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Show 133 but Bain neither drank nor approved drinking, and had a Christian- Freudian way of dismissing it from his mind. Smead called as soon as Tomo returned empty-handed, and couldn't have had a worse conversation. He gave, he thought, a reasonable account: told what was due, how he had dispatched the servant, and when he had returned. Upon finishing there came a thoughtful moment. Then: "WHISKEY, CAPTAIN? IS THIS A MILITARY CALL?" Smead repeated his story, while outside his window, rain dug rivulets out of the clay, "SORRY, CAPTAIN. IS WHISKEY RATIONED? NOW RICE " Once more, patiently despite subliminal grinding of teeth, Smead told the story. "'EVERYBODY GET HIS SHARE?* I DON'T. I DON'T DRINK." The third account dropped into similar darkness. "BIGGS? BIGGS DOESN'T EITHER." But enough of trivia; time to return to duty. "I'LL LEAVE A MOTE FOR THE MAJOR." And he hung up. Conscientiously he noted it down, in a scrawl the size of his voice. "CAPTAIN SMEAD SENT HOUSEBOY FOR WHISKY. HOUSEBOY RETURNED SOBER. THINKS IT'S BIGGS FAULT. Wallace J Bain, Captain, Infantry, USA." Nor was that the only wrong wrought upon an Engineer. Later that morning other envoys from Higashi reported in, found the cupboard bare, and took their complaints to Smead. Angry, he advised them to tell the Colonel. So a committee requested entry and were admitted. For a |