He knew that beyond the blue ranges of mountains,
both to east and west, vast preparations were going forward. The North,
the region of great population, of illimitable resources, of free access
to the sea, and of mechanical genius that had counted for so much in
arming her soldiers, was gathering herself for a supreme effort. The
great defeats of the war's first period were to be ignored, and her
armies were to come again, more numerous, better equipped and perhaps
better commanded than ever.
Nevertheless, his mind was still the mind of youth, and he could not
dwell continuously upon this prospect. The camp in the hills was
pleasant. The heats had passed, and autumn in the full richness of its
coloring had come. The forests blazed in all the brilliancy of red and
yellow and brown. The whole landscape had the color and intensity that
only a North American autumn can know, and the October air had the
freshness and vitality sufficient to make an old man young.
The great army of youth--it was composed chiefly of boys, like the one
opposing it--enjoyed itself during these comparatively idle months.
The soldiers played rural games, marbles even, pitching the horseshoe,
wrestling, jumping and running.
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