@@@@@"Nothing in particular, Major There was a
@@@@@"Nothing in particular, Major There was a subdued titter from a few of the clerks in the tent
Dalleson stood up, surprised to find himself suddenly in a rage, "I don't want any of your goddam lip, HearnIt was bad to reprimand an officer in front of enlisted men"Go over and help Leach
For several seconds Hearn stood motionless, and then he nodded, sauntered carelessly over to Leach's desk, and sat down beside himDalleson had trouble in getting back to workIn the weeks that had elapsed since the division had stalled on the line, Dalleson had expressed his concern by driving his menHe would worry frequently that his subordinates were slacking off and the work was becoming sloppyTo correct that, he was after his clerks all the time to make them retype papers in which there was one error or even one erasure, and he consistently bullied his junior officers to produce more workIt was basically a superstitionDalleson believed that if he could make his own small unit function perfectly the rest of the division would follow his examplePart of the discomfort Hearn had caused him until now had come from Dalleson's conviction that Hearn cared very little about the workIt was a dangerous business"One man can louse up an outfit," was one of Dalleson's axioms, and Hearn was a threatIt was the first time he could ever remember a subordinate telling him that he had been doing nothingWhen that started happeningDalleson fretted through the rest of the afternoon, outlined the march order very uncertainly, and an hour before evening chow had finished enough of the battle plan to present it to the General
He went over to Cummings's tent, gave it to him, and stood by uncomfortably, waiting for commentsCummings studied it carefully, looking up from time to time to voice a criticism"I see you've got four different withdrawal orders, and four assembly areas
"I don't think that'll be necessary, MajorWe'll pick one assembly point back of Second Battalion, and whichever outfit we use for the invasion will go thereIt won't be more than a five-mile march at the very most, no matter which one we take Dalleson busied himself scribbling notes on a little