THE BOYS were so glad to see Si back again alive that they robbed themselves of any choice morsel1 of food they might have saved for to-morrow's delectation.
"Here, Si," said one, "is a nice knuckle-bone o' ham, that I pulled back there at the General's when his cook returned to the tent for something. You ought t've heard the nigger cussing as I walked away, but he couldn't recognize the back o' my head, nor see under my overcoat. Me and my chum 've had supper off it, and we wuz saving the rest for breakfast, but I'll brile it for you."
"Some of them Kentucky fellers," said another, "found a sheep in the briars and killed it. I traded 'em my silk handkerchief for a hunk o' the meat. I'm going to cook a slice for you, Si."
"Si, I'll bile some coffee for you," said a third.
"I'll toast some crackers2 for you," added a fourth.
Shorty roused. He felt so much gladder than any of them, that he was jealous of their attentions.
"See here, you fellers," said he, "this is my partner, an' I'm able to take care of him. I'll bile all the coffee an' toast all the crackers he kin4 eat; though I'm much obliged to you, Jim, for your ham, and to you, Billy, for your mutton, though I'm afraid it'll taste too much of the wool for a wounded man."
"Don't mind about that," said Si; "I'm hungry enough to eat the wool on the sheep's back, even. Hand over your mutton, Billy, and thankee for it. My appetite's not delicate, I can tell you. Woolly mutton won't faze it more'n bark would a buzz-saw." Si didn't over-state the case. He ate everything119 that was cooked and offered him, until he declared that he was so full he "could touch it with his finger."
Shorty Thinks si Does Not Look Like a Ghost. 118
"I'm sure you're not a ghost, from the way you eat," said Shorty, who was beginning to recover his propensity5 for sarcasm6. "If ghosts et like you there'd have to be a steam bakery an' a pork packery run in connection with every graveyard7."
"And I'd never take no ghost to board," said Billy.
"Come, Si," said Jimmy Barlow, filling his briarwood pipe with kinnikinnick, lighting8 it from the fire, taking a few puffs9 to start it, and handing it to Si, "tell us just what happened to you. We're dyin' to hear."
"Well," said Si, settling down with the pipe into a comfortable position, "I don't know what happened. Last thing I knowed I wuz runnin' ahead on Shorty's left, loadin' my gun, an' tryin' to keep up with the Colonel's hoss. Next thing I knowed I wuz wakin' up at the foot of a black-oak. Everything was quiet around me, except the yellin' of two or three wounded men a little ways off. At first I thought a cannonball' d knocked my whole head off. Then it occurred to me that if my head was knocked off I couldn't hear nor see."
"Nor think, even," injected Shorty.
"No, nor think, even. For what'd you think with?"
"I know some fellers that seem to think with their feet, and that blamed awkwardly," mused10 Shorty.
"I kept on wakin' up," continued Si. "At first I thought I had no head at all, an' then it seemed to me I was all head, it hurt so awfully11. I couldn't move hand nor foot. Then I thought mebbe only half my head was shot away, an' the rest was aching for all.120
"I tried shuttin' one eye an' then the other, an' found I'd at least both eyes left. I moved my head a little, an' found that the back part was still there, for a bump on the roots of the oak hurt it.
"By-and-by the numbness12 began to go out of my head an' arm, but I was afraid to put my hand up to my head, for I was afraid to find out how much was gone. Nearly the whole of the left side must be gone, an' all my schoolin' scattered13 over the ground. I lay there thinkin' it all over how awful I'd look when you fellers came to find me and bury me, an' how you wouldn't dare tell the folks at home about it.
"Finally, I got plum desperate. I didn't seem to be dyin', but to be gettin' better every minute. I determined14 to find out just however much of my head was really gone. I put up my hand, timid-like, an' felt my forehead. It was all there. I passed my hand back over my hair an' the whole back of my head was there. I felt around carefully, an' there was the whole side of my head, only a little wet where I'd got a spent ball. Then I got mad an' I jumped up. Think of my makin' all that fuss over a little peck that might have been made by a brick-bat. I started out to hunt you fellers, an' here I am."
"Yes, but you wouldn't 've bin15 here," philosophized Shorty, examining the wound, "if the feller that fired that shot'd given his gun a little hunch16. If that bullet'd went a half-inch deeper, you'd be up among the stars a bow-legged Wabash angel."
"Well, we've licked the stuffin' out of 'em at last, haven't we?" asked Si.
"Well, I should say we had," replied Shorty with an impressive whistle. "I thought the artillery17 would121 tear the foundations out of the whole State of Tennessee, the way it let into them. There won't ba more crashin' an' bangin' when the world breaks up. I'd a-bin willin' to serve 100 years just to see that sight. Lord, what a chance the cannoneers had. First time I ever wanted to be in the artillery. The way they slung18 whole blacksmith shops over into them woods, an' smashed down trees, and wiped out whole brigades at a clip, filled my soul with joy."
"We must go over there in the mornin' an' take a look at the place," said Si drowsily19. "It will be good to remember alongside o' the way they slapped it to us the first day."
Si and Shorty woke up the next morning to find the chill rain pouring down as if the country had been suffering from a year's drouth, and the rain was going to make up for it in one forenoon.
