O'Malley looked about as though seeking a way to escape. He saw an orderly standing at the door. Nodding to the corporal, he leaned forward and whispered a command. The orderly disappeared.
Ten minutes later the corporal returned. He was carrying a tin plate with half of a blueberry pie on it.
"Thank you, son," O'Malley said as he slid the pie into his lap. He scooped out a quarter of the pie and opened his mouth. As he bit down upon the pie he began to grin. He gave his attention to the colonel with the first real show of interest he had given during the afternoon. The quarter of pie disappeared quickly. O'Malley slid the remaining quarter into his hand and opened his mouth.
"The close co-ordination between our fighter units and the low-level bombers will be secured by a system of code signals." Colonel Benson's voice snapped off suddenly. His green eyes were on O'Malley and sparks flashed in their depths. The other boys turned and looked at O'Malley.
"You are hungry, Lieutenant O'Malley?" Colonel Benson asked coldly.
"Yes, sor. 'Tis three hours an' more past dinnertime," O'Malley answered calmly as he shoved half of the pie into his mouth.
"Stop! Stop—swilling that pie!" the colonel roared.
O'Malley got rid of the pie in a simple manner. He shoved what was left into his mouth and munched upon it.
For a full minute the colonel could not think of anything to say. But his face got deeper red and his eyes blazed. Finally he rapped on his desk and said:
"Gentlemen, I will not tolerate eating during a conference. Any sort of eating. I will not tolerate eating pie while I am giving instructions. Lieutenant O'Malley, you will retire. I will consider your case later."