and wished that the general had not
taken quite so deep an interest in him. The crisis was coming now, and
he nerved himself for it.
"I am very much obliged, general," he faltered. "But my time will be up
in about two weeks, and I should like to go home and see my folks."'
Rodney expected that his superior would be surprised to hear this, and
his actions showed that he certainly was, and a little angry, as well.
He arose to a sitting posture on the couch, and jammed the tobacco down
in his pipe with a spiteful motion as he said, rather curtly:
"You must give up all such nonsense. I am not going to deplete my
brigade, at this most critical time, by letting everybody go home who
takes a fool's notion into his head that he wants to. According to law I
am obliged to discharge all one year's men when their term of service
expires; but they shall never get out of my lines. I'll conscript them
as fast as a provost guard can catch them."
The general settled back on his elbow again and looked at his visitor as
if to inquire what he thought of the situation. Rodney thought it was
dark enough, and showed what he thought by the gloomy expression that
came upon his face. He gazed down at the cap he was twirling in his
hands and said nothing. The general relented.
"I don't want to be hard on you, Rodney," said he, speaking in much the
same tone that a kind and indulgent father might use in reproving an
erring son, "but can't you see for yourself what would happen to us and
our government if we should weaken our armies by discharging troops at
this juncture? The enemy has a hundred and forty thousand men in our
front at this minute, and more coming. Memphis is taken, New Orleans has
fallen, the railroads, except those that run south of us, are in
Halleck's possession, and if the enemy along the river moves quickly,
the troops we have sent to fortify Vicksburg will not have time to lift
a shovel full of dirt before the Mississippi clear to the Gulf will be
lost to us. I tell you the situation is critical in the extreme, and if
we don't look out, and fight as men never fought before, the Lincoln
government will have us in the dust in less than two months. I'll not
let a man of you go, and that's all there is about it."
The general puffed vigorously at his pipe and looked as though he meant
every word he said. Was this the man who had promised on two different
occasions that he would lend Rodney a helping hand if the opportun
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