"Private Williams!" "Report to Major Penderton's house for a work detail." "Weldon!" "Yeah?" "I'm going for a ride, Weldon." "Okay." "What do you mean, "just a little scratch"?" "Look at that!" "He's been kicked." "It's just a nick, ma'am." "He ain't hurt." "Where's my boy?" "The boy that takes care of Firebird?" " Private Williams?" " I guess so." "Why, ma'am, he's up at your house." "What do you mean, my house?" "What's he doing up there?" "He's doing some work for the major." "I asked Weldon to have the garden tilled out in the back." "I've invited so many people to my party  they're just gonna spill out of the house." "Come on, you sweet old thing." "All right, now, private." "This—" "This section of woods is to be cleared here." "Take away all the undergrowth and the briar and the bushes." "Any of the limbs of the large trees growing at a level of less than six feet  are to be cut away." "You understand?" " Yes, sir." " That's a level of less than six feet." " Yes, sir." " Fine." "Now, your boundary will be this large oak tree here." "You won't have to clear beyond it  just from the edge of the grass here to the oak tree there." "I'll expect you to complete this work today." "All the tools we've got will be found in the garage." "I'll be back sometime late this afternoon." "Listen, I think that the thing we all overlook, everybody forgets  is that who really knows  what happened to her in her mind?" "Nobody knows that." " Also— - "Also"?" "Also what?" "Hell, Leonora, it's been three months." "Now, she hasn't tried to do anything like that since  and she seems to be okay." "Oh, what does that prove, Morris?" "That Alison really is all right?" "Well, yes, I guess so." "She hasn't tried to do it again." "How could she?" "What she did is something a lady can only do once, now, isn't it?" "Give me your cap." "I want to pick some blackberries." "There." "Now let's take two things Clausewitz says." "First, the theory of warfare tries to discover  how we make any preponderance of physical forces  and material advantages at a decisive point." "And two, one of the strongest weapons of offensive warfare  is the surprise attack." "Now, I would not like to improve on Clausewitz  but I would say that the night detect  is one of the strongest weapons of offensive warfare." "We can look to Major General Terry Allen when he commanded his forces in Africa." "He employed the night detect to the maximum." "Economy of force..." "Economy of force." "Concentration, surprise, security  offensive action, movement, cooperation." "All of these have their application in the night operation." "Susie!" "Susie, I'm home!" "Hi, there, soldier." " Hi." " Hi." "Wait a minute." "Pull!" "I think I'll have my drink out here." "I might as well do those invitations while I'm at it too." "Soldier  I heard you were here this morning, down at the stables." "My Firebird has been kicked." " How?" " That, I would like to know." "Probably by some damn mule, or maybe they put him in with the mares." "I was pretty mad about it." "I asked for you." "Thanks, Susie." "Soldier, do you want a drink?" "Want a drink, soldier?" " No, ma'am." " Don't you ever drink?" " No, ma'am." " Not ever?" "No, ma'am." "Damn." "Evening, Leonora." "There they are." "All 64 of them." "I hope I haven't left anybody out." "How do you spell "cordially"?" "Cordially." "C-O-R-D-I-A-double L-Y." "Oh, no!" "Don't tell me I have to do them all over again." "Well, I expect you better." "Oh, God." "What's the matter with you?" "Private, the whole idea was in the big oak tree." "The instructions were to clear the ground just to the oak tree." "The way the branches swept down and made a background  shutting off the rest of the wood was the whole point." "Now it's all ruined." "What would the major like me to do?" "Well, the major would like you to pick up the branches  and nail them back on again." "No, no." "Just get some leaves here  and cover the bare spots where the bushes been removed." "Then you can go." "Here." "That's the boy from the stables, the one that takes care of Firebird." "Yes, well..." "He's also the soldier that ruined a brand new silk suit for me." "Spilled the better part of a coffeepot all over my knees." "That was two years ago, wasn't it?" "It'll be a lot longer than that before you'll forget." "I dislike clumsiness, willful or otherwise." "Well, there's nothing clumsy about the way he handles Firebird." "Morris says he's never seen an enlisted man  to handle a horse to equal him." "Morris would find something to like in any enlisted man." "All right, then, Firebird likes him." "Firebird's a horse." "Firebird is a stallion." "So