CHAPTER VI.
The youth awakened slowly. He came gradually back to a position fromwhich he could regard himself. For moments he had been scrutinizinghis person in a dazed way as if he had never before seen himself. Thenhe picked up his cap from the ground. He wriggled in his jacket tomake a more comfortable fit, and kneeling relaced his shoe. Hethoughtfully mopped his reeking features.
So it was all over at last! The supreme trial had been passed. Thered, formidable difficulties of war had been vanquished.
He went into an ecstasy of self-satisfaction. He had the mostdelightful sensations of his life. Standing as if apart from himself,he viewed that last scene. He perceived that the man who had foughtthus was magnificent.
He felt that he was a fine fellow. He saw himself even with thoseideals which he had considered as far beyond him. He smiled in deepgratification.
Upon his fellows he beamed tenderness and good will. "Gee! ain't ithot, hey?" he said affably to a man who was polishing his streamingface with his coat sleeves.
"You bet!" said the other, grinning sociably. "I never seen sech dumbhotness." He sprawled out luxuriously on the ground. "Gee, yes! An'I hope we don't have no more fightin' till a week from Monday."
There were some handshakings and deep speeches with men whose featureswere familiar, but with whom the youth now felt the bonds of tiedhearts. He helped a cursing comrade to bind up a wound of the shin.
But, of a sudden, cries of amazement broke out along the ranks of thenew regiment. "Here they come ag'in! Here they come ag'in!" The manwho had sprawled upon the ground started up and said, "Gosh!"
The youth turned quick eyes upon the field. He discerned forms begin toswell in masses out of a distant wood. He again saw the tilted flagspeeding forward.
The shells, which had ceased to trouble the regiment for a time, cameswirling again, and exploded in the grass or among the leaves of thetrees. They looked to be strange war flowers bursting into fiercebloom.
The men groaned. The luster faded from their eyes. Their smudgedcountenances now expressed a profound dejection. They moved theirstiffened bodies slowly, and watched in sullen mood the franticapproach of the enemy. The slaves toiling in the temple of this godbegan to feel rebellion at his harsh tasks.
They fretted and complained each to each. "Oh, say, this is too much ofa good thing! Why can't somebody send us supports?"
"We ain't never goin' to stand this second banging. I didn't come hereto fight the hull damn' rebel army."
There was one who raised a doleful cry. "I wish Bill Smithers had trodon my hand, insteader me treddin' on his'n." The sore joints of theregiment creaked as it painfully floundered into position to repulse.
The youth stared. Surely, he thought, this impossible thing was notabout to happen. He waited as if he expected the enemy to suddenlystop, apologize, and retire bowing. It was all a mistake.
But the firing began somewhere on the regimental line and ripped alongin both directions. The level sheets of flame developed great clouds ofsmoke that tumbled and tossed in the mild wind near the ground for amoment, and then rolled through the ranks as through a gate. Theclouds were tinged an earthlike yellow in the sunrays and in the shadowwere a sorry blue. The flag was sometimes eaten and lost in this massof vapor, but more often it projected, sun-touched, resplendent.
Into the youth's eyes there came a look that one can see in the orbs ofa jaded horse. His neck was quivering with nervous weakness and themuscles of his arms felt numb and bloodless. His hands, too, seemedlarge and awkward as if he was wearing invisible mittens. And therewas a great uncertainty about his knee joints.
The words that comrades had uttered previous to the firing began torecur to him. "Oh, say, this is too much of a good thing! What dothey take us for--why don't they send supports? I didn't come here tofight the hull damned rebel army."
He began to exaggerate the endurance, the skill, and the valor of thosewho were coming. Himself reeling from exhaustion, he was astonishedbeyond measure at such persistency. They must be machines of steel. Itwas very gloomy struggling against such affairs, wound up perhaps tofight until sundown.
He slowly lifted his rifle and catching a glimpse of the thickspreadfield he blazed at a cantering cluster. He stopped then and began topeer as best he could through the smoke. He caught changing views ofthe ground covered with men who were all running like pursued imps, andyelling.
To the youth it was an onslaught of redoubtable dragons. He becamelike the man who lost his legs at the approach of the red and greenmonster. He waited in a sort of a horrified, listening attitude. Heseemed to shut his eyes and wait to be gobbled.
A man near him who up to this time had been working feverishly at hisrifle suddenly stopped and ran with howls. A lad whose face had bornean expression of exalted courage, the majesty of he who dares give hislife, was, at an instant, smitten abject. He blanched like one who hascome to the edge of a cliff at midnight and is suddenly made aware.There was a revelation. He, too, threw down his gun and fled. Therewas no shame in his face. He ran like a rabbit.
Others began to scamper away through the smoke. The youth turned hishead, shaken from his trance by this movement as if the regiment wasleaving him behind. He saw the few fleeting forms.
He yelled then with fright and swung about. For a moment, in the greatclamor, he was like a proverbial chicken. He lost the direction ofsafety. Destruction threatened him from all points.
Directly he began to speed toward the rear in great leaps. His rifleand cap were gone. His unbuttoned coat bulged in the wind. The flapof his cartridge box bobbed wildly, and his canteen, by its slendercord, swung out behind. On his face was all the horror of those thingswhich he imagined.
The lieutenant sprang forward bawling. The youth saw his featureswrathfully red, and saw him make a dab with his sword. His one thoughtof the incident was that the lieutenant was a peculiar creature to feelinterested in such matters upon this occasion.
