here he could fall and be
unmolested. To search for one he strove against the tide of his pain.

Once he put his hand to the top of his head and timidly touched the
wound. The scratching pain of the contact made him draw a long breath
through his clinched teeth. His fingers were dabbled with blood. He
regarded them with a fixed stare.

Around him he could hear the grumble of jolted cannon as the scurrying
horses were lashed toward the front. Once, a young officer on a
besplashed charger nearly ran him down. He turned and watched the mass
of guns, men, and horses sweeping in a wide curve toward a gap in a
fence. The officer was making excited motions with a gauntleted hand.
The guns followed the teams with an air of unwillingness, of being
dragged by the heels.

Some officers of the scattered infantry were cursing and railing like
fishwives. Their scolding voices could be heard above the din. Into
the unspeakable jumble in the roadway rode a squadron of cavalry. The
faded yellow of their facings shone bravely. There was a mighty
altercation.

The artillery were assembling as if for a conference.

The blue haze of evening was upon the field. The lines of forest were
long purple shadows. One cloud lay along the western sky partly
smothering the red.

As the youth left the scene behind him, he heard the guns suddenly roar
out. He imagined them shaking in black rage. They belched and howled
like brass devils guarding a gate. The soft air was filled with the
tremendous remonstrance. With it came the shattering peal of opposing
infantry. Turning to look behind him, he could see sheets of orange
light illumine the shadowy distance. There were subtle and sudden
lightnings in the far air. At times he thought he could see heaving
masses of men.

He hurried on in the dusk. The day had faded until he could barely
distinguish place for his feet. The purple darkness was filled with
men who lectured and jabbered. Sometimes he could see them
gesticulating against the blue and somber sky. There seemed to be a
great ruck of men and munitions spread about in the forest and in the
fields.

The little narrow roadway now lay lifeless. There were overturned
wagons like sun-dried bowlders. The bed of the former torrent was
choked with the bodies of horses and splintered parts of war machines.

It had come to pass that his wound pained him but little. He was
afraid to move rapidly, however, for a dread of dist