"Gustav Hasvord. The Short-Timers " - читать интересную книгу автора

all the slack.
Standing at ease on the parade deck, beneath the monument to the Iwo
Jima flag raising, Sergeant Gerheim says, "The smoking lamp is lit. You
people are no longer maggots. Today you are Marines. Once a Marine, always a
Marine..."
Leonard laughs out loud.


Our last night on the island.
I draw fire watch.
I stand by in utility trousers, skivvy shirt, spit-shined combat boots,
and a helmet liner which has been painted silver.
Sergeant Gerheim gives me his wristwatch and a flashlight. "Good night,
Marine."
I march up and down the squad bay between two perfectly aligned rows of
racks.
One hundred young Marines breathe peacefully as they sleep-one hundred
survivors from our original hundred and twenty.
Tomorrow at dawn we'll all board cattle-car buses for the ride to Camp
Geiger in North Carolina. There, ITR-the infantry training regiment. All
Marines are grunts, even though some of us will learn additional military
skills. After advanced infantry training we'll be allowed pogey bait at the
slop chute and we'll be given weekend liberty off the base and then we'll
receive assignments to our permanent duty stations.
The squad bay is as quiet as a funeral parlor at midnight. The silence
is disturbed only by the soft creak-creak of bedsprings and an occasional
cough.
It's almost time for me to wake my relief when I hear a voice. Some
recruit is talking in his sleep.
I stop. I listen. A second voice. Two guys must be swapping
scuttlebutt. If Sergeant Gerheim hears them it'll be my ass. I hurry toward
the sound.
It's Leonard. Leonard is talking to his rifle. But there is also
another voice. A whisper. A cold, seductive moan. It's the voice of a woman.

Leonard's rifle is not slung on his rack. He's holding his rifle,
hugging it. "Okay, okay. I love you!" Very softly: "I've given you the best
months of my life. And now you-" I snap on my flashlight. Leonard ignores
me. "I LOVE YOU! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I CAN DO IT. I'LL DO ANYTHING!"
Leonard's words reverberate down the squad bay. Racks squeak. Someone
rolls over. One recruit sits up, rubs his eyes.
I watch the far end of the squad bay. I wait for the light to go on
inside Sergeant Gerheim's palace.
I touch Leonard's shoulder. "Hey, shut your mouth, Leonard. Sergeant
Gerheim will break my back."
Leonard sits up. He looks at me. He strips off his skivvy shirt and
ties it around his face to blindfold himself. He begins to field-strips his
weapon. "This is the first time I've ever seen her naked." He pulls off the
blindfold. His fingers continue to break down the rifle into components.
Then, gently, he fondles each piece. "Just look at that pretty trigger