第18章

Heputhisarmaroundheralmosttimidlyandkissedheronthecheek，agreatloveforherspringingupinhisheart。“Thatsettiesit，“hesaid。“Don’tcry，Jalyie。You’llneverbesorryforit。Don’tcry。Itkindo’hurtsmetoseeit。“

Hedidn’tunderstandherfeelings。Hewasonlyawarethatshewascrying，andtriedinabunglingwaytosootheher。Butnowthatshehadgivenway，shesatdowninthegrassandweptbitterly。

“Yulyie!“yelledtheoldNorwegian，likeadistantfog-horn。

Thegirlsprangup；thehabitofobediencewasstrong。

“No；yousetrightthere，andI’llgoround，“hesaid。“Otto!“

Theboycamescramblingoutofthewoodhalfdressed。Robtossedhimuponthehorse，snatchedJulia’ssun-bonnet，puthisownhatonherhead，andmovedoffdownthecornrows，leavingthegirlsmilingthroghhertearsashewhistledandchirpedtothehorse。

FarmerPeterson，seeingthefamiliarsunbonnetabovethecornrows，wentbacktohiswork，withasentenceofNorwegiantrailingafterhimlikethetailofakite-somethingaboutlazygirlswhodidn’tearnthecrustoftheirbread，etc。

Robwaswildwithdelight。“GitupthereJack!Hay，youoldcorncrib!Say，Otto，canyoukeepyourmouthshetifitputsmoneyinyourpocket？“

“Jesttryme’n’see，“saidthekeen-eyedlittlescamp。“Well，youkeepquietaboutmybeingherethisalter-noon，andI’llputadollarony’rtongue-hay？-what？-understand？“

“Showmey’rdollar，“saidtheboy，turningaboutandshowinghistongue。

“Allright。Begintopracticenowbynottalkin’tome。“

Robwentoverthewholesituationonhiswayback，andwhenhegotinsightofthegirlhisplanwasmade。Shestoodwaitingforhimwithanewlookonherface。Hersullennesshadgivenwaytoapeculiareagernessandanxietytobelieveinhim。Shewasalreadylivingthatfreelifeinafar-offwonderfulcountry。Nomorewouldhersternfatherandsullenmotherforcehertotaskswhichshehated。She’dbeamemberofanewfirm。She’dwork，ofcourse，butitwouldbebecauseshewantedto，andnotbecauseshewasforcedto。Theindependenceandthelovepromisedgrewmoreandmoreattractive。ShelaughedbackwithasofterlightinhereyeswhenshesawthesmilingfaceofRoblookingatherfromhersun-bonnet“Nowyoumustn’tdoanymoreo’this，“hesaid。“Yougobacktothehousean’telly’rmotheryou’retoolametoplowanymoretoday，andit’stoolate，anyhow。To-night!“hewhisperedquickiy。

“Eleven!Here!“

Thegirl’sheartleapedwithfear。“I’mafraid。“

“Notofme，areyeh？“

“No，I’mnotafraidofyou，Rob。“

“I’mglado’that。I-Iwantyouto-tolikeme，Julyie；won’tyou？“

“I’lltry，“sheansweredwithasmile。

“Tonight，then，“hesaidasshemovedaway。

“Tonight。Goodbye。“

“Goodbye。“

Hestoodandwatchedhertillhertallfigurewaslostamongthedroopingcornleaves。Therewasasingularchokingfeelinginhisthroat。Thegirl’svoiceandfacehadbroughtupsomanymemoriesofpartiesandpicnicsandexcursionsonfar-offholidays，andatthesametimesuchsuggestionsofthefuture。Healreadyfeltthatitwasgoingtobeanunconscionablylongtimebeforeeleveno’clock。

Hesawhergotothehouse，andthenheturnedandwalkedslowlyupthedustyroad。OutoftheMayweedthegrasshopperssprang，buzzingandsnappingtheirdullredwings。Butterflies，yellowandwhite，flutteredaroundmoistplacesintheditch，andslenderstripedwatersnakesglidedacrossthestagnantpoolsatsoundo~

footsteps。

Butthemindofthemanwasfarawayonhisclaim，buildinganewhouse，withawoman’sadviceandpresence。

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Itwasawindlessnight。ThekatydidsandanoccasionalcricketweretheonlysoundsRobcouldhearashestoodbesidehisteamandstrainedhiseartolisten。Atlongintervalsalittlebreezeranthroughthecornlikeaswiftserpent，bringingtothenostrilsthesappysmellofthegrowingcorn。Thehorsesstampeduneasilyasthemosquitoessettledontheirshininglimbs。Theskywasfullofstars，buttherewasnomoon。

“Whatifshedon’tcome？“hethought。“Orcan’tcome？Ican’tstandthat。I’llgototheoldmanan’say，’Lookyhere-’Sh!“

Helistenedagain。Therewasarustlinginthecorn。Itwasnotlikethefitfulmovementofthewind；itwassteady，slower，andapproaching。Itceased。Hewhistledthewailing，sweetcryoftheprairiechicken。Thenafigurecameoutintotheroad-awoman-

Julia!

