| He stood up slowly, hitched on his pack, and called out, "Come on, men There was no response, which furnished him with a sharp irritationThey would have obeyed Croft quickly"Come on, let's get going, menWe can't sit around on our butts all day His voice was taut and impersonal, and the soldiers rose out of the grass slowly and sullenlyHe could hear them muttering, was aware of a glum crabbed resistance
His nerves were more keyed than he had realized"Quit the bitching and let's go," he heard himself pipingHe was damn tired of them, he realized suddenly
"That sonofabitch," one of them muttered
It shocked him, and generated resentmentHe repressed it, howeverWhat they were doing was understandable enoughIn the fatigue of the march, they had to have someone to blame, and no matter omega planet ocean watches what he did they would hate him sooner or laterHis approach would end by confusing and annoying themCroft they would obey, for Croft satisfied their desire for hatred, encouraged it, was superior to it, and in turn exacted obedienceThe realization depressed him"We've still got a long way to go," he told them more quietly
They continued to plod onThey were much closer to Mount Anaka nowEvery time they crossed a ridge-line they could see the towering cliff walls bordering the pass, could distinguish even the individual trees in the forests on its middle slopesThe country, even the air, had changedIt was cooler here, but the air was perceptibly thinner, and burned faintly in their lungs
They reached the approach to the pass by three o'clockCroft climbed the crest of the last hill, omega seamaster de ville crouched behind a bush, and examined the land before themBeneath the hill, a valley extended for perhaps a quarter of a mile, an island of tall grass surrounded by the mountain range in front, and by hills to the left and rightBeyond the valley the pass wound through the range in a twisting rocky gorge between sheer walls of stoneThe floor of the defile was hidden in foliage, and might conceal any number of men
He stared at the few knolls set in the opening of the pass, searching the jungle that circled about its footHe had a quiet satisfaction that he had come so farA damn lot of land we crossed, he told himselfThrough the silence which hung over the hills, he could hear the muffled rumble of artillery on the other side of the mountains, the sporadic grumble of a battle
Martinez had balenciaga replicas handbags come up beside him"All right, Japbait," he whispered, "let's keep to the hills around the edge of this valleyIf they's anyone sitting at the entrance to the pass, they'll see us if we go through the field Martinez nodded, crouched over the top of the hill, and turned to the right to circle the valleyCroft waved his arm to the rest of the platoon to follow, and started down the hill
They moved very slowly, keeping close to the tall grassMartinez would advance only thirty yards at a time, and then halt, before moving forward againSomething of his caution was transferred to the menWithout anything being said, they all were waryThey roused themselves from their fatigue, alerted their dulled senses, even restored to some extent a necessary delicate control of their limbsThey were careful replica watches rolex where they placed their feet, and they lifted their legs at each step, and set them down firmly, trying to make no noiseThey were all acutely conscious of the silence in the valley, and started at unexpected rustles, halted every time an insect began its chirpingTheir tension increasedThey expected something to happen, and their mouths became dry, their heartbeats pounded high in their chests
It was only a few hundred yards from the place where Croft had studied the valley to the approaches of the pass, but the route Martinez took was more than half a mileIt took them a long time to circle around, perhaps half an hour, and their alertness diminishedThe men in the rear of the column had to wait minutes at a time, and then jog forward on the half-run to keep up with the rest of the replica prada handbags plat |