these two little queers went into this bar  and this great big old barman was looking at them for a long time." "Finally he said, "Are you two sisters?"" "And they said, "Hell, no." "We're not even Catholic."" "Oh, you're so funny." "For God's sakes, Leonora, why don't you go upstairs and put your shoes on?" "Oh, my." "Oh, my good—" "You look like a slattern going around the house this way." "Langdons come to dinner  I suppose you're gonna sit down at the table like that." "Sure." "Why not, prissy?" "You disgust me." "I'll kill you." "I swear, I'll kill you." "I'll do it!" "I will kill you!" "Son, have you ever been collared  and dragged out into the street  and thrashed by a naked woman?" " Would anyone like a drink?" " I would, thanks." "Alison?" "Very, very light, please." "Sugar?" "Do you want another card?" " Big one?" " Oh, not too big, not too small." "Make mine straight on the rocks." "Not too big, not too small." "I'll have the same, Weldon, and a little of that branch water." "Weldon, your wife's cheating." " She tried to look at this card to see if—" " I did not." "You caught me before I had a chance to." "What have you got there?" "I'm surprised at you, Morris." "Sitting down playing cards with a woman." "Expecting her not to cheat you." "What's this, a new sweater for your husband?" "It's for Captain Weincheck." "Captain Weincheck." "I forgot to invite him." "Well, that's the story of his life, isn't it?" "Everybody forgets about Weincheck, including the promotion board." "He's about the oldest captain in the Army." "Will somebody please tell me why Captain Weincheck is unpopular?" "Is it because he plays the violin, reads Proust?" "Oh, do you remember that tea he gave?" "Classical records and cat hairs." "And before God, tea." "Only tea." "Captain Weincheck is a gentleman  and he's not a thief." "Who said he was?" "That afternoon you were speaking of, at his apartment?" "Somebody stole a little silver Georgian teaspoon." "One of a set of eight belonging to his great-grandmother." "It was gone when we went to tidy up." "He asked me never to tell about it, but somebody stole that spoon." "Well, I didn't." "It wasn't me." "Well, I'm gonna put everything I have on this one hand  and if I win, I'll have every chip on the table." "Hit me." "Are aces ones?" "Blackjack." "I must be getting along." "But you stay, Morris." "Don't break up the party." "Good night, everybody." "Alison, I'll see you to your doorstep." "Good night, Alison." "She is crazy." "No, she's not." "You know, I had the best doctors for her." "They all say she's fine." "Well, now, look here." "You know we're scared for her  just to go from our front door to yours alone." "Oh, well..." "Cutting off her nipples with a pair of garden shears." "You call that normal?" "My God." "Garden shears." "No, but she's not, you know." "Doctor says she's neurotic." " It will take time, that's all." " Time?" "It's been three years since she had that baby." "So it died  but that was three years ago." "She's not getting any better." "She's just getting worse." "Do you think she has any idea about us?" "No." "Well, I hope not." "I like Alison." "Look  now that Alison's gone home  you two don't mind if I do a little work, do you?" "Play a couple of hands with us." "Well, I got my lecture to prepare." "You work too hard, Weldon." "Why don't you come riding with us tomorrow?" "Well, we'll see." "It will do you good." "Shake up your liver." "Well, I might." "I might." "Blackjack." "Good night, Weldon." "But I don't need a suit, Anacleto." "But you do." "You haven't bought a garment in more than a year  and the green frock is bien usée at the elbow  and ready for the Salvation Army." "My God, you're a rare bird, you are." "How much is it?" "What I wouldn't give to get you in my battalion for just a day." "It is très cher." "But one could not expect to get such quality for anything else." " And think of the years of service." " We'll see about it." "Oh, go on and buy the dress, for God's sake." "And while we are about it, we might order an extra yard or so." "Then I can have a jacket." "All right, if I decide to get it." "What is that?" "You and Captain Weincheck were playing it last Thursday afternoon." "The opening bar of the Franck A-major sonata." "Look." "Just this minute made me compose a ballet." "Black velvet curtains." "And a glow like winter twilight." "Very slowly with the whole cast." "Then a spotlight follows solo like a flame." "Very dashing." "And with the waltz  Mr. Sergei Rachmaninoff play." "Bravo, bravo, Anacleto." "Did he hurt himself?" "I'm all right, Madame Alison." "I wish you had broken your damn