第45章

"Come on, yeh fools!" he bellowed."Come on! Yeh can't stay here.Yeh must come on."He said more, but much of it could not be under-stood.

He started rapidly forward, with his head turned toward the men."Come on," he was shouting.The men stared with blank and yokel-like eyes at him.He was obliged to halt and retrace his steps.He stood then with his back to the enemy and delivered gigantic curses into the faces of the men.His body vibrated from the weight and force of his imprecations.And he could string oaths with the facility of a maiden who strings beads.

The friend of the youth aroused.Lurching suddenly forward and dropping to his knees, he fired an angry shot at the persistent woods.This action awakened the men.They huddled no more like sheep.They seemed suddenly to be-think them of their weapons, and at once com-menced firing.Belabored by their officers, they began to move forward.The regiment, involved like a cart involved in mud and muddle, started unevenly with many jolts and jerks.The men stopped now every few paces to fire and load, and in this manner moved slowly on from trees to trees.

The flaming opposition in their front grew with their advance until it seemed that all for-ward ways were barred by the thin leaping tongues, and off to the right an ominous demon-stration could sometimes be dimly discerned.

The smoke lately generated was in confusing clouds that made it difficult for the regiment to proceed with intelligence.As he passed through each curling mass the youth wondered what would confront him on the farther side.

The command went painfully forward until an open space interposed between them and the lurid lines.Here, crouching and cowering be-hind some trees, the men clung with desperation, as if threatened by a wave.They looked wild-eyed, and as if amazed at this furious disturbance they had stirred.In the storm there was an ironical expression of their importance.The faces of the men, too, showed a lack of a certain feeling of responsibility for being there.It was as if they had been driven.It was the dominant animal failing to remember in the supreme mo-ments the forceful causes of various superficial qualities.The whole affair seemed incompre-hensible to many of them.

As they halted thus the lieutenant again be-gan to bellow profanely.Regardless of the vin-dictive threats of the bullets, he went about coaxing, berating, and bedamning.His lips, that were habitually in a soft and childlike curve, were now writhed into unholy contortions.He swore by all possible deities.

Once he grabbed the youth by the arm.

"Come on, yeh lunkhead!" he roared."Come on! We'll all git killed if we stay here.We've on'y got t' go across that lot.An' then"--the remainder of his idea disappeared in a blue haze of curses.

The youth stretched forth his arm."Cross there?" His mouth was puckered in doubt and awe.

"Certainly.Jest 'cross th' lot! We can't stay here," screamed the lieutenant.He poked his face close to the youth and waved his ban-daged hand."Come on!" Presently he grap-pled with him as if for a wrestling bout.It was as if he planned to drag the youth by the ear on to the assault.

The private felt a sudden unspeakable indig-nation against his officer.He wrenched fiercely and shook him off.

"Come on herself, then," he yelled.There was a bitter challenge in his voice.

They galloped together down the regimental front.The friend scrambled after them.In front of the colors the three men began to bawl:

"Come on! come on!" They danced and gy-

rated like tortured savages.

The flag, obedient to these appeals, bended its glittering form and swept toward them.The men wavered in indecision for a moment, and then with a long, wailful cry the dilapidated regiment surged forward and began its new journey.

Over the field went the scurrying mass.It was a handful of men splattered into the faces of the enemy.Toward it instantly sprang the yel-low tongues.A vast quantity of blue smoke hung before them.A mighty banging made ears valueless.

The youth ran like a madman to reach the woods before a bullet could discover him.He ducked his head low, like a football player.In his haste his eyes almost closed, and the scene was a wild blur.Pulsating saliva stood at the corners of his mouth.

Within him, as he hurled himself forward, was born a love, a despairing fondness for this flag which was near him.It was a creation of beauty and invulnerability.It was a goddess, radiant, that bended its form with an imperious gesture to him.It was a woman, red and white, hating and loving, that called him with the voice of his hopes.Because no harm could come to it he en-dowed it with power.He kept near, as if it could be a saver of lives, and an imploring cry went from his mind.

In the mad scramble he was aware that the color sergeant flinched suddenly, as if struck by a bludgeon.He faltered, and then became motion-less, save for his quivering knees.

He made a spring and a clutch at the pole.

At the same instant his friend grabbed it from the other side.They jerked at it, stout and furious, but the color sergeant was dead, and the corpse would not relinquish its trust.For a moment there was a grim encounter.The dead man, swinging with bended back, seemed to be obsti-nately tugging, in ludicrous and awful ways, for the possession of the flag.

It was past in an instant of time.They wrenched the flag furiously from the dead man, and, as they turned again, the corpse swayed for-ward with bowed head.One arm swung high, and the curved hand fell with heavy protest on the friend's unheeding shoulder.