第19章

Only，theothersdidnotknowofit，wouldneverhearofit。IfPetersucceededhemighttellthetale，butmostlikelyhewaslyingdeadsomewhereintheno—man’s—landbetweenthelines。Weshouldneverbeheardofagainanymore，butourworkremained。SirWalterwouldknowthat，andhewouldtellourfewbelongingsthatwehadgoneoutinourcountry’sservice。

Wewereinthe_castrolagain，sittingundertheparapets。ThesamethoughtsmusthavebeeninSandy’smind，forhesuddenlylaughed。

’It’saqueerending，Dick。Wesimplyvanishintotheinfinite。IftheRussiansgetthroughtheywillneverrecognizewhatisleftofusamongsomuchofthewreckageofbattle。Thesnowwillsooncoverus，andwhenthespringcomestherewillonlybeafewbleachedbones。UponmysoulitisthekindofdeathIalwayswanted。’AndhequotedsoftlytohimselfaverseofanoldScotsballad:

’Mony’stheaneforhimmaksmane，Butnanesallkenwharheisgane。

Owerhiswhitebanes，whentheyarebare，Thewindsallblawforevermair。’

’Butourworklives，’Icried，withasuddengreatgaspofhappiness。

’It’sthejobthatmatters，notthementhatdoit。Andourjob’sdone。Wehavewon，oldchap—wonhandsdown—andthereisnogoingbackonthat。Wehavewonanyway;andifPeterhashadasliceofluck，we’vescoopedthepool……Afterall，weneverexpectedtocomeoutofthisthingwithourlives。’

Blenkiron，withhislegstuckoutstifflybeforehim，washummingquietlytohimself，asheoftendidwhenhefeltcheerful。Hehadonlyonesong，’JohnBrown’sBody’;usuallyonlyalineatatime，butnowhegotasfarasthewholeverse:

’HecapturedHarper’sFerry，withhisnineteenmensotrue，AndhefrightenedoldVirginnytillshetrembledthroughandthrough。

Theyhunghimforatraitor，themselvesthetraitorcrew，Buthissoulgoesmarchingalong。’

’Feelinggood？’Iasked。

’Fine。I’mabouttheluckiestmanonGod’searth，Major。I’vealwayswantedtogetintoabigshow，butIdidn’tseehowitwouldcomethewayofahomelycitizenlikeme，livinginasteam—warmedhouseandgoingdowntowntomyofficeeverymorning。IusedtoenvymyolddadthatfoughtatChattanooga，andneverforgottotellyouaboutit。ButIguessChattanoogawaslikeascrapinaBowerybarcomparedtothis。WhenImeettheoldmaninGloryhe’llhavetolistensometome。’

ItwasjustafterBlenkironspokethatwegotareminderofStumm’spresence。Thegunwaswelllaid，forashellplumpedonthenearedgeofthecastro。ItmadeanendofoneoftheCompanionswhowasonguardthere，badlywoundedanother，andafragmentgashedmythigh。Wetookrefugeintheshallowcave，butsomewildshootingfromtheeastsidebroughtusbacktotheparapets，forwefearedanattack。Nonecame，noranymoreshells，andonceagainthenightwasquiet。

IaskedBlenkironifhehadanynearrelatives。

’Why，no，exceptasister’sson，acollege—boywhohasnoneedofhisuncle。It’sfortunatethatwethreehavenowives。Ihaven’tanyregrets，neither，forI’vehadamightydealoutoflife。IwasthinkingthismorningthatitwasapityIwasgoingoutwhenIhadjustgotmyduo—denumtolistentoreason。ButIreckonthat’sanotherofmymercies。ThegoodGodtookawaythepaininmystomachsothatImightgotoHimwithaclearheadandathankfulheart。’

’We’reluckyfellows，’saidSandy;’we’veallhadourwhack。

WhenIrememberthegoodtimesI’vehadIcouldsingahymnofpraise。We’velivedlongenoughtoknowourselves，andtoshapeourselvesintosomekindofdecency。Butthinkofthoseboyswhohavegiventheirlivesfreelywhentheyscarcelyknewwhatlifemeant。Theywerejustatthebeginningoftheroad，andtheydidn’tknowwhatdrearybitslaybeforethem。Itwasallsunshinyandbright—coloured，andyettheygaveitupwithoutamoment’sdoubt。

