24 A Brief Victory

CHAPTER 24 A Brief Victory Suddenly, the men's silence was broken by the eager voice of the lieutenant, who yelled, "Here they come!" The rest of his words were lost in the roar of thunder from the men's rifles. Henry looked to where the lieutenant had pointed and saw the enemy soldiers closing in. They were so near that he could see their faces. Their gray uniforms seemed new. These troops had been advancing with caution, their rifles ready to shoot. When the lieutenant yelled and Henry's troop started

shooting, the enemy soldiers seemed surprised and were caught unaware. The two troops traded blows like boxers. The fast, angry gunfire went back and forth. Henry's troop, in blue uniforms, were desperate for revenge. Henry ducked and dodged for a time. He had a few poor views of the enemy soldiers. There appeared to be many of them, and they seemed to be moving forward, step by step. Henry sat gloomily on the ground with the flag between his knees. As he noticed the wolflike anger of his friends, he thought that if the enemy soldiers were indeed going to win, it would be a painful victory. But the blows of the enemy began to grow weak. Fewer bullets ripped the air. Finally, when the men slowed a bit to take a look around, they could see only the dark, floating smoke. The troop lay still and stared at the

space around them. Except for the fallen bodies, the ground was empty of enemy soldiers. At the sight of this, many of the men in blue jumped up from beneath their covers and made a strange dance of joy. Their eyes burned and a hoarse cheer broke from their dry lips. They had almost believed that they were useless and that they could not fight well. On the edge of losing this small battle, they learned that the size of the army was not important. They had gotten revenge on the enemy and won. They looked around with pride and felt trust in the grim weapons they held. And they were men.