@@@@@The rain had halted during the night, and in
@@@@@The rain had halted during the night, and in the dawn the air was fresh and cool, the sunlight pleasant on the beachThe men lolled about on the sand for a few minutes, watching the assault craft back off from shore and start on its return journeyIn five minutes the boat was a half mile away, but it seemed like much less, an easy swim across the bright glittering tropic waterThe men stared at it wistfully, envying the pilots who by nightfall would return to a safe bivouac and hot foodThat's the job to have, Minetta was thinking
The morning still possessed the new shining quality of a minted coinThe men were thrilled only slightly by the idea that they were on an unexplored shoreThe jungle behind them looked essentially familiar; the beach, covered with fine delicate shells, was barren and isolated and would shimmer later in the heat, but now it seemed like every beach upon which they had ever landedThey sprawled about, smoking and laughing, waiting for the patrol to begin, perfectly content for the sun to dry their clothes
Hearn was feeling a little tenseIn a few minutes they would begin a march over forty miles of strange country, the last ten through the Japanese rearHe turned to Croft and pointed again at the aerial map they had spread out between them on the sand"It seems to me, Sergeant, the best way is to work up that river" -- he pointed to the mouth of a stream which debouched from the jungle a few hundred yards farther down the beach -- "as far as we can, and then cut trail till we reach the kunai grass
"Ain't no other way to do it far as I see," Croft saidHearn was right, which annoyed him slightly"It's gonna take a lot more time than you figure, Lootenant Croft made him the least bit uneasyHe knew a lot, that was obvious, but you would have to ask him before he supplied any answersHearn flicked the map with his fingersAlready, he could feel the sand warming under his feet"It's only two miles through the jungle
Croft nodded dourly"You can't trust an aerial mapThat little ol' stream might take us where we want to go, but you can't depend on it He spat into the sand