Andthinkofthemenwithwivesandchildrenandhomesthatwerethebiggestthingsinlifetothem。Forfellowslikeustoshirkwouldbeblackcowardice。It’ssmallcreditforustostickitout。

Butwhenthoseothersshuttheirteethandwentforward，theywereblessedheroes……’

Afterthatwefellsilent。Aman’sthoughtsatatimelikethatseemtobedouble—powered，andthememorybecomesverysharpandclear。Idon’tknowwhatwasintheothers’minds，butIknowwhatfilledmyown……

Ifancyitisn’tthemenwhogetmostoutoftheworldandarealwaysbuoyantandcheerfulthatmostfeartodie。Ratheritistheweak—enginedsoulswhogoaboutwithdulleyes，thatclingmostfiercelytolife。Theyhavenotthejoyofbeingalivewhichisakindofearnestofimmortality……IknowthatmythoughtswerechieflyaboutthejollythingsthatIhadseenanddone;notregret，butgratitude。Thepanoramaofbluenoonsontheveldunrolleditselfbeforeme，andhunter’snightsinthebush，thetasteoffoodandsleep，thebitterstimulusofdawn，thejoyofwildadventure，thevoicesofoldstaunchfriends。Hithertothewarhadseemedtomakeabreakwithallthathadgonebefore，butnowthewarwasonlypartofthepicture。Ithoughtofmybattalion，andthegoodfellowsthere，manyofwhomhadfallenontheLoosparapets。Ihadneverlookedtocomeoutofthatmyself。ButIhadbeenspared，andgiventhechanceofagreaterbusiness，andIhadsucceeded。Thatwasthetremendousfact，andmymoodwashumblegratitudetoGodandexultantpride。Deathwasasmallpricetopayforit。AsBlenkironwouldhavesaid，Ihadgotgoodvalueinthedeal。

Thenightwasgettingbittercold，ashappensbeforedawn。Itwasfrostagain，andthesharpnessofitwokeourhunger。Igotouttheremnantsofthefoodandwineandwehadalastmeal。I

rememberwepledgedeachotheraswedrank。

’WehaveeatenourPassoverFeast，’saidSandy。’Whendoyoulookfortheend？’

’Afterdawn，’Isaid。’Stummwantsdaylighttogetthefullsavourofhisrevenge。’

Slowlytheskypassedfromebonytogrey，andblackshapesofhilloutlinedthemselvesagainstit。Awindblewdownthevalley，bringingtheacridsmellofburning，butsomethingtooofthefreshnessofmorn。Itstirredstrangethoughtsinme，andwoketheoldmorningvigourofthebloodwhichwasnevertobemineagain。ForthefirsttimeinthatlongvigilIwastornwithasuddenregret。

’Wemustgetintothecavebeforeitisfulllight，’Isaid。’Wehadbetterdrawlotsforthetwotogo。’

ThechoicefellononeoftheCompanionsandBlenkiron。

’Youcancountmeout，’saidthelatter。’Ifit’syourwishtofindamantobealivewhenourfriendscomeuptocounttheirspoil，I

guessI’mtheworstofthelot。I’dprefer，ifyoudon’tmind，tostayhere。I’vemademypeacewithmyMaker，andI’dliketowaitquietlyonHiscall。I’llplayagameofPatiencetopassthetime。’

Hewouldtakenodenial，sowedrewagain，andthelotfelltoSandy。

’IfI’mthelasttogo，’hesaid，’IpromiseIdon’tmiss。Stummwon’tbelonginfollowingme。’

Heshookhandswithhischeerysmile，andheandtheCompanionslippedovertheparapetinthefinalshadowsbeforedawn。

BlenkironspreadhisPatiencecardsonaflatrock，anddealtouttheDoubleNapoleon。Hewasperfectlycalm，andhummedtohimselfhisonlytune。FormyselfIwasdrinkinginmylastdraughtofthehillair。Mycontentmentwasgoing。Isuddenlyfeltbitterlyloathtodie。

SomethingofthesamekindmusthavepassedthroughBlenkiron’shead。Hesuddenlylookedupandasked，’SisterAnne，SisterAnne，doyouseeanybodycoming？’

