Nevertheless, Milo allows Cathcart to talk him out of combat. They are two of a kind. For Cathcart and Milo, self-interest — glory and profit — are always more important than duty or even the lives of others. Their combat records are also similar. Milo has taken part in five raids, including the one on his own base. Cathcart, who raises the required number of missions to eighty in this chapter, has flown only two himself — one occurring when Aarfy mistakenly navigated the plane into enemy flak on a flight to Naples to pick up a water cooler. The two eventually agree that Milo will be listed for missions, but another man will take his place. Milo will receive full credit and any medals earned. If the substitute is killed, of course, he will have to do his own dying. As Cathcart says, "After all, Milo, what's fair is fair." It is Nately who is flying for Milo when he is killed over La Spezia the next morning.
As Cathcart and Milo discuss the progress of the syndicate, and what must be looked after if Milo goes to combat, Heller injects a lighter tone featuring more of the playful dialogue that enlivens the novel. The rhythm and rhyme are worthy of a vaudeville comic routine as Milo speaks of animal hides:
"Look after the hides."
"The hives?"
"The hides."
"The hides?"
"The hides. In Buenos Aires. They have to be tanned."
"Tanned?"
"In Newfoundland. And shipped to Helsinki N.M.I.F. before the spring thaw begins. Everything to Finland goes N.M.I.F. before the spring thaw begins.
"No Money In Front?" guessed Colonel Cathcart.
"Good, Colonel. You have a gift, sir. And then there's the cork."
"The cork?"
"That must go to New York , the shoes for Toulouse, the ham for Siam, the nails for Wales, and the tangerines for New Orleans."
"Milo."
"We have coals in Newcastle, sir."
Cathcart has heard enough. Clearly, Milo is indispensable right where he is.
