The Shadow of War (Danny Shaw Manfred Brehme Book 1) by Jack Murray
Author:Jack Murray [Murray, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2022-06-08T16:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Sergeant OâDowd relished this day on many levels. He would be rid of the latest batch of recruits. They would become someone elseâs problem. A new lot would arrive in the next few days. New people to bully. He was looking forward to it immensely. There was a fundamental problem with the training the army was giving to each new bunch of recruits. They became soldiers. A unit. A brotherhood who looked out for one another. After six weeks they were a tougher, more resourceful, and more confident bunch of men. In less jaundiced eyes, this would have been considered a success. In OâDowdâs, it was a disaster.
With each passing week their fear of him diminished as their effectiveness grew. OâDowdâs opportunities for bullying them decreased exponentially. The one glowing exception to this was their first pass. Time after time it presented untold opportunities to mete out one last dose of punishment. In this regard, the last day was usually one of double joy for OâDowd.
The morning was predictably bad for most of the whole platoon. The Gissing brothers knew they were in big trouble which was unlikely to be mitigated by the fact that this was the day when the platoon would break up. The platoon scrambled onto the parade ground like a wave crashing against the cliff: uncontrolled, arbitrary, and compelling in equal measure.
OâDowd looked at the riches in front of him and almost did not know where to begin. This was the mother lode. Like an ivory poacher stumbling across the mythical elephantâs graveyard, he walked along the line, almost licking his lips in anticipation as he slowly identified potential victims. Finally, he returned to the centre standing directly in front of the platoon. With a bark that resembled a growl, OâDowd began the drill.
âTen-shun.â
The platoonâs movement had all the silken precision of an inebriated elephant which, many still were. In particular, the Gissing brothers were almost a day late in completing their drill. Neither cared much. Both had long accepted the inevitable and made little effort to keep in time or stem the giggles. OâDowd lost no time in picking them and many others out for their appearance and sent them out running around the parade ground, rifle in air. One by one the runners and riders fell by the wayside. After ten minutes of drilling, barely half of the platoon was left, although Danny and his friends were still at the races.
This was very disappointing for OâDowd, still smarting from his humiliation in the unarmed combat. Danny had adroitly managed to avoid upsetting the highly up-settable sergeant. As a result, aside from extra duty peeling potatoes or night watch, Danny had escaped any direct confrontation.
After half an hour of drilling, there were few still running. Most had offered up a sacrifice to Dionysus by the side of the parade ground. This provided much amusement to those of a more temperate disposition. It also offered potential rewards to those running a book on the field.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
The Spy by Paulo Coelho(1455)
Cain by Jose Saramago(1444)
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese(1359)
La Catedral del Mar by Ildefonso Falcones(1081)
Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers(1073)
The August Few Book One: Amygdala by Sam Fennah(1023)
La Catedral del Mar by ILDEFONSO FALCONES(1004)
Cain by Saramago José(972)
The Prince: Jonathan by Francine Rivers(966)
A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin(960)
La dama azul by Sierra Javier(946)
Devil Water by Anya Seton(935)
La dama azul(v.1) by Javier Sierra(934)
Sons of Encouragement by Francine Rivers(915)
The Book of Saladin by Tariq Ali(908)
The Sacrifice by Beverly Lewis(900)
Murder by Vote by Rose Pascoe(879)
Creacion by Gore Vidal(857)
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero (World Classics) by Henryk Sienkiewicz(839)
