25 The General’s Opinion

CHAPTER 25 The General's Opinion There was open space around them. In the distance there were many loud noises, but in this part of the field there was sudden stillness. They thought they were free. The small band of soldiers drew a long breath of relief and gathered together to return to their lines, where the rest of their army camped. In this last part of their journey, the men began to show strange emotions. They hurried on, very anxious. Some of the men who had not shown any emotion in the

middle of the fight now could not hide their nervousness. Perhaps they were worried about being shot now, after the main battle was over and when they were so close to safety. As they approached their lines, soldiers in a troop that they passed made fun of Henry and his friends. "Where have you been?" one soldier yelled at them. "Why didn't you stay out there?" called another. "Going home now, boys?" yelled a third. There was no reply from the bruised troop, except for one man who challenged the others to fistfights. But the lieutenant prevented that from happening. Henry was angry over those remarks. He saw that many in his troop walked as if they felt guilty, moving along with sudden heaviness. They turned around when they arrived at

their old position and looked at the ground where they had charged. Henry was astonished. The distances were tiny. It amazed him that so much had happened in such a small space, and he began to feel proud of his actions during the recent battle. As the troop lay resting, the officer who had called them mule drivers came riding along the line. He had lost his cap, and his hair flew wildly. His face was dark with anger. He immediately began yelling at the troop. "Oh, thunder," he screamed. "What an awful mess you made of this thing!You stopped about a hundred feet away from a great success. If you men had gone a hundred feet farther, you would have made a great charge." The men now turned to look at their colonel. He was about to speak. He looked as if he had been insulted. Then his manner

changed suddenly, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, well, general, we went as far as we could," he said calmly. "As far as you could?" yelled the officer. "Well, that wasn't very far, was it?You were supposed to draw away the enemy's attention and you failed completely." Then he turned his horse and rode away. The colonel muttered angry words to himself. The lieutenant, who had listened with quiet rage to the general, now spoke loudly. "I don't care what a man is—whether he's a general or any other rank. If he says the boys didn't put up a good fight, he's a fool."