@@@@@He heard an awful exploding sound which
@@@@@He heard an awful exploding sound which seemed to fill every corner of his mind, and the earth shook and quivered underneath him in the holeNumbly he felt dirt flying over him, and his body being pounded by some blastThe explosion came again, and the dirt and the shock, and then another and another blastHe found himself sobbing in the hole, terrified and resentfulWhen another mortar landed, he screamed out like a child, "That's enough, that's enough!" He lay there trembling for almost a minute after the shells had stoppedHis thighs felt hot and wet, and at first he thought, I'm woundedIt was pleasant and peaceful, and he had a misty picture of a hospital bedHe moved his hand back, and realized with both revulsion and mirth that he had emptied his bowels
Hennessey froze his bodyIf I don't move, I won't get any dirtier, he thoughtHe remembered Red and Wilson talking about "keeping a tight ass-hole," and now he understood what they meantHe began to get the gigglesThe sides of his foxhole were crumbling, and he had a momentary pang of anxiety at the thought that they would collapse in the next shellingHe was beginning to smell himself and he felt a little sickShould he change his pants? he wonderedThere was only one other pair in his pack, and he might have to wear them for a monthIf he threw these away, they might make him pay for them
But no, that wasn't true, he told himself; you didn't have to pay for lost equipment overseasHe was beginning to get the giggles againWhat a story this would make to tell PopHe saw his father's face for a momentA part of him was trying to needle his courage to look over the edge of his holeHe raised himself cautiously, as much from the fear of further soiling his pants as from an enemy he might see
Toglio and Ridges were still beneath the surface of their slit-trenchesHennessey began to suspect he had been left alone