Free From Here to Eternity by James Jones

the 27th. I dont believe in that sort of thing. If you dont want to fight we dont want you on our squad." He walked to the door and then turned back sharply. "Why did you leave the Bugle Corps?" "It was a personal matter, Sir," Prew said, taking refuge in the taboo that says a man's, even a private's, personal matters are his own affair. "But you were transferred at the Chief Bugler's request," Holmes told him. "What kind of trouble was it you were in, over there?" "No, Sir," Prew said. "No trouble. It was a personal matter," he repeated. "Oh," Holmes said, "I see." That it might be a personal matter he had not considered and he looked uneasily at Warden, not sure of how to approach this angle. But Warden, who had been following everything with interest, was suddenly staring unconcernedly at the, wall. Holmes cleared his throat, but Warden did not get it. "Have you anything you wish to add, Sergeant?" he had to ask him, finally. "Who? me? Why, yes, Sir," exploded Warden with that sudden violence. He was, quite suddenly, in a state of indignation. His brows hooked upward, two harriers ready to pounce upon the rabbit. "What kind of rating you have in the Bugle Corps, Prewitt?" "First and Fourth," Prew said, looking at him steadily. Warden looked at Holmes and raised his eyebrows eloquently. "You mean," he said, astounded, "you took a bust from First-Fourth to transfer to a rifle company as a buckass private, just because you like to hike?" "I didnt have no trouble," Prew said stolidly, "if thats what you mean." "Or," Warden grinned, "was it just because you couldnt stand to bugle?" "It was a personal matter," Prew said. "Thats up to the Compny Commander's discretion to decide," Warden corrected instantly. Holmes nodded. And Warden grinned at Prewitt velvetly. "Then you didnt transfer because Mr Houston made young Macintosh First Bugler? Over you?" "I was transferred," Prew said, staring at the other. "It was a personal matter." Warden leaned back in his chair and snorted softly. "What a helluva thing to transfer over. Kids in the Army we got now. Someday you punks will learn that good jobs dont grow on trees." In the electric antagonism that flashed between the two of them and hung heavy like ozone in the air Capt Holmes had been forgotten. He broke in now, as was his right. "It looks to me," he said indifferently, "as if you were fast acquiring a reputation as a bolshevik, Prewitt. Bolsheviks never get anywhere in the Army. You'll find that straight duty in this outfit is considerably tougher than SD in the Bugle Corps." "I've done straight duty before, Sir," Prew said. "In the Infantry. I dont mind doing it again." You liar, he told himself, like hell you do not mind it. How is it that people make you lie so easily? "Well," Holmes said, pausing for the effect, "it looks as though you'll get a chance to do it." But he was no longer jocular. "You're not a recruit and you should know that in the Army its not the individual that counts. Every man has certain responsibilities to fulfill. Moral responsibilities that go beyond the ARs' regulations. It might look as though I were a free agent, but I'm not. No matter how high you get there is always somebody over you, and who knows more about it all than you do. "Sergeant Warden will take care of you and get you assigned to a squad." Nothing more was said about the Company bugler's job. He turned to Warden. "Is there anything else for me to take care of today, Sergeant?" "Yes, Sir," Warden, who had been listening to this abstract conversation, said violently. "The Compny Fund Report has got to be checked and made out. Its due tomorrow morning." "You make it out," Holmes said, undisturbed by the regulation that says no one but an officer may touch the Company Fund. "Fix it up and I'll be in early tomorrow to sign it. I havent time to bother with details. Is that all?" "No, Sir," Warden said vehemently. "Well, whatever it is, you fix it. If theres anything that has to go in this