| Forty hours had elapsed since he was wounded, and in that period he had soiled himself frequently, bled and sweated, had even absorbed the dank moist odors of the damp ground they had slept on the night beforeHe moved his mouth in a weak elaborate grimace of disgust
They heard him without much feeling, gasping again for breathAs they had got used to living in the jungle and being wet all the time, as they had forgotten what it was like to live in dry clothing, so they had forgotten now how it felt to draw an effortless breathThey did not think about it; certainly they did not think of when their journey would endIt had become all existence
That morning Goldstein had roused himself long enough to contrive an aidTheir stiffened fingers had been slowing them most of allThey were unable to hold onto the 925 tiffany and co. jewelry litter for more than a few seconds before its weight would slowly force their hands openGoldstein had cut the straps from their pack, tied them together and yoked the line over his shoulders onto the handles of the stretcherWhen he could grasp them no longer with his fingers he would transfer the weight to the strap, and plow forward until his hands were able to hold them againRidges followed his example soon afterward, and they plodded onward in their harness, the burden of the litter swaying slowly between them
"Water, goddammit, y' fuggin
"No water," Goldstein gasped Wilson began to cough againThe air that played over his face had the flushed heated quality of a kitchen when the oven has been on too long and the windows are closedHe hated the litter-bearers; he was like a child being white leather chanel handbag tormented"Goldstein," he repeated, "always snufflin' around
A thin weak smile formed on Goldstein's mouthWilson had hurt him, and he envied Wilson suddenly because Wilson had never been forced to think about what he said or did"You can't have water," Goldstein mumbled, waiting in a rather delicious expectancy for Wilson's abuse to continueHe was like an animal so used to the whip that he found it a stimulus
Suddenly Wilson screamed"Men y'gotta gimme some water
By now Goldstein had forgotten the reason why Wilson mustn't drinkHe only knew that it was forbidden, and was irritated that he could not remember the explanationWilson's suffering had affected Goldstein oddly; slowly, keeping pace with his exhaustion, it had entered his own bodyWhen Wilson screamed, Goldstein felt a twinge; if the litter lurched abruptly, cheap chanel watches Goldstein's stomach plummeted as if he were dropping in an elevatorAnd every time Wilson pleaded for water Goldstein was thirsty againEach time he opened his canteen he felt a sense of guilt, and he would do without water for hours, rather than provoke WilsonIt seemed that no matter how delirious Wilson might become he would always notice when they took out their canteensWilson was a burden they could not leaveGoldstein felt as if he would be carrying him forever; he could not think of anything elseThe limits of his senses were confined to his own body, the litter, and Ridges's backHe did not look at the yellow hills or wonder how far they had to goInfrequently, Goldstein would think of his wife and child with a sense of disbeliefThey were so far awayIf he had been told at that moment that they had died, he cambon chanel handbag would have shruggedWilson was the only reality
"Men, Ah'll give ya anythin' Wilson's voice had changed, become almost shrillHe would talk in long spates, droning on and on, his voice singsonging almost unrecognizably"Jus' name it, men, Ah'll give it ya, any ol' thing, y' want some goddam money Ah'll give ya hundid poun' you jus' set me down, gimme drinkJus' gimme it, men, tha's all Ah ask
They stopped for a longer halt, and Goldstein lunged away and fell forward on his face, lying motionless for several minutesRidges stared dully at him, then at Wilson"What you want, some water?"
"Yeah, gimme that, gimme some waterHis short powerful body seemed to have condensed in the last two daysHis big slack mouth hung openHis back had shortened and his arms become longer, his head bent over at a smaller angle to his chanel j10 watch fake c |