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Welcome to The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane. This is a LibriVox

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recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or

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to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot
org. This recording has by Mark Smith

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of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.

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Chapter one, The cold passed reluctantly
from the earth, and the retiring fogs

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revealed an army stretched out on the
hills, resting. As the landscape changed

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from brown to green. The army
awakened and began to tremble with eagerness at

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the noise of rumors. It cast
its eyes upon the roads, which were

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growing from long troughs of liquid mud
to proper thoroughfares. A river, amber

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tinted in the shadow of its banks, purled at the army's feet, and

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at night, when the stream had
become of a sorrowful blackness, one could

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see across it. The red,
eyelike gleam of hostile camp fires sat in

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the low brows of distant hills.
Once a certain tall soldier developed virtues and

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went resolutely to wash a shirt,
He came flying back from a brook,

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waving his garment bannerlike he was swelled
with a tail. He had heard from

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a reliable friend, who had heard
it from a truthful cavalryman who had heard

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it from his trustworthy brother, one
of the orderlies at division headquarters. He

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adopted the important air of a herald
in red and gold. We're going to

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move tomorrow shore, he said pompously
to a group in the company street.

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We're going way up the river,
cut across and come around in behind him.

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To his attentive audience, he drew
a loud and elaborate plan of a

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very brilliant campaign. When he had
finished, the blue clothed men scattered into

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small, arguing groups between the rows
of squat brown huts. A Negro teamster,

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who had been dancing upon a cracker
box with the hilarious encouragement of two

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score soldiers, was deserted. He
sat mournfully down. Smoke drifted lazily from

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a multitude of quaint chimneys. It's
all a lie, that's all. It

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is, a thundering lie, said
another private loudly. His smooth face was

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flushed, and his hands were thrust
sulkily into his trousers. Pockets. He

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took the matter as an affront to
him. I don't believe the derned old

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Army's ever going to move. We're
set. I've got ready to move eight

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times in the last two weeks,
and we ain't moved yet. The tall

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soldier felt called upon to defend the
truth of a rumor he himself had introduced.

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He and the loud one came near
to fighting over it. A corporal

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began swear before the assemblage he had
just put a costly board floor in his

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house, he said, during the
early spring. He had refrained from adding

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extensively to the comfort of his environment
because he had felt that the army might

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start in the march at any moment. Of late, however, he had

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been impressed that they were in a
sort of eternal camp. Many of the

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men engaged in a spirited debate.
One outlined in a peculiarly lucid manner all

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the plans of the commanding general.
He was opposed by men who advocated that

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there were other plans of campaign.
They clamored at each other numbers, making

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feudal bids for the popular attention.
Meanwhile, the soldier who had fetched the

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rumor bustled about with much importance.
He was continually assailed by questions, what's

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up, Jim, the army's gonna
move? Ah? What you're talking about?

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How you know it is? Well? You can believe me or not,

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just as you like. I don't
care a hang. There was much

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food for thought in the manner in
which he replied. He came near to

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convincing them by disdaining to produce proofs. They grew much excited over it.

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There was a youthful private who listened
with eager ears to the words of the

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tall soldier and to the varied comments
of his comrades. After receiving a fill

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of discussions concerning marches and attacks,
he went to his hut and crawled through

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an intricate hole that served it as
a door. He wished to be alone

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with some new thoughts that had lately
come to him. He lay down on

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a wide bunk that stretched across the
end of the room. In the other

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end, cracker boxes were made to
serve as furniture. They were grouped about

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the fireplace. A picture from an
illustrated weekly was upon the log walls,

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and three rifles were paralleled on peg. Equipments hung on handy projections and some

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tin dishes. Lay upon a small
pile of firewood. A folded tent was

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serving as a roof. The sunlight, without beating upon it, made it

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glow a light yellow shade. A
small window shot an oblique square of whiter

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light upon the cluttered floor. The
smoke from the fire at times neglected the

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clay chimney and wreathed into the room. And this flimsy chimney of clay and

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sticks made endless threats to set ablaze
the whole establishment. The youth was in

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a little trance of astonishment. So
they were at last going to fight on

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the morrow. Perhaps there would be
a battle, and he would be in

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it for a time. He was
obliged to labor to make himself believe.

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He could not accept with assurance an
omen that they were about to mingle in

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one of those great affairs of the
earth. He had, of course,

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dreamed of battles all his life,
of vague and bloody conflicts that had thrilled

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him with their sweep and fire.
In visions he had seen himself in many

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struggles. He had imagined people's secure
in the shadow of his eagle eyed prowess.

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But awake. He had regarded battles
as crimson blotches on the pages of

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the past. He had put them
as things of the bygone, with his

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thought images of heavy crowns and high
castles. There was a portion of the

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world's history which he had regarded as
the time of wars. But it,

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he thought, had been long gone
over the horizon and had disappeared forever from

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his home. His youthful eyes had
looked upon the war in his own country

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with distrust. It must be some
sort of a play affair. He had

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long despaired of witnessing a Greek like
struggle. Such would be no more,

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he had said. Men were better
or more timid. Secular and religious education

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had effaced the throat grappling instinct,
or else Firm finance held in check the

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passions. He had burned several times
to enlist tales of great movements shook the

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land. They might not be distinctly
Homeric, but there seemed to be much

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glory in them. He had read
of marches, sieges, conflicts, and

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he had longed to see it all. His busy mind had drawn for him

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large pictures, extravagant in color,
lurid, with breathless deeds. But his

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mother had discouraged him. She had
effected to look with some contempt upon the

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quality of his war ardor and patriotism. She could calmly seat herself, and

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with no apparent difficulty, gave him
many hundreds of reasons why he was of

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vastly more importance on the farm than
on the field of battle. She had

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had certain ways of expression that told
him that her statements on the subject came

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from a deep conviction. Moreover,
on her side was his belief that her

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ethical motive in the argument was impregnable. At last, however, he had

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made firm rebellion against this yellow light
thrown upon the color of his ambitions.

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The newspapers, the gossip of the
village, his own picturings, had aroused

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him to an uncheckable degree. They
were, in truth, fighting finely down

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there. Almost every day the newspaper
printed to counts of a decisive victory.

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One night, as he lay in
bed, the winds had carried to him

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the clangoring of the church bell as
some enthusiast jerked the rope frantically to tell

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the twisted news of a great battle. This voice of the people rejoicing in

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the night had made him shiver in
a prolonged ecstasy of excitement. Later,

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he had gone down to his mother's
room and had spoken thus, MA,

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I'm going to enlist, Henry.
Don't you be a fool? His mother

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had replied. She had then covered
her face with a quilt. There was

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an end to the matter for that
night. Nevertheless, the next morning,

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he had gone to a town that
was near his mother's farm and had enlisted

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in a company that was forming there. When he had returned home, his

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mother was milking the brindle cow.
Four others stood waiting. MA I've enlisted,

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he had said to her. Diffidently. There was a short silence.

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The lord's will be done, Henry, she had finally replied, and had

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then continued to milk the brindle cow. When he had stood in the doorway

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with his soldier's clothes on his back, and with a light of excitement and

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expectant see in his eyes, almost
defeating the glow of regret for the home

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bonds, he had seen two tears
leaving their trails on his mother's scarred cheeks.

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Still, she had disappointed him by
saying nothing whatever about returning with his

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shield or on it. He had
privately primed himself for a beautiful scene.

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He had prepared certain sentences which he
thought could be used with touching effect,

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but her words destroyed his plans.
She had doggedly peeled potatoes and addressed him

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as follows. You watch out,
Henry, and take good care of yourself.

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And this here fighting business, you
watch and take good care of yourself.

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Don't go with thinking you can lick
the whole rebel army at the start,

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because you can't. You just one
little feller amongst a whole lot of

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others, and you got to keep
quiet and do what they tell you.

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I know how you are, Henry. I've met ye eight pair of socks,

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Henry, and I put in all
your best shirts because I want my

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boy to be just as warm and
comfortable as anybody in the army. Whenever

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they get holes in them, I
want you to send them right away back

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to me, so eyes can darn
em and all us be careful and choose

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your company. There's lots of bad
men in the army, Henry. The

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army makes them wild, and they
like nothing better than the job of leading

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off a young feller like you,
as ain't never been away from home much

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and as all has had a mother
an a learnin em to drink and swear,

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keep clear of them folks, Henry, I don't want you to ever

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do anything, Henry, that it
would be ashamed to let me know about.

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Just think as if I was a
watchin ya. If you keep that

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in your mind, all us,
I guess you'll come out about right.

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You must all us. Remember your
father too, child, and remember he

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never drunk a drop a liquor in
his life, and Seldomen swore across oath.

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I don't know what else to tell
ye, Henry, excepting that you

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must never do no shirk and child, on my account, if so be

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a time comes when you have to
be kilt or do a mean thing,

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why Henry, don't think if anything
scept what's riot, Because there's many a

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woman has to bear up against such
things these times. And the Lord'll take

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care of us all. Don't forget
about the socks and the shirts, child,

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And I put a cup of BlackBerry
jam with your bundle, because I

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know you like it above all things. Goodbye, Henry, watch out and

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be a good boy. He had, of course, been impatient under the

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ordeal of this speech. It had
not been quite what he expected, and

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he had borne it with an air
of irritation. He departed feeling vague relief.

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Still, when he had looked back
from the gate, he had seen

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his mother kneeling among the potato parings. Her brown face upraised, was stained

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with tears, and her spare form
was quivering. He bowed his head and

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went on, feeling suddenly ashamed of
his purposes. From his home, he

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had gone to the seminary to bid
adieu to many schoolmates. They had thronged

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about him with wonder and admiration.
He had felt the gulf now between them,

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and had swelled with calm pride.
He and some of his fellows who

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had donned blue, were quite overwhelmed
with privileges for all of one afternoon,

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and had been a very delicious thing. They had strutted. A certain light

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haired girl had made vivacious fun at
his martial spirit. But there was another

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and darker girl whom he gazed at
steadfastly, and he thought she grew demure

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and sad at sight of his blue
and brass. As he had walked down

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the path between the rows of oaks, he had turned his head and detected

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her at a window, watching his
departure. As he perceived her, she

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had immediately begun to stare up through
the high tree branches at the sky.

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He had seen a good deal of
flurry and haste in her movement as she

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changed her attitude. He often thought
of it. On the way to Washington,

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his spirit had soared. The regiment
was fed and caressed at station after

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station, until the youth had believed
that he must be a hero. There

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was a lavish expenditure of bread and
cold meats, coffee and pickles and cheese.

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As he basted in the smiles of
the girls, and was padded and

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complimented by the old men, he
had felt growing within him the strength to

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do mighty deeds of arms. After
complicated journeyings with many pauses, there had

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come months of monotonous life in a
camp. He had had the belief that

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real war was a series of death
struggles, with small time in between for

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sleep and meals. But since his
regiment had come to the field, the

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army had done little but sit still
and try to keep warm. He was

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brought then gradually back to his old
ideas Greek like struggles would be no more

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men were better or more timid secular
and religious education had effaced the throat grappling

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instinct, or else firm finance held
in check the passions. He had grown

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to regard himself merely as a part
of a vast blue demonstration. His province

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was to look out as far as
he could for his personal comfort. For

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recreation, he could twiddle his thumbs
and speculate on the thoughts which must agitate

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the minds of the generals. Also, he was drilled and drilled, and

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reviewed, and drilled and drilled and
reviewed. The only foes he had seen

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were some pickets along the river bank. They were a sun tanned philosophical lot

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who sometimes shot reflectively at the blue
pickets. When reproached for this afterward,

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they usually expressed sorrow and swore by
their gods that the guns had exploded without

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their permission. The youth on guard
duty one night conversed across the stream with

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one of them. He was a
slightly ragged man who spat skillfully between his

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shoes, and possessed a great fund
of bland and infantile assurance. The youth

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liked him personally, yank. The
other had informed him, you're a right

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dumb good feller. This sentiment,
floating to him upon the still air,

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had made him temporarily regret war.
Various veterans had told him tales. Some

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talked of gray bewhiskered hordes who were
advancing with relentless curses and chewing tobacco with

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unspeakable valor, tremendous bodies of fierce
soldiery who were sweeping along like the huns.

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Others spoke of tattered and eternally hungry
men who fired despondent powders. They

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all charged through hell's fire and brimstone
to get a hold on a havisack and

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set stomachs aid a last and long, he was told from the stories the

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youth imagined the red live bones sticking
out through slits in the faded uniforms.

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Still, he could not put a
whole faith in veteran's tales, for recruits

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were their prey. They talked much
of smoke, fire and blood, but

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he could not tell how much might
be lies. They persistently yelled fresh fish

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at him, and were in no
wise to be trusted. However, he

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perceived now that it did not greatly
matter what kind of soldiers he was going

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to fight so long as they fought, which fact no one disputed. There

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was a more serious problem. He
lay in his bunk, pondering upon it.

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He tried to mathematically prove to himself
that he would not run from a

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battle. Previously, he had never
felt obliged to wrestle too seriously with this

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question. In his life, he
had taken certain things for granted, never

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challenging his belief in ultimate success,
and bothering little about means and roads.

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But here he was confronted with a
thing of moment. It had suddenly appeared

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to him that perhaps in a battle
he might run. He was forced to

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admit that, as far as war
was concerned, he knew nothing of himself.

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A sufficient time before, he would
have allowed the problem to kick its

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heels at the outer portals of his
mind. But now he felt compelled to

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give serious attention to it. A
little panic fear grew in his mind.

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As his imagination went forward to a
fight. He saw hideous possibilities. He

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contemplated the lurking menaces of the future, and failed in an effort to see

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himself standing stoutly in the midst of
them. He recalled his visions of broken

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bladed glory, but in the shadow
of the impending tumult, he suspected them

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to be impossible pictures. He sprang
from the bunk and began to pace nervously

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too and fro Good Lord, what's
the matter with me? He said aloud.

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He felt that in this crisis his
laws of life were useless. Whatever

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he had learned of himself was here
of no avail. He was an unknown

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quantity. He saw that he would
again be obliged to experiment as he had

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in early youth. He must accumulate
information of himself. And meanwhile he resolved

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to remain close upon his guard,
lest those qualities of which he knew nothing

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should everlastingly disgrace him. Good Lord, he repeated in dismay. After a

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time, the tall soldier slid dexterously
through the hole. The loud private followed.

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They were wrangling. That's all right, said the tall soldier. As

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he entered. He waved his hand
expressively. You can believe me or not,

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just as you like. All you
got to do is sit down and

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wait as quiet as you can.
Then pretty soon you'll find out I was

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right. His comrade grunted dubbornly for
a moment. He seemed to be searching

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00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:07.039
for a formidable reply, and finally
he said, Well, you don't know

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everything in the world, do you. I didn't say I knew everything in

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the world, retorted the other sharply. He began to stow various articles snugly

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into his knapsack. The youth,
pausing in his nervous walk, looked down

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at the busy figure. Going to
be a battle? Sure is there,

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jim, he asked. Of course
there is, replied the tall soldier.

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Of course there is. You just
wait till tomorrow and you'll see one of

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the biggest battle ever was you.
Just wait thunder, said the youth.

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00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:52.279
Oh you'll see fighting this time,
My boy? What'll be regular out and

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out fighting, added the tall soldier, with the air of a man who

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is about to exhibit a battle for
the benefit of his friends. Huh,

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said the loud one from a corner. Well, remarked the youth, like

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as not, this story'll turn out
just like the others did. Not much,

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it won't, replied the tall soldier, exasperated, not much, it

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won't. Didn't the cavalry all start
this morning, he glared about him.

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No one denied his statement. The
cavalry started this morning, he continued.

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00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:34.400
They say there ain't hardly any cavalry
left in camp. They're going to Richmond

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00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:40.720
or someplace while we fight all the
Johnnies. It's some dodge like that.

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00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:45.400
The regiment's got orders too. A
feller what's seen him go to headquarters told

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00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:51.400
me a little while ago, And
their raising blazes all over camp. Anybody

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can see that? Shucks, said
the loud one. The youth remained silent

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for a time. At last he
spoke to the tall soldier, Jim,

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what how do you think the regiment
will do? Oh, they'll fight all

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right, I guess after they once
get into it, said the other,

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with cold judgment. He made a
fine use of the third person. There's

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been heaps of fun poked at him
because they're new, of course and all

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00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:27.400
that. But they'll fight all right. I guess I think any of the

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00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:33.400
boys will run, persisted the youth. Oh, there might be a few

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of them run. But there's them
kind in every regiment, especially when they

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first goes under fire, said the
other, in a tolerant way. Of

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00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:45.960
course, it might happen that the
whole kitten bootle might start and run.

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If some big fighting come first off, and then again they might stay and

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fight like fun, but you can't
bet on nothing. Of course, they

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ain't never been under fire yet,
and it ain't likely they'll lick the whole

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rebel army all to once it the
first time. But I think they'll fight

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better than some, if worse than
others. That's the way I figure.

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They call the regiment fresh fish and
everything, but the boys come of good

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stock, and most of them will
fight like sin after they once it get

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shooting, he added, with a
mighty emphasis on the last four words.

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Oh you think you know? Began
the loud soldier with scorn. The other

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turned savagely upon him. They had
a rapid altercation in which they fastened upon

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each other various strange epithets. The
youth at last interrupted them. Did you

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ever think you might run yourself,
Jim? He asked. On concluding the

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sentence, He laughed, as if
he had meant to aim a joke.

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The loud soldier also giggled. The
tall private waved his hand well, said

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00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:03.359
he profoundly. I've thought it might
get too hot for Jim Conklin and some

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of them scrimmages, And if a
whole lot of boys started and run.

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Why I suppose I'd start and run. And if I once started to run,

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I'd run like the devil, and
no mistake. But if everybody was

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a standing in a fightin', why
I'd stand and fight. By jimminy,

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I would. I'll bet on it, Huh, said the loud one.

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The youth of this tale felt gratitude
for these words of his comrade. He

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had feared that all of the untried
men possessed great and correct confidence. He

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now was, in a measure reassured. End of chapter one, Chapter two

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of The Red Badge of Courage.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox

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00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:02.319
recordings are in the public domain.
From or information or to volunteer, please

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00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:07.759
visit libervax dot org. This recording
is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South

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00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:15.480
Carolina. The Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane, Chapter two. The

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00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:19.680
next morning, the youth discovered that
his tall comrade had been the fast flying

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00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:25.680
messenger of a mistake. There was
much scoffing at the latter by those who

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had yesterday been firm adherents of his
views, and there was even a little

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00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:33.880
sneering by men who had never believed
the rumor, The tall one fought with

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00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:40.319
a man from Chatfield Corners and beat
him severely. The youth felt, however,

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that his problem was in no wise
lifted from him. There was,

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00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:49.240
on the contrary, an irritating prolongation. The tale had created in him a

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00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:55.359
great concern for himself. Now,
with a newborn question in his mind,

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00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:59.960
he was compelled to sink back into
his old place as part of a blue

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00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:07.920
demonstration. For days he made ceaseless
calculations, but they were all wondrously unsatisfactory.

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00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:12.000
He found that he could establish nothing. He finally concluded that the only

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00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:17.559
way to prove himself was to go
into the blaze, and then figuratively to

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00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:22.240
watch his legs to discover their merits
and faults. He reluctantly admitted that he

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00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:26.559
could not sit still and with a
mental slate and pencil derive an answer.

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00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:32.720
To gain it, he must have
blaze, blood, and danger, even

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00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:37.200
as a chemist requires this, that
and the other. So he fretted for

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00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:42.920
an opportunity. Meanwhile, he continually
tried to measure himself by his comrades.

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00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:48.640
The tall soldier, for one,
gave him some assurance. This man's serene

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00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:53.759
unconcern dealt him a measure of confidence, for he had known him since childhood,

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00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:57.799
and from his intimate knowledge he did
not see how he could be capable

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00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:03.240
of anything that was on him.
The youth still he thought that his comrade

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00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:08.240
might be mistaken about himself, or
on the other hand, he might be

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00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:15.000
a man heretofore doomed to peace and
obscurity, but in reality made to shine

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00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:19.839
in war. The youth would have
liked to have discovered another who suspected himself.

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00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:25.400
A sympathetic comparison of mental notes would
have been a joy to him.

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00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:32.119
He occasionally tried to fathom a comrade
with seductive sentences. He looked about to

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00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:37.279
find men in the proper mood.
All attempts failed to bring forth any statement

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00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:41.559
which looked in any way like a
confession to those doubts which he privately acknowledged

321
00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:48.319
in himself. He was afraid to
make an open declaration of his concern because

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00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:52.839
he dreaded to place some unscrupulous confidant
upon the high plane of the unconfessed,

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00:28:53.240 --> 00:28:59.680
from which elevation he could be derided. In regard to his companions, his

324
00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:04.960
and waver between two opinions. According
to his mood. Sometimes he inclined to

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00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:11.640
believing them all heroes. In fact, he usually admired in secret the superior

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00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:15.880
development of the higher qualities. In
others, he could conceive of men going

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00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:22.160
very insignificantly about the world, bearing
a load of courage unseen, And although

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00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:26.519
he had known many of his comrades
through boyhood, he began to fear that

329
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:33.640
his judgment of them had been blind. Then, in other moments he flouted

330
00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:38.480
these theories and assured him that his
fellows were all privately wandering and quaking.

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00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:45.440
His emotions made him feel strange in
the presence of men who talked excitedly of

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00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:49.400
a perspective battle as of a drama
they were about to witness, with nothing

333
00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:56.359
but eagerness and curiosity apparent in their
faces. It was often that he suspected

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00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:03.039
them to be liars. He did
not pass thoughts without severe condemnation of himself.

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00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:08.119
He dinned reproaches. At times he
was convicted by himself of many shameful

336
00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:14.480
crimes against the gods of traditions.
In his great anxiety, his heart was

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00:30:14.599 --> 00:30:21.720
continually clamoring at what he considered the
intolerable slowness of the generals. They seemed

338
00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:26.519
content to perch tranquility on the river
bank and leave him bowed down by the

339
00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:30.759
weight of a great problem. He
wanted it settled forthwith. He could not

340
00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:36.920
long bear such a load, he
said. Sometimes his anger at the commanders

341
00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:41.400
reached an acute stage, and he
grumbled about the camp like a veteran.

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00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:47.240
One morning, however, he found
himself in the ranks of his prepared regiment.

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00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:53.319
The men were whispering speculations and recounting
the old rumors in the gloom before

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the break of the day. Their
uniforms glowed a deep purple hue. From

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00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:03.720
across the river of the red eyes
were still peering in the eastern sky.

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00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:07.880
There was a yellow patch like a
rug laid for the feet of the coming

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00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:12.359
sun, and against it, black
and pattern like loomed the gigantic figure of

348
00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:18.880
the Colonel on a gigantic horse.
From off in the darkness came the trampling

349
00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:23.039
of feet. The youth could occasionally
see dark shadows that moved like monsters.

350
00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:29.160
The regiment stood at rest for what
seemed a long time. The youth grew

351
00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:34.119
impatient. It was unendurable the way
these affairs were managed. He wondered how

352
00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:38.839
long they were to be kept waiting. As he looked all about him and

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00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.480
pondered upon the mystic gloom, he
began to believe that at any moment,

354
00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:48.640
the ominous distance might be a flare, and the rolling crashes of an engagement

355
00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:53.359
come to his ears. Staring once
at the red eyes across the river,

356
00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:59.599
he conceived them to be growing larger
as the orbs of a row of dragons.

357
00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:05.640
Encing he turned toward the colonel and
saw him lift his gigantic arm and

358
00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:10.680
calmly stroke his mustache. At last
he heard from along the road at the

359
00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:15.720
foot of the hill, the clatter
of a horse's galloping hoofs it must be

360
00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:22.640
the coming of orders. He bent
forward, scarce breathing the exciting clikety click.

361
00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:25.920
As it grew louder and louder,
seemed to be beating upon his soul.

362
00:32:27.799 --> 00:32:30.960
Presently, a horseman with jangling equipment
drew rein before the colonel of the

363
00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:37.039
regiment. The two held a short, sharp worded conversation. The men in

364
00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:43.160
the foremost ranks craned their necks as
the horseman wheeled his animal and galloped away.

365
00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:46.799
He turned to shout over his shoulder, don't forget that box of cigars,

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00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:52.480
the colonel mumbled in reply. The
youth wandered what a box of cigars

367
00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:59.000
had to do with war. A
moment later the regiment went swinging off into

368
00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:02.440
the darkness. It was now like
one of those moving monsters, wending with

369
00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:07.880
many feet. The air was heavy
and cold with dew. A mass of

370
00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:15.559
wet grass marched upon rustled like silk. There was an occasional flash and glimmer

371
00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:20.920
of steel from the backs of all
these huge crawling reptiles. From the road

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00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:25.880
came creakings and grumblings. As some
surly guns were dragged away. The men

373
00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:31.839
stumbled along, still muttering speculations.
There was a subdued debate. Once a

374
00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:36.759
man fell down, and as he
reached for his rifle, a comrade,

375
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:42.480
unseeing, trod upon his hand.
He of the injured fingers, swore bitterly

376
00:33:42.720 --> 00:33:49.079
and aloud. A low, tittering
laugh went among his fellows. Presently they

377
00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:53.759
passed into a roadway and marched forward
with easy strides. A dark regiment roved

378
00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:59.160
before them, and from behind also
came the tinkle of equipments on the bodies

379
00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:04.599
of marching men. The rushing yellow
of the developing day went on behind their

380
00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:08.920
backs. When the sun rays at
last struck full and mellowingly upon the earth.

381
00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:14.280
The youth saw that the landscape was
streaked with two long, thin,

382
00:34:14.679 --> 00:34:19.599
black columns, which disappeared on the
brow of a hill in front and rearward

383
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:23.679
vanished in a wood. They were
like two serpents crawling from the cavern of

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00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:30.280
the night. The river was not
in view. The tall soldier burst into

385
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:35.519
praises of what he thought to be
his powers of perception. Some of the

386
00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:39.239
tall Ones companions cried with emphasis that
they too had evolved the same thing,

387
00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:45.840
and they congratulated themselves upon it.
But there were others who said that the

388
00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:50.599
tall Ones plan was not the true
one at all. They persisted with other

389
00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:55.440
theories. There was a vigorous discussion. The youth took no part in them.

390
00:34:55.960 --> 00:35:00.920
As he walked along in careless line. He was engaged with his own

391
00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:05.960
eternal debate. He could not hider
himself from dwelling upon it. He was

392
00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:10.719
despondent and sullen, and threw shifting
glances about him. He looked ahead,

393
00:35:10.920 --> 00:35:16.159
often expecting to hear from the advance
the rattle of firing. But the long

394
00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:22.159
serpents crawled slowly from hill to hill, without bluster of smoke. A dun

395
00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:28.000
colored cloud of dust floated away to
the right. The sky overhead was of

396
00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:32.559
a fairy blue. The youth studied
the faces of his companions, ever on

397
00:35:32.639 --> 00:35:39.199
the watch to detect kindred emotions.
He suffered disappointment. Some ardor of the

398
00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:44.719
air, which was causing the veteran
commands to move with glee, almost with

399
00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:49.760
song, had infected the new regiment. The men began to speak of victory

400
00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:54.239
as of a thing they knew.
Also, the tall soldier received his vindication

401
00:35:54.880 --> 00:36:00.480
they were certainly going to come around
in behind the enemy, express commiseration for

402
00:36:00.559 --> 00:36:06.719
that part of the army which been
left upon the river bank. Feliciting themselves

403
00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:12.760
upon being a part of a blasting
host. The youth, considering himself as

404
00:36:12.840 --> 00:36:16.719
separated from the others, was saddened
by the blithe and merry speeches that went

405
00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:22.920
from rank to rank. The company
wags all made their best endeavors. The

406
00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:29.400
regiment trapped to the tune of lefter. The blatant soldier often convulsed whole files

407
00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:34.360
by his biting sarcasms aimed at the
tall one, and it was not long

408
00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:38.440
before all the men seemed to forget
their mission. Whole brigades grinned in unison,

409
00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:45.639
and the regiments laughed. A rather
fat soldier attempted to pilfer a horse

410
00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:50.400
from a dooryard. He planned to
load his knapsack upon it. He was

411
00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:53.360
escaping with his prize when a young
girl rushed from the house and grabbed the

412
00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:59.559
animal's mane. There followed a wrangle. The young girl, with pink cheeks

413
00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:05.960
and showing eyes, stood like a
dauntless statue. The observant regiment, standing

414
00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:09.440
at rest in the roadway, whooped
at once and entered whole souled upon the

415
00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:15.079
side of the maiden. The men
became so engrossed in this affair that they

416
00:37:15.280 --> 00:37:21.519
entirely ceased to remember their own large
war. They jeered the piratical private and

417
00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:27.519
called attention to various defects and his
personal appearance, And they were wildly enthusiastic

418
00:37:27.559 --> 00:37:32.079
in support of the young girl.
To her from some distance came bold advice

419
00:37:32.679 --> 00:37:38.000
hit him with a stick. There
were crows and cat calls showered upon him.

420
00:37:38.039 --> 00:37:43.880
When he retreated without the horse,
the regiment rejoiced at his downfall.

421
00:37:44.719 --> 00:37:50.880
Loud and vociferous congratulations were showered upon
the maiden, who stood panting and regarding

422
00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:57.440
the troops with defiance. At nightfall, the column broke into regimental pieces,

423
00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:01.920
and the fragments went into the fields
to camp. Tents sprang up like strange

424
00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:09.079
plants, camp Fires, like red
peculiar blossoms, dotted the night. The

425
00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:15.320
youth kept from intercourse with his companions
as much as circumstances would allow him.

426
00:38:15.199 --> 00:38:20.400
In the evening, he wandered a
few paces into the gloom. From this

427
00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:24.000
little distance, the many fires,
with the black forms of men passing to

428
00:38:24.039 --> 00:38:30.880
and fro before the crimson rays,
made weird and satanic effects. He lay

429
00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:37.239
down in the grass, the blades
pressed tenderly against his cheek. The moon

430
00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:42.239
had been lighted and was hung in
a tree top. The liquid stillness of

431
00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:47.159
the night enveloping him made him feel
vast pity for himself. There was a

432
00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:52.239
caress, and the soft winds,
and the whole mood of the darkness,

433
00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:57.840
he thought, was one of sympathy
for himself. In his distress, he

434
00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:02.039
wished without reserve, he was at
home again, making the endless rounds from

435
00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:07.280
the house to the barn, from
the barn to the fields, from the

436
00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:12.360
fields to the barn, from the
barn to the house. He remembered he

437
00:39:12.440 --> 00:39:16.400
had so often cursed the brindle cow
and her mates, and had sometimes flung

438
00:39:16.519 --> 00:39:22.519
milking stools. But from his present
point of view, there was a halo

439
00:39:22.639 --> 00:39:28.159
of happiness about each of their heads, and he would have sacrificed all the

440
00:39:28.280 --> 00:39:32.760
brass buttons on the continent to have
been enabled to return to them. He

441
00:39:32.920 --> 00:39:37.760
told himself that he was not formed
for a soldier, and he mused seriously

442
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:45.199
upon the radical differences between himself and
these men who were dodging imp like about

443
00:39:45.199 --> 00:39:50.039
the fires. As he mused thus, he heard the rustle of grass,

444
00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:54.400
and, upon turning his head,
discovered the loud soldier. He called out,

445
00:39:55.000 --> 00:40:00.239
oh, Wilson. The latter approached
and looked down. Why hello,

446
00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:05.960
Henry, is it you? What
are you doing here? Oh? Thinkin,

447
00:40:06.599 --> 00:40:09.800
said the youth. The other sat
down and carefully lighted his pipe.

448
00:40:10.840 --> 00:40:15.079
You'll gettin blue, my boy,
you're lookin thunder, I piked, What

449
00:40:15.239 --> 00:40:22.320
the dickens is wrong with you?
Oh nothin, said the youth. The

450
00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:28.239
loud soldier launched then into the subject
of the anticipated fight. Oh we've got

451
00:40:28.280 --> 00:40:31.679
em now. As he spoke,
his boyish face was wreathed in a gleeful

452
00:40:31.719 --> 00:40:37.440
smile, and his voice had an
exultant ring. We've got'em now at last,

453
00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:43.639
by the eternal thunders. We'll lick'em good. If the truth was

454
00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:47.760
known, he added more soberly.
They've licked us about every clip up to

455
00:40:47.840 --> 00:40:53.519
now, But this time, this
time, we'll lick'em good. I

456
00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:59.199
thought you were objecting to this march
a little while ago, said the youth

457
00:40:59.320 --> 00:41:05.000
coldly. Oh it wasn't that,
explained the other. I don't mind marching

458
00:41:05.360 --> 00:41:08.079
if there's going to be fighting at
the end of it. What I hate

459
00:41:08.239 --> 00:41:13.159
is gettin moved here and move there
with no good coming of it, as

460
00:41:13.199 --> 00:41:16.960
far as I can see, except
in sore feet and damned short rations.

461
00:41:19.119 --> 00:41:23.320
Well, Jim Coughlin says we'll get
plenty of fighting this time. He's right

462
00:41:23.400 --> 00:41:28.719
for once, I guess, though
I can't see how it come this time.

463
00:41:28.760 --> 00:41:31.519
We're in for a big battle,
and we've got the best end of

464
00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:36.400
it. Certain, Sure, geer
Rot, how we will thump him?

465
00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:42.039
He arose, and began to pace
to and fro excitedly. The thrill of

466
00:41:42.119 --> 00:41:46.760
his enthusiasm made him walk with an
elastic step. He was sprightly, vigorous,

467
00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:52.119
fiery, in his belief and success. He looked into the future with

468
00:41:52.280 --> 00:41:55.400
clear, proud eye, and he
swore with the air of an old soldier.

469
00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:00.840
Youth watched him for a moment in
silence. When he finally spoke,

470
00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:06.719
his voice was as bitter as dregs. Oh, you're going to do great

471
00:42:06.800 --> 00:42:12.079
things, I suppose, The loud
soldier blew a thoughtful cloud of smoke from

472
00:42:12.079 --> 00:42:16.840
his pipe. Oh I don't know, he remarked with dignity. I don't

473
00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:21.960
know. I suppose I'll do as
well as the rest. I'm going to

474
00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:27.960
try like thunder. He evidently complimented
himself upon the modesty of this statement.

475
00:42:29.239 --> 00:42:32.119
How do you know you won't run
when the time comes, asked the youth,

476
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:38.760
run, said the loud one run, of course not, he laughed

477
00:42:39.800 --> 00:42:45.440
well, continued the youth. Lots
of good enough men have thought they were

478
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:49.400
going to do great things before the
fight, but when the time come they

479
00:42:49.559 --> 00:42:54.440
skidaddled. Oh that's all true,
I suppose, replied the other. But

480
00:42:54.599 --> 00:42:59.559
I'm not going to skidaddle. The
man that bets him I runnin will lose

481
00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:05.679
his money, that's all he nodded
confidently. Oh shucks, said the youth.

482
00:43:06.159 --> 00:43:09.320
You ain't the bravest man in the
world. Are you No, I

483
00:43:09.559 --> 00:43:15.039
ain't, exclaimed the loud soldier indignantly. And I didn't say I was the

484
00:43:15.079 --> 00:43:20.559
bravest man in the world. Neither
I said I was going to do my

485
00:43:20.719 --> 00:43:24.559
share of fighting. That's what I
said. And I am too. Who

486
00:43:24.599 --> 00:43:30.440
are you anyhow? You talk as
if you thought you were Napoleon Bonaparte.

487
00:43:30.280 --> 00:43:35.719
He glared at the youth for a
moment, and then strode away. The

488
00:43:35.760 --> 00:43:39.639
youth called in a savage voice after
his comrade, well you needn't get mad

489
00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:44.960
about it, But the other continued
on his way and made no reply.

490
00:43:45.639 --> 00:43:52.159
He felt alone in space when his
injured comrade had disappeared. His failure to

491
00:43:52.280 --> 00:43:57.920
discover any might of resemblance in their
viewpoints made him more miserable than before.

492
00:43:58.920 --> 00:44:02.639
No one seemed to be wrestling with
such a terrific personal problem. He was

493
00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:08.679
a mental outcast. He went slowly
to his tent and stretched himself on a

494
00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:14.519
blanket by the side of the snoring
tall soldier. In the darkness, he

495
00:44:14.599 --> 00:44:19.400
saw visions of a thousand tongued fear
that would babble at his back and cause

496
00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:24.599
him to flee while others were going
coolly about their country's business. He admitted

497
00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:29.360
that he would not be able to
cope with this monster. He felt that

498
00:44:29.440 --> 00:44:32.519
every nerve in his body would be
an ear to hear the voices, while

499
00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:38.280
other men would remain stolid and deaf. And as he sweated with the pain

500
00:44:38.360 --> 00:44:45.599
of these thoughts, he could hear
low, serene sentences. I'll bid five,

501
00:44:45.599 --> 00:44:52.039
make it six, seven, seven
goes. He stared at the red,

502
00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:57.119
shivering reflection of a fire on the
white wall of his tent, until

503
00:44:57.760 --> 00:45:04.599
exhausted and ill from the monoton of
his suffering, he fell asleep. End

504
00:45:04.639 --> 00:45:15.559
of chapter two, Chapter three of
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.

505
00:45:16.719 --> 00:45:22.840
This is a LibriVox recording. All
LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

506
00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:29.039
For more information or to volunteer,
please visit LibriVox dot org. This

507
00:45:29.159 --> 00:45:35.000
recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red Badge of

508
00:45:35.039 --> 00:45:42.519
Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter three. When another night came, the columns

509
00:45:42.760 --> 00:45:49.199
changing to purple streaks filed across two
pontoon bridges, A glaring fire wine tinted

510
00:45:49.199 --> 00:45:53.559
the waters of the river, its
rays shining upon the moving masses of troops.

511
00:45:53.599 --> 00:45:59.559
Brought forth here, and there sudden
gleams of silver or gold upon the

512
00:45:59.559 --> 00:46:04.039
other Sure, a dark and mysterious
range of hills was curved against the sky.

513
00:46:04.840 --> 00:46:09.320
The insect voices of the night sang
solemnly. After this crossing, the

514
00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:15.360
youth assured himself that at any moment
they might be suddenly and fearfully assaulted from

515
00:46:15.360 --> 00:46:20.280
the caves of the lowering woods.
He kept his eyes watchfully upon the darkness.

516
00:46:21.119 --> 00:46:24.760
But his regiment went unmolested to a
camping place, and its soldiers slept

517
00:46:24.760 --> 00:46:30.119
the brave sleep of wearied men.
In the morning, they were routed out

518
00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:35.119
with early energy and hustled along a
narrow road that led deep into the forest.

519
00:46:36.039 --> 00:46:39.119
It was during this rapid march that
the regiment lost many of the marks

520
00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:44.519
of a new command. The men
had begun to count the miles upon their

521
00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:50.000
fingers, and they grew tired,
sore feet, and damned short rations.

522
00:46:50.039 --> 00:46:55.480
That's all, said the loud soldier. There was perspiration and grumblings. After

523
00:46:55.559 --> 00:47:01.760
a time they began to shed their
knapsacks, some them unconcernedly down, others

524
00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:07.880
hid them carefully, asserting their plans
to return from them at some convenient time.

525
00:47:07.880 --> 00:47:15.079
Men extricated themselves from thick shirts.
Presently few carried anything but their necessary

526
00:47:15.119 --> 00:47:21.960
clothing, blankets, haversacks, canteens, and arms and ammunition. You can

527
00:47:22.039 --> 00:47:25.519
now eat and shoot, said the
tall soldier to the youth. That's all

528
00:47:25.559 --> 00:47:31.079
you want to do. There was
sudden change from the ponderous infantry of theory

529
00:47:31.480 --> 00:47:37.320
through the light and speedy infantry of
practice. The regiment, relieved of a

530
00:47:37.440 --> 00:47:42.840
burden, received a new impetus.
But there was much loss of valuable knapsacks,

531
00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:46.800
and on the whole very good shirts. But the regiment was not yet

532
00:47:46.960 --> 00:47:52.000
veteran like in appearance, Veteran regiments
in the army were likely to be very

533
00:47:52.039 --> 00:47:58.280
small aggregations of men. Once,
when the command had first come to the

534
00:47:58.280 --> 00:48:02.960
field, some perambulating veterans, noting
the length of their column, had accosted

535
00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:07.519
them, Thus, hey, fellers, what brigade is that? And when

536
00:48:07.519 --> 00:48:12.679
the men had replied that they formed
a regiment and not a brigade, the

537
00:48:12.800 --> 00:48:17.840
older soldiers had laughed and said,
oh God. Also, there was too

538
00:48:17.880 --> 00:48:22.880
great a similarity in the hats.
The hats of a regiment should properly represent

539
00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:28.760
the history of heggear for a period
of years, and Moreover, there were

540
00:48:28.800 --> 00:48:32.920
no letters of faded gold speaking from
the colors. They were new and beautiful,

541
00:48:34.280 --> 00:48:39.000
and the color bearer habitually oiled the
pole. Presently, the army again

542
00:48:39.159 --> 00:48:44.679
sank down to think. The odor
of the peaceful pines was in the men's

543
00:48:44.719 --> 00:48:50.159
nostrils. The sound of monotonous axe
blows rang through the forest, and the

544
00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:55.320
insects, nodding upon their perches,
crooned like old women. The youth returned

545
00:48:55.320 --> 00:49:01.000
to his theory of a blue demonstration
one gray dawn. However, he was

546
00:49:01.119 --> 00:49:06.480
kicked in the leg by the tall
soldier, and then before he was entirely

547
00:49:06.519 --> 00:49:09.960
awake, he found himself running down
a wood road in the midst of men

548
00:49:10.039 --> 00:49:15.599
who were panting from the first effects
of speed. His canteen banged rhythmically upon

549
00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:22.360
his thigh, and his haversack bobbed
softly. His musket bounced a trifle from

550
00:49:22.400 --> 00:49:27.280
his shoulder at each stride, and
made his cat feel uncertain upon his head.

551
00:49:27.920 --> 00:49:32.480
He could hear the men whispered jerky
sentences, say, what's all this

552
00:49:32.960 --> 00:49:39.000
about? What the thunder? Weisk
a deadline? This way, fur bill,

553
00:49:39.039 --> 00:49:44.800
He keep off my feet, You
run like a cow, And the

554
00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:47.920
loud soldier's shrill voice could be heard. What the devil they in such a

555
00:49:49.039 --> 00:49:53.440
hurry? For youth thought, the
damp fog of early morning moved from the

556
00:49:53.519 --> 00:49:59.159
rush of a great body of troops. From the distance came a sudden spatter

557
00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:04.880
of firing. He was bewildered as
he ran with his comrades. He strenuously

558
00:50:04.920 --> 00:50:07.280
tried to think, but all he
knew was that if he fell down,

559
00:50:07.559 --> 00:50:13.679
those coming behind would tread upon him. All his faculties seemed to be needed

560
00:50:13.679 --> 00:50:17.880
to guide him over and past obstructions. He felt carried along by a mob.

561
00:50:19.599 --> 00:50:23.639
The sun spread disclosing rays, and
one by one, regiments burst into

562
00:50:23.760 --> 00:50:29.440
view, like armed men just born
of the earth. The youth perceived that

563
00:50:29.480 --> 00:50:32.960
the time had come. He was
about to be measured for a moment.

564
00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:37.239
He felt in the face of his
great trial like a babe, and the

565
00:50:37.360 --> 00:50:42.280
flesh over his heart seemed very thin. He seized time to look about him,

566
00:50:42.320 --> 00:50:46.400
calculatingly, but he instantly saw that
it would be impossible for him to

567
00:50:46.559 --> 00:50:52.400
escape from the regiment. It enclosed
him, and there were iron laws of

568
00:50:52.400 --> 00:50:58.159
tradition and law on four sides.
He was in a moving box. As

569
00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:01.039
he perceived this fact that occurred to
him that he had never wished to come

570
00:51:01.079 --> 00:51:06.440
to the war. He had not
enlisted of his own free will. He

571
00:51:06.480 --> 00:51:09.760
had been dragged by the merciless government, and now they were taking him out

572
00:51:09.800 --> 00:51:16.599
to be slaughtered. The regiment slid
down a bank and wallowed across a little

573
00:51:16.679 --> 00:51:22.239
stream. The mournful current moved slowly
on and from the water, shaded black.

574
00:51:22.519 --> 00:51:27.880
Some white bubble eyes looked at the
men as they climbed the hill.

575
00:51:27.880 --> 00:51:31.559
On the farther side, artillery began
to boom. Here. The youth forgot

576
00:51:31.599 --> 00:51:37.840
many things as he felt a sudden
impulse of curiosity. He scrambled up the

577
00:51:37.880 --> 00:51:42.159
bank with a speed that could not
be exceeded by a bloodthirsty man. He

578
00:51:42.320 --> 00:51:47.760
expected a battle scene. There were
some little fields, girted and squeezed by

579
00:51:47.800 --> 00:51:52.800
a forest spread over the grass,
and in among the tree trunks he could

580
00:51:52.840 --> 00:51:59.119
see knots and waving lines of skirmishers
who were running hither and thither and firing

581
00:51:59.159 --> 00:52:04.000
at the landscape. A dark battle
line lay upon a sun struck clearing that

582
00:52:04.119 --> 00:52:09.039
gleamed orange color. A flag fluttered. Other regiments floundered up the bank.

583
00:52:09.519 --> 00:52:15.320
The brigade was formed in line of
battle and after a pause, started slowly

584
00:52:15.320 --> 00:52:19.840
through the woods in the rear of
the receding skirmishers, who were continually melting

585
00:52:19.840 --> 00:52:24.360
into the scene to appear again farther
on. They were always busy as bees,

586
00:52:24.679 --> 00:52:30.199
deeply absorbed in their little combats.
The youth tried to observe everything.

587
00:52:30.599 --> 00:52:36.239
He did not use care to avoid
trees and branches, and his forgotten feet

588
00:52:36.280 --> 00:52:40.880
were constantly knocking against stones or getting
entangled in briars. He was aware that

589
00:52:40.920 --> 00:52:46.519
these battalions, with their commotions,
were woven red and startling into the gentle

590
00:52:46.599 --> 00:52:52.199
fabric of softened greens and browns.
It looked to be a wrong place for

591
00:52:52.280 --> 00:52:59.239
a battlefield. The skirmishers in advance
fascinated him. Their shots into thickets and

592
00:52:59.320 --> 00:53:07.800
at distant and prominent trees spoke to
him of tragedies hidden mysterious solemn. Once

593
00:53:07.880 --> 00:53:12.280
the lion encountered the body of a
dead soldier, he lay upon his back,

594
00:53:12.400 --> 00:53:15.840
staring at the sky. He was
dressed in an awkward suit of yellowish

595
00:53:15.880 --> 00:53:21.000
brown. The youth could see that
the soles of his shoes had been worn

596
00:53:21.079 --> 00:53:24.800
to the thinness of writing paper,
and from a great rent in one the

597
00:53:24.920 --> 00:53:31.079
dead foot projected piteously, and it
was as if fate had betrayed the soldier

598
00:53:31.639 --> 00:53:36.760
in death. It exposed to his
enemies that poverty which in life he had

599
00:53:36.800 --> 00:53:42.679
perhaps concealed from his friends. The
ranks opened covertly to avoid the corpse.

600
00:53:43.360 --> 00:53:47.679
The invulnerable dead man forced a way
for himself. The youth looked keenly at

601
00:53:47.679 --> 00:53:52.440
the ashen face. The wind raised
the tawny beard. It moved as if

602
00:53:52.440 --> 00:53:58.320
a hand were stroking it. He
vaguely desired to walk around and around the

603
00:53:58.400 --> 00:54:01.920
body and stare the impulse of the
living, to try to read in dead

604
00:54:01.960 --> 00:54:07.800
eyes the answer to the question.
During the march, the ardor which the

605
00:54:07.840 --> 00:54:13.000
youth had acquired, when out of
view of the field, rapidly faded to

606
00:54:13.119 --> 00:54:19.239
nothing. His curiosity was quite easily
satisfied. If an intense scene had caught

607
00:54:19.280 --> 00:54:22.480
him with its wild swing as he
came to the top of the bank,

608
00:54:22.039 --> 00:54:28.119
he might have gone roaring. On
this advance upon nature was too calm.

609
00:54:28.719 --> 00:54:32.639
He had opportunity to reflect. He
had time in which to wonder about himself

610
00:54:32.679 --> 00:54:38.360
and to attempt to probe his sensations. Absurd ideas took hold upon him.

