@@@@@He was extremely restless, and an odd
@@@@@He was extremely restless, and an odd febrile fatigue had settled in his legsFor almost an hour he turned over continually in his blanket, staring at the mountain, the moon above them, the hills, the ground before his faceSince the ambush, he had been feeling something, not exactly definable, but close to anxiety and unrest, and it had been driving himIt was almost painful to remain stillAfter a while he stood up, and walked through the hollowThe guard on the hilltop saw him and raised his rifleHe whistled softly, and then said, "Who is it -- Minetta? This is the Lieutenant
He climbed up the slope and sat down beside MinettaBefore them in the moonlight the grass swayed in silver waves over a valley and the hills looked like stone
"What's up, Lootenant?" Minetta asked
"Not a damn thing, just stretching my legs They talked in whispers
"Jesus, it's a bitch being on guard after that ambush Hearn massaged his legs, trying to soothe them
"What're we doing tomorrow, Lootenant?"
Well, what were they doing? This was what he had to face"What do you think, Minetta?"
"I think we ought to turn around and go backThe damn pass is closed, ain't it?" Minetta's voice, even muted, was indignant as if he had been thinking about this for a long time"I don't know, maybe we will He sat up there with Minetta for a few minutes more, and then went down into the hollow again, slipped under his blanketIt was as simple as thatWhy didn't they turn around and go back, since the pass was closed?
All right, why?
The answer was simple enoughHe didn't want to turn around and call the patrol offThe motives this time would be shoddy enoughHearn put his hands under his head and stared up at the sky
The patrol no longer had the chance of a snowball in he