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Red was uncomfortableFor weeks his kidneys had been growing more painful, and that morning on the road he had strained himself badly in lifting a pickA severe pain had seized him at the top of his swing, and he had ground his teeth, his fingers tremblingAfter a minute or so he had been forced to quit, and his back had throbbed for the rest of the morning with a dull constant acheWhen the trucks had come, he had hoisted himself with great difficulty over the tail gate"You're gettin' old, Red," Wyman had piped The jarring of the truck over the bumps had aggravated his pain, and he had been silentThe artillery was firing constantly cheap gucci bags and the men talked about an attack supposed to start soonThey're gonna be sendin' us out again, Red had thought, I better get fixed upFor a moment he had allowed himself to think, Maybe the hospital, and then he had repressed the thought with disgustI never run out on anything, and I won't nowBut he had kept looking uneasily over his shoulderI ain't over that week yet, he had told himself
"They treat you pretty fair, huh?" Red asked Minetta again
Minetta set down his coffee, looked at Red warily
Red lit a cigarette, and then hoisted himself awkwardly to his feetAs he washed his mess gear in the hot water cans he debated whether to watch replicas cartier go on sick callIt seemed shameful to him somehow
He compromised at last by stopping off at Wilson's tent"Look, boy, I think I'm gonna go on sick callYou wanta come along?"
"Ah don' knowNever did know a doctor did a man any good
"I thought you were sickAh'll tell ya, Red, mah insides are shot plumb to hellAh cain't even take a leak any more without it burnin'
"You need some monkey glands"Yeah, somepin the matter with me
"What the hell, we might as well go," Red suggested
"Aw, listen, Red, if they cain't see it, you ain't got itAll those sonsofbitches know is to give ya a short-arm or an asp'rinBesides Ah hate to goof-off on omega automatic watches the roadAh may be a sonofabitch some ways but no man can say Ah don' do mah share of the work
Red lit a cigarette, closing his eyes and suppressing a grimace as his back knotted suddenlyWhen the spasm had passed he muttered, "Come on, we rate a day off"Awright, but Ah feel a little low about it
They walked over to the orderly room tent, and gave their names to the company clerkThen they walked across the bivouac to the regimental-aid tentSome men were standing around inside, waiting to be examinedThere were two cots at one end of the tent and a half dozen men were sitting on them, and painting the fungus sores on their bare feet fake louis vuitton bag with a red antisepticAn enlisted man was examining the men
"It's a slow goddam line," Wilson complained
"All lines are slow," Red said"They got everything down to a systemWait in line, wait in line, I tell you they ain't anything worth doing because of the lines
"Ah suspec' when we get back we'll be waitin' in line for a woman
They talked idly as the line moved forwardWhen Red reached the medic, he was tongue-tied for an instantHe remembered the old migrants, their limbs warped by rheumatism and arthritis and syphilisTheir eyes had become vacant, and they were usually drunkOnce they had snuffled up to him, and begged for a wholesale chanel jewelry pill |
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