The youth's regiment4 was marched to relieve a command that had lain long in some damp trenches5. The men took positions behind a curving line of rifle pits that had been turned up, like a large furrow6, along the line of woods. Before them was a level stretch, peopled with short, deformed7 stumps8. From the woods beyond came the dull popping of the skirmishers and pickets9, firing in the fog. From the right came the noise of a terrific fracas10.
The men cuddled behind the small embankment and sat in easy attitudes awaiting their turn. Many had their backs to the firing. The youth's friend lay down, buried his face in his arms, and almost instantly, it seemed, he was in a deep sleep.
The youth leaned his breast against the brown dirt and peered over at the woods and up and down the line. Curtains of trees interfered11 with his ways of vision. He could see the low line of trenches but for a short distance. A few idle flags were perched on the dirt hills. Behind them were rows of dark bodies with a few heads sticking curiously12 over the top.
Always the noise of skirmishers came from the woods on the front and left, and the din3 on the right had grown to frightful13 proportions. The guns were roaring without an instant's pause for breath. It seemed that the cannon had come from all parts and were engaged in a stupendous wrangle14. It became impossible to make a sentence heard.
The youth wished to launch a joke--a quotation15 from newspapers. He desired to say, "All quiet on the Rappahannock," but the guns refused to permit even a comment upon their uproar16. He never successfully concluded the sentence. But at last the guns stopped, and among the men in the rifle pits rumors18 again flew, like birds, but they were now for the most part black creatures who flapped their wings drearily19 near to the ground and refused to rise on any wings of hope. The men's faces grew doleful from the interpreting of omens20. Tales of hesitation21 and uncertainty22 on the part of those high in place and responsibility came to their ears. Stories of disaster were borne into their minds with many proofs. This din of musketry on the right, growing like a released genie23 of sound, expressed and emphasized the army's plight24.
The men were disheartened and began to mutter. They made gestures expressive25 of the sentence: "Ah, what more can we do?" And it could always be seen that they were bewildered by the alleged26 news and could not fully17 comprehend a defeat.
Before the gray mists had been totally obliterated27 by the sun rays, the regiment was marching in a spread column that was retiring carefully through the woods. The disordered, hurrying lines of the enemy could sometimes be seen down through the groves28 and little fields. They were yelling, shrill29 and exultant30.
At this sight the youth forgot many personal matters and became greatly enraged31. He exploded in loud sentences. "B'jiminey, we're generaled by a lot 'a lunkheads."
"More than one feller has said that t'-day," observed a man.
His friend, recently aroused, was still very drowsy32. He looked behind him until his mind took in the meaning of the movement. Then he sighed. "Oh, well, I s'pose we got licked," he remarked sadly.
The youth had a thought that it would not be handsome for him to freely condemn33 other men. He made an attempt to restrain himself, but the words upon his tongue were too bitter. He presently began a long and intricate denunciation of the commander of the forces.
"Mebbe, it wa'n't all his fault--not all together. He did th' best he knowed. It's our luck t' git licked often," said his friend in a weary tone. He was trudging34 along with stooped shoulders and shifting eyes like a man who has been caned35 and kicked.
"Well, don't we fight like the devil? Don't we do all that men can?" demanded the youth loudly.
He was secretly dumfounded at this sentiment when it came from his lips. For a moment his face lost its valor36 and he looked guiltily about him. But no one questioned his right to deal in such words, and presently he recovered his air of courage. He went on to repeat a statement he had heard going from group to group at the camp that morning. "The brigadier said he never saw a new reg'ment fight the way we fought yestirday, didn't he? And we didn't do better than many another reg'ment, did we? Well, then, you can't say it's th' army's fault, can you?"
In his reply, the friend's voice was stern. "'A course not," he said. "No man dare say we don't fight like th' devil. No man will ever dare say it. Th' boys fight like hell-roosters. But still--still, we don't have no luck."
"Well, then, if we fight like the devil an' don't ever whip, it must be the general's fault," said the youth grandly and decisively. "And I don't see any sense in fighting and fighting and fighting, yet always losing through some derned old lunkhead of a general."
A sarcastic37 man who was tramping at the youth's side, then spoke38 lazily. "Mebbe yeh think yeh fit th' hull39 battle yestirday, Fleming," he remarked.
The speech pierced the youth. Inwardly he was reduced to an abject40 pulp41 by these chance words. His legs quaked privately42. He cast a frightened glance at the sarcastic man.
"Why, no," he hastened to say in a conciliating voice "I don't think I fought the whole battle yesterday."
But the other seemed innocent of any deeper meaning. Apparently43, he had no information. It was merely his habit. "Oh!" he replied in the same tone of calm derision.
The youth, nevertheless, felt a threat. His mind shrank from going near to the danger, and thereafter he was silent. The significance of the sarcastic man's words took from him all loud moods that would make him appear prominent. He became suddenly a modest person.
