and his friend.

As they went along, the man questioned the youth and assisted him with
the replies like one manipulating the mind of a child. Sometimes he
interjected anecdotes. "What reg'ment do yeh b'long teh? Eh? What 's
that? Th' 304th N' York? Why, what corps is that in? Oh, it is?
Why, I thought they wasn't engaged t'-day-they 're 'way over in th'
center. Oh, they was, eh? Well pretty nearly everybody got their
share 'a fightin' t'-day. By dad, I give myself up fer dead any number
'a times. There was shootin' here an' shootin' there, an' hollerin'
here an' hollerin' there, in th' damn' darkness, until I couldn't tell
t' save m' soul which side I was on. Sometimes I thought I was sure
'nough from Ohier, an' other times I could 'a swore I was from th'
bitter end of Florida. It was th' most mixed up dern thing I ever see.
An' these here hull woods is a reg'lar mess. It 'll be a miracle if we
find our reg'ments t'-night. Pretty soon, though, we 'll meet a-plenty
of guards an' provost-guards, an' one thing an' another. Ho! there
they go with an off'cer, I guess. Look at his hand a-draggin'. He 's
got all th' war he wants, I bet. He won't be talkin' so big about his
reputation an' all when they go t' sawin' off his leg. Poor feller!
My brother 's got whiskers jest like that. How did yeh git 'way over
here, anyhow? Your reg'ment is a long way from here, ain't it? Well,
I guess we can find it. Yeh know there was a boy killed in my comp'ny
t'-day that I thought th' world an' all of. Jack was a nice feller.
By ginger, it hurt like thunder t' see ol' Jack jest git knocked flat.
We was a-standin' purty peaceable fer a spell, 'though there was men
runnin' ev'ry way all 'round us, an' while we was a-standin' like that,
'long come a big fat feller. He began t' peck at Jack's elbow, an' he
ses: 'Say, where 's th' road t' th' river?' An' Jack, he never paid no
attention, an' th' feller kept on a-peckin' at his elbow an' sayin':
'Say, where 's th' road t' th' river?' Jack was a-lookin' ahead all th'
time tryin' t' see th' Johnnies comin' through th' woods, an' he never
paid no attention t' this big fat feller fer a long time, but at last
he turned 'round an' he ses: 'Ah, go t' hell an' find th' road t' th'
river!' An' jest then a shot slapped him bang on th' side th' head. He
was a sergeant, too. Them was his last words. Thunder, I wish we was
sure 'a findin' our reg'ments t'-night. It 's goin' t' b