Secret Warriors (Men at War 2)

"You weren't involved at all in the press conference?"

"I almost had to fight my way into the room," Canidy said. "But none of the press made any connection between you and Whittaker?"

"If anything, they thought I was Secret Service," Canidy said." Good," Donovan said." Then what? " "The orderly put the President in his wheelchair," Canidy said, "and we went upstairs."

"General Marshall was in the living quarters?" Donovan asked. "Not in the Oval Office?"

"He was waiting for us in the living quarters," Canidy said. "He and Mrs. Rooseveh."

"And there was liquor?"

"Yes, Sir. But I don't think-I don't know how to say this-Whittaker was weak, and the alcohol got to him more than it normally would. So he was probably drunk, but I don't think that's the r

eason he did what he did.

11 "Get into that," Donovan said. "Mrs. Roosevelt kissed him, then asked him if he'd been in touch with his mother and Mrs. Whittaker.

He told her he'd talked with them, and one of the stewards passed hors d'oeuvres-" "You were introduced how?"

IINIM "As an old friend, who worked for you, Sir," Canidy said.

"Okay," Donovan said.

"Go on."

"Then we went in to dinner," Canidy said. "The only other guest was General Marshall?" Donovan asked. "Yes, Sir," Canidy said.

"He introduced himself and welcomed Jimmy home. He sat on one side of the table. Jimmy and I were on the other, and the Roosevelts at the ends. A steward poured wine, and the President said he had a toast to make, but he thought it should wait until after grace."

"He said grace?" Donovan asked. "A brief grace," Canidy said.

"Standard Episcopal, with a couple of added lines, one about Jimmy making it home, and another asking for a speedy victory. When he was finished, he toasted Jimmy's return, and then Jimmy gave him Mac Arthur's letter. He read it, and then gave it to General Marshall, who, as I said before, didn't like what it had to say."

"Did Mrs. Roosevelt read it?"

"No, Sir," Canidy said.

"When the President got it back from General Marshall, he put it in his pocket."

"What next?"

"We made small talk-prep school, Harvard, that sort of thing-and the food was served. That's when Jimmy went off."

"What, exactly, did he do?"

"Jimmy asked the steward for an extra glass and an extra plate," Canidy said.

"I thought it was a little odd, but nothing to worry about. It was also odd that he hadn't eaten any of his soup. And then, when the steward tried to take the bowl away, he wouldn't let him remove it. I thought that was odd, too, but I didn't think it was alarming. I was more worried that he was going to get sloppy drunk, and that didn't seem to be happening. "Then the meal, roast beef, was served. That's when I realized he was up to something. He sliced a small piece off his baked potato, and put that on the plate he'd asked for. Then he did the same thing with the slice of beef. And a piece of butter, and a roll. Then he carefully spooned a small portion of the clam chowder into the glass he had asked for. "I asked him what the hell he was doing, and he smiled at me and winked. Then he stood up and walked around the table to George Marshall. He leaned over and pushed Marshall's plate to the center of the table. Then he laid the plate he'd made up in front of Marshall and poured the clam chowder over everything. "And then he made his speech: "That, General, is a three-eighths share of our ration. The troops in the Philippines have been on a three eighths ration for months. Except the men on Bataan and Corregidor have no beef. What they're eating, if they have meat at all, is caribou and what's left of the mules and horses of the Twenty-sixth Cavalry. And there is no butter, no bread, and no clam chowder."

"Jesus Christ!" Donovan said. "I told him to sit down," Canidy said.

"He looked at me. He was excited, flushed in the face. He just grinned at me. And then he looked at the President, came to attention, and saluted. Very crisply."

"You couldn't have stopped him?" Donovan asked." This all happened very quickly," Canidy said.

"I didn't know what he was up to."

"Did he say anything to the President?" Donovan asked. "He said he was sure the Commander in Chief and the Chief of Staff would like to know what a three-eighths ration was, and that he hoped they would enjoy it, but that he begged to be excused, because he seemed to have lost his appetite."