THE next morning the youth discovered
that his tall comrade had been
the fast-flying messen- ger of
a mistake. There was much scoffing
at the latter by those who had
yesterday been firm adherents
of his views, and there was even
a lit- tle sneering by men who
had never believed the rumor.
The tall one fought with a man
from Chatfield Corners and beat
him severely.
The youth felt, however, that
his problem was in no wise lifted
from him. There was, on the contrary,
an irritating prolongation. The
tale had created in him a great
concern for himself. Now, with
the newborn question in his mind,
he was compelled to sink back
into his old place as part of
a blue demonstration.
For days he made ceaseless
calculations, but they were all
wondrously unsatisfactory. He
found that he could establish
nothing. He final- ly concluded
that the only way to prove himself
was to go into the blaze, and
then figuratively to
18 watch his legs to discover
their merits and faults. He reluctantly
admitted that he could not sit
still and with a mental slate
and pencil derive an answer.
To gain it, he must have blaze,
blood, and danger, even as a
chemist requires this, that,
and the other. So he fretted
for an opportunity.
Meanwhile he continually tried
to measure himself by his comrades.
The tall soldier, for one, gave
him some assurance. This man's
se- rene unconcern dealt him
a measure of con- fidence, for
he had known him since childhood,
and from his intimate knowledge
he did not see how he could be
capable of anything that was
beyond him, the youth. Still,
he thought that his comrade might
be mistaken about himself. Or,
on the other hand, he might be
a man here- tofore doomed to
peace and obscurity, but, in
reality, made to shine in war.
The youth would have liked
to have discov- ered another
who suspected himself. A sympa-
thetic comparison of mental notes
would have been a joy to him.
He occasionally tried to fathom
a comrade with seductive sentences.
He looked about to find men in
the proper mood. All attempts
failed to bring forth any statement
which looked in any way like
a confession to those doubts
which he privately acknowledged
in himself. He was afraid to
make an open declaration of his
concern, because he dreaded to
place some unscrupulous confidant
upon the high plane of the unconfessed
from which elevation he could
be derided.
In regard to his companions
his mind wa- vered between two
opinions, according to his mood.
Sometimes he inclined to believing
them all heroes. In fact, he
usually admitted in secret the
superior development of the higher
qualities in others. He could
conceive of men going very insignificantly
about the world bearing a load
of courage unseen, and although
he had known many of his comrades
through boyhood, he be- gan to
fear that his judgment of them
had been blind. Then, in other
moments, he flouted these theories,
and assured himself that his
fellows were all privately wondering
and quaking.
His emotions made him feel
strange in the presence of men
who talked excitedly of a pro-
spective battle as of a drama
they were about to witness, with
nothing but eagerness and curiosity
apparent in their faces. It was
often that he sus- pected them
to be liars.
He did not pass such thoughts
without severe condemnation of
himself. He dinned reproaches
at times. He was convicted by
himself of many shameful crimes
against the gods of traditions.
In his great anxiety his heart
was continually clamoring at
what he considered the intolerable
slowness of the generals. They
seemed content to perch tranquilly
on the river bank, and leave
him bowed down by the weight
of a great prob- lem. He wanted
it settled forthwith. He could
not long bear such a load, he
said. Sometimes his anger at
the commanders reached an acute
stage, and he grumbled about
the camp like a veteran.
One morning, however, he found
himself in the ranks of his prepared
regiment. The men were whispering
speculations and recounting the
old rumors. In the gloom before
the break of the day their uniforms
glowed a deep purple hue. From
across the river the red eyes
were still peering. In the eastern
sky there was a yel- low patch
like a rug laid for the feet
of the com- ing sun; and against
it, black and patternlike, loomed
the gigantic figure of the colonel
on a gigantic horse.
From off in the darkness came
the trampling of feet. The youth
could occasionally see dark shadows
that moved like monsters. The
regi- ment stood at rest for
what seemed a long time. The
youth grew impatient. It was
unendurable the way these affairs
were managed. He won- dered how
long they were to be kept waiting.
As he looked all about him
and pondered upon the mystic
gloom, he began to believe that
at any moment the ominous distance
might be aflare, and the rolling
crashes of an engagement come
to his ears. Staring once at
the red eyes across the river,
he conceived them to be grow-
ing larger, as the orbs of a
row of dragons ad- vancing. He
turned toward the colonel and
saw him lift his gigantic arm
and calmly stroke his mustache.
At last he heard from along
the road at the foot of the hill
the clatter of a horse's galloping
hoofs. It must be the coming
of orders. He bent forward, scarce
breathing. The exciting clickety-click,
as it grew louder and louder,
seemed to be beating upon his
soul. Presently a horseman with
jangling equipment drew rein
be- fore the colonel of the regiment.
