06 Keep Low!

6 Keep Low! The wagon jerked and swayed as it bumped over the dry ground. Jack felt as though he were frying in the hot sunlight. Dust from the road filled his throat and eyes. The boom of cannons grew louder and louder. Jack heard popping sounds, too, like the noise of firecrackers. “ What's that popping noise?” he shouted blinded by the dust and sunlight.

“ Musket fire! " said Clara. Jack remembered that muskets were long, old-fashioned guns. “ What are those flashes?" asked Annie.

Jack tried to open his eyes and see what she was talking about. He saw bright flashes of light in the distance and puffs of smoke in the sky.

“ Cannon shells exploding, " said Clara Barton. “ Shells are like small bombs. They have ruined much farmland. " Jack squinted at the passing countryside. The ground was filled with ugly holes. Long ditches were also cut through the fields. “ Did the shells make those ditches, too?" he asked. “ No. Those are trenches the soldiers dug for a battle, " Clara said. “ Each side digs their own. Day after day, they sit in the trenches, firing their muskets at one another. Jack tried to imagine how terrible it would be to sit in a trench all day, waiting to be shot-or waiting to shoot someone else. “ We have to get some water, " said Clara. She drove the wagon to a narrow creek. A stream of water flowed downhill, running over rocks.

The wagon came to a halt. Jack heard a whistling sound, then another. “ Keep low! ” cried Clara. “ What's that?” Jack asked. “ Cannon fire! ” she said. Jack and Annie crouched down in the driver's seat. Jack felt a rush of panic. He pulled out their list. His hands were shaking as he read: Be brave. Oh, great, he thought. Another cannon shell whizzed overhead, then another. The ground exploded over and over in flashes of light. Dirt clods flew everywhere. Clouds of smoke and more dust filled the air. The horses neighed and whinnied. Be brave! Jack thought. Be brave!