Chrisfield did not listen to what he was saying. He stood in front of the woman, staring in her face. She looked at him in a stupid frightened way. He felt in his pockets for some money. As he had just been paid he had a fifty-franc note. He spread it out carefully before her. Her eyes glistened. The pupils seemed to grow smaller as they fastened on the bit of daintily colored paper. He crumpled it up suddenly in his fist and shoved it down between her breasts. Some time later Chrisfield sat down in front of Andrews. He still had his wet slicker on. “Ah guess you think Ah'm a swine,” he said in his normal voice. “Ah guess you're about right.” “No, I don't,” said Andrews. Something made him put his hand on Chrisfield's hand that lay on the table. It had a feeling of cool health. “Say, why were you trembling so when you came in here? You seem all right now.” “Oh, Ah dunno,'” said Chrisfield in a soft resonant voice. They were silent for a long while. They could hear the woman's footsteps going and coming behind them. “Let's go home,” said Chrisfield. “All right.... Bonsoir, Crimpette.” Outside the rain had stopped. A stormy wind had torn the clouds to rags. Here and there clusters of stars showed through. They splashed merrily through the puddles. But here and there reflected a patch of stars when the wind was not ruffling them. “Christ, Ah wish Ah was like you, Andy,” said Chrisfield. “You don't want to be like me, Chris. I'm no sort of a person at all. I'm tame. O you don't know how damn tame I am.” “Learnin' sure do help a feller to git along in the world.” “Yes, but what's the use of getting along if you haven't any world to get along in? Chris, I belong to a crowd that just fakes learning. I guess the best thing that can happen to us is to get killed in this butchery. We're a tame generation.... It's you that it matters to kill.” “Ah ain't no good for anythin'.... Ah doan give a damn.... Lawsee, Ah feel sleepy.” As they slipped in the door of their quarters, the sergeant looked at Chrisfield searchingly. Andrews spoke up at once. “There's some rumors going on at the latrine, Sarge. The fellows from the Thirty-second say we're going to march into hell's halfacre about Thursday.” “A lot they know about it.” “That's the latest edition of the latrine news.” “The hell it is! Well, d'you want to know something, Andrews.... It'll be before Thursday, or I'm a Dutchman.” Sergeant Higgins put on a great air of mystery. Chrisfield went to his bunk, undressed quietly and climbed into his blankets. He stretched his arms languidly a couple of times, and while Andrews was still talking to the sergeant, fell asleep. IV The moon lay among clouds on the horizon, like a big red pumpkin among its leaves.