8 The Men Flee

CHAPTER 8 The Men Flee Henry looked around in a daze. He picked up his cap from the ground, wiggled in his jacket to make it more comfortable, and bent down to retie his shoelaces. So it was over at last! The test had been passed and the difficulties of war had been beaten. Henry was thrilled. He was sure that he had been wonderful. The other men in his troop seemed to feel just as proud of themselves. They shook hands and helped the ones who were hurt. But suddenly, cries of amazement broke out among the troops.

"Here they come again!" someone yelled. Henry saw forms running out of the woods in the distance. He saw the tilted flag speeding forward. The shells, which hadn't bothered the troop for some time, came swirling around them again. They exploded in the grass and among the trees. The explosions looked like strange flowers bursting into fierce bloom. The men groaned. They moved slowly and stiffly. As they watched the rapid approach of the enemy, they began to rebel against their duty. "Why can't somebody send support?" someone asked. "We won't survive a second attack," said another. "I didn't come to fight the whole darned rebel army myself." Henry stared. Surely, he thought, this was not about to happen. There could not be another battle. He waited as if everyone

would stop and admit that it was a mistake. But the firing began again and ripped in both directions. Henry's neck was shaking and his hands were awkward. He began to imagine that the enemy men were better and stronger than the men in his troop. The enemy must be machines of steel. In the smoke they looked like dragons. A man near him who had been working busily at his rifle suddenly stopped and ran away with a loud howl. Another, who had worn an expression of courage, saw this and became afraid. He, too, threw down his gun and fled. There was no shame in his face. He ran like a rabbit. Others began to hurry away through the smoke. Henry watched them, yelled with fright, and turned around. He started running. For a moment he lost the direction of safety. Death and injury threatened him from

every direction. He began to speed toward the back of the troop. His rifle and cap were gone. His unbuttoned coat blew in the wind. On his face was all the horror of his imagination. The lieutenant tried to catch him, but Henry escaped. He ran like a blind man. Once, he knocked his shoulder into a tree so hard that he fell over. As soon as Henry turned his back on the enemy, his fears grew even greater. His imagination made everything worse. As he ran, he saw men on his right and left doing the same. He heard many footsteps behind him. Shells flew over his head with long wild screams. Henry was amazed when he came within view of another troop of men in action. They were fighting with great enthusiasm. No one seemed to know the death that was headed their way. Henry thought they were fools and pitied them.

He kept moving toward the back of the action. Finally, Henry saw a general sitting on a horse. Sometimes the general was surrounded by other men on horses. At other times he was alone. Henry stayed near the general and tried to overhear what he was saying. Perhaps the general would ask him for information. Henry could tell him about all the confusion on the front lines. He knew all about it. He wanted to tell the general that it was wrong to sit here and make no effort to stop the death happening behind him. Any fool could see that the men should pull back. One of the officers rode up to the general and said, "By heavens, they have! They've held them!" The general began to roar at his troops, "We've got them now! We've got them for sure!"