A Maid and a Million Men: the candid confessions of Leona Canwick, censored indiscreetly by James G. Dunton
John Stuart Mill · en
He smiled again and continued, “In taking you, I am looking to the
future, to a certain extent, because I believe I will need someone who
is able to interpret French and at the same time take dictation and help
in compiling reports. None of that will come now, of course, but will
probably come sometime after we arrive in France. For the time being
there are merely routine forms and letters to be done, and since there
are about a million of these to be cleaned up before we go, you’d better
do whatever you have to do and come back ready for work.”
Well, I didn’t have anything to do that I knew of, and I intimated as
much, whereupon he said, “Your transfer papers—get your personnel
officer to see to that. Also get your equipment and replace everything
that can’t stand inspection. By the time you return, I’ll have these
matters in order and we’ll go to work.”
So I said “Yes, sir” and left. It seemed to me he was in a terrible
hurry and I hadn’t the least idea who this “personnel officer” might be.
I started to think the thing out, but then I remembered that everyone
always said that a private wasn’t supposed to think, so I just proceeded
to do the only thing I could do—namely, find the Sergeant Major and
tell him what was what and ask how.
I found him in the Y.M.C.A. listening to a phonograph record of the
Marine Band, but when I told him what had happened, he promptly came
along with me to the headquarters, spoke to an officer about me and told
me he’d have the transfer fixed up at once. I asked him what I should do
next and he laughed and told me to pack up my junk and have it ready to
move to the Divisional Headquarters barracks when he came back. So I did
and he finally came back, and I then moved—wondering, as I did so, what
Leon would do if he returned to his old bunk before seeing me and
learning about the change.
Then I reported back to the Colonel and told him what the General had
told me. He was very nice about it—I guess all Colonels are always nice
about anything a General wants—and he told me not to bother about his
records, that he would get them straightened out without trouble. I
guess he, too, wanted this fellow Canwick for future rather than present
work.