The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1943-12-02

get shipped out of here? Why didn' I
/ get weekend pass? Why was
on KIP again today? Every sort OF
question you could imagine!'
"Quit popping your guns, laddie, F"
/ told him. That's no grind for
you. You use the same answer on
all the questions: How the hell
would I know?'"
He was quiet for a while and /
thought he had gone to sleep again.
/ was all primed to hum "Chow
Calf to wake him up, when he
stirred and sighed heavily.
"All right" l prompted him, so
you're the one-man information bu-
reau. So what do you do in the
line of actual work."
"Workl" he shouted. "That's
what do-work! Why, have to
write all the letters and keep all
the files and keep duty rosters up
to date! l have to make thousands
of rosters of the battery every
month"
That" I suggested, should take
at least two or three hours every
day. What do you do to while away
the other tedious hours of the day?"
He was quiet again for about a
minute. Then he arose. "I've got
a pretty hard day ahead of me to-
morrow, Hargrove," he said. Il
hope you won't mind if you excuse
myself. You have to get plenty of
sleep when you have a job like
mine"
when you have a job like
yours" l growled, "you can sleep
night and day."
ID
The top sergeant stuck his head
out of the supply room and beck
oned with his arm. Come ere,
you"
| dropped my stable broom in the
battery street and hastened toward
him, as one always does when sum-
moned by the top kick.
"Well, Private Hargrove, he
said, this is a red-letter day for
you"
'You mean you're going to lei
me 60 out and drill like the other
fellows?"
Noooo, Private Hargrove," he
said. Il mean I'm going to let you
turn in all your equipment. You
are no longer to be rookie, Pri-
vate Hargrove. You are going to
be an important working cog in the
great wheel of national defense.
You are leaving US, Private Har-
grove.
whats the deal?" asked
"Where do go and what do I do?'
The sergeant chuckled and leaned
back in his chair. He sighed &C.
statically twice. Would you really
like to know, son, or would you
rather put it off as long as you
CAM"
"Well,' I said thankfully, "you
can't be sending me out as a cook,
because / don't know anything
about cooking"
The sergeant sat back and
drummed happily on the table.
Great gods!" l shouted. I'm
not going to be a cannoneer, am I?"
mo, Private Hargrove," he said
after another long pause, you're
not going to be a cannoneer. We're
going to give you a job where you
can use your natural talents"
There was a distinctly sadistic
tone in his voice. / waited.
You're going to be a first cook,
Hargrove," he said fondly. mot
just plain cook. A head cook
A king in your own kitchen, a man
of responsibility. Amt that lovely?"
"You can't do this to mel"
roared, when my breath returned.
Its against every decent human
law! don't know anything about
cooking! I want to be a cannon
eer!"
Sergeant Goldsmith's eyes wan
dered guiltlessly to the ceiling.
"You don't know anything about
cooking, huh? That's bad, boy,
that's badl Why, you're supposed
to be on shift right now"
Sergeant" l said, Il couldn't
fry an egg right now if it had di-
rections on the package"
You're in the cooks battery,
amt you? You've been going to
cooking school and you've been sent
to a kitchen for all these weeks.
You're supposed to be graduated
any day now. What have you been