There was low-toned talk among the troops. The officers were impatient and snappy, their countenances44 clouded with the tales of misfortune. The troops, sifting45 through the forest, were sullen46. In the youth's company once a man's laugh rang out. A dozen soldiers turned their faces quickly toward him and frowned with vague displeasure.
The noise of firing dogged their footsteps. Sometimes, it seemed to be driven a little way, but it always returned again with increased insolence47. The men muttered and cursed, throwing black looks in its direction.
In a clear space the troops were at last halted. Regiments48 and brigades, broken and detached through their encounters with thickets49, grew together again and lines were faced toward the pursuing bark of the enemy's infantry51.
This noise, following like the yelpings of eager, metallic52 hounds, increased to a loud and joyous53 burst, and then, as the sun went serenely54 up the sky, throwing illuminating55 rays into the gloomy thickets, it broke forth56 into prolonged pealings. The woods began to crackle as if afire.
"Whoop-a-dadee," said a man, "here we are! Everybody fightin'. Blood an' destruction."
"I was willin' t' bet they'd attack as soon as th' sun got fairly up," savagely57 asserted the lieutenant58 who commanded the youth's company. He jerked without mercy at his little mustache. He strode to and fro with dark dignity in the rear of his men, who were lying down behind whatever protection they had collected.
A battery had trundled into position in the rear and was thoughtfully shelling the distance. The regiment, unmolested as yet, awaited the moment when the gray shadows of the woods before them should be slashed59 by the lines of flame. There was much growling60 and swearing.
"Good Gawd," the youth grumbled61, "we're always being chased around like rats! It makes me sick. Nobody seems to know where we go or why we go. We just get fired around from pillar to post and get licked here and get licked there, and nobody knows what it's done for. It makes a man feel like a damn' kitten in a bag. Now, I'd like to know what the eternal thunders we was marched into these woods for anyhow, unless it was to give the rebs a regular pot shot at us. We came in here and got our legs all tangled62 up in these cussed briers, and then we begin to fight and the rebs had an easy time of it. Don't tell me it's just luck! I know better. It's this derned old--"
The friend seemed jaded63, but he interrupted his comrade with a voice of calm confidence. "It'll turn out all right in th' end," he said.
"Oh, the devil it will! You always talk like a dog-hanged parson. Don't tell me! I know--"
At this time there was an interposition by the savage-minded lieutenant, who was obliged to vent64 some of his inward dissatisfaction upon his men. "You boys shut right up! There no need 'a your wastin' your breath in long-winded arguments about this an' that an' th' other. You've been jawin' like a lot 'a old hens. All you've got t' do is to fight, an' you'll get plenty 'a that t' do in about ten minutes. Less talkin' an' more fightin' is what's best for you boys. I never saw sech gabbling jackasses."
He paused, ready to pounce65 upon any man who might have the temerity66 to reply. No words being said, he resumed his dignified67 pacing.
"There's too much chin music an' too little fightin' in this war, anyhow," he said to them, turning his head for a final remark.
The day had grown more white, until the sun shed his full radiance upon the thronged68 forest. A sort of a gust69 of battle came sweeping70 toward that part of the line where lay the youth's regiment. The front shifted a trifle to meet it squarely. There was a wait. In this part of the field there passed slowly the intense moments that precede the tempest.
A single rifle flashed in a thicket50 before the regiment. In an instant it was joined by many others. There was a mighty71 song of clashes and crashes that went sweeping through the woods. The guns in the rear, aroused and enraged by shells that had been thrown burr-like at them, suddenly involved themselves in a hideous72 altercation73 with another band of guns. The battle roar settled to a rolling thunder, which was a single, long explosion.
In the regiment there was a peculiar74 kind of hesitation denoted in the attitudes of the men. They were worn, exhausted75, having slept but little and labored76 much. They rolled their eyes toward the advancing battle as they stood awaiting the shock. Some shrank and flinched77. They stood as men tied to stakes.
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1
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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7
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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8
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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pickets
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| 罢工纠察员( picket的名词复数 ) | |
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fracas
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| n.打架；吵闹 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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12
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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15
quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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16
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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17
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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genie
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| n.妖怪，神怪 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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27
obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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28
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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31
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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32
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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33
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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34
trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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35
caned
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| vt.用苔杖打（cane的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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36
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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sarcastic
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| adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的 | |
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38
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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39
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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40
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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41
pulp
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| n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆 | |
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42
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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43
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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44
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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45
sifting
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| n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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46
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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47
insolence
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| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
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48
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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49
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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50
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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51
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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52
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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53
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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54
serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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55
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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56
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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57
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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58
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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59
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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60
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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61
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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62
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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63
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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64
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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65
pounce
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| n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意 | |
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66
temerity
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| n.鲁莽，冒失 | |
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67
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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68
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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69
gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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70
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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71
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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72
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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73
altercation
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| n.争吵，争论 | |
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74
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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75
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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76
labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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77
flinched
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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