neck." "Williams, bring out Firebird." "The lady is here." "I believe if a horse really wants to throw you, well, he will." "But I think most of the time they're just feeling good." "They're just having fun." "Well, now, you take Firebird." "The minute he starts to feel me slip  he stops messing around." "Of course, he's a gentleman." "There's my sweet old baby." "Quit that." "If the major could see himself from behind, he would never get on a horse." "You see, this uncle of mine had this cabin up in the mountains  and my brothers and I used to go up all the time to hunt." "About six of us would go out in the afternoon with our dogs." "Oh, really more the evening." "My God, it would be cold." "A little colored boy would be running behind  with a big jug of liquor on his back." "Sometimes we'd be in the mountains all night hunting coon." "I just can't tell you what it was like." " What do you want?" " May I take out the black mare?" " Did you do all your stalls?" " Yeah." "Okay." " You all right, Weldon?" " Incompetent brute." "It's not the horse's fault." "It's yours." "I mean, you can't expect a horse to take a jump if you don't ride him at it." " Weldon, that's Private Williams, isn't it?" " It certainly is." "Bare back to bare ass." "It's outrageous." "You go on ahead." "I'll attend to him." "Oh, what, spoil his fun?" "I thought all that old mare could do is stumble and shamble  but look at her move now." "Would you look at that?" "Now that boy can horseback." "He's got a great pair of hands." "A disgrace." "Oh, come off it, Weldon." "Leonora." "Leonora, come on." "Get up." "Get up." "Come on." "Get up." "Go on to bed." "Come on." "Go on up to bed now." "Sure you're not sleepy?" "Oh, no, Madame Alison." "I had a nap this afternoon." "And I dreamt about Catherine." "What was it you dreamed?" "Rather like  holding a butterfly in my hands." "And I was nursing her in my lap." "Then the dream changed." "Instead of Catherine  I had on my knees one of the colonel's riding boots." "The boot  was full of squirming newly born mice  and I was trying to keep them in." "Keep them from crawling up all over me." "Anacleto, please." "Dreams." "They are strange things to think about." "In the afternoons in the Philippines  when the pillow is damp  and the sun shines in the room  the dream is of another sort  than in the north." "At night  when it is snowing, then it is..." "Look." "A peacock." "A sort of ghastly green  with one immense golden eye." "And in it  these reflections of something tiny and—" "Tiny and—" "Grotesque." "Exactly." "Oh, charming." "Aren't they pretty?" "I haven't seen any since I was a girl." "I remember these and a crystal paperweight  that made a snowstorm when you shook it." "Anacleto, are you happy?" "Why, certainly, when you are well." "Madame Alison, do yourself really believe  that Mr. Sergei Rachmaninoff knows that a chair is something to be sat on  and that the clock shows one the time?" "And if I should take off my shoe  and hold it up to his face and say:" ""What is this, Mr. Sergei Rachmaninoff?"" "Then he would answer like anyone else:" ""Why, Anacleto, that is a shoe." "I myself find it hard to realize."" "I could have knocked on that door downstairs until doomsday  before either one of you would have heard me over all that music." "Oh, thank you." "Alison, how are you?" "I didn't sleep at all last night." "Oh, I am sorry." "Well, you just take a good nap this afternoon  because you just gotta make it for tonight." " Make what?" " For God's sakes, Alison, my party." "I've been working like a fool for three days getting everything ready." "Why, I don't give a party like this but twice a year." "Of course." "It just slipped my mind for the moment." "Listen." "Here's the way it's gonna go." "I'm gonna put all the leaves in the table  so everybody can just kind of mill around and help themselves." "I have two baked Virginia hams  one huge turkey, fried chicken, cold sliced pork  and plenty of barbecued spareribs, and all kinds of little knickknacks  like, oh, pickled onions and olives and radishes." "Oh, and we're going to start off by serving hot rolls  and hot little cheese biscuits and stuff like that." "Oh, and I'm gonna have the punch bowl in the corner." "And for those that like their liquor straight I'll have on the sideboard  eight bottles of Kentucky bourbon  five of rye  five of scotch..." "Oh, and listen, I'm bringing in an entertainer from out of town  who will play the accordion, and later on—" "But who on earth is going to eat all that food?" "Well, the whole shebang." "I've invited everybody  from Old Sugar and his wife on down." "Leonora, how