The two held a short, sharp-worded
conversation. The men in the
foremost ranks craned their necks.
As the horseman
wheeled his animal and gal-
loped away he
turned to shout over his shoulder, "Don't
forget that box of cigars!" The
colonel mumbled in reply. The
youth wondered what a box of
cigars had to do with war.
A moment later the regiment
went swinging off into the darkness.
It was now like one of those
moving monsters wending with
many feet. The air was heavy,
and cold with dew. A mass of
wet grass, marched upon, rustled
like silk.
There was an occasional flash
and glimmer of steel from the
backs of all these huge crawl-
ing reptiles. From the road came
creakings and grumblings as some
surly guns were dragged away.
The men stumbled along still
muttering specu- lations. There
was a subdued debate. Once a
man fell down, and as he reached
for his rifle a comrade, unseeing,
trod upon his hand. He of the
injured fingers swore bitterly
and aloud. A low, tittering laugh
went among his fellows.
Presently they passed into
a roadway and marched forward
with easy strides. A dark regiment
moved before them, and from behind
also came the tinkle of equipments
on the bodies of marching men.
The rushing yellow of the developing
day went on behind their backs.
When the sunrays at last struck
full and mellowingly upon the
earth, the youth saw that the
landscape was streaked with two
long, thin, black columns which
disappeared on the brow of a
hill in front and rearward vanished
in a wood. They were like two
serpents crawling from the cavern
of the night.
The river was not in view.
The tall soldier burst into praises
of what he thought to be his
powers of perception.
Some of the tall one's companions
cried with emphasis that they,
too, had evolved the same thing,
and they congratulated themselves
upon it. But there were others
who said that the tall one's
plan was not the true one at
all. They per- sisted with other
theories. There was a vigorous
discussion.
The youth took no part in them.
As he walked along in careless
line he was engaged with his
own eternal debate. He could
not hin- der himself from dwelling
upon it. He was de- spondent
and sullen, and threw shifting
glances about him. He looked
ahead, often expecting to hear
from the advance the rattle of
firing.
But the long serpents crawled
slowly from hill to hill without
bluster of smoke. A dun-col-
ored cloud of dust floated away
to the right. The sky overhead
was of a fairy blue.
The youth studied the faces
of his compan- ions, ever on
the watch to detect kindred emo-
tions. He suffered disappointment.
Some ardor of the air which was
causing the veteran com- mands
to move with glee--almost with
song-- had infected the new regiment.
The men began to speak of victory
as of a thing they knew. Also,
the tall soldier received his
vindication. They were certainly
going to come around in behind
the enemy. They expressed commisera-
tion for that part of the army
which had been left upon the
river bank, felicitating themselves
upon being a part of a blasting
host.
The youth, considering himself
as separated from the others,
was saddened by the blithe and
merry speeches that went from
rank to rank. The company wags
all made their best endeav- ors.
The regiment tramped to the tune
of laughter.
The blatant soldier often convulsed
whole files by his biting sarcasms
aimed at the tall one.
And it was not long before
all the men seemed to forget
their mission. Whole brigades
grinned in unison, and regiments
laughed.
A rather fat soldier attempted
to pilfer a horse from a dooryard.
He planned to load his knap-
sack upon it. He was escaping
with his prize when a young girl
rushed from the house and grabbed
the animal's mane. There followed
a wrangle. The young girl, with
pink cheeks and shining eyes,
stood like a dauntless statue.
The observant regiment, standing
at rest in the roadway, whooped
at once, and entered whole-souled
upon the side of the maiden.
The men became so engrossed in
this affair that they entirely
ceased to remember their own
large war. They jeered the piratical
private, and called attention
to various defects in his personal
ap- pearance; and they were wildly
enthusiastic in support of the
young girl.
To her, from
some distance, came bold advice. "Hit
him with a stick."
There were crows and catcalls
showered upon him when he retreated
without the horse. The regiment
rejoiced at his downfall. Loud
and vociferous congratulations
were showered upon the maiden,
who stood panting and regard-
ing the troops with defiance.
At nightfall the column broke
into regimental pieces, and the
fragments went into the fields
to camp. Tents sprang up like
strange plants. Camp fires, like
red, peculiar blossoms, dotted
the night.
The youth kept from intercourse
with his companions as much as
circumstances would allow him.
In the evening he wandered a
few paces into the gloom. From
this little distance the many
fires, with the black forms of
men pass- ing to and fro before
the crimson rays, made weird
and satanic effects.
He lay down in the grass. The
blades pressed tenderly against
his cheek. The moon had been
lighted and was hung in a treetop.
The liquid stillness of the night
enveloping him made him feel
vast pity for himself. There
was a caress in the soft winds;
and the whole mood of the darkness,
he thought, was one of sympathy
for himself in his distress.