611
00:54:38.960 --> 00:54:45.199
He thought that he did not relish
the landscape. It threatened him. A

612
00:54:45.360 --> 00:54:49.480
coldness swept over his back, and
it is true that his trousers felt to

613
00:54:49.559 --> 00:54:53.840
him that they were no longer fit
for his legs at all. A house

614
00:54:54.039 --> 00:55:00.519
standing placidly in distant fields had to
him an ominous look. The shadows of

615
00:55:00.559 --> 00:55:06.559
the woods were formidable. He was
certain that in this vista there lurked fierce

616
00:55:06.639 --> 00:55:10.199
eyed hosts. The swift thought came
to him that the generals did not know

617
00:55:10.239 --> 00:55:16.000
what they were about. It was
all a trap. Suddenly those close forests

618
00:55:16.039 --> 00:55:22.039
would bristle with rifle barrels. Iron
like brigades would appear in the rear.

619
00:55:22.679 --> 00:55:27.800
They were all going to be sacrificed. The generals were stupids. The enemy

620
00:55:27.840 --> 00:55:31.880
would presently swallow the whole command.
He glared about him, expecting to see

621
00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:37.920
the stealthy approach of his death.
He thought that he must break from the

622
00:55:37.000 --> 00:55:42.480
ranks and harangue his comrades. They
must not all be killed like pigs.

623
00:55:42.960 --> 00:55:45.880
He was sure it would come to
pass unless they were informed of these dangers.

624
00:55:46.519 --> 00:55:52.199
The generals were idiots to send them
marching into a regular pen. There

625
00:55:52.280 --> 00:55:54.920
was but one pair of eyes in
the corps. He would step forth and

626
00:55:55.000 --> 00:56:00.920
make a speech. Shrill and passionate
words came to his lips. The line,

627
00:56:01.440 --> 00:56:07.400
broken into moving fragments by the ground, went calmly on through fields and

628
00:56:07.519 --> 00:56:10.519
woods. The youth looked at the
men nearest him, and saw, for

629
00:56:10.559 --> 00:56:15.880
the most part expressions of deep interest, as if they were investigating something that

630
00:56:15.960 --> 00:56:22.400
had fascinated them. One or two
stepped with overvaliant airs, as if they

631
00:56:22.400 --> 00:56:28.960
were already plunged into war. Others
walked as upon thin ice. The greater

632
00:56:29.039 --> 00:56:34.199
part of the untested men appeared quiet
and absorbed. They were going to look

633
00:56:34.239 --> 00:56:39.079
at war, the red animal,
war, the blood swollen God, and

634
00:56:39.159 --> 00:56:45.599
they were deeply engrossed in this march. As he looked, the youth gripped

635
00:56:45.639 --> 00:56:50.119
his outcry at his throat. He
saw that even if the men were tottering

636
00:56:50.119 --> 00:56:52.800
with fear, they would laugh at
his warning. They would cheer him,

637
00:56:53.119 --> 00:56:58.679
and, if practicable, pelt him
with missiles, admitting that he might be

638
00:56:58.800 --> 00:57:02.320
wrong. A and seed declamation of
the kind would turn him into a worm.

639
00:57:04.639 --> 00:57:07.639
He assumed, then, the demeanor
of one who knows that he is

640
00:57:07.719 --> 00:57:14.320
doomed alone to unridden responsibilities. He
lagged with tragic glances at the sky.

641
00:57:15.400 --> 00:57:20.239
He was surprised presently by the young
lieutenant of his company, who began heartily

642
00:57:20.280 --> 00:57:23.159
to beat him with a sword,
calling out in a loud and insolent voice,

643
00:57:23.639 --> 00:57:28.000
Come, young man, get up
into ranks. There no skulking.

644
00:57:28.039 --> 00:57:32.360
He'll do here. He mended his
pace with suitable haste, and he hated

645
00:57:32.360 --> 00:57:37.960
the lieutenant, who had no appreciation
of fine minds. He was a mere

646
00:57:37.039 --> 00:57:43.400
brute. After a time, the
brigade was halted in the cathedral light of

647
00:57:43.440 --> 00:57:49.280
a forest. The busy skirmishers were
still popping through the aisles of the wood.

648
00:57:49.280 --> 00:57:52.800
Could be seen the floating smoke from
their rifles. Sometimes it went up

649
00:57:52.800 --> 00:57:58.480
in little balls, white and compact. During this halt, many men in

650
00:57:58.519 --> 00:58:02.400
the regiment began erecting tiny hills in
front of them. They used stones,

651
00:58:02.679 --> 00:58:07.320
sticks, earth, and anything they
thought might turn a bullet. Some built

652
00:58:07.360 --> 00:58:14.639
comparatively large ones, while others seemed
content with little ones. This procedure caused

653
00:58:14.679 --> 00:58:19.440
a discussion among the men. Some
wished to fight like duellists, believing it

654
00:58:19.480 --> 00:58:23.000
to be correct to stand erect and
be from their feet to their foreheads a

655
00:58:23.119 --> 00:58:29.039
mark. They said. They scorned
the devices of the cautious, but the

656
00:58:29.119 --> 00:58:32.320
others scoffed in reply, and pointed
to the veterans on the flanks, who

657
00:58:32.320 --> 00:58:37.320
were digging at the ground like terriers. In a short time, there was

658
00:58:37.400 --> 00:58:42.519
quite a barricade along the regimental fronts
directly. However, they were ordered to

659
00:58:42.559 --> 00:58:49.320
withdraw from that place. This astounded
the youth. He forgot his stewing over

660
00:58:49.360 --> 00:58:53.159
the advance movement. Well, then, what did they march us out here?

661
00:58:53.199 --> 00:58:58.800
For? He demanded of the tall
soldier. The latter, with calm

662
00:58:58.880 --> 00:59:02.320
faith, began a heavy explanation,
although he had been compelled to leave a

663
00:59:02.360 --> 00:59:07.880
little protection of stones and dirt to
which he had devoted much care and skill.

664
00:59:08.280 --> 00:59:13.159
When the regiment was aligned in another
position, each man's regard for his

665
00:59:13.239 --> 00:59:17.760
safety caused another line of small entrenchments. They ate their noon meal behind a

666
00:59:17.880 --> 00:59:22.360
third one. They were moved from
this one. Also. They were marched

667
00:59:22.360 --> 00:59:28.440
from place to place with apparent aimlessness. The youth had been taught that a

668
00:59:28.480 --> 00:59:32.960
man became another thing in battle.
He saw his salvation and such a change.

669
00:59:34.719 --> 00:59:37.440
Hence, this waiting was an ordeal
to him. He was in a

670
00:59:37.519 --> 00:59:43.320
fever of impatience. He considered that
there was denoted a lack of purpose on

671
00:59:43.360 --> 00:59:47.199
the part of the general's He began
to complain to the tall soldier. I

672
00:59:47.360 --> 00:59:52.320
can't stand this much longer, he
cried. I don't see what good it

673
00:59:52.360 --> 00:59:55.639
does to make us wear out our
legs for nothing. He wished to return

674
00:59:55.719 --> 01:00:00.320
to camp, knowing that this affair
was a blue demonstration, or else to

675
01:00:00.400 --> 01:00:05.199
go into a battle and discover that
he had been a fool in his doubts

676
01:00:05.519 --> 01:00:10.360
and was, in truth a man
of traditional courage that's strained of present circumstances.

677
01:00:10.400 --> 01:00:16.760
He felt to be intolerable. The
philosophical tall soldier measured a sandwich of

678
01:00:16.800 --> 01:00:22.559
cracker and pork and swallowed it in
a nonchalant manner. Oh, I suppose

679
01:00:22.679 --> 01:00:28.199
we must go reconnoitering around the country
just to keep him from getting too close,

680
01:00:28.719 --> 01:00:32.360
or to develop em or something.
Huh, said the loud soldier.

681
01:00:34.440 --> 01:00:38.440
Well, cried the youth, still
fidgeting. I'd rather do anything most than

682
01:00:38.519 --> 01:00:43.440
go trampin round the country all day, doing no good to nobody, and

683
01:00:43.599 --> 01:00:49.360
just tirin ourselves out, So would
I, said the loud soldier. It

684
01:00:49.480 --> 01:00:52.400
ain't right. I'll tell you if
anybody with any sense was a runnin this

685
01:00:52.639 --> 01:00:58.639
army, it oh shut up,
roared the tall private, You little fool,

686
01:00:59.119 --> 01:01:02.119
you little damn cuss. You ain't
had that their coat and then pants

687
01:01:02.159 --> 01:01:07.159
on for six months, and yet
you talk as if well, I want

688
01:01:07.159 --> 01:01:10.920
to do some fighting anyway, interrupted
the other. I didn't come here to

689
01:01:12.039 --> 01:01:15.320
walk. I could have walked home
round and round the barn if I just

690
01:01:15.360 --> 01:01:21.639
wanted to walk. The tall one, red faced, swallowed another sandwich,

691
01:01:21.679 --> 01:01:25.599
as if taking poison in despair,
but gradually, as he chewed, his

692
01:01:25.719 --> 01:01:31.760
face became again quiet and contented.
He could not rage in fierce argument in

693
01:01:31.800 --> 01:01:37.480
the presence of such sandwiches. During
his meals, he always wore an air

694
01:01:37.519 --> 01:01:42.440
of blissful contemplation of the food he
had swallowed. His spirits seemed then to

695
01:01:42.480 --> 01:01:49.239
be communing with the viands. He
accepted new environment and circumstances with great coolness,

696
01:01:49.239 --> 01:01:52.440
eating from his half hersack at every
opportunity. On the march, he

697
01:01:52.480 --> 01:01:58.119
went along with the stride of a
hunter, objecting to neither gait nor distance.

698
01:01:58.760 --> 01:02:00.880
And he had not raised his voice
when he had been ordered away from

699
01:02:00.960 --> 01:02:06.639
three little protective piles of earth and
stone, each of which had been an

700
01:02:06.639 --> 01:02:12.599
engineering feat worthy of being made sacred
to the name of his grandmother. In

701
01:02:12.679 --> 01:02:15.800
the afternoon, the regiment went out
over the same ground it had taken in

702
01:02:15.840 --> 01:02:21.519
the morning. The landscape then ceased
to threaten the youth. He had been

703
01:02:21.559 --> 01:02:25.559
close to it and become familiar with
it. When, however, they began

704
01:02:25.639 --> 01:02:31.280
to pass into a new region,
his old fears of stupidity and incompetence reassailed

705
01:02:31.360 --> 01:02:37.000
him. But this time he doggedly
let them babble. He was occupied with

706
01:02:37.079 --> 01:02:40.760
his problem, and in his desperation
he concluded that the stupidity did not greatly

707
01:02:40.800 --> 01:02:45.079
matter. Once he thought, he
had concluded that it would be better to

708
01:02:45.119 --> 01:02:51.000
get killed directly and end his troubles
regarding death. Thus, out of the

709
01:02:51.039 --> 01:02:54.280
corner of his eye, he conceived
it to be nothing but rest, And

710
01:02:54.360 --> 01:03:00.360
he was filled with a momentary astonishment
that he should have made an extraordinary emotion

711
01:03:00.440 --> 01:03:05.000
over the mere matter of getting killed. He would die, He would go

712
01:03:05.079 --> 01:03:09.239
to some place where he would be
understood. It was useless to expect appreciation

713
01:03:09.360 --> 01:03:15.440
of his profound and fine sense from
such men as the lieutenant. He must

714
01:03:15.440 --> 01:03:21.599
look to the grave for comprehension.
The skirmish fire increased to a long clattering

715
01:03:21.679 --> 01:03:27.599
sound. With it was mingled far
away, cheering a battery spoke directly.

716
01:03:27.639 --> 01:03:30.559
The youth could see the skirmishers running. They were pursued by the sound of

717
01:03:30.639 --> 01:03:36.800
musketry fire. After a time,
the hot, dangerous flashes of the rifles

718
01:03:36.800 --> 01:03:43.559
were visible. Smoke clouds went slowly
and insolently across the fields like observant phantoms.

719
01:03:44.239 --> 01:03:50.039
The din became crescendo like the roar
of an uncoming train. A brigade

720
01:03:50.039 --> 01:03:52.480
ahead of them and on the right
went into action with a rending roar.

721
01:03:53.199 --> 01:03:58.719
It was as if it had exploded, And thereafter it lay stretched in the

722
01:03:58.840 --> 01:04:02.639
distance behind a gray wall that one
was obliged to look twice at to make

723
01:04:02.679 --> 01:04:08.199
sure that it was smoke. The
youth, forgetting his neat plan of getting

724
01:04:08.320 --> 01:04:13.679
killed, gazed spellbound. His eyes
grew wide and busy with the action of

725
01:04:13.719 --> 01:04:17.119
the scene. His mouth was a
little ways open. All of a sudden,

726
01:04:17.159 --> 01:04:23.400
he felt a heavy and sad hand
laid upon his shoulder. Awakening from

727
01:04:23.400 --> 01:04:28.639
his trance of observation, he turned
and beheld the loud soldier. It's my

728
01:04:28.760 --> 01:04:32.159
first and last battle, old boy, said the latter, with intense gloom.

729
01:04:32.840 --> 01:04:39.239
He was quite pale, and his
girlish lip was trembling. He murmured

730
01:04:39.280 --> 01:04:45.440
the youth in great astonishment. It's
my first and last battle, old boy,

731
01:04:45.599 --> 01:04:51.840
continued the loud soldier. Something tells
me what. I'm a gone coon

732
01:04:53.000 --> 01:04:58.119
this first time, and I want
you to take these here things to my

733
01:04:58.280 --> 01:05:03.079
folks. Ended in a quavering sob
of pity for himself. He handed the

734
01:05:03.119 --> 01:05:08.639
youth a little packet done up in
a yellow envelope. Why what, the

735
01:05:08.760 --> 01:05:13.719
devil, began the youth again,
But the other gave him a glance as

736
01:05:13.760 --> 01:05:16.679
from the depths of a tomb,
and raised his limp hand in a prophetic

737
01:05:16.719 --> 01:05:30.360
manner, and turned away. End
of chapter three, Chapter four of The

738
01:05:30.400 --> 01:05:36.760
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This is a LibriVox recording. All

739
01:05:36.840 --> 01:05:42.480
LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,

740
01:05:42.760 --> 01:05:46.960
please visit LibriVox dot org. This
recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville,

741
01:05:46.960 --> 01:05:54.559
South Carolina. The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane. Chapter four.

742
01:05:56.760 --> 01:06:00.119
The brigade was halted in the fringe
of a grove. Men crouched among the

743
01:06:00.159 --> 01:06:04.719
trees and pointed their restless guns out
at the fields. They tried to look

744
01:06:04.760 --> 01:06:09.559
beyond the smoke. Out of this
haze. They could see running men.

745
01:06:10.199 --> 01:06:15.639
Some shouted information and gestured as they
hurried. The men of the new regiment

746
01:06:15.719 --> 01:06:19.239
watched and listened eagerly while their tongues
ran on in gossip of the battle.

747
01:06:19.840 --> 01:06:25.880
They mouthed rumors that had flown like
birds out of the unknown. They say

748
01:06:26.000 --> 01:06:30.599
Perry has been driven in with big
loss. Yes, Carrott went to the

749
01:06:30.679 --> 01:06:34.960
hospital. He said he was sick
that smart lieutenant is commanded G company.

750
01:06:35.239 --> 01:06:39.800
The boys say they won't be under
Carrott no more if they all have to

751
01:06:39.880 --> 01:06:45.199
dessert. They allays knew he was
a Hannis's battery as took it. Ain't

752
01:06:45.320 --> 01:06:49.159
neater. I saw Hannis's battery off
to the left, not more than fifteen

753
01:06:49.199 --> 01:06:55.679
minutes ago. Well, the general, he says he's going to take the

754
01:06:55.679 --> 01:07:00.360
whole command of the three h fourth
when we go into action. Then he

755
01:07:00.400 --> 01:07:05.440
says we'll do such fighting as never
another one regiment done. They say we're

756
01:07:05.519 --> 01:07:10.920
catching it over on the left.
They say the enemy driven our line into

757
01:07:10.960 --> 01:07:16.119
a devil of a swamp and took
Hannis's battery. No such thing. Hannas's

758
01:07:16.199 --> 01:07:21.280
battery was long here, about a
minute ago. That young hasbrouck. He

759
01:07:21.360 --> 01:07:27.280
makes a good officer. He ain't
afraid of nothing. I met one of

760
01:07:27.320 --> 01:07:30.599
the one forty eight main boys,
and he says his brigade fit the whole

761
01:07:30.719 --> 01:07:36.679
rebel army for four hours over on
the Turnpike road and killed about five thousand

762
01:07:36.719 --> 01:07:41.000
of them. He says, one
more such fight as that, and the

763
01:07:41.039 --> 01:07:45.599
world be over. Bill wasn't scared
either, No, sir, it wasn't

764
01:07:45.639 --> 01:07:50.280
that. Bill ain't a getting scared
easy. He was just mad, That's

765
01:07:50.320 --> 01:07:54.920
what he was. When that feller
trod on his hand, he up and

766
01:07:55.000 --> 01:07:58.800
said that he was willing to give
his hand to his country, but he'd

767
01:07:58.840 --> 01:08:01.400
be dumbed if he was and a
half to have every dumb bushwhacker in the

768
01:08:01.400 --> 01:08:06.440
country walking round on it. So
he went to the hospital disregardless of the

769
01:08:06.480 --> 01:08:12.679
fight. Three fingers was crunched.
The derned doctor wanted to amputate him,

770
01:08:12.800 --> 01:08:16.000
and Bill he raised a hill of
a row. I here he's a funny

771
01:08:16.039 --> 01:08:21.960
feller. The din in front swelled
to a tremendous chorus. The youth and

772
01:08:23.000 --> 01:08:27.520
his fellows were frozen to silence.
They could see a flag that tossed in

773
01:08:27.560 --> 01:08:31.319
the smoke. Angrily near it were
the blurred and agitated forms of troops.

774
01:08:31.920 --> 01:08:36.199
There came a turbulent stream of men
across the fields. A battery, changing

775
01:08:36.279 --> 01:08:42.960
position at a frantic gallop, scattered
the stragglers right and left a shell screaming

776
01:08:43.000 --> 01:08:46.159
like a storm. Bansheet went over
the huddled heads of the reserves. It

777
01:08:46.319 --> 01:08:49.920
landed in the grove, and,
exploding redly, flung the brown earth.

778
01:08:50.439 --> 01:08:56.560
There was a little shower of pine
needles. Bullets began to whistle among the

779
01:08:56.600 --> 01:09:00.920
branches and nip at the trees.
Twigs and leaves came sailing down. It

780
01:09:01.039 --> 01:09:06.560
was as if a thousand axes wee
and invisible were being wielded. Many of

781
01:09:06.600 --> 01:09:12.880
the men were constantly dodging and ducking
their heads. The lieutenant of the youth's

782
01:09:12.880 --> 01:09:16.439
company was shot in the hand.
He began to swear so wondrously that a

783
01:09:16.520 --> 01:09:23.399
nervous laugh went along the wrenge ofmental
line. The officer's profanity sounded conventional.

784
01:09:24.159 --> 01:09:27.960
It relieved the tightened senses of the
new men. It was as if he

785
01:09:28.000 --> 01:09:31.800
had hit his fingers with attack hammer
at home. He held the wounded member

786
01:09:31.920 --> 01:09:35.520
carefully away from his side, so
that the blood would not drip upon his

787
01:09:35.600 --> 01:09:42.199
trousers. The captain of the company
tucking his sword under his arm, produced

788
01:09:42.199 --> 01:09:46.359
a handkerchief and began to bind with
it the lieutenant's wound, and they disputed

789
01:09:46.439 --> 01:09:51.439
as to how the binding should be
done. The battle flag in the distance

790
01:09:51.520 --> 01:09:57.079
jerked about madly. It seemed to
be struggling to free itself from an agony.

791
01:09:57.720 --> 01:10:02.680
The billowing smoke was filled with horizon
mountal flashes. Men rushing swiftly emerged

792
01:10:02.720 --> 01:10:06.479
from it. They grew in numbers
until it was seen that the whole command

793
01:10:06.600 --> 01:10:12.479
was fleeing. The flag suddenly sank
down, as if dying. Its motion

794
01:10:12.520 --> 01:10:17.119
as it fell was a gesture of
despair. Wild yells came from behind the

795
01:10:17.159 --> 01:10:23.560
walls of smoke. A sketching gray
and red dissolved into a moblike body of

796
01:10:23.560 --> 01:10:28.560
men who galloped like wild horses.
The veteran regiments on the right and left

797
01:10:28.560 --> 01:10:32.720
of the three or fourth immediately began
to jeer with the passionate song of the

798
01:10:32.760 --> 01:10:39.319
bullets, and the banshee shrieks of
shells were mingled loud catcalls and bits of

799
01:10:39.399 --> 01:10:45.880
facetious advice concerning places of safety.
But the new regiment was breathless with horror.

800
01:10:45.479 --> 01:10:51.199
God Saunders got crushed, whispered the
man at the youth's elbow. They

801
01:10:51.239 --> 01:10:57.119
shrank back and crouched, as if
compelled to await a flood. The youth

802
01:10:57.159 --> 01:11:00.560
shot a swift glance along the blue
ranks of the regiment. The profiles were

803
01:11:00.640 --> 01:11:05.760
motionless, carven, and afterward he
remembered that the color sergeant was standing with

804
01:11:05.840 --> 01:11:10.600
his legs apart, as if he
expected to be pushed to the ground.

805
01:11:11.800 --> 01:11:15.800
The following throng went whirling around the
flank. Here and there were officers carried

806
01:11:15.800 --> 01:11:20.800
along on the stream like exasperated chips. They were striking about them with their

807
01:11:20.800 --> 01:11:26.279
swords and with their left fists,
punching every head they could reach. They

808
01:11:26.319 --> 01:11:31.199
cursed like highwaymen. A mounted officer
displayed the furious anger of a spoiled child.

809
01:11:31.720 --> 01:11:36.479
He raged with his head, his
arms, and his legs. Another,

810
01:11:36.640 --> 01:11:42.319
the commander of the brigade, was
galloping about, bawling. His hat

811
01:11:42.439 --> 01:11:45.800
was gone and his clothes were awry. He resembled a man who has come

812
01:11:45.880 --> 01:11:50.119
from bed to go to a fire. The hoofs of his horse often threatened

813
01:11:50.159 --> 01:11:55.880
the heads of the running men,
but they scampered with singular fortune. In

814
01:11:55.880 --> 01:12:00.800
this rush. They were apparently all
deaf and blind. They heeded the largest

815
01:12:00.800 --> 01:12:05.119
and longest of the oasts that were
thrown at them from all directions. Frequently

816
01:12:05.239 --> 01:12:10.479
over this tumult could be heard the
grim jokes of the critical veterans, but

817
01:12:10.600 --> 01:12:15.239
the retreating men apparently were not even
conscious of the presence of an audience.

818
01:12:15.359 --> 01:12:19.920
The battle reflection that shone for an
instant in the faces on the mad current

819
01:12:20.600 --> 01:12:26.000
made the youth feel that forceful hands
from heaven would not have been able to

820
01:12:26.039 --> 01:12:30.439
have held him in place if he
could have got intelligent control of his legs.

821
01:12:30.800 --> 01:12:35.960
There was an appalling imprint upon these
faces. The struggle and the smoke

822
01:12:36.039 --> 01:12:42.119
head pictured an exaggeration of itself on
the bleached cheeks, and in the eyes

823
01:12:42.159 --> 01:12:47.640
wild with one desire. The sight
of this stampede exerted a floodlike force that

824
01:12:47.800 --> 01:12:53.640
seemed able to drag sticks and stones
and men from the ground. They of

825
01:12:53.680 --> 01:12:58.039
the reserves had to hold on.
They grew pale and firm, and red

826
01:12:58.319 --> 01:13:02.520
and quaking. The youth achieved one
little thought in the midst of this chaos,

827
01:13:03.239 --> 01:13:08.800
the composite monster which had caused the
other troops to flee, had not

828
01:13:08.920 --> 01:13:13.039
then appeared. He resolved to get
a view of it, and then he

829
01:13:13.119 --> 01:13:17.920
thought he might very likely run better
than the best of them. And of

830
01:13:18.039 --> 01:13:30.039
chapter four Chapter five of The Red
Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This

831
01:13:30.239 --> 01:13:35.119
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
recordings are in the public domain. For

832
01:13:35.279 --> 01:13:42.640
more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. This recording is

833
01:13:42.680 --> 01:13:47.840
by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South
Carolina. The Red Badge of Courage by

834
01:13:47.880 --> 01:13:56.239
Stephen Crane, Chapter five. There
were moments of waiting. The youth thought

835
01:13:56.279 --> 01:14:00.119
of the village street at home,
before the arrival of the circus parade on

836
01:14:00.159 --> 01:14:04.399
a day in the spring. He
remembered how he had stood a small thrillful

837
01:14:04.479 --> 01:14:10.199
boy, prepared to follow the dingy
lady upon the white horse or the band

838
01:14:10.279 --> 01:14:15.439
in its faded chariot. He saw
the yellow road, the lines of expectant

839
01:14:15.520 --> 01:14:19.760
people, and the sober houses.
He particularly remembered an old fellow who used

840
01:14:19.800 --> 01:14:25.159
to sit upon a cracker box in
front of the store and feigned to despise

841
01:14:25.239 --> 01:14:30.760
such exhibitions. A thousand details of
color and form surged in his mind.

842
01:14:30.359 --> 01:14:36.239
The old fellow upon the cracker box
appeared in middle prominence. Someone cried,

843
01:14:36.600 --> 01:14:43.319
here they come. There was rustling
and muttering among the men, they displayed

844
01:14:43.319 --> 01:14:47.560
a feverish desire to have every possible
cartridge ready to their hands. The boxes

845
01:14:47.560 --> 01:14:54.399
were pulled around into various positions and
adjusted with great care. It was as

846
01:14:54.399 --> 01:14:59.680
his seven hundred new bonnets were being
tried on. The tall soldier, having

847
01:15:00.039 --> 01:15:04.000
haired his rifle, produced a red
handkerchief of some kind. He was engaged

848
01:15:04.039 --> 01:15:09.680
in knotting it about his throat with
exquisite attention to its position. When the

849
01:15:09.680 --> 01:15:13.600
cry was repeated up and down the
line, in a muffled roar of sound,

850
01:15:14.399 --> 01:15:19.640
here they come, Here they come. Gunnocks clicked. Across the smoke

851
01:15:19.680 --> 01:15:26.039
infested fields came a brown swarm of
running men who were giving shrill yells.

852
01:15:26.800 --> 01:15:30.640
They came on, stooping and swinging
their rifles at all angles. A flag

853
01:15:30.720 --> 01:15:35.439
tilted forward sped near the front.
As he caught sight of them, the

854
01:15:35.520 --> 01:15:41.439
youth was momentarily startled by a thought
that perhaps his gun was not loaded.

855
01:15:42.199 --> 01:15:45.520
He stood, trying to rally his
faltering intellects so that he might recollect the

856
01:15:45.600 --> 01:15:51.000
moment when he had loaded, But
he could not. A hatless general pulled

857
01:15:51.039 --> 01:15:55.319
his dripping horse to a stand near
the kernel of the three oh fourth.

858
01:15:55.960 --> 01:15:59.920
He shook his fist in the other's
face. You've got to hold him back,

859
01:16:00.520 --> 01:16:04.800
he shouted savagely, You've got to
hold him back. In his agitation,

860
01:16:05.159 --> 01:16:10.880
the colonel began to stammer, all
right, General, all right,

861
01:16:11.000 --> 01:16:16.640
by God, we'll do our best. General. The general made a passionate

862
01:16:16.680 --> 01:16:23.039
gesture and galloped away. The colonel, perchanced to relieve his feelings, began

863
01:16:23.079 --> 01:16:27.479
to scold like a wet parrot.
The youth, turning swiftly to make sure

864
01:16:27.520 --> 01:16:31.359
that the rear was unmolested, saw
the commander regarding his men in a highly

865
01:16:31.399 --> 01:16:36.479
resentful manner, as if he had
regretted, above everything his association with them.

866
01:16:38.560 --> 01:16:41.840
The man at the youth's elbow was
mumbling, as if to himself,

867
01:16:42.319 --> 01:16:46.039
Oh, we're in for it now, We're in for it now. The

868
01:16:46.039 --> 01:16:50.239
captain of the company had been pacing
excitedly to and fro in the rear.

869
01:16:51.039 --> 01:16:58.119
He coaxed in schoolmistress fashion as to
a congregation of boys with primers. His

870
01:16:58.279 --> 01:17:02.880
talk was an endless repetition, Reserve
your fire, boys, don't shoot till

871
01:17:02.880 --> 01:17:08.279
I tell you, save your fire, wait till they get close up.

872
01:17:08.840 --> 01:17:14.960
Don't be damned fools, perspiration streamed
down the youth's face, which was soiled

873
01:17:15.000 --> 01:17:18.039
like that of a weeping urchin.
He frequently, with a nervous movement,

874
01:17:18.159 --> 01:17:23.359
wiped his eyes with his coat sleeve. His mouth was still a little ways

875
01:17:23.399 --> 01:17:27.920
open. He got the one glance
at the faux swarming field in front of

876
01:17:27.960 --> 01:17:32.199
him, and instantly ceased to debate
the question of his piece being loaded before

877
01:17:32.239 --> 01:17:36.359
he was ready to begin, Before
he had announced to himself that he was

878
01:17:36.399 --> 01:17:42.680
about to fight, he threw the
obedient, well balanced rifle into position and

879
01:17:42.840 --> 01:17:46.880
fired a first wild shot directly.
He was working at his weapon like an

880
01:17:46.920 --> 01:17:54.079
automatic affair. He suddenly lost concern
for himself and forgot to look at a

881
01:17:54.159 --> 01:17:59.039
menacing fate. He became not a
man but a member. He felt that

882
01:17:59.279 --> 01:18:02.680
something of which he was a part, a regiment, an army, a

883
01:18:02.720 --> 01:18:08.880
cause, or a country, was
in crisis. He was welded into a

884
01:18:08.960 --> 01:18:14.479
common personality which was dominated by a
single desire. For some moments, he

885
01:18:14.520 --> 01:18:17.600
could not flee, no more than
a little finger can commit a revolution from

886
01:18:17.640 --> 01:18:23.319
a hand. If he had thought
the regiment was about to be annihilated,

887
01:18:23.560 --> 01:18:28.720
perhaps he could have amputated himself from
it. But its noise gave him assurance.

888
01:18:29.239 --> 01:18:33.840
The regiment was like a firework that, once ignited, proceeds superior to

889
01:18:33.960 --> 01:18:41.439
circumstances until its blazing vitality fades.
It wheezed and banged with a mighty power.

890
01:18:42.079 --> 01:18:45.800
He pictured the ground before it as
strewn with the discomfited. There was

891
01:18:45.840 --> 01:18:50.479
a consciousness always of the presence of
his comrades about him. He felt the

892
01:18:50.520 --> 01:18:56.319
subtle battle brotherhood, more potent even
than the cause for which they were fighting.

893
01:18:57.000 --> 01:19:00.199
It was a mysterious fraternity born of
the smoke and danger of death.

894
01:19:01.199 --> 01:19:04.840
He was at a task. He
was like a carpenter who has made many

895
01:19:04.920 --> 01:19:11.359
boxes, making still another box.
Only there was furious haste in his movements.

896
01:19:12.079 --> 01:19:15.119
He and his thoughts was careering off
in other places, even as the

897
01:19:15.199 --> 01:19:20.159
carpenter who as he works whistles and
thinks of his friend or his enemy,

898
01:19:20.640 --> 01:19:26.840
his home or a saloon. And
these jolted dreams were never perfect to him

899
01:19:26.880 --> 01:19:32.079
afterward, but remained a mass of
blurred shapes. Presently, he began to

900
01:19:32.119 --> 01:19:38.199
feel the effects of the war atmosphere, a blistering sweat, a sensation that

901
01:19:38.279 --> 01:19:43.039
his eyeballs were about to crack like
hot stones, a burning roar, filled

902
01:19:43.039 --> 01:19:48.439
his ears. Following this came a
red rage. He developed the acute exaspiration

903
01:19:48.520 --> 01:19:54.880
of a pestured animal, a well
meeting cow worried by dogs. He had

904
01:19:54.880 --> 01:19:59.560
a mad feeling against his rifle,
which could only be used against one life

905
01:19:59.560 --> 01:20:02.800
at a time. He wished to
rush forward and strangle with his fingers.

906
01:20:03.399 --> 01:20:08.800
He craved a power that would enable
him to make a world sweeping gesture and

907
01:20:08.920 --> 01:20:14.760
brush all back. His impotency appeared
to him and made his rage into that

908
01:20:15.079 --> 01:20:19.439
of a driven beast buried in the
smoke of many rifles. His anger was

909
01:20:19.479 --> 01:20:24.840
directed not so much against the men
whom he knew were rushing toward him,

910
01:20:25.199 --> 01:20:30.119
as against the swirling battle phantoms which
were choking him, stuffing their smoke robes

911
01:20:30.199 --> 01:20:34.920
down his parched throat. He fought
frantically for respite, for his senses,

912
01:20:35.319 --> 01:20:42.399
for air, as a babe being
smothered attacks the deadly blankets. There was

913
01:20:42.439 --> 01:20:45.800
a blare of heated rage, mingled
with a certain expression of intentness on all

914
01:20:45.920 --> 01:20:50.680
faces. Many of the men were
making low toned noises with their mouths,

915
01:20:51.000 --> 01:20:59.199
and these subdued cheers, snarls,
imprecations prayers made a wild, barbaric song

916
01:20:59.479 --> 01:21:03.720
that went as an undercurrent of sound, strange and chant like with the resounding

917
01:21:03.840 --> 01:21:09.840
chords of the war march. The
man at the youth's elbow was babbling in

918
01:21:09.960 --> 01:21:13.920
it. There was something soft and
tender, like the monologue of a babe.

919
01:21:14.680 --> 01:21:17.880
The tall soldier was swearing in a
loud voice. From his lips came

920
01:21:17.920 --> 01:21:23.840
a black procession of curious oaths.
Of a sudden, another broke out in

921
01:21:23.880 --> 01:21:28.319
a querulous way, like a man
who has mislaid his hat. Well,

922
01:21:28.399 --> 01:21:31.680
why don't they support us? Why
don't they send supports? Do they think?

923
01:21:32.520 --> 01:21:36.600
The youth, in his battle sleep
heard this as one who dozes hears.

924
01:21:38.720 --> 01:21:43.319
There was a singular absence of heroic
poses. The men, bending and

925
01:21:43.439 --> 01:21:48.000
surging in their haste and rage,
were in every impossible attitude. The steel

926
01:21:48.079 --> 01:21:54.800
ramrods clanked, then clanged with incessant
din as the men pounded them furiously into

927
01:21:54.800 --> 01:22:00.199
the hot rifle barrels. The flaps
of the cartridge boxes were all unfastened and

928
01:22:00.359 --> 01:22:05.199
bobbed idiotically with each movement. The
rifles, once loaded, were jerked to

929
01:22:05.239 --> 01:22:10.600
the soldier and fired without apparent aim
into the smoke or at one of the

930
01:22:10.680 --> 01:22:15.720
blurred and shifting forms which upon the
field before the regiment had been growing larger

931
01:22:15.760 --> 01:22:20.479
and larger, like puppets under a
magician's hand. The officers, at their

932
01:22:20.479 --> 01:22:28.319
intervals rearward neglected to stand in picturesque
attitudes. They were bobbing to and fro

933
01:22:28.520 --> 01:22:34.399
roaring directions and encouragements. The dimensions
of their housework extraordinary. They expended their

934
01:22:34.479 --> 01:22:40.279
lungs with prodigal wills, and often
they nearly stood upon their heads and their

935
01:22:40.279 --> 01:22:44.479
anxiety to observe the enemy. On
the other side of the tumbling smoke,

936
01:22:45.439 --> 01:22:49.920
the lieutenant of the youth's company had
encountered a soldier who had fled, screaming

937
01:22:49.920 --> 01:22:55.199
at the first volley of his comrades. Behind the lines. These two were

938
01:22:55.239 --> 01:23:00.880
acting a little isolated scene. The
man was blubbering and staring with sheeplike eyes

939
01:23:00.920 --> 01:23:04.079
at the lieutenant, who had seized
him by the collar and was pommeling him.

940
01:23:04.840 --> 01:23:10.199
He drove him back into the ranks
with many blows. The soldier went

941
01:23:10.279 --> 01:23:15.760
mechanically dully with his animal like eyes
upon the officer. Perhaps there was to

942
01:23:15.840 --> 01:23:21.319
him a divinity expressed in the voice
of the other stern hard, with no

943
01:23:21.439 --> 01:23:26.880
reflection of fear in it. He
tried to reload his gun, but his

944
01:23:26.960 --> 01:23:32.840
shaking hands prevented. The lieutenant was
obliged to assist him. The men dropped

945
01:23:32.880 --> 01:23:38.720
here and there like bundles. The
captain of the youth's company had been killed

946
01:23:38.760 --> 01:23:42.560
in an early part of the action. His body lay stretched out in the

947
01:23:42.600 --> 01:23:46.479
position of a tired man resting,
but upon his face there was an astonished

948
01:23:46.520 --> 01:23:51.239
and sorrowful look, as if he
thought some friend had done him an ill

949
01:23:51.319 --> 01:23:57.119
turn. The babbling man was grazed
by a shot that made the blood stream

950
01:23:57.199 --> 01:24:01.239
widely down his face. He clapped
both hands to his head, oh,

951
01:24:01.600 --> 01:24:06.439
he said, and ran another grunted
suddenly, as if he had been struck

952
01:24:06.479 --> 01:24:12.199
by a club in the stomach.
He sat down and gazed ruefully. In

953
01:24:12.319 --> 01:24:16.239
his eyes. There was mute,
indefinite reproach. Farther up the line,

954
01:24:16.279 --> 01:24:21.159
a man standing behind a tree had
had his knee joints splintered by a ball.

955
01:24:23.079 --> 01:24:26.479
Immediately he had dropped his rifle and
gripped the tree with both arms,

956
01:24:26.960 --> 01:24:31.039
and there he remained, clinging desperately
and crying for assistance that he might withdraw

957
01:24:31.159 --> 01:24:36.319
his hold upon the tree. At
last, an exultant yell went up along

958
01:24:36.359 --> 01:24:43.279
the quivering line. The firing dwindled
from an uproar to a last vindictive popping.

959
01:24:44.239 --> 01:24:47.640
As the smoke slowly eddied away,
the youth saw that the charge had

960
01:24:47.640 --> 01:24:54.119
been repulsed. The enemy were scattered
into reluctant groups. He saw a man

961
01:24:54.119 --> 01:24:57.920
climb to the top of the fence, straddled the rail, and fire a

962
01:24:58.000 --> 01:25:02.760
parting shot. The waves had receded, leaving bits of dark debris upon the

963
01:25:02.800 --> 01:25:10.119
ground. Some in the regiment began
to whoop frenziedly. Many were silent,

964
01:25:10.720 --> 01:25:16.079
apparently they were trying to contemplate themselves. After the fever had left his veins,

965
01:25:16.359 --> 01:25:20.720
the youth thought that at last he
was going to suffocate. He became

966
01:25:20.760 --> 01:25:26.319
aware of the foul atmosphere in which
he had been struggling. It was grimy

967
01:25:26.359 --> 01:25:30.760
and dripping, like a laborer in
a foundry. He grasped his canteen and

968
01:25:30.840 --> 01:25:35.760
took a long swallow of the warmed
water. A sentence with variations went up

969
01:25:35.800 --> 01:25:41.560
and down the line. Well,
we've helped them back, We've helped them

970
01:25:41.640 --> 01:25:45.279
back. Darned if we haven't,
The men said it, blissfully, leering

971
01:25:45.319 --> 01:25:50.159
at each other with dirty smiles.
The youth turned to look behind him,

972
01:25:50.159 --> 01:25:54.640
and off to the right, and
off to the left. He experienced the

973
01:25:54.720 --> 01:25:58.479
joy of a man who at last
finds leisure in which to look about him.

974
01:25:59.560 --> 01:26:03.439
Under there were a few ghastly forms, motionless. They lay twisted in

975
01:26:03.560 --> 01:26:10.600
fantastic contortions. Arms were bent,
heads were turned in incredible ways. It

976
01:26:10.760 --> 01:26:14.720
seemed that the dead men must have
fallen from some great height to get into

977
01:26:14.760 --> 01:26:19.079
such positions. They looked to be
dumped out upon the ground from the sky.

978
01:26:19.439 --> 01:26:23.760
From a position in the rear of
the grove, a battery was throwing

979
01:26:23.840 --> 01:26:28.439
shells over it. The flash of
the guns startled the youth. At first

980
01:26:29.039 --> 01:26:32.319
he thought they were aimed directly at
him. Through the trees, he watched

981
01:26:32.359 --> 01:26:38.520
the black figures of the gunners as
they worked swiftly and intently. Their labor

982
01:26:38.600 --> 01:26:43.239
seemed a complicated thing. He wondered
how they could remember its formula. In

983
01:26:43.279 --> 01:26:47.520
the midst of confusion, the guns
squatted in a row like savage chiefs.

984
01:26:48.119 --> 01:26:54.479
They argued with abrupt violence. It
was a grim Powell. Their busy servants

985
01:26:54.520 --> 01:27:00.359
ran hither and thither. A small
procession of wounded men were going drearily toward

986
01:27:00.439 --> 01:27:03.119
the rear. It was a flow
of blood from the torn body of the

987
01:27:03.159 --> 01:27:08.359
brigade. To the right and to
the left were the dark lines of other

988
01:27:08.399 --> 01:27:12.680
troops. Far in front, he
thought he could see lighter masses protruding in

989
01:27:12.840 --> 01:27:18.479
points from the forest. They were
suggestive of unnumbered thousands. Once he saw

990
01:27:18.520 --> 01:27:24.199
a tiny battery go dashing along the
line of the horizon. The tiny riders

991
01:27:24.199 --> 01:27:29.560
were beating the tiny horses. From
a sloping hill came the sound of cheerings

992
01:27:29.560 --> 01:27:34.880
and clashes. Smoke welled slowly through
the leaves. Batteries were speaking with thunderous

993
01:27:34.920 --> 01:27:41.079
oratorical effort. Here and there were
flags, the red and the stripes dominating.

994
01:27:41.640 --> 01:27:45.520
They splashed bits of warm color upon
the dark lines of troops. The

995
01:27:45.560 --> 01:27:50.039
felt the old thrill at the sight
of the emblems. They were like beautiful

996
01:27:50.079 --> 01:27:56.359
birds, strangely undaunted in a storm. As he listened to the din from

997
01:27:56.359 --> 01:28:00.119
the hillside, to a deep,
pulsating thunder that came from afar to the

998
01:28:00.239 --> 01:28:05.199
left, and to the lesser clamors
which came from many directions, it occurred

999
01:28:05.239 --> 01:28:10.720
to him that they were fighting two
over there, and over there and over

1000
01:28:10.800 --> 01:28:15.319
there. Heretofore he had supposed that
all the battle was directly under his nose.

1001
01:28:16.520 --> 01:28:20.079
As he gazed about him, The
youth felt a flash of astonishment at

1002
01:28:20.079 --> 01:28:25.239
the blue, pure sky and the
sun gleaming on the trees and fields.

1003
01:28:25.880 --> 01:28:30.279
It was surprising that nature had gone
tranquility on with her golden process in the

1004
01:28:30.319 --> 01:28:44.159
midst of so much devilment. End
of chapter five, Chapter six of The

1005
01:28:44.199 --> 01:28:48.560
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This is a LibriVox recording. All

1006
01:28:48.600 --> 01:28:54.039
LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,

1007
01:28:54.159 --> 01:28:59.640
please visit LibriVox dot org. This
recordings by Mark Smith of Sampsonville, South

1008
01:28:59.720 --> 01:29:04.800
Korea, lineup The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter six.

1009
01:29:08.520 --> 01:29:13.199
The youth awakened slowly. He came
gradually back to a position from which he

1010
01:29:13.239 --> 01:29:17.560
could regard himself. For moments he
had been scrutinizing his person in a dazed

1011
01:29:17.600 --> 01:29:21.880
way, as if he had never
before seen himself. Then he picked up

1012
01:29:21.880 --> 01:29:26.560
his cap from the ground. He
wriggled in his jacket to make a more

1013
01:29:26.600 --> 01:29:31.520
comfortable fit, and kneeling, relased
his shoe. He thoughtfully mopped his reeking

1014
01:29:31.640 --> 01:29:38.720
features. So it was all over. At last, The Supreme trial had

1015
01:29:38.760 --> 01:29:45.279
been passed the red formidable difficulties of
war had been vanquished. He went into

1016
01:29:45.319 --> 01:29:50.079
an ecstasy of self satisfaction. He
had the most delightful sensations of his life.

1017
01:29:50.840 --> 01:29:56.199
Standing as if apart from himself.
He viewed that last scene, He

1018
01:29:56.359 --> 01:30:00.560
perceived that the man who had fought
thus was magnificent. He felt that he

1019
01:30:00.680 --> 01:30:05.479
was a fine fellow. He saw
himself even with those ideals which he had

1020
01:30:05.520 --> 01:30:13.399
considered as far beyond him. He
smiled in deep gratification upon his fellows.

1021
01:30:13.439 --> 01:30:18.359
He beamed tenderness and goodwill. Gee
ain't it hot? Hey, he said

1022
01:30:18.439 --> 01:30:23.800
affably to a man who was polishing
his streaming face with his coat sleeves.

1023
01:30:24.640 --> 01:30:29.680
You bet, said the other,
grinning sociably. I've never seen such dub

1024
01:30:29.760 --> 01:30:34.199
hotness. He sprawled out luxuriously on
the ground. Gee. Yes, and

1025
01:30:34.359 --> 01:30:40.479
I hope we don't have no more
fight until a week from Monday. There

1026
01:30:40.479 --> 01:30:45.600
were some handshakings and deep speeches with
men whose features were familiar, but with

1027
01:30:45.680 --> 01:30:49.279
whom the youth now felt the bonds
of tied hearts. He helped a cursing

1028
01:30:49.359 --> 01:30:55.479
comrade to bind up a wound of
the shin, but of a sudden cries

1029
01:30:55.520 --> 01:30:59.760
of amazement broke out along the ranks
of the new regiment. Here they come

1030
01:30:59.760 --> 01:31:03.199
again, Here they come again.
The man who had sprawled upon the ground

1031
01:31:03.279 --> 01:31:09.640
started up and said, gosh.
The youth turned quick eyes upon the field.

1032
01:31:10.079 --> 01:31:14.399
He discerned forms begin to swell in
masses. Out of a distant wood.

1033
01:31:15.079 --> 01:31:19.199
He again saw the tilted flags speeding
forward. The shells, which had

1034
01:31:19.239 --> 01:31:25.439
ceased to trouble the regiment for a
time, came swirling again and exploded in

1035
01:31:25.479 --> 01:31:29.239
the grass or among the leaves of
the trees. They looked to be strange

1036
01:31:29.239 --> 01:31:34.880
war flowers bursting into fierce bloom.
The men groaned, the luster faded from

1037
01:31:34.920 --> 01:31:42.319
their eyes. Their smudged countenances now
expressed a profound dejection. They moved their

1038
01:31:42.359 --> 01:31:46.560
stiffened bodies slowly and watched in sullen
mood the frantic approach of the enemy.

1039
01:31:47.279 --> 01:31:53.439
The slaves toiling in the temple of
this god began to feel rebellion at his

1040
01:31:53.560 --> 01:31:59.800
harsh tasks. They fretted and complained
each to each, Oh, say this

1041
01:31:59.840 --> 01:32:02.760
is too much of a good thing. Why can't somebody send us supports?

1042
01:32:03.840 --> 01:32:08.920
We ain't never gonna stand this second
bangin'. I didn't come here to fight

1043
01:32:08.960 --> 01:32:13.479
the whole damn rebel army. There
was one who raised a doleful cry,

1044
01:32:14.239 --> 01:32:17.600
I wish Bill Smithers had trod on
my hand insteader me treadin on his'n.

1045
01:32:18.920 --> 01:32:25.159
The sore joints of the regiment creaked
as it painfully floundered into position to repulse.

1046
01:32:26.239 --> 01:32:30.720
The youth stared surely he thought this
impossible thing was not about to happen.