can you call a commanding general "Old Sugar"?" "Oh, Alison, I've known Julius practically all my life." "Why, he was my daddy's chief of staff." "Oh, Alison, I wanna ask you a favor." "Do you think Anacleto could please serve the punch for me?" "Well, I'm sure Anacleto would be delighted." "Oh, thank you, honey." "Oh, and Susie's two brothers are helping out in the kitchen." " I've never seen anything to equal it." " By the way, is Susie married?" "Susie?" "Oh, good heavens, no." "She won't have anything to do with men." "She was caught when she was about 14 years old  and she's never forgotten." "But why?" "I was almost sure I saw someone come out of your house by the back door  just before dawn." "You just imagined it, honey." "Perhaps so." " Alison?" " Yes." "I hope you'll forgive my saying this  but I really don't see how you're gonna get any better  staying in this dark room all day long." "Now, whenever I'm sick or tired or nervous  I get on the back of a horse and I ride myself better." "Now, I know you could do the same thing." "I know you can ride." "Why, you told me you used to foxhunt, didn't you?" "Yes." "Did I ever tell you about the time I was out foxhunting  with a 13-year-old girl, the whipper-in, and she broke her neck?" "Yes, you have told me every terrible detail five times." "Your lunch, Madame Alison." "Oh, lunchtime?" "I've gotta go  but listen, I'll see you later on tonight  and you be there at 4:30, okay?" "Now, don't you see me out to the door." "I'll see you later, honey, okay?" "Bye-bye!" "Anacleto, I am going to divorce the colonel." "Madame Alison, where shall we go after that?" "That I have not yet decided." " Do you think we might live in a hotel?" " It's a possibility." "Or we could run a prawn boat somewhere." "We could live on the boat." "How much money do you have in the bank?" "$425.06." "Do you want me to draw it out?" "No, not now, but we might need it later." "I'll kill you, you dirty bastard." "Please." "Oh, God." "My daddy was an eight-goal man." "I got up to four goals once myself." "Leonora, they let a lady play polo?" "Why, sure, sometimes." "And I was pretty good." "Of course, my daddy was Old Leatherbreeches." "We were stationed at Fort Myer at the time." "The men thought they'd have to accommodate me." "You know, a girl playing." "Well, I taught them a thing or two." "Before the first chukker was over they had to carry two of them off the field." "I just had to go and ride them off..." " Good evening, colonel." " How are you, captain?" "Fine." "Fine, thank you." "Anacleto tells me that Mrs. Langdon will not be here this evening." "No, she's not feeling well." "I wonder, would it be all right if I ran over for a few minutes?" "Sure." "You go on over there." "Listen to me." "There's nothing wrong with her..." " Where's Weldon?" " Yeah, where is Weldon?" "Go on over and talk to her." "She'll be real glad to see you." " Run along." " Thank you, sir." "Can't you see him?" "Trudging down the highway  the stick over his shoulder and his precious Clausewitz in a bandana." "Who?" "Who?" "My husband." "My horse threw me and then ran away." "Yes, sir, I know." "Private Williams found him and brought him in." " He here?" " Yes, sir." "He's in the stall with Firebird." "Oh, sounds like a good party." "It's probably the last party I'll attend on this post." " Or any other." " Why, Murray..." "Penderton called me in this afternoon." "He said, "I want you to know what I'm doing, Weincheck." "I can't, in all conscience, give you better than satisfactory  on your efficiency report."" "It was quite a blow." "He went on." "He said, "It's not that you're remiss in your duties." "It's just that you lack certain qualities of leadership."" "Oh, dear." "So I said, "In that case, I'm leaving the service."" "And Penderton said, "I hoped that that would be your reaction, Weincheck  because frankly, I don't see much of a future for you in the Army."" "He said he was really doing me a favor." "Well, maybe he was." "Hey, what's the joke?" "The little Filipino put perfume in a specimen of Alison Langdon's urine  before taking it to the hospital for analysis." " Who says?" " You know something else?" "The same boy got through one day to the general." "He asked the general to stop the soldier  from blowing his bugle at 6:00 in the morning  because it disturbed Mrs. Langdon's rest." "The general said, "You know who you're talking to?"" "He said, "Of course."" "He was trying to say "house boy" in French." "Weldon?" "Weldon?" "What in the world happened to you?" "Well, the horse..." "The horse stumbled, and I fell into a blackberry bush." "He ran