"Thanks," Stan said. "I'd be picked up by the M.P.'s for being drunk if I tried to walk."
The skipper secured a jeep for Stan from a Navy supply outfit. They shook hands and the jeep roared away at top speed. Stan leaned back and took the jolts. They seemed like caresses after the skipper's PT boat.
News of the package he was carrying had come in ahead of Stan. A lieutenant was waiting for him.
"This way, sir," he said and hurried away with Stan almost running to keep up.
They entered a room where a dozen officers sat around a big table. Stan's guide halted and saluted.
"Lieutenant Wilson, sir."
A grizzled general looked up from a map. Stan stepped forward and handed over the package. The general took it and ripped it open at once. Stan stood waiting to be dismissed. He started to back away. The general lifted a hand.
"Don't leave, Wilson. These papers are vitally important." He stopped talking and spread out the contents of the package. The other officers were leaning forward. "These are most important, most valuable," the general said. He shoved the papers over to a colonel.
"Look them over and let me know what you think of them." He turned to Stan and smiled.
Stan waited for whatever might be coming. The general fingered his close-cropped mustache and continued to smile. Suddenly he leaned forward and spoke.