when we found him, he was lying completely covered by the body of the elder boy, and if we had not come up when we did, he must have been suffocated. the sergeant of the firing party, a rough brute, who was captured, and who explained the matter to us and pointed out the boys, said, with tears in his eyes, that he had never seen such a piece of heroism. ephraim had evidently caught sight of some of our men in the wood, and knew that in a moment or two the fight must begin. at the same time he believed that the movement would be too late to stop the fire of the platoon, and even as the word was upon the sergeant’s lips, flung himself in front of lucius, deliberately offering his own life to save that of his friend. as a matter of fact, all his wounds are from our men and in the back; but for all that, they are as glorious as any received in front by our brave fellows to-day.’
‘“greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.” it was splendid!’
the full, earnest voice stirred a faint memory in luce’s dull brain. he looked wearily up into the kind face bent anxiously over him. ‘my general!’ he murmured, and closed his eyes again.
stonewall jackson laid his hand caressingly upon the fair, curly head.
‘poor fellow!’ he said. ‘will he pull through, doctor, do you think?’
‘oh yes; i trust so,’ replied the surgeon. ‘his ankle is badly shattered, and he will limp for the rest of his days; but i think we shall be able to save the foot.’
‘and ephraim?’ asked the general.
‘ah!’
the mournful sigh smote heavily on luce’s ear. he was still drowsy and stupid from the combined effect of shock and the chloroform which had been administered to him before the ball had been extracted from his leg; but at the sound of that dreary monosyllable his senses quickened, he opened his eyes again, and looked vacantly round.
for an instant the unfamiliar surroundings of the field hospital confused him; but in a flash full consciousness returned, the whole of the terrible scene in which he had lately borne a part rose before him, and with a shriek he struggled up on his mattress, supporting himself upon his hands.
‘ephraim! ephraim!’ he wailed. ‘where are you? you are not dead. you can’t be dead. oh, and you died for me!’
then, as his eyes fell upon something stretched beside him, very calm and still, he writhed round, regardless of the pain of his wound, and flung himself 279upon the quiet form, raining tears and kisses upon the white, pathetic face.
was it a dream? the pale lips parted in a feeble smile, and a weak voice, almost drowned in the groans of the wounded and dying, whispered faintly: ‘hold up, luce! keep up yer sperrits! i’ll git ye thar!’
it was the fall of 1862, and the tender light of the exquisite indian summer lay on the deep virginian woods and glorified the rolling hills of the blue ridge. in a secluded part of the beautiful grounds of markham hall, a tall, thin young man, with a white, wasted face, reclined in a comfortable wheel-chair, dreamily enjoying the warm sunshine, and inhaling the fragrance of the ripe, red apples that hung from the laden boughs in the orchard.
presently a fair-haired boy came through the trees. in one hand he bore a bowl of broth, and with the other he supported himself upon a stick as he limped along.
‘hello, grizzly!’ cried the new-comer. ‘how do you feel now? here’s your soup. aren’t you ready for it?’
‘i reckon!’ answered ephraim, smiling in his own old way. ‘ef this weather holds, i’ll be around agen in no time. my! it’s jest glorious ter be hyar. but what a lot of trouble i’m givin’ ye all, luce. i ain’t wuth it, ye know.’
still thinking of others and careless of himself, the grand old grizzly. lucius flushed deeply.
‘see here, grizzly,’ he said, setting down the bowl upon a rustic table, and placing his arm affectionately round his friend’s neck, ‘don’t you ever say that again. if there is anything good enough for you in the wide world, the markhams have got to find it out. just you remember that. where should i be to-day if it hadn’t been for you? lying under the ground alongside that pesky colonel, as you called him.’ then as ephraim was silent, he went on: ‘i can’t do much, you know, grizzly, for i’m only a boy, and a lame one at that; but i’ve got a piece of news for you, just to show that we are not ungrateful. father has arranged with mr coulter that, as soon as you are able for it, you are to go into the works as assistant mechanical engineer. then, when the war is through, he’s going to send you to college, so the loss of the pile doesn’t matter after all. meantime, till you go to college, you are to live with us.’
ephraim’s great eyes swam in tears. he caught luce’s hand in both his own and fondled it.
‘shucks! luce,’ he muttered brokenly. ‘what a fuss ter make about a little thing. i han’t never took any count er thet, seein’ it war done fer you.’
