puyuanbioa

@@@@@Wilson kept his mouth shut A day or two later the platoon was sent down to the beach on an unloading detailGallagher had received the final letter from his wife the preceding night and he had been trying to rouse enough courage to read itHe was moody and abstracted; he paid no attention to the conversation of the men in the truck, and soon after they came to the beach he wandered off by himselfThey had been unloading crates of rations from a landing craft, and the dead weight of the box on his shoulder had irritated him dullyHe dropped the load he was carrying, muttered, "Fug it," and began to walk away Croft shouted after him, "Where you going?" "I don't know, I'll be back He spoke without looking over his shoulder, and then as if to forestall any more questions, he began to jog through the sandAfter he had gone a hundred yards, he felt suddenly tired, and he slowed to a walkAt a turn on the beach, he looked back disinterestedly at the menThere were several landing craft riding against the shore with their motors running, and two columns of men were filing between the supply dump and the boatsA haze was spreading over the sea almost obscuring the few freighters riding at anchor offshoreHe walked around the bend, and saw a few squad tents just off the beachThe flaps were rolled and he could see several men lying on cots and talking to each otherDully, he read the sign, "5279 Quartermaster Trucking Company He sighed and continued to walkGoddam quartermaster's got all the breaks, he told himself, but without any real bitterness He passed by the strip of beach where Hennessey had been killedIt roused a mood of pity, and he halted to sift a handful of sand through his fingers"Young kid, didn't even know what the fuggin score was," he thoughtHe remembered abruptly that when they had picked Hennessey up to move him farther away from the water, his helmet had fallen offIt had landed with a dull grating sound, and it spun once with a gritty noise in the sandGuy's dead, and that's all he getsHe began to tremble as he remembered the letter in his shirt pocketHe had taken one look at the date, and he had known it would be the last one he would ever