e light-footed soldiers turned upon him red-faced and violent.
"Yeh needn't come around here with yer preachin'. I s'pose yeh don't
approve 'a fightin' since Charley Morgan licked yeh; but I don't see
what business this here is 'a yours or anybody else."

"Well, it ain't," said the friend mildly. "Still I hate t' see--"

There was a tangled argument.

"Well, he--," said the two, indicating their opponent with accusative
forefingers.

The huge soldier was quite purple with rage. He pointed at the two
soldiers with his great hand, extended clawlike. "Well, they--"

But during this argumentative time the desire to deal blows seemed to
pass, although they said much to each other. Finally the friend
returned to his old seat. In a short while the three antagonists could
be seen together in an amiable bunch.

"Jimmie Rogers ses I'll have t' fight him after th' battle t'-day,"
announced the friend as he again seated himself. "He ses he don't
allow no interferin' in his business. I hate t' see th' boys fightin'
'mong themselves."

The youth laughed. "Yer changed a good bit. Yeh ain't at all like yeh
was. I remember when you an' that Irish feller--" He stopped and
laughed again.

"No, I didn't use t' be that way," said his friend thoughtfully.
"That's true 'nough."

"Well, I didn't mean--" began the youth.

The friend made another deprecatory gesture. "Oh, yeh needn't mind,
Henry."

There was another little pause.

"Th' reg'ment lost over half th' men yestirday," remarked the friend
eventually. "I thought 'a course they was all dead, but, laws, they
kep' a-comin' back last night until it seems, after all, we didn't lose
but a few. They'd been scattered all over, wanderin' around in th'
woods, fightin' with other reg'ments, an' everything. Jest like you
done."

"So?" said the youth.

Chapter 15

The regiment was standing at order arms at the side of a lane, waiting
for the command to march, when suddenly the youth remembered the little
packet enwrapped in a faded yellow envelope which the loud young
soldier with lugubrious words had intrusted to him. It made him start.
He uttered an exclamation and turned toward his comrade.

"Wilson!"

"What?"

His friend, at his side in the ranks, was thoughtfully staring down the
road. From some cause his expression was at that moment very meek.
The youth, regarding him with sidelong glances, felt impelled to change
his purpose. "Oh, nothing,"