Close behind us were our friends: Tjaden$$$ a skinny locksmith of our own age$$$ the biggest eater of the company. He sits down to eat as thin as a grasshopper and gets up as big as a bug in the family way; Haie Westhus$$$ of the same age$$$ a peat-digger$$$ who can easily hold a ration-loaf in his hand and say: Guess what I've got in my fist; then Detering$$$ a peasant$$$ who thinks of nothing but his farm-yard and his wife; and finally Stanislaus Katczinsky$$$ the leader of our group$$$ shrewd$$$ cunning$$$ and hard-bitten$$$ forty years of age$$$ with a face of the soil$$$ blue eyes$$$ bent shoulders$$$ and a remarkable nose for dirty weather$$$ good food$$$ and soft jobs.