He wished, without reserve,
that he was at home again making
the endless rounds from the house
to the barn, from the barn to
the fields, from the fields to
the barn, from the barn to the
house. He remembered he had often
cursed the brindle cow and her
mates, and had sometimes flung
milking stools. But, from his
present point of view, there
was a halo of happiness about
each of their heads, and he would
have sacrificed all the brass
buttons on the continent to have
been enabled to return to them.
He told himself that he was not
formed for a soldier. And he
mused seriously upon the radical
differences between himself and
those men who were dodging imp-
like around the fires.
As he mused
thus he heard the rustle of
grass, and, upon turning
his head, discovered the loud
soldier. He called out, "Oh,
Wilson!"
The latter
approached and looked down. "Why,
hello, Henry; is it you? What
you do- ing here?"
"Oh, thinking," said
the youth.
The other sat
down and carefully lighted
his pipe. "You're getting
blue, my boy. You're looking
thundering peeked. What the dickens
is wrong with you?"
"Oh, nothing," said
the youth.
The loud soldier
launched then into the sub-
ject of the anticipated
fight. "Oh, we've got 'em now!" As
he spoke his boyish face was
wreathed in a gleeful smile,
and his voice had an exultant
ring. "We've got 'em now. At
last, by the eternal thunders,
we'll lick 'em good!"
"If the truth was known," he
added, more soberly, "THEY'VE
licked US about every clip up
to now; but this time--this time--we'll
lick 'em good!"
"I thought you was objecting
to this march a little while
ago," said the youth coldly.
"Oh, it wasn't that," explained
the other. "I don't mind marching,
if there's going to be fight-
ing at the end of it. What I
hate is this getting moved here
and moved there, with no good
com- ing of it, as far as I can
see, excepting sore feet and
damned short rations."
"Well, Jim
Conklin says we'll get a plenty
of fighting this
time."
"He's right
for once, I guess, though I
can't see how it come.
This time we're in for a big
battle, and we've got the best
end of it, certain sure. Gee
rod! how we will thump 'em!"
He arose and began to pace
to and fro excit- edly. The thrill
of his enthusiasm made him walk
with an elastic step. He was
sprightly, vigorous, fiery in
his belief in success. He looked
into the future with clear, proud
eye, and he swore with the air
of an old soldier.
The youth watched
him for a moment in silence.
When he finally
spoke his voice was as bitter
as dregs. "Oh, you're going to
do great things, I s'pose!"
The loud soldier
blew a thoughtful cloud of
smoke from his pipe. "Oh,
I don't know," he remarked with
dignity; "I don't know. I s'pose
I'll do as well as the rest.
I'm going to try like thunder." He
evidently complimented himself
upon the modesty of this statement.
"How do you know you won't
run when the time comes?" asked
the youth.
"Run?" said the loud one; "run?--of
course not!" He laughed.
"Well," continued the youth, "lots
of good- a-'nough men have thought
they was going to do great things
before the fight, but when the
time come they skedaddled."
"Oh, that's all true, I s'pose," replied
the other; "but I'm not going
to skedaddle. The man that bets
on my running will lose his money,
that's all." He nodded confidently.
"Oh, shucks!" said the youth. "You
ain't the bravest man in the
world, are you?"
"No, I ain't," exclaimed the
loud soldier in- dignantly; "and
I didn't say I was the bravest
man in the world, neither. I
said I was going to do my share
of fighting--that's what I said.
And I am, too. Who are you, anyhow.
You talk as if you thought you
was Napoleon Bonaparte." He glared
at the youth for a moment, and
then strode away.
The youth called
in a savage voice after his
comrade: "Well,
you needn't git mad about it!" But
the other continued on his way
and made no reply.
He felt alone in space when
his injured com- rade had disappeared.
His failure to discover any mite
of resemblance in their view
points made him more miserable
than before. No one seemed to
be wrestling with such a terrific
per- sonal problem. He was a
mental outcast.
He went slowly to his tent
and stretched him- self on a
blanket by the side of the snoring
tall soldier. In the darkness
he saw visions of a thou- sand-tongued
fear that would babble at his
back and cause him to flee, while
others were going coolly about
their country's business. He
admit- ted that he would not
be able to cope with this monster.
He felt that every nerve in his
body would be an ear to hear
the voices, while other men would
remain stolid and deaf.
And as he sweated
with the pain of these thoughts,
he could
hear low, serene sentences. "I'll
bid five." "Make it six." "Seven." "Seven
goes."
He stared at the red, shivering
reflection of a fire on the white
wall of his tent until, ex- hausted
and ill from the monotony of
his suf- fering, he fell asleep.
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