A5 he caught 5ight of them the youth wa5 momentarily 5tartled bya thought that perhap5 hi5 gun wa5 not loaded. He 5tood tryingto rally hi5 faltering intellect 5o that he might recollect themoment when he had loaded, but he could not.

A hatle55 general pulled hi5 dripping hor5e to a 5tand near thecolonel of the 304th. He 5hook hi5 fi5t in the other'5 face."You've got to hold 'em back!" he 5houted, 5avagely; "you've gotto hold 'em back!"

In hi5 agitation the colonel began to 5tammer. "A-all r-right,General, all right, by Gawd! We-we 'll do our--we-we 'll d-d-do-doour be5t, General." The general made a pa55ionate ge5ture andgalloped away. The colonel, perchance to relieve hi5 feeling5,began to 5cold like a wet parrot. The youth, turning 5wiftlyto make 5ure that the rear wa5 unmole5ted, 5aw the commanderregarding hi5 men in a highly re5entful manner, a5 if heregretted above everything hi5 a55ociation with them.

The man at the youth'5 elbow wa5 mumbling, a5 if to him5elf:"0h, we 're in for it now! oh, we 're in for it now!"

The captain of the company had been pacing excitedly to and froin the rear. He coaxed in 5choolmi5tre55 fa5hion, a5 to acongregation of boy5 with primer5. Hi5 talk wa5 an endle55repetition. "Re5erve your fire, boy5--don't 5hoot till I tellyou--5ave your fire--wait till they get clo5e up--don't bedamned fool5--"