15 A Helpful Stranger

CHAPTER 15 A Helpful Stranger Henry hurried on in the dusk. After a while, his wound stopped hurting. He thought of home as he walked, and he was eventually overcome with weariness. His head hung forward and his shoulders hunched as if he was carrying a heavy bundle. His feet scraped along the ground. At last he heard a cheery voice near his shoulder. "You seem to be in a pretty bad way, huh?" Henry did not look up, but he managed to say, "Uh."

The owner of the cheery voice took him firmly by the arm. "Well," he said with a laugh, "I'm going your way. The whole gang is going your way, and I guess I can give you a lift." As they went along, the man asked Henry what he had seen and told him what he had learned of Henry's troop. "They're way over there in the center of the fight," the man said. "I guess just about everybody has had his share of fighting today. I almost gave up a few times. There was shooting and yelling everywhere. It was dark and I couldn't tell where I was or even what side I was on. How did you find your way over here, anyway? Your troop is pretty far from here. Well, I guess I can find them." In the search that followed, the man with the cheery voice seemed to have some kind of magic skill. He was able to find his way easily through the maze of the tangled forest.

Whenever they came across other people, the man was as smart as a detective and as brave as a hero. Problems fell away before him and became things that could help them on their way. Henry stood by while his companion found the way back for both of them. The forest seemed to be filled with men running around in circles, lost. But the cheery man led Henry through everything until, at last, he started to chuckle with joy and satisfaction. "Ah, there you are. See that fire?" the man asked. Henry nodded. He felt stupid. "Well, there's your troop," the man said. "And now, good-bye, old boy. Good luck to you." A warm and strong hand held Henry's soft fingers for a minute, and then he heard a cheerful whistling as the man walked away.

The man had been kind to him, and as he watched him walk away, Henry suddenly realized that he had never even seen the man's face.