1047
01:32:31.439 --> 01:32:35.880
He waited as if he expected the
enemy to suddenly stop, apologize,

1048
01:32:35.960 --> 01:32:43.279
and retire, bowing it was all
a mistake. But the firing began somewhere

1049
01:32:43.279 --> 01:32:47.079
on the regimental line and ripped along
in both directions. The level sheets of

1050
01:32:47.159 --> 01:32:53.159
flame developed great clouds of smoke that
tumbled and tossed in the mild wind near

1051
01:32:53.199 --> 01:32:57.039
the ground for a moment, and
then rolled through the ranks as through a

1052
01:32:57.119 --> 01:33:00.840
gate. The clouds were tinged and
earth like yellow in the sun rays,

1053
01:33:01.000 --> 01:33:05.560
and in the shadow were a sorry
blue. The flag was sometimes eaten and

1054
01:33:05.680 --> 01:33:12.279
lost in this mass of vapor,
but more often it projected suntouched, resplendent

1055
01:33:13.600 --> 01:33:15.920
into the youth's eyes. There came
a look that one can see in the

1056
01:33:16.039 --> 01:33:21.159
orbs of a jaded horse. His
neck was quivering with nervous weakness, and

1057
01:33:21.239 --> 01:33:26.800
the muscles of his arms felt numb
and bloodless. His hands, too,

1058
01:33:26.880 --> 01:33:30.720
seemed large and awkward, as if
he were wearing invisible mittens, and there

1059
01:33:30.800 --> 01:33:36.359
was a great uncertainty about his knee
joints. The words the comrades had uttered

1060
01:33:36.439 --> 01:33:41.880
previous to the firing began to recur
to him. Oh, say, this

1061
01:33:42.000 --> 01:33:45.199
is too much of a good thing. What did they take us for?

1062
01:33:45.680 --> 01:33:49.000
Why don't they send supports? I
didn't come here to fight the whole damned

1063
01:33:49.039 --> 01:33:55.279
rebel army. He began to exaggerate
the endurance, the skill, and the

1064
01:33:55.399 --> 01:34:00.039
valor of those who were coming.
Himself reeling from exhaustion, he was astonished

1065
01:34:00.039 --> 01:34:06.079
beyond measure at such persistency. They
must be machines of steel. Was very

1066
01:34:06.199 --> 01:34:12.359
gloomy, struggling against such affairs.
Wound up, perhaps to fight until sundown.

1067
01:34:13.800 --> 01:34:16.439
He slowly lifted his rifle, and, catching a glimpse of the thick

1068
01:34:16.479 --> 01:34:21.720
spread field, he blazed at a
cantering cluster. He stopped then and began

1069
01:34:21.760 --> 01:34:27.159
to peer as best as he could
through the smoke. He caught changing views

1070
01:34:27.239 --> 01:34:30.760
of the ground covered with men who
were all running like pursued imps. And

1071
01:34:30.880 --> 01:34:38.159
yelling to the youth. It was
an onslaught of redoubtable dragons. He became

1072
01:34:38.239 --> 01:34:41.439
like the man who had lost his
legs at the approach of the red and

1073
01:34:41.479 --> 01:34:46.000
green monster. He waited in a
sort of horrified, listening attitude. He

1074
01:34:46.119 --> 01:34:50.680
seemed to shut his eyes and wait
to be gobbled. A man near him,

1075
01:34:50.720 --> 01:34:56.279
who up to this time had been
working feverishly at his rifle, suddenly

1076
01:34:56.319 --> 01:35:00.359
stopped and ran with howls. A
lad whose face had borne an expression of

1077
01:35:00.399 --> 01:35:06.079
exalted courage. The majesty of he
who dares give his life was at an

1078
01:35:06.159 --> 01:35:12.119
instant smitten abject. He blanched,
like one who has come to the edge

1079
01:35:12.159 --> 01:35:16.239
of a cliff at midnight and is
suddenly made aware there was a revelation.

1080
01:35:16.880 --> 01:35:21.000
He too, threw down his gun
and fled. There was no shame in

1081
01:35:21.079 --> 01:35:27.399
his face. He ran like a
rabbit. Others began to scamper away through

1082
01:35:27.399 --> 01:35:30.880
the smoke. The youth turned his
head, shaken from his trance by this

1083
01:35:30.960 --> 01:35:35.399
movement, as if the regiment was
leaving him behind. He saw the few

1084
01:35:35.479 --> 01:35:41.960
fleeting forms. He yelled, then
with fright and swung about for a moment,

1085
01:35:42.039 --> 01:35:45.600
and the great clamor he was like
a proverbial chicken. He lost the

1086
01:35:45.640 --> 01:35:51.960
direction of safety. Destruction threatened him
from all points directly. He began to

1087
01:35:53.000 --> 01:35:59.000
speed toward the rearing great leaps.
His rifling cap were gone, his unbuttoned

1088
01:35:59.000 --> 01:36:02.720
coat bulged in the wind, the
flap of his cartridge box bobbed wildly,

1089
01:36:02.880 --> 01:36:09.079
and his canteen, by its slender
cord, swung out behind. On his

1090
01:36:09.119 --> 01:36:14.000
face was all the horror of those
things which he imagined. The lieutenant sprang

1091
01:36:14.079 --> 01:36:18.119
forward, bawling. The youth saw
his features wrathfully read, and saw him

1092
01:36:18.159 --> 01:36:23.399
make a dab with his sword.
His one thought of the incident was that

1093
01:36:23.399 --> 01:36:28.199
the lieutenant was a peculiar creature to
feel interested in such manners. Upon this

1094
01:36:28.279 --> 01:36:32.560
occasion, he ran like a blind
man. Two or three times. He

1095
01:36:32.680 --> 01:36:38.119
fell down. Once he knocked his
shoulders so heavily against a tree that he

1096
01:36:38.199 --> 01:36:43.359
went headlong. Since he had turned
his back upon the fight, his fears

1097
01:36:43.359 --> 01:36:47.720
had been wondrously magnified. Death about
to thrust him between the shoulder blades was

1098
01:36:47.840 --> 01:36:53.439
far more dreadful than death about to
smite him between the eyes. When he

1099
01:36:53.479 --> 01:36:57.439
thought of it later, he conceived
the impression that it is better to view

1100
01:36:57.479 --> 01:37:01.720
the appalling than to be merely within
hearing the noises of the battle were like

1101
01:37:01.840 --> 01:37:06.920
stones. He believed himself liable to
be crushed. As he ran on,

1102
01:37:08.079 --> 01:37:12.399
he mingled with others. He dimly
saw men on his right and on his

1103
01:37:12.520 --> 01:37:16.199
left, and he heard footsteps behind
him. He thought that all the regiment

1104
01:37:16.319 --> 01:37:21.680
was fleeing, pursued by those ominous
crashes. In his flight, the sound

1105
01:37:21.720 --> 01:37:28.039
of these following footsteps gave him his
one meager relief. He felt vaguely that

1106
01:37:28.159 --> 01:37:31.359
death must make a first choice of
the men who were nearest. The initial

1107
01:37:31.439 --> 01:37:36.039
morsels for the dragons would be then
those who were following him. So he

1108
01:37:36.119 --> 01:37:41.279
displayed the zeal of an insane sprinter
in his purpose to keep them in the

1109
01:37:41.319 --> 01:37:46.159
rear. There was a race.
As he leading went across the little field,

1110
01:37:46.520 --> 01:37:50.800
he found himself in a region of
shells. They hurtled over his head

1111
01:37:50.880 --> 01:37:56.439
with long, wild screams. As
he listened, he imagined them to have

1112
01:37:56.640 --> 01:38:00.680
rows of cruel teeth that grinned at
him. One lit before him, and

1113
01:38:00.760 --> 01:38:05.720
the livid lightning of the explosion effectually
barred the way in his chosen direction.

1114
01:38:06.439 --> 01:38:11.760
He groveled on the ground, and
then springing up, went careering off through

1115
01:38:11.800 --> 01:38:16.199
some bushes, he experienced a thrill
of amazement when he came within view of

1116
01:38:16.199 --> 01:38:20.680
a battery in action. The men
there seemed to be in conventional moods,

1117
01:38:21.039 --> 01:38:28.880
altogether unaware of the impending annihilation.
The battery was disputing with a distant antagonist,

1118
01:38:29.159 --> 01:38:32.880
and the gunners were wrapped in admiration
of their shooting. They were continually

1119
01:38:32.920 --> 01:38:38.880
bending and coaxing postures over the guns. They seemed to be patting them on

1120
01:38:38.920 --> 01:38:44.079
the back and encouraging them with words. The guns, stolid and undaunted,

1121
01:38:44.399 --> 01:38:50.359
spoke with dogged valor. The precise
gunners were coolly enthusiastic. They lifted their

1122
01:38:50.359 --> 01:38:56.000
eyes every chance to the smoke wreathed
hillock, from whence the hostile battery addressed

1123
01:38:56.039 --> 01:39:00.600
them. The youth pitied them as
he ran. The thought idiots machine like

1124
01:39:00.880 --> 01:39:06.039
fools. The refined joy of planting
shells in the midst of the other battery's

1125
01:39:06.079 --> 01:39:11.640
formation would appear a little thing.
When the infantry came swooping out of the

1126
01:39:11.640 --> 01:39:16.239
woods. The face of a youthful
rider, who was jerking his frantic horse

1127
01:39:16.359 --> 01:39:21.920
with an abandon of temper he might
display in a placid barnyard was impressed deeply

1128
01:39:23.000 --> 01:39:26.960
upon his mind. He knew that
he looked upon a man who would presently

1129
01:39:27.039 --> 01:39:31.840
be dead. Two he felt a
pity for the guns. Standing six good

1130
01:39:31.880 --> 01:39:38.039
comrades in a bold row, he
saw a brigade going to the relief of

1131
01:39:38.079 --> 01:39:43.560
its pestered fellows. He scrambled upon
a wee hill and watched it sweeping finely,

1132
01:39:43.920 --> 01:39:47.520
keeping formation in difficult places. The
blue of the line was crusted with

1133
01:39:47.640 --> 01:39:55.000
steel color, and the brilliant flags
projected. Officers were shouting. This sight

1134
01:39:55.119 --> 01:40:00.079
also filled him with wonder The brigade
was hurrying briskly to be gulped into to

1135
01:40:00.159 --> 01:40:04.199
the infernal mouths of the war God. What manner of men were they anyhow,

1136
01:40:04.880 --> 01:40:11.239
Ah, it was some wondrous breed, or else They didn't comprehend the

1137
01:40:11.319 --> 01:40:16.079
fools. A furious order caused commotion
in the artillery. An officer on a

1138
01:40:16.119 --> 01:40:21.760
bounding horse made maniacal motions with his
arms. The teams went swinging up from

1139
01:40:21.760 --> 01:40:27.239
the rear, The guns were whirled
about, and the battery scampered away.

1140
01:40:28.000 --> 01:40:31.840
The cannon with their noses poked slantingly
at the ground, grunted and grumbled like

1141
01:40:31.960 --> 01:40:39.920
stout men, brave but with objections
to hurry. The youth went on moderating

1142
01:40:39.960 --> 01:40:44.520
his pace, since he had left
the place of noises. Later he came

1143
01:40:44.640 --> 01:40:48.239
upon a general of division seated upon
a horse that pricked its ears in an

1144
01:40:48.279 --> 01:40:54.319
interested way. At the battle there
was a great gleaming of yellow and patent

1145
01:40:54.479 --> 01:40:59.760
leather about the saddle and bridle.
The quiet man astride looked mouse colored upon

1146
01:40:59.800 --> 01:41:05.840
such a splendid charger. A jingling
staff was galloping hither and thither. Sometimes

1147
01:41:05.880 --> 01:41:11.119
the general was surrounded by horsemen,
and at other times he was quite alone.

1148
01:41:11.800 --> 01:41:15.640
He looked to be much harassed.
He had the appearance of a business

1149
01:41:15.640 --> 01:41:20.600
man whose market is swinging up and
down. The youth went slinking around this

1150
01:41:20.640 --> 01:41:25.920
spot. He went as near as
he dared, trying to overhear words.

1151
01:41:26.520 --> 01:41:31.199
Perhaps the general, unable to comprehend
chaos, might call upon him for information,

1152
01:41:31.720 --> 01:41:36.520
and he could tell him he knew
all concerning it. Of a surety.

1153
01:41:36.640 --> 01:41:40.800
The force was in a fix,
and any fool could see that if

1154
01:41:40.840 --> 01:41:45.159
they did not retreat while they had
opportunity. Why he felt that he would

1155
01:41:45.239 --> 01:41:49.439
like to thrash the general, or
at least approach and tell him in plain

1156
01:41:49.479 --> 01:41:55.319
words exactly what he thought. Him
to be it was criminal to stay calmly

1157
01:41:55.359 --> 01:42:00.199
in one spot and make no effort
to stay destruction. He'd loitered in a

1158
01:42:00.239 --> 01:42:04.720
fever of eagerness for the division commander
to apply to him. As he warily

1159
01:42:04.760 --> 01:42:10.479
moved about, he heard the general
call out irritably Tompkins. Go over and

1160
01:42:10.520 --> 01:42:13.880
see Taylor and tell him not to
be in such an all fired hurry.

1161
01:42:14.279 --> 01:42:16.880
Tell him to hauld his brigade in
the edge of the woods. Tell him

1162
01:42:16.880 --> 01:42:21.279
to detach a regiment. Say I
think the center will break if we don't

1163
01:42:21.319 --> 01:42:26.680
help it out. Some tell him
to hurry up. A slim youth on

1164
01:42:26.720 --> 01:42:30.000
a fine chestnut horse caught these swift
words from the mouth of his superior.

1165
01:42:30.640 --> 01:42:34.279
He made his horse bound into a
gallop, almost from a walk, in

1166
01:42:34.319 --> 01:42:39.359
his haste to go upon his mission. There was a cloud of dust.

1167
01:42:40.359 --> 01:42:44.479
A moment later, the youth saw
the general bounce excitedly in his saddle.

1168
01:42:45.199 --> 01:42:48.800
Yes, by heavens, they have
The officer leaned forward. His face was

1169
01:42:48.840 --> 01:42:54.279
aflame with excitement. Yes, by
heavens, they've held him, They've held

1170
01:42:54.319 --> 01:42:59.039
him. He began to blithely roar
at his staff. We'll wap him,

1171
01:42:59.079 --> 01:43:03.119
now, wallop him now we've got
him. Sure, He turned suddenly upon

1172
01:43:03.159 --> 01:43:09.439
an aid. Here you Jones,
quick ride after Topkins. See Taylor,

1173
01:43:09.720 --> 01:43:15.479
tell him to go in everlastingly like
blazes anything. As another officer sped his

1174
01:43:15.560 --> 01:43:20.119
horse after the first messenger, the
general beamed upon the earth like a sun.

1175
01:43:20.880 --> 01:43:25.920
In his eyes was a desire to
chant a paeon. He kept repeating,

1176
01:43:26.359 --> 01:43:30.199
They've held him by heavens. His
excitement made his horse plunge, and

1177
01:43:30.319 --> 01:43:34.600
he merrily kicked and swore at it. He held a little carnival of joy

1178
01:43:34.920 --> 01:43:47.520
on horseback. End of chapter six, chapter seven of The Red Badge of

1179
01:43:47.560 --> 01:43:54.520
Courage by Stephen Crane. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are

1180
01:43:54.560 --> 01:43:59.199
in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox

1181
01:43:59.279 --> 01:44:04.560
dot org. This recording is by
Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.

1182
01:44:04.720 --> 01:44:12.640
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen
Crane, Chapter seven. The youth cringed

1183
01:44:12.720 --> 01:44:16.520
as if discovered in a crime by
heavens. They had won after all the

1184
01:44:16.640 --> 01:44:23.439
imbecile line had remained and become victors. He could hear cheering. He lifted

1185
01:44:23.479 --> 01:44:27.760
himself upon his toes and looked in
the direction of the fight. A yellow

1186
01:44:27.800 --> 01:44:31.159
fog lay wallowing on the tree tops. From beneath it came the clatter of

1187
01:44:31.279 --> 01:44:38.760
musketry. Hoarse cries told him an
advance. He turned away, amazed and

1188
01:44:38.960 --> 01:44:44.079
angry. He felt that he had
been wronged. He had fled, he

1189
01:44:44.119 --> 01:44:48.079
had told himself, because annihilation approached. He had done a good part in

1190
01:44:48.199 --> 01:44:53.960
saving himself. Who was a little
piece of the army. He had considered

1191
01:44:53.960 --> 01:44:57.359
the time, he said, to
be one in which it was the duty

1192
01:44:57.399 --> 01:45:01.960
of every little piece to rescue itself
if possible. Later the officers could fit

1193
01:45:02.039 --> 01:45:06.800
the little pieces together again and make
a battle front. If none of the

1194
01:45:06.840 --> 01:45:12.279
little pieces were wise enough to save
themselves from the flurry of death at such

1195
01:45:12.279 --> 01:45:15.840
a time, why then, where
would be the army. It was all

1196
01:45:15.880 --> 01:45:21.439
plain that he had proceeded according to
very correct and commendable rules. His actions

1197
01:45:21.479 --> 01:45:26.720
have been sagacious things. They had
been full of strategy. They were the

1198
01:45:26.760 --> 01:45:32.279
work of a master's legs. Thoughts
of his comrades came to him. The

1199
01:45:32.399 --> 01:45:40.399
brittle blue line had withstood the blows, and one he grew bitter over it.

1200
01:45:40.399 --> 01:45:45.039
It seemed that the blind ignorance and
stupidity of those little pieces had betrayed

1201
01:45:45.119 --> 01:45:49.760
him. He had been overturned and
crushed by their lack of sense in holding

1202
01:45:49.800 --> 01:45:56.039
the position, when intelligent deliberation would
have convinced them that it was impossible.

1203
01:45:56.960 --> 01:46:01.079
He, the enlightened man who looks
afar the dark, had fled because of

1204
01:46:01.119 --> 01:46:06.479
his superior perceptions and knowledge. He
felt a great anger against his comrades.

1205
01:46:06.920 --> 01:46:12.640
He knew it could be proved that
they had been fools. He wondered what

1206
01:46:12.760 --> 01:46:17.119
they would remark when later he appeared
in camp. His mind heard howls of

1207
01:46:17.239 --> 01:46:23.800
derision. Their density would not enable
them to understand his sharper point of view.

1208
01:46:25.000 --> 01:46:30.039
He began to pity himself acutely.
He was ill used. He was

1209
01:46:30.079 --> 01:46:34.000
trodden beneath the feet of an iron
injustice. He had proceeded with wisdom and

1210
01:46:34.079 --> 01:46:40.279
from the most righteous motives under Heaven's
blue, only to be frustrated by hateful

1211
01:46:40.359 --> 01:46:46.640
circumstances. A dull, animal like
rebellion against his fellows war in the abstract,

1212
01:46:46.840 --> 01:46:53.119
and fate grew within him. He
shambled along with bowed head, his

1213
01:46:53.239 --> 01:46:58.880
brain in a tumult of agony and
despair. When he looked loweringly up,

1214
01:46:59.159 --> 01:47:02.840
quivering at each sound, his eyes
had the expression of those of a criminal

1215
01:47:02.880 --> 01:47:08.159
who thinks his guilt and his punishment
great, and knows that he can find

1216
01:47:08.199 --> 01:47:13.720
no words. He went from the
fields into a thick woods, as if

1217
01:47:13.800 --> 01:47:17.560
resolved to bury himself. He wished
to get out of hearing of the crackling

1218
01:47:17.680 --> 01:47:23.560
shots, which were to him like
voices. The ground was cluttered with vines

1219
01:47:23.600 --> 01:47:28.800
and bushes, and the trees grew
close and spread out like bouquets. He

1220
01:47:28.840 --> 01:47:33.239
was obliged to force his way with
much noise. The creepers catching against his

1221
01:47:33.399 --> 01:47:39.119
legs cried out harshly as their sprays
were torn from the barks of trees.

1222
01:47:40.119 --> 01:47:45.119
The swishing saplings tried to make known
his presence to the world. He could

1223
01:47:45.119 --> 01:47:48.680
not conciliate the forest. As he
made his way, it was always calling

1224
01:47:48.680 --> 01:47:56.439
out protestations. When he separated embraces
of trees and vines, the disturbed foliages

1225
01:47:56.479 --> 01:48:00.920
waved their arms and turned their face
leaves toward him. He dreaded lest these

1226
01:48:01.000 --> 01:48:05.479
noisy motions and cries should bring men
to look at him. So he went

1227
01:48:05.560 --> 01:48:13.000
far, seeking dark and intricate places. After a time, the sound of

1228
01:48:13.119 --> 01:48:18.479
musketry grew faint, and the cannon
boomed in the distance. The sun suddenly

1229
01:48:18.479 --> 01:48:25.880
apparent blazed among the trees. The
insects were making rhythmical noises. They seemed

1230
01:48:25.880 --> 01:48:30.439
to be grinding their teeth in unison. A woodpecker stuck his impudent head around

1231
01:48:30.479 --> 01:48:36.119
the side of a tree. A
bird flew on, light hearted wing off

1232
01:48:36.279 --> 01:48:41.640
was the rumble of death. It
seemed now that nature had no ears.

1233
01:48:42.880 --> 01:48:47.720
This landscape gave him assurance, a
fair field holding life. It was the

1234
01:48:47.840 --> 01:48:53.960
religion of peace. It would die
if its timid eyes were compelled to see

1235
01:48:54.039 --> 01:48:59.439
blood. He conceived nature to be
a woman with a deep aversion to tragedy.

1236
01:49:00.439 --> 01:49:02.800
He threw a pine cone at a
jovial squirrel, and he ran,

1237
01:49:02.880 --> 01:49:06.560
with chattering fear, high in a
tree top. He stopped, and,

1238
01:49:06.680 --> 01:49:11.960
poking his head cautiously from behind a
branch, looked down with an air of

1239
01:49:12.039 --> 01:49:17.319
trepidation. The youth felt triumphant at
this exhibition. There was the law.

1240
01:49:17.520 --> 01:49:24.000
He said, Nature had given him
a sign. The squirrel, immediately upon

1241
01:49:24.079 --> 01:49:29.880
recognizing danger, had taken to his
legs without ado. He did not stand

1242
01:49:30.000 --> 01:49:33.760
stolidly, bearing his furry belly to
the missile, and die with an upward

1243
01:49:33.800 --> 01:49:39.680
glance at the sympathetic heavens. On
the contrary, he had fled as fast

1244
01:49:39.720 --> 01:49:43.600
as his legs could carry him,
and he was but an ordinary squirrel,

1245
01:49:43.680 --> 01:49:48.520
too, doubtless no philosopher of his
race. The youth wended, feeling that

1246
01:49:48.680 --> 01:49:54.800
nature was of his mind. She
reinforced his argument with proofs that lived where

1247
01:49:54.840 --> 01:50:00.880
the sun shone. Once he found
himself almost into a swamp, he was

1248
01:50:00.920 --> 01:50:05.000
obliged to walk upon bog tufts and
watch his feet to keep from the oily

1249
01:50:05.079 --> 01:50:10.720
mire. Pausing at one time to
look about him, he saw out at

1250
01:50:10.800 --> 01:50:16.560
some black water a small animal pounced
in and emerged directly with a gleaming fish.

1251
01:50:17.159 --> 01:50:21.439
The youth went again into the deep
thickets. The brushed branches made a

1252
01:50:21.479 --> 01:50:28.000
noise that drowned the sounds of cannon. He walked on, going from obscurity

1253
01:50:28.119 --> 01:50:32.640
into promises of a greater obscurity.
At length he reached a place where the

1254
01:50:32.720 --> 01:50:39.560
high arching boughs made a chapel.
He softly pushed the green doors aside and

1255
01:50:39.840 --> 01:50:45.159
entered. Pine needles were a gentle
brown carpet. There was a religious half

1256
01:50:45.279 --> 01:50:49.800
light. Nearer the threshold. He
stopped, horror stricken at the sight of

1257
01:50:49.800 --> 01:50:55.039
a thing he was being looked at
by a dead man who was seated with

1258
01:50:55.119 --> 01:50:59.920
his back against a column like tree. The corpse was dressed in a uniform

1259
01:51:00.119 --> 01:51:03.600
that had once been blue, but
was now faded to a melancholy shade of

1260
01:51:03.640 --> 01:51:10.359
green. The eyes staring at the
youth had changed to the dull hue to

1261
01:51:10.439 --> 01:51:14.680
be seen on the side of a
dead fish. The mouth was open,

1262
01:51:15.359 --> 01:51:19.159
its red had changed to an appalling
yellow. Over the gray skin of the

1263
01:51:19.199 --> 01:51:25.760
face ran little ants. One was
trundling some sort of bundle along the upper

1264
01:51:25.800 --> 01:51:30.600
lip. The youth gave a shriek
as he confronted the thing. He was,

1265
01:51:30.680 --> 01:51:34.520
for moments turned to stone before it. He remained staring into the liquid

1266
01:51:34.560 --> 01:51:40.439
looking eyes. The dead man and
the living man exchanged a long look.

1267
01:51:41.119 --> 01:51:45.720
Then the youth cautiously put one hand
behind him and brought it against a tree.

1268
01:51:45.800 --> 01:51:50.720
Leaning upon this, he retreated step
by step, with his face still

1269
01:51:50.800 --> 01:51:55.680
toward the thing. He feared that
if he turned his back, the body

1270
01:51:55.760 --> 01:52:01.880
might spring up and stealthily pursue him. The branches pushing against him threatened to

1271
01:52:01.920 --> 01:52:08.039
throw him over upon it. His
unguided feet, too, caught aggravatingly in

1272
01:52:08.119 --> 01:52:13.119
brambles, and with it all he
received a subtle suggestion to touch the corpse.

1273
01:52:13.800 --> 01:52:17.359
As he thought of his hand upon
it, he shuddered profoundly. At

1274
01:52:17.439 --> 01:52:20.960
last, he burst the bonds which
had fastened him to the spot, and

1275
01:52:21.159 --> 01:52:27.760
fled, unheeding the underbrush. He
was pursued by the sight of black ants

1276
01:52:27.760 --> 01:52:33.720
swarming greedily upon the gray face and
venturing horribly near to the eyes. After

1277
01:52:33.760 --> 01:52:40.239
a time, he paused, and, breathless and panting, listened. He

1278
01:52:40.279 --> 01:52:45.600
imagined some strange voice would come from
the dead throat and squawk after him in

1279
01:52:45.720 --> 01:52:50.479
horrible menaces. The trees about the
portal of the chapel moved softingly in a

1280
01:52:50.560 --> 01:52:59.239
soft wind. A sad silence was
upon the little guarding edifice. And of

1281
01:52:59.319 --> 01:53:11.760
chapter seven Chapter eight of The Red
Badge of Courage. This is a LibriVox

1282
01:53:11.800 --> 01:53:15.760
recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or

1283
01:53:15.800 --> 01:53:21.760
to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot
org. This recording is by Mark Smith

1284
01:53:21.760 --> 01:53:28.439
of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The
Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.

1285
01:53:28.680 --> 01:53:34.800
Chapter eight, the trees began softly
to sing a hymn of twilight. The

1286
01:53:34.920 --> 01:53:40.880
sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck
the forest. There was a lull on

1287
01:53:40.920 --> 01:53:44.399
the noises of insects, as if
they had bowed their beaks and were making

1288
01:53:44.439 --> 01:53:48.960
a devotional pause. There was silence
save for the chanted course of the trees.

1289
01:53:50.319 --> 01:53:56.439
Then upon this stillness, there suddenly
broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

1290
01:53:56.880 --> 01:54:01.479
A crimson roar came from the distance. The youth stopped. He was transfixed

1291
01:54:01.479 --> 01:54:06.000
by this terrific medley of all noises. It was as if worlds were being

1292
01:54:06.079 --> 01:54:12.000
rendered. There was the ripping sound
of musketry and the breaking crash of the

1293
01:54:12.119 --> 01:54:16.359
artillery. His mind flew in all
directions. He conceived the two armies to

1294
01:54:16.439 --> 01:54:20.920
be at each other panther fashion.
He listened for a time, then he

1295
01:54:20.960 --> 01:54:25.680
began to run in the direction of
the battle. He saw that it was

1296
01:54:25.720 --> 01:54:30.279
an ironical thing for him to be
running thus toward that which he had been

1297
01:54:30.279 --> 01:54:34.520
at such pains to avoid. But
he said in substance to himself that if

1298
01:54:34.560 --> 01:54:40.079
the earth and the moon were about
to clash, many persons would doubtless plan

1299
01:54:40.199 --> 01:54:44.720
to get upon the roofs to witness
the collision. As he ran, he

1300
01:54:44.800 --> 01:54:49.239
became aware that the forest had stopped
its music as if at last becoming capable

1301
01:54:49.279 --> 01:54:56.399
of hearing the foreign sounds. The
trees hushed and stood motionless. Everything seemed

1302
01:54:56.399 --> 01:55:00.920
to be listening to the crackle and
clatter and earth shaking thund the chorus peaked

1303
01:55:01.079 --> 01:55:05.760
over the still earth. It suddenly
occurred to the youth that the fight in

1304
01:55:05.800 --> 01:55:12.760
which he had been was, after
all but perfunctory popping. In the hearing

1305
01:55:12.800 --> 01:55:15.840
of this present din, he was
doubtful if he had seen real battle scenes.

1306
01:55:16.439 --> 01:55:21.800
This uproar explained a celestial battle.
It was tumbling hordes, a struggle

1307
01:55:21.800 --> 01:55:27.319
in the air. Reflecting, he
saw a sort of a humor in the

1308
01:55:27.399 --> 01:55:30.520
point of view of himself and his
fellows. During the late encounter. They

1309
01:55:30.560 --> 01:55:35.399
had taken themselves and the enemy very
seriously, and had imagined that they were

1310
01:55:35.439 --> 01:55:41.560
deciding the war. Individuals must have
supposed that they were cutting the letters of

1311
01:55:41.600 --> 01:55:47.119
their names deep into everlasting tablets of
brass, or enshrining their reputations forever in

1312
01:55:47.199 --> 01:55:53.720
the hearts of their countrymen, while
has in fact the affair would appear imprinted

1313
01:55:53.800 --> 01:55:58.920
reports under a meek and immaterial title. But he saw that it was good.

1314
01:55:59.239 --> 01:56:02.359
Else, he said, in battle, everyone would surely run, save

1315
01:56:02.479 --> 01:56:08.520
forlorn hopes and their ilk. He
went rapidly on. He wished to come

1316
01:56:08.520 --> 01:56:12.920
to the edge of the forest that
he might peer out. As he hastened

1317
01:56:13.119 --> 01:56:18.000
there, passed through his mind pictures
of stupendous conflicts. His accumulated thought upon

1318
01:56:18.119 --> 01:56:23.920
such subjects was used to form scenes. The noise was as the voice of

1319
01:56:23.920 --> 01:56:30.520
an eloquent being describing. Sometimes the
brambles formed chains and tried to hold him

1320
01:56:30.520 --> 01:56:34.840
back. Trees confronting him stretched out
their arms and forbade him to pass.

1321
01:56:35.720 --> 01:56:41.199
After its previous hostility, this new
resistance of the forest filled him with a

1322
01:56:41.279 --> 01:56:45.880
fine bitterness. It seemed that nature
could not be quite ready to kill him.

1323
01:56:45.840 --> 01:56:50.159
But he obstinately took round about ways, and presently he was where he

1324
01:56:50.199 --> 01:56:56.199
could see long gray walls of vapor, where lay battle lines. The voices

1325
01:56:56.239 --> 01:57:00.760
of cannon shook him. The musketry
sounded in long, regular surges that played

1326
01:57:00.800 --> 01:57:05.640
havoc with his ears. He stood
regardant. For a moment. His eyes

1327
01:57:05.720 --> 01:57:11.520
had an awe struck expression. He
gawked in the direction of the fight.

1328
01:57:12.800 --> 01:57:16.920
Presently he proceeded again on his forward
way. The battle was like the grinding

1329
01:57:16.960 --> 01:57:21.680
of an immense and terrible machine.
To him, its complexities and powers,

1330
01:57:23.039 --> 01:57:29.279
its grim processes fascinated him. He
must go close and see it produce corpses.

1331
01:57:30.640 --> 01:57:33.199
He came to a fence and clambered
over it. On the far side,

1332
01:57:33.239 --> 01:57:39.319
the ground was littered with clothes and
guns. A newspaper folded up lay

1333
01:57:39.359 --> 01:57:43.479
in the dirt. A dead soldier
was stretched with his face hidden in his

1334
01:57:43.640 --> 01:57:47.479
arm. Farther off there was a
group of four or five corpses keeping mournful

1335
01:57:47.520 --> 01:57:54.079
company. A hot sun had blazed
upon this spot. In this place,

1336
01:57:54.119 --> 01:57:59.279
the youth felt that he was an
invader. This forgotten part of the battleground

1337
01:57:59.359 --> 01:58:03.159
was owned by the dead men,
and he hurried in the vague apprehension that

1338
01:58:03.199 --> 01:58:09.800
one of the swollen forms would rise
and tell him to begone. He came

1339
01:58:09.840 --> 01:58:13.279
finally to a road from which he
could see in the distance, dark and

1340
01:58:13.399 --> 01:58:18.600
agitated bodies of troops. Smoke fringed
in the lane was a bloodstained crowd streaming

1341
01:58:18.640 --> 01:58:24.039
to the rear. The wounded men
were cursing, groaning, and wailing.

1342
01:58:24.800 --> 01:58:28.720
In the air. Always was a
mighty swell of sound that it seemed could

1343
01:58:28.800 --> 01:58:33.479
sway the earth. With the courageous
words of the artillery and the spiteful sentences

1344
01:58:33.520 --> 01:58:39.920
of the musketry mingled red cheers,
and from this region of noises came the

1345
01:58:39.960 --> 01:58:44.640
steady current of the maimed. One
of the wounded men had a shoe full

1346
01:58:44.680 --> 01:58:48.159
of blood. He hopped like a
schoolboy in a game. He was laughing

1347
01:58:48.239 --> 01:58:53.760
hysterically. One was swearing that he
had been shot in the arm through the

1348
01:58:53.800 --> 01:58:59.720
commanding general's mismanagement of the army.
One was marching with an air imitative of

1349
01:59:00.279 --> 01:59:05.680
sublime drum major. Upon his features
was an unholy mixture of merriment and agony.

1350
01:59:06.520 --> 01:59:10.359
As he marched, he sang a
bit of doggerel in a high and

1351
01:59:10.439 --> 01:59:15.159
quavering voice, sing the song of
victory. A pocketful of bullets, five

1352
01:59:15.239 --> 01:59:21.720
and twenty men baked in a pie. One of the procession limped and staggered

1353
01:59:21.760 --> 01:59:28.119
to this tune. Another had the
gray seal of death already upon his face.

1354
01:59:28.840 --> 01:59:31.560
His lips were curled in hard lines, and his teeth were clenched.

1355
01:59:32.359 --> 01:59:36.239
His hands were bloody from where he
had pressed them upon his wound. He

1356
01:59:36.359 --> 01:59:41.880
seemed to be awaiting the moment when
he should pitch headlong. He stalked like

1357
01:59:42.000 --> 01:59:45.119
the specter of a soldier, his
eyes burning with the power of a stare

1358
01:59:45.279 --> 01:59:51.680
into the unknown. There were some
who proceeded sullenly, full of anger at

1359
01:59:51.720 --> 01:59:58.119
their wounds, and ready to turn
upon anything as an obscure cause. An

1360
01:59:58.159 --> 02:00:02.680
officer was carried along by two privates. He was peevish. Don't joggle so

1361
02:00:03.039 --> 02:00:06.920
Johnson, you fool, he cried, Think my legs made a iron.

1362
02:00:08.640 --> 02:00:11.920
If you can't carry me decent,
put me down and let someone else do

1363
02:00:12.039 --> 02:00:15.720
it. He bellowed at the tottering
crowd, who blocked the quick march of

1364
02:00:15.760 --> 02:00:20.039
his bearers, Say make way there, kit't you make way? Dickens take

1365
02:00:20.039 --> 02:00:26.319
it all. They sulkily parted and
went to the roadsides. As he was

1366
02:00:26.399 --> 02:00:30.840
carried past, they made pert remarks
to him. When he raged in reply

1367
02:00:30.960 --> 02:00:34.800
and threatened them, they told him
to be damned. The shoulder of one

1368
02:00:34.800 --> 02:00:40.520
of the tramping bearers knocked heavily against
the spectral soldier, who was staring into

1369
02:00:40.520 --> 02:00:45.760
the unknown. The youth joined this
crowd and marched along with it. The

1370
02:00:45.880 --> 02:00:50.920
torn bodies expressed the awful machinery in
which the men had been entangled. Orderlies

1371
02:00:50.920 --> 02:00:57.079
and couriers occasionally broke through the throng
and the roadway, scattering wounded men right

1372
02:00:57.119 --> 02:01:02.600
and left galloping on, followed by
Howel. The melancholy march was continually disturbed

1373
02:01:02.600 --> 02:01:08.880
by the messengers, and sometimes by
bustling batteries that came swinging and thumping down

1374
02:01:08.960 --> 02:01:14.279
upon them, the officers shouting orders
to clear the way. There was a

1375
02:01:14.319 --> 02:01:18.479
tattered man, fouled with dust,
blood and powder stain from hair to shoes,

1376
02:01:19.039 --> 02:01:25.279
who trudged quietly at the youth's side. He was listening with eagerness and

1377
02:01:25.439 --> 02:01:30.359
much humility to the lurid descriptions of
a bearded sergeant. His lean features wore

1378
02:01:30.399 --> 02:01:34.960
an expression of awe and admiration.
He was like a listener in a country

1379
02:01:35.039 --> 02:01:41.920
store to wondrous tales told among the
sugar barrels. He eyed the storyteller with

1380
02:01:42.039 --> 02:01:47.239
unspeakable wonder His mouth was a gape
in yokel fashion. The sergeant, taking

1381
02:01:47.279 --> 02:01:51.760
note of this, gave pause to
his elaborate history while he administered a sardonic

1382
02:01:51.800 --> 02:01:58.439
comet. Be careful, honey,
you'll be a catchen flies, he said.

1383
02:01:58.560 --> 02:02:02.319
The tattered man shrank back, abashed. After a time, he began

1384
02:02:02.359 --> 02:02:06.159
to sidle near to the youth,
and in a diffident way, tried to

1385
02:02:06.199 --> 02:02:11.960
make him a friend. His voice
was gentle as a girl's voice, and

1386
02:02:12.079 --> 02:02:15.880
his eyes were pleading. The youth
saw was surprised that the soldier had two

1387
02:02:15.960 --> 02:02:19.920
wounds, one in the head,
bound with a blood soaked rag, and

1388
02:02:20.000 --> 02:02:25.159
the other in the arm, making
that member dangle like a broken bow.

1389
02:02:26.479 --> 02:02:30.159
After they had walked together for some
time, the tattered man mustered sufficient courage

1390
02:02:30.199 --> 02:02:36.039
to speak. Who was pretty good
fight, wasn't it? He timidly said.

1391
02:02:36.920 --> 02:02:41.279
The youth, deep in thought,
glanced up at the bloody and grim

1392
02:02:41.319 --> 02:02:46.159
figure with his lamb like eyes.
What was pretty good fight? Warndon,

1393
02:02:47.600 --> 02:02:53.640
Yes, said the youth. Shortly
he quickened his pace, but the other

1394
02:02:53.720 --> 02:02:58.359
hobbled industriously after him. There was
an air of apology in his manner,

1395
02:02:58.680 --> 02:03:01.880
but he evidently thought he needed only
to talk for a time and the youth

1396
02:03:01.920 --> 02:03:08.880
would perceive that he was a good
fellow. Was pretty good fight, weren't

1397
02:03:08.920 --> 02:03:14.279
it? He began in a small
voice, and then he achieved the fortitude

1398
02:03:14.279 --> 02:03:18.800
to continue. Durn me if I
ever see fellers fight? So laws how

1399
02:03:18.920 --> 02:03:24.000
they did fight. I knowed the
boys that'd like it once they once it

1400
02:03:24.159 --> 02:03:28.399
got square at it, The boys
aunt had no fair chance st up to

1401
02:03:28.479 --> 02:03:32.279
now, But this time they show
what they was. I knowed it had

1402
02:03:32.279 --> 02:03:36.399
turned out this way. You can't
lick them boys, No, sir,

1403
02:03:36.800 --> 02:03:42.960
they're fighters, they be. He
breathed a deep breath of humble admiration.

1404
02:03:43.560 --> 02:03:47.720
He had looked at the youth for
encouragement several times he received none, but

1405
02:03:47.880 --> 02:03:54.359
gradually he seemed to get absorbed into
subject. I was talking cross pickets with

1406
02:03:54.399 --> 02:03:59.439
a boy from Georgie. Want and
that boy he says, your fellers will

1407
02:03:59.479 --> 02:04:02.319
all run like hell when they wants
it here and a gun. He says,

1408
02:04:03.239 --> 02:04:08.000
maybe they will. I says,
but I don't believe none of it.

1409
02:04:08.720 --> 02:04:12.640
I says, And by Jimminy,
I says back to him, Maybe

1410
02:04:12.680 --> 02:04:16.079
your fellers are all run like how
once they hearn our guns, I says.

1411
02:04:16.680 --> 02:04:20.479
He laughed. Well, they didn't
run today, did they. Hey?

1412
02:04:21.119 --> 02:04:28.520
No, sir, they fit and
fit and fit. His homely face

1413
02:04:28.680 --> 02:04:30.840
was suffused with a light of love
for the army, which was to him

1414
02:04:30.920 --> 02:04:35.720
all things beautiful and powerful. After
a time, he turned to the youth,

1415
02:04:36.600 --> 02:04:41.199
Were you hit, old boy?
He asked, in a brotherly tone.

1416
02:04:42.439 --> 02:04:45.880
Do you felt instant panic at this
question? Although at first its full

1417
02:04:45.880 --> 02:04:51.840
import was not borne in upon him. What he asked where are you hit,

1418
02:04:53.760 --> 02:05:00.039
repeated the tattered man. Why began
the youth? That is why he

1419
02:05:00.199 --> 02:05:04.920
turned away suddenly and slid through the
crowd. His brow was heavily flushed,

1420
02:05:04.920 --> 02:05:10.159
and his fingers were picking nervously at
one of his buttons. He bent his

1421
02:05:10.199 --> 02:05:13.920
head and fastened his eyes studiously upon
the button, as if it were a

1422
02:05:13.960 --> 02:05:20.920
little problem. The tattered man looked
after him in astonishment. End of chapter

1423
02:05:21.000 --> 02:05:33.319
eight chapter nine of The Red Badge
of Courage by Stephen Crane. This is

1424
02:05:33.359 --> 02:05:39.760
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
are in the public domain. For more

1425
02:05:39.800 --> 02:05:45.319
information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. This recording is by

1426
02:05:45.359 --> 02:05:51.159
Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen

1427
02:05:51.199 --> 02:05:59.520
Crane, Chapter nine. The youth
fell back in the procession until the tattered

1428
02:05:59.520 --> 02:06:02.600
soldier was not in sight. Then
he started to walk on with the others,

1429
02:06:03.359 --> 02:06:09.319
but he was amid wounds. The
mob of men was bleeding. Because

1430
02:06:09.359 --> 02:06:13.640
of the tattered soldier's question, he
now felt that his shame could be viewed.

1431
02:06:14.279 --> 02:06:18.079
He was continually casting sidelong glances to
see if the men were contemplating the

1432
02:06:18.199 --> 02:06:25.119
letters of guilt he felt burned into
his brow. At times, he regarded

1433
02:06:25.119 --> 02:06:30.560
the wounded soldiers in an envious way. He conceived persons with torn bodies to

1434
02:06:30.600 --> 02:06:35.239
be peculiarly happy. He wished that
he too had a wound, a red

1435
02:06:35.319 --> 02:06:42.199
badge of courage. The spectral soldier
was at his side like a stalking reproach.

1436
02:06:42.880 --> 02:06:46.279
The man's eyes were still fixed in
a stare into the unknown. His

1437
02:06:46.359 --> 02:06:51.600
gray, appalling face had attracted attention
in the crowd, and men slowing to

1438
02:06:51.760 --> 02:06:58.720
his dreary pace were walking with him. They were discussing his plight, questioning

1439
02:06:58.800 --> 02:07:01.920
him, and giving him advice in
a dogged way. He repelled them,

1440
02:07:02.479 --> 02:07:08.159
signing to them to go on and
leave him alone. The shadows of his

1441
02:07:08.239 --> 02:07:12.560
face were deepening, and his tight
lips seemed holding in check the moan of

1442
02:07:12.640 --> 02:07:16.479
great despair. There could be seen
a certain stiffness in the movements of his

1443
02:07:16.600 --> 02:07:20.760
body, as if he were taking
infinite care not to arouse the passion of

1444
02:07:20.800 --> 02:07:26.479
his wounds. As he went on, he seemed always looking for a place,

1445
02:07:27.039 --> 02:07:31.000
like one who goes to choose a
grave. Something in the gesture of

1446
02:07:31.039 --> 02:07:36.439
the man as he waved the bloody
and pitying soldiers away made the youth start

1447
02:07:36.640 --> 02:07:42.359
as if bitten. He yelled in
horror. Tottering forward, he laid a

1448
02:07:42.439 --> 02:07:47.359
quivering hand upon the man's arm,
as the latter slowly turned his waxlike features

1449
02:07:47.399 --> 02:07:53.960
toward him. This youth screamed,
God, Jim Coplin. The tall soldier

1450
02:07:54.039 --> 02:08:00.319
made a little commonplace smile. Hello, Henry, he said. The youth

1451
02:08:00.319 --> 02:08:05.840
swayed on his legs and glared strangely. He stuttered and stammered, Oh,

1452
02:08:05.920 --> 02:08:09.720
Jim, oh, Jim, oh, Jim. The tall soldier held out

1453
02:08:09.720 --> 02:08:15.399
his gory hand. There was a
curious red and black combination of new blood

1454
02:08:15.479 --> 02:08:20.479
and old blood upon it. Where
you been, Henry, he asked.

1455
02:08:20.000 --> 02:08:24.560
He continued, in a monotonous voice. I thought maybe you got keeled over.

1456
02:08:26.560 --> 02:08:30.399
There been thunder to pay today.
I was worrying about it. A

1457
02:08:30.399 --> 02:08:35.239
good deal. The youth still lamented. Oh Jim, oh, Jim,

1458
02:08:35.399 --> 02:08:41.119
oh, Jim, you know,
said the tall soldier. I was out

1459
02:08:41.159 --> 02:08:46.319
there. He made a careful gesture, and Lord, what a circus.

1460
02:08:48.039 --> 02:08:54.600
And by jiminy I got shot.
I got shot, yes, but jiminy

1461
02:08:54.680 --> 02:09:00.520
I got shot. He reiterated this
fact in a bewildered way, as if

1462
02:09:00.560 --> 02:09:05.760
he did not know how it came
about. The youth put forth anxious arms

1463
02:09:05.800 --> 02:09:09.840
to assist him, but the tall
soldier went firmly, as if propelled.

1464
02:09:09.600 --> 02:09:15.000
Since the youth's arrival as a guardian
for his friend, the other wounded men

1465
02:09:15.039 --> 02:09:20.319
had ceased to display much interest.
They occupied themselves again and dragging their own

1466
02:09:20.399 --> 02:09:24.840
tragedies toward the rear. Suddenly,
as the two friends marched on, the

1467
02:09:24.920 --> 02:09:30.479
tall soldier seemed to be overcome by
a tremor. His face turned to a

1468
02:09:30.560 --> 02:09:35.359
semblance of gray paste. He clutched
the youth's arm and looked all about him,

1469
02:09:35.760 --> 02:09:39.560
as if dreading to be overheard.
Then he began to speak in a

1470
02:09:39.640 --> 02:09:43.680
shaking whisper. I'll tell you what
I'm afraid of, Henry, I'll tell

1471
02:09:43.720 --> 02:09:50.600
you what I'm afraid of. I'm
afraid I'll fall down and them, you

1472
02:09:50.680 --> 02:09:56.039
know, them damned artillery wagons,
they'll like as not run over me.

1473
02:09:56.039 --> 02:10:01.399
That's what I'm fraid of. The
youth right out to him, hysterically.