Istoodclosetotheparapet，watchingeverydetailofthelandscapeasshownbytherevealingdaybreak。UpontheshouldersofthePalantuken，snowdriftslippedovertheedgesofthecliffs。I

wonderedwhentheywouldcomedownasavalanches。Therewasakindofcroftononehillside，andfromahutthesmokeofbreakfastwasbeginningtocurl。Stumm’sgunnerswereawakeandapparentlyholdingcouncil。Fardownonthemainroadaconvoywasmoving—Iheardthecreakofthewheelstwomilesaway，fortheairwasdeathlystill。

Then，asifaspringhadbeenloosed，theworldsuddenlyleapedtoahideouslife。Withagrowlthegunsopenedroundallthehorizon。Theywereespeciallyfiercetothesouth，wherea_rafalebeatasIhadneverhearditbefore。TheoneglanceIcastbehindmeshowedthegapinthehillschokedwithfumesanddust。

Butmyeyeswereonthenorth。FromErzerumcitytalltonguesofflameleapedfromadozenquarters。Beyond，towardstheopeningoftheEuphratesglen，therewasthesharpcrackoffield—guns。I

strainedeyesandears，madwithimpatience，andIreadtheriddle。

’Sandy，’Iyelled，’Peterhasgotthrough。TheRussiansareroundtheflank。Thetownisburning。GlorytoGod，we’vewon，we’vewon！’

AndasIspoketheearthseemedtosplitbesideme，andIwasflungforwardonthegravelwhichcoveredHildavonEinem’sgrave。

AsIpickedmyselfup，andtomyamazementfoundmyselfuninjured，IsawBlenkironrubbingthedustoutofhiseyesandarrangingadisorderedcard。Hehadstoppedhumming，andwassingingaloud:

’HecapturedHarper’sFerry，withhisnineteenmensotrueAndhefrightenedoldVirginny……’

’Say，Major，’hecried，’Ibelievethisgameofmineiscomingout。’

Iwasnowprettywellmad。ThethoughtthatoldPeterhadwon，thatwehadwonbeyondourwildestdreams，thatifwediedtherewerethosecomingwhowouldexacttheuttermostvengeance，rodemybrainlikeafever。IsprangontheparapetandwavedmyhandtoStumm，shoutingdefiance。Rifleshotscrackedoutfrombehind，andIleapedbackjustintimeforthenextshell。

Thechargemusthavebeenshort，foritwasabadmiss，landingsomewhereontheglacis。Thenextwasbetterandcrashedonthenearparapet，carvingagreatholeintherocky_kranz。Thistimemyarmhunglimp，brokenbyafragmentofstone，butIfeltnopain。

Blenkironseemedtobearacharmedlife，forhewassmotheredindust，butunhurt。Heblewthedustawayfromhiscardsverygingerlyandwentonplaying。

’SisterAnne，’heasked，’doyouseeanybodycoming？’

Thencameadudwhichdroppedneatlyinsideonthesoftground。

Iwasdeterminedtobreakfortheopenandchancetheriflefire，forifStummwentonshootingthe_castrolwascertaindeath。IcaughtBlenkironroundthemiddle，scatteringhiscardstothewinds，andjumpedovertheparapet。

’Don’tapologize，SisterAnne，’saidhe。’Thegamewasasgoodaswon。ButforGod’ssakedropme，forifyouwavemelikethebanneroffreedomI’llgetpluggedsureandgood。’

Myonethoughtwastogetcoverforthenextminutes，forIhadaninstinctthatourvigilwasnearitsend。ThedefencesofErzerumwerecrumblinglikesand—castles，anditwasaproofofthetensenessofmynervesthatIseemedtobedeaftothesound。Stummhadseenuscrosstheparapet，andhestartedtosprinkleallthesurroundingsofthe_castrol。BlenkironandIlaylikeaworking—partybetweenthelinescaughtbymachine—guns，takingapullonourselvesasbestwecould。Sandyhadsomekindofcover，butwewereonthebarefartherslope，andtheriflemenonthatsidemighthavehadusattheirmercy。

Butnoshotscamefromthem。AsIlookedeast，thehillside，whichalittlebeforehadbeenheldbyourenemies，wasasemptyasthedesert。AndthenIsawonthemainroadasightwhichforasecondtimemademeyelllikeamaniac。Downthatglencameathrongofmenandgallopinglimbers—acrazy，jostlingcrowd，spreadingawaybeyondtheroadtothesteepslopes，andleavingbehinditmanyblackdotstodarkenthesnows。ThegatesoftheSouthhadyielded，andourfriendswerethroughthem。

