They perceived that they were free. The depleted2 band drew a long breath of relief and gathered itself into a bunch to complete its trip.
In this last length of journey the men began to show strange emotions. They hurried with nervous fear. Some who had been dark and unfaltering in the grimmest moments now could not conceal3 an anxiety that made them frantic4. It was perhaps that they dreaded5 to be killed in insignificant6 ways after the times for proper military deaths had passed. Or, perhaps, they thought it would be too ironical7 to get killed at the portals of safety. With backward looks of perturbation, they hastened.
As they approached their own lines there was some sarcasm8 exhibited on the part of a gaunt and bronzed regiment9 that lay resting in the shade of the trees. Questions were wafted10 to them.
"Where th' hell yeh been?"
"What yeh comin' back fer?"
"Why didn't yeh stay there?"
"Was it warm out there, sonny?"
"Goin' home now, boys?"
There was no reply from the bruised13 and battered14 regiment, save that one man made broadcast challenges to fist fights and the red-bearded officer walked rather near and glared in great swashbuckler style at a tall captain in the other regiment. But the lieutenant15 suppressed the man who wished to fist fight, and the tall captain, flushing at the little fanfare16 of the red-bearded one, was obliged to look intently at some trees.
The youth's tender flesh was deeply stung by these remarks. From under his creased17 brows he glowered18 with hate at the mockers. He meditated19 upon a few revenges. Still, many in the regiment hung their heads in criminal fashion, so that it came to pass that the men trudged20 with sudden heaviness, as if they bore upon their bended shoulders the coffin21 of their honor. And the youthful lieutenant, recollecting22 himself, began to mutter softly in black curses.
They turned when they arrived at their old position to regard the ground over which they had charged.
The youth in this contemplation was smitten23 with a large astonishment24. He discovered that the distances, as compared with the brilliant measurings of his mind, were trivial and ridiculous. The stolid25 trees, where much had taken place, seemed incredibly near. The time, too, now that he reflected, he saw to have been short. He wondered at the number of emotions and events that had been crowded into such little spaces. Elfin thoughts must have exaggerated and enlarged everything, he said.
It seemed, then, that there was bitter justice in the speeches of the gaunt and bronzed veterans. He veiled a glance of disdain26 at his fellows who strewed27 the ground, choking with dust, red from perspiration29, misty-eyed, disheveled.
They were gulping30 at their canteens, fierce to wring31 every mite32 of water from them, and they polished at their swollen33 and watery34 features with coat sleeves and bunches of grass.
However, to the youth there was a considerable joy in musing35 upon his performances during the charge. He had had very little time previously36 in which to appreciate himself, so that there was now much satisfaction in quietly thinking of his actions. He recalled bits of color that in the flurry had stamped themselves unawares upon his engaged senses.
As the regiment lay heaving from its hot exertions37 the officer who had named them as mule38 drivers came galloping39 along the line. He had lost his cap. His tousled hair streamed wildly, and his face was dark with vexation and wrath40. His temper was displayed with more clearness by the way in which he managed his horse. He jerked and wrenched41 savagely42 at his bridle43, stopping the hard-breathing animal with a furious pull near the colonel of the regiment. He immediately exploded in reproaches which came unbidden to the ears of the men. They were suddenly alert, being always curious about black words between officers.
"Oh, thunder, MacChesnay, what an awful bull you made of this thing!" began the officer. He attempted low tones, but his indignation caused certain of the men to learn the sense of his words. "What an awful mess you made! Good Lord, man, you stopped about a hundred feet this side of a very pretty success! If your men had gone a hundred feet farther you would have made a great charge, but as it is--what a lot of mud diggers you've got anyway!"
The men, listening with bated breath, now turned their curious eyes upon the colonel. They had a ragamuffin interest in this affair.
The colonel was seen to straighten his form and put one hand forth45 in oratorical46 fashion. He wore an injured air; it was as if a deacon had been accused of stealing. The men were wiggling in an ecstasy47 of excitement.
But of a sudden the colonel's manner changed from that of a deacon to that of a Frenchman. He shrugged48 his shoulders. "Oh, well, general, we went as far as we could," he said calmly.
"As far as you could? Did you, b'Gawd?" snorted the other. "Well, that wasn't very far, was it?" he added, with a glance of cold contempt into the other's eyes. "Not very far, I think. You were intended to make a diversion in favor of Whiterside. How well you succeeded your own ears can now tell you." He wheeled his horse and rode stiffly away.
The colonel, bidden to hear the jarring noises of an engagement in the woods to the left, broke out in vague damnations.
The lieutenant, who had listened with an air of impotent rage to the interview, spoke49 suddenly in firm and undaunted tones. "I don't care what a man is--whether he is a general or what--if he says th' boys didn't put up a good fight out there he's a damned fool."
The lieutenant made an obedient gesture. "All right, colonel, all right," he said. He sat down with an air of being content with himself.
The news that the regiment had been reproached went along the line. For a time the men were bewildered by it. "Good thunder!" they ejaculated, staring at the vanishing form of the general. They conceived it to be a huge mistake.
Presently, however, they began to believe that in truth their efforts had been called light. The youth could see this conviction weigh upon the entire regiment until the men were like cuffed51 and cursed animals, but withal rebellious52.
