H. P. S. Greene

Name: The lucky little stiff
Author: H. P. S. Greene

The lucky little stiff (1927)

Summary

“The lucky little stiff”, published in 1927, is a work by H. P. S. Greene. It explores elements such as Tommy, Issy-la-Boue and cadets.

Quotes from The lucky little stiff (H. P. S. Greene)

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ The third was blond and almost corpulent.
“I knew it, Tommy, I knew it,” said the tall man. “How come you and ‘Fat’ to pull such a stunt, anyway? Ain’t such a joke now, is it? What’re you going to do about it?”
The three entered their barrack and sat down on a bunk near the open end, well away from the crowd huddled around the stove in the middle. The little man gazed sadly before him.
His mustache drooped dolefully. Some observant person had remarked that he could read Tommy by his mustache. When it was freshly waxed and pert, he was just going on a party. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ There the commander of the guard ate his slum and then returned to his barrack. Long John grabbed him by the arm as he entered.
“That frog was around again today, and he brought a lot of stuff,” he whispered. “You’re in on it. Doc is goin’ to make punch. Be around at nine o’clock.”
Tommy was there at the appointed time. At the far end a crowd was gathered. Men were perched as closely as possible on the double-deck bunks. In their midst Bacchanalian rites were in progress. “Doc,” a stout man with a red, satyr-like countenance, was beating a huge bowl of eggs. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ I want to say that you are the most undisciplined body of men I ever saw. That—er—mélée you staged when you were unwittingly marched into—er—contact with a body of enlisted men was the most disgraceful exhibition on the part of officers so-called I ever saw in my life. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ The three chums went back to their bunks.
“Do you birds know anything about being the commander of the guard?” asked Tommy with some concern.
“No,” replied Fat.
“Sure,” answered Long John. “I was chucked out of the first training camp. First, you have to have a gun.”
“A rifle?” asked Tommy.
“No, you little sap. Officers don’t carry rifles, or flying lieutenants either. A pistol.”
“But I ain’t got a pistol.”
“Borrow one then. Do you know the general orders?” ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ The guard was composed of cadets who had joined the Army to fly and remained in it to mount guard, and it was their intention to make it as interesting as possible for all concerned, especially their superiors. But the old sergeant was equal to the occasion. He steered Tommy by the traps planted for him, and then showed him the guardhouse. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ Those cadets are the worst disciplined body of men I ever saw.” Again a familiar note.
“As for you—you seem to have trouble keeping awake. A permanent assignment as commander of the guard ought to give you beneficial practise at it. Of course, after keeping awake all night, you will need to sleep in the day-time. You are therefore relieved from flying duty. Report at guard mount this evening and every evening until further orders. That will do.”
Tommy saluted and went out, his heart sinking. There were only three known ways of getting out of Issy-la-Boue. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ Inspection of the adjutant’s papers brought out evidence that he was an Austrian citizen. Tell the general and the secretary how you came to discover what was going on.”
“Well,” blurted Tommy, “it was this way. I was dizzy and fell down two or three times and finally I decided to go to sleep. Then some guy kept making a filing noise and waking me up, so I shot him.”
That evening three flying lieutenants were finishing an illicit meal of chicken and champagne at a little French inn about three miles from the field, and the smallest of the trio was finishing a story. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ Tommy explained as well as he could, stressing his innocence. He thought his plea must have softened an executioner, but Major Krause was uncompromising in attitude and words.
“Young man,” he said, “you are a disgrace, sir! A disgrace to the United States Army!” Tommy thought he had heard those words before. “We have been having considerable trouble with the guard. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ You may find out it ain’t no joke about generals. The Old Boy himself and the Silly Civilian are going to inspect the post tomorrow. I saw the orders over at the operations office for every machine to be up that can get off the ground. I suppose that means a lot more long walks. But it’s most time for guard mount; you’d better run along and find a gun.”
Tommy disappeared and finally returned with a regulation web belt and holster in one hand, and a .25 caliber automatic in the other. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

H. P. S. Greene, The lucky little stiff (1927)

“ I know it’s a long walk and all that but we want to get a good crowd out this afternoon. The cadets are going to try to get a good crowd out for their fellow who got bumped, and we want to get a good crowd out too. ”

H. P. S. Greene

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