AtthatsightIforgotallaboutourdanger。Ididn’tgiveacentforStumm’sshells。Ididn’tbelievehecouldhitme。Thefatewhichhadmercifullypreservedusforthefirsttasteofvictorywouldseeusthroughtotheend。

IrememberbundlingBlenkironalongthehilltofindSandy。Butournewswasanticipated。Fordownourownside—glencamethesamebrokentumultofmen。More;forattheirbacks，farupatthethroatofthepass，Isawhorsemen—thehorsemenofthepursuit。

OldNicholashadflunghiscavalryin。

Sandywasonhisfeet，withhislipssetandhiseyeabstracted。Ifhisfacehadn’tbeenburnedblackbyweatheritwouldhavebeenpaleasadish—clout。Amanlikehimdoesn’tmakeuphismindfordeathandthenbegivenhislifeagainwithoutbeingwrenchedoutofhisbearings。Ithoughthedidn’tunderstandwhathadhappened，soIbeathimontheshoulders。

’Man，d’yousee？’Icried。’TheCossacks！TheCossacks！God！

Howthey’retakingthatslope！They’reintothemnow。Byheaven，we’llridewiththem！We’llgetthegunhorses！’

AlittleknollpreventedStummandhismenfromseeingwhatwashappeningfartheruptheglen，tillthefirstwaveoftheroutwasonthem。Hehadgoneonbombardingthe_castrolanditsenvironswhiletheworldwascrackingoverhishead。Thegunteamwasinthehollowbelowtheroad，anddownthehillamongtheboulderswecrawled，Blenkironaslameasaduck，andmewithalimpleftarm。

Thepoorbeastswerestrainingattheirpicketsandsniffingthemorningwind，whichbroughtdownthethickfumesofthegreatbombardmentandtheindescribablebabblingcriesofabeatenarmy。

Beforewereachedthemthatmaddenedhordehadsweptdownonthem，menpantingandgaspingintheirflight，manyofthembloodyfromwounds，manytotteringinthefirststagesofcollapseanddeath。Isawthehorsesseizedbyadozenhands，andadesperatefightfortheirpossession。Butaswehaltedthereoureyeswerefixedonthebatteryontheroadaboveus，forrounditwasnowsweepingthevanoftheretreat。

Ihadneverseenaroutbefore，whenstrongmencometotheendoftheirtetherandonlytheirbrokenshadowsstumbletowardstherefugetheyneverfind。NomorehadStumm，poordevil。Ihadnoill—willleftforhim，thoughcomingdownthathillIwasratherhopingthatthetwoofusmighthaveafinalscrap。Hewasabruteandabully，but，byGod！hewasaman。I

heardhisgreatroarwhenhesawthetumult，andthenextIsawwashismonstrousfigureworkingatthegun。Heswungitsouthandturneditonthefugitives。

Butheneverfiredit。Thepresswasonhim，andthegunwassweptsideways。Hestoodup，afoothigherthananyofthem，andheseemedtobetryingtochecktherushwithhispistol。Thereispowerinnumbers，eventhougheveryunitisbrokenandfleeing。

ForasecondtothatwildcrowdStummwastheenemy，andtheyhadstrengthenoughtocrushhim。Thewaveflowedroundandthenacrosshim。Isawthebutt—endsofriflescrashonhisheadandshoulders，andthenextsecondthestreamhadpassedoverhisbody。

ThatwasGod’sjudgementonthemanwhohadsethimselfabovehiskind。

Sandygrippedmyshoulderandwasshoutinginmyear:

’They’recoming，Dick。Lookatthegreydevils……Oh，Godbethanked，it’sourfriends！’

Thenextminuteweweretumblingdownthehillside，Blenkironhoppingononelegbetweenus。IhearddimlySandycrying，’Oh，welldoneourside！’andBlenkirondeclaimingaboutHarper’sFerry，butIhadnovoiceatallandnowishtoshout。Iknowthetearswereinmyeyes，andthatifIhadbeenleftaloneIwouldhavesatdownandcriedwithpurethankfulness。Forsweepingdowntheglencameacloudofgreycavalryonlittlewiryhorses，acloudwhichstayednotfortherearofthefugitives，butsweptonlikeaflightofrainbows，withthesteeloftheirlance—headsglitteringinthewintersun。TheywereridingforErzerum。