He ran like a blind man. Two or three times he fell down. Once heknocked his shoulder so heavily against a tree that he went headlong.
Since he had turned his back upon the fight his fears had beenwondrously magnified. Death about to thrust him between the shoulderblades was far more dreadful than death about to smite him between theeyes. When he thought of it later, he conceived the impression that itis better to view the appalling than to be merely within hearing. Thenoises of the battle were like stones; he believed himself liable to becrushed.
As he ran he mingled with others. He dimly saw men on his right and onhis left, and he heard footsteps behind him. He thought that all theregiment was fleeing, pursued by these ominous crashes.
In his flight the sound of these following footsteps gave him his onemeager relief. He felt vaguely that death must make a first choice ofthe men who were nearest; the initial morsels for the dragons would bethen those who were following him. So he displayed the zeal of aninsane sprinter in his purpose to keep them in the rear. There was arace.
As he, leading, went across a little field, he found himself in aregion of shells. They hurtled over his head with long wild screams.As he listened he imagined them to have rows of cruel teeth thatgrinned at him. Once one lit before him and the livid lightning of theexplosion effectually barred the way in his chosen direction. Hegroveled on the ground and then springing up went careering off throughsome bushes.
He experienced a thrill of amazement when he came within view of abattery in action. The men there seemed to be in conventional moods,altogether unaware of the impending annihilation. The battery wasdisputing with a distant antagonist and the gunners were wrapped inadmiration of their shooting. They were continually bending in coaxingpostures over the guns. They seemed to be patting them on the back andencouraging them with words. The guns, stolid and undaunted, spokewith dogged valor.
The precise gunners were coolly enthusiastic. They lifted their eyesevery chance to the smoke-wreathe
d hillock from whence the hostilebattery addressed them. The youth pitied them as he ran. Methodicalidiots! Machine-like fools! The refined joy of planting shells in themidst of the other battery's formation would appear a little thing whenthe infantry came swooping out of the woods.
The face of a youthful rider, who was jerking his frantic horse with anabandon of temper he might display in a placid barnyard, was impresseddeeply upon his mind. He knew that he looked upon a man who wouldpresently be dead.
Too, he felt a pity for the guns, standing, six good comrades, in abold row.
He saw a brigade going to the relief of its pestered fellows. Hescrambled upon a wee hill and watched it sweeping finely, keepingformation in difficult places. The blue of the line was crusted withsteel color, and the brilliant flags projected. Officers were shouting.
This sight also filled him with wonder. The brigade was hurryingbriskly to be gulped into the infernal mouths of the war god. Whatmanner of men were they, anyhow? Ah, it was some wondrous breed! Orelse they didn't comprehend--the fools.
A furious order caused commotion in the artillery. An officer on abounding horse made maniacal motions with his arms. The teams wentswinging up from the rear, the guns were whirled about, and the batteryscampered away. The cannon with their noses poked slantingly at theground grunted and grumbled like stout men, brave but with objectionsto hurry.
The youth went on, moderating his pace since he had left the place ofnoises.
Later he came upon a general of division seated upon a horse thatpricked its ears in an interested way at the battle. There was a greatgleaming of yellow and patent leather about the saddle and bridle. Thequiet man astride looked mouse-colored upon such a splendid charger.
A jingling staff was galloping hither and thither. Sometimes thegeneral was surrounded by horsemen and at other times he was quitealone. He looked to be much harassed. He had the appearance of abusiness man whose market is swinging up and down.
The youth went slinking around this spot. He went as near as he daredtrying to overhear words. Perhaps the general, unable to comprehendchaos, might call upon him for information. And he could tell him. Heknew all concerning it. Of a surety the force was in a fix, and anyfool could see that if they did not retreat while they hadopportunity--why--
He felt that he would like to thrash the general, or at least approachand tell him in plain words exactly what he thought him to be. It wascriminal to stay calmly in one spot and make no effort to staydestruction. He loitered in a fever of eagerness for the divisioncommander to apply to him.
As he warily moved about, he heard the general call out irritably:"Tompkins, go over an' see Taylor, an' tell him not t' be in such anall-fired hurry; tell him t' halt his brigade in th' edge of th' woods;tell him t' detach a reg'ment--say I think th' center 'll break if wedon't help it out some; tell him t' hurry up."
A slim youth on a fine chestnut horse caught these swift words from themouth of his superior. He made his horse bound into a gallop almostfrom a walk in his haste to go upon his mission. There was a cloud ofdust.
A moment later the youth saw the general bounce excitedly in his saddle.
"Yes, by heavens, they have!" The officer leaned forward. His facewas aflame with excitement. "Yes, by heavens, they 've held 'im! They've held 'im!"
He began to blithely roar at his staff: "We 'll wallop 'im now. We 'llwallop 'im now. We 've got 'em sure." He turned suddenly upon an aid:"Here--you--Jones--quick--ride after Tompkins--see Taylor--tell him t'go in--everlastingly--like blazes--anything."
As another officer sped his horse after the first messenger, thegeneral beamed upon the earth like a sun. In his eyes was a desire tochant a paean. He kept repeating, "They 've held 'em, by heavens!"
His excitement made his horse plunge, and he merrily kicked and sworeat it. He held a little carnival of joy on horseback.