“Go easy on that water now; we can’t go running to that town every five minutes, you men,” Sergeant Ryan called.
Along the ravine the water gurgled from the canteens into the mouths of the men. Their most pressing want satisfied, their thoughts soon turned to the matter of food, which they had been without for two days, save for the cans of salmon which Hicks and Pugh had salvaged from the dead men’s packs. After expressing among themselves their desire for food they raised their voices and began to lament:
“What makes the wildcats wild?”
“Because they’re hungry.”
“Why are they hungry?”
“Because there ain’t no chow.”
“Why ain’t they got no chow?”
“Because they ain’t got nobody to look out for them.”
“Pipe down, up there,” scolded Lieutenant Bedford. “If the ration detail don’t come along pretty soon, we’ll send one of our own after chow.”