|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Book, page 31 / 181 The ranks opened covertly to avoid the corpse. The invulnerable dead man forced a way for him- self. The youth looked keenly at the ashen face. The wind raised the tawny beard. It moved as if a hand were stroking it. He vaguely desired to walk around and around the body and stare; the impulse of the living to try to read in dead eyes the answer to the Question. During the march the ardor which the youth had acquired when out of view of the field rapidly faded to nothing. His curiosity was quite easily satisfied. If an intense scene had caught him with its wild swing as he came to the top of the bank, he might have gone roaring on. This advance upon Nature was too calm. He had opportunity to reflect. He had time in which to wonder about himself and to attempt to probe his sensa- tions. Absurd ideas took hold upon him. He thought that he did not relish the landscape. It threatened him. A coldness swept over his back, and it is true that his trousers felt to him that they were no fit for his legs at all. A house standing placidly in distant fields had to him an ominous look. The shadows of the woods were formidable. He was certain that in this vista there lurked fierce-eyed hosts. The swift thought came to him that the generals did not know what they were about. It was all a trap. Suddenly those close forests would bristle with rifle barrels. Ironlike brigades would ap- pear in the rear. They were all going to be sacrificed. The generals were stupids. The enemy would presently swallow the whole com- mand. He glared about him, expecting to see the stealthy approach of his death.
|
Knowledgerush Search
|
|
Contact Us
| Privacy Statement & Terms of Use
|