefulness while all kinds of thoughts and fears went through their heads
Goldstein thought he was on guard and had fallen asleepHe whispered desperately several times, "I wasn't sleeping, I was only closing my eyes to fool the Japs, I was ready, I swear I was ready
Martinez whimpered, "I give back the teeth, I promise I give back the teeth
Wyman dreamed he was letting go of the antitank gun, and said, "It really wasn't my fault He felt guilt, and then was awake in the next instant, and had forgotten everything
Red lay on his stomach, and thought it was the soldier with the bayonet who was shooting at him"Come on, you sonofabitch, you sonofabitch," he kept muttering
Gallager thought, They're out to get ME
And Croft felt a paralyzing instant of fear while the Japanese charged across the river and he sat tied hand and foot by his machine gunThe second burst of fire loosed his bonds, and he roared, "COME AND GET ME!" The sweat formed on his face, and then he was crawling along the ground toward Wilson's gun"RECON, UP, UP ON THE LINE!" he bellowedHe was still uncertain whether they were on the river or not
Wilson fired again, and Croft realized that he was shooting and not the JapaneseIn the next instant he understood that they were far from the river, and this was the 2nd Battalion bivouac
