zhang194

@@@@@Above him on the rail were a number of seamen staring at him, and the blank look on their faces, critical and slightly disdainful, irritated himHe stared down through the rungs of the ship ladder at the landing craft, which had backed off toward the loading crane at the bow of the shipHearn found himself sweating again from the minor exertion of climbing the ladder
“Who’s in charge of ship’s stores?” he asked one of the seamen at the rail
The sailor looked at him, and then without speaking jerked a thumb in the direction of a hatchHearn walked past him, pushed open the heavy hatch door, and started down a ladderThe heat smote him with an unexpected shock; he had forgotten how unbearable a ship’s hold could become
And of course it stankHe felt like an insect crawling through the entrails of a horse”Damn,” he muttered in disgustAs usual the ship smelled of stale cooking — fat mixed with something as nauseous as the curds from a grease trapAbstractedly, he rubbed his finger against a bulkhead and drew it away wetAll over the ship the bulkheads sweated a film of oil and water
He stepped warily along the passageway, narrow and lighted poorly, the metal floor plates obstructed by an occasional pile of equipment sloppily covered with a small tarpaulinOnce he skidded and almost fell on some oil slick”Goddam filthy place,” he sworeHe was enraged, inordinately angry, and it seemed without causeHearn paused, wiping his forehead roughly with his sleeveWhat the hell’s the matter with me?
“Are you junior officers getting your liquor supplies?” the General had asked, and something had leaped in him at that moment, left his nerves raw and displaced since thenWhat had the General meant?
After a moment or two he pushed down the corridor againThe ship’s stores office was in a medium-sized cabin off the passagewayIt was cluttered with odd ration crates, bits of wood from broken boxes, a pile of papers which had overflowed from a wastebasket, and a large worn desk pushed into one corner
“Are you Kerrigan?” Hearn asked the officer sitting at the desk
“That’s right, sonny, what can I do for you?” Kerrigan had a lean, rather battered face with a few teeth missing
Hearn stared at him a moment, his anger pulsing ag