Hetookherinhisarmsasshecamepantinguptohim。

“Rob!“

“Julyie!“

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Afewwords，thedulltreadofswifthorses，therisingofasilenttrainofdust，andthenthewindwanderedinthegrowingcorn。Thedustfell，adogbarkeddowntheroadandthekatydidssangtotheliquidcontraltooftheriverinitsshallows。

THERETURNOFAPRIVATE

Ontheroadleading“backtoGod’scountry“andwileandbabies。

I

ThenearerthetraindrewtowardLaCrosse，thesobererthelittlegroupof“vets“became。OnthelongwayfromNewOrleanstheyhadbeguiledtediumwithjokesandfriendlychaff；orwithplanningwithelaboratedetailwhattheyweregoingtodonow，afterthewar。Alongjourney，slowly，irregularly，yetpersistentlypushingnorthward。whentheyenteredonWisconsinTerritorytheygaveacheer，andanotherwhentheyreachedMadison，butafterthattheysankintoadumbexpectancy。Comradesdroppedoffatoneortwopointsbeyond，untiltherewereonlyfourorfiveleftwhowereboundforLaCrosseCountyThreeofthemweregauntandbrown，thefourthwasgauntandpale，withsignsoffeverandagueuponhim。Onehadagreatscardownhistemple；onelimped；andtheyallhadunnaturallylargebrighteyes，showingemaciation。Therewerenobandsgreetingthematthestations，nobanksofgailydressedladieswavinghand-kerchiefsandshouting“Bravo!“astheycameinonthecabooseofafreighttramintothetownsthathadcheeredandblaredatthemontheirwaytowar。Astheylookedoutorsteppedupontheplatformforamoment，asthetrainstoodatthestation，theloaferslookedatthemindifferenfly。Theirbluecoats，dustyandgrimy，weretoofamiliarnowtoexcitenotice，muchlessafriendlyword。Theywerethelastofthearmytoreturn，andtheloafersweresurfeitedwithsuchsights。

ThetrainjoggedforwardsoslowlythatitseemedlikelytobemidnightbeforetheyshouldreachLaCrosse。Thelittlesquadof“vets“grumbledandswore，butitwasnouse，thetrainwouldnothurry；andasamatteroffact，rtwasnearlytwoo’clockwhentheenginewhistled“downbrakes。“

Mostofthegroupwerefarmers，livingindistrictsseveralmilesoutofthetown，andallwerepoor。

“Now，boys，“saidPrivateSmith，heofthefeverandague，“wearelandedinLaCrosseinthenight。We’vegottostaysomewheretillmornin’。Now，Iain’tgotnotwodollarstowasteonahotel。I’vegotawifeandchildren，soI’mgoin’toroostonabenchandtakethecostofabedoutofmyhide。“

“Samehere，“putinoneoftheothermen。“Hide’llgrowonagain，dollarscomehard。It’sgoin’tobemightyhotskirmishin’tofindadollarthesedays。“

“Don’tthinkthey’llbeadeputationofcitizenswaitin’to’scortustoahotel，eh？“saidanother。Hissarcasmwastooobvioustorequireananswer。

Smithwenton：“Thenatdaybreakwe’llstartf’rhome；atleastI

will。“

“Well，I’llbedummedifI’lltaketwodollarsouto’myhide，“oneoftheyoungermensaid。“I’mgoin’toahotel，efIdon’tneverlayupacent。“

“That’lldof’ryou，“saidSmith；“butifyouhadawifean’threeyoung’unsdependin’onyeh-“

“WhichIain’t，thanktheLord!anddon’tintendhavin’whilethecourtknowsitself。“

Thestationwasdeserted，chill，anddark，astheycameintoitatexactlyaquartertotwointhemorning。Litbytheoillampsthatflaredadullredlightoverthedingybenches，thewaitingroomwasnotaninvitingplace。Theyoungermanwentofftolookupahotel，whiletherestremainedandpreparedtocampdownonthefloorandbenches。Smithwasattendedtotenderlybytheothermen，whospreadtheirblanketsonthebenchforhim，andbyrobbingthemselvesmadequiteacomfortablebed，thoughthenarrownessofthebenchmadehissleepingprecarious。

