The Red Badge of Courage | Page 7

peated in dismay.

After a time the tall soldier slid dexterously through the hole. The loud
private followed. They were wrangling.
"That's all right," said the tall soldier as he entered. He waved his hand
expressively. "You can believe me or not, jest as you like. All you got
to do is to sit down and wait as quiet as you can. Then pretty soon
you'll find out I was right."
His comrade grunted stubbornly. For a mo- ment he seemed to be
searching for a formidable reply. Finally he said: "Well, you don't
know everything in the world, do you?"
"Didn't say I knew everything in the world," retorted the other sharply.
He began to stow various articles snugly into his knapsack.
The youth, pausing in his nervous walk, looked down at the busy figure.
"Going to be a battle, sure, is there, Jim?" he asked.
"Of course there is," replied the tall soldier. "Of course there is. You
jest wait 'til to-morrow, and you'll see one of the biggest battles ever
was. You jest wait."
"Thunder!der!" said the youth.
"Oh, you'll see fighting this time, my boy, what'll be regular
out-and-out fighting," added the tall soldier, with the air of a man who
is about to exhibit a battle for the benefit of his friends.
"Huh!" said the loud one from a corner.
"Well," remarked the youth, "like as not this story'll turn out jest like
them others did."
"Not much it won't," replied the tall soldier, exasperated. "Not much it
won't. Didn't the cavalry all start this morning?" He glared about him.
No one denied his statement. "The cav- alry started this morning," he
continued. "They say there ain't hardly any cavalry left in camp.
They're going to Richmond, or some place, while we fight all the

Johnnies. It's some dodge like that. The regiment's got orders, too. A
feller what seen 'em go to headquarters told me a little while ago. And
they're raising blazes all over camp--anybody can see that."
"Shucks!" said the loud one.
The youth remained silent for a time. At last he spoke to the tall soldier.
"Jim!"
"What?"
"How do you think the reg'ment 'll do?"
"Oh, they'll fight all right, I guess, after they once get into it," said the
other with cold judg- ment. He made a fine use of the third person.
"There's been heaps of fun poked at 'em because they're new, of course,
and all that; but they'll fight all right, I guess."
"Think any of the boys 'll run?" persisted the youth.
"Oh, there may be a few of 'em run, but there's them kind in every
regiment, 'specially when they first goes under fire," said the other in a
tolerant way. "Of course it might happen that the hull kit-and-boodle
might start and run, if some big fighting came first-off, and then again
they might stay and fight like fun. But you can't bet on nothing. Of
course they ain't never been under fire yet, and it ain't likely they'll lick
the hull rebel army all-to-oncet the first time; but I think they'll fight
better than some, if worse than others. That's the way I figger. They call
the reg'ment 'Fresh fish' and everything; but the boys come of good
stock, and most of 'em 'll fight like sin after they oncet git shootin'," he
added, with a mighty emphasis on the last four words.
"Oh, you think you know--" began the loud soldier with scorn.
The other turned savagely upon him. They had a rapid altercation, in
which they fastened upon each other various strange epithets.
The youth at last interrupted them. "Did you ever think you might run

yourself, Jim?" he asked. On concluding the sentence he laughed as if
he had meant to aim a joke. The loud sol- dier also giggled.
The tall private waved his hand. "Well," said he profoundly, "I've
thought it might get too hot for Jim Conklin in some of them
scrimmages, and if a whole lot of boys started and run, why, I s'pose I'd
start and run. And if I once started to run, I'd run like the devil, and no
mistake. But if everybody was a-standing and a-fighting, why, I'd stand
and fight. Be jiminey, I would. I'll bet on it."
"Huh!" said the loud one.
The youth of this tale felt gratitude for these words of his comrade. He
had feared that all of the untried men possessed a great and correct
confidence. He now was in a measure reassured.
CHAPTER II.
THE next morning the youth discovered that his tall comrade had been
the fast-flying messen- ger of a mistake. There was much scoffing at
the latter by those who had yesterday been firm adherents of his views,
and there was even a lit-