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The following day a letter came from Mrs. Crittenden's elder son. He was well, and the mother must not worry about either him or Basil. He did not think there would be much fighting and, anyhow, the great risk was from disease, and he feared very little from that. Basil would be much safer as an aid on a General's staff.
She was leaning on the fence now, her elbow on the top plank, her hand under her chin, and her face uplifted the moon lighting her hair, her face, and eyes, and her voice the voice of one slowly threading the mazes of a half-forgotten dream. Crittenden's own face grew tense as he watched her.
At last, when all were through, "taps" rose once more out of the darkness to the left. This last trumpeter had waited he knew his theme and knew his power. The rest had simply given the command: "Lights out!" Lights out of the soldier's camp, they said. Lights out of the soldier's life, said this one, sadly; and out of Crittenden's life just now something that once was dearer than life itself.
Crittenden's conscience smote him sharply. What right had he to ask such a question even with a look? "Come, dear," he said; "I want to tell you all now." But Judith stopped him with a gesture. "Is there anything that may cross your life hereafter or mine?" "No, thank God; no!" Judith put her finger on his lips. "I don't want to know." And God was good that Christmas.
She was born there in the old house below 'the Burning, and she has lived there for eighty years, and that is all her saga. You can't see her house from here, but it is part of Crittenden's all the same, although it is a mile away by the main road as you go towards the Dug-Way. But you can reach it in six or seven minutes from here by a back lane, through the Eagle Rock woods."
He looked steadily at the soldier, but the eye of Abraham Long quailed not at all. Instead, a smile broke over his face. "I got a drink waitin' fer you," he said; and Crittenden laughed. "Git up an' shake hands, Jim," said Abe, sternly, to Crittenden's opponent, "an' let's have a drink." Reynolds got up slowly. "You gimme a damn good lickin," he said to Crittenden. "Shake!"
I will here mention that we were now in what was called the Fourth Division of General Crittenden's Corps. Our Brigade is known as the Twenty-second, General Cruft commanding. Lieutenant Baldwin, at this time, was temporarily commanding the Battery. On the 10th, we moved our camp about one-fourth of a mile to a drier piece of ground.
Crittenden's horse," she said, and Crittenden climbed out obediently and followed her to the porch, but she did not sit down outside. She went on into the parlour and threw open the window to let the last sunlight in, and sat by it looking at the west. For a moment Crittenden watched her.
Colonel W.S. Smith's brigade connected with Nelson and continued his line. General J. T. Boyle's brigade was formed in rear of the left wing of Smith's brigade. A little after six o'clock McCook marched to the front with Rousseau's brigade, and formed on Crittenden's right, but facing to the west.
Crittenden's file of soldiers could see that the last man was a short, fat darky evidently a recruit and he was swinging along as jauntily as in a cake-walk. As he wheeled pompously, he dropped his gun, leaped into the air with a yell of amazed rage and pain, catching at the seat of his trousers with both hands. A bullet had gone through both buttocks. "Gawd, Ole Cap'n, did you see dat nigger?"
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