Against the Sun Page #3

Pastula, you're next.

No, thanks.

See, that's why you got to do it last

'cause if you broil it for too long,

it's gonna burn for sure,

and if you go too short,

it's not gonna broil evenly.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Be better if we could eat it.

I was doing all right, see.

I didn't expect no, "A."

- Was this the mechanic's course?

- No, it was another one.

I thought I ought to get a "B"

or anyways a "C"

and that would have been all right.

I never really cared about making the best

marks in school as long I learned the stuff.

And I had this course down good.

I saw that report card,

and saw that big shiny "F."

I just said to hell with this bullcrap,

excuse my language.

So what'd you do?

I just walked out of school

and never went back.

And you had that course

down good, you reckon.

You bet I did.

But I'm assuming you aced

that mechanic's course.

I did well enough, Chief.

So you could dismantle

and reassemble a drift sight,

much less take a reading on one.

- Yeah. I guess I could.

- Yeah?

Just strange, that's all.

I had us headed west.

Your sighting corrected us east.

You asked for confirmation

and he gave it to you...

I'm discussing this

with my bombardier, Aldrich.

I know you confirmed it.

I'm just saying it's strange, that's all.

Okay, Chief.

It's strange all right.

Hen-Ry!

Put on the pot.

Pastula.

Ain't there a rule?

A guy can have a handful

and still be okay?

Sucks the water right out

of your brains, they say.

Coming up on 120 hours.

Five days, not a sip.

How come we ain't dead?

We've been soakin' ourselves...

not moving around too much.

Couple shoes full of the yellow stuff.

While it lasted.

Not even a rudder.

But you know where you want us

to go, right, Chief?

I know. But to calculate...

Chief?

- A pencil.

- Pencil?

Gol'-darn ever-loving pencil.

You see it? I can make a chart!

Pastula, you said east two to

three knots on your watch, yeah?

Aldrich? More like southeast

two to three?

Yeah, affirmative.

Okay, then.

Here we are, by dead reckoning.

Then where are we headed?

With luck, right here.

Those islands I told you about,

there's a chain of 'em to our southwest.

Closest friendly land in the Pacific.

Now if this favorable wind

will just push us there.

What if it just keeps shifting, Chief?

The chart don't take us nowhere.

Unless...

Unless we can hold our position

in the headwind.

Aldrich, untie the handrail.

Pastula, I need you

to take some of that wire,

and you make a frame to keep this

from folding up in the water.

- Can you do it?

- You bet, Chief.

Aldrich, leave one end tied.

Here, hold him up. Hold him up.

Perfect!

That, sailors, is a sea anchor.

We might not be able to control the wind,

but we can avoid being blown the wrong way.

That's nice work, Chief.

Now, I'll be yelling,

"Hen-Ry, put on the brake!"

Look at her grab that water.

Hey, Tony, look.

I'll be damned if I don't see

a tear of joy in old Chief.

And he said

we were too dried up for that.

- I do believe you're right.

- Really, you saw a tear?

Okay. Let off the brake.

Men, it isn't easy.

But it might be worse.

If we can keep this wind

and just get a little rain.

Well...

it never hurt to ask.

Dear Lord.

Gene, the only prayers

I know are in Polish.

I hadn't marked you

for a churchgoing man, Aldrich.

I'm sorry to say I'm not much of one.

That's all right.

Just follow my lead.

Dear Lord...

we know we ain't always

done right by you,

we're asking for a little help here

during this trial,

if it so pleases you.

And, Lord...

watch over all the men back on our ship

and all the ships at sea...

including this one.

Tony?

Dear God,

I'll go along

with what the other guys said.

But mostly...

we need some rain, Lord.

- Please.

- Rain, dear Lord.

- Please rain.

- Please.

Amen.

Oh, come on!

Jeez, give him a second.

He's got to cook it up.

Or maybe...

It ain't gonna rain no more

Oh, it ain't gonna rain no more, no more

It ain't gonna rain no more

How in the hell can the old folks sail

It ain't gonna rain no more

Old Uncle Ned laid by the sewer

By that sewer he died

All the neighbors up and said

It must have been sewer-side

That's a good one.

Hey, Chief, you got one?

Oh, it isn't going to rain anymore,

anymore

It isn't going to rain anymore

The grammar's good, but what a bore,

so we'll sing it like before

Big finish!

Oh, it ain't gonna rain no more, no more

It ain't gonna rain no more

Our song is done, but it sure was fun

Oh, it ain't gonna rain no more

What's wrong?

Nothing. Nothing.

Battle stations, boys!

We've got precipitation!

I got the bag.

- Here it comes!

- Get as much as you can!

Fill 'er up! Fill 'er up!

Looks like your prayers worked, Aldrich!

You're gonna have to thank Sunday School

at First Baptist Church, Chief!

Come on, you stupid fish.

Haven't you ever seen

a fishing line before?

A week of nothing.

By golly, Aldrich, you are the most

patient fisherman I've ever seen.

Where I come from,

don't catch, don't eat.

Just going about this

the wrong way, that's all.

Keep that knife in your pocket,

like I told you.

If you put a hole in this raft...

We don't eat soon,

we might just as well, Chief.

Aldrich, you store that knife!

That's an order.

If you don't catch, you don't eat.

Aldrich...

- I hit one.

- Stop it!

- I hit the raft. I hit the raft.

- God, you idiot.

Don't move! I'll get the cement.

It ain't the raft! Oh, sh*t!

Don't let it go!

I think I got it. I think I got it.

- Nice work, Pastula.

- Atta boy, Tony.

Fell... fell out of the sky.

A shark just fell out of the sky.

Oh, jeez.

Looks like she just had dinner.

We got bait for another day or two.

Probably some for an extra meal as well.

The salt will keep it.

How far we got to those islands, Chief?

According to the chart, roughly 390.

Wind's out of the northeast,

which is just right for us.

If she switches on us, we just throw

on the brake, no backsliding.

- We're goin' home.

- And, boy, will my wife be sore.

Here I thought

you was only married to the Navy.

- Neither of you boys are married?

- Nope.

I got a girl back in Youngstown.

- Irene.

- Not me. But I'd like to someday.

Hey, I got a sister.

- You two would get along.

- No kidding?

What's she like?

I don't know. People say she's like me.

That's not much

of an advertisement, Pastula.

She don't look like me.

She's, you know, easy to get along with

and a lot prettier than me.

- Describe her to me.

- Really?

Yeah, really.

Well, she's about 5'4.

She's got long brown hair...

green eyes.

- This is kind of weird, Gene.

- Keep going.

She's a whiz in the kitchen.

She likes to read.

She wears... clothes.

She wears clothes?

Well, I should certainly hope so.

Clothes are not a requirement

in my book.

Hey, that's my sister

you're talking about.

And when we get through this, I'll thank you

to set me up with her. She sounds lovely.

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