1474
02:10:01.960 --> 02:10:03.680
I'll take care of you, Jim, I'll take care of you. I

1475
02:10:03.760 --> 02:10:09.960
swear to God I will, sure
will. Yeah, Henry, the tall

1476
02:10:09.000 --> 02:10:13.640
soldier beseeched, Yes, Yes,
I'd tell you I'd take care of you,

1477
02:10:13.760 --> 02:10:18.840
Jim, protested the youth. He
could not speak accurately because of the

1478
02:10:18.880 --> 02:10:24.680
gulpings in his throat, but the
tall soldier continued to beg in a lowly

1479
02:10:24.760 --> 02:10:28.880
way. He now hung babe like
to the youth's arm. His eyes rolled

1480
02:10:28.920 --> 02:10:33.880
in the wildness of his terror.
I was all as a good friend to

1481
02:10:33.920 --> 02:10:37.479
you, wardn't I, Henry?
I allays been a pretty good feller,

1482
02:10:37.600 --> 02:10:41.319
ain't I? And it ain't much
to ask? Is it? Just to

1483
02:10:41.520 --> 02:10:45.479
pull me along out of the road. I'd do it for you, wouldn't

1484
02:10:45.479 --> 02:10:50.720
I, Henry? He paused,
in piteous anxiety to await his friend's reply.

1485
02:10:50.920 --> 02:10:56.439
The youth had reached an anguish where
the sobs scorched him. He strove

1486
02:10:56.479 --> 02:11:01.680
to express his loyalty, but he
could only make fantastic jetures. However,

1487
02:11:01.760 --> 02:11:05.560
the tall soldier seemed suddenly to forget
all those fears. He became again the

1488
02:11:05.600 --> 02:11:11.880
grim, stalking specter of a soldier. He went stonily forward. Youth wished

1489
02:11:11.880 --> 02:11:16.399
his friend to lean upon him,
but the other always shook his head and

1490
02:11:16.560 --> 02:11:22.359
strangely protested, no, no,
leave me be, leave me be.

1491
02:11:22.720 --> 02:11:28.199
The youth had to follow. Presently, the latter heard a voice talking softly

1492
02:11:28.279 --> 02:11:33.560
near his shoulder. Turning, he
saw that it belonged to the tattered soldier.

1493
02:11:33.560 --> 02:11:37.920
You better take him out of the
road, partner. There's a batcher

1494
02:11:37.000 --> 02:11:41.199
coming. Hell. It to whoop
down the road and he'll get runned over.

1495
02:11:41.039 --> 02:11:45.920
He's a goner anyhow, In about
five minutes, you can see that

1496
02:11:46.680 --> 02:11:50.359
you better take him out of the
road. Where the blazes does he get

1497
02:11:50.359 --> 02:11:54.439
his strength from? Lord knows?
Cried the youth. He was shaking his

1498
02:11:54.520 --> 02:12:01.079
hands helplessly. He ran forward presently
and grasped the tall soldier by the arm.

1499
02:12:01.800 --> 02:12:05.640
Jim, Jim, He coaxed,
Come with me. The tall soldier

1500
02:12:05.760 --> 02:12:13.039
weakly tried to wrench himself free.
Huh, he said vacantly. He stared

1501
02:12:13.079 --> 02:12:16.119
at the youth for a moment.
At last he spoke, as if dimly

1502
02:12:16.199 --> 02:12:24.279
comprehending, Oh, into the fields. Oh, He started blindly through the

1503
02:12:24.319 --> 02:12:28.600
grass. The youth turned once to
look at the lashing riders and jouncing guns

1504
02:12:28.640 --> 02:12:33.800
of the battery. He was startled
from this view by a shrill outcry from

1505
02:12:33.800 --> 02:12:39.000
the tattered man. God, he's
running. Turning his head swiftly, the

1506
02:12:39.039 --> 02:12:43.079
youth saw his friend running in a
staggering and stumbling way. Toward a little

1507
02:12:43.119 --> 02:12:46.520
clump of bushes. His heart seemed
to wrench itself, almost free from his

1508
02:12:46.600 --> 02:12:50.319
body. At the sight, he
made a noise of pain. He and

1509
02:12:50.359 --> 02:12:56.319
the tattered man began a pursuit.
There was a singular race. When he

1510
02:12:56.399 --> 02:12:58.920
overtook the tall soldier. He began
to plead with all the words he could

1511
02:13:00.119 --> 02:13:03.560
fine, Jim, Jim, what
are you doing? What makes you do

1512
02:13:03.720 --> 02:13:09.600
this way? You'll hurt yourself?
The same purpose was in the tall soldier's

1513
02:13:09.680 --> 02:13:13.359
face. He protested in a dulled
way, keeping his eyes fastened on the

1514
02:13:13.399 --> 02:13:18.119
mystic place of his intentions. No, no, don't touch me, Leave

1515
02:13:18.159 --> 02:13:24.119
me be, Leave me be.
The youth, aghast and filled with wonder

1516
02:13:24.159 --> 02:13:28.079
at the tall soldier, began quaveringly
to question him. Where you going,

1517
02:13:28.239 --> 02:13:33.720
Jim? What you're thinking about?
Where you going? Tell me, won't

1518
02:13:33.720 --> 02:13:39.600
you Jim? The tall soldier faced
about as upon relentless pursuers. In his

1519
02:13:39.680 --> 02:13:43.119
eyes there was a great appeal Leave
me be? Can't you leave me be

1520
02:13:43.279 --> 02:13:48.720
for a minute? The youth recoiled, Why Jim, he said, in

1521
02:13:48.760 --> 02:13:54.600
a dazed way, what's the matter
with you? The tall soldier turned,

1522
02:13:54.640 --> 02:14:01.159
and, lurching dangerously, went on
the youth and the tat soldier followed,

1523
02:14:01.520 --> 02:14:05.840
sneaking as if whipped, feeling unable
to face the stricken man if he should

1524
02:14:05.880 --> 02:14:11.000
again confront them. They began to
have thoughts of a solemn ceremony. There

1525
02:14:11.079 --> 02:14:15.800
was something right like in these movements
of the doomed soldier, and there was

1526
02:14:15.840 --> 02:14:20.079
a resemblance in him to a devotee
of a mad religion. Blood sucking,

1527
02:14:20.399 --> 02:14:26.119
muscle wrenching, bone crushing. They
were awed and afraid. They hung back,

1528
02:14:26.239 --> 02:14:31.000
lest he have at command a dreadful
weapon. At last they saw him

1529
02:14:31.000 --> 02:14:37.239
stop and stand motionless, hastening up. They perceived that his face wore an

1530
02:14:37.239 --> 02:14:41.760
expression telling that he had at last
found the place for which he had struggled.

1531
02:14:41.640 --> 02:14:46.680
His spare figure was erect, His
bloody hands were quietly at his side.

1532
02:14:48.479 --> 02:14:50.640
He was waiting with patience for something
that he had come to meet.

1533
02:14:52.399 --> 02:14:58.199
He was at the rendezvous. They
paused and stood expectant. There was a

1534
02:14:58.279 --> 02:15:03.359
silence. Finally, the chest of
the doomed soldier began to heave with a

1535
02:15:03.439 --> 02:15:09.279
strained motion. It increased in violence
until it was as if an animal was

1536
02:15:09.359 --> 02:15:15.600
within and was kicking and tumbling furiously
to be free. This spectacle of gradual

1537
02:15:15.720 --> 02:15:20.720
strangulation made the youth writhe and once
as his friend rolled his eyes, he

1538
02:15:20.760 --> 02:15:24.239
saw something in them that made him
sink wailing to the ground. He raised

1539
02:15:24.279 --> 02:15:31.479
his voice in the last supreme call. Jim, Jim, Jim. The

1540
02:15:31.560 --> 02:15:37.960
tall soldier opened his lips and spoke. He made a gesture, leave me

1541
02:15:37.079 --> 02:15:45.039
be, don't touch me, leave
me be. There was another silence while

1542
02:15:45.039 --> 02:15:50.439
he waited. Suddenly his form stiffened
and straightened. Then it was shaken by

1543
02:15:50.479 --> 02:15:54.680
a prolonged ague. He stared into
space. To the two watchers, there

1544
02:15:54.760 --> 02:16:00.199
was a curious and profound dignity in
the firm lines of his awful face.

1545
02:16:01.319 --> 02:16:07.159
He was invaded by a creeping strangeness
that slowly enveloped him. For a moment,

1546
02:16:07.199 --> 02:16:11.359
the tremor of his legs caused him
to dance a sort of hideous hornpipe.

1547
02:16:11.199 --> 02:16:16.239
His arms beat wildly about his head, an expression of imp like enthusiasm.

1548
02:16:18.199 --> 02:16:22.439
His tall figure stretched itself to its
full height. There was a slight

1549
02:16:22.560 --> 02:16:28.079
rending sound. Then it began to
swing forward, slow and straight, in

1550
02:16:28.159 --> 02:16:33.239
the manner of a falling tree.
A swift, muscular contortion made the left

1551
02:16:33.239 --> 02:16:37.159
shoulder strike the ground first. The
body seemed to bounce a little way from

1552
02:16:37.159 --> 02:16:45.079
the earth, God, said the
tattered soldier. The youth had watched spellbound

1553
02:16:45.319 --> 02:16:50.159
this ceremony at the place of meeting. His face had been twisted into an

1554
02:16:50.159 --> 02:16:54.959
expression of every agony he had imagined
for his friend. He now sprang to

1555
02:16:54.000 --> 02:17:00.319
his feet, and, going closer, gazed upon the pacelike face. Mouth

1556
02:17:00.440 --> 02:17:05.520
was open, and the teeth showed
in a laugh. As the flap of

1557
02:17:05.520 --> 02:17:09.239
the blue jacket fell away from the
body, he could see that the side

1558
02:17:09.280 --> 02:17:13.239
looked as if it had been chewed
by wolves. The youth turned with sudden

1559
02:17:13.399 --> 02:17:18.280
livid rage toward the battlefield. He
shook his fist. He seemed about to

1560
02:17:18.319 --> 02:17:26.079
deliver a Philippic hell. The red
sun was pasted in the sky like a

1561
02:17:26.120 --> 02:17:39.520
wafer. End of chapter nine Chapter
ten of The Red Badge of Courage by

1562
02:17:39.520 --> 02:17:45.239
Stephen Crane. This is a LibriVox
recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the

1563
02:17:45.319 --> 02:17:50.799
public domain. For more information or
to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.

1564
02:17:50.840 --> 02:17:56.280
This recording is by Mark Smith of
Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red

1565
02:17:56.319 --> 02:18:05.840
Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.
Chapter ten, The tattered man stood musing

1566
02:18:05.799 --> 02:18:11.559
well he was a regular Jim Dandy
for nerve, wonn't he said? He

1567
02:18:11.719 --> 02:18:16.000
finally, in a little awe struck
voice. A regular Jim Dandy, he

1568
02:18:16.239 --> 02:18:20.920
thoughtfully poked one of the docile hands
with his foot. I wonder where he

1569
02:18:22.000 --> 02:18:24.959
got his strength from. I've never
seen a man do like that before.

1570
02:18:26.559 --> 02:18:30.920
It was a funny thing. Well, he was a regular Jim Dandy.

1571
02:18:31.079 --> 02:18:35.479
The youth desired to screech out his
grief. He was stabbed, but his

1572
02:18:35.600 --> 02:18:39.719
tongue lay dead in the tomb of
his mouth. He threw himself again upon

1573
02:18:39.760 --> 02:18:46.959
the ground and began to brood.
The tattered man stood musing, look a

1574
02:18:46.040 --> 02:18:50.280
here, pardner, he said.
After a time. He regarded the corpse

1575
02:18:50.360 --> 02:18:54.079
as he spoke. He's up and
gone, ain't he? And we might

1576
02:18:54.120 --> 02:18:58.319
as well begin to look out for
ole number one. This here thing is

1577
02:18:58.399 --> 02:19:03.600
all over. He's up and gone, ain't he? And he's all right

1578
02:19:03.680 --> 02:19:07.520
here. Nobody won't bother him.
And I must say I ain't enjoying any

1579
02:19:07.520 --> 02:19:13.280
great health myself these days. The
youth, awakened by the tattered soldier's tone,

1580
02:19:13.639 --> 02:19:18.799
looked quickly up. He saw that
he was swinging uncertainly on his legs,

1581
02:19:18.840 --> 02:19:22.719
and that his face had turned to
a shade of blue. Good lord,

1582
02:19:22.000 --> 02:19:26.719
he cried, you ain't gotta not
you too. The tattered man waved

1583
02:19:26.760 --> 02:19:31.879
his hand. Nary die, he
said. All I want is some peace

1584
02:19:31.920 --> 02:19:39.520
soup in a good bed. Some
peace soup, he repeated dreamfully. The

1585
02:19:39.639 --> 02:19:43.280
youth arose from the ground. I
wonder where he came from. I left

1586
02:19:43.360 --> 02:19:48.079
him over there, he pointed,
And now I find him here. And

1587
02:19:48.159 --> 02:19:54.639
he was coming from over there too, he indicated a new direction. They

1588
02:19:54.680 --> 02:19:58.079
both turned toward the body, as
if to ask it a question. Well,

1589
02:19:58.559 --> 02:20:03.079
at spoke the tattered man. There
ain't no use in our stayin here

1590
02:20:03.120 --> 02:20:09.040
and tryin to ask him anything.
The youth nodded an assent. Wearily.

1591
02:20:09.479 --> 02:20:13.719
They both turned to gaze for a
moment at the corpse. The youth murmured

1592
02:20:13.760 --> 02:20:18.239
something, Well, he was a
Jim Dandy, wantn't he said the tattered

1593
02:20:18.239 --> 02:20:24.239
man. As if in response,
they turned their backs upon it and started

1594
02:20:24.280 --> 02:20:28.680
away. For a time they stole
softly, treading with their toes. It

1595
02:20:28.799 --> 02:20:37.559
remained laughing there in the grass.
I'm commencin to feel pretty bad, said

1596
02:20:37.600 --> 02:20:43.200
the tattered man, suddenly, breaking
one of his little silences. I'm commencin

1597
02:20:43.280 --> 02:20:48.879
to feel pretty damn bad. The
youth groaned. Oh Lord, he wondered

1598
02:20:48.879 --> 02:20:54.360
if he was to be the tortured
witness of another grim encounter. But his

1599
02:20:54.440 --> 02:20:58.239
companion waved his hand reassuringly. Oh, I'm not going to die yet.

1600
02:21:00.079 --> 02:21:03.000
They're too much dependent on me for
me to die yet. No, sir,

1601
02:21:03.440 --> 02:21:09.200
Nery die, I can't. You
ought to see the swatted children I've

1602
02:21:09.239 --> 02:21:13.120
gotten all like that. The youth, glancing at his companion, could see,

1603
02:21:13.159 --> 02:21:16.440
by the shadow of a smile that
he was making some kind of fun.

1604
02:21:18.520 --> 02:21:22.600
As they plodded on, the tattered
soldier continued to talk. Besides,

1605
02:21:22.760 --> 02:21:28.000
if I died, I wouldn't die
the way that Feller did. That was

1606
02:21:28.079 --> 02:21:31.879
the funniest thing. I'd just flopped
down. I would I'd never seen a

1607
02:21:31.959 --> 02:21:37.760
feller die the way that Feller.
Did. You know Tom Jamison? He

1608
02:21:37.840 --> 02:21:41.600
lives next door to me up home. He's a nice feller, he is.

1609
02:21:41.760 --> 02:21:46.200
And we was all as good friends, smart too, smart as a

1610
02:21:46.280 --> 02:21:50.120
steel trap. Well, when we
was a fightin this afternoon, all of

1611
02:21:50.120 --> 02:21:54.799
a sudden he began to rip up
and cuss and beller at me. You're

1612
02:21:54.920 --> 02:22:00.319
shot, you blamed infertile. He
swear horrible, he said to me,

1613
02:22:01.079 --> 02:22:03.760
I put up my hand to my
head, and when I look at my

1614
02:22:03.799 --> 02:22:07.719
fingers, I seen sure enough I
was shot. I gave a holler and

1615
02:22:07.840 --> 02:22:11.280
began to run, but before I
could get away, another one hit me

1616
02:22:11.319 --> 02:22:16.959
in the arm and whirl me clean
round. I got scared when they were

1617
02:22:16.000 --> 02:22:20.559
all a shooting behind me, and
I run to beat all. But I

1618
02:22:20.680 --> 02:22:24.840
caught you pretty bad. I have
an idea I've been fighting yet if it

1619
02:22:24.920 --> 02:22:30.639
weren't for Tom Jamieson. Then he
made a calm announcement. There's two of

1620
02:22:30.680 --> 02:22:33.680
them, little ones, but they're
beginning to have fun with me now.

1621
02:22:35.280 --> 02:22:41.440
I don't believe I can walk much
further. They went slowly on in silence.

1622
02:22:41.440 --> 02:22:46.200
You look pretty peaked yourself, said
the tattered man at last. I

1623
02:22:46.280 --> 02:22:50.000
bet you've got a worser one than
you think. You better take care of

1624
02:22:50.040 --> 02:22:54.760
your hurt. It don't do to
let such things go. It might be

1625
02:22:54.840 --> 02:23:01.959
inside mostly and then placed thunder.
Where is it located? But he continued

1626
02:23:01.040 --> 02:23:05.840
his harangue without waiting for a reply. I see a feller get hit plumb

1627
02:23:05.840 --> 02:23:11.440
on the head when my regiment was
a standard at ease oncet, and everybody

1628
02:23:11.520 --> 02:23:16.159
yelled to him hurt, John are
you hurt much, no, says he.

1629
02:23:16.159 --> 02:23:20.520
He looked kinder surprised, and he
went on telling him how he felt.

1630
02:23:20.159 --> 02:23:24.680
He said, he didn't feel nothing, but by Dad. The first

1631
02:23:24.680 --> 02:23:28.639
thing that Feller knowed he was dead. Yes, he was dead, stone

1632
02:23:28.760 --> 02:23:33.719
dead. So you want to watch
out. You might have some queer kind

1633
02:23:33.760 --> 02:23:41.360
of hurt yourself. You can't never
tell where is yourn located. The youth

1634
02:23:41.399 --> 02:23:45.799
had been wriggling since the introduction of
this topic. He now gave a cry

1635
02:23:45.840 --> 02:23:50.479
of exasperation and made a furious motion
with his hand. Oh don't bother me,

1636
02:23:52.040 --> 02:23:56.440
he said. He was enraged against
the tattered man and could have strangled

1637
02:23:56.479 --> 02:24:01.600
him. His companions seemed ever to
play intolerable parts. They were ever upraising

1638
02:24:01.639 --> 02:24:07.040
the ghost of shame on the stick
of their curiosity. He turned toward the

1639
02:24:07.040 --> 02:24:11.920
tattered man as one at bay.
Now, don't bother me, he repeated,

1640
02:24:11.959 --> 02:24:16.079
with desperate menace. Well, Lord
knows, I don't want to bother

1641
02:24:16.280 --> 02:24:20.840
anybody, said the other. There
was a little accent of despair in his

1642
02:24:20.959 --> 02:24:24.879
voice as he replied, Lord knows, I've got enough my own to tend

1643
02:24:24.920 --> 02:24:31.520
to the youth, who had been
holding a bitter debate with himself and casting

1644
02:24:31.600 --> 02:24:35.639
glances of hatred and contempt at the
tattered man. Here spoke in a hard

1645
02:24:35.719 --> 02:24:41.159
voice. Goodbye, he said.
The tattered man looked at him in gaping

1646
02:24:41.200 --> 02:24:48.200
amazement. Why why, partner,
where you going? He asked unsteadily.

1647
02:24:48.120 --> 02:24:52.360
The youth looking at him, could
see that he, too, like that

1648
02:24:52.520 --> 02:24:56.079
other one, was beginning to act
dumb and animal like. His thoughts seemed

1649
02:24:56.079 --> 02:25:03.239
to be floundering about in his head. Now look look a here you,

1650
02:25:03.399 --> 02:25:11.159
Tom Jamieson. Now I won't have
this. This here won't do well.

1651
02:25:11.319 --> 02:25:16.600
Where where are you going? The
youth pointed vaguely over there? He replied,

1652
02:25:18.760 --> 02:25:22.239
Well, now look here now,
said the tattered man, rambling on

1653
02:25:22.360 --> 02:25:28.239
an idiot fashion. His head was
hanging forward and his words were slurred.

1654
02:25:28.360 --> 02:25:35.319
This thing won't do now, Tom
Jamieson, it won't do. I know

1655
02:25:35.520 --> 02:25:41.360
you, your pigheaded devil. You
want to go tromping off with a bad

1656
02:25:41.479 --> 02:25:48.520
hurt. It ain't right now,
Tom Jamison. It ain't you want to

1657
02:25:48.639 --> 02:25:52.680
leave me? Take care of you, Tom Jamison, It ain't right.

1658
02:25:54.159 --> 02:26:00.760
It ain't for you to go tromping
off with a bad hurt. It ain't

1659
02:26:01.639 --> 02:26:07.799
ain't ain't right, it ain't.
In reply, the youth clambed a fence

1660
02:26:07.840 --> 02:26:13.120
and started away. He could hear
the tattered man bleeding plaintively. Once he

1661
02:26:13.200 --> 02:26:20.200
faced about angrily. What look a
here now, Tom Jamieson, Now it

1662
02:26:20.239 --> 02:26:24.159
ain't The youth went on turning at
a distance, he saw the tattered man

1663
02:26:24.360 --> 02:26:30.520
wandering about helplessly in the field.
He now thought that he wished he was

1664
02:26:30.639 --> 02:26:35.639
dead. He believed he envied those
men whose bodies lay strewn over the grass

1665
02:26:35.639 --> 02:26:39.719
of the fields and on the fallen
leaves of the forest. The simple questions

1666
02:26:39.719 --> 02:26:45.559
of the tattered man had been knife
thrust to him. They asserted a society

1667
02:26:45.639 --> 02:26:52.399
that probes pitilessly at secrets until all
is apparent. His late companion's chance persistency

1668
02:26:52.479 --> 02:26:56.520
made him feel that he could not
keep his crime concealed in his bosom.

1669
02:26:56.120 --> 02:27:00.799
It was sure to be brought play
by one of those arrows which cloud the

1670
02:27:00.879 --> 02:27:05.879
air and are constantly pricking, discovering, proclaiming those things which are willed to

1671
02:27:05.920 --> 02:27:11.559
be forever hidden. He admitted that
he could not defend himself against this agency.

1672
02:27:11.639 --> 02:27:18.319
It was not within the power of
vigilance. End of chapter ten,

1673
02:27:26.360 --> 02:27:31.360
Chapter eleven of The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane. This is a

1674
02:27:31.399 --> 02:27:35.920
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are
in the public domain. For more information

1675
02:27:37.120 --> 02:27:41.680
or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox
dot org. This recording is by Mark

1676
02:27:41.760 --> 02:27:48.319
Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane,

1677
02:27:48.440 --> 02:27:54.799
Chapter eleven. He became aware that
the furnace roar of the battle was

1678
02:27:54.840 --> 02:28:01.200
growing louder. Great blown clouds had
floated to the still heights of air before

1679
02:28:01.280 --> 02:28:05.719
him. The noise, too was
approaching. The woods filtered men, and

1680
02:28:05.799 --> 02:28:09.840
the fields became dotted. As he
rounded a hillock, he perceived that the

1681
02:28:09.920 --> 02:28:16.559
roadway was now a crying mass of
wagons. Teams and men from the heaving

1682
02:28:16.600 --> 02:28:22.559
tangle issued exhortations, commands, imprecations. Fear was sweeping it all along.

1683
02:28:22.959 --> 02:28:28.799
The cracking whips bit and horses plunged
and tugged. The white topped wagons strained

1684
02:28:28.840 --> 02:28:33.280
and stumbled in their exertions like fat
sheep. The youth felt comforted in a

1685
02:28:33.319 --> 02:28:39.079
measure by this sight. They were
all retreating. Perhaps then he was not

1686
02:28:39.200 --> 02:28:43.280
so bad after all. He seated
himself and watched the terror stricken wagons.

1687
02:28:43.799 --> 02:28:50.479
They fled like soft, ungainly animals. All the roarers and lashers served to

1688
02:28:50.520 --> 02:28:54.120
help him to magnify the dangers and
horrors of the engagement, that he might

1689
02:28:54.120 --> 02:28:58.319
try to prove to himself that the
thing with which men could charge him was

1690
02:28:58.399 --> 02:29:03.120
in truth a symmetrical act. There
was an amount of pleasure to him in

1691
02:29:03.200 --> 02:29:09.600
watching the wild march of this vindication. Presently, the calm head of a

1692
02:29:09.760 --> 02:29:13.360
forward going column of infantry appeared in
the road. It came swiftly on,

1693
02:29:15.120 --> 02:29:18.840
avoiding the obstructions, gave it the
sinuous movement of a serpent. The men

1694
02:29:18.879 --> 02:29:24.239
at the head budded mules with their
musket stocks. They prodded seamsters indifferent to

1695
02:29:24.319 --> 02:29:28.959
all howls. The men forced their
way through parts of the dense mass by

1696
02:29:30.040 --> 02:29:35.040
strength. The blunt head of the
column pushed the raving teamsters swore many strange

1697
02:29:35.120 --> 02:29:39.799
oaths. The commands to make way
had the ring of a great importance in

1698
02:29:39.840 --> 02:29:43.680
them. The men were going forward
to the heart of the din. They

1699
02:29:43.719 --> 02:29:48.799
were to confront the eager rush of
the enemy. They felt the pride of

1700
02:29:48.840 --> 02:29:52.920
their onward movement. When the remainder
of the army seemed trying to dribble down

1701
02:29:52.920 --> 02:29:56.360
this road, they tumbled teams about
with a fine feeling that it was no

1702
02:29:56.440 --> 02:30:01.440
matter so long as their column got
to the front in time. This importance

1703
02:30:01.479 --> 02:30:07.120
made their faces grave and stern,
and the backs of the officers were very

1704
02:30:07.239 --> 02:30:11.200
rigid. As the youth looked at
them, the black weight of his woe

1705
02:30:11.280 --> 02:30:16.159
returned to him. He felt that
he was regarding a procession of chosen beings.

1706
02:30:16.680 --> 02:30:20.840
The separation was as great to him
as if they had marched with weapons

1707
02:30:20.840 --> 02:30:24.719
of flame and banners of sunlight.
He could never be like them, He

1708
02:30:24.760 --> 02:30:30.000
could have wept. In his longings. He searched about in his mind for

1709
02:30:30.040 --> 02:30:35.239
an adequate malediction for the indefinite cause, the thing upon which men turned the

1710
02:30:35.280 --> 02:30:41.399
words of final blame. It,
whatever it was, was responsible for him,

1711
02:30:41.520 --> 02:30:46.319
he said, there lay the fault. The haste of the column to

1712
02:30:46.360 --> 02:30:50.680
reach the battle. Seemed the forlorn
young man to be something much finer than

1713
02:30:50.760 --> 02:30:56.840
stout fighting heroes. He thought could
find excuses in that long, seething lane.

1714
02:30:56.319 --> 02:31:01.600
They could retire with perfect self respect
and excuses to the stars. He

1715
02:31:01.719 --> 02:31:05.600
wondered what those men had eaten that
they could be in such haste to force

1716
02:31:05.639 --> 02:31:11.879
their way to grim chances of death. As he watched his envy grew until

1717
02:31:11.920 --> 02:31:15.719
he thought that he wished to change
lives with one of them. He would

1718
02:31:15.760 --> 02:31:20.239
have liked to have used a tremendous
force, he said, They're off himself

1719
02:31:20.280 --> 02:31:26.639
and become a better swift. Pictures
of himself apart, yet in himself came

1720
02:31:26.680 --> 02:31:31.600
to him. A blue desperate figure
leading lurid charges with one knee forward and

1721
02:31:31.680 --> 02:31:37.559
a broken blade high. A blue
determined figure standing before a crimson and steel

1722
02:31:37.600 --> 02:31:43.040
assault, getting calmly killed on a
high place, before the eyes of all.

1723
02:31:43.799 --> 02:31:48.920
He thought of the magnificent pathos of
his dead body. These thoughts uplifted

1724
02:31:50.000 --> 02:31:54.319
him. He felt the quiver of
war desire in his ears. He heard

1725
02:31:54.319 --> 02:31:58.040
the ring of victory. He knew
the frenzy of a rapid successful charge.

1726
02:31:58.520 --> 02:32:03.159
The musick of the trampling feet,
the sharp voices, the clanking arms of

1727
02:32:03.200 --> 02:32:07.639
the column near him made him soar
on the red wings of war. For

1728
02:32:07.760 --> 02:32:13.680
a few moments he was sublime.
He thought that he was about to start

1729
02:32:13.719 --> 02:32:18.479
for the front. Indeed, he
saw a picture of himself, dust stained,

1730
02:32:18.719 --> 02:32:22.280
haggard, panting, flying to the
front at the proper moment to seize

1731
02:32:22.319 --> 02:32:28.559
and throttle the dark, leering witch
of calamity. Then the difficulties of the

1732
02:32:28.639 --> 02:32:33.840
thing began to drag at him.
He hesitated, balancing awkwardly on one foot.

1733
02:32:33.879 --> 02:32:37.840
He had no rifle. He could
not fight with his hands, said

1734
02:32:37.879 --> 02:32:43.040
he resentfully to his plan. Well, rifles could be had for the picking.

1735
02:32:43.360 --> 02:32:48.600
They were extraordinarily profuse. Also,
he continued, it would be a

1736
02:32:48.680 --> 02:32:54.239
miracle if he found his regiment well. He could fight with any regiment.

1737
02:32:54.079 --> 02:32:58.760
He started forward slowly. He stepped
as if he expected to tread upon some

1738
02:33:00.360 --> 02:33:05.719
explosive thing. Doubts and he were
struggling. He would truly be a worm

1739
02:33:05.799 --> 02:33:09.760
if any of his comrades should see
him returning. Thus the marks of his

1740
02:33:09.879 --> 02:33:15.719
flight upon him. There was a
reply that the intent fighters did not care

1741
02:33:15.799 --> 02:33:20.280
for what happened rearward, saving that
no hostile bayonets appeared there in the battle

1742
02:33:20.360 --> 02:33:24.440
blur, His face would in a
way be hidden like the face of a

1743
02:33:24.520 --> 02:33:31.079
cowled man. But then he said
that his tireless fate would bring forth when

1744
02:33:31.120 --> 02:33:35.520
the strife lulled for a moment a
man to ask of him an explanation in

1745
02:33:35.600 --> 02:33:41.559
imagination. He felt the scrutiny of
his companions as he painfully labored through some

1746
02:33:41.680 --> 02:33:48.360
lies Eventually his courage expended itself upon
these objections. The debates drained him of

1747
02:33:48.399 --> 02:33:52.879
his fire. He was not cast
down by this defeat of his plan,

1748
02:33:54.159 --> 02:33:58.879
for upon studying the affair carefully,
he could not but admit that the objection

1749
02:34:00.159 --> 02:34:05.559
were very formidable. Furthermore, various
ailments had begun to cry out. In

1750
02:34:05.639 --> 02:34:09.559
their presence, he could not persist
in flying high with the wings of war.

1751
02:34:11.239 --> 02:34:15.360
They rendered it almost impossible for him
to see himself in a heroic light.

1752
02:34:16.239 --> 02:34:20.920
He tumbled headlong. He discovered that
he had a scorching thirst. His

1753
02:34:22.079 --> 02:34:26.200
face was so dry and grimy that
he thought he could feel his skin crackle.

1754
02:34:26.079 --> 02:34:31.159
Each bone of his body had an
ache in it and seemingly threatened to

1755
02:34:31.200 --> 02:34:35.600
break with each movement. His feet
were like two sores. Also, his

1756
02:34:35.719 --> 02:34:41.040
body was calling for food. It
was more powerful than a direct hunger.

1757
02:34:41.559 --> 02:34:45.280
There was a dull, weight like
feeling in his stomach, and when he

1758
02:34:45.360 --> 02:34:50.079
tried to walk, his head swayed
and he tottered. He could not see

1759
02:34:50.079 --> 02:34:56.600
with distinctness. Small patches of green
mist floated before his vision. While he

1760
02:34:56.680 --> 02:35:00.680
had been tossed by many emotions,
he had not been aware of ailments.

1761
02:35:01.360 --> 02:35:05.079
Now they beset him and made clamor. As he was at last compelled to

1762
02:35:05.120 --> 02:35:11.079
pay attention to them, his capacity
for self hate was multiplied. In despair,

1763
02:35:11.440 --> 02:35:16.680
he declared that he was not like
those others. He now conceded it

1764
02:35:16.719 --> 02:35:20.399
to be impossible that he should ever
become a hero. He was a craven

1765
02:35:20.520 --> 02:35:26.239
loon. Those pictures of glory were
piteous things. He groaned from his heart

1766
02:35:26.280 --> 02:35:33.399
and went staggering off. A certain
mothlike quality within him kept him in the

1767
02:35:33.479 --> 02:35:37.000
vicinity of the battle. He had
a great desire to see and to get

1768
02:35:37.040 --> 02:35:43.959
news. He wished to know who
was winning. He told himself that despite

1769
02:35:43.000 --> 02:35:48.840
his unprecedented suffering, he had never
lost his greed for a victory. Yet,

1770
02:35:48.920 --> 02:35:54.639
he said in a half apologetic manner, to his conscience, he could

1771
02:35:54.680 --> 02:35:58.360
not but know that a defeat for
the army this time might mean many favorable

1772
02:35:58.440 --> 02:36:03.680
things for him. The blows of
the enemy would splinter regiments into fragments.

1773
02:36:05.399 --> 02:36:09.719
Thus, many men of courage,
he considered, would be obliged to desert

1774
02:36:09.760 --> 02:36:13.280
the colors and scurry like chickens.
He would appear as one of them.

1775
02:36:15.200 --> 02:36:18.440
They would be sullen brothers in distress, and he could then easily believe he

1776
02:36:18.440 --> 02:36:24.280
had not run any farther or faster
than they, And if he himself could

1777
02:36:24.280 --> 02:36:28.079
believe in his virtuous perfection, he
conceived that there would be small trouble in

1778
02:36:28.200 --> 02:36:33.799
convincing all others. He said,
as if an excuse for this hope,

1779
02:36:35.239 --> 02:36:39.120
that previously the army had encountered great
defeats, and in a few months had

1780
02:36:39.120 --> 02:36:45.079
shaken off all blood and tradition of
them, emerging as bright and valiant as

1781
02:36:45.120 --> 02:36:48.799
a new one, thrusting out of
sight the memory of disaster, and appearing

1782
02:36:48.840 --> 02:36:54.680
with the valor and confidence of unconquered
legions. The shrilling voices of the people

1783
02:36:54.760 --> 02:37:01.040
at home would pipe dismally for a
time, but various generals were usually compelled

1784
02:37:01.079 --> 02:37:05.239
to listen to these ditties. He
of course felt no compunctions for proposing a

1785
02:37:05.360 --> 02:37:11.200
general as a sacrifice. He could
not tell who the chosen for the barbs

1786
02:37:11.280 --> 02:37:16.399
might be, so he would center
no direct sympathy upon him. The people

1787
02:37:16.440 --> 02:37:20.520
were afar, and he did not
conceive public opinion to be accurate. At

1788
02:37:20.559 --> 02:37:24.319
long range. It was quite probable
they would hit the wrong man, who,

1789
02:37:24.719 --> 02:37:28.959
after he had recovered from his amazement, would perhaps spend the rest of

1790
02:37:28.959 --> 02:37:35.479
his days in writing replies to the
songs of his alleged failure. It would

1791
02:37:35.520 --> 02:37:39.559
be very unfortunate, no doubt,
But in this case a general was of

1792
02:37:39.600 --> 02:37:43.959
no consequence to the youth. In
a defeat, there would be a roundabout

1793
02:37:45.079 --> 02:37:48.760
vindication of himself. He thought.
It would prove in a manner that he

1794
02:37:48.799 --> 02:37:54.520
had fled early because of his superior
powers of perception. A serious prophet,

1795
02:37:54.600 --> 02:38:00.360
upon predicting a flood, should be
the first man to climb a tree would

1796
02:38:00.360 --> 02:38:05.079
demonstrate that he was indeed a seer. A moral vindication was regarded by the

1797
02:38:05.120 --> 02:38:11.479
youth as a very important thing.
Without save he could not, he thought,

1798
02:38:11.000 --> 02:38:16.479
where the sore badge of his dishonor
through life with his heart continually assuring

1799
02:38:16.559 --> 02:38:22.319
him that he was despicable. He
could not exist without making it through his

1800
02:38:22.399 --> 02:38:28.280
actions apparent to all men. If
the army had gone gloriously on, he

1801
02:38:28.319 --> 02:38:33.079
would be lost. If the din
meant that now his army's flags were tilted

1802
02:38:33.159 --> 02:38:37.520
forward, he was a condemned wretch. He would be compelled to do himself

1803
02:38:37.559 --> 02:38:43.959
to isolation. If the men were
advancing, their indifferent feet were trampling upon

1804
02:38:43.040 --> 02:38:50.280
his chances for a successful life.
As these thoughts went rapidly through his mind.

1805
02:38:50.680 --> 02:38:54.239
He turned upon them and tried to
thrust them away. He denounced himself

1806
02:38:54.280 --> 02:39:00.200
as a villain. He said that
he was the most unutterably selfish man in

1807
02:39:00.280 --> 02:39:05.600
existence. His mind pictured the soldiers
who would placed their defiant bodies before the

1808
02:39:05.639 --> 02:39:09.479
spear of the yelling battle fiend,
and as he saw their dripping corpses on

1809
02:39:09.520 --> 02:39:16.680
an imagined field, he said that
he was their murderer. Again, he

1810
02:39:16.760 --> 02:39:20.200
thought that he wished he was dead. He believed that he envied a corpse.

1811
02:39:22.079 --> 02:39:26.000
Thinking of the slain, he achieved
a great contempt for some of them,

1812
02:39:26.399 --> 02:39:30.840
as if they were guilty for thus
becoming lifeless. They might have been

1813
02:39:30.920 --> 02:39:35.920
killed by lucky chances, he said, before they had had opportunities to flee,

1814
02:39:35.360 --> 02:39:41.120
or before they had been really tested. Yet they would receive laurels from

1815
02:39:41.159 --> 02:39:46.799
tradition. He cried out bitterly that
their crowns were stolen and their robes of

1816
02:39:46.840 --> 02:39:52.280
glorious memories were shams. However,
he still said that it was a great

1817
02:39:52.319 --> 02:39:58.079
pity he was not as they a
defeat of the army had suggested itself to

1818
02:39:58.159 --> 02:40:03.239
him as a means of escape from
the consequences of his fall. He considered

1819
02:40:03.319 --> 02:40:07.079
now, however, that it was
useless to think of such a possibility.

1820
02:40:07.200 --> 02:40:13.399
His education had been that success for
that mighty blue machine, was certain that

1821
02:40:13.520 --> 02:40:18.440
it would make victories. As a
contrivance turns out buttons. He presently discarded

1822
02:40:18.479 --> 02:40:24.479
all his speculations in the other direction. He returned to the creed of soldiers.

1823
02:40:24.680 --> 02:40:28.120
When he perceived again that it was
not possible for the army to be

1824
02:40:28.200 --> 02:40:33.760
defeated, he tried to bethink him
of a fine tale which he could take

1825
02:40:33.799 --> 02:40:37.239
back to his regiment, and with
it turned the expected shafts of derision.

1826
02:40:39.399 --> 02:40:43.399
But as he mortally feared these shafts, it became impossible for him to invent

1827
02:40:43.440 --> 02:40:48.399
a tale he felt he could trust. He experimented with many schemes, but

1828
02:40:48.520 --> 02:40:54.600
threw them aside one by one as
flimsy. He was quick to see vulnerable

1829
02:40:54.680 --> 02:41:00.559
places in them all. Furthermore,
he was much afraid that some arrow scorn

1830
02:41:00.680 --> 02:41:05.200
might lay him mentally low before he
could raise his protecting tale. He imagined

1831
02:41:05.239 --> 02:41:09.760
the whole regiment saying, where's Henry
Fleming? He run? Didn't he?

1832
02:41:11.079 --> 02:41:15.959
Oh? My? He recalled various
persons who would be quite sure to leave

1833
02:41:16.079 --> 02:41:20.239
him no peace about it. They
would doubtless question him with sneers and laugh

1834
02:41:20.280 --> 02:41:26.040
at his stammering hesitation. In the
next engagement, they would try to keep

1835
02:41:26.079 --> 02:41:31.040
watch of him to discover when he
would run. Whenever he was in camp,

1836
02:41:31.239 --> 02:41:37.440
he would encounter insolent and lingeringly cruel
stairs. As he imagined himself passing

1837
02:41:37.479 --> 02:41:41.920
near a crowd of comrades, he
could hear one say, there he goes.

1838
02:41:43.000 --> 02:41:46.479
Then, as if the heads were
moved by one muscle, all the

1839
02:41:46.600 --> 02:41:50.879
faces were turned toward him with wide, derisive grins. He seemed to hear

1840
02:41:50.959 --> 02:41:56.920
someone make a humorous remark in a
low tone at it. The others all

1841
02:41:56.000 --> 02:42:09.639
crowed and cackled. He was a
slang for end of chapter eleven Chapter twelve

1842
02:42:09.799 --> 02:42:16.280
of The Red Badge of Courage by
Stephen Crane. This is the LibriVox recording.

1843
02:42:16.600 --> 02:42:20.959
All LibriVox recordings are in the public
domain. For more information or to

1844
02:42:20.040 --> 02:42:26.520
volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. This recording is by Mark Smith of

1845
02:42:26.600 --> 02:42:31.399
Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red
Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter

1846
02:42:31.479 --> 02:42:37.520
twelve. The column that had budded
stoutly at the obstacles in the roadway was

1847
02:42:37.639 --> 02:42:43.280
barely out of the youth's site before
he saw dark waves of men come sweeping

1848
02:42:43.280 --> 02:42:46.079
out of the woods and down through
the fields. He knew at once that

1849
02:42:46.200 --> 02:42:50.840
the steel fibers have been washed from
their hearts. They were bursting from their

1850
02:42:50.879 --> 02:42:56.399
coats and their equipments as from entanglements. They charged down upon him like terrified

1851
02:42:56.440 --> 02:43:03.760
buffaloes. Behind them, blue smoke
curled and clouded above the tree tops and

1852
02:43:03.920 --> 02:43:07.920
through the thickets. He could sometimes
see a distant pink blare. The voices

1853
02:43:07.959 --> 02:43:13.520
of the cannons were clamoring an interminable
chorus. The youth was horror stricken.

1854
02:43:15.079 --> 02:43:18.959
He stared in agony and amazement.
He forgot that he was engaged in combating

1855
02:43:18.959 --> 02:43:24.959
the universe. He threw aside his
mental pamphlets on the philosophy of the Retreated

1856
02:43:24.479 --> 02:43:28.959
and Rules for the Guidance of the
damned. The fight was lost. The

1857
02:43:30.079 --> 02:43:35.520
dragons were coming with invincible strides.
The army, helpless in the matted thickets

1858
02:43:35.559 --> 02:43:39.559
and blinded by the overhanging night,
was going to be swallowed. War,

1859
02:43:39.879 --> 02:43:48.120
the red animal war, the blood
swollen God would have bloated fill within him.

1860
02:43:48.159 --> 02:43:52.719
Something bade to cry out. He
had the impulse to make a rallying

1861
02:43:52.799 --> 02:43:56.559
speech, to sing a battle him, but he could only get his tongue

1862
02:43:56.600 --> 02:44:01.319
to call into the air, Oh, why, why, what's the matter?

1863
02:44:01.440 --> 02:44:05.200
Sony was in the midst of them. They were leaping and scampering all

1864
02:44:05.239 --> 02:44:09.879
about him. Their blanched faces shone
in the dusk. They seemed, for

1865
02:44:09.879 --> 02:44:15.000
the most part to be very burly
men. The youth turned from one to

1866
02:44:15.079 --> 02:44:20.520
another of them as they galloped along. His incoherent questions were lost. They

1867
02:44:20.520 --> 02:44:24.879
were heedless of his appeals. They
did not seem to see him. They

1868
02:44:24.959 --> 02:44:31.280
sometimes gabbled insanely. One huge man
was asking of the sky, say where

1869
02:44:31.280 --> 02:44:35.239
de plank road? Where to plank
road? It was as if he had

1870
02:44:35.280 --> 02:44:41.399
lost a child. He wept in
his pain, in dismay. Presently,

1871
02:44:41.440 --> 02:44:46.760
men were running hither and thither in
all ways. The artillery booming forward,

1872
02:44:46.959 --> 02:44:52.440
rearward, and on the flanks,
made jumble of ideas at direction. Landmarks

1873
02:44:52.479 --> 02:44:56.079
had vanished into the gathered gloom.
The youth began to imagine that he had

1874
02:44:56.120 --> 02:45:01.559
got into the center of the tremendous
quarrel, and he could perceive no way

1875
02:45:01.639 --> 02:45:05.920
out of it. From the mouths
of them fleeing men came a thousand wild

1876
02:45:05.000 --> 02:45:09.799
questions, but no one made answers. The youth, after rushing about and

1877
02:45:09.840 --> 02:45:16.680
throwing interrogations at the heedless bands of
retreating infantry, finally clutched a man by

1878
02:45:16.680 --> 02:45:22.719
the arm. He swung around face
to face. Why why, stammered the

1879
02:45:22.760 --> 02:45:26.399
youth. Struggling with his balking tongue, the man screamed, let go me,

1880
02:45:26.840 --> 02:45:31.680
let go me. His face was
livid and his eyes were rolling uncontrolled.

1881
02:45:33.159 --> 02:45:37.559
He was heaving and panting. He
still grasped his rifle, perhaps having

1882
02:45:37.600 --> 02:45:41.920
forgotten to release his hold upon it. He tugged frantically, and the youth,

1883
02:45:41.959 --> 02:45:46.399
being compelled to lean forward, was
dragged several paces. Let go me,

1884
02:45:46.959 --> 02:45:52.520
Let go me? Why why?
Stuttered the youth well then bawled the

1885
02:45:52.559 --> 02:45:58.799
man in a lurid rage. He
adroitly and fiercely swung his rifle. It

1886
02:45:58.920 --> 02:46:03.040
crushed upon the youth his head.
The man ran on the youth, fingers

1887
02:46:03.040 --> 02:46:07.520
had turned to paste upon the other's
arm. The energy was smitten from his

1888
02:46:07.639 --> 02:46:13.120
muscles. He saw the flaming wings
of lightning flash before his vision. There

1889
02:46:13.200 --> 02:46:18.239
was a deafening rumble of thunder within
his head. Suddenly, his legs seemed

1890
02:46:18.280 --> 02:46:24.040
to die. He sank, writhing
to the ground. He tried to arise

1891
02:46:24.719 --> 02:46:28.360
in his efforts against the numbing pain. He was like a man wrestling with

1892
02:46:28.399 --> 02:46:33.840
a creature of the air. There
was a sinister struggle. Sometimes he would

1893
02:46:33.879 --> 02:46:37.319
achieve a position half erect, battle
with the air for a moment, and

1894
02:46:37.360 --> 02:46:43.319
then fall again. Grabbing at the
grass. His face was of a clammy

1895
02:46:43.399 --> 02:46:48.840
pallor deep groans were wrenched from him. At last, with a twisting movement,

1896
02:46:48.879 --> 02:46:54.159
he got upon his hands and knees, and from thence like a babe,

1897
02:46:54.159 --> 02:46:58.600
trying to walk to his feet.
Pressing his hands to his temples,

1898
02:46:58.639 --> 02:47:03.239
he went lurching over the grass.
He fought an intense battle with his body.

1899
02:47:03.959 --> 02:47:09.239
His dulled senses wished him to swoon, and he opposed them stubbornly,

1900
02:47:09.879 --> 02:47:13.879
his mind portraying unknown dangers and mutilations. If he should fall upon the field,

1901
02:47:15.719 --> 02:47:20.879
he went tall, soldier fashion.
He imagined secluded spots where he could

1902
02:47:20.879 --> 02:47:24.680
fall and be unmolested. To search
for one, he strove against the tide

1903
02:47:24.680 --> 02:47:28.799
of pain. Once he put his
hand to the top of his head and

1904
02:47:28.920 --> 02:47:35.319
timidly touched the wound. The scratching
pain of the contact made him draw a

1905
02:47:35.360 --> 02:47:39.399
long breath through his clenched teeth.
His fingers were dabbled with blood. He

1906
02:47:39.520 --> 02:47:45.280
regarded them with a fixed stare.
Around him, he could hear the grumble

1907
02:47:45.280 --> 02:47:50.920
of jolted cannon as the scurrying horses
were lashed toward the front. Once a

1908
02:47:50.040 --> 02:47:56.079
young officer on a besplashed charger nearly
ran him down. He turned and watched

1909
02:47:56.120 --> 02:48:01.159
the mass of guns men and horses
sweeping in a wide curve toward a gap

1910
02:48:01.200 --> 02:48:05.920
in a fence. The officer was
making excited motions with a gauntletted hand.

