The Red Badge of Courage | Page 5

to her
diffidently. There was a short silence. "The Lord's will be done,
Henry," she had finally replied, and had then continued to milk the
brindle cow.
When he had stood in the doorway with his soldier's clothes on his
back, and with the light of excitement and expectancy in his eyes
almost defeating the glow of regret for the home bonds, he had seen
two tears leaving their trails on his mother's scarred cheeks.
Still, she had disappointed him by saying nothing whatever about
returning with his shield or on it. He had privately primed himself for a
beautiful scene. He had prepared certain sen- tences which he thought
could be used with touching effect. But her words destroyed his plans.

She had doggedly peeled potatoes and addressed him as follows: "You
watch out, Henry, an' take good care of yerself in this here fighting
business--you watch out, an' take good care of yerself. Don't go
a-thinkin' you can lick the hull rebel army at the start, because yeh can't.
Yer jest one little feller amongst a hull lot of others, and yeh've got to
keep quiet an' do what they tell yeh. I know how you are, Henry.
"I've knet yeh eight pair of socks, Henry, and I've put in all yer best
shirts, because I want my boy to be jest as warm and comf'able as
anybody in the army. Whenever they get holes in 'em, I want yeh to
send 'em right-away back to me, so's I kin dern 'em.
"An' allus be careful an' choose yer comp'ny. There's lots of bad men in
the army, Henry. The army makes 'em wild, and they like nothing
better than the job of leading off a young feller like you, as ain't never
been away from home much and has allus had a mother, an' a-learning
'em to drink and swear. Keep clear of them folks, Henry. I don't want
yeh to ever do any- thing, Henry, that yeh would be 'shamed to let me
know about. Jest think as if I was a-watchin' yeh. If yeh keep that in yer
mind allus, I guess yeh'll come out about right.
"Yeh must allus remember yer father, too, child, an' remember he never
drunk a drop of licker in his life, and seldom swore a cross oath.
"I don't know what else to tell yeh, Henry, excepting that yeh must
never do no shirking, child, on my account. If so be a time comes when
yeh have to be kilt or do a mean thing, why, Henry, don't think of
anything 'cept what's right, because there's many a woman has to bear
up 'ginst sech things these times, and the Lord 'll take keer of us all.
"Don't forgit about the socks and the shirts, child; and I've put a cup of
blackberry jam with yer bundle, because I know yeh like it above all
things. Good-by, Henry. Watch out, and be a good boy."
He had, of course, been impatient under the ordeal of this speech. It had
not been quite what he expected, and he had borne it with an air of
irritation. He departed feeling vague relief.

Still, when he had looked back from the gate, he had seen his mother
kneeling among the po- tato parings. Her brown face, upraised, was
stained with tears, and her spare form was quiver-
10 RED BADGE OF COURAGE.
ing. He bowed his head and went on, feeling suddenly ashamed of his
purposes.
From his home he had gone to the seminary to bid adieu to many
schoolmates. They had thronged about him with wonder and
admiration. He had felt the gulf now between them and had swelled
with calm pride. He and some of his fellows who had donned blue were
quite over- whelmed with privileges for all of one afternoon, and it had
been a very delicious thing. They had strutted.
A certain light-haired girl had made vivacious fun at his martial spirit,
but there was another and darker girl whom he had gazed at steadfastly,
and he thought she grew demure and sad at sight of his blue and brass.
As he had walked down the path between the rows of oaks, he had
turned his head and detected her at a window watching his departure.
As he perceived her, she had im- mediately begun to stare up through
the high tree branches at the sky. He had seen a good deal of flurry and
haste in her movement as she changed her attitude. He often thought of
it.
On the way to Washington his spirit had soared. The regiment was fed
and caressed at station after station until the youth had believed that he
must be a hero. There was a lavish ex- penditure of bread and