off, and..." "Oh, my." "Well, you are a mess." "What horse were you riding?" "What horse were you riding?" "Firebird." "Firebird?" "What in the world were you doing on him?" "You know you can't horseback well enough to ride him." "You say he ran away?" "Is he loose?" "Well..." "Well, he found his— He found his way back to the stable." "Well, how is he?" "He's all right." "Are you sure he's all right?" "Yeah." "Any cuts on him?" "No, he's all right." "Who beat him?" "Nobody here, ma'am." "Oh, that son of a bitch." "Well, certainly, horse cavalry is a thing of the past, but that's not the point." "The point is that polo playing is great trainership—" "Training for the leadership of an officer." "That's what I say." "And the polo grounds have produced more great leaders  than the playing fields of Eton anytime." "Pershing played polo, didn't he, general?" " Patton played polo." " Summerall." " MacArthur." " Right." " Devers." " Terry Allen." "Right." "It's just a damn shame that a country as rich and powerful as ours  can't spend a few dollars to buy some oats for some horses." "So Firebird's all right, is he?" "You lousy bastard  beating my horse, my Firebird!" "What did Major Penderton do?" "He stood like a statue." "He did not defend himself." "She struck him time and again  as hard as she could, right across the face." "His face was already torn from the riding accident  which made it all the more horrible." "Was she drunk?" "Everybody thought so, but she wasn't." "I should know." "I was the barman." "I dispensed the drinks." " Are you sleepy, Madame Alison?" " Not at all." "Shall I get our watercolors so we paint for a while?" " If you like." " I shall be back suddenly." " Soon." " Oh, yes, soon." "Excuse me, colonel." "Are—?" "Are you asleep, my dear?" "Yes." "Dead asleep." "Well, my God." "What a— What a debacle." "I've heard all I want to hear from Anacleto." "Well, my dear, you should have been there." "Mercifully, I wasn't." "Well  just a little kiss." "Kiss you night-night." "Good night, Morris." "Thirty, 17." "Couldn't get my breath." "I couldn't breathe." "It's all right." "I am here." "Thank you, sergeant." "Parade, hut!" "Code 10, hut!" "Parade present!" "Order!" "Report!" "Order!" "She keeps imagining all these things, you know?" "Yesterday, she thought the house was on fire." "Said she could smell smoke." "Then this morning when I was home  she swore up and down she could hear some kid screaming." "There had been an accident with a car  and she said Anacleto and I have to go around and ask all the neighbors." "So we did." "I felt like a damn fool." "How's it going with you and Weldon?" "Better." "A lot better." "A hell of a lot better." "Why, he's a changed boy." "He's even polite to me when we're alone." "I guess I shouldn't have done it." "But what the hell." "He had it coming, beating my horse." "I guess everybody thinks I was drunk, don't they?" "I guess so." "You know, it's a damn good thing for Weldon." "A damn lucky thing the general used to bounce you on his knee, because—" "If Alison pulled a stunt like that  I'd get transferred so fast it would make your hair grow." "Well, now, Alison wouldn't do a thing like that, now, would she?" "No." "Hey, the fights are tonight." " You wanna go to the fights?" " Yeah, sure, I'd love to." "What's so damn funny?" "Weldon said he fell in a blackberry patch." "Can you imagine?" "Of all things, a blackberry patch." "—between Corporal Jose Fernandez in black trunks  and Private First Class Harry Higby in white trunks." "Oh, hit him back!" "Come on." "Come on!" "No!" "Get up!" "Get up!" "Get up!" "No!" "I don't believe it." "Well, I think I'll be going along now." "I'm going back to the office." "The office this time of night?" "You crazy?" "I've got a lot of work to do, finish up." "I'll see y'all later." "Have someone drive you there and wait for you." "No, thanks, Morris." "I think the walk will do me good." " I'll see y'all later." "Bye." " All right." " He's still down." " Oh, he's all right." "Hey, mister, over here." "I'll tell you what—" " I'll tell you what I'll do." " Yeah." " If he buys the food then I'll buy the drinks." " Come on." "Morris?" "I think you had better go up to your wife's room." "She's not alone." "My husband is with her." "Alison, you shouldn't be wandering around like this." "I'll take you home." "You don't mean to sit there and tell me you know this  and do nothing about it?" "Alison." "Alison." "I went to see where you were, and you weren't there." "Where have you been?" "There's something you should know." "Leonora isn't only deceiving her husband." "She's deceiving you too, with an enlisted