1911
02:48:05.600 --> 02:48:11.680
The guns followed the teams with an
air of unwillingness, of being dragged by

1912
02:48:11.680 --> 02:48:18.280
the heels. Some officers of the
scattered infantry were cursing and railing like fishwives.

1913
02:48:18.879 --> 02:48:24.120
Their scolding voices could be heard above
the din. Into the unspeakable jumble

1914
02:48:24.159 --> 02:48:28.159
in the roadway rode a squadron of
cavalry. The faded yellow of their facings

1915
02:48:28.239 --> 02:48:35.440
shone bravely. There was a mighty
altercation. The artillery were assembling as if

1916
02:48:35.520 --> 02:48:41.200
for a conference. The blue haze
of evening was upon the field. The

1917
02:48:41.319 --> 02:48:46.479
lines of forest were long purple shadows. One cloud lay along the western sky,

1918
02:48:46.639 --> 02:48:50.440
partly smothering the red. As the
youth left the scene behind him,

1919
02:48:50.440 --> 02:48:56.600
he heard the guns suddenly roar out. He imagined them shaking in black rage.

1920
02:48:56.239 --> 02:49:01.280
They belched and howled like brass devils
guarding a gate. The soft air

1921
02:49:01.360 --> 02:49:07.959
was filled with the tremendous remonstrance.
With it came the shattering peal of opposing

1922
02:49:07.040 --> 02:49:11.959
infantry. Turning to look behind him, he could see sheets of orange light

1923
02:49:13.159 --> 02:49:18.520
illumine the shadowy distance. There were
subtle and sudden lightnings in the far air.

1924
02:49:18.280 --> 02:49:24.399
At times he thought he could see
heaving masses of men. He hurried

1925
02:49:24.440 --> 02:49:28.319
on in the dusk. The day
had faded until he could barely distinguish place

1926
02:49:28.399 --> 02:49:33.520
for his feet. The purple darkness
was filled with men who lectured and jabbered.

1927
02:49:35.239 --> 02:49:39.200
Sometimes he could see them gesticulating against
the blue and somber sky. There

1928
02:49:39.239 --> 02:49:43.159
seemed to be a great ruck of
men and munitions spread about in the forest

1929
02:49:43.319 --> 02:49:50.479
and in the fields. The little
narrow roadway now lay lifeless. There were

1930
02:49:50.559 --> 02:49:56.600
overturned wagons like sundry boulders. The
bed of the former torrent was choked with

1931
02:49:56.680 --> 02:50:01.360
the bodies of horses and splintered parts
of war machines. It had come to

1932
02:50:01.440 --> 02:50:07.120
pass that his wound pained him but
little. He was afraid to move rapidly,

1933
02:50:07.159 --> 02:50:11.719
however, for a dread of disturbing
it. He held his head very

1934
02:50:11.799 --> 02:50:18.040
still and took many precautions against stumbling. He was filled with anxiety, and

1935
02:50:18.159 --> 02:50:22.440
his face was pinched and drawn in
anticipation of the pain of any sudden mistake

1936
02:50:22.520 --> 02:50:28.319
of his feet. In the gloom, his thoughts as he walked fixed intently

1937
02:50:28.440 --> 02:50:33.959
upon his hurt. There was a
cool, liquid feeling about it, and

1938
02:50:33.079 --> 02:50:39.639
he imagined blood moving slowly down under
his hair. His head seemed swollen to

1939
02:50:39.680 --> 02:50:43.879
a size that made him think his
neck to be inadequate. The new silence

1940
02:50:43.959 --> 02:50:48.920
of his wound made much worriment.
The little, blistering voices of pain that

1941
02:50:50.000 --> 02:50:54.440
had called out from his scalp were
he thought definite in their expression of danger.

1942
02:50:56.399 --> 02:51:00.440
By them, he believed he could
measure his plight. But when they

1943
02:51:00.479 --> 02:51:05.440
remained ominously silent, he became frightened
and imagined terrible fingers that clutched into his

1944
02:51:05.559 --> 02:51:13.200
brain. Amid it, he began
to reflect upon various incidents and conditions of

1945
02:51:13.239 --> 02:51:16.719
the past. He bethought him of
certain meals as mother had cooked at home,

1946
02:51:18.239 --> 02:51:22.559
in which those dishes of which he
was particularly fond had occupied prominent positions.

1947
02:51:24.479 --> 02:51:28.120
He saw the spread table. The
pine walls of the kitchen were glowing

1948
02:51:28.200 --> 02:51:33.680
in the warm light from the stove. Two. He remembered how he and

1949
02:51:33.760 --> 02:51:37.440
his companions used to go from the
schoolhouse to the bank of a shaded pool.

1950
02:51:39.360 --> 02:51:43.079
He saw his clothes in disorderly array
upon the grass of the bank.

1951
02:51:43.879 --> 02:51:48.079
He felt the swash of the fragrant
water upon his body. The leaves of

1952
02:51:48.120 --> 02:51:56.360
the overhanging maple rustled with melody in
the wind of youthful summer. He was

1953
02:51:56.440 --> 02:52:01.920
overcome presently by a dragging weariness.
His head hung forward, and his shoulders

1954
02:52:01.920 --> 02:52:05.879
were stooped, as if he were
bearing a great bundle. His feet shuffled

1955
02:52:05.879 --> 02:52:11.079
along the ground. He held continuous
arguments as to whether he should lie down

1956
02:52:11.120 --> 02:52:16.760
and sleep at some near spot,
or force himself on until he reached a

1957
02:52:16.879 --> 02:52:22.879
certain haven. He often tried to
dismiss the question, but his body persisted

1958
02:52:22.920 --> 02:52:28.639
in rebellion, and his senses nagged
at him like pamper babies. At last,

1959
02:52:28.680 --> 02:52:31.239
he heard a cheery voice near his
shoulder. He seemed to be in

1960
02:52:31.280 --> 02:52:35.200
a pretty bad way. Boy the
youth did not look up, but he

1961
02:52:35.280 --> 02:52:41.040
assented with a thick tongue. Uh. The owner of the cheery voice took

1962
02:52:41.120 --> 02:52:45.879
him firmly by the arm. Well, he said, with a round laugh,

1963
02:52:46.319 --> 02:52:50.440
I'm going your way. The whole
gang is going your way, and

1964
02:52:50.559 --> 02:52:54.200
I guess I can give you a
lift. They began to walk like a

1965
02:52:54.280 --> 02:52:58.239
drunken man and his friend. As
they went along, the man questioned the

1966
02:52:58.280 --> 02:53:03.280
youth and assist did him with the
replies like one manipulating the mind of a

1967
02:53:03.360 --> 02:53:09.520
child. Sometimes he interjected anecdotes,
what regiment do you belong to? Eh?

1968
02:53:09.559 --> 02:53:13.360
What's that? The three or fourth? New York? Why? What

1969
02:53:13.559 --> 02:53:18.600
core is that? In? Oh? It is why I thought they wasn't

1970
02:53:18.639 --> 02:53:26.040
engaged today? They're way over in
the center. Oh they was, Eh,

1971
02:53:26.079 --> 02:53:30.120
Well, nearly everybody got their share
of fighting today. By Dad,

1972
02:53:30.200 --> 02:53:33.600
I'd give myself up for dead.
Any number of times there was shooting here

1973
02:53:33.639 --> 02:53:39.920
and shooting there, and hollering here
and hollering there in the damned darkness until

1974
02:53:39.959 --> 02:53:43.319
I could tell, to save my
soul which side I was on. Sometimes

1975
02:53:43.319 --> 02:53:48.159
I thought I was sure enough from
Ohio, and other times I could have

1976
02:53:48.239 --> 02:53:52.639
swore I was from the bitter end
of Florida. It was the most mixed

1977
02:53:52.680 --> 02:53:56.559
up during thing I ever see,
And these here hall woods is a regular

1978
02:53:56.719 --> 02:54:01.920
mess. It'll be a miracle if
we find our regiments tonight. Pretty soon,

1979
02:54:01.959 --> 02:54:07.079
though, we'll meet a plenty of
guards and provost guards and one thing

1980
02:54:07.159 --> 02:54:09.959
or another. Oh, there we
go with an officer. I guess,

1981
02:54:11.520 --> 02:54:15.239
look at his hand a dragon.
He's got all the war he wants.

1982
02:54:15.319 --> 02:54:20.159
I bet he won't be talking so
big about his reputation and all when they

1983
02:54:20.200 --> 02:54:24.559
go to saw and off his leg. Poor feller, My brother's got whiskers

1984
02:54:24.639 --> 02:54:30.520
just like that. How did you
get away over here? Anyhow? Your

1985
02:54:30.559 --> 02:54:33.280
regiment is a long way from here, ain't it? Well? I guess

1986
02:54:33.319 --> 02:54:37.600
we can find it. You know, there was a boy killed in my

1987
02:54:37.680 --> 02:54:41.920
company today that I thought the world
done all of Jack was a nice feller

1988
02:54:43.600 --> 02:54:48.120
by Ginger. It hurt like thunder
to see old Jack just get knocked flat.

1989
02:54:48.879 --> 02:54:52.879
We was a standing pretty peaceful for
a spell, though there was men

1990
02:54:52.000 --> 02:54:56.200
running every which way all around us. And while we was a standing like

1991
02:54:56.280 --> 02:55:01.840
that, long come a big fat
feller. He began to peck at Jack's

1992
02:55:01.840 --> 02:55:05.680
elbow, and he says, say, where's the road to the river?

1993
02:55:05.440 --> 02:55:09.040
And Jack he never paid no attention, and the feller kept on a peckin

1994
02:55:09.120 --> 02:55:13.719
at his elbow and sayin', say, where's the road to the river?

1995
02:55:13.799 --> 02:55:18.319
Jack was a lookin ahead all the
time, tryin to see the Johnnies comin

1996
02:55:18.399 --> 02:55:22.319
through the wood. And he never
paid no attention to this big fat feller

1997
02:55:22.399 --> 02:55:26.159
for a long time. But at
last he turned round, and he says,

1998
02:55:26.799 --> 02:55:28.959
ah, go to hell an find
the road to the river. And

1999
02:55:30.200 --> 02:55:33.159
just then a shot slapped him bang
on the side of the head. He

2000
02:55:33.360 --> 02:55:39.799
was a sergeant too, them was
his last words. Thunder, I wish

2001
02:55:39.840 --> 02:55:45.440
we was sure a findin our regiments
to night. It's gonna be long huntin',

2002
02:55:45.440 --> 02:55:48.719
but I guess we can do it. In the search which followed,

2003
02:55:48.719 --> 02:55:52.319
the man of the cheery voice seemed
to the youth to possess the wand of

2004
02:55:52.360 --> 02:55:58.559
a magic kind. He threaded the
mazes of this tangled forest with a strange

2005
02:55:58.639 --> 02:56:03.000
fortune. In encounters with guards and
patrols, he displayed the keenness of a

2006
02:56:03.079 --> 02:56:09.200
detective and the valor of a gabin
Obstacles fell before him and became of assistance.

2007
02:56:09.879 --> 02:56:13.959
The youth, with his chin still
on his breast, stood woodenly by

2008
02:56:15.079 --> 02:56:20.840
while his companion beat ways and means
out of sullen things. The forest seemed

2009
02:56:20.879 --> 02:56:26.159
a vast hive of men buzzing about
in frantic circles. But the cheery man

2010
02:56:26.159 --> 02:56:30.920
conducted the youth without mistakes, until
at last he began to chuckle with glee

2011
02:56:30.959 --> 02:56:35.799
and self satisfaction. Ah, there
you are, see that fire. The

2012
02:56:35.840 --> 02:56:39.920
youth nodded stupidly. Well, there's
where your regiment is, and now good

2013
02:56:41.000 --> 02:56:45.239
bye, old boy, good luck
to you. A warm and strong hand

2014
02:56:45.360 --> 02:56:48.920
clasped the youth's languid fingers for an
instant, and then he heard a cheerful

2015
02:56:50.000 --> 02:56:54.680
and audacious whistling as the man strode
away. As he who had so befriended

2016
02:56:54.760 --> 02:56:58.799
him, was thus passing out of
his life, it suddenly occurred to the

2017
02:56:58.799 --> 02:57:05.239
youth that he had not once seen
his face. End of chapter twelve,

2018
02:57:11.719 --> 02:57:18.319
Chapter thirteen of The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane. This is a

2019
02:57:18.360 --> 02:57:24.719
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are
in the public domain. For more information

2020
02:57:24.879 --> 02:57:30.079
or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox
dot org. This recording is by Mark

2021
02:57:30.159 --> 02:57:35.280
Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
The ret Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane,

2022
02:57:35.559 --> 02:57:41.879
Chapter thirteen. The youth went slowly
toward the fire, indicated by his

2023
02:57:41.959 --> 02:57:46.600
departed friend. As he reeled,
he bethought him of the welcome his comrades

2024
02:57:46.639 --> 02:57:50.200
would give him. He had a
conviction that he would soon feel in his

2025
02:57:50.280 --> 02:57:56.200
sore heart the barbed missiles of ridicule. He had no strength to invent a

2026
02:57:56.280 --> 02:58:01.239
tale. He would be a soft
target. He made vague plans to go

2027
02:58:01.280 --> 02:58:05.479
off into the deeper darkness and hide, but they were all destroyed by the

2028
02:58:05.600 --> 02:58:11.040
voices of exhaustion and pain from his
body. His ailments clamoring forced him to

2029
02:58:11.040 --> 02:58:16.920
seek the place of food and rest
at whatever cost. He swung unsteadily toward

2030
02:58:16.959 --> 02:58:22.239
the fire. He could see the
forms of men throwing black shadows in the

2031
02:58:22.280 --> 02:58:26.000
red light, and as he went
nearer, it became known to him in

2032
02:58:26.040 --> 02:58:30.680
some way that the ground was strewn
with sleeping men. All of a sudden

2033
02:58:30.680 --> 02:58:35.879
he confronted a black and monstrous figure. A rifle barrel caught some glinting beams.

2034
02:58:35.440 --> 02:58:39.639
Halt, Halt. He was dismayed
for a moment, but he presently

2035
02:58:39.680 --> 02:58:45.680
thought that he recognized the nervous voice. As he stood tottering before the rifle

2036
02:58:45.719 --> 02:58:52.040
barrel, he called out, why, hello, Wilson, you hear The

2037
02:58:52.120 --> 02:58:56.399
rifle was lowered to a position of
caution, and the loud soldier came slowly

2038
02:58:56.399 --> 02:59:01.079
forward. He peered into the youth's
face, at you, Henry. Yes,

2039
02:59:01.440 --> 02:59:07.200
it's me. Well, well,
oh boy, said the other Bye,

2040
02:59:07.280 --> 02:59:09.840
chance er, I'm glad to see
you. I give you up for

2041
02:59:09.920 --> 02:59:15.520
a goner. I thought you was
dead sure enough. There was husky emotion

2042
02:59:15.600 --> 02:59:20.000
in his voice. The youth found
that now he could barely stand upon his

2043
02:59:20.079 --> 02:59:24.520
feet. There was a sudden sinking
of his forces. He thought he must

2044
02:59:24.520 --> 02:59:28.239
hasten to produce his tale to protect
him from the missiles already on the lips

2045
02:59:28.239 --> 02:59:33.639
of his redoubtable comrades. So staggering
before the loud soldier, he began,

2046
02:59:35.600 --> 02:59:39.479
Yes, Yes, I've had an
awful time. I've been all over,

2047
02:59:41.120 --> 02:59:45.959
way over on the right, terrible
fighting over there. I had an awful

2048
02:59:46.040 --> 02:59:50.799
time. I got separated from the
regiment over on the right. I got

2049
02:59:50.840 --> 02:59:58.440
shot in the head. I never
see such fighting, awful time. I

2050
02:59:58.440 --> 03:00:01.959
don't see how I could have got
operated from the regiment. I got shot

2051
03:00:03.079 --> 03:00:07.879
too. His friend had stepped forward
quickly. What got shot? Why didn't

2052
03:00:07.879 --> 03:00:13.120
you just say so? First,
poor old boy, we must hold on

2053
03:00:13.200 --> 03:00:16.719
a minute. What am I doing? I'll call Simpson. Another figure at

2054
03:00:16.760 --> 03:00:20.639
that moment loomed in the gloom.
They could see that it was the corporal.

2055
03:00:22.159 --> 03:00:26.319
Oho, you're talking to Wilson,
he demanded. His voice was angered,

2056
03:00:26.360 --> 03:00:31.760
toned. Who you're talking to?
You're the Dernedist Sentinel. Why hello,

2057
03:00:31.879 --> 03:00:35.440
Henry? You here? Why I
thought you was dead four hours ago?

2058
03:00:37.159 --> 03:00:41.399
Great Jerusalem. They keep turning up
every ten minutes or so. We

2059
03:00:41.559 --> 03:00:45.440
thought we'd lost forty two men by
straight count. But if they keep on

2060
03:00:45.479 --> 03:00:48.920
a comin this way, we'll get
the company all back by morning. Yet,

2061
03:00:48.319 --> 03:00:54.639
where was you over on the right? I got separated? Began the

2062
03:00:54.680 --> 03:01:01.360
youth, with considerable glibness. But
his friend had interrupted hastily. Yes,

2063
03:01:01.440 --> 03:01:03.399
and he got shot in the head. He used a a fix, and

2064
03:01:03.520 --> 03:01:07.399
we must see to him right away. He rested his rifle in the hollow

2065
03:01:07.440 --> 03:01:11.479
of his left arm, and his
right around the youth's shoulder. Gee,

2066
03:01:11.520 --> 03:01:16.559
it must hurt like thunder, he
said. The youth leaned heavily upon his

2067
03:01:16.680 --> 03:01:22.719
friend. Yes, it hurts,
hurts a good deal, he replied.

2068
03:01:22.360 --> 03:01:26.959
There was a faltering in his voice. Oh, said the corporal. He

2069
03:01:28.079 --> 03:01:31.600
linked his arm in the youths and
drew him forward. Come on, Henry,

2070
03:01:31.639 --> 03:01:35.719
I'll take care of you. As
they went on together, the loud

2071
03:01:35.799 --> 03:01:39.079
private called out after them. Put
him to sleep in my blanket, Simpson,

2072
03:01:39.239 --> 03:01:45.399
and hold I'm at Here's my canteen
is full of coffee. Look at

2073
03:01:45.479 --> 03:01:48.920
his head by the fire. See
how it looks. Maybe it's a pretty

2074
03:01:48.959 --> 03:01:52.319
battun. When I get relieved in
a couple of minutes, I'll be over

2075
03:01:52.399 --> 03:01:56.959
and to see to him. The
youth senses were so deadened that his friend's

2076
03:01:56.040 --> 03:02:01.120
voice sounded from afar, and he
could scarcely feel the pressure of the corporal's

2077
03:02:01.200 --> 03:02:05.879
arm. He submitted passively to the
latter's directing strength. His head was in

2078
03:02:05.920 --> 03:02:11.719
the old manner, hanging forward upon
his breast, his knees wobbled. The

2079
03:02:11.799 --> 03:02:16.719
corporal led him into the glare of
the fire. Now, Henry, he

2080
03:02:16.840 --> 03:02:20.680
said, let's have look at your
old head. The youth sat obediently,

2081
03:02:20.680 --> 03:02:24.680
and the corporal, laying aside his
rifle, began to fumble in the bushy

2082
03:02:24.719 --> 03:02:28.879
hair of his comrade. He was
obliged to turn the other's head so the

2083
03:02:28.879 --> 03:02:33.200
full flush of the firelight would beam
upon it. He puckered his mouth with

2084
03:02:33.239 --> 03:02:37.360
a critical air. He drew back
his lips and whistled through his teeth when

2085
03:02:37.440 --> 03:02:43.799
his fingers came in contact with the
splashed blood and the rare wound. Ah,

2086
03:02:43.840 --> 03:02:48.799
here we are, he said,
He awkwardly made further investigations. Just

2087
03:02:50.000 --> 03:02:54.280
as I thought, he added,
Presently, you've been grazed by a ball.

2088
03:02:54.879 --> 03:02:58.319
It's raised a queer lump, just
as if some fellerhead lambed Joe on

2089
03:02:58.399 --> 03:03:03.280
the head with a club it stopped
bleeding long time ago. The most about

2090
03:03:03.319 --> 03:03:07.479
it is that in the morning you'll
feel that a number ten hat wouldn't fit

2091
03:03:07.559 --> 03:03:11.520
you, and your head'll be all
head up and feel as dry as burnt

2092
03:03:11.559 --> 03:03:16.040
bork. And you may get a
lot of other sicknesses too. By morning.

2093
03:03:16.559 --> 03:03:20.159
You can't never tell. Still,
I don't much think, so it's

2094
03:03:20.239 --> 03:03:24.440
just a damn good belt on the
head and nothing more. Now you just

2095
03:03:24.600 --> 03:03:28.600
sit here and don't move while I
go route out the relief. Then I'll

2096
03:03:28.639 --> 03:03:33.680
send Wilson to take care of you. The corporal went away, the youth

2097
03:03:33.719 --> 03:03:37.879
remained on the ground like a parcel. He stared with a vacant look into

2098
03:03:37.879 --> 03:03:43.760
the fire. After a time,
he aroused for some part, and the

2099
03:03:43.840 --> 03:03:48.040
things about him began to take form. He saw that the ground and the

2100
03:03:48.079 --> 03:03:54.040
deep shadows was cluttered with men sprawling
in every conceivable posture. Glancing narrowly into

2101
03:03:54.040 --> 03:04:00.559
the more distant darkness, he caught
occasional glimpses of visages that loomed, pallading,

2102
03:04:00.680 --> 03:04:05.600
ghostly lit with a phosphorescent glow.
These faces expressed in their lines the

2103
03:04:05.719 --> 03:04:11.760
deep stupor of the tired soldiers.
They made them appear like men drunk with

2104
03:04:11.840 --> 03:04:16.159
wine. This bit of forest might
have appeared to an ethereal wanderer as a

2105
03:04:16.200 --> 03:04:22.120
scene of the result of some frightful
debauch. On the other side of the

2106
03:04:22.159 --> 03:04:26.120
fire, the youth observed an officer
asleep, seated bolt upright, with his

2107
03:04:26.239 --> 03:04:33.280
back against a tree. There was
something perilous in his position, badgered by

2108
03:04:33.360 --> 03:04:37.280
dreams. Perhaps, he swayed with
little bounces and starts, like an old

2109
03:04:37.479 --> 03:04:43.920
toddy stricken grandfather in a chimney corner. Dust and stains were upon his face.

2110
03:04:45.639 --> 03:04:48.639
His lower jaw hung down, as
if lacking strength to assume its normal

2111
03:04:48.680 --> 03:04:54.680
position. He was the picture of
an exhausted soldier. After a feast of

2112
03:04:54.760 --> 03:04:58.479
war. He had evidently gone to
sleep with his sword in his arms.

2113
03:05:00.079 --> 03:05:03.239
These two had slumbered in an embrace, but the weapon had been allowed in

2114
03:05:03.319 --> 03:05:07.959
time to fall unheeded, to the
ground. The brass mounted hilt lay in

2115
03:05:09.040 --> 03:05:13.680
contact with some parts of the fire. Within the gleam of rose and orange

2116
03:05:13.760 --> 03:05:18.920
light from the burning sticks were other
soldiers, snoring and heaving, or lying

2117
03:05:20.000 --> 03:05:24.319
deathlike in slumber. A few pairs
of legs were stuck forth, rigid and

2118
03:05:24.399 --> 03:05:30.559
straight. The shoes displayed the mud
or dust of marches, and bits of

2119
03:05:30.719 --> 03:05:35.840
rounded trousers protruding from the blankets showed
rents and tears from hurried pitchings through the

2120
03:05:35.920 --> 03:05:43.479
dense brambles. The fire cackled musically. From it swelled light smoke overhead.

2121
03:05:43.520 --> 03:05:48.440
The foliage moved softly. The leaves, with their faces turned toward the blaze,

2122
03:05:48.959 --> 03:05:54.680
were colored shifting hues of silver,
often edged with red. Far off

2123
03:05:54.719 --> 03:05:58.479
to the right, through a window
in the forest could be seen a handful

2124
03:05:58.520 --> 03:06:05.399
of stars lying like glittering pebbles on
the black level of the night. Occasionally,

2125
03:06:05.600 --> 03:06:09.479
in this low arched hall, a
soldier would arouse and turn his body

2126
03:06:09.520 --> 03:06:15.399
to a new position, the experience
of his sleep having taught him of uneven

2127
03:06:15.520 --> 03:06:20.200
and objectionable places upon the ground under
him, Or perhaps he would lift himself

2128
03:06:20.239 --> 03:06:26.399
to a sitting posture, blink at
the fire for an unintelligent moment, throw

2129
03:06:26.440 --> 03:06:30.920
a swift glance at his prostrate companion, and then cuddle down again with a

2130
03:06:30.959 --> 03:06:37.040
grunt of sleepy content. The youth
sat in a forlorn heap until his friend,

2131
03:06:37.079 --> 03:06:41.760
the loud young Soldier, came,
swinging two canteens by their light strings.

2132
03:06:41.719 --> 03:06:46.440
Well now, Henry ol Boy,
said the latter. We'll have you

2133
03:06:46.639 --> 03:06:50.399
fixed up in just about a minute. He had the bustling ways of an

2134
03:06:50.440 --> 03:06:56.840
amateur nurse. He fussed around the
fire and stirred the sticks to brilliant exertions.

2135
03:06:56.399 --> 03:07:01.399
He made his patient drink largely from
the cante to contained the coffee.

2136
03:07:01.040 --> 03:07:05.319
It was, to the youth a
delicious draft. He tilted his head afar

2137
03:07:05.440 --> 03:07:11.040
back and held the canteen long to
his lips. The cool mixture went caressingly

2138
03:07:11.079 --> 03:07:18.200
down his blistered throat. Having finished, he sighed with comfortable delight. The

2139
03:07:18.280 --> 03:07:24.280
loud young Soldier watched his comrade with
an air of satisfaction. He later produced

2140
03:07:24.319 --> 03:07:28.280
an extensive handkerchief from his pocket.
He folded it into a manner of bandage

2141
03:07:28.559 --> 03:07:33.079
and souced water from the other canteen
upon the middle of it. This crude

2142
03:07:33.159 --> 03:07:37.280
arrangement, he bound over the youth's
head, tying the ends in a queer

2143
03:07:37.319 --> 03:07:41.879
knot at the back of the neck. There, he said, moving off

2144
03:07:41.920 --> 03:07:46.520
and surveying his deed. You look
like the devil, but I bet you

2145
03:07:46.559 --> 03:07:52.719
feel better. The youth contemplated his
friend with grateful eyes upon his aching and

2146
03:07:52.879 --> 03:07:58.000
swelling head. The cold cloth was
like a tender woman's hand. Well,

2147
03:07:58.040 --> 03:08:03.000
don't holler nor say nothing, remarked
his friend, approvingly. I know I'm

2148
03:08:03.000 --> 03:08:07.000
a blacksmith at takin keer o sick
folks an, you never squeaked. You're

2149
03:08:07.000 --> 03:08:11.079
a good un Henry. Most men
would have been in the hospital long ago.

2150
03:08:11.600 --> 03:08:16.360
A shot a head ain't foolin business. The youth made no reply,

2151
03:08:16.600 --> 03:08:22.040
but began to fumble with the buttons
of his jacket. Well, come now,

2152
03:08:22.440 --> 03:08:26.120
continued his friend. Come on,
I must put you to bed and

2153
03:08:26.239 --> 03:08:31.840
see that you get a good night's
rest. The other got carefully erect and

2154
03:08:31.959 --> 03:08:35.760
the loud young soldier led him among
the sleeping forms lying in groups and rows.

2155
03:08:37.559 --> 03:08:41.399
Presently, he stooped and picked up
his blankets. He spread the rubber

2156
03:08:41.440 --> 03:08:45.559
one upon the ground, and placed
the woolen one about the youth's shoulders.

2157
03:08:46.479 --> 03:08:50.440
There now, he said, lie
down an git some sleep. The youth,

2158
03:08:50.600 --> 03:08:54.559
with his manner of doglike obedience,
got carefully down, like a crone,

2159
03:08:54.680 --> 03:09:00.639
stooping. He stretched out with a
murmur of relief and comfort. The

2160
03:09:00.719 --> 03:09:05.799
ground felt like the softest couch.
But of a sudden he ejaculated. Hold

2161
03:09:05.799 --> 03:09:11.360
on a minute, where are you
going to sleep? His friend waved his

2162
03:09:11.440 --> 03:09:16.239
hand impatiently, right down there by
you. But hold on a minute,

2163
03:09:16.799 --> 03:09:20.760
continued the youth. What you going
to sleep in? I've got yer.

2164
03:09:22.520 --> 03:09:26.719
The loud young soldier snarled, shut
up and go on to sleep. Don't

2165
03:09:26.719 --> 03:09:31.440
be makin a damned fool yourself,
he said severely. After the reproof,

2166
03:09:31.479 --> 03:09:37.879
the youth said no more. An
exquisite drowsiness had spread through him. The

2167
03:09:37.959 --> 03:09:43.159
warm comfort of the blanket enveloped him
and made a gentle languor. His head

2168
03:09:43.200 --> 03:09:48.239
fell forward on his crooked arm,
and his weighted lids went softly down over

2169
03:09:48.360 --> 03:09:54.399
his eyes. Hearing a splatter of
musketry from the distance, he wandered indifferently

2170
03:09:54.440 --> 03:10:00.760
if those men sometimes slept. He
gave a long sigh snuggled down into his

2171
03:10:00.879 --> 03:10:07.959
blanket, and in a moment was
like his comrades. End of chapter thirteen,

2172
03:10:13.319 --> 03:10:18.920
Chapter fourteen of The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane. This is

2173
03:10:20.000 --> 03:10:24.120
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
are in the public domain. For more

2174
03:10:24.159 --> 03:10:31.360
information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. This recording is by

2175
03:10:31.399 --> 03:10:37.200
Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen

2176
03:10:37.239 --> 03:10:43.639
Crane, Chapter fourteen. When the
youth awoke, it seemed to him that

2177
03:10:43.719 --> 03:10:46.479
he had been asleep for a thousand
years, and he felt sure that he

2178
03:10:46.559 --> 03:10:52.479
opened his eyes upon an unexpected world. Gray mists were slowly shifting before the

2179
03:10:52.559 --> 03:10:58.200
first efforts of the sun rays.
An impending splendor could be seen in the

2180
03:10:58.239 --> 03:11:03.559
eastern sky. An icy dew had
chilled his face, and immediately upon arousing,

2181
03:11:05.000 --> 03:11:09.520
he curled farther down into his blanket. He stared for a while at

2182
03:11:09.520 --> 03:11:15.360
the leaves overhead, moving in a
heraldic wind of the day. The distance

2183
03:11:15.440 --> 03:11:20.280
was splintering and blaring with the noise
of fighting. There was in the sound

2184
03:11:20.319 --> 03:11:24.840
an expression of a deadly persistency,
as if it had not begun and was

2185
03:11:24.959 --> 03:11:30.159
not to cease. About him were
the rose and groups of men that he

2186
03:11:30.200 --> 03:11:33.559
had dimly seen the previous night.
They were getting a last draft of sleep

2187
03:11:33.600 --> 03:11:39.600
before the awakening. The gaunt,
careworn features and dusty figures were made plain

2188
03:11:39.719 --> 03:11:43.799
by this quaint light at the dawning. But it dressed the skin of the

2189
03:11:43.840 --> 03:11:50.040
men in corpse like hues, and
made the tangled limbs appear pulseless and dead.

2190
03:11:50.159 --> 03:11:54.520
The youth stared up with a little
cry when his eyes first swept over

2191
03:11:54.639 --> 03:12:00.239
this motionless mass of men, thick
spread upon the ground, pallid and in

2192
03:12:00.360 --> 03:12:05.319
strange postures. His disordered mind interpreted
the hall of the forest as a charnel

2193
03:12:05.360 --> 03:12:09.639
place. He believed for an instant
that he was in the house of the

2194
03:12:09.719 --> 03:12:13.959
dead, and he did not dare
to move, lest these corpses start up,

2195
03:12:15.159 --> 03:12:20.120
squalling and squawking. In a second, however, he achieved his proper

2196
03:12:20.159 --> 03:12:24.520
mind, he swore a complicated oath
at himself. He saw that this somber

2197
03:12:24.600 --> 03:12:30.840
picture was not a fact of the
present, but a mere prophecy. He

2198
03:12:30.840 --> 03:12:33.879
heard then the noise of a fire
crackling briskly in the cold air, and

2199
03:12:35.200 --> 03:12:39.879
turning his head, he saw his
friend pottering busily about a small blaze.

2200
03:12:39.559 --> 03:12:43.479
A few other figures moved in the
fog, and he heard the hard cracking

2201
03:12:43.520 --> 03:12:50.200
of axe blows. Suddenly there was
a hollow rumble of drums. A distant

2202
03:12:50.239 --> 03:12:54.719
bugle sang faintly. Similar sounds,
varying in strength, came from near and

2203
03:12:54.840 --> 03:13:00.959
far over the forest. The bugles
called to each other like brace in gamecocks.

2204
03:13:01.440 --> 03:13:07.159
The near thunder of the regimental drums
rolled. The body of men in

2205
03:13:07.200 --> 03:13:11.200
the woods rustled. There was a
general uplifting of heads. A murmuring of

2206
03:13:11.319 --> 03:13:16.120
voices broke upon the air. In
it there was much base of grumbling oaths.

2207
03:13:16.719 --> 03:13:22.000
Strange gods were addressed in condemnation of
the early hours necessary to correct war.

2208
03:13:22.959 --> 03:13:28.879
On Officer's peremptory tenor rang out and
quickened the stiffened movement of the men.

2209
03:13:28.600 --> 03:13:35.040
The tangled limbs unraveled. The corpse
hued faces were hidden behind fists that

2210
03:13:35.159 --> 03:13:39.520
twisted slowly in the eye sockets.
The youth sat up and gave vent to

2211
03:13:39.559 --> 03:13:46.799
an enormous yawn thunder, he remarked
petulantly. He rubbed his eyes, then,

2212
03:13:46.920 --> 03:13:52.120
putting a hand up, his hand
felt carefully the bandage over his wound.

2213
03:13:52.879 --> 03:13:56.040
His friend, perceiving him to be
awake, came from the fire.

2214
03:13:56.799 --> 03:14:00.120
Well, Henry, old man,
how do you feel this morning? He

2215
03:14:00.159 --> 03:14:05.159
demanded. The youth yawned again,
then he puckered his mouth to a little

2216
03:14:05.159 --> 03:14:09.000
pucker. His head in truth felt
precisely like a melon, and there was

2217
03:14:09.040 --> 03:14:15.559
an unpleasant sensation at his stomach.
Oh lord, I feel pretty bad,

2218
03:14:15.840 --> 03:14:20.040
he said, thunder exclaimed the other. I hoped you have feel all right

2219
03:14:20.120 --> 03:14:26.399
this morning. Let's see the bandage. I guess it slipped. He began

2220
03:14:26.479 --> 03:14:30.479
to tinker at the wound in rather
a clumsy way, until the youth exploded.

2221
03:14:31.040 --> 03:14:33.959
Gosh, darn it, he said, in sharp irritation. You're the

2222
03:14:35.040 --> 03:14:39.120
hangedest man I ever saw. You
wear muffs on your hands. Why in

2223
03:14:39.319 --> 03:14:43.639
good thunderation, can't you be more
easy? I thought you'd stand off and

2224
03:14:43.760 --> 03:14:48.000
throw guns at it. Now go
slow and don't act as if you were

2225
03:14:48.120 --> 03:14:54.319
nailing down carpet. He glared with
insolent command at his friend, but the

2226
03:14:54.440 --> 03:14:58.920
latter answered soothingly. Well, well, come now and get some grub,

2227
03:14:58.399 --> 03:15:03.719
he said, then maybe you'll feel
better. At the fireside, the loud

2228
03:15:03.760 --> 03:15:09.600
young soldier watched over his comrade's wants
with tenderness and care. He was very

2229
03:15:09.600 --> 03:15:16.280
busy marshaling the little black vagabonds of
tin cups and pouring into them the streaming

2230
03:15:16.360 --> 03:15:20.680
iron colored mixture from a small and
sooty tin pail. He had some fresh

2231
03:15:20.719 --> 03:15:26.000
meat, which he roasted hurriedly on
a stick. He sat down then and

2232
03:15:26.079 --> 03:15:31.959
contemplated the youth's appetite with glee.
The youth took note of a remarkable change

2233
03:15:31.000 --> 03:15:35.680
in his comrades since those days of
camp life upon the river bank. He

2234
03:15:35.840 --> 03:15:41.360
seemed no more to be continually regarding
the proportions of his personal prowess. He

2235
03:15:41.479 --> 03:15:46.200
was not furious at small words that
pricked his conceits. He was no more

2236
03:15:46.239 --> 03:15:52.280
a loud young soldier. There was
about him now a fine reliance. He

2237
03:15:52.399 --> 03:15:56.959
showed a quiet belief in his purposes
and his abilities, and this inward confidence

2238
03:15:58.040 --> 03:16:01.760
evidently enabled him to be different to
little words of other men aimed at him.

2239
03:16:03.040 --> 03:16:07.959
The youth reflected he had been used
to regarding his comrade as a blatant

2240
03:16:09.040 --> 03:16:15.280
child with an audacity grown from his
inexperience, thoughtless, headstrong, jealous,

2241
03:16:15.479 --> 03:16:20.959
and filled with a tinsel courage,
A swaggering babe accustomed to strut in his

2242
03:16:20.040 --> 03:16:26.799
own dooryard. The youth wondered where
had been borne these new eyes when his

2243
03:16:26.920 --> 03:16:31.159
comrade had made the great discovery that
there were many men who would refuse to

2244
03:16:31.200 --> 03:16:35.639
be subjected by him. Apparently the
other had now climbed a peak of wisdom

2245
03:16:35.760 --> 03:16:41.959
from which he could perceive himself as
a very wee thing, And the youth

2246
03:16:41.000 --> 03:16:46.000
saw that ever after it would be
easier to live in his friend's neighborhood.

2247
03:16:46.319 --> 03:16:52.680
His comrade balanced his ebony coffee cup
on his knee, will Henry, He

2248
03:16:52.719 --> 03:16:56.559
said, what do you think the
chances are? Do you think will wallop

2249
03:16:56.639 --> 03:17:03.600
him? The youth considered for a
moment, day before yesterday. He finally

2250
03:17:03.639 --> 03:17:07.360
replied, with boldness, you would
a bet you'd licked the whole kitten bootle

2251
03:17:07.399 --> 03:17:13.879
all by yourself. His friend looked
a trifle amazed. Would I, he

2252
03:17:13.000 --> 03:17:18.760
asked? He pondered, Well,
perhaps I would, he decided. At

2253
03:17:18.840 --> 03:17:26.000
last he stared humbly at the fire. The youth was quite disconcerted at this

2254
03:17:26.159 --> 03:17:31.200
surprising reception of his remarks. Oh
no, you wouldn't either, he said,

2255
03:17:31.319 --> 03:17:35.760
hastily, trying to retrace, But
the other made a deprecating gesture,

2256
03:17:37.520 --> 03:17:41.799
Oh you needn't mind, Henry,
he said. I believe I was a

2257
03:17:41.879 --> 03:17:46.479
pretty big fool in those days.
He spoke as after a lapse of years.

2258
03:17:48.239 --> 03:17:52.959
There was a little pause. All
the officers say, we got the

2259
03:17:52.000 --> 03:17:56.399
ReBs in a pretty tight box,
said the friend, clearing his throat in

2260
03:17:56.440 --> 03:18:01.479
a commonplace way. They all seemed
to think we've got him just where we

2261
03:18:01.520 --> 03:18:07.239
want him. I don't know about
that, the youth replied. What I've

2262
03:18:07.239 --> 03:18:11.600
seen over on the right makes me
think it was the other way about.

2263
03:18:11.639 --> 03:18:15.760
From where I was, it looked
as if we were getting a good pounding

2264
03:18:15.920 --> 03:18:20.600
yesterday. Do you think so,
inquired the friend. I thought we handled

2265
03:18:20.639 --> 03:18:26.760
him pretty rough yesterday. Not a
bit, said the youth. Why lord,

2266
03:18:26.799 --> 03:18:30.440
man, you didn't see nothing of
the fight. Why then a sudden

2267
03:18:30.479 --> 03:18:35.319
thought came to him, Oh,
Jim Conklin's dead. His friends started,

2268
03:18:35.680 --> 03:18:43.200
What is he? Jim Conklin,
The youth spoke slowly, Yes, he's

2269
03:18:43.319 --> 03:18:50.719
dead, shot in the side.
He don't say so, Jim Conklin,

2270
03:18:50.719 --> 03:18:56.520
Poor cuss. All about them were
other small fires, surrounded by men with

2271
03:18:56.559 --> 03:19:01.879
their little black utensils. From one
of these near came sudden, sharp voices

2272
03:19:01.920 --> 03:19:07.399
in a row. It appeared that
The two light footed soldiers had been teasing

2273
03:19:07.440 --> 03:19:11.159
a huge bearded man, causing him
to spill coffee upon his blue knees.

2274
03:19:11.719 --> 03:19:16.680
The man had gone into a rage
and had sworn comprehensively. Stung by his

2275
03:19:16.879 --> 03:19:22.959
language, his tormentors had immediately bristled
at him with a great show of resenting

2276
03:19:22.239 --> 03:19:28.879
unjust oaths. Possibly there was going
to be a fight. The friend arose

2277
03:19:28.920 --> 03:19:33.920
and went over to them, making
pacific motions with his arms. Oh here,

2278
03:19:33.959 --> 03:19:37.760
now, boys, what's the use, he said, We'll be at

2279
03:19:37.760 --> 03:19:41.520
the ReBs in less than an hour. What's the good fighting among ourselves.

2280
03:19:41.680 --> 03:19:46.200
One of the light footed soldiers turned
upon him, red faced and violent.

2281
03:19:46.799 --> 03:19:50.879
You needn't come round here with your
preaching. I suppose you don't approve a

2282
03:19:50.959 --> 03:19:54.399
fightin since Charlie Morgan licked you.
But I don't see what business this here

2283
03:19:54.520 --> 03:20:00.719
is a yours or anybody else.
Well, it ain't, said the friend

2284
03:20:00.799 --> 03:20:07.120
mildly. Still, I hate to
see there was a tangled argument, well,

2285
03:20:07.200 --> 03:20:13.520
he said the two, indicating their
opponent with accusative forefingers. The huge

2286
03:20:13.559 --> 03:20:18.200
soldier was quite purple with rage.
He pointed at the two soldiers with his

2287
03:20:18.319 --> 03:20:24.440
great hand extended clawlike. Well,
thee. But during this argumentative time,

2288
03:20:24.920 --> 03:20:28.360
the desire to deal blows seemed to
pass, although they said much to each

2289
03:20:28.360 --> 03:20:33.959
other. Finally, the friend returned
to his old seat. In a short

2290
03:20:33.000 --> 03:20:39.079
while, the three antagonists could be
seen together in an amiable bunch. Jimmie

2291
03:20:39.200 --> 03:20:43.920
Rogers says, I'll have to fight
him after the battle to day, announced

2292
03:20:43.959 --> 03:20:48.079
the friend, as he again seated
himself. He says, he don't allow

2293
03:20:48.120 --> 03:20:52.959
no interfering in his business. I
hate to see the boys fighting among themselves.

2294
03:20:54.959 --> 03:20:58.719
The youth laughed, you changed a
good bit. You ain't at all

2295
03:21:00.079 --> 03:21:05.079
you was. I remember when you
and that Irish feller. He stopped and

2296
03:21:05.200 --> 03:21:11.200
laughed again. No, I didn't
used to be that way, said his

2297
03:21:11.280 --> 03:21:16.760
friend, thoughtfully, that's true enough. Well I didn't mean, began the

2298
03:21:16.879 --> 03:21:22.520
youth. The friend made another deprecatory
gesture. Oh, you'd needn't mind,

2299
03:21:22.639 --> 03:21:31.239
Henry. There was another little pause. The regiment lost over half the men

2300
03:21:31.440 --> 03:21:35.760
yesterday, remarked the friend. Eventually, I thought, of course they was

2301
03:21:35.840 --> 03:21:41.200
all dead, but laws they kept
coming back last night, until it seems

2302
03:21:41.760 --> 03:21:46.639
after all, we didn't lose but
a few. They'd been scattered all over,

2303
03:21:46.159 --> 03:21:52.159
wandering around in the woods, fighting
with other regiments and everything just like

2304
03:21:52.399 --> 03:22:05.479
you done so, said the youth
end of chapter fourteen, Chapter fifteen of

2305
03:22:05.559 --> 03:22:11.280
The Rebaedge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This is the LibriVox recording. All

2306
03:22:11.319 --> 03:22:16.079
LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,

2307
03:22:16.239 --> 03:22:22.200
please visit LibriVox dot org. This
recording is by Mark Smith of Sampsonville,

2308
03:22:22.200 --> 03:22:30.000
South Carolina. The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter fifteen.

2309
03:22:31.520 --> 03:22:35.600
The regiment was standing at order arms
at the side of a lane, waiting

2310
03:22:35.639 --> 03:22:41.479
for the command to march, when
suddenly the youth remembered the little package enwrapped

2311
03:22:41.520 --> 03:22:46.760
in a faded yellow envelope, which
the loud young soldier with lugubrious words had

2312
03:22:46.920 --> 03:22:50.959
entrusted to him. It made him
start. He uttered an exclamation and turned

2313
03:22:50.959 --> 03:22:58.200
toward his comrade. Wilson. What
his friend at his side in the ranks

2314
03:22:58.319 --> 03:23:03.280
was thoughtfully staring down the road from
some cause? His expression was at that

2315
03:23:03.399 --> 03:23:07.559
moment very meek. The youth,
regarding him with sidelong glances, felt impelled

2316
03:23:07.600 --> 03:23:13.520
to change his purpose. Oh nothing, he said. His friend turned his

2317
03:23:13.559 --> 03:23:18.959
head in some surprise. Why what
was you going to say? Oh?

2318
03:23:18.959 --> 03:23:24.079
Nothing? Repeated the youth. He
resolved not to deal the little blow.

2319
03:23:24.799 --> 03:23:30.520
It was sufficient that the fact made
him glad. It was not necessary to

2320
03:23:30.600 --> 03:23:35.440
knock his friend on the head with
the misguided packet. He had been possessed

2321
03:23:35.479 --> 03:23:39.520
of much fear of his friend,
for he saw how easily questionings could make

2322
03:23:39.600 --> 03:23:43.959
holes in his feelings. Lately,
he had assured himself that the altered comrade

2323
03:23:45.239 --> 03:23:50.440
would not tantalize him with a persistent
curiosity. But he felt certain that during

2324
03:23:50.440 --> 03:23:54.479
the first period of leisure, his
friend would ask him to relate his adventures

2325
03:23:54.520 --> 03:23:58.879
of the previous day. He now
rejoiced in the possession of a small weapon

2326
03:24:00.079 --> 03:24:03.639
with which he could prostrate his comrade
at the first signs of a cross examination.

2327
03:24:05.680 --> 03:24:09.239
He was master. He could now
be he who could laugh and shoot

2328
03:24:09.280 --> 03:24:16.040
the shafts of derision. The friend
had in a week hour spoken with sobs

2329
03:24:16.079 --> 03:24:20.479
of his own death. He had
delivered a melancholy oration previous to his funeral,

2330
03:24:20.840 --> 03:24:24.959
and had, doubtless, in the
packet of letters, presented various keepsakes

2331
03:24:26.000 --> 03:24:30.639
to relatives. But he had not
died, and thus he had delivered himself

2332
03:24:30.680 --> 03:24:35.239
into the hands of the youth.
The latter felt immensely superior to his friend,

2333
03:24:35.639 --> 03:24:41.040
but he inclined to condescension. He
adopted toward him an air of patronizing

2334
03:24:41.159 --> 03:24:48.079
good humor. His self pride was
now entirely restored in the shade of its

2335
03:24:48.079 --> 03:24:52.239
flourishing growth. He stood with braced
and self confident legs, And since nothing

2336
03:24:52.239 --> 03:24:56.000
could now be discovered, he did
not shrink from an encounter with the eyes

2337
03:24:56.040 --> 03:25:00.719
of judges, and allowed no thoughts
of his own to keep him from an

2338
03:25:00.719 --> 03:25:05.360
attitude of manfulness. He had performed
his mistakes in the dark, so he

2339
03:25:05.440 --> 03:25:11.280
was still a man. Indeed,
when he remembered his fortunes of yesterday and

2340
03:25:11.440 --> 03:25:15.399
looked at them from a distance,
he began to see something fine there.

