"[...]and trudged out toward the mess hall to the meager breakfast that awaited him. "Specifically," said Colonel Fennister, "what we want to know is: What are our chances of staying alive until the relief ship comes?" He and most of the other officers were still groggy-eyed, having had too much to do to even get an hour's sleep the night before. Only the phlegmatic Major Grodski looked normal; his eyes were always about half closed. Captains Jones and Bellwether, in charge of A and B Companies respectively, and their lieutenants, Mawkey and Yutang, [...]."