Itwaschill，thoughAugust，andthetwomensittingwithbowedheadsgrewstiffwithcoldandweariness，andwereforcedtorisenowandagain，andwalkabouttowarmtheirstiffenedlimbsItdidn’toccurtothem，probably，tocontrasttheircominghomewiththeirgoingforth，orwiththecominghomeofthegenerals，colonels，orevencaptains-buttoPrivateSmith，atanyrate，therecameasicknessatheartalmostdeadly，ashelaythereonhishardbedandwentoverhissituation。

Inthedeepofthenight，lyingonaboardinthetownwherehehadenlistedthreeyearsago，allelationandenthusiasmgoneoutofhim，hefacedthefactthatwiththejoyofhomecomingwasmingledthebitterjuiceofcare。Hesawhimselfsick，wornout，takinguptheworkonhishalf-clearedfarm，theinevitablemortgagestandingreadywithopenjawtoswallowhalfhisearnings。Hehadgiventhreeyearsofhislifeforamerepittanceofpay，andnow-

Morningdawnedatlast，slowly，withapaleyellowdomeoflightrisingsilentlyabovethebluffswhichstandlikesomehugebattlementedcastle，justeastofthecity。Outtotheleftthegreatriversweptonitsmassiveyetsilentwaytothesouth。Jayscalledacrosstheriverfromhillsidetohillside，throughtheclear，beautifulair，andhawksbegantoskimthetopsofthehills。

Thetwovetswereastirearly，butPrivateSmithhadfallenatlastintoasleep，andtheywentoutwithoutwakinghim。Helayonhisknapsack，hisgauntfaceturnedtowardtheceiling，hishandsclaspedonhisbreast，withacuriouspatheticeffectofweaknessandappeal。

Anengineswitchingnearwokehimatlast，andheslowlysatupandstaredabout。Helookedoutofthewindowandsawthatthesunwaslighteningthehillsacrosstheriver。Heroseandbrushedhishairaswellashecould，foldedhisblanketsup，andwentouttofindhiscompanions。Theystoodgazingsilentlyattheriverandatthehills。

“Looksnat’cherl，don’tit？“theysaidashecameout。

“That’swhatitdoes，“hereplied。“An’itlooksgood。D’yehseethatpeak？“Hepointedatabeautifulsymmetricalpeak，risinglikeaslightlytruncatedcone，sohighthatitseemedtheveryhighestofthemall。Itwaslightedbythemorningsuntillitglowedlikeabeacon，andalightscarfofgraymorningfogwasrollingupitsshadowedside。

“Myfarm’sjustbeyondthat。Now，efIcanonlyketcharide，we’llbehomebydinnertime。“

“I’mtalkin’aboutbreakfast，“saidoneoftheothers。

“Iguessit’sonemoremealo’hardtackf’rme，“saidSmith。

Theyforagedaround，andfinallyfoundarestaurantwithasleepyoldGermanbehindthecounter，andprocuredsomecoffee，whichtheydranktowashdowntheirhardtack。

“Time’llcome，“saidSmith，holdingupapiecebythecorner，“whenthis’llbeacuriosity。“

“IhopetoGoditwill!IbetI’vechawedhardtackenoughtoshingleeveryhouseinthecoulee。I’vechaweditwhenmylamperswasdown，andwhentheywasn’t。I’vetookitdry，soaked，andmashed。I’vehaditwormy，musty，sour，andblue-moldy。I’vehaditinlittlebitsandbigbits；’forecoffeean’aftercoffee。I’mreadyf’rachange。I’dliket’githol’tjestaboutnowo’someofthehotbiscuitsmywifec’nmakewhenshelaysherselfoutf’rcompany。“

“Well，ifyousettheregablin’，you’llneverseeyerwife。“

“Comeon，“saidPrivateSmith。“Waitamoment，boys；lesstakesuthin’。It’sonme。“Heledthemtotherustytindipperwhichhungonanailbesidethewoodenwaterpail，andtheygrinnedanddrank。(ThingswereprimitiveinLaCrossethen。)Then，shoulderingtheirblanketsandmuskets，whichtheywere“takinghometotheboys，“theystruckoutontheirlastmarch。

“Theycalledthatcoffee’Jayvy，“grumbledoneofthem，“butitneverwentbytheroadwheregovernmentJayvyresides。IreckonI

knowcoffeefrompeas。“