The friend, with a grievance53 in his eye, went to the youth. "I wonder what he does want," he said. "He must think we went out there an' played marbles! I never see sech a man!"
The youth developed a tranquil54 philosophy for these moments of irritation55. "Oh, well," he rejoined, "he probably didn't see nothing of it at all and god mad as blazes, and concluded we were a lot of sheep, just because we didn't do what he wanted done. It's a pity old Grandpa Henderson got killed yestirday--he'd have known that we did our best and fought good. It's just our awful luck, that's what."
"I should say so," replied the friend. He seemed to be deeply wounded at an injustice56. "I should say we did have awful luck! There's no fun in fightin' fer people when everything yeh do--no matter what--ain't done right. I have a notion t' stay behind next time an' let 'em take their ol' charge an' go t' th' devil with it."
The youth spoke soothingly57 to his comrade. "Well, we both did good. I'd like to see the fool what'd say we both didn't do as good as we could!"
"Of course we did," declared the friend stoutly58. "An' I'd break th' feller's neck if he was as big as a church. But we're all right, anyhow, for I heard one feller say that we two fit th' best in th' reg'ment, an' they had a great argument 'bout44 it. Another feller, 'a course, he had t' up an' say it was a lie--he seen all what was goin' on an' he never seen us from th' beginnin' t' th' end. An' a lot more stuck in an' ses it wasn't a lie--we did fight like thunder, an' they give us quite a sendoff. But this is what I can't stand--these everlastin' ol' soldiers, titterin' an' laughin', an then that general, he's crazy."
The youth exclaimed with sudden exasperation59: "He's a lunkhead! He makes me mad. I wish he'd come along next time. We'd show 'im what--"
He ceased because several men had come hurrying up. Their faces expressed a bringing of great news.
"O Flem, yeh jest oughta heard!" cried one, eagerly.
"Heard what?" said the youth.
"Yeh jest oughta heard!" repeated the other, and he arranged himself to tell his tidings. The others made an excited circle. "Well, sir, th' colonel met your lieutenant right by us--it was damnedest thing I ever heard--an' he ses: 'Ahem! ahem!' he ses. 'Mr. Hasbrouck!' he ses, 'by th' way, who was that lad what carried th' flag?' he ses. There, Flemin', what d' yeh think 'a that? 'Who was th' lad what carried th' flag?' he ses, an' th' lieutenant, he speaks up right away: 'That's Flemin', an' he's a jimhickey,' he ses, right away. What? I say he did. 'A jimhickey,' he ses--those 'r his words. He did, too. I say he did. If you kin28 tell this story better than I kin, go ahead an' tell it. Well, then, keep yer mouth shet. Th' lieutenant, he ses: 'He's a jimhickey,' and th' colonel, he ses: 'Ahem! ahem! he is, indeed, a very good man t' have, ahem! He kep' th' flag 'way t' th' front. I saw 'im. He's a good un,' ses th' colonel. 'You bet,' ses th' lieutenant, 'he an' a feller named Wilson was at th' head 'a th' charge, an' howlin' like Indians all th' time,' he ses. 'Head 'a th' charge all th' time,' he ses. 'A feller named Wilson,' he ses. There, Wilson, m'boy, put that in a letter an' send it hum t' yer mother, hay? 'A feller named Wilson,' he ses. An' th' colonel, he ses: 'Were they, indeed? Ahem! ahem! My sakes!' he ses. 'At th' head 'a th' reg'ment?' he ses. 'They were,' ses th' lieutenant. 'My sakes!' ses th' colonel. He ses: 'Well, well, well,' he ses. 'They deserve t' be major-generals.'"
The youth and his friend had said: "Huh!" "Yer lyin' Thompson." "Oh, go t' blazes!" "He never sed it." "Oh, what a lie!" "Huh!" But despite these youthful scoffings and embarrassments60, they knew that their faces were deeply flushing from thrills of pleasure. They exchanged a secret glance of joy and congratulation.
They speedily forgot many things. The past held no pictures of error and disappointment. They were very happy, and their hearts swelled61 with grateful affection for the colonel and the youthful lieutenant.
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1
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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depleted
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| adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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8
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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9
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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10
wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11
taunting
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| 嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
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12
mimicry
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| n.（生物）拟态，模仿 | |
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13
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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14
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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15
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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16
fanfare
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| n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布 | |
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17
creased
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的过去式和过去分词 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹； 皱皱巴巴 | |
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18
glowered
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| v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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21
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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22
recollecting
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| v.记起，想起( recollect的现在分词 ) | |
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23
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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24
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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25
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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26
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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27
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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28
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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29
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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30
gulping
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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31
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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32
mite
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| n.极小的东西；小铜币 | |
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33
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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34
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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35
musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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36
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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38
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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39
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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40
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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41
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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42
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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43
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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44
bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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45
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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46
oratorical
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| adj.演说的，雄辩的 | |
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47
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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48
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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49
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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50
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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51
cuffed
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| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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53
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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54
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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55
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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56
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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57
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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58
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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59
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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60
embarrassments
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| n.尴尬( embarrassment的名词复数 )；难堪；局促不安；令人难堪或耻辱的事 | |
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61
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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