2341
03:25:15.920 --> 03:25:20.159
He had license to be pompous and
veteran. Like his panting agonies of the

2342
03:25:20.239 --> 03:25:26.040
past, he put out of his
sight in the present. He declared to

2343
03:25:26.120 --> 03:25:31.040
himself that it was only the doomed
and the damned who roared with sincerity at

2344
03:25:31.079 --> 03:25:35.040
circumstance. Few, but they ever
did it. A man with a full

2345
03:25:35.120 --> 03:25:41.159
stomach and the respect of his fellows
had no business to scold about anything that

2346
03:25:41.239 --> 03:25:45.319
he might think to be wrong in
the ways of the universe, or even

2347
03:25:45.360 --> 03:25:50.840
with the ways of society. Let
the unfortunate's rail, the others may play

2348
03:25:50.879 --> 03:25:54.079
marbles. He did not give a
great deal of thought to these battles that

2349
03:25:54.200 --> 03:25:58.639
lay directly before him. It was
not essential that he should plan his ways

2350
03:26:00.079 --> 03:26:03.520
guard to them. He had been
taught that many obligations of a life were

2351
03:26:03.639 --> 03:26:11.200
easily avoided. The lessons of yesterday
had been that retribution was a laggered and

2352
03:26:11.360 --> 03:26:16.559
blind. With these facts before him, he did not deem it necessary that

2353
03:26:16.559 --> 03:26:22.319
he should become feverish over the possibilities
of the ensuing twenty four hours. He

2354
03:26:22.319 --> 03:26:28.239
could leave much to chance. Besides, a faith in himself had secretly blossomed.

2355
03:26:28.760 --> 03:26:31.959
There was a little flower of confidence
growing within him. He was now

2356
03:26:33.000 --> 03:26:37.159
a man of experience. He had
been out among the dragons, he said,

2357
03:26:37.559 --> 03:26:41.520
and he assured himself that they were
not so hideous as he had imagined

2358
03:26:41.559 --> 03:26:46.799
them. Also, they were inaccurate. They did not sting with precision.

2359
03:26:46.479 --> 03:26:54.799
A stout heart often defied, and
defying escaped. And furthermore, how could

2360
03:26:54.799 --> 03:26:58.520
they kill him, who was the
chosen of gods and doomed to greatness?

2361
03:26:58.520 --> 03:27:03.799
He remembered how some of the men
had run from the battle as he recalled

2362
03:27:03.840 --> 03:27:07.239
their terror struck faces. He felt
a scorn for them. They had surely

2363
03:27:07.280 --> 03:27:13.920
been more fleet and more wild than
was absolutely necessary. They were weak mortals.

2364
03:27:13.680 --> 03:27:20.120
As for himself, he had fled
with discretion and dignity. He was

2365
03:27:20.159 --> 03:27:26.079
aroused from this reverie by his friend, who, having hitched about nervously and

2366
03:27:26.200 --> 03:27:31.040
blinked at the trees for a while, suddenly coughed in an introductory way and

2367
03:27:31.159 --> 03:27:37.559
spoke fleming What. The friend put
his hand up to his mouth and coughed

2368
03:27:37.600 --> 03:27:43.159
again. He fidgeted in his jacket. Well, he gulped at last.

2369
03:27:43.559 --> 03:27:48.479
I guess you might as well give
me back them letters. Dark prickling blood

2370
03:27:48.520 --> 03:27:52.399
had flushed into his cheeks and brow. All right, Wilson, said the

2371
03:27:52.479 --> 03:27:56.600
youth. He loosened two buttons of
his coat, thrust in his hand,

2372
03:27:56.639 --> 03:28:01.399
and brought forth the packet. As
he extended it to his friend, the

2373
03:28:01.479 --> 03:28:05.040
latter's face was turned from him.
He had been slow in the act of

2374
03:28:05.079 --> 03:28:11.280
producing the packet because during it he
had been trying to invent a remarkable comment

2375
03:28:11.360 --> 03:28:16.639
on the affair. He could conjure
up nothing of sufficient point. He was

2376
03:28:16.680 --> 03:28:20.520
compelled to allow his friend to escape
unmolested with his packet, and for this

2377
03:28:20.600 --> 03:28:26.959
he took him to himself considerable credit. It was a generous thing. His

2378
03:28:28.000 --> 03:28:33.239
friend at his side seemed suffering great
shame. As he contemplated him, the

2379
03:28:33.440 --> 03:28:37.959
youth felt his heart grow more strong
and stout. He had never been compelled

2380
03:28:37.959 --> 03:28:43.159
to blush in such manner for his
acts. He was an individual of extraordinary

2381
03:28:43.239 --> 03:28:50.120
virtues. He reflected with condescending pity. Too bad, too bad, the

2382
03:28:50.200 --> 03:28:56.000
poor devil. It makes him feel
tough after this incident, and as he

2383
03:28:56.120 --> 03:29:01.079
reviewed the battle pictures he had seen, he felt quite compident to return home

2384
03:29:01.200 --> 03:29:05.920
and make the hearts of the people
glow with stories of war. He could

2385
03:29:05.959 --> 03:29:09.520
see himself in a room of warm
tints, telling tales to listeners. He

2386
03:29:09.559 --> 03:29:16.040
could exhibit laurels. They were insignificant, still, in a district where laurels

2387
03:29:16.079 --> 03:29:20.559
were infrequent, they might shine.
He saw his gaping audience picturing him as

2388
03:29:20.639 --> 03:29:26.559
the central figure in blazing scenes.
And he imagined the consternation and the ejaculations

2389
03:29:26.600 --> 03:29:31.559
of his mother and the young lady
at the seminary as they drank his recitals.

2390
03:29:33.479 --> 03:29:37.120
Their vague feminine formula for beloved ones
doing brave deeds on the field of

2391
03:29:37.159 --> 03:29:52.120
battle without risk of life would be
destroyed. End of chapter fifteen sixteen of

2392
03:29:52.239 --> 03:29:58.159
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen
Crane. This is a LibriVox recording.

2393
03:29:58.520 --> 03:30:03.440
All LibriVox recordings are in the public
domain. For more information or to volunteer,

2394
03:30:03.920 --> 03:30:09.159
please visit LibriVox dot org. This
recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville,

2395
03:30:09.159 --> 03:30:16.239
South Carolina. The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter sixteen

2396
03:30:18.559 --> 03:30:22.600
A sputtering of musketry was always to
be heard. Later the cannon had entered

2397
03:30:22.639 --> 03:30:26.799
the dispute, and the fog filled
air, their voices made a thudding sound.

2398
03:30:28.360 --> 03:30:31.760
The reverberations were continual. This part
of the world led a strange,

2399
03:30:33.000 --> 03:30:37.639
battleful existence. The Youth's regiment was
marched to relieve a command that had lain

2400
03:30:37.760 --> 03:30:43.520
long in some damp trenches. The
men took positions behind a curving line of

2401
03:30:43.639 --> 03:30:48.079
rifle pits that had been turned up
like a large furrow. Along the line

2402
03:30:48.079 --> 03:30:52.520
of woods. Before them was a
level stretch peopled with short, deformed stumps.

2403
03:30:54.159 --> 03:30:58.680
From the woods beyond came the dull
popping of the skirmishers and pickets firing

2404
03:30:58.719 --> 03:31:01.680
in the fog. From the right
came the noise of a terrific fracas.

2405
03:31:03.479 --> 03:31:07.600
The men cuddled behind the small embankment
and sat in easy attitudes, awaiting their

2406
03:31:07.680 --> 03:31:13.760
turn. Many had their backs to
the firing. The youth's friend lay down,

2407
03:31:13.120 --> 03:31:18.840
buried his face in his arms,
and almost instantly it seemed he was

2408
03:31:18.920 --> 03:31:22.520
in a deep sleep. The youth
leaned his breast against the brown dirt and

2409
03:31:22.760 --> 03:31:28.479
peered over at the woods and up
and down the line. Curtains of trees

2410
03:31:28.520 --> 03:31:31.959
interfered with his ways of vision.
He could see the low line of trenches,

2411
03:31:31.959 --> 03:31:37.479
but for a short distance. A
few idle flags were perched on the

2412
03:31:37.520 --> 03:31:41.000
dirt hills. Behind them were rows
of dark bodies, with a few heads

2413
03:31:41.120 --> 03:31:48.520
sticking curiously over the top. Always
the noise of skirmishers came from the woods

2414
03:31:48.520 --> 03:31:50.719
on the front and left, and
the din on the right had grown to

2415
03:31:50.799 --> 03:31:56.600
frightful proportions. The guns were roaring
without an instant's pause for breath. It

2416
03:31:56.760 --> 03:32:01.520
seemed that the cannon had come from
all parts and were engaged in a stupendous

2417
03:32:01.559 --> 03:32:07.079
wrangle. It became impossible to make
a sentence heard. The youth wished to

2418
03:32:07.200 --> 03:32:13.520
launch a joke, a quotation from
newspapers. He desired to say all quiet

2419
03:32:13.559 --> 03:32:18.280
on the rappahannock, but the guns
refused to permit even a comet upon their

2420
03:32:18.399 --> 03:32:24.879
uproar. He never successfully concluded the
sentence, But at last the guns stopped,

2421
03:32:26.280 --> 03:32:30.200
and among the men in the rifle
pits, rumors again flew like birds,

2422
03:32:30.600 --> 03:32:33.120
but they were now for the most
part, black creatures, who flapped

2423
03:32:33.120 --> 03:32:37.879
their wings drearily near to the ground
and refused to rise on any wings of

2424
03:32:37.920 --> 03:32:45.040
hope. The men's faces grew doleful
from the interpreting of omens. Tales of

2425
03:32:45.200 --> 03:32:50.840
hesitation and uncertainty on the part of
those high in place and responsibility came to

2426
03:32:50.920 --> 03:32:56.360
their ears. Stories of disaster were
borne into their minds with many proofs.

2427
03:32:56.280 --> 03:33:01.959
This din of musketry on the right, growing like a released genie of sound,

2428
03:33:01.520 --> 03:33:07.520
expressed and emphasized the army's plight.
The men were disheartened and began to

2429
03:33:07.600 --> 03:33:13.600
mutter. They made gestures expressive of
the sentence, ah, what more can

2430
03:33:13.639 --> 03:33:18.000
we do? And it could always
be seen that they were bewildered by the

2431
03:33:18.079 --> 03:33:24.799
alleged news and could not fully comprehend
a defeat. Before the gray mists had

2432
03:33:24.840 --> 03:33:28.600
been totally obliterated by the sun rays, the regiment was marching in a spread

2433
03:33:28.639 --> 03:33:35.239
column that was retiring carefully through the
woods. The disordered, hurrying lines of

2434
03:33:35.280 --> 03:33:39.079
the enemy could sometimes be seen down
through the groves and little fields. They

2435
03:33:39.079 --> 03:33:45.399
were yelling, shrill and exultant.
At this sight, the youth forgot many

2436
03:33:45.440 --> 03:33:50.680
personal matters and became greatly enraged.
He exploded, in loud sentences, by

2437
03:33:50.879 --> 03:33:56.799
chimney, we're general by a lot
of lunkheads. More than one feller has

2438
03:33:56.840 --> 03:34:03.280
said that today observed a man his
friend recently aroused, was still very drowsy.

2439
03:34:03.799 --> 03:34:07.280
He looked behind him until his mind
took in the meaning of the movement.

2440
03:34:07.760 --> 03:34:11.799
Then he sighed, Oh well,
I s'pose we got licked. He

2441
03:34:11.840 --> 03:34:16.520
remarked sadly. The youth had a
thought that it would not be handsome for

2442
03:34:16.639 --> 03:34:22.200
him to freely condemn other men.
He made an attempt to restrain himself,

2443
03:34:22.239 --> 03:34:26.840
but the words upon his tongue were
too bitter. He presently began a long

2444
03:34:26.879 --> 03:34:31.840
and intricate denunciation of the commander of
the forces. Maybe it wasn't all his

2445
03:34:31.959 --> 03:34:37.719
fault. Not altogether, he did
the best he knowed. It's our luck

2446
03:34:37.760 --> 03:34:41.559
to get licked, often said his
friend in a weary tone. He was

2447
03:34:41.639 --> 03:34:46.239
trudging along with stooped shoulders and shifting
eyes like a man who has been caned

2448
03:34:46.280 --> 03:34:52.120
and kicked. Well, don't we
fight like the devil? Don't we do

2449
03:34:52.239 --> 03:34:58.440
all that men can? Demanded the
youth loudly. He was secretly dumbfounded at

2450
03:34:58.440 --> 03:35:01.920
this sentiment when it came from his
lips. For a moment his face lost

2451
03:35:01.959 --> 03:35:07.239
its valor, and he looked guiltily
about him. But no one questioned his

2452
03:35:07.440 --> 03:35:11.000
right to deal in such words,
and presently he recovered his air of courage.

2453
03:35:11.559 --> 03:35:15.760
He went on to repeat a statement
he had heard going from group to

2454
03:35:15.840 --> 03:35:20.120
group at the camp that morning.
The brigadier said he never saw a new

2455
03:35:20.200 --> 03:35:24.479
regiment fight the way we fought yesterday, didn't he? And we didn't do

2456
03:35:24.600 --> 03:35:28.760
better than many another regiment, did
we? Well, then you can't say

2457
03:35:28.799 --> 03:35:33.760
it's the army's fault, can you? In his reply, the friend's voice

2458
03:35:33.840 --> 03:35:37.280
was stern, of course not,
he said, no man dare say we

2459
03:35:37.319 --> 03:35:41.360
don't fight like the devil. No
man will ever dare say it. The

2460
03:35:41.479 --> 03:35:48.239
boys fight like hell roosters. But
still still we don't have no luck.

2461
03:35:48.520 --> 03:35:52.120
Well, then if we fight like
the devil and don't ever whip, it

2462
03:35:52.200 --> 03:35:58.239
must be the general's fault, said
the youth grimly and decisively, and I

2463
03:35:58.280 --> 03:36:01.719
don't see any sense, and fight
and fighting, and fighting, yet always

2464
03:36:01.799 --> 03:36:07.360
losing through thub derned old lunkhead of
a general. A sarcastic man who was

2465
03:36:07.440 --> 03:36:13.319
tramping at the youth's side, then
spoke lazily, Maybe you think you fit

2466
03:36:13.399 --> 03:36:20.399
the whole battle yesterday, fleming,
he remarked. The speech pierced the youth

2467
03:36:20.120 --> 03:36:26.360
inwardly. He was reduced to an
abject pulp by these chance words. His

2468
03:36:26.520 --> 03:36:31.319
legs quaked. Privately, he cast
a frightened glance at the sarcastic man.

2469
03:36:31.280 --> 03:36:37.440
Why no, he hastened to say, in a conciliating voice, I don't

2470
03:36:37.479 --> 03:36:41.600
think I thought the whole battle yesterday. But the other seemed innocent of any

2471
03:36:41.680 --> 03:36:46.719
deeper meaning. Apparently he had no
information. It was merely his habit.

2472
03:36:48.479 --> 03:36:54.639
Oh, he replied, in the
same tone of calm derision. The youth

2473
03:36:54.760 --> 03:36:58.559
nevertheless felt a threat. His mind
shrank from going near to the danger,

2474
03:37:00.040 --> 03:37:05.760
and thereafter he was silent. The
significance of the sarcastic man's words took from

2475
03:37:05.840 --> 03:37:11.319
him all loud moods that would make
him appear prominent. He became suddenly a

2476
03:37:11.399 --> 03:37:18.120
modest person. There was low toned
talk among the troops. The officers were

2477
03:37:18.159 --> 03:37:24.360
impatient and snappy, their countenances clouded
with the tales of misfortune. The troops

2478
03:37:24.520 --> 03:37:28.559
sifting through the forest were sullen and
the use company. Once a man's laugh

2479
03:37:28.680 --> 03:37:33.520
rang out, a dozen soldiers turned
their faces quickly toward him and frowned with

2480
03:37:33.680 --> 03:37:41.719
vague displeasure. The noise of firing
dogged their footsteps. Sometimes it seemed to

2481
03:37:41.719 --> 03:37:46.079
be driven a little way, but
had always returned again with increased insolence.

2482
03:37:46.719 --> 03:37:50.799
The men muttered and cursed, throwing
black looks in its direction. In a

2483
03:37:50.879 --> 03:37:56.000
clear space. The troops were at
last halted, Regiments and brigades broken and

2484
03:37:56.079 --> 03:38:03.239
detached through their encounters with thickets together
again, and lines were faced towards the

2485
03:38:03.280 --> 03:38:07.879
pursuing bark of the enemy's infantry.
This noise followed, like the yelpings of

2486
03:38:09.000 --> 03:38:13.280
eager metallic hounds, increased to a
loud and joyous burst, and then,

2487
03:38:13.360 --> 03:38:18.719
as the sun went serenely up the
sky, throwing illuminating rays into the gloomy

2488
03:38:18.799 --> 03:38:24.200
thickets, it broke forth into prolonged
peelings. The woods began to crackle,

2489
03:38:24.319 --> 03:38:30.200
as if a fire whoop with a
d said a man. Here we are,

2490
03:38:30.639 --> 03:38:35.959
everybody fighting blood and destruction. I
was willing to bet they'd attack as

2491
03:38:35.959 --> 03:38:41.920
soon as the sun got fairly up, savagely, asserted the lieutenant who commanded

2492
03:38:41.920 --> 03:38:46.360
the youth's company. He jerked without
mercy at his little mustache. He strode

2493
03:38:46.399 --> 03:38:50.040
to and fro with dark dignity in
the rear of his men, who were

2494
03:38:50.120 --> 03:38:56.040
lying down behind whatever protection they had
collected. A battery had trumbled into position

2495
03:38:56.120 --> 03:39:01.639
in the rear and was thoughtfully shelling
the distance. The regiment, unmolested,

2496
03:39:01.719 --> 03:39:05.879
as yet, awaited the moment when
the gray shadows of the woods before them

2497
03:39:05.879 --> 03:39:11.719
should be slashed by the lines of
flame. There was much growling and swearing.

2498
03:39:11.840 --> 03:39:18.079
Good God, the youth grumbled.
We're always being chased around like rats.

2499
03:39:18.680 --> 03:39:22.840
It makes me sick. Nobody seems
to know where we go or why

2500
03:39:22.959 --> 03:39:26.360
we go. We just get fired
around from pillar to post and get licked

2501
03:39:26.360 --> 03:39:31.639
here and get licked there, and
nobody knows what it's done for. It

2502
03:39:31.719 --> 03:39:35.879
makes a man feel like a damn
kitten in a bag. Now, I'd

2503
03:39:35.920 --> 03:39:39.879
like to know what the eternal thunders
we was marched into these woods for,

2504
03:39:39.159 --> 03:39:43.360
anyhow, Unless it was to give
the ReBs a regular pot shot at us.

2505
03:39:45.040 --> 03:39:48.440
We came in here and got our
legs all tangled up and these cussed

2506
03:39:48.520 --> 03:39:52.559
briers, and then we begin to
fight, and the ReBs had an easy

2507
03:39:52.639 --> 03:39:56.760
time of it. Don't tell me
it's just luck. I know better.

2508
03:39:56.319 --> 03:40:01.680
It's this derned old. The friend
seemed jaded, but he interrupted his comrade

2509
03:40:01.719 --> 03:40:07.159
with a voice of calm confidence.
It'll turn at all right in the end,

2510
03:40:07.760 --> 03:40:11.399
he said, Oh the devil it
will. You always talk like a

2511
03:40:11.479 --> 03:40:16.559
dog hanged parson. Don't tell me
I know. At this time, there

2512
03:40:16.680 --> 03:40:22.239
was an interposition by the savage minded
lieutenant, who was obliged to vent some

2513
03:40:22.399 --> 03:40:26.280
of his inward dissatisfaction upon his men. You boys, shut right up.

2514
03:40:26.719 --> 03:40:31.600
There's no need a you're wasting your
breath in long winded arguments about this an

2515
03:40:31.639 --> 03:40:35.079
that, an the other. You've
been jawing like a lot of old hens.

2516
03:40:35.719 --> 03:40:39.239
All you've got to do is to
fight, and you'll get plenty of

2517
03:40:39.239 --> 03:40:43.600
that to do in about ten minutes. Less talkin' and more fightin is what's

2518
03:40:43.639 --> 03:40:50.040
best for you boys. I never
saw such gabling jackasses. He paused,

2519
03:40:50.079 --> 03:40:54.639
ready to pounce upon any man who
might have the temerity to reply. No

2520
03:40:54.799 --> 03:41:01.120
words being said, he resumed his
dignified pacing. There's too much chin music

2521
03:41:01.159 --> 03:41:05.000
and too little fighting in this war, anyhow, he said to them,

2522
03:41:05.479 --> 03:41:11.239
turning his head for a final remark. The day had grown more white until

2523
03:41:11.319 --> 03:41:16.159
the sun shed its full radiance upon
the thronged forest. A sort of a

2524
03:41:16.239 --> 03:41:20.799
gust of battle came sweeping toward that
part of the line where lay the Youth's

2525
03:41:20.840 --> 03:41:26.000
regiment. The front shifted a trifle
to meet it squarely. There was a

2526
03:41:26.040 --> 03:41:30.520
weight in this part of the field. There passed slowly the intense moments that

2527
03:41:30.680 --> 03:41:35.120
precede the tempest. A single rifle
flashed in a thicket before the regiment,

2528
03:41:35.719 --> 03:41:41.000
in an instant was joined by many
others. There was a mighty song of

2529
03:41:41.079 --> 03:41:45.959
clashes and crashes that went sweeping through
the woods. The guns in the rear

2530
03:41:46.319 --> 03:41:50.399
aroused and enraged by shells that had
been thrown bur like at them, suddenly

2531
03:41:50.399 --> 03:41:56.959
involved themselves in a hideous altercation with
another band of guns. The battle roar

2532
03:41:56.079 --> 03:42:03.399
settled to a rolling thunder, which
was a single long explosion in the regiment.

2533
03:42:03.440 --> 03:42:07.600
There was a peculiar kind of hesitation
denoted in the attitudes of the men.

2534
03:42:07.399 --> 03:42:13.000
They were worn exhausted, having slept
but little and labored much. They

2535
03:42:13.120 --> 03:42:18.360
rolled their eyes toward the advancing battle
as they stood awaiting the shock. Some

2536
03:42:18.479 --> 03:42:26.159
shrank and flinched. They stood as
men tied to stakes. End of chapter

2537
03:42:26.239 --> 03:42:37.520
sixteen, Chapter seventeen of The Red
Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. This

2538
03:42:37.639 --> 03:42:43.639
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
recordings are in the public domain. For

2539
03:42:43.719 --> 03:42:48.799
more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. This recording is

2540
03:42:48.840 --> 03:42:54.399
by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South
Carolina. The Red Badge of Courage by

2541
03:42:54.520 --> 03:43:01.239
Stephen Crane, Chapter seventeen. The
advance of the enemy had seemed to the

2542
03:43:01.319 --> 03:43:07.159
youth like a ruthless hunting. He
began to fume with rage and exasperation.

2543
03:43:07.760 --> 03:43:11.280
He beat his foot upon the ground
and scowled with hate at the swirling smoke

2544
03:43:11.360 --> 03:43:16.879
that was approaching, like a phantom
flood. There was a maddening quality in

2545
03:43:16.920 --> 03:43:20.239
the seeming resolution of the foe to
give him no rest, to give him

2546
03:43:20.239 --> 03:43:24.879
no time to sit down and think. Yesterday he had fought and had fled

2547
03:43:24.959 --> 03:43:30.719
rapidly. There had been many adventures. For to day he felt that he

2548
03:43:30.760 --> 03:43:37.120
had earned opportunities for contemplative repose.
He could have enjoyed portraying too uninitiated listeners

2549
03:43:37.120 --> 03:43:41.559
of various scenes at which he had
been a witness, or ably discussing the

2550
03:43:41.639 --> 03:43:48.000
processes of war with other proved men. Too. It was important that he

2551
03:43:48.079 --> 03:43:52.879
should have time for physical recuperation.
He was sore and stiff from his experiences.

2552
03:43:54.280 --> 03:43:58.840
He had received his fill of all
exertions, and he wished to rest.

2553
03:43:58.559 --> 03:44:03.879
But though those other men seemed never
to grow weary, they were fighting

2554
03:44:03.879 --> 03:44:07.200
with their old speed. He had
a wild hate for the relentless foe.

2555
03:44:09.040 --> 03:44:13.120
Yesterday, when he had imagined the
universe to be against him, he had

2556
03:44:13.200 --> 03:44:18.559
hated it little gods and big gods. Today he hated the army of the

2557
03:44:18.600 --> 03:44:22.799
foe with the same great hatred.
He was not going to be badgered of

2558
03:44:22.840 --> 03:44:26.200
his life like a kitten chased by
boys. He said, it was not

2559
03:44:26.399 --> 03:44:31.479
well to drive men into final corners. At those moments they could all develop

2560
03:44:31.600 --> 03:44:37.719
teeth and claws. He leaned and
spoke into his friend's ear. He menaced

2561
03:44:37.760 --> 03:44:43.239
the woods with a gesture, if
they keep on chasing us, by God,

2562
03:44:43.319 --> 03:44:48.840
they'd better watch out. Can't stand
too much The French twisted his head

2563
03:44:48.879 --> 03:44:52.760
and made a calm reply. If
they keep on a chasing us, they'll

2564
03:44:52.840 --> 03:44:56.760
drive us all into the river.
The youth cried out savagely at this statement.

2565
03:44:58.200 --> 03:45:01.440
He crouched behind a little tree,
with his eyes burning hatefully and his

2566
03:45:01.600 --> 03:45:07.639
teeth set in a curlike snarl.
The awkward bandage was still about his head,

2567
03:45:07.760 --> 03:45:11.600
and upon it over his wound,
there was a spot of dry blood.

2568
03:45:11.239 --> 03:45:16.440
His hair was wondrously tousled, and
some straggling, moving locks hung over

2569
03:45:16.479 --> 03:45:22.399
the cloth of the bandage down toward
his forehead. His jacket and shirt were

2570
03:45:22.440 --> 03:45:26.040
open at the throat and exposed his
young, bronzed neck. There could be

2571
03:45:26.120 --> 03:45:33.479
seen spasmodic gulpings at his throat.
His fingers twined nervously about his rifle.

2572
03:45:33.079 --> 03:45:37.600
He wished that it was an engine
of annihilating power. He felt that he

2573
03:45:37.680 --> 03:45:43.280
and his companions were being taunted and
derided from sincere convictions that they were poor

2574
03:45:43.360 --> 03:45:48.920
and puny. His knowledge of his
inability to take vengeance for it made his

2575
03:45:50.040 --> 03:45:54.120
rage into a dark and stormy specter
that possessed him and made him dream of

2576
03:45:54.200 --> 03:46:01.159
abominable cruelties. The tormentors were flies, sucking insolently at his blood, and

2577
03:46:01.239 --> 03:46:05.879
he thought that he would have given
his life for a revenge of seeing their

2578
03:46:05.920 --> 03:46:11.680
faces in pitiful plights. The winds
of battle had swept all about the regiment

2579
03:46:11.959 --> 03:46:16.680
until the one rifle, instantly followed
by others, flashed in its front.

2580
03:46:18.360 --> 03:46:22.799
A moment later the regiment roared forth
its sudden and valiant retort. A dense

2581
03:46:22.840 --> 03:46:28.000
wall of smoke settled down. It
was furiously slit and slashed by the knife

2582
03:46:28.000 --> 03:46:33.719
like fire from the rifles to the
youth, the fighters resembled animals tossed for

2583
03:46:33.840 --> 03:46:39.520
a death struggle into a dark pit. There was a sensation that he and

2584
03:46:39.600 --> 03:46:45.280
his fellows at bay were pushing back, always pushing back, fierce onslaughts of

2585
03:46:45.319 --> 03:46:50.799
creatures who were slippery. Their beams
of crimson seemed to get no purchase upon

2586
03:46:50.879 --> 03:46:54.879
the bodies of their foes. The
latter seemed to evade them with ease,

2587
03:46:54.280 --> 03:47:01.000
and come through between, around and
about with unopposed skill. When in a

2588
03:47:01.079 --> 03:47:05.479
dream it occurred to the youth that
his rifle was an impotent stick, he

2589
03:47:05.600 --> 03:47:11.120
lost sense of everything but his hate, his desire to smash into pulp,

2590
03:47:11.479 --> 03:47:16.120
the glittering smile of victory which he
could feel upon the faces of his enemies.

2591
03:47:16.399 --> 03:47:20.799
The blue smoke swallowed, lying,
curled, and writhed. Like a

2592
03:47:20.920 --> 03:47:24.479
snake stepped upon it, swung its
ends to and fro in an agony of

2593
03:47:24.559 --> 03:47:30.159
fear and rage. The youth was
not conscious that he was erect upon his

2594
03:47:30.239 --> 03:47:33.600
feet. He did not know the
direction of the ground. Indeed, once

2595
03:47:33.600 --> 03:47:37.840
he even lost the habit of balance
and fell heavily, he was up again

2596
03:47:37.879 --> 03:47:43.159
immediately. One thought went through the
chaos of his brain. At the time,

2597
03:47:43.639 --> 03:47:46.479
he wondered if he had fallen because
he had been shot. But the

2598
03:47:46.600 --> 03:47:52.959
suspicion flew away at once. He
did not think more of it. He

2599
03:47:52.000 --> 03:47:58.040
had taken up a first position behind
the little tree with a direct determination to

2600
03:47:58.079 --> 03:48:01.639
hold it against the world. He
had not deemed it possible that his army

2601
03:48:01.680 --> 03:48:07.360
could that day succeed, and from
this he felt the ability to fight harder.

2602
03:48:07.159 --> 03:48:13.639
But the throng had surged in all
ways until he lost directions and locations,

2603
03:48:13.680 --> 03:48:18.000
save that he knew where lay the
enemy. The flames bit him,

2604
03:48:18.239 --> 03:48:22.079
and the hot smoke broiled his skin. His rifle barrel grew so hot that

2605
03:48:22.280 --> 03:48:26.319
ordinarily he could not have borne it
upon his palms, but he kept on,

2606
03:48:26.440 --> 03:48:31.479
stuffing cartridges into it and pounding them
with his clanking, bending ramrod.

2607
03:48:33.159 --> 03:48:37.559
If he aimed at some charging form
through the smoke, he pulled the trigger

2608
03:48:37.600 --> 03:48:41.200
with a fierce grunt, as if
he were dealing a blow of the fist

2609
03:48:41.280 --> 03:48:46.360
with all his strength. When the
enemy seemed falling back before him and his

2610
03:48:46.479 --> 03:48:50.440
fellows, he went instantly forward,
like a dog who, seeing his foes

2611
03:48:50.520 --> 03:48:56.920
lagging, turns and insists upon being
pursued. And when he was compelled to

2612
03:48:56.959 --> 03:49:01.959
retire again, he did it slowly, sullenly, taking steps of wrathful despair.

2613
03:49:03.440 --> 03:49:09.000
Once he, in his intent hate, was almost alone and was firing

2614
03:49:09.360 --> 03:49:13.959
when all those near him had ceased. He was so engrossed in his occupation

2615
03:49:13.040 --> 03:49:18.360
that he was not aware of a
lull. He was recalled by a hoarse

2616
03:49:18.479 --> 03:49:20.959
laugh and a sentence that came to
his ears in a voice of contempt and

2617
03:49:22.079 --> 03:49:24.719
amazement. Yeah and far, though, fool, don't ye know enough to

2618
03:49:24.799 --> 03:49:30.559
quit when there ain't anything to shoot
at? Good God? He turned then,

2619
03:49:30.559 --> 03:49:33.760
and, pausing with his rifle thrown
half into position, looked at the

2620
03:49:33.799 --> 03:49:39.479
blue line of his comrades. During
this moment of leisure, they seemed all

2621
03:49:39.520 --> 03:49:43.760
to be engaged in staring with astonishment
at him. They had become spectators.

2622
03:49:45.559 --> 03:49:50.840
Turning to the front again, he
saw under the lifted smoke a deserted ground.

2623
03:49:52.040 --> 03:49:56.440
He looked bewildered for a moment.
Then there appeared, upon the glazed

2624
03:49:56.520 --> 03:50:01.520
vacancy of his eyes a diamond point
of intelligence. Oh, he said,

2625
03:50:01.520 --> 03:50:07.360
comprehending, he returned to his comrades
and threw himself upon the ground. He

2626
03:50:07.479 --> 03:50:13.399
sprawled like a man who had been
thrashed. His flesh seemed strangely on fire,

2627
03:50:13.760 --> 03:50:18.280
and the sounds of the battle continued
in his ears. He groped blindly

2628
03:50:18.360 --> 03:50:22.920
for his canteen. The lieutenant was
crowing. He seemed drunk with fighting.

2629
03:50:24.360 --> 03:50:28.159
He called out to the youth,
by heavens, if I had ten thousand

2630
03:50:28.239 --> 03:50:31.159
wogcats like you, I could tear
the stomach out of this war and lessen

2631
03:50:31.200 --> 03:50:35.760
a week. He puffed out his
chest with large dignity as he said it.

2632
03:50:37.840 --> 03:50:41.239
Some of the men muttered and looked
at the youth in awe struck ways.

2633
03:50:41.879 --> 03:50:45.639
It was plain that as he had
gone on loading and firing and cursing

2634
03:50:45.760 --> 03:50:50.840
without proper intermission, they had found
time to regard him, and they now

2635
03:50:50.879 --> 03:50:56.799
looked upon him as a war devil. The friend came staggering to him.

2636
03:50:56.200 --> 03:51:01.239
There was some fright and dismay in
his voice. Are ye all right,

2637
03:51:01.360 --> 03:51:05.680
fleming? D ye feel all right? There ain't nothing the matter with ye,

2638
03:51:05.799 --> 03:51:09.680
Henry? Is there? No,
said the youth, with difficulty.

2639
03:51:11.440 --> 03:51:16.760
His throat seemed full of knobs and
burrs. These incidents made the youth ponder.

2640
03:51:18.399 --> 03:51:22.319
It was revealed to him that he
had been a barbarian, a beast.

2641
03:51:22.920 --> 03:51:26.000
He had fought like a pagan who
defends his religion. Regarding it,

2642
03:51:26.079 --> 03:51:31.360
he saw that it was fine,
wild, and in some ways easy.

2643
03:51:31.079 --> 03:51:35.399
He had been a tremendous figure.
No doubt. By this struggle he had

2644
03:51:35.440 --> 03:51:41.000
overcome obstacles which he had emmitted to
be mountains. They had fallen like paper

2645
03:51:41.120 --> 03:51:46.559
peaks, and he was now what
he called a hero. And he had

2646
03:51:46.600 --> 03:51:50.719
not been aware of the process.
He had slept, and awakening found himself

2647
03:51:50.879 --> 03:51:56.239
a knight. He lay and best
in the occasional stares of his comrades.

2648
03:51:56.799 --> 03:52:03.040
Their faces were varied in degrees of
blackness from the burned powder. Some were

2649
03:52:03.159 --> 03:52:07.040
utterly smudged. They were reeking with
perspiration, and their breaths came hard and

2650
03:52:07.079 --> 03:52:13.680
wheezing, and from these soiled expanses
they peered at him. Hot work,

2651
03:52:13.000 --> 03:52:18.920
Hot work, cried the lieutenant deliriously. He walked up and down, restless

2652
03:52:18.920 --> 03:52:24.079
and eager. Sometimes his voice could
be heard in a wild, incomprehensible laugh.

2653
03:52:26.200 --> 03:52:30.040
When he had a particularly profound thought
upon the science of war, he

2654
03:52:30.200 --> 03:52:35.360
always unconsciously addressed himself to the youth. There was some grim rejoicing by the

2655
03:52:35.440 --> 03:52:41.280
men. By thunder. I bet
this arm you'll never see another new regiment

2656
03:52:41.360 --> 03:52:46.520
like us. You bet a dog, a woman and a wallet tree.

2657
03:52:46.600 --> 03:52:50.879
The more you beat him, the
better they be. That's like us lost

2658
03:52:50.959 --> 03:52:56.280
to piler men. They did.
If an old woman swept up the woods,

2659
03:52:56.280 --> 03:53:01.399
she get a dust panful, yes, And if she'll come around again

2660
03:53:01.479 --> 03:53:05.239
in about an hour, she'll get
a pole. More. The forest still

2661
03:53:05.280 --> 03:53:11.159
bore its burden of clamor. From
off under the trees came the rolling clatter

2662
03:53:11.280 --> 03:53:16.319
of the musketry. Each distant thicket
seemed a strange porcupine with quills of flame.

2663
03:53:18.159 --> 03:53:22.559
A cloud of dark smoke, as
from smoldering ruins, went up toward

2664
03:53:22.639 --> 03:53:28.280
the sun, now bright and gay
in the blue enameled sky. End of

2665
03:53:28.360 --> 03:53:43.600
Chapter seventeen eighteen of The Red Badge
of Courage by Stephen Crane. This is

2666
03:53:43.600 --> 03:53:48.680
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
are in the public domain. For more

2667
03:53:48.680 --> 03:53:54.000
information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. This recording is by

2668
03:53:54.040 --> 03:54:01.799
Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen

2669
03:54:01.879 --> 03:54:07.479
Crane, Chapter eighteen. The ragged
line had respited for some minutes, but

2670
03:54:07.639 --> 03:54:11.959
during its pause, the struggle in
the forest became magnified, until the trees

2671
03:54:13.000 --> 03:54:16.879
seemed to quiver from the firing,
and the ground to shake from the rushing

2672
03:54:16.920 --> 03:54:20.600
of men. The voices of the
cannon were mingled in a long and interminable

2673
03:54:20.680 --> 03:54:26.239
row. It seemed difficult to live
in such an atmosphere. The chests of

2674
03:54:26.280 --> 03:54:30.319
the men strained for a bit of
freshness, and their throats craved water.

2675
03:54:31.760 --> 03:54:35.319
There was one shot through the body, who raised a cry of bitter lamentation

2676
03:54:35.479 --> 03:54:39.879
when came this lull. Perhaps he
had been calling out during the fighting also,

2677
03:54:41.399 --> 03:54:43.639
but at that time no one had
heard him. But now the men

2678
03:54:43.680 --> 03:54:48.959
turned at the woeful complaints of him
upon the ground. Who is it?

2679
03:54:48.120 --> 03:54:54.000
Who is it? It's Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Rogers. When their eyes first

2680
03:54:54.120 --> 03:54:58.760
encountered him, there was a sudden
halt, as if they feared to go

2681
03:54:58.879 --> 03:55:03.520
near. Thrashing about in the grass, twisting his shuddering body into many strange

2682
03:55:03.559 --> 03:55:09.239
postures, he was screaming loudly.
This instant's hesitation seemed to fill him with

2683
03:55:09.239 --> 03:55:16.399
a tremendous, fantastic contempt, and
he damned them and shrieked sentences. The

2684
03:55:16.479 --> 03:55:22.159
youth's friend had a geographical illusion concerning
a stream, and he obtained permission to

2685
03:55:22.200 --> 03:55:28.399
go for some water. Immediately canteens
were showered upon him. Fill mine,

2686
03:55:28.440 --> 03:55:33.200
Will you bring me some too?
And me too? He departed. Ladened,

2687
03:55:33.879 --> 03:55:37.200
the youth went with his friend,
feeling a desire to throw his heated

2688
03:55:37.280 --> 03:55:43.799
body into the stream, and soaking
there drink quartz. They made a hurried

2689
03:55:43.879 --> 03:55:48.200
search for the supposed stream, but
did not find it. No water here,

2690
03:55:48.799 --> 03:55:54.200
said the youth. They turned without
delay and began to retrace their steps

2691
03:55:54.239 --> 03:55:58.079
from their position. As they again
faced toward the place of the fighting,

2692
03:55:58.520 --> 03:56:03.920
they could comprehend a greater amount of
the battle than when their visions had been

2693
03:56:03.959 --> 03:56:07.959
blurred by the hurling smoke of the
line. They could see dark stretches winding

2694
03:56:09.040 --> 03:56:11.760
along the land, and on one
cleared space there was a row of guns

2695
03:56:11.840 --> 03:56:18.040
making gray clouds which were filled with
large flashes of orange colored flame. Over

2696
03:56:18.120 --> 03:56:22.520
some foliage, they could see the
roof of a house, one window glowing

2697
03:56:22.559 --> 03:56:28.840
a deep murder red shone squarely through
the leaves. From the edifice, A

2698
03:56:28.920 --> 03:56:33.479
tall, leaning tower of smoke went
far into the sky. Looking over their

2699
03:56:33.479 --> 03:56:39.040
own troops, they saw mixed masses
slowly getting into regular form. The sunlight

2700
03:56:39.120 --> 03:56:43.159
made twinkling points of the bright steel. To the rear, there was a

2701
03:56:43.159 --> 03:56:48.840
glimpse of a distant roadway as it
curved over a slope. It was crowded

2702
03:56:48.879 --> 03:56:54.719
with retreating infantry. From all the
interwoven forest arose the smoke and bluster of

2703
03:56:54.760 --> 03:57:00.559
the battle. The air was always
occupied by a blaring Near where they stood,

2704
03:57:00.600 --> 03:57:05.520
shells were flip flapping and hooting.
Occasional bullets buzzed in the air and

2705
03:57:05.719 --> 03:57:11.639
spanged into tree trunks. Wounded men
and other stragglers were slinking through the woods.

2706
03:57:11.799 --> 03:57:16.319
Looking down an aisle of the grove, the youth and his companion saw

2707
03:57:16.360 --> 03:57:20.600
a jangly general and his staff almost
ride upon a wounded man who was crawling

2708
03:57:20.600 --> 03:57:26.600
on his hands and knees. The
general reined strongly at his chargers, opened

2709
03:57:26.639 --> 03:57:31.959
in foamy mouth, and guided it
with dexterous horsemanship past the man. The

2710
03:57:31.079 --> 03:57:37.440
latter scrambled in wild and torturing haste. His strength evidently failed him. As

2711
03:57:37.479 --> 03:57:41.760
he reached a place of safety,
one of his arms suddenly weakened, and

2712
03:57:41.879 --> 03:57:46.719
he fell, sliding over upon his
back. He lay stretched out, breathing

2713
03:57:46.799 --> 03:57:52.559
gently. A moment later, the
small, creaking cavalcade was directly in front

2714
03:57:52.600 --> 03:57:56.159
of the two soldiers. Another officer, riding with the skillful abandon of a

2715
03:57:56.239 --> 03:58:01.159
cowboy, galloped his horse to a
position and directly before the general. The

2716
03:58:01.239 --> 03:58:07.000
two unnoticed foot soldiers made a little
show of going on, but they lingered

2717
03:58:07.040 --> 03:58:13.079
near in the desire to overhear the
conversation. Perhaps they thought some great inner

2718
03:58:13.200 --> 03:58:18.079
historical things would be said. The
general, whom the boys knew as the

2719
03:58:18.120 --> 03:58:22.159
commander of their division, looked at
the other officer and spoke coolly as if

2720
03:58:22.159 --> 03:58:28.680
he were criticizing his clothes. The
enemies foremen over there for another charge,

2721
03:58:28.200 --> 03:58:33.000
he said, it'll be directed against
Whiterside, and I fear they'll break through

2722
03:58:33.079 --> 03:58:37.840
unless we work like thunder to stop
him. The others swore at his restive

2723
03:58:37.879 --> 03:58:41.719
horse, and then cleared his throat. He made a gesture toward his cap.

2724
03:58:43.479 --> 03:58:46.719
It'll be hell to pay stop on
them, he said shortly. I

2725
03:58:46.879 --> 03:58:52.959
presume so, remarked the general.
Then he began to talk rapidly and in

2726
03:58:52.000 --> 03:58:58.360
a lower tone. He frequently illustrated
his words with a pointing finger. The

2727
03:58:58.440 --> 03:59:03.200
two infantrymen could hear, until finally
he asked, what troops can you spare?

2728
03:59:03.280 --> 03:59:07.559
The officer, who rode like a
cowboy, reflected for an instant.

2729
03:59:07.040 --> 03:59:11.520
Well, he said, I had
to order in the twelfth to help the

2730
03:59:11.559 --> 03:59:15.879
seventy sixth, and I haven't really
got any. But there's the three or

2731
03:59:16.000 --> 03:59:18.799
fourth. They fight like a lot
of mule drivers. I can spare them

2732
03:59:18.840 --> 03:59:24.479
best of any. The youth and
his friend exchanged glances of astonishment. The

2733
03:59:24.559 --> 03:59:30.120
general spoke sharply, get him ready. Then I'll watch developments from here and

2734
03:59:30.200 --> 03:59:35.000
send you word when to start them. It'll happen in five minutes. As

2735
03:59:35.040 --> 03:59:39.360
the other officer tossed his fingers towards
his cap and wheeling his horse started away,

2736
03:59:39.879 --> 03:59:43.559
the general called out to him in
a sober voice, I don't believe

2737
03:59:43.600 --> 03:59:48.159
many of your mule drivers will get
back. The other shouted something. In

2738
03:59:48.280 --> 03:59:54.239
reply, he smiled with scared faces. The youth and his companion hurried back

2739
03:59:54.319 --> 04:00:01.159
to the line. These happenings had
occupied an incredibly or time, yet the

2740
04:00:01.239 --> 04:00:05.920
youth felt that in them he had
been made aged. New eyes were given

2741
04:00:05.920 --> 04:00:09.959
to him, and the most startling
thing was to learn suddenly that he was

2742
04:00:09.159 --> 04:00:15.200
very insignificant. The officer spoke of
the regiment as if he referred to a

2743
04:00:15.239 --> 04:00:18.799
broom. Some part of the woods
needed sweeping, perhaps, And he merely

2744
04:00:18.840 --> 04:00:24.120
indicated a broom in a tone properly
indifferent to its fate. It was war,

2745
04:00:24.280 --> 04:00:30.559
no doubt, but it appeared strange. As the two boys approached the

2746
04:00:30.600 --> 04:00:35.639
line, the lieutenant perceived them and
swelled with wrath, fleming wilson, how

2747
04:00:35.760 --> 04:00:39.479
long does it take you to get
water anyhow where you've been to? But

2748
04:00:39.600 --> 04:00:45.079
his oration ceased as he saw their
eyes, which were large with great tales.

2749
04:00:46.799 --> 04:00:50.040
We're going to charge, We're going
to charge, cried the youth's friend,

2750
04:00:50.319 --> 04:00:56.040
hastening with his news gearge said the
lieutenant garge, Well, by god,

2751
04:00:56.159 --> 04:01:01.479
now this is real fighting. Over
his soiled countenance, there went a

2752
04:01:01.520 --> 04:01:07.000
boastful smile charge well, my god, A little group of soldiers surrounded the

2753
04:01:07.000 --> 04:01:13.399
two youths. Are we sure enough? Will I'll be durned? Charge?

2754
04:01:13.399 --> 04:01:18.360
What fur? What at Wilson?
You're lying? I hope to die,

2755
04:01:18.879 --> 04:01:22.280
said the youth, pitching his tones
to the key of angry remonstrance. Sure

2756
04:01:22.319 --> 04:01:26.879
a shooting, I tell you.
And his friends spoke in reinforcement. Not

2757
04:01:28.120 --> 04:01:31.639
by a blamed sight. He ain't
lyin We heard him talking. They caught

2758
04:01:31.719 --> 04:01:37.159
sight of two mounted figures a short
distance from them. One was the colonel

2759
04:01:37.239 --> 04:01:39.719
of the regiment, and the other
was the officer who had received orders from

2760
04:01:39.719 --> 04:01:45.639
the commander of the division. They
were gesticulating at each other. The soldier

2761
04:01:45.760 --> 04:01:50.760
pointing at them interpreted the scene.
One man had a final objection, how

2762
04:01:50.799 --> 04:01:54.920
could you hear them talking? But
the men, for a large part nodded

2763
04:01:56.200 --> 04:02:01.000
admitted that previously the two friends had
spoken truth. They settled back into reposeful

2764
04:02:01.040 --> 04:02:07.040
latitudes with airs of having accepted the
matter, and they mused upon it with

2765
04:02:07.120 --> 04:02:11.799
a hundred varieties of expression. It
was an engrossing thing to think about.