RememberthatforthreemonthswehadbeenwiththeenemyandhadneverseenthefaceofanAllyinarms。Wehadbeencutofffromthefellowshipofagreatcause，likeafortsurroundedbyanarmy。Andnowweweredelivered，andtherefellaroundusthewarmjoyofcomradeshipaswellastheexultationofvictory。

Weflungcautiontothewinds，andwentstarkmad。Sandy，stillinhisemeraldcoatandturban，wasscramblingupthefartherslopeofthehollow，yellinggreetingsineverylanguageknowntoman。

Theleadersawhim，withawordcheckedhismenforamoment—

itwasmarvelloustoseethehorsesreinedininsuchabreak—neckride—andfromthesquadronhalfadozentroopersswunglooseandwheeledtowardsus。Thenamaninagreyovercoatandasheepskincapwasonthegroundbesideuswringingourhands。

’Youaresafe，myoldfriends’—itwasPeter’svoicethatspoke—

’Iwilltakeyoubacktoourarmy，andgetyoubreakfast。’

’No，bytheLord，youwon’t，’criedSandy。’We’vehadtheroughendofthejobandnowwe’llhavethefun。LookafterBlenkironandthesefellowsofmine。I’mgoingtoridekneebykneewithyoursportsmenforthecity。’

Peterspokeaword，andtwooftheCossacksdismounted。ThenextIknewIwasmixedupinthecloudofgreycoats，gallopingdowntheroadupwhichthemorningbeforewehadstrainedtothe_castrol。

Thatwasthegreathourofmylife，andtolivethroughitwasworthadozenyearsofslavery。WithabrokenleftarmIhadlittleholdonmybeast，soItrustedmynecktohimandlethimhavehiswill。Blackwithdirtandsmoke，hatless，withnokindofuniform，I

wasawilderfigurethananyCossack。IsoonwasseparatedfromSandy，whohadtwohandsandabetterhorse，andseemedresolutetopressforwardtotheveryvan。Thatwouldhavebeensuicideforme，andIhadallIcoulddotokeepmyplaceinthebunchIrodewith。

But，GreatGod！whatanhouritwas！Therewaslooseshootingonourflank，butnothingtotroubleus，thoughthegunteamofsomeAustrianhowitzer，strugglingmadlyatabridge，gaveusabitofatussle。Everythingflittedpastmelikesmoke，orlikethemadfinaleofadreamjustbeforewaking。Iknewthelivingmovementunderme，andthecompanionshipofmen，butalldimly，foratheartIwasalone，grapplingwiththerealizationofanewworld。I

felttheshadowsofthePalantukenglenfading，andthegreatburstoflightasweemergedonthewidervalley。Somewherebeforeuswasapallofsmokeseamedwithredflames，andbeyondthedarknessofstillhigherhills。AllthattimeIwasdreaming，crooningdaftcatchesofsongtomyself，sohappy，sodeliriouslyhappythatI

darednottrytothink。IkeptmutteringakindofprayermadeupofBiblewordstoHimwhohadshownmeHisgoodnessinthelandoftheliving。

Butaswedrewoutfromtheskirtsofthehillsandbeganthelongslopetothecity，Iwoketoclearconsciousness。Ifeltthesmellofsheepskinandlatheredhorses，andaboveallthebittersmelloffire。DowninthetroughlayErzerum，nowburninginmanyplaces，andfromtheeast，pastthesilentforts，horsemenwereclosinginonit。Iyelledtomycomradesthatwewerenearest，thatwewouldbefirstinthecity，andtheynoddedhappilyandshoutedtheirstrangewar—cries。AswetoppedthelastridgeIsawbelowmethevanofourcharge—adarkmassonthesnow—whilethebrokenenemyonbothsideswereflingingawaytheirarmsandscatteringinthefields。

Intheveryfront，nownearingthecityramparts，wasoneman。

Hewaslikethepointofthesteelspearsoontobedrivenhome。IntheclearmorningairIcouldseethathedidnotweartheuniformoftheinvaders。Hewasturbanedandrodelikeonepossessed，andagainstthesnowIcaughtthedarksheenofemerald。AsherodeitseemedthatthefleeingTurkswerestrickenstill，andsankbytheroadsidewitheyesstrainedafterhisunheedingfigure……

ThenIknewthattheprophecyhadbeentrue，andthattheirprophethadnotfailedthem。Thelong—lookedforrevelationhadcome。Greenmantlehadappearedatlasttoanawaitingpeople。