man." "Furthermore, I'm going to get a divorce." "And as I have no money, I would appreciate your lending me the sum of $500." "I will pay you back at five percent interest  with Anacleto and Captain Weincheck as guarantors." "You need not feel any further responsibility toward me." "Anacleto and I will go into some business together or buy a prawn boat, maybe." "And now will you please help him bring my trunk up from the cellar?" "We have to pack and be out of here early tomorrow morning." "I just remembered, Anacleto." "Moultrieville, South Carolina." "It's beautiful and small." "I went there once when I was 7 to visit a great-aunt." "My great-aunt Evelyn." "It's near Charleston." "It is on the sea  and the people are most civilized." "Bring the timetables." "Where are they?" "Good." "Columbia." "Columbia." "10:20." "We shall leave this house forever at 8 in the morning." "That will give us plenty of time to buy the tickets and get the Pullman seats." "Oh, Anacleto." "We will want a picnic basket." "I do not care for Pullman fare." "Oh, what shall we do?" "But Madame Alison, today I bought a poussin." " I shall go and prepare it now." " And hard-boiled eggs." " And sweet pickles." " Yeah." "Colonel Kelly, please." "Hey, where were you last night?" "Got something going for you, huh?" "Him?" "You kidding?" "His daddy told him women carry a terrible disease  and you mustn't ever touch them." "L.G.'s a virgin." "Ain't you, L.G.?" "Our doctor's from Walter Reed." "You know, Colonel Kelly." "But after he looked at her he said he had to bring in another doctor." "Some psychiatrist." "And it was  plain awful." "I just felt so damn ashamed for her." "They were lighting matches and holding them up in front of her face  and asking her all kinds of questions  and Anacleto kept interfering." "We had to lock him up in his room." "She wouldn't cooperate with them, anyway." "So  finally, they said—" "Said we have to send her away to a—" "To a sanitarium." "And I said, "Now, listen." "I don't want her in some place  where they're gonna have straitjackets." "None of that stuff." "Just  someplace where she can be quiet and comfortable  and listen to her records if she wants to and have a room for Anacleto."" "So they said they know an institution that's in Virginia  that's just like a luxury hotel." "How soon?" "Well  as soon as they make the arrangements, whatever they do." "Good afternoon." "No, don't get up." "I'm Dr. Burgess." "Welcome to our small community." "Will you be staying overnight, colonel?" "No." "No, I have to get right back." "Well, you may be sure we'll take good care of Mrs. Langdon." "You won't be getting up tomorrow." "You'll stay in bed, and we'll start making you well again." "Well  it's a nice place, isn't it?" "Alcoholics." "Senility." "Paresis." "Oh, my God." "What a choice crew." "Soldier, pick up that cigarette butt." "Fieldstrip it." "A soldier is a soldier 24 hours a day." " Do you understand?" " Yes, sir." "Soldier." "Who checked you out of barracks?" "Why is that pocket unbuttoned?" "Button it." "When did you blitz that buckle?" " Don't you have any shoe polish?" " Yes, sir." " Report to the orderly room right away." " Yes, sir." "Major." "Major Penderton." "Major Penderton, have you heard?" " Heard what?" " Alison." "Mrs. Langdon." "She's dead." "No, no." "No, no." "I haven't heard." "What?" "What?" "Alison." "Mrs. Langdon." "She's dead." " Well, but the— The colonel isn't back yet." " No, he's on the noon train." "It was a coronary." "It happened just after he left, it seems." "We received a telegram at division headquarters." "We opened it." "We didn't know what was in it, naturally." "Alison?" "I'm almost finished, Morris." "Why not give them to Weincheck?" "All these records." "He'd be happy to have them." "Oh, I think I'll keep them over in my room." "I might wanna play them sometime." "Oh, now, Morris, you know you hate classical records." "Don't talk like that." "It's—" "Well, it's morbid." "Well, she gave that little thing to Anacleto, and he kept it up here." "Damn, I wish he'd come back." "Strange he didn't show up at the funeral, isn't it?" "He just packed up all her things and got out of that hospital the morning after she died." "Just— Just disappeared." "Funny, isn't it?" "You know, I never told you this  but when Catherine was born  Alison had a hell of a time of it." "Thirty-three hours in labor." "Thirty-three solid hours." "When it got so I couldn't stand to listen to her anymore— Screaming, you know?" "You know who she hung on to?" "Anacleto." "Yeah." "The little Filipino was there  sweat pouring down his face." "Doctor told her she wasn't