2766
04:02:11.440 --> 04:02:18.159
Many tightened their belts carefully and hitched
at their trousers. A moment later,

2767
04:02:18.200 --> 04:02:22.680
the officers began to bustle among the
men, pushing them into a more compact

2768
04:02:22.719 --> 04:02:26.680
mass and into a better alignment.
They chased those that straggled, and fumed

2769
04:02:26.719 --> 04:02:31.639
at a few men who seemed to
show by their attitudes that they had decided

2770
04:02:31.680 --> 04:02:35.319
to remain at that spot. They
were like critical shepherds struggling with sheep.

2771
04:02:37.399 --> 04:02:41.559
Presently, the regiment seemed to draw
itself up and heave a deep breath.

2772
04:02:41.440 --> 04:02:46.239
None of the men's faces were mirrors
of large thoughts. The soldiers were bended

2773
04:02:46.280 --> 04:02:52.840
and stooped like sprinters before a signal. Many pairs of glinting eyes peered from

2774
04:02:52.840 --> 04:02:56.479
the grimy faces toward the curtains of
the deeper woods. They seemed to be

2775
04:02:56.520 --> 04:03:03.719
engaged in deep calculations of time and
distance. They were surrounded by the noises

2776
04:03:03.799 --> 04:03:07.959
of the monstrous altercation between the two
armies. The world was fully interested in

2777
04:03:09.000 --> 04:03:15.200
other matters. Apparently the regiment had
its small affair to itself. The youth

2778
04:03:15.319 --> 04:03:20.200
turning, shot a quick inquiring glance
at his friend. The latter returned to

2779
04:03:20.280 --> 04:03:24.120
him the same manner of look.
They were the only ones who possessed an

2780
04:03:24.159 --> 04:03:28.799
inner knowledge. Mule drivers held to
pay don't believe many will get back.

2781
04:03:30.799 --> 04:03:35.120
It was an ironical secret. Still, they saw no hesitation in each other's

2782
04:03:35.159 --> 04:03:41.120
faces, and they nodded a mute
and unprotesting ascent. When a shaggy man

2783
04:03:41.200 --> 04:03:46.719
near them said, it a meek
voice, we'll get swallowed. End of

2784
04:03:46.840 --> 04:04:00.639
Chapter eighteen nineteen of The Red Badge
of Courage. This is a librivo recording.

2785
04:04:01.079 --> 04:04:05.520
All LibriVox recordings are in the public
domain. For more information or to

2786
04:04:05.600 --> 04:04:11.360
volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. This recording is by Mark Smith of

2787
04:04:11.399 --> 04:04:16.600
Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red
Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter

2788
04:04:16.719 --> 04:04:22.760
nineteen. The youth stared at the
land in front of him, Its foliages

2789
04:04:22.840 --> 04:04:28.799
now seemed to veil powers and horrors. He was unaware of the machinery of

2790
04:04:28.920 --> 04:04:33.040
orders that started the charge, although
from the corners of his eyes he saw

2791
04:04:33.079 --> 04:04:37.959
an officer who looked like a boy
a horseback come galloping, waving his hat.

2792
04:04:37.920 --> 04:04:43.600
Suddenly he felt a straining and heaving
among the men. The line fell

2793
04:04:43.719 --> 04:04:48.479
slowly forward like a toppling wall,
and with a convulsive gasp that was intended

2794
04:04:48.520 --> 04:04:54.280
for a cheer, the regiment began
its journey. The youth was pushed and

2795
04:04:54.399 --> 04:04:58.559
jostled for a moment before he understood
the movement at all, But directly,

2796
04:04:58.600 --> 04:05:03.479
he lunged ahead and began to run. He fixed his eye upon a distant

2797
04:05:03.479 --> 04:05:07.799
and prominent clump of trees where he
had concluded the enemy were to be met,

2798
04:05:07.200 --> 04:05:11.479
and he ran toward it as toward
a goal. He had believed throughout

2799
04:05:11.559 --> 04:05:16.799
that it was a mere question of
getting over an unpleasant matter as quickly as

2800
04:05:16.840 --> 04:05:22.120
possible, and he ran desperately,
as if pursued for a murder. His

2801
04:05:22.200 --> 04:05:26.440
face was drawn hard and tight with
the stress of his endeavor. His eyes

2802
04:05:26.479 --> 04:05:31.159
were fixed in a lurid glare,
and with his soiled and disordered dress,

2803
04:05:31.159 --> 04:05:35.680
his red and inflamed features, surmounted
by the dingy rag with its spot of

2804
04:05:35.719 --> 04:05:41.559
blood, his wildly swinging rifle and
banging accouterments, he looked to be an

2805
04:05:41.559 --> 04:05:46.920
insane soldier. As the regiment swung
from its position out into a cleared space,

2806
04:05:48.040 --> 04:05:52.360
the woods and thickets before it awakened
yellow flames leaped toward it from many

2807
04:05:52.399 --> 04:05:58.000
directions. The forest made a tremendous
objection. The line lurked straight for a

2808
04:05:58.040 --> 04:06:03.040
moment, and the right wing swung
forward. It in turn was surpassed by

2809
04:06:03.040 --> 04:06:07.559
the left. Afterward, the center
careered to the front, until the regiment

2810
04:06:07.639 --> 04:06:13.239
was a wedge shape mast. But
an instant later the opposition of the bushes,

2811
04:06:13.440 --> 04:06:18.520
trees and uneven places on the ground
split the command and scattered it into

2812
04:06:18.559 --> 04:06:24.840
detached clusters. The youth, light
footed, was unconsciously in advance. His

2813
04:06:24.959 --> 04:06:28.200
eyes still kept no to the clump
of trees. From all places near it,

2814
04:06:28.239 --> 04:06:33.200
the clanish yell of the enemy could
be heard, The little flames of

2815
04:06:33.319 --> 04:06:37.000
rifles leaped from it. The song
of the bullets was in the air,

2816
04:06:37.479 --> 04:06:41.479
and shells snarled among the tree tops. One tumbled directly into the middle of

2817
04:06:41.479 --> 04:06:46.760
a hurrying group and exploded in crimson
fury. There was an instant spectacle of

2818
04:06:46.799 --> 04:06:52.000
a man almost over it, throwing
up his hands to shield his eyes.

2819
04:06:52.319 --> 04:06:58.239
Other men punched by bullets, felling
grotesque agonies. The regiment left a coherent

2820
04:06:58.319 --> 04:07:05.440
trail of bodies. They had passed
into a clearer atmosphere. There was an

2821
04:07:05.479 --> 04:07:09.959
effect like a revelation in the new
appearance of the landscape. Some men working

2822
04:07:11.000 --> 04:07:15.440
madly at a battery were plain to
them, and the opposing infantry's lines were

2823
04:07:15.479 --> 04:07:20.120
defined by the gray walls and the
fringes of smoke. It seemed to the

2824
04:07:20.159 --> 04:07:24.600
youth that he saw everything. Each
blade of the green grass was bold and

2825
04:07:24.760 --> 04:07:28.520
clear. He thought that he was
aware of every change in the thin,

2826
04:07:28.040 --> 04:07:33.520
transparent vapor that floated idly in sheets. The brown or gray trunks of the

2827
04:07:33.559 --> 04:07:37.799
trees showed each roughness of their surfaces, and the men of the regiment,

2828
04:07:39.079 --> 04:07:43.719
with their starting eyes and sweating faces, running madly or falling as if thrown

2829
04:07:43.760 --> 04:07:50.440
headlong to queer, heaped up corpses, all were comprehended. His mind took

2830
04:07:50.479 --> 04:07:56.879
a mechanical but firm impression, so
that afterward everything was pictured and explained to

2831
04:07:56.959 --> 04:08:01.719
him, save why he himself was
there. But there was a frenzy made

2832
04:08:01.840 --> 04:08:07.879
from this furious rush. The men
pitching forward insanely had burst into cheerings,

2833
04:08:09.319 --> 04:08:13.719
moblike and barbaric, but tuned in
strange keys that can arouse the dullard and

2834
04:08:13.799 --> 04:08:20.559
the stoic. It made a mad
enthusiasm that it seemed would be incapable of

2835
04:08:20.639 --> 04:08:26.440
checking itself. Before granite and brass, there was the delirium that encounters despair

2836
04:08:26.479 --> 04:08:30.600
and death, and is heedless and
blind to the odds. It is a

2837
04:08:30.680 --> 04:08:35.760
temporary, but sublime absence of selfishness, And because it was of this order,

2838
04:08:35.920 --> 04:08:39.760
was the reason, perhaps why the
youth wondered afterward what reasons he could

2839
04:08:39.879 --> 04:08:46.959
have had for being there. Presently, the straining pace ate up the energies

2840
04:08:46.000 --> 04:08:50.719
of the men, as if by
agreement. The leaders began to slacken their

2841
04:08:50.760 --> 04:08:56.440
speed. The volleys directed against them
had had a seeming windlike effect. The

2842
04:08:56.520 --> 04:09:03.239
regiment snorted and blew some stolid trees. It began to falter and hesitate.

2843
04:09:03.920 --> 04:09:07.479
The men, staring intently, began
to wait for some of the distant walls

2844
04:09:07.479 --> 04:09:13.559
of smoke to move and to disclose
to them the scene. Since much of

2845
04:09:13.559 --> 04:09:16.799
their strength and their breath had vanished, they returned to caution. They were

2846
04:09:16.879 --> 04:09:22.719
become men again. The youth had
a vague belief that he had run miles,

2847
04:09:24.120 --> 04:09:26.200
and he thought in a way that
he was now in some new and

2848
04:09:26.360 --> 04:09:33.159
unknown land. The moment the regiment
ceased its advance, the protesting splutter of

2849
04:09:33.280 --> 04:09:39.920
musketry became a steadied roar. Long
and accurate fringes of smoke spread out from

2850
04:09:39.920 --> 04:09:43.719
the top of a small hill.
Came level belchings of yellow flame that caused

2851
04:09:43.719 --> 04:09:50.879
an inhuman whistling in the air.
The men halted had opportunity to see some

2852
04:09:50.959 --> 04:09:56.399
of their comrades dropping with moans and
shrieks. A few lay underfoot still or

2853
04:09:56.479 --> 04:10:01.680
wailing. And now for an instant
the men stood their rifles, slackened their

2854
04:10:01.719 --> 04:10:07.319
hands, and watched the regiment dwindle. They appeared dazed and stupid. This

2855
04:10:07.479 --> 04:10:13.520
spectacle seemed to paralyze them, overcome
them with a fatal fascination. They stared

2856
04:10:13.559 --> 04:10:18.040
woodenly at the sights, and,
lowering their eyes, looked from face to

2857
04:10:18.159 --> 04:10:26.079
face. It was a strange pause
and a strange silence. Then above the

2858
04:10:26.120 --> 04:10:31.280
sounds of the outside commotion arose the
roar of the lieutenant. He strode suddenly

2859
04:10:31.280 --> 04:10:37.079
forward, his invitile features black with
rage. Come on, you fools,

2860
04:10:37.399 --> 04:10:41.120
he bellowed, Come on, you
can't stay here, You must come on.

2861
04:10:41.840 --> 04:10:45.680
He said more, but much of
it could not be understood. He

2862
04:10:45.840 --> 04:10:48.959
started rapidly forward, with his head
turned toward the men, Come on,

2863
04:10:50.479 --> 04:10:54.559
he was shouting. The men stared
with black and yokel like eyes at him.

2864
04:10:56.079 --> 04:11:00.280
He was obliged to halt and retrace
his steps. He stood them with

2865
04:11:00.360 --> 04:11:05.000
his back to the enemy, and
delivered gigantic curses into the faces of the

2866
04:11:05.040 --> 04:11:09.239
men. His body vibrated from the
weight and force of his imprecations, and

2867
04:11:09.319 --> 04:11:15.559
he could string oaths with the facility
of a maiden who strings beads. The

2868
04:11:15.719 --> 04:11:20.959
friend of the youth aroused, lurching
suddenly forward and dropping to his knees,

2869
04:11:20.280 --> 04:11:26.959
he fired an angry shot at the
persistent woods. This action awakened the men.

2870
04:11:26.079 --> 04:11:31.399
They huddled no more like sheep.
They seemed suddenly to bethink themselves of

2871
04:11:31.440 --> 04:11:35.760
their weapons, and at once commenced
firing. Belabored by their officers, they

2872
04:11:35.799 --> 04:11:41.360
began to move forward. The regiment, involved, like a cart involved in

2873
04:11:41.520 --> 04:11:46.360
mud and muddle, started unevenly with
many jolts and jerks. The men stopped

2874
04:11:46.360 --> 04:11:50.920
now every few paces to fire and
load, and in this manner moved slowly

2875
04:11:50.959 --> 04:11:56.520
on from trees to trees. The
flaming opposition in their front grew with their

2876
04:11:56.559 --> 04:12:01.280
advance, until it seemed that all
forward way were barred by the thin,

2877
04:12:01.399 --> 04:12:05.200
leaping tongues, and off to the
right, an ominous demonstration could sometimes be

2878
04:12:05.319 --> 04:12:11.760
dimly discerned. The smoke lately generated
was in confusing clouds that made it difficult

2879
04:12:11.840 --> 04:12:16.799
for the regiment to proceed with intelligence. As he passed through each curling mass,

2880
04:12:18.120 --> 04:12:22.760
The youth wondered what would confront him
on the farther side. The command

2881
04:12:22.799 --> 04:12:26.959
went painfully forward until an open space
interposed between them and the lurid lines.

2882
04:12:28.680 --> 04:12:33.840
Here, crouching and cowering behind some
trees, the men clung with desperation,

2883
04:12:33.360 --> 04:12:37.799
as if threatened by a wave.
They looked wild eyed, and as if

2884
04:12:37.840 --> 04:12:43.319
amazed at this furious disturbance they had
stirred in the storm. There was an

2885
04:12:43.360 --> 04:12:48.399
ironical expression of their importance. The
faces of the men, too, showed

2886
04:12:48.399 --> 04:12:54.360
a lack of a certain feeling of
responsibility for being there. It was as

2887
04:12:54.399 --> 04:12:58.079
if they had been driven. It
was the dominant animal, failing to remember

2888
04:12:58.159 --> 04:13:05.600
in the supreme moments the forceful causes
of various superficial qualities. The whole affair

2889
04:13:05.680 --> 04:13:11.200
seemed incomprehensible to many of them as
they halted. Thus, the lieutenant again

2890
04:13:11.239 --> 04:13:16.879
began to bellow profanely, regardless of
the vindictive threats of the bullets. He

2891
04:13:18.000 --> 04:13:22.680
went about coaxing, berating, and
bedamning. His lips that were habitually in

2892
04:13:22.760 --> 04:13:28.639
a soft and childlike curve, were
now writhed into unholy contortions. He swore

2893
04:13:28.760 --> 04:13:33.559
by all possible deities. Once he
grabbed the youth by the arm. Come

2894
04:13:33.600 --> 04:13:37.559
on, you lunkhead, he roared, Come on, we'll all get killed

2895
04:13:37.559 --> 04:13:41.440
if we stay here. We only
got to go across that lot. And

2896
04:13:41.479 --> 04:13:48.159
then the remainder of his idea disappeared
in a blue haze of curses. The

2897
04:13:48.280 --> 04:13:52.840
youth stretched forth, his arm cross
there. His mouth was puckered in doubt.

2898
04:13:52.879 --> 04:13:56.920
And awe, certainly, just cross
the lot. We can't stay here,

2899
04:13:58.639 --> 04:14:03.239
screamed the lieutenant. He poked his
face close to the youth and waved

2900
04:14:03.280 --> 04:14:07.120
his bandaged hand. Come on.
Presently, he grappled with him, as

2901
04:14:07.120 --> 04:14:11.959
if for a wrestling bout. It
was as if he planned to drag the

2902
04:14:11.000 --> 04:14:16.680
youth by the ear on to the
assault. The private felt a sudden,

2903
04:14:16.799 --> 04:14:22.879
unspeakable indignation against his officer. He
wrenched fiercely and shook him off. Come

2904
04:14:22.920 --> 04:14:26.479
on yourself, then he yelled.
There was a bitter challenge in his voice.

2905
04:14:28.280 --> 04:14:33.079
They galloped together down the regimental front. The friends scrambled after them.

2906
04:14:33.600 --> 04:14:35.920
In front of the colors, the
three men began to ball Come on,

2907
04:14:37.079 --> 04:14:43.600
come on. They danced and gyrated
like tortured savages. The flag obedient to

2908
04:14:43.639 --> 04:14:48.319
these appeals bended its glittering form and
swept toward them. The men wavered an

2909
04:14:48.319 --> 04:14:54.719
indecision for a moment, and then
with a long wailful cry, the dilapidated

2910
04:14:54.760 --> 04:15:00.760
regiment surged forward and began its new
journey. Over the field went the scurrying

2911
04:15:00.840 --> 04:15:05.680
mass. It was a handful of
men splattered into the faces of the enemy.

2912
04:15:05.840 --> 04:15:09.840
Toward it instantly sprang the yellow tongues. A vast quantity of blue smoke

2913
04:15:09.920 --> 04:15:16.280
hung before them. A mighty banging
made ears valueless. The youth ran like

2914
04:15:16.319 --> 04:15:20.879
a madman to reach the woods before
a bullet could discover him. He ducked

2915
04:15:20.920 --> 04:15:24.159
his head low like a football player. In his haste, his eyes almost

2916
04:15:24.159 --> 04:15:30.239
closed, and the scene was a
wild blur. Pulsating saliva stood at the

2917
04:15:30.319 --> 04:15:35.280
quarters of his mouth. Within him, as he hurled himself forward, was

2918
04:15:35.360 --> 04:15:39.440
born a love, a despairing fondness
for this flag which was near him.

2919
04:15:41.040 --> 04:15:46.840
It was a creation of beauty and
invulnerability. It was a goddess radiant that

2920
04:15:46.000 --> 04:15:50.319
bended its form with an imperious gesture
to him. It was a woman,

2921
04:15:50.479 --> 04:15:54.600
red and white, hating and loving, that called him with the voice of

2922
04:15:54.639 --> 04:15:58.879
his hopes. Because no harm could
come to it. He endowed it with

2923
04:16:00.079 --> 04:16:03.440
power. He kept near as if
it could be a savor of lives,

2924
04:16:03.840 --> 04:16:08.680
and an imploring cry went from his
mind. In the mad scramble, he

2925
04:16:08.760 --> 04:16:14.520
was aware that the Color Sergeant flinched
suddenly, as if struck by a bludgeon.

2926
04:16:15.159 --> 04:16:21.120
He faltered and then became motionless save
for his quivering knees. He made

2927
04:16:21.159 --> 04:16:23.920
a spring in a clutch at the
pole. At the same instant his friend

2928
04:16:23.959 --> 04:16:29.159
grabbed it from the other side.
They jerked at it, stout and furious,

2929
04:16:29.760 --> 04:16:33.879
but the Color Sergeant was dead,
and the corpse would not relinquish its

2930
04:16:33.879 --> 04:16:37.360
trust for a moment. There was
a grim encounter. The dead band,

2931
04:16:37.479 --> 04:16:44.319
swinging with bended back, seemed to
be obstinately tugging in ludicrous and awful ways

2932
04:16:44.680 --> 04:16:48.879
for the possession of the flag.
It was passed in an instant of time.

2933
04:16:49.479 --> 04:16:53.319
They wrenched the flag furiously from the
dead man, and as they turned

2934
04:16:53.360 --> 04:16:59.559
again, the corpse swayed forward with
bowed head, one arm swung high,

2935
04:16:59.600 --> 04:17:03.239
and the curved hand fell with a
heavy protest on the friend's unheeding shoulder.

2936
04:17:06.559 --> 04:17:17.639
End of chapter nineteen, Chapter twenty
of The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen

2937
04:17:17.680 --> 04:17:22.840
Crane. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public

2938
04:17:22.879 --> 04:17:27.079
domain. For more information or to
volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.

2939
04:17:29.040 --> 04:17:33.959
This recording is by Mark Smith of
Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red Badge

2940
04:17:33.959 --> 04:17:41.360
of Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter
twenty. When the two youths turned from

2941
04:17:41.399 --> 04:17:45.360
the flag, they saw that much
of the regiment had crumbled away, and

2942
04:17:45.479 --> 04:17:51.719
the dejected remnant was coming slowly back. The men, having hurled themselves in

2943
04:17:51.799 --> 04:17:57.159
projectile fashion, had presently expended their
forces. They slowly retreated, with their

2944
04:17:57.159 --> 04:18:03.120
faces still toward the spluttering woods,
and their hot rifles still replying to the

2945
04:18:03.159 --> 04:18:08.479
din. Several officers were giving orders, their voices keyed to screams, Where

2946
04:18:08.479 --> 04:18:12.719
in hell are you going? The
lieutenant was asking, and the sarcastic howl,

2947
04:18:14.440 --> 04:18:18.559
and a red bearded officer, whose
voice of triple brass could plainly be

2948
04:18:18.680 --> 04:18:22.799
heard, was commanding, Shoot into'em, shoot into'em. Goddamn their

2949
04:18:22.879 --> 04:18:27.440
souls. There was a melee of
screeches in which the men were ordered to

2950
04:18:27.479 --> 04:18:33.040
do conflicting and impossible things. The
youth and his friend had a small scuffle

2951
04:18:33.079 --> 04:18:37.239
over the flag. Give it to
me, no let me keep it.

2952
04:18:37.840 --> 04:18:42.280
Each felt satisfied with the other's possession
of it, but each felt bound to

2953
04:18:42.360 --> 04:18:48.600
declare by an offer to carry the
emblem his willingness to further risk himself.

2954
04:18:48.040 --> 04:18:53.440
The youth roughly pushed his friend away. The regiment fell back to the stolid

2955
04:18:53.520 --> 04:18:57.719
trees. There it halted for a
moment to blaze at some dark forms that

2956
04:18:57.760 --> 04:19:03.280
had begun to steal upon on its
track. Presently, it resumed its march,

2957
04:19:03.319 --> 04:19:07.000
again, curving among the tree trunks. By the time the depleted regiment

2958
04:19:07.079 --> 04:19:11.600
had again reached the first open space, they were receiving a fast and merciless

2959
04:19:11.600 --> 04:19:17.520
fire. There seemed to be mobs
all about them. The greater part of

2960
04:19:17.520 --> 04:19:22.440
the men discouraged, their spirits,
worn by the turmoil, acted as if

2961
04:19:22.479 --> 04:19:26.360
stunned. They accepted the pelting of
the bullets with bowed and weary heads.

2962
04:19:26.840 --> 04:19:32.239
It was of no purpose to strive
against walls, It was of no use

2963
04:19:32.280 --> 04:19:37.520
to batter themselves against granite. And
from this consciousness that they had attempted to

2964
04:19:37.559 --> 04:19:41.680
conquer an unconquerable thing, there seemed
to arise a feeling that they had been

2965
04:19:41.719 --> 04:19:48.680
betrayed. They glowered with bent brows, but dangerously upon some of the officers,

2966
04:19:48.280 --> 04:19:53.760
more particularly upon the redbearded one with
a voice of triple brass. However,

2967
04:19:53.840 --> 04:19:59.040
the rear of the regiment was fringed
with men who continued to shoot irritably

2968
04:19:59.120 --> 04:20:03.440
at the advancing foes. They seemed
resolved to make every trouble. The youthful

2969
04:20:03.440 --> 04:20:08.760
lieutenant was perhaps the last man and
the disordered mass. His forgotten back was

2970
04:20:08.799 --> 04:20:14.040
toward the enemy. He had been
shot in the arm. It hung straight

2971
04:20:14.079 --> 04:20:18.440
and rigid. Occasionally he would cease
to remember it and be about to emphasize

2972
04:20:18.479 --> 04:20:23.559
an oath with a sweeping gesture.
The multiplied pain caused him to swear with

2973
04:20:23.639 --> 04:20:30.639
incredible power. The youth went along
with slipping uncertain feet. He kept watchful

2974
04:20:30.680 --> 04:20:37.239
eyes rearward. A scowl of mortification
and rage was upon his face. He

2975
04:20:37.319 --> 04:20:41.360
had thought of a fine revenge upon
the officer who had referred to him and

2976
04:20:41.399 --> 04:20:45.600
his fellows as mule drivers, but
he saw that it could not come to

2977
04:20:45.639 --> 04:20:51.799
pass. His dreams had collapsed when
the mule drivers, dwindling rapidly, had

2978
04:20:51.920 --> 04:20:56.200
wavered and hesitated on the little clearing, and then had recoiled. And now

2979
04:20:56.239 --> 04:21:02.600
the retreat of the mule drivers was
a march of shame to him a dagger

2980
04:21:02.680 --> 04:21:07.239
pointed gaze from without. His blackened
face was held toward the enemy. But

2981
04:21:07.360 --> 04:21:11.360
his greater hatred was riveted upon the
man who, not knowing him, had

2982
04:21:11.440 --> 04:21:17.559
called him a mule driver. When
he knew that he and his comrades had

2983
04:21:17.600 --> 04:21:22.319
failed to do anything in successful ways
that might bring the little pangs of a

2984
04:21:22.399 --> 04:21:26.319
kind of remorse upon the officer,
the youth allowed the rage of the baffled

2985
04:21:26.360 --> 04:21:33.959
to possess him. This cold officer
upon a monument, who dropped epithets unconcernedly

2986
04:21:33.079 --> 04:21:37.879
down, would be finer as a
dead man, he thought. So grievous

2987
04:21:37.879 --> 04:21:41.840
did he think it, that he
could never possess the secret right to taunt

2988
04:21:41.959 --> 04:21:48.680
truly? In answer, he had
pictured red letters of curious revenge. We

2989
04:21:48.920 --> 04:21:52.959
are mule drivers, are we?
And now he was compelled to throw them

2990
04:21:52.000 --> 04:21:57.440
away. He presently wrapped his heart
in the cloak of his pride and kept

2991
04:21:57.479 --> 04:22:03.559
the flag erect. He harangued his
fellows, pushing against their chests with his

2992
04:22:03.639 --> 04:22:07.559
free hand. To those he knew
well, he made frantic appeals, beseeching

2993
04:22:07.600 --> 04:22:11.959
them by name, between him and
the lieutenant, scolding, and near to

2994
04:22:12.000 --> 04:22:18.440
losing his mind with rage. There
was felt a subtle fellowship in equality.

2995
04:22:18.520 --> 04:22:25.239
They supported each other in all manner
of horse howling protests, but the regiment

2996
04:22:25.399 --> 04:22:29.959
was a machine run down. The
two men babbled at a forceless thing.

2997
04:22:30.760 --> 04:22:34.799
The soldiers who had heart to go
slowly were continually shaken in their resolves by

2998
04:22:34.840 --> 04:22:40.799
a knowledge that comrades were slipping with
speed back to the lines. It was

2999
04:22:40.879 --> 04:22:45.079
difficult to think of reputation when others
were thinking of skins. Wounded men were

3000
04:22:45.159 --> 04:22:51.520
left crying on this black journey.
The youth, peering once through a sudden

3001
04:22:51.600 --> 04:22:56.040
rift in a cloud, saw a
brown mass of troops interwoven and magnified until

3002
04:22:56.079 --> 04:23:03.879
the appeared to be thousands of perce
viewed flag flashed before his vision. Immediately,

3003
04:23:03.000 --> 04:23:07.239
as if the uplifting of the smoke
had been pre arranged. The discovered

3004
04:23:07.280 --> 04:23:12.799
troops burst into a rasping yell,
and a hundred flames jetted toward the retreating

3005
04:23:12.840 --> 04:23:18.600
band. A rolling gray cloud again
interposed. As the regiment doggedly replied.

3006
04:23:19.440 --> 04:23:25.200
The youth had to depend again upon
his misused ears, which were trembling and

3007
04:23:25.399 --> 04:23:30.799
buzzing with the melee of musketry and
yells. The way seemed eternal and the

3008
04:23:30.840 --> 04:23:36.319
clouded haze. Men became panic,
stricken with a thought that the regiment had

3009
04:23:36.360 --> 04:23:41.920
lost its path and was proceeding in
a perilous direction. Once the men who

3010
04:23:41.000 --> 04:23:47.600
headed the well procession turned and came
pushing back against their comrades, screaming that

3011
04:23:47.680 --> 04:23:52.200
they were being fired upon from points
which they had considered to be toward their

3012
04:23:52.200 --> 04:23:56.520
own lines. At this cry,
a hysterical fear and dismay beset the troops.

3013
04:23:57.159 --> 04:24:02.520
A soldier who heretofore had been ambitious
to make the regiment into a wise

3014
04:24:02.600 --> 04:24:08.239
little band that would proceed calmly amid
the huge appearing difficulties, suddenly sank down

3015
04:24:08.280 --> 04:24:12.079
and buried his face in his arms, with an air of bowing to a

3016
04:24:12.159 --> 04:24:18.840
doom from another. A shrill lamentation
rang out, filled with profane allusions to

3017
04:24:18.959 --> 04:24:23.120
a general. Men ran hither and
thither, seeking with their eyes roads of

3018
04:24:23.280 --> 04:24:30.719
escape, with serene regularity, as
if controlled by a schedule. Bullets buffed

3019
04:24:30.719 --> 04:24:34.520
into men. The youth walked stolidly
into the midst of the mob, and,

3020
04:24:34.639 --> 04:24:37.680
with his flag in his hands,
took a stand, as if he

3021
04:24:37.719 --> 04:24:44.040
expected an attempt to push him to
the ground. He unconsciously assumed the attitude

3022
04:24:44.040 --> 04:24:48.760
of the color bearer in the fight
of the preceding day. He passed over

3023
04:24:48.879 --> 04:24:52.600
his brow a hand that trembled.
His breath did not come freely. He

3024
04:24:52.639 --> 04:24:57.120
was choking. During the small wait
for the crisis, his friend came to

3025
04:24:57.200 --> 04:25:02.040
him. Well, Henry, I
guess this is good bye, John.

3026
04:25:03.360 --> 04:25:07.360
Oh shut up, you damned fool, replied the youth, And he would

3027
04:25:07.360 --> 04:25:11.840
not look at the other. The
officers labored like politicians to beat the mass

3028
04:25:11.879 --> 04:25:17.959
into a proper circle to face the
menaces. The ground was uneven and torn.

3029
04:25:18.639 --> 04:25:22.760
The men curled into depressions and fitted
themselves snugly behind whatever would frustrate a

3030
04:25:22.799 --> 04:25:27.840
bullet. The youth dudded with vague
surprise that the lieutenant was standing mutely,

3031
04:25:29.280 --> 04:25:32.799
with his legs far apart, and
his sword held in the manner of a

3032
04:25:32.879 --> 04:25:37.120
cane. The youth wondered what had
happened to his vocal organs that he no

3033
04:25:37.239 --> 04:25:42.200
more cursed. There was something curious
in this little intent pause of the lieutenant.

3034
04:25:44.000 --> 04:25:48.079
It was like a babe, which, having wept its fill, raises

3035
04:25:48.120 --> 04:25:52.639
its eyes and fixes upon a distant
toy. He was engrossed in this contemplation,

3036
04:25:53.159 --> 04:26:00.120
and the soft under lip quivered from
self whispered words. Some lazy and

3037
04:26:00.239 --> 04:26:06.479
ignorant smoke curled slowly. The men
hiding from the bullets waited anxiously for it

3038
04:26:06.520 --> 04:26:11.639
to lift and disclose the plight of
the regiment. The silent ranks were suddenly

3039
04:26:11.680 --> 04:26:15.520
thrilled by the eager voice of the
youthful lieutenant, bawling out here they come

3040
04:26:15.879 --> 04:26:21.079
right on to us, by God. His further words were lost in aroora

3041
04:26:21.159 --> 04:26:26.719
of wicked thunder from the men's rifles. The youth's eyes had instantly turned in

3042
04:26:26.760 --> 04:26:32.280
the direction indicated by the awakened and
agitated lieutenant, and he had seen the

3043
04:26:32.280 --> 04:26:37.000
haze of treachery disclosing a body of
soldiers of the enemy. They were so

3044
04:26:37.120 --> 04:26:41.319
near that they could see their features. There was a recognition as he looked

3045
04:26:41.319 --> 04:26:45.840
at the types of faces. Also, he perceived with dim amazement that their

3046
04:26:45.959 --> 04:26:51.479
uniforms were rather gray, in effect, being light gray accented with a brilliant

3047
04:26:51.559 --> 04:26:59.040
hued facing to the closes scene new
These troops had apparently been going forward with

3048
04:26:59.120 --> 04:27:03.280
caution, their rifles held in readiness, when the youthful lieutenant had discovered them,

3049
04:27:03.600 --> 04:27:07.440
and their movement had been interrupted by
the volley from the Blue Regiment.

3050
04:27:08.200 --> 04:27:11.799
From the moment's glimpse, it was
derived that they had been unaware of the

3051
04:27:11.879 --> 04:27:18.639
proximity of their dark suited foes,
or had mistake in the direction. Almost

3052
04:27:18.719 --> 04:27:22.680
instantly, they were shut utterly from
the youth's site by the smoke from the

3053
04:27:22.799 --> 04:27:27.159
energetic rifles of his companions. He
strained his vision to learn the accomplishment of

3054
04:27:27.159 --> 04:27:33.239
the volley, but the smoke hung
before him. The two bodies of troops

3055
04:27:33.280 --> 04:27:37.040
exchanged blows in the manner of a
pair of boxers. The fast, angry

3056
04:27:37.079 --> 04:27:41.600
firings went back and forth. The
men in Blue were intent with the despair

3057
04:27:41.639 --> 04:27:45.920
of their circumstances, and they seized
upon the revenge to be had at close

3058
04:27:47.040 --> 04:27:52.319
range. Their thunder swelled loud and
valiant, Their curving front bristled with flashes,

3059
04:27:52.600 --> 04:27:57.159
and the place resounded with the clangor
of their ramrods. The youth ducked

3060
04:27:57.200 --> 04:28:03.040
and dodged for a time, and
achieved a few unsatisfactory views of the enemy.

3061
04:28:03.760 --> 04:28:06.760
There seemed to be many of them, and they were replying swiftly.

3062
04:28:07.319 --> 04:28:11.639
They seemed, moving toward the Blue
Regiment step by step. He seated himself

3063
04:28:11.680 --> 04:28:17.799
gloomily on the ground with his flag
between his knees. As he noted the

3064
04:28:18.040 --> 04:28:22.360
vicious, wolf like temper of his
comrades, he had a sweet thought that

3065
04:28:22.440 --> 04:28:26.920
if the enemy was about to swallow
the regimental broom as a large prisoner,

3066
04:28:26.520 --> 04:28:32.799
it could at least have the consolation
of going down with bristles forward. But

3067
04:28:32.879 --> 04:28:37.000
the blows of the antagonists began to
grow more weak. Fewer bullets ripped the

3068
04:28:37.040 --> 04:28:41.600
air, and finally, when the
men slackened to learn of the fight,

3069
04:28:41.280 --> 04:28:47.799
they could see only dark, floating
smoke. The regiment lay still and gazed.

3070
04:28:48.719 --> 04:28:52.120
Presently, some chance whim came to
the pestering blur, and it began

3071
04:28:52.200 --> 04:28:57.040
to coil heavily. Away. The
men saw a ground vacant of fighters.

3072
04:28:57.680 --> 04:29:00.440
It would have been an empty stain
age if it were not for a few

3073
04:29:00.479 --> 04:29:07.079
corpses that lay thrown and twisted into
fantastic shapes upon the sward. At sight

3074
04:29:07.159 --> 04:29:11.040
of this tableau, many of the
men in blue sprang from behind their covers

3075
04:29:11.360 --> 04:29:15.879
and made an ungainly dance of joy. Their eyes burned, and a hoarse

3076
04:29:17.000 --> 04:29:21.799
cheer of elation broke from their dry
lips. It had begun to seem to

3077
04:29:21.840 --> 04:29:26.000
them that events were trying to prove
that they were impotent. These little battles

3078
04:29:26.040 --> 04:29:33.000
had evidently endeavored to demonstrate that the
men could not fight well, when on

3079
04:29:33.040 --> 04:29:37.680
the verge of submission to these opinions, the small duel had showed them that

3080
04:29:37.719 --> 04:29:42.639
the proportions were not impossible. And
by it they had revenged themselves upon their

3081
04:29:42.639 --> 04:29:48.920
misgivings and upon the foe. The
impetus of enthusiasm was theirs. Again.

3082
04:29:49.520 --> 04:29:55.200
They gazed about them with looks of
uplifted pride, feeling new trust in the

3083
04:29:55.239 --> 04:30:00.280
grim, always confident, weapons in
their hands, and they were men.

3084
04:30:03.120 --> 04:30:12.879
End of chapter twenty Chapter twenty one
of The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen

3085
04:30:12.920 --> 04:30:18.799
Crane. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public

3086
04:30:18.840 --> 04:30:25.360
domain. For more information or to
volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.

3087
04:30:26.520 --> 04:30:32.079
This recording is by Mark Smith of
Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Red Badge

3088
04:30:32.079 --> 04:30:38.479
of Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter
twenty one. Presently they knew that no

3089
04:30:38.639 --> 04:30:45.239
firing threatened them. All ways seemed
once more open to them. The dusty

3090
04:30:45.319 --> 04:30:49.239
blue lines of their friends were disclosed
a short distance away. In the distance

3091
04:30:49.280 --> 04:30:53.399
there were many colossal noises, but
in all this part of the field there

3092
04:30:53.559 --> 04:31:00.200
was a sudden stillness. They perceived
that they were free. The dele had

3093
04:31:00.239 --> 04:31:04.079
banned through a long breath of relief
and gathered itself into a bunch to complete

3094
04:31:04.120 --> 04:31:10.120
its trip. In this last length
of journey, the men began to show

3095
04:31:10.159 --> 04:31:15.600
strange emotions. They hurried with nervous
fear. Some who had been dark and

3096
04:31:15.760 --> 04:31:21.559
unfaltering in the grimace moments now could
not conceal an anxiety that made them frantic.

3097
04:31:22.360 --> 04:31:26.239
It was perhaps that they had dreaded
to be killed in insignificant ways after

3098
04:31:26.280 --> 04:31:32.479
the time for proper military deaths had
passed, or perhaps they thought it would

3099
04:31:32.520 --> 04:31:37.000
be too ironical to get killed at
the portals of safety. With backward looks

3100
04:31:37.040 --> 04:31:41.879
of perturbation, they hastened as they
approached their own lines. There was some

3101
04:31:41.959 --> 04:31:48.159
sarcasm exhibited on the part of a
gaunt and bronzed regiment that lay resting in

3102
04:31:48.159 --> 04:31:52.319
the shade of the trees. Questions
were wafted to them, where the hell

3103
04:31:52.479 --> 04:31:57.559
you been? What's coming back for? Why didn't you stay? There?

3104
04:31:59.559 --> 04:32:04.479
Was it warm out there? Sonny, goin home now, boys, one

3105
04:32:04.520 --> 04:32:10.200
shouting and taunting mimicry, Oh mother, come quick and look at the soldiers.

3106
04:32:11.399 --> 04:32:15.440
There was no reply from the bruised, embattered regiment, save that one

3107
04:32:15.479 --> 04:32:21.120
man bade broadcast challenges to fist fights, and the red bearded officer walked rather

3108
04:32:21.239 --> 04:32:26.719
near and glared in great swashbuckler's style
at a tall captain in the other regiment.

3109
04:32:26.520 --> 04:32:30.120
But the lieutenants suppressed the man who
wished to fist fight, and the

3110
04:32:30.200 --> 04:32:34.840
tall captain, flushing at the little
fanfare of the red bearded one, was

3111
04:32:34.879 --> 04:32:41.479
obliged to look intently at some trees. The youth's tender flesh was deeply stung

3112
04:32:41.559 --> 04:32:47.079
by these remarks. From under his
creased brows, he glowered with hate at

3113
04:32:47.079 --> 04:32:52.680
the mockers. He meditated upon a
few revenges. Still, many in the

3114
04:32:52.719 --> 04:32:56.440
regiment hung their heads in criminal fashion, so that it came to pass that

3115
04:32:56.559 --> 04:33:02.920
the men trudged with sudden heaviness,
as if they bore upon their bended shoulders

3116
04:33:03.079 --> 04:33:07.720
the coffin of their honor, and
the youthful lieutenant, recollecting himself, began

3117
04:33:07.759 --> 04:33:14.439
to mutter softly in black curses.
They turned when they arrived at their old

3118
04:33:14.479 --> 04:33:18.240
position, to regard the ground over
which they had charged. The youth in

3119
04:33:18.279 --> 04:33:25.159
this contemplation was smitten with a large
astonishment. He discovered that the distances,

3120
04:33:25.599 --> 04:33:30.759
as compared with the brilliant measurings of
his mind, were trivial and ridiculous.

3121
04:33:30.279 --> 04:33:37.000
The stolid trees where much had taken
place, seemed incredibly near the time too.

3122
04:33:37.159 --> 04:33:42.000
Now that he reflected, he sought
to have been short. He wondered

3123
04:33:42.000 --> 04:33:48.240
at the number of emotions and events
that had been crowded into such little spaces.

3124
04:33:48.080 --> 04:33:55.479
Elphin thoughts must have exaggerated and enlarged
everything he said. It seemed then

3125
04:33:55.599 --> 04:34:00.000
that there was bitter justice in the
speeches of the gaunt and bronzed veterans.

3126
04:34:00.840 --> 04:34:03.560
He veiled a glance of disdain at
his fellows, who strewed the ground,

3127
04:34:04.000 --> 04:34:11.479
choking with dust, read from perspiration, misty eyed, disheveled, they were

3128
04:34:11.520 --> 04:34:15.799
gulping at their canteens, fierced to
wring every mite of water from them,

3129
04:34:15.080 --> 04:34:21.040
and they polished at their swollen and
watery features with coat sleeves and bunches of

3130
04:34:21.080 --> 04:34:26.159
grass. However, to the youth
there was a considerable joy amusing upon his

3131
04:34:26.319 --> 04:34:32.439
performances during the charge. He had
had very little time previously in which to

3132
04:34:32.479 --> 04:34:37.000
appreciate himself, so that there was
now much satisfaction in quietly thinking of his

3133
04:34:37.080 --> 04:34:42.840
actions. He recalled bits of color
that in the flurry had stamped themselves unawares

3134
04:34:44.040 --> 04:34:49.200
upon his engaged senses. As the
regiment lay heaving from its hot exertions,

3135
04:34:49.599 --> 04:34:53.479
the officer, who had named them
as mule drivers, came galloping along the

3136
04:34:53.560 --> 04:34:59.799
line. He had lost his cap, his tousled hair streamed wildly, and

3137
04:35:00.040 --> 04:35:03.959
his face was dark with vexation and
wrath. His temper was displayed with more

3138
04:35:04.000 --> 04:35:08.520
clearness by the way in which he
managed his horse. He jerked and wrenched

3139
04:35:08.680 --> 04:35:14.479
savagely at his bridle, stopping the
hard breathing animal with a furious pull.

3140
04:35:14.880 --> 04:35:19.720
Near the colonel of the regiment.
He had immediately exploded in reproaches which came

3141
04:35:19.840 --> 04:35:25.759
unbidden to the ears of the men. They were suddenly alert, being always

3142
04:35:25.880 --> 04:35:32.799
curious about black words between officers.
Oh, thunder mc Chesnay, what an

3143
04:35:32.799 --> 04:35:37.080
awful bull you made of this thing? Began the officer. He attempted low

3144
04:35:37.159 --> 04:35:41.240
tones, but his indignation caused certain
of the men to learn the sense of

3145
04:35:41.240 --> 04:35:45.720
his words. What an awful mess
you made, good lord man, you

3146
04:35:45.840 --> 04:35:51.200
stopped about a hundred feet this side
of a very pretty success. If your

3147
04:35:51.200 --> 04:35:53.759
men had gone a hundred feet farther, you would have made a great charge.

3148
04:35:53.759 --> 04:35:57.560
But as it is, what a
lot of mud diggers you've got?

3149
04:35:57.599 --> 04:36:03.439
Anyway. The men, listening with
bated breath, now turned their curious eyes

3150
04:36:03.560 --> 04:36:10.040
upon the colonel. They had a
ragamuffin interest in this affair. The colonel

3151
04:36:10.159 --> 04:36:14.880
was seen to straighten his form and
put one hand forth an oratorical fashion.

3152
04:36:15.479 --> 04:36:18.639
He wore an injured air. It
was as if a deacon had been accused

3153
04:36:18.680 --> 04:36:25.240
of stealing. The men were wiggling
in an ecstasy of excitement. But of

3154
04:36:25.279 --> 04:36:27.599
a sudden the colonel's manner changed from
that of a deacon to that of a

3155
04:36:27.680 --> 04:36:33.680
Frenchman. He shrugged his shoulders.
Oh well, General, we went as

3156
04:36:33.720 --> 04:36:37.639
far as we could, he said, calmly, As far as you could,

3157
04:36:38.040 --> 04:36:42.439
did you? By God? Snorted
the other. Well that wasn't very

3158
04:36:42.479 --> 04:36:47.520
far, was it, he added, with a glance of cold contempt into

3159
04:36:47.520 --> 04:36:52.159
the other's eyes. Not very far? I think you were intended to make

3160
04:36:52.200 --> 04:36:56.639
a diversion in favor of Whiter's side. How well you succeeded, your own

3161
04:36:56.720 --> 04:37:02.319
ears can now tell you. He
wheeled his horse and rode stiffly away.

3162
04:37:02.840 --> 04:37:07.159
The colonel, bidden to hear the
jarring noises of an engagement in the woods

3163
04:37:07.200 --> 04:37:11.240
to the left, broke out in
vague damnations. The lieutenant, who had

3164
04:37:11.279 --> 04:37:17.319
listened with an air of impotent rage
to the interview, spoke suddenly in firm

3165
04:37:17.360 --> 04:37:21.959
and undaunted tones. I don't care
what a man is, whether he is

3166
04:37:22.000 --> 04:37:25.680
a general or what if he says
the boys didn't put up a good fight

3167
04:37:25.720 --> 04:37:30.639
out there, He's a damn fool, lieutenant, began the colonel severely.

3168
04:37:32.240 --> 04:37:36.520
This is my own affair, and
I'll trouble you. The lieutenant made an

3169
04:37:36.520 --> 04:37:41.000
obedient gesture. All right, colonel, all right, he said. He

3170
04:37:41.119 --> 04:37:45.959
sat down with an air of being
content with himself. The news that the

3171
04:37:47.080 --> 04:37:51.599
regiment had been reproached went along the
line for a time. The men were

3172
04:37:51.639 --> 04:37:56.720
bewildered by it, good thunder.
They ejaculated, staring at the vanishing form

3173
04:37:56.759 --> 04:38:03.639
of the general they conceived to be
a huge mistake. Presently, however,

3174
04:38:03.680 --> 04:38:07.759
they began to believe that, in
truth, their efforts had been called light.

3175
04:38:07.759 --> 04:38:11.959
The youth could see this conviction weigh
upon the entire regiment, until the

3176
04:38:12.000 --> 04:38:18.880
men were like cuffed and cursed animals, but withal rebellious. The friend,

3177
04:38:18.040 --> 04:38:22.959
with a grievance in his eye,
went to the youth. I wonder what

3178
04:38:22.040 --> 04:38:26.799
he does want? He said,
he must think we went out there and

3179
04:38:26.840 --> 04:38:32.000
played marbles. I never see such
a man. The youth developed a tranquil

3180
04:38:32.000 --> 04:38:37.119
philosophy for these moments of irritation.
Oh well, he rejoined. He probably

3181
04:38:37.159 --> 04:38:41.880
didn't see nothing of it at all, and got mad as blazes and concluded

3182
04:38:41.880 --> 04:38:45.279
we were a lot of sheep just
because we didn't do what he wanted done.

3183
04:38:47.200 --> 04:38:52.240
It's pity old Grandpa Henderson got killed
yesterday. He'd have known that we

3184
04:38:52.400 --> 04:38:56.639
did our best and fought good.
It's just our awful luck. That's what

3185
04:38:57.159 --> 04:39:03.080
I should say, so applied the
friend. He seemed to be deeply wounded

3186
04:39:03.119 --> 04:39:07.200
at an injustice. I should say
we did have awful luck. There's no

3187
04:39:07.279 --> 04:39:11.599
fun in fighting for people when everything
you do, no matter what, ain't

3188
04:39:11.639 --> 04:39:17.040
done right. I have a notion
to stay behind next time and let them

3189
04:39:17.040 --> 04:39:22.080
take their old charge and go to
the devil with it. The youth spoke

3190
04:39:22.159 --> 04:39:26.159
soothingly to his comrade, Well we
both did good. I'd like to see

3191
04:39:26.159 --> 04:39:29.759
the fool. What did say?
We both didn't do as good as we

3192
04:39:29.840 --> 04:39:34.680
could. Of course we did,
declared the friends stoutly. And I break

3193
04:39:34.759 --> 04:39:38.560
the feller's neck if he was as
big as a church. But we're all

3194
04:39:38.680 --> 04:39:42.919
right anyhow, For I heard one
feller say that we two fit the best

3195
04:39:42.959 --> 04:39:48.360
in the regiment, and they had
a great argument about it. Another feller,

3196
04:39:48.439 --> 04:39:49.840
of course, he had to up
and say it was a lie.

