He fumbled for the leather sabretasche, and brought out of it a folded square of soft cotton which he packed into the hole in his front side; he pushed another cloth against the posterior wound, and tied a long strand of white rag tightly around his abdomen, holding the makeshift bandages in place. The room began to smell of human sweat and the thin, branny odor of serous secretion. “It is Christian fore-bearance on your part, Mr. Bale, to permit my intrusion.” He rearranged his clothing, and seemed to don a new gravity as he buttoned the heavy blouse. “You’re a Union man, I presume?” he asked with too-conscious ease.

“A Pennsylvanian by birth.”

“Married—and the father of numerous children?” There was a sly falsehood in his chuckle.

Dan said, “No, I’m not married.” He breathed audibly for a moment; you could hear his breathing and the officer’s, mingled together, striving one against the other. “I am unalterably opposed to any kind of war. That is why I’m not in the army.”

“Ah,” Glenn exclaimed sharply. The front door slammed, and a man thudded into the hall, his spurs dragging. “Major!” The voice was taut, starting echoes through the high rooms.

Glenn pivoted. “Yes, Billy,” he called.

A scrawny youth came rattling into the kitchen, heedless of the dust which splashed from him like snow with every movement. His bony hand was playing nervously with his holster flap. He looked cautiously at Dan, then stiffened and saluted the major. His arms snapped down. “Colonel Clendenin was wondering about you, Pa. He sent me back. The whole brigade’s deployed to the left of the turnpike, on this ridge and the next.”

The major drew his belt tight. He picked up his whitened hat, and bowed coldly at Dan. “This is my son, Mr. Bale. Lieutenant Billy Glenn, also of the Eighth Illinois, Gamble’s brigade.

Billy muttered a word. His eyes were hazel as his father’s, but opaque and chilly; they were the eyes of a killer, ruthless with all the hatred of nineteen.

“We’ve dirtied up your house, I’m afraid,” apologized the elder Glenn.

“That’s all right.”