still finding nothing, would drop back to the road and
rejoin their command as soon as they could.

After a while this work of the point had used up the first platoon, and
began to eat into ours. It was then recalled and our platoon took its
place, with Squad 6 as point, Squad 7 providing the patrols and
communicating files, and our squad as immediate reserve. Word coming for
more men, Clay and Reardon were sent forward, and I saw them despatched
off to the right, Clay toward a nearby sugar-bush, a little grove with
its sugar house at its edge, and Reardon further forward, toward a
suspicious hollow behind which was a railroad embankment which might
conceal a regiment. I was plainly among the next to go, and waited
impatiently. Then we halted, and remained so for some time.

The men grumbled. Why stop? Why wasn't the support following more
closely? Where was the enemy, anyway? Hoping to be right in the middle of
the next scrap, we were disappointed at any delay. Meanwhile Clay, having
found nothing in his sugar-bush, returned, and attention was fixed on our
flanking patrol to the left, who having discovered that we had stopped,
likewise became stationary, and leaving un-rummaged the thick little
growth of birch ahead of him, sat himself down in the midst of an apple
orchard, and visibly regaled himself on something red.

This was exasperating, we having already had to leave untouched so many
trees laden with fruit. Roars from the sergeant failing to dislodge our
resting patrol, a man was starting out to order him on, when he was
observed to start, crouch behind a tree, make ready to shoot, and then to
fall back from cover to cover, continually presenting his gun at an
unseen enemy. He rejoined us out of breath, and feverishly reported
having heard men in the scrub, and a voice ordering him to surrender. The
sergeant was hastily sending out our squad to investigate the birches,
when a bunch of men were seen to break cover from them. As they wore no
white hat-bands we knew they must be our men; and when they came nearer
we saw them to be Squad 9, which a quarter hour before the captain had
despatched on special flanking duty, and which, being full of energy, had
done their work and more too, coming back after a practical joke on our
patrol.

And then we were ordered to return! Instead of the support marching to
fill the gap between us, we were to go back to it. Bannister objected
that a man was missing, Reardon through