3197
04:39:51.479 --> 04:39:53.639
He's seen all what was going on, and he never seen us from the

3198
04:39:53.680 --> 04:39:59.279
beginning to the end. And a
lot more stuck in and says it wasn't

3199
04:39:59.279 --> 04:40:02.799
a lie. He did fight like
thunder, and they give us quite a

3200
04:40:02.880 --> 04:40:07.759
send off. But this is what
I can't stand, these ever lasting old

3201
04:40:07.799 --> 04:40:12.919
soldiers tittering and laughing. And then
that general he's crazy, the youth exclaimed

3202
04:40:12.919 --> 04:40:18.479
with sudden exasperation. He's a lunkhead. He makes me mad. I wish

3203
04:40:18.479 --> 04:40:23.479
he'd come along next time. We'll
show him what he ceased. Because several

3204
04:40:23.520 --> 04:40:29.000
men had come, hurrying up their
faces expressed a bringing of great news.

3205
04:40:29.680 --> 04:40:34.639
Oh flem, you just oughta heard, cried one eagerly heard what said the

3206
04:40:34.680 --> 04:40:41.080
youth you just oughtter heard, repeated
the other. And he arranged himself to

3207
04:40:41.080 --> 04:40:45.639
tell his tidings. The others made
an excited circle. Well, sir,

3208
04:40:45.799 --> 04:40:48.479
the colonel met, you're a lieutenant
right by us. It was the damnedest

3209
04:40:48.479 --> 04:40:52.400
thing I ever heard. And he
says, hem hem, he says,

3210
04:40:52.919 --> 04:40:57.119
mister Hasbrook. He says, by
the way, who was that lad that

3211
04:40:57.240 --> 04:41:02.200
carried the flag? He says,
there, Fleming, what do you think

3212
04:41:02.200 --> 04:41:04.520
of that? Who was the lad
that carried the flag? He says.

3213
04:41:04.799 --> 04:41:10.240
And the lieutenant he speaks up right
away, that's Fleming. And he's a

3214
04:41:10.360 --> 04:41:15.639
Jim Hickey, he says, right
away what I say, he did a

3215
04:41:15.840 --> 04:41:19.439
Jim Hickey. He says, those
are his words. He did too,

3216
04:41:19.639 --> 04:41:23.119
I say, he did. If
you can tell this story better than I

3217
04:41:23.200 --> 04:41:27.319
can, go ahead and tell it
well, then keep your mouth shut.

3218
04:41:29.040 --> 04:41:33.279
The lieutenant, he says, he's
a Jim Hickey. And the colonel he

3219
04:41:33.400 --> 04:41:37.759
says, ahem, ahem, he
is indeed a very good man to have

3220
04:41:37.040 --> 04:41:41.959
ahem. He kept the flag away
to the front. I saw him.

3221
04:41:41.400 --> 04:41:47.000
He's a good un, said the
colonel. You bet, says lieutenant.

3222
04:41:47.400 --> 04:41:51.040
He and a feller named Wilson was
at the head of the charge and howling

3223
04:41:51.159 --> 04:41:53.840
like Indians all the time. He
says. Head of the charge all the

3224
04:41:53.919 --> 04:41:59.560
time, he says, A fuller
named Wilson. He says, they're Wilson.

3225
04:41:59.680 --> 04:42:02.200
A boy, put that in a
letter and send it home to your

3226
04:42:02.240 --> 04:42:06.799
mother. Hey, a feller named
Wilson, he says. And the colonel,

3227
04:42:06.840 --> 04:42:11.840
he says, were they indeed?
Ahem, ahem, my sakes,

3228
04:42:11.880 --> 04:42:15.000
he says, at the head of
the regiment. He says they were,

3229
04:42:15.479 --> 04:42:22.040
says the lieutenant. My sakes,
says the colonel. He says, well,

3230
04:42:22.279 --> 04:42:26.919
well, well, he says,
those two babies they were, says

3231
04:42:26.919 --> 04:42:30.400
the lieutenant. Well will will,
says the colonel. They deserved to be

3232
04:42:30.520 --> 04:42:37.599
major generals. He says, they
deserved to be major generals. The youth

3233
04:42:37.639 --> 04:42:41.080
and his friend had said, huh, you're Lion Thompson. Oh, go

3234
04:42:41.240 --> 04:42:47.040
to blazes. He never said it. Oh what a lie huh. But

3235
04:42:47.159 --> 04:42:52.080
despite these youthful scoffings and embarrassments,
they knew that their faces were deeply flushing

3236
04:42:52.159 --> 04:42:57.720
from thrills of pleasure. They exchanged
a secret glance of joy and congratulation.

3237
04:42:59.599 --> 04:43:04.439
They speedily forgot many things. The
past held no pictures of error and disappointment.

3238
04:43:04.959 --> 04:43:10.439
They were very happy, and their
hearts swelled with grateful affection for the

3239
04:43:10.520 --> 04:43:23.000
colonel and the youthful Lieutenant end of
chapter twenty one. Chapter twenty two of

3240
04:43:23.040 --> 04:43:29.159
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen
Crane. This is a LibriVox recording.

3241
04:43:29.400 --> 04:43:33.720
All LibriVox recordings are in the public
domain. For more information or to volunteer,

3242
04:43:33.840 --> 04:43:40.159
please visit LibriVox dot org. This
recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville,

3243
04:43:40.200 --> 04:43:45.040
South Carolina. The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane, Chapter twenty

3244
04:43:45.080 --> 04:43:52.119
two. When the woods again began
to pour forth the dark hued masses of

3245
04:43:52.159 --> 04:43:56.360
the enemy, the youth felt serene
self confidence. He smiled briefly when he

3246
04:43:56.400 --> 04:44:00.880
saw men dodge and duck at the
long screenings of shells that were thrown in

3247
04:44:00.959 --> 04:44:07.000
giant handfuls over them. He stood
erect and tranquil, watching the attack begin

3248
04:44:07.119 --> 04:44:11.560
against a part of the line that
made a blue curve along the side of

3249
04:44:11.599 --> 04:44:17.000
an adjacent hill. His vision being
unmolested by smoke from the rifles of his

3250
04:44:17.119 --> 04:44:22.119
companions, he had opportunities to see
parts of the hard fight. It was

3251
04:44:22.159 --> 04:44:26.720
a relief to perceive at last from
whence came some of these noises which had

3252
04:44:26.720 --> 04:44:30.959
been roared into his ears. Off
a short way, he saw two regiments

3253
04:44:30.959 --> 04:44:36.400
fighting a little separate battle with two
other regiments. It was in a cleared

3254
04:44:36.439 --> 04:44:41.000
space. Wearing a set apart look. They were blazing as if upon a

3255
04:44:41.040 --> 04:44:47.000
wager, giving and taking tremendous blows. The firings were incredibly fierce and rapid.

3256
04:44:47.439 --> 04:44:52.560
These intent regiments apparently were oblivious of
all larger purposes of war, and

3257
04:44:52.639 --> 04:44:56.840
were slugging each other as if at
a matched game. In another direction,

3258
04:44:56.919 --> 04:45:03.159
he saw a magnificent brigade going with
the evident intention of driving the enemy from

3259
04:45:03.200 --> 04:45:07.240
a wood. They passed in out
of sight, and presently there was a

3260
04:45:07.319 --> 04:45:12.080
most awe inspiring racket in the wood. The noise was unspeakable. Having stirred

3261
04:45:12.080 --> 04:45:18.599
this prodigious uproar, and apparently finding
it too prodigious, the brigade, after

3262
04:45:18.639 --> 04:45:22.479
a little time came marching airily out
again, with its fine formation in no

3263
04:45:22.639 --> 04:45:29.240
wise disturbed. There were no traces
of speed in its movements. The brigade

3264
04:45:29.279 --> 04:45:33.479
was jaunty and seemed to point a
proud thumb at the yelling wood. On

3265
04:45:33.560 --> 04:45:37.000
a slope to the left there was
a long row of guns, gruff and

3266
04:45:37.119 --> 04:45:42.479
maddened, denouncing the enemy, who
down through the woods were forming for another

3267
04:45:42.520 --> 04:45:48.279
attack. In the pitiless monotony of
conflicts. The round red discharges from the

3268
04:45:48.319 --> 04:45:55.000
guns made a crimson flare and a
high, thick smoke. Occasional glimpses could

3269
04:45:55.000 --> 04:45:59.720
be caught of groups of the toiling
artillerymen. In the rear of this row

3270
04:45:59.759 --> 04:46:06.240
of unstood a house calm and white
amid bursting shells. A congregation of horses

3271
04:46:06.319 --> 04:46:11.639
tied to a long railing were tugging
frenziedly at their bridles. Men were running

3272
04:46:11.720 --> 04:46:17.560
hither and thither. The detached battle
between the four regiments lasted for some time.

3273
04:46:18.159 --> 04:46:22.759
There chanced to be no interference,
and they settled their dispute by themselves.

3274
04:46:22.360 --> 04:46:26.319
They struck savagely and powerfully at each
other for a period of minutes,

3275
04:46:26.759 --> 04:46:32.919
and then the lighter hued regiments faltered
and drew back, leaving the dark blue

3276
04:46:32.959 --> 04:46:37.959
lines shouting. The youth could see
the two flags shaking with laughter amid the

3277
04:46:37.959 --> 04:46:44.720
smoke remnants. Presently there was a
stillness pregnant with meaning. The blue lines

3278
04:46:44.799 --> 04:46:49.400
shifted and changed a trifle and stared
expectantly at the silent woods and fields before

3279
04:46:49.439 --> 04:46:56.119
them. The hush was solemn and
churchlike, save for a distant battery that

3280
04:46:56.840 --> 04:47:02.240
evidently unable to remain quiet, sent
a faint rolling thunder over the ground.

3281
04:47:03.119 --> 04:47:07.720
It irritated like the noises of unimpressed
boys, and men imagined that it would

3282
04:47:07.720 --> 04:47:12.639
prevent their perched ears from hearing the
first words of the new battle. Of

3283
04:47:12.639 --> 04:47:17.240
a sudden, the guns on the
slope roared out a message of warning.

3284
04:47:17.799 --> 04:47:22.759
A spluttering sound had begun in the
woods. It swelled with amazing speed to

3285
04:47:22.840 --> 04:47:27.560
a profound clamor that involved the earth
in noises. The splitting crashes swept along

3286
04:47:27.599 --> 04:47:33.520
the lines until an interminable roar was
developed. To those in the midst of

3287
04:47:33.560 --> 04:47:37.360
it, it became a din fitted
to the universe. It was the whirring

3288
04:47:37.360 --> 04:47:45.560
and thumping of gigantic machinery complications among
the smaller stars. The youth's ears were

3289
04:47:45.599 --> 04:47:51.400
filled up. They were incapable of
hearing more. On an incline over which

3290
04:47:51.400 --> 04:47:56.840
a road wound, he saw wild
and desperate rushes of men, perpetually backward

3291
04:47:56.880 --> 04:48:02.680
and forward in riotous surges. These
parts of the opposing armies were two long

3292
04:48:02.759 --> 04:48:07.799
waves that pitched upon each other madly
at dictated points to and fro. They

3293
04:48:07.840 --> 04:48:14.840
swelled, sometimes one side by.
Its yells and cheers would proclaimed decisive blows,

3294
04:48:15.360 --> 04:48:18.799
but a moment later the other side
would be all yells and cheers.

3295
04:48:18.720 --> 04:48:23.080
Once the youth saw a spray of
light forms going hound like leaps toward the

3296
04:48:23.119 --> 04:48:29.040
waving blue lines, there was much
howling, and presently it went away with

3297
04:48:29.119 --> 04:48:33.560
a vast mouthful of prisoners. Again
he saw a blue wave dash with such

3298
04:48:33.799 --> 04:48:38.520
thunderous force against a gray obstruction that
it seemed to clear the earth of it

3299
04:48:38.840 --> 04:48:45.520
and leave nothing but trampled sod.
And always in their swift and deadly rushes

3300
04:48:45.560 --> 04:48:52.119
to and fro, the men screamed
and yelled like maniacs. Particular pieces of

3301
04:48:52.240 --> 04:48:57.880
fence or secure positions behind collections of
trees were wrangled over as gold thrones or

3302
04:48:59.000 --> 04:49:04.639
pearl bedsteads. There were desperate lunges
at these chosen spots seemingly every instant,

3303
04:49:06.040 --> 04:49:11.639
and most of them were bandied like
light toys Between the contending forces. The

3304
04:49:11.720 --> 04:49:15.520
youth could not tell from the battle
flags flying like crimson foam in many directions

3305
04:49:15.919 --> 04:49:23.159
which color of cloth was winning.
His emaciated regiment bustled forth with undiminished fierceness

3306
04:49:23.159 --> 04:49:29.279
when its time came. When assaulted
again by bullets, the men burst out

3307
04:49:29.279 --> 04:49:33.360
in a barbaric cry of rage and
pain. They bent their heads in aims

3308
04:49:33.439 --> 04:49:40.759
of intent hatred behind the projected hammers
of their guns. Their ramrods clanged loud

3309
04:49:40.759 --> 04:49:45.639
with fury as their eager arms pounded
the cartridges into the rifle barrels. The

3310
04:49:45.720 --> 04:49:51.119
front of the regiment was a smoke
wall, penetrated by the flashing points of

3311
04:49:51.200 --> 04:49:56.520
yellow and red wallowing in the fight. They were in an astonishingly short time.

3312
04:49:56.639 --> 04:50:03.560
Resmudged, they surpassed stain and dirt, all their previous appearances, moving

3313
04:50:03.599 --> 04:50:08.159
to and fro with strained exertion,
jabbering the while they were with their swaying

3314
04:50:08.240 --> 04:50:15.119
bodies, black faces and glowing eyes, like strange and ugly friends, jigging

3315
04:50:15.159 --> 04:50:21.159
heavily in the smoke. The lieutenant, returning from a tour after a bandage,

3316
04:50:21.159 --> 04:50:25.959
produced from a hidden receptacle of his
mind, new and portentous oaths,

3317
04:50:25.959 --> 04:50:32.000
suited to the emergency strings of expletivicy
swung lash like over the backs of his

3318
04:50:32.119 --> 04:50:36.400
men, and it was evident that
his previous efforts had in no wise impaired

3319
04:50:36.439 --> 04:50:41.479
his resources. The youth, still, the bearer of the colors, did

3320
04:50:41.520 --> 04:50:47.639
not feel his idleness. He was
deeply absorbed as a spectator. The crash

3321
04:50:47.680 --> 04:50:52.119
and swing of the great drama made
him lean forward, intent eyed, his

3322
04:50:52.240 --> 04:50:57.599
face working in small contortions. Sometimes
he prattled words coming unconsciously from him,

3323
04:50:57.680 --> 04:51:03.400
in grotesque ex nations. He did
not know that he breathed, that the

3324
04:51:03.439 --> 04:51:08.279
flag hung silently over him, So
absorbed was he. A formidable line of

3325
04:51:08.279 --> 04:51:14.479
the enemy came within dangerous range.
They could be seen plainly, tall,

3326
04:51:14.799 --> 04:51:19.080
gaunt men with excited faces, running
with long strides toward a wandering fence.

3327
04:51:21.080 --> 04:51:26.040
At sight of this danger, the
men suddenly ceased their cursing monotone. There

3328
04:51:26.119 --> 04:51:30.680
was an instant of strained silence before
they threw up their rifles and fired a

3329
04:51:30.759 --> 04:51:34.520
plumping volley at the foes. There
had been no order given. The men,

3330
04:51:34.799 --> 04:51:40.799
upon recognizing the menace, had immediately
let drive their flock of bullets without

3331
04:51:40.880 --> 04:51:45.520
waiting for word of command. But
the enemy were quick to gain the protection

3332
04:51:45.560 --> 04:51:49.400
of the wandering line of fence.
They slid down behind it with remarkable celerity,

3333
04:51:49.799 --> 04:51:53.840
and from this position they began briskly
to slice up the blue men.

3334
04:51:56.040 --> 04:52:02.159
These latter braced their energies for a
great struggle off white clenched teeth, shone

3335
04:52:02.240 --> 04:52:07.639
from the dusky faces. Many heads
surged to and fro, floating upon a

3336
04:52:07.720 --> 04:52:12.639
pale sea of smoke. Those behind
the fence frequently shouted and yelped in taunts

3337
04:52:12.759 --> 04:52:19.200
and guidelike cries, but the regiment
maintained a stressed silence. Perhaps at this

3338
04:52:19.319 --> 04:52:23.439
due assault, the men recalled the
fact that they had been named mud diggers,

3339
04:52:23.799 --> 04:52:30.319
and it made their situation thrice bitter. They were breathlessly intent upon keeping

3340
04:52:30.319 --> 04:52:34.599
the ground and thrusting away the rejoicing
body of the enemy. They fought swiftly

3341
04:52:34.880 --> 04:52:41.360
and with a despairing savageness denoted in
their expressions. The youth had resolved not

3342
04:52:41.439 --> 04:52:47.599
to budge whatever should happen. Some
arrows of scorn that had buried themselves in

3343
04:52:47.680 --> 04:52:52.439
his heart had generated strange and unspeakable
hatred. It was clear to him that

3344
04:52:52.520 --> 04:52:57.360
his final and absolute revenge was to
be achieved by his dead body, lying

3345
04:52:57.759 --> 04:53:03.680
torn and gluttering upon the field.
This was to be a poignant retaliation upon

3346
04:53:03.720 --> 04:53:10.240
the officer who had said mule drivers
and later mud diggers, For in all

3347
04:53:10.279 --> 04:53:15.159
the wild graspings of his mind for
a unit responsible for his sufferings and commotions,

3348
04:53:15.200 --> 04:53:19.319
he always seized upon the man who
had dubbed him wrongly, and it

3349
04:53:19.439 --> 04:53:25.279
was his idea vaguely formulated, that
his corpse would be for those eyes a

3350
04:53:25.400 --> 04:53:33.080
great and salt reproach. The regiment
bled extravagantly, grunting bundles of blue began

3351
04:53:33.159 --> 04:53:37.840
to drop. The orderly sergeant of
the Youth's company was shot through the cheeks,

3352
04:53:37.479 --> 04:53:42.400
its supports being injured, his jaw
hung afar down, disclosing in the

3353
04:53:42.439 --> 04:53:48.159
wide cavern of his mouth a pulsing
mass of blood and teeth, and with

3354
04:53:48.240 --> 04:53:52.200
it all he made attempts to cry
out. In his endeavor, there was

3355
04:53:52.360 --> 04:53:56.040
a dreadful earnestness, as if he
conceived that one great shriek would make him

3356
04:53:56.040 --> 04:54:02.880
well. The youth saw him presently
go rearward. His strength seemed in no

3357
04:54:03.040 --> 04:54:08.319
eise impaired. He ran swiftly,
casting wild glances for succor. Others fell

3358
04:54:08.360 --> 04:54:12.439
down about the feet of their companions. Some of the wounded crawled out and

3359
04:54:12.479 --> 04:54:18.520
away, but many lay still,
their bodies twisted into impossible shapes. The

3360
04:54:18.599 --> 04:54:23.240
youth looked once for his friend.
He saw a vehement young man, powder

3361
04:54:23.319 --> 04:54:29.520
smeared and frowsled, whom he knew
to be him. The lieutenant also was

3362
04:54:29.639 --> 04:54:33.520
unscathed. In his position at the
rear, he had continued to curse,

3363
04:54:33.599 --> 04:54:36.759
but it was now with the air
of a man who was using his last

3364
04:54:36.880 --> 04:54:41.040
box of oaths. For the fire
of the regiment had begun to wane and

3365
04:54:41.200 --> 04:54:47.759
drip. The robust voice that had
come strangely from the thin ranks was growing

3366
04:54:47.840 --> 04:55:00.240
rapidly weak. And of chapter twenty
two Chapter twenty three of The Red Badge

3367
04:55:00.240 --> 04:55:07.919
of Courage by Stephen Crane. This
is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings

3368
04:55:07.959 --> 04:55:11.680
are in the public domain. For
more information or to volunteer, please visit

3369
04:55:11.720 --> 04:55:19.159
LibriVox dot org. This recording is
by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.

3370
04:55:19.400 --> 04:55:26.840
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen
Crane, Chapter twenty three. The

3371
04:55:26.959 --> 04:55:30.639
colonel came running along back of the
line. There were other officers following him.

3372
04:55:32.439 --> 04:55:36.119
We must charge him, they shouted, We must charge him, They

3373
04:55:36.159 --> 04:55:41.000
cried with resentful voices, as if
anticipating a rebellion against this plan by the

3374
04:55:41.040 --> 04:55:45.840
men. The youth, upon hearing
the shouts, began to study the distance

3375
04:55:45.919 --> 04:55:51.959
between him and the enemy. He
made vague calculations. He saw that to

3376
04:55:52.000 --> 04:55:56.240
be firm soldiers, they must go
forward it would be death to stay in

3377
04:55:56.240 --> 04:56:00.680
the present place, and with all
the circumstances, to go backward would exalt

3378
04:56:00.799 --> 04:56:04.319
too many others. Their hope was
to push the galling foes away from the

3379
04:56:04.400 --> 04:56:11.439
fence. He expected that his companions, weary and stiffened, would have to

3380
04:56:11.479 --> 04:56:15.560
be driven to this assault. But
as he turned toward them, he perceived

3381
04:56:15.560 --> 04:56:19.759
with a certain surprise that they were
giving quick and unqualified expressions of a set.

3382
04:56:21.560 --> 04:56:25.959
There was an ominous clanging overture to
the charge. When the shafts of

3383
04:56:26.000 --> 04:56:30.840
the bayonets rattled upon the rifle barrels. At the yelled words of command,

3384
04:56:30.319 --> 04:56:36.799
the soldier sprang forward in eager leaps. There was new and unexpected force in

3385
04:56:36.840 --> 04:56:41.119
the movement of the regiment. A
knowledge of its faded and jaded condition made

3386
04:56:41.159 --> 04:56:47.080
the charge appear like a paroxysm,
a display of the strength that comes before

3387
04:56:47.200 --> 04:56:52.319
a final feebleness. The men scampered
in insane fever of haste, racing as

3388
04:56:52.319 --> 04:56:57.680
if to achieve a sudden success before
an exhilarating fluid should leave them. It

3389
04:56:57.720 --> 04:57:03.119
was a blind and despair rush by
the collection of men in dusty and tattered

3390
04:57:03.159 --> 04:57:08.880
blue over a green sward and under
a sapphire sky toward a fence dimly outlined

3391
04:57:08.919 --> 04:57:15.000
in smoke from behind, which spluttered
the fierce rifles of enemies. The youth

3392
04:57:15.080 --> 04:57:18.840
kept the bright colors to the front. He was waving his free arm in

3393
04:57:18.919 --> 04:57:25.159
furious circles, the wild, shrieking, mad calls and appeals, urging on

3394
04:57:25.279 --> 04:57:27.720
those that did not need to be
urged. For it seemed that the mob

3395
04:57:27.799 --> 04:57:33.520
of blue men hurling themselves on the
dangerous group of rifles were again grown suddenly

3396
04:57:33.599 --> 04:57:41.639
wild with an enthusiasm of unselfishness.
From the many firings starting toward them,

3397
04:57:41.759 --> 04:57:45.240
It looked as if they would merely
succeed in making a great sprinkling of corpses

3398
04:57:45.279 --> 04:57:49.680
on the grass between their former position
and the fence. But they were in

3399
04:57:49.720 --> 04:57:55.279
a state of frenzy, perhaps because
of forgotten vanities, and it made an

3400
04:57:55.319 --> 04:58:00.680
exhibition of sublime recklessness. There was
no obvious questioning, nor figurings nor diagrams.

3401
04:58:02.159 --> 04:58:07.400
There was apparently no considered loopholes.
It appeared that the swift wings of

3402
04:58:07.439 --> 04:58:12.200
their desires would have shattered against the
iron gates of the impossible. He himself

3403
04:58:12.240 --> 04:58:18.080
felt the daring spirit of a savage
religion. Mad. He was capable of

3404
04:58:18.119 --> 04:58:22.919
profound sacrifices, a tremendous death.
He had no time for dissections, but

3405
04:58:23.000 --> 04:58:26.959
he knew that he thought of the
bullets only as things that could prevent him

3406
04:58:27.080 --> 04:58:33.159
from reaching the place of his endeavor. There were subtle flashings of joy within

3407
04:58:33.240 --> 04:58:37.840
him that thus should be his mind. He strained all his strength. His

3408
04:58:38.000 --> 04:58:42.919
eyesight was shaken and dazzled by the
tension of thought and muscle. He did

3409
04:58:42.959 --> 04:58:48.080
not see anything excepting the mist of
smoke gashed by the little knives of fire.

3410
04:58:48.639 --> 04:58:52.119
But he knew that in it lay
the aged fence of a vanished farmer,

3411
04:58:52.639 --> 04:58:57.959
protecting the snuggled bodies of the gray
men. As he ran, a

3412
04:58:59.080 --> 04:59:03.759
thought of the shock of contact gleamed
in his mind. He expected a great

3413
04:59:03.759 --> 04:59:07.680
concussion when the two bodies of troops
crashed together. This became a part of

3414
04:59:07.680 --> 04:59:12.400
his wild battle madness. He could
feel the onward swing of the regiment about

3415
04:59:12.479 --> 04:59:17.919
him, and he conceived of a
thunderous, crushing blow that would prostrate the

3416
04:59:18.000 --> 04:59:23.319
resistance and spread consternation and amazement for
miles. The flying regiment was going to

3417
04:59:23.360 --> 04:59:29.880
have a Catapultian effect. This dream
made him run faster among his comrades,

3418
04:59:30.080 --> 04:59:34.360
who were giving vent to horse and
frantic cheers. But presently he could see

3419
04:59:34.360 --> 04:59:37.599
that many of the men in gray
did not intend to abide the blow.

3420
04:59:38.319 --> 04:59:45.799
The smoke rolling disclosed men who ran
their faces still turned. These grew to

3421
04:59:45.880 --> 04:59:51.479
a crowd who retired stubbornly. Individuals
wheeled frequently to send a bullet at the

3422
04:59:51.520 --> 04:59:55.720
blue wave. But at one part
of the line there was a grim and

3423
04:59:55.919 --> 05:00:00.599
obdurate group that made no movement.
They were settled firmly down behind posts and

3424
05:00:00.759 --> 05:00:07.400
rails. A flag ruffled and fierce
waved over them, and their rifles dinned

3425
05:00:07.439 --> 05:00:11.840
fiercely. The blue whirl of men
got very near, until it seemed that

3426
05:00:11.919 --> 05:00:17.759
in truth there would be a close
and frightful scuffle. There was an express

3427
05:00:17.880 --> 05:00:22.759
disdain in the opposition of the little
group that changed the meaning of the cheers

3428
05:00:22.759 --> 05:00:27.680
of the men in blue. They
became yells of wrath directed personal. The

3429
05:00:27.720 --> 05:00:33.240
cries of the two parties were now
in sound, an interchange of scathing insults.

3430
05:00:34.400 --> 05:00:40.000
They in blue showed their teeth,
their eyes shone all white. They

3431
05:00:40.200 --> 05:00:45.520
launched themselves as at the throats of
those who stood resisting. The space between

3432
05:00:45.680 --> 05:00:51.599
dwindled to an insignificant distance. The
youth had centered the gaze of his soul

3433
05:00:51.720 --> 05:00:56.119
upon that other flag. Its possession
would be high pride. It would express

3434
05:00:56.240 --> 05:01:03.040
bloody minglings near blows. He had
a gigantic hatred for those who made great

3435
05:01:03.080 --> 05:01:07.959
difficulties in complications. They caused it
to be as a craved treasure of mythology,

3436
05:01:08.479 --> 05:01:15.680
Hung amid tasks and contrivances of danger, He plunged like a mad horse

3437
05:01:15.759 --> 05:01:18.759
at it. He was resolved it
should not escape, if wild blows and

3438
05:01:19.000 --> 05:01:23.880
darings of blows could seize it.
His own emblem quivering and a flare,

3439
05:01:25.400 --> 05:01:29.720
was winging toward the other. It
seemed there would shortly be an encounter of

3440
05:01:29.840 --> 05:01:34.959
strange beaks and claws as of eagles. The swirling body of blue men came

3441
05:01:36.040 --> 05:01:40.959
to a sudden halt at close and
disastrous range, and roared a swift folly.

3442
05:01:41.840 --> 05:01:45.159
The group in gray was split and
broken by this fire, but its

3443
05:01:45.240 --> 05:01:49.159
riddled body still fought. The men
in blue yelled again and rushed in upon

3444
05:01:49.200 --> 05:01:55.400
it. The youth, in his
leapings saw as through a mist, a

3445
05:01:55.400 --> 05:02:00.159
picture of four or five men stretched
upon the ground, or writhing upon their

3446
05:02:00.240 --> 05:02:03.279
knees, with bowed heads, as
if they had been stricken by bolts from

3447
05:02:03.279 --> 05:02:08.279
the sky. Tottering among them was
the rival color bearer, whom the youth

3448
05:02:08.319 --> 05:02:14.479
saw had been bitten vitally by the
bullets of the last formidable volley. He

3449
05:02:14.639 --> 05:02:18.560
perceived this man fighting a last struggle, the struggle of one whose legs are

3450
05:02:18.639 --> 05:02:23.959
grasped by demons. It was a
ghastly battle. Over his face was the

3451
05:02:25.000 --> 05:02:29.200
bleach of death. But set upon
it was the dark and hard lines of

3452
05:02:29.400 --> 05:02:33.959
desperate purpose. With this terrible grin
of resolution, he hugged his precious flag

3453
05:02:34.000 --> 05:02:38.279
to him, and was stumbling and
staggering in his design to go the way

3454
05:02:38.319 --> 05:02:44.000
that led to safety for it.
But his wounds always made it seem that

3455
05:02:44.080 --> 05:02:48.360
his feet were retarded held, and
he fought a grim fight, as with

3456
05:02:48.599 --> 05:02:56.040
invisible ghouls fastened greedily upon his limbs. Those in advance of the scampering blue

3457
05:02:56.040 --> 05:03:00.240
men, howling cheers, leaped at
the fence. Despair of the loss was

3458
05:03:00.279 --> 05:03:06.439
in his eyes as he glanced back
at them. The youth's friend went over

3459
05:03:06.479 --> 05:03:10.759
the obstruction in a tumbling heap,
and sprang at the flag as a panther

3460
05:03:10.959 --> 05:03:15.840
at prey. He pulled at it
and wrenching it free swung up its red

3461
05:03:15.880 --> 05:03:21.439
brilliancy with a mad cry of exultation, even as the color bearer, gasping,

3462
05:03:22.000 --> 05:03:26.919
lurched over in a final throw,
and stiffening convulsively turned his dead face

3463
05:03:26.959 --> 05:03:33.439
to the ground. There was much
blood upon the grass blades. At the

3464
05:03:33.520 --> 05:03:38.279
place of success. There began more
wild clamorings of cheers. The men gesticulated

3465
05:03:38.319 --> 05:03:42.279
and bellowed in an ecstasy. When
they spoke, it was as if they

3466
05:03:42.319 --> 05:03:48.040
considered their listener to be a mile
away. What hats and caps were left

3467
05:03:48.080 --> 05:03:52.360
to them, they often slung high
in the air. At one part of

3468
05:03:52.360 --> 05:03:56.000
the line, four men had been
swooped upon, and they now sat his

3469
05:03:56.119 --> 05:04:00.959
prisoners. Some blue men were about
them in an eager and curious circle.

3470
05:04:00.639 --> 05:04:07.240
The soldiers had trapped strange birds,
and there was an examination. A flurry

3471
05:04:07.240 --> 05:04:11.479
of fast questions was in the air. One of the prisoners was nursing a

3472
05:04:11.560 --> 05:04:17.479
superficial wound in the foot. He
cuddled it baby wise, but he looked

3473
05:04:17.560 --> 05:04:22.000
up from it often to curse with
an astonishing utter. Abandoned straight at the

3474
05:04:22.040 --> 05:04:26.759
noses of his captors, he consigned
them to red regions. He called upon

3475
05:04:26.840 --> 05:04:33.119
the pestilential wrath of strange gods,
and with it all he was singularly free

3476
05:04:33.159 --> 05:04:37.400
from recognition of the finer points of
the conduct of prisoners of war. It

3477
05:04:37.520 --> 05:04:41.799
was as if a clumsy clod had
trod upon his toe, and he conceived

3478
05:04:41.799 --> 05:04:47.279
it to be his privilege, his
duty to use deep, resentful oaths.

3479
05:04:48.680 --> 05:04:52.319
Another, who was a boy in
years, took his plight with great calmness

3480
05:04:52.319 --> 05:04:56.880
and apparent good nature. He conversed
with the men in blue, studying their

3481
05:04:56.880 --> 05:05:02.560
faces with his bright and keen eyes. They spoke of battles and conditions.

3482
05:05:03.119 --> 05:05:07.599
There was an acute interest in all
their faces. During this exchange of viewpoints.

3483
05:05:07.279 --> 05:05:11.639
It seemed a great satisfaction to hear
voices from where all had been darkness

3484
05:05:11.720 --> 05:05:18.959
and speculation. The third captive sat
with a morose countenance. He preserved a

3485
05:05:18.080 --> 05:05:23.400
stoical and cold attitude to all advances. He made one reply without variation,

3486
05:05:23.919 --> 05:05:29.319
ah, go to hell. The
last of the four was always silent,

3487
05:05:29.479 --> 05:05:34.119
and for the most part kept his
face turned in unmolested directions. From the

3488
05:05:34.200 --> 05:05:38.279
views the youth received, he seemed
to be in a state of absolute dejection.

3489
05:05:40.240 --> 05:05:44.560
Shame was upon him, and with
it profound regret that he was perhaps

3490
05:05:45.080 --> 05:05:48.040
no more to be counted in the
ranks of his fellows. The youth could

3491
05:05:48.159 --> 05:05:52.439
detect no expression that would allow him
to believe that the other was giving a

3492
05:05:52.520 --> 05:06:00.439
thought to his narrowed future, to
pictured dungeons perhaps, and starvations and brutalities

3493
05:06:00.959 --> 05:06:06.919
liable to the imagination. All to
be seen was shame for captivity and regret

3494
05:06:06.959 --> 05:06:12.080
for the right to antagonize. After
the men had celebrated sufficiently, they settled

3495
05:06:12.080 --> 05:06:17.560
down behind the old rail fence,
on the opposite side to the one from

3496
05:06:17.560 --> 05:06:22.520
which their foes had been driven.
A few shot perfunctorily at distant marks.

3497
05:06:22.799 --> 05:06:27.520
There was some long grass. The
youth nestled in it and rested, making

3498
05:06:27.560 --> 05:06:33.119
a convenient rail support the flag.
His friend, jubilant and glorified, holding

3499
05:06:33.159 --> 05:06:38.080
his treasure with vanity, came to
him. There they sat side by side

3500
05:06:38.400 --> 05:06:52.200
and congratulated each other. End of
Chapter twenty three, Chapter twenty four of

3501
05:06:52.240 --> 05:06:57.400
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen
Crane. This is a LibriVox recording.

3502
05:06:57.759 --> 05:07:03.880
All LibriVox recording or in the public
domain. For more information or to volunteer,

3503
05:07:03.159 --> 05:07:10.040
please visit LibriVox dot org. This
recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville,

3504
05:07:10.080 --> 05:07:15.639
South Carolina. The Red Badge of
Courage by Stephen Crane, chapter twenty

3505
05:07:15.639 --> 05:07:22.759
four. The roarings that had stretched
in a long line of sound across the

3506
05:07:22.799 --> 05:07:29.319
face of the forest began to grow
intermittent and weaker. The stentorian speeches of

3507
05:07:29.360 --> 05:07:33.439
the artillery continued in some distant encounter, but the crashes of the musketry had

3508
05:07:33.439 --> 05:07:38.119
almost ceased. The youth and his
friend of a sudden looked up, feeling

3509
05:07:38.159 --> 05:07:42.639
a deadened form of distress at the
waning of these noises, which had become

3510
05:07:42.639 --> 05:07:47.720
a part of life. They could
see changes going on among the troops.

3511
05:07:48.200 --> 05:07:52.959
There were marchings this way and that
way. A battery wheeled leisurely. On

3512
05:07:52.040 --> 05:07:56.000
the crest of a small hill was
the thick gleam of many departing muskets.

3513
05:07:57.000 --> 05:08:02.119
The youth arose, well, oh, what now, I wonder, he

3514
05:08:02.200 --> 05:08:07.400
said. By his tone he seemed
to be preparing to resent some new monstrosity

3515
05:08:07.439 --> 05:08:11.880
in the way of dins and smashes. He shaded his eyes with his grimy

3516
05:08:11.919 --> 05:08:17.799
hand and gazed over the field.
His friend also arose and stared, I

3517
05:08:17.919 --> 05:08:21.360
bet we're going to get along out
of this and back over the river.

3518
05:08:21.799 --> 05:08:27.319
Said he. Well, I swan
said the youth. They waited watching.

3519
05:08:29.000 --> 05:08:33.720
Within a little while the regiment received
orders to retrace its way. The men

3520
05:08:33.840 --> 05:08:37.400
got up, grunting from the grass. Regretting the soft repose. They jerked

3521
05:08:37.400 --> 05:08:42.319
their stiffened legs and stretched their arms
over their heads. One man swore as

3522
05:08:42.319 --> 05:08:47.919
he rubbed his eyes. They all
groaned, Oh Lord. They had as

3523
05:08:47.919 --> 05:08:51.840
many objections to this change as they
would have had to a proposal for a

3524
05:08:51.880 --> 05:08:56.479
new battle. They trampled slowly back
over the field across which they had run

3525
05:08:56.520 --> 05:09:02.279
in a mad scamper. The it
marched until it had joined its fellows.

3526
05:09:02.959 --> 05:09:07.520
The reformed brigade in column aimed through
a wood at the road directly. They

3527
05:09:07.560 --> 05:09:11.439
were in a mass of dust covered
troops, and were trudging along in a

3528
05:09:11.479 --> 05:09:17.240
way parallel to the enemy's lines,
as these had been defined by the previous

3529
05:09:17.319 --> 05:09:22.520
turmoil. They passed within view of
a stolid white house and saw in front

3530
05:09:22.520 --> 05:09:27.200
of it groups of their comrades lying
in wait behind a neat breastwork. A

3531
05:09:27.319 --> 05:09:32.840
row of guns were booming at a
distant enemy. Shells thrown in reply were

3532
05:09:32.919 --> 05:09:37.200
raising clouds of dust and splinters.
Horsemen dashed along the line of entrenchments.

3533
05:09:38.319 --> 05:09:42.400
At this point of its march,
the division curved away from the field and

3534
05:09:42.479 --> 05:09:47.919
went winding off in the direction of
the river. When the significance of this

3535
05:09:48.000 --> 05:09:52.279
movement had impressed itself upon the youth, he turned his head and looked over

3536
05:09:52.319 --> 05:09:56.400
his shoulder toward the trampled and debris
strewed ground. He breathed the breath of

3537
05:09:56.479 --> 05:10:03.200
new satisfaction. He finally his friend, Well it's all over, he said

3538
05:10:03.240 --> 05:10:10.439
to him. His friend gazed backward. By God it is, he assented.

3539
05:10:11.000 --> 05:10:15.720
They mused for a time. The
youth was obliged to reflect in a

3540
05:10:15.799 --> 05:10:21.439
puzzled and uncertain way. His mind
was undergoing a subtle change. It took

3541
05:10:21.479 --> 05:10:26.360
moments for it to cast off its
battleful ways and resume its accustomed course of

3542
05:10:26.439 --> 05:10:32.040
thought. Gradually his brain emerged from
the clogged clouds, and at last he

3543
05:10:32.080 --> 05:10:37.520
was enabled to more closely comprehend himself
and circumstance. He understood then that the

3544
05:10:37.599 --> 05:10:42.560
existence of shot and countershot was in
the past. He had dwelt in a

3545
05:10:42.639 --> 05:10:48.639
land of strange, squalling upheavals,
and had come forth. He had been

3546
05:10:48.680 --> 05:10:52.200
where there was red of blood and
black of passion, and he was escaped.

3547
05:10:53.000 --> 05:10:59.119
His first thoughts were given to rejoicings
at this fact. Later, he

3548
05:10:59.200 --> 05:11:03.439
began to study his deeds, his
failures, and his achievements. Thus,

3549
05:11:03.639 --> 05:11:08.919
fresh from scenes where many of his
usual machines of reflection had been idle from

3550
05:11:08.959 --> 05:11:15.919
where he had proceeded sheeplike, he
struggled to marshal all his acts. At

3551
05:11:15.000 --> 05:11:19.560
last, they marched before him clearly. From this present viewpoint, he was

3552
05:11:19.680 --> 05:11:25.240
enabled to look upon them in spectator
fashion, and to criticize them with some

3553
05:11:25.360 --> 05:11:32.919
correctness. For his new condition had
already defeated certain sympathies regarding his procession of

3554
05:11:33.040 --> 05:11:37.520
memory. He felt gleeful and unregretting, for any of his public deeds were

3555
05:11:37.560 --> 05:11:42.040
paraded in great and shining prominence.
Those performances which had been witnessed by his

3556
05:11:42.159 --> 05:11:48.759
fellows marched now in wide purple and
gold, having various deflections. They went

3557
05:11:48.840 --> 05:11:53.799
gaily with music. It was pleasure
to watch these things. He spent delightful

3558
05:11:53.840 --> 05:12:00.439
minutes viewing the gilded images of memory. He saw that he was good.

3559
05:12:00.040 --> 05:12:04.319
He recalled with a thrill of joy
the respectful comments of his fellows upon his

3560
05:12:04.439 --> 05:12:10.880
conduct. Nevertheless, the ghost of
his flight from the first engagement appeared to

3561
05:12:10.959 --> 05:12:15.040
him and danced there were small shoutings
in his brain about these matters. For

3562
05:12:15.119 --> 05:12:18.959
a moment he blushed, and the
light of his soul flickered with shame.

3563
05:12:21.360 --> 05:12:26.040
A specter of reproach came to him. There loomed the dogging memory of the

3564
05:12:26.080 --> 05:12:32.040
tattered soldier, He who gored by
bullets and faint for blood, had fretted

3565
05:12:32.119 --> 05:12:37.200
concerning and imagined wound in another,
He who had loaned his last of strength

3566
05:12:37.240 --> 05:12:41.560
and intellect for the tall soldier,
He who blind with weariness and pain,

3567
05:12:42.279 --> 05:12:47.919
had been deserted in the field.
For an instant, a wretched chill of

3568
05:12:47.959 --> 05:12:51.680
sweat was upon him at the thought
that he might be detected in the thing.

3569
05:12:52.799 --> 05:12:56.319
As he stood persistently before his vision, he gave vent to a cry

3570
05:12:56.360 --> 05:13:03.000
of sharp irritation and agony. His
friend turned, what's the matter, Henry,

3571
05:13:03.400 --> 05:13:08.799
he demanded. The youth's reply was
an outburst of crimson oaths. As

3572
05:13:08.799 --> 05:13:15.880
he marched along the little branch hung
roadway among his prattling companions, this vision

3573
05:13:15.919 --> 05:13:21.240
of cruelty brooded over him. It
clung near him always and darkened his view

3574
05:13:21.279 --> 05:13:25.919
of these deeds in purple and gold. Whichever way his thoughts turned, they

3575
05:13:25.919 --> 05:13:30.119
were followed by the somber phantom of
the desertion in the fields. He looked

3576
05:13:30.119 --> 05:13:36.400
steadily at his companions, feeling sure
that they must discern in his face evidences

3577
05:13:36.439 --> 05:13:41.000
of this pursuit. But they were
plotting in ragged array, discussing with quick

3578
05:13:41.040 --> 05:13:47.000
tongues the accomplishments of the last battle. Oh, if a man should come

3579
05:13:47.040 --> 05:13:52.200
up an ask me, I'd say, we got a dumb good lickin' lickin'

3580
05:13:52.520 --> 05:13:56.639
in your eye. We ain't licked, sonny. We're goin down here away,

3581
05:13:56.799 --> 05:14:00.159
swing around an come in behind them. Oh, with your coming in

3582
05:14:00.279 --> 05:14:04.520
behind him, I've seen all that
I want to. Don't tell me about

3583
05:14:04.520 --> 05:14:11.279
coming him behind Bill smithers. He
says he'd rather been in ten hundred battles

3584
05:14:11.639 --> 05:14:15.720
than been in that hell of a
hospital. He says they got shooting in

3585
05:14:15.759 --> 05:14:19.360
the nighttime, and shells dropped plumb
among him in the hospital. He says,

3586
05:14:19.360 --> 05:14:25.759
such hollering, he never see Hasbrook. He's the best officer in this

3587
05:14:25.840 --> 05:14:30.080
here regiment. He's a whale.
Did not tell you we'd come around him

3588
05:14:30.080 --> 05:14:34.080
behind him, didn't I tell you? So? We Oh, shut your

3589
05:14:34.159 --> 05:14:41.240
mouth for a time. This pursuing
recollection of the tattered men took all elation

3590
05:14:41.360 --> 05:14:45.720
from the youth's veins. He saw
his vivid error, and he was afraid

3591
05:14:45.720 --> 05:14:48.959
that it would stand before him all
his life. He took no share in

3592
05:14:49.000 --> 05:14:52.919
the chatter of his comrades, nor
did he look at them or know them,

3593
05:14:53.479 --> 05:14:59.560
save when he felt sudden suspicion that
they were seeing his thoughts and scrutinizing

3594
05:14:59.599 --> 05:15:04.919
each tail of the scene with the
tattered soldier. Yet gradually he mustered forced

3595
05:15:04.959 --> 05:15:10.000
to put the sin at a distance, and at last his eyes seemed to

3596
05:15:10.040 --> 05:15:12.799
open to some new ways. He
found that he could look back upon the

3597
05:15:12.840 --> 05:15:18.639
brass and bombast of his earlier gospels
and see them truly. He was gleeful

3598
05:15:18.680 --> 05:15:25.319
when he discovered that he now despised
them. With this conviction came a store

3599
05:15:25.439 --> 05:15:30.959
of assurance. He felt a quiet
manhood, non assertive, but of sturdy

3600
05:15:30.000 --> 05:15:34.639
and strong blood. He knew that
he would no more quail before his guides

3601
05:15:34.880 --> 05:15:40.520
wherever they should point. He had
been to touch the great death, and

3602
05:15:40.639 --> 05:15:45.840
found that after all, it was
but the great death. He was a

3603
05:15:45.880 --> 05:15:51.319
man. So it came to pass
that as he trudged from the place of

3604
05:15:51.400 --> 05:15:56.360
blood and wrath, his soul changed. It came from hot plowshares to prospects

3605
05:15:56.400 --> 05:16:03.080
of clover tranquility, And it was
as if hot plowshares were not scars,

3606
05:16:03.159 --> 05:16:10.319
faded as flowers. It rained.
The procession of weary soldiers became a bedraggled

3607
05:16:10.319 --> 05:16:15.720
train, despondent and muttering, marching
with churning effort in a trough of liquid

3608
05:16:15.759 --> 05:16:21.360
brown mud under a low, wretched
sky. Yet the youth smiled, for

3609
05:16:21.479 --> 05:16:25.560
he saw that the world was a
world for him, though many discovered it

3610
05:16:25.599 --> 05:16:30.119
to be made of oaths and walking
sticks. He had rid himself of the

3611
05:16:30.159 --> 05:16:34.639
red sickness of battle. The sultry
nightmare was in the past. He had

3612
05:16:34.680 --> 05:16:38.240
been an animal, blistered and sweating
in the heat and pain of war.

3613
05:16:40.119 --> 05:16:44.840
He turned now where the lovers thirst, to images of tranquil skies, fresh

3614
05:16:44.880 --> 05:16:52.319
meadows, cool brooks, and existence
of soft and eternal peace. Over the

3615
05:16:52.439 --> 05:16:56.119
river, a golden ray of sun
came through the hosts of leaden rain clouds.

3616
05:17:00.159 --> 05:17:03.360
This is the end of Chapter twenty
four and the end of The Red

3617
05:17:03.400 --> 05:17:07.560
Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.
Thank you for listening.