"Lord have mercy," said the disgusted Shorty, as he fell into line for roll-call. "Another seepin', soppin', sloshin', spatterin' day. Only had 14 of 'em this week so far. Should think the geese 'd carry umbrellas, an' the cows wear overshoes in this, land of eternal drizzle20. If I ever get home they'll have to run me through a brick-kiln to dry me out."
In spite of the down-pour the army was forming up rapidly to resume the advance upon Murfreesboro', and over the ground on the left, that had proved so disastrous21 to the rebels the day before.
While the 200th Ind. was getting ready to fall in, the sick-call sounded, and the Orderly-Sergeant22 remarked to Si:
"Fall into this squad23, Corporal Klegg."
"What for?" asked Si, looking askance at the squad.122
"To go to the Surgeon's tent," answered the Orderly-Sergeant. "This is the sick squad."
"That's what I thought," answered Si; "an' that's the reason I ain't goin' to join it."
"But your head's bigger'n a bushel, Si," remonstrated24 the Sergeant. "Better let the doctor see it."
"I don't want none of his bluemass or quinine," persisted Si. "That's all he ever gives for anything. The swellin' 'll come out o' my head in time, same as it does out o' other people's."
"Corporal, I'll excuse you from duty to-day," said the Captain kindly25. "I really think you ought to go to the Surgeon."
"If you don't mind, Captain," said Si, saluting26, "I'll stay with the boys. I want to see this thing to the end. My head won't hurt me half so bad as if I was back gruntin' 'round in the hospital."
"Probably you are right," said the Captain. "Come along, then."
Willing and brave as the men were, the movements were tiresomely27 slow and laggard28. The week of marching and lying unsheltered in the rain, of terrific fighting, and of awful anxiety had brought about mental and physical exhaustion29. The men were utterly30 worn out in body and mind. This is usually the case in every great battle. Both sides struggle with all their mental and physical powers, until both are worn out. The one that can make just a little more effort than the other wins the victory. This was emphatically so in the battle of Stone River. The rebels had exhausted31 themselves, even, more in their assaults than the union men had in repelling32 them.
When, therefore, the long line of blue labored123 slowly through the mud and the drenching33 rain up the gentle slopes on the farther side of Stone River, the rebels sullenly34 gave ground before them. At last a point was reached which commanded a view of Murfreesboro' and the rebel position. The rebels were seen to be in retreat, and the exhausted Army of the Cumberland was mighty35 glad to have them go.
As soon as it was certain that the enemy was really abandoning the bitterly-contested field, an inexpressible weariness overwhelmed everybody. The 200th Ind. could scarcely drag one foot after another as it moved back to find a suitable camping-ground.
Si and Shorty crawled into a cedar36 thicket37, broke down some brush for a bed, laid a pole in two crotches, leaned some brush against it to make a par3 tial shelter, built a fire, and sat down.
"I declare, I never knew what being tuckered out was before," said Si. "And it's come to me all of a sudden. This morning I felt as if I could do great things, but the minute I found that them rebels was really going, my legs begun to sink under me."
"Same way with me," accorded Shorty. "Don't believe I've got strength enough left to pull a settin' hen offen her nest. But we can't be drowned out this way. We must fix up some better shelter."
"The Colonel says there's a wagon38-load o' rations39 on the way here," said Si, sinking wearily down on the ground by the fire, and putting out his hands over the feeble blaze. "Let's wait till we git something to eat. Mebbe we'll feel more like work after we've eaten something."
"Si Klegg," said Shorty sternly, but settling down himself on the other side of the fire, "I never knowed124 you to flop40 down before. You've always bin, if any thing, forwarder than me. I was in hopes now that you'd take me by the back o' the neck and try to shake some o' this laziness out o' me."
"Wait till the rations come," repeated Si listlessly. "Mebbe we'll fell livelier then. The shelter we've fixed41 up'll keep out the coarsest o' the rain, anyway. Most o' the boys ain't got none."
When the rations arrived, Si and Shorty had energy enough to draw, cook and devour42 an immense supper. Then they felt more tired than ever. Shorty had managed to tear off a big piece of the wagon cover while he was showing much zeal43 in getting the rations distributed quickly. He got the company's share in this, and helped carry it to the company, but never for a minute relaxed his hold on the coveted44 canvas. Then he took it back to his fire. Si and he spent what energy they had left in making a tolerable tent of it, by stretching it over their shelter. They tied it down carefully, to keep anybody else from stealing it off them, and Shorty took the additional precaution of fastening a strip of it around his neck. Then they crawled in, and before night come on they were sleeping apparently45 as soundly as the Seven of Ephesus.
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1
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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crackers
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| adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘 | |
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3
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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4
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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propensity
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| n.倾向；习性 | |
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6
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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7
graveyard
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| n.坟场 | |
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8
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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9
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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10
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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11
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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12
numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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13
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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15
bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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16
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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17
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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18
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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19
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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drizzle
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| v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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remonstrated
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| v.抗议( remonstrate的过去式和过去分词 )；告诫 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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26
saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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27
tiresomely
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| adj. 令人厌倦的，讨厌的 | |
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28
laggard
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| n.落后者；adj.缓慢的，落后的 | |
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29
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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repelling
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| v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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33
drenching
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| n.湿透v.使湿透( drench的现在分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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35
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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36
cedar
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| n.雪松，香柏(木) | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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39
rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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40
flop
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| n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下 | |
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41
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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42
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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43
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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44
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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45
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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