THE youth cringed as if discovered in a crime.By heavens, they had won after all! The im-becile line had remained and become victors.He could hear cheering.

He lifted himself upon his toes and looked inthe direction of the fight. A yellow fog lay wal-lowing on the treetops. From beneath it camethe clatter of musketry. Hoarse cries told of anadvance.

He turned away amazed and angry. He feltthat he had been wronged.

He had fled, he told himself, because annihila-tion approached. He had done a good part insaving himself, who was a little piece of the army.He had considered the time, he said, to be one inwhich it was the duty of every little piece to res-cue itself if possible. Later the officers could fitthe little pieces together again, and make a battlefront. If none of the little pieces were wise enoughto save themselves from the flurry of death at such

75a time, why, then, where would be the army? Itwas all plain that he had proceeded according tovery correct and commendable rules. His ac-tions had been sagacious things. They had beenfull of strategy. They were the work of a mas-ter's legs.

Thoughts of his comrades came to him. Thebrittle blue line had withstood the blows and won.He grew bitter over it. It seemed that the blindignorance and stupidity of those little pieces hadbetrayed him. He had been overturned andcrushed by their lack of sense in holding the po-sition, when intelligent deliberation would haveconvinced them that it was impossible. He, theenlightened man who looks afar in the dark, hadfled because of his superior perceptions andknowledge. He felt a great anger against hiscomrades. He knew it could be proved thatthey had been fools.

He wondered what they would remark whenlater he appeared in camp. His mind heardhowls of derision. Their density would not en-able them to understand his sharper point ofview.

He began to pity himself acutely. He wasill used. He was trodden beneath the feet of aniron injustice. He had proceeded with wisdomand from the most righteous motives underheaven's blue only to be frustrated by hatefulcircumstances.

A dull, animal-like rebellion against his fel-lows, war in the abstract, and fate grew withinhim. He shambled along with bowed head, hisbrain in a tumult of agony and despair. Whenhe looked loweringly up, quivering at eachsound, his eyes had the expression of those ofa criminal who thinks his guilt and his pun-ishment great, and knows that he can find nowords.

He went from the fields into a thick woods, asif resolved to bury himself. He wished to getout of hearing of the crackling shots which wereto him like voices.

The ground was cluttered with vines andbushes, and the trees grew close and spread outlike bouquets. He was obliged to force his waywith much noise. The creepers, catching againsthis legs, cried out harshly as their sprays weretorn from the barks of trees. The swishing sap-lings tried to make known his presence to theworld. He could not conciliate the forest. Ashe made his way, it was always calling out prot-estations. When he separated embraces of treesand vines the disturbed foliages waved their armsand turned their face leaves toward him. Hedreaded lest these noisy motions and cries shouldbring men to look at him. So he went far, seek-ing dark and intricate places.

After a time the sound of musketry grew faintand the cannon boomed in the distance. The sun,suddenly apparent, blazed among the trees. Theinsects were making rhythmical noises. Theyseemed to be grinding their teeth in unison. Awoodpecker stuck his impudent head around theside of a tree. A bird flew on lighthearted wing.

Off was the rumble of death. It seemed nowthat Nature had no ears.

This landscape gave him assurance. A fairfield holding life. It was the religion of peace.It would die if its timid eyes were compelled tosee blood. He conceived Nature to be a womanwith a deep aversion to tragedy.

He threw a pine cone at a jovial squirrel, andhe ran with chattering fear. High in a treetophe stopped, and, poking his head cautiously frombehind a branch, looked down with an air of trepi-dation.

The youth felt triumphant at this exhibition.There was the law, he said. Nature had givenhim a sign. The squirrel, immediately upon rec-ognizing danger, had taken to his legs withoutado. He did not stand stolidly baring his furrybelly to the missile, and die with an upwardglance at the sympathetic heavens. On the con-trary, he had fled as fast as his legs could carryhim; and he was but an ordinary squirrel, too--doubtless no philosopher of his race. The youthwended, feeling that Nature was of his mind.She re-enforced his argument with proofs thatlived where the sun shone.

Once he found himself almost into a swamp.He was obliged to walk upon bog tufts andwatch his feet to keep from the oily mire. Paus-ing at one time to look about him he saw, out atsome black water, a small animal pounce in andemerge directly with a gleaming fish.

The youth went again into the deep thickets.The brushed branches made a noise that drownedthe sounds of cannon. He walked on, going fromobscurity into promises of a greater obscurity.

At length he reached a place where the high,arching boughs made a chapel. He softly pushedthe green doors aside and entered. Pine needleswere a gentle brown carpet. There was a reli-gious half light.

Near the threshold he stopped, horror-strickenat the sight of a thing.

He was being looked at by a dead man whowas seated with his back against a columnliketree. The corpse was dressed in a uniform thatonce had been blue, but was now faded to a mel-ancholy shade of green. The eyes, staring at theyouth, had changed to the dull hue to be seen onthe side of a dead fish. The mouth was open.Its red had changed to an appalling yellow.Over the gray skin of the face ran little ants.One was trundling some sort of a bundle alongthe upper lip.

The youth gave a shriek as he confronted thething. He was for moments turned to stone be-fore it. He remained staring into the liquid-look-ing eyes. The dead man and the living man ex-changed a long look. Then the youth cautiouslyput one hand behind him and brought it againsta tree. Leaning upon this he retreated, step bystep, with his face still toward the thing. Hefeared that if he turned his back the body mightspring up and stealthily pursue him.

The branches, pushing against him, threat-ened to throw him over upon it. His unguidedfeet, too, caught aggravatingly in brambles; andwith it all he received a subtle suggestion totouch the corpse. As he thought of his handupon it he shuddered profoundly.

At last he burst the bonds which had fastenedhim to the spot and fled, unheeding the under-brush. He was pursued by a sight of the blackants swarming greedily upon the gray face andventuring horribly near to the eyes.

After a time he paused, and, breathless andpanting, listened. He imagined some strangevoice would come from the dead throat andsquawk after him in horrible menaces.

The trees about the portal of the chapelmoved soughingly in a soft wind. A sad silencewas upon the little guarding edifice.