bearing down hard enough, so he'd—" "He'd bear down right along with her." "Bending his knees." "Screaming when she'd scream." "Hell." "Leonora, I didn't know there was anything wrong with her." "I mean, I didn't know she was really sick." "I just thought she was..." "I didn't realize, that's all." "Of course you didn't realize." "Nobody did." "Well  I guess there's just two things left for me now:" "Keep myself fit and do my job." "Serve my country." "Only two things?" "Only two things?" "No." "Not here, now." "I'll tell you what let's do." "Let's go riding." "May be some blackberries left." "Now, a man does not flee because  he's fighting in an unjust cause." "He does not attack because his cause is just." "He flees because he's the weaker, and he conquers because he's the stronger." "Or more to the point, because his leaders made him feel stronger." "Rommel  Patton, Marshall, MacArthur." "They..." "They had it." "How did they—?" "How did they make their troops believe that they were stronger?" "Leadership is intangible." "It's hard to measure, difficult to describe." "Leadership must include a measure of inherent ability  to control and direct self-confidence  based on initiative, loyalty to superiors  and a sense of pride." "Pride." "It's far easier to recognize a leader  than to define leadership in clear and in universally understood terms." "Now..." "Is leadership learned?" "Is it taught?" "Is a man born with it?" "How did it come to Patton?" "Class dismissed." "Sergeant." "Afternoon, Major Penderton." "I'll have the black mare." "Sorry, sir." "Williams has her out." "Well, saddle any horse then." "It doesn't matter." "Yes, sir." "Blackjack." "Damn." "You know, I used to tease Anacleto all the time  about what I'd do to him if I got him in a battalion." "Of course, I was kidding him mostly  but I think if he'd joined the Army, that would have been the best thing for him." "He certainly would be flattered  if he could hear the way you carry on about him now." "He wouldn't have been happy in the Army  but it might have made a man out of him." "Knocked some of that nonsense out of him, anyway." "It is a pretty awful thing to see a grown-up man  dancing around on his toes to some kind of silly music  and painting all kind of funny-looking pictures with watercolors." "Oh, we'd have run him ragged in the Army, all right." "He sure would have been miserable  but I think anything would be better than all that— All that other mess." "Any fulfillment obtained at the expense of normality is wrong  and should not be allowed to bring happiness." "In short, it's a..." "It's better, because it's morally honorable  for the square peg to keep scraping about in a round hole  rather than to discover and use the unorthodox one that would fit it." "Well, yeah, that's right, Weldon." "Don't you agree with me?" "No." "No, I don't." "Excuse me." "Oh, Weldon." "Poor Rufus." "I've had him ever since I was in boarding school." "Now you've broken him  after all these years." "I'm sorry, Leonora." "It's just all this clutter is—" "What's the matter with clutter?" "I like it." "Well  I'd rather live without it." "Bare floors." "Plain white walls." "No window curtains." "Nothing but essentials." "If that's the way you feel about it, why don't you resign your commission  and start over again as an enlisted man?" "Of course you're laughing  but there's much to be said for the life of men among men  with no luxuries, no ornamentation." "Utter simplicity." "It's rough and it's coarse, perhaps, but it's also clean." "It's clean as a rifle." "There's no speck of dust inside or out  and it's immaculate in its hard, young fitness." "Its chivalry." "They're seldom out of one another's sight." "They eat, and they train, and they shower, and they play jokes  and go to the brothel together." "They sleep side by side." "The barracks room offers many a lesson in courtesy and how not to give offense." "They guard the next man's privacy as though it was their own." "And the friendships— My lord." "There are friendships formed that are stronger than..." "Stronger than the fear of death." "And they're never lonely." "They're never lonely." "And sometimes I envy them." "Well, good night." "Well, I guess Alison's death has kind of hit him hard too." "Well, do you want a card?" "No." "I wish Anacleto would come back." "Well, I wish Alison would come back." "I wish everything would be the way it was before." "Come on, you guys." "Get out of here." "Out!" "Hey, what is this?" "Hey, come on." "What's wrong?" "Son of a..." "Come on!" "What's the matter?" "You started it." "Come on." "Come on." "Bastard." "Where's my towel?"