21 The Conversation

CHAPTER 21 The Conversation The ragged line of soldiers had a few minutes' rest, but the sounds of fighting in the forest kept becoming louder and louder. The trees seemed to quiver and the ground to shake from the rushing of the men. Henry's troop listened quietly to the noise. Everyone was thirsty. Wilson said that he had heard of a stream nearby, so he volunteered to go for some water. Henry offered to help. Immediately canteens were showered on them. "Fill mine, will you?" said one man.

"Bring me some, too," said another. "Me, too," said others. Henry and Wilson left, weighed down with several canteens. They searched for a while, but when they couldn't find the stream they decided to head back. From their position, they could see more of the battle than when they were with their troop. They could see many dark clouds of smoke, where other troops were fighting. Over some trees, they saw part of a house that was burning and sending smoke far into the sky. They saw their own troops, too. Behind them the hill was crowded with troops who were pulling back. Looking into the forest nearby, Henry and Wilson saw a general and his staff riding on horses. They passed a wounded soldier without stopping. A moment later, another officer rode his horse right up to the general. No one seemed to notice Henry and his

friend, so they stayed nearby and tried to overhear what the general was saying. "The enemy's forming over there for another charge," the general said. He spoke calmly, as if he was talking about the officer's clothes. "I fear they'll break through unless we work like thunder to stop them." "It'll be hard to stop them," the officer said, angrily. "I expect so," the general said. Then he began to talk quickly and quietly among his staff. Henry and Wilson could hear nothing until the general finally asked the officer, "What troops can you spare?" "Well," the officer said, thinking. "There's the 304th. They're useless. Fight like a lot of mule drivers. I can spare them easily enough." Henry and Wilson looked at each other in amazement. The 304th was their troop. The general spoke sharply. "Get them ready then.

I'llwatch the battle from here and send word of when to start them. It'll be over in five minutes. I don't believe many of your mule drivers will survive this." The officer and the general smiled as they parted. With scared faces, Henry and Wilson hurried back to their troop. Even though this happened in just a few minutes, Henry felt as if he had aged many years. He learned that he did not mean anything to the army. The officer had spoken about their troop as if he had been talking about a broom. When they got back, they told everyone that they were going to charge at the enemy in minutes. "Charge?" said their lieutenant, with a smile. "Well, then, now we're fighting!" The men saw two figures on horseback a short distance from them. One was the colonel of the troop. The other was the officer who had received his orders from the

general. They were talking and pointing at the troop. The officers began to move the men into smaller groups. Soon, everyone in the troop seemed to stand up straight and take a deep breath. They were watching the forest. All around them were the noises of a great battle between the two armies. The rest of the world seemed to be interested in other things. The troop had this little fight all to itself. Henry and Wilson looked at each other. They hadn't told anyone how the officer and general had spoken about the troop, about how they were all men whose lives didn't matter very much. They had been called mule drivers, Henry thought. They weren't expected to survive this fight. But that was a secret between Henry and Wilson. Still, they could see the fear in each other's faces. They looked at each other and nodded in

agreement when a man near them said in a frightened voice, "We'll get swallowed."