With a judgment born of a clear mind, he lay quite still, while the
hostile forces massed themselves for attack and defense. Each was
feeling out the other with cannon, but every missile passed well over his
head, and he did not take the trouble to bow to them as they sailed on
their errands. Yet he lay close behind that splendid and friendly rock.
He knew that the Southerners would have sharpshooters and skirmishers
ahead of their main force. They would lie behind stones, trees and brush
and at any moment one of them might pick him off. The Confederate force
seemed to incline to the side of the valley, opposite the slope on which
he lay, and he was hopeful that the fact would keep him hidden until the
masses of his own people could charge into the gap.
It was painful work to flatten his body out behind a stone and lie there.
No trees or bushes grew near enough to give him shade, and the afternoon
sun began to send down upon him direct rays that burned. He wondered how
long it would be until the Union brigades came. It seemed to him that
they were doing a tremendous amount of waiting.
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