14 A War Wound

CHAPTER 14 A War Wound The soldiers who had pushed their way along the road were barely out of sight when Henry saw many more men coming out of the woods and down through the fields. He knew at once that they were running for their lives. They charged past him like terrified buffaloes. Behind them smoke curled and clouded above the treetops and the cannons boomed. Henry was stricken with terror. He stared at the sight in front of him in amazement. The fight was lost. Soon he was in the middle

of the running men. He tried to ask questions of the ones closest to him, but they didn't seem to hear him. Men were running in every direction. Finally Henry grabbed one man by the arm and they swung around face to face. "Why—why—" stammered Henry. "Let go of me! Let go of me!" the man screamed. He was panting and he tugged frantically. "Let go!" "Why—why—" Henry stuttered. "Well, fine then!" the man yelled. He hit

Henry in the head and ran away. Henry fell down and found that it was hard to get back up. When he finally did, he felt very weak. There was a loud noise in his head. At last he managed to move over to the grass. He could feel a wound on the top of his head. Henry saw that some of the soldiers and officers were trying to group themselves back into ranks. The blue haze of evening was on the field. The forest was covered with long purple shadows, and there was one cloud in the sky. Henry left the scene behind him. As he did, he heard the guns suddenly begin to roar again.