The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-08-02

would not remain firmly on his head.
and often he reached and pulled 1t
down over his brow.
There was general movement in
the compact column. The long animal
like things moved slightly. Its four
hundred eyes were turned upon the fig
ure Of Collins.
well, sir, IL that amt the derndest
thing. I never thought Fred Collins
had the blood in him for that kind Of
business!
What's he goin to do, anyhow?
Hes goin' to that we'll there after
water"
I'VE amt dyin' Of christ, are We?
That's fooHshness."
We'll, somebody put him up to II an
he's doin' it,
Say, ne must be desperate cuss"
When Collins faced the meadow and
walked away from the regiment he was
vaguely conscious that a chasm, the
deep valley Of all prides. was suddenly
between him and his comrades. 1t was
provisional. but the provision was that
he return as a victor. He had blindly
been led by quaint emotions and laid
himself under an obligation to walk
sQuarely UP to the face Of death.
But he was not sure that he wished
to make retraction even II he could
do so without shame. AS a matter Of
truth he was sure Of very little. He
was mainly surprised.
1t seemed to him supernaturally
strange that he had allowed his mind
to maneuver his body into such a sit
uation- He understood that 1t might
be called dramatically great.
However, he had no full appreciation
Of anything excepting that he was ac-
tually conscious Of being dazed. He
could feel his dulled mind cropping after
the form and color of this incident.
Too, he wondered why he did not feel
some keen agony Of ear cutting his
sense like a knife. He wondered at
this because human expression had
said loudly for centuries that men
should feel afraid Of certain things
and that all men who did not feel this
fear were phenomenal heroes.
He was then hero. He suffered
that disappointment which we would
all have II we discovered that we were
ourselves capable OF those deeds which
we most admire in history and legend.
This. then, was a hero. After all. he
Toes were not much.
Nc. It could not be true. He was not
hero. Heroes had no shames in their
lives and, as for him, he remembered
borrowing $l5 from friend and prom
ising to pay 1t back the next day, and
then avoiding that friend for ten
months. When at home his mother had
aroused him for the early labor of his
life on the farm, 1t had often been his
fashion to be irritable, childish, dia-
oohcal, and his mother had died since
he had come to the war.
He saw that In this matter of the
well. the canteens, the shells, he was
IN intruder IN the land OF fine deeds.
He was now about thirty PAGES from
his comradeA The regiment had tust
turned its many faces toward him.
IRON the forest Of terrific noises
tnere suddenly emerged a little un.
even line Of men. They fired fiercely
ana rapidly at distant foliage on which
appeared little puffs Of smoke. The
epaetef OF ekifm1sh firing was added
70 the thunder Of the guns on the bIIl
Tue little line Of men ran forward. A
color sergeant fell fiat with his f,ae
az IL ne had slipped on Ice There
field. 'e "'s'an'
Collins suddenly felt that two demon
nngers were pressed into his ears. He
could see nothing but flying arrows
naming red. He lurched from the
shock Of this explosion, but he made
mad rush for the house. which he
viewed a. Q man submerged to the neck
IN boiling surf might view the shore.
In the air little pieces Of shell howled
and the earthquake explosions drove
him insane with the menace Of their
roar. As he ran the canteens knocked
together with rhythmical tinkling.
AZ he 'neared the house, each detail
Of the scene became vivid to him. He
was aware OF some bricks of the van
ished chimney lying on the sod. There
was door which hung by one hinge.
{ Rihe bullets called forth by the insist.
ent skirmishers came from the far-off
bank Of foliage. They mingled with
the shells and the pieces OF shells until
the air was torn In all directions by
hootingA yells. howls. The sky was