Part 3, Chapter 9 Summary

The exhausted stretcher party struggles to carry Wilson over difficult terrain. Wilson, who is in agony, complains that the men are deliberately hurting him. When they stop for a rest, delirious Wilson decides that he would rather just be left there than continue with the pain of being moved. He suggests to Brown that they leave him, and Brown is tempted. Wilson no longer understands his situation, but is only aware that he is holding the other men back. When Brown tells Stanley that Wilson has suggested they leave him, Stanley says perhaps they should, and Brown manages to summon up some rage and force the men to continue. Wilson is desperate with thirst, but Goldstein tells the men that giving water to a man with a stomach wound will kill him. Goldstein and Stanley argue, and Goldstein is bitter when...