PARTISAN REVIEW
out on the cot, and he seemed viciously stiff like a corpse. He was
clothed only in
his
drawers. One arm, thrown back across the pillow
behind his head, w.as splotched red with merthiolate. From where
I sat I could see
his
wide lips move slightly with the rhythmic suspira–
tion of
his
breathing. Hovering in the still
air
were the sounds of
his tiny, rasping snore.
We continued our game, but Thompson had surrendered any
notion of an orderly, well-planned attack, and he was merely playing
at random for my men, like checkers. I realized an h01.bitual impa–
tience and irritation was growing in me, a mood that would leave
me, I knew from experience, drained, feeling like a bundle of snarled
string, out of sorts and with no interest in anything.
"You know," said Thompson solemnly, "dammit if it ain't a
good idea for .a man to have had him a lot of bags 'round back home
like that chief. You get to thinking about all them weekends you
spent with a fifth of whiskey on the table and you in bed with them
women and it gives you something to sort of hang everything together
with in your mind. You ever try thinking about
all
that happened
a year ago and see what a helluva mess you remember. Dammit, you
can put it together in your mind, just let your remembering jump
from one beautiful lay to another."
Thompson's face, staring blankly, was vacant and stupid as he
mused contentedly upon this idea which had come to him and to
which he had given life and truth by his spoken words.
"For Christ's sake," I said, "play the game of ches.'>."
Before I knew it, he had, just by making his foolish moves
without caring at all for victory, captured both my Knights (one
I had intended to be a sacrifice) and my King's Bishop. In fury I
concentrated upon the game enough to trap
his
King
and finally
bring him to a checkmate.
But I was still angry. "That's the last game with you," I said,
"the last damn game."
"Aww," he said, "now don't get sore. You won, didn't you?"
"I'm not sore."
"What you need," and Thompson waggled his head, "is a nice
little old girl friend, maybe one that's part Chinese."
From the mess hall, during the evening meal, I watched the five
800
