22 Across the Field

CHAPTER 22 Across the Field Henry stared at the land in front of him. The trees seemed to hide all kinds of horrors. He didn't know when the troop started to charge, but from the corner of his eye he saw an officer on horseback riding forward. Suddenly Henry felt the men stir, and the troop moved slowly forward like a wall falling over. Henry was pushed for a moment before he understood what was happening. He jumped and started to run desperately. He looked like an insane soldier. From the line of trees came the yells of the

enemy and little flames of gunfire. Men were falling all around Henry. Soon the troop had run into a clearing. Henry could see everything more clearly: every blade of grass, every brown tree trunk, and the faces of the soldiers, their staring eyes and sweating faces. After running for what seemed like miles, the troop slowed and finally stopped. Almost at once, the distant sound of gunfire became a roar. Long fingers of smoke spread out around them. Having stopped, the men could now see the ones who had fallen, or were injured and yelling. For an instant, the men appeared dazed and unable to move. It was a strange pause and a strange silence. Then, above all other sounds came the roar of the lieutenant. "Come on, you fools!" he screamed. "Come on! You can't stay here. You must keep moving!" He said more, but most of it could not be understood.

The men just stared at him while he continued to yell. Finally, Wilson jumped forward and dropped to his knees. He fired his gun into the woods. This seemed to wake the other men and they stopped huddling together like sheep. They seemed to remember their weapons and started firing all at once. Cheered on by their officers, the men began to move forward slowly, stopping every few paces to fire and reload. The enemy was fighting hard to keep the troop from advancing, and it felt as if they couldn't move anymore. The men bent down behind some trees and held on as if threatened by a wave. They looked wild-eyed at each other, as if amazed at what they had caused. The whole situation was very confusing to many of them. As soon as they stopped, the lieutenant started yelling at them again. He grabbed Henry by the arm and cried, "Come on, you

lunkhead! We'll all get shot if we stay here. We've only got to cross that field there." "Cross there?" Henry said, pointing. "Yes, just cross that field! We can't stay here," screamed the lieutenant. "Come on!" They ran together, with Wilson running after them. All three men yelled at their troop. "Come on! Come on!" The troop hesitated for a moment. Then, with a long cry, they ran forward and began their new journey. Over the field, the handful of men left in the troop moved closer to the enemy. The gunfire came even faster, and a huge cloud of blue smoke hung over them. Henry ran to reach the woods before a bullet could find him. He ducked his head low. His eyes were almost closed. The scene around him was a wild blur. As he pushed himself forward, he found that he felt love and a sad fondness for the

flag that was near him. He believed now that it was beautiful and powerful. Surely no harm could ever come to it. He kept close to it, as if it could protect him. In the mad scramble, he saw the soldier carrying the flag flinch suddenly and fall. Henry jumped and clutched at the flag pole. At the same instant, Wilson grabbed it from the other side.