I N T H E M I D S T O F L I F

Ta les qf S oldi er s a n d Civilia n s

By AMBROSE BIERCE

B O N I 8c L I V E R I G HT N E W Y O R K 1 9 1 8

PREFACE TO THE FI RST EDITION

DENIED existence by the chief publishing

o f houses the country, this book owes itself f E. . . o . S to M r L G teele , merchant, this ’ city . In attesting M r . Steele s faith in his

hi s au judgment and friend , it will serve its

’ thor s main and best ambition . 8 A . .

e 1 1 SAN FRANCISCO, S pt. 4 , 89 .

CONTENTS

SOLDIERS PAGE

! A HORSEM AN I N THE S K Y

‘ AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE CHICK AM AUGA v A S ON OF THE GODS “ ONE OF THE MI S SI NG

Q KI LLED AT RESACA

’ THE AFFAIR AT CouLTER s NOTCH Q THE COU P DE GR CE

J PARK R ADDERS ON P ILOSOP R E , H HE

AN AFFAIR OF OUTPOS I’ ‘ S

THE S TORE OF A CONSCIENCE ONE KI ND OF OFFICER

O N OFFIC R ON MAN E E , E

GEORGE THURSTON THE MOCKI NG-BI RD

CIV ILIANS

THE MAN OUT OF THE NOSE

AN ADV ENTURE AT BROWNV ILLE THE F A M OUS GILSON BEQUEST CONTEN TS

PAGE

TE E APPLICANT

A WATCHER BY THE MAN AND THE S NAKE

THE SUITABLE S URROUNDING S THE BOARDED WI NDOW A LADY FROM RED HORSE THE EYES OF THE PANTHER

A HO RSEMAN IN THE SKY

N E sunny afternoon in the autumn of the year 1 86 1 a soldier lay in a clump of laurel by the side o f a road

in western Virginia . He lay at full length upon his stomach , his feet resting upon the toes , his head upon the left forearm . H is extended right hand loosely grasped his rifle . B ut fo r the somewhat methodical disposition o f hi s limbs and a slight rhythmic movement o f the cartridge - box at the back of his belt he might have been thought to be dead . He was f asleep at his post o duty . But if detected he would be dead shortly afterward , death being f the just and legal penalty o his crime . The clump of laurel in which the criminal lay was in the angle o f a road which after ascending southward a steep acclivity to that point tu rned sharply to the west, running along the summit for perhaps o n e hundred yards . There it turned southward again and went zigzagging downward through the for o f est. At the salient that second angle was a 1 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS

fiat o u t , large rock , jutting northward over looking the deep valley from which the road f ascended . The rock capped a high cli f ; a Stone dropped from its outer edge would have fallen sheer downwa rd one tho u sand feet to the tops o f the pines . The angle where the soldier lay was on another spur o f the same cliff . Had he been awake he would have com

a n ded V o f m a iew , not only of the short arm b u t the road and the jutting rock , of the entire profile of the cliff below it . It might well have made him giddy to look . The country was wooded everywhere ex cept at the bottom of the valley to the north a ward , where there was small natu ral meadow, th rough which flowed a stream ’ scarcely visible from the valley s rim . This open ground looked hardly larger than an

- ordinary door yard , but was really several acres in extent . Its green was more vivid than that o f the inclosing forest . Away beyond it rose a line of giant cliffs similar to those upon which we are supposed to stand in ou r survey o f the savage scene , and th rough which the road had somehow made its climb to the

. i n summit The configu ration of the valley, deed , was such that from this point of observa tion it seemed entirely shut in , and one could OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 1 7 but have wondered how the road which found o u t a way of it had found a way into it, and whence came and whither went the waters o f the stream that p arted the meadow more than

a thousan d feet below . No country is so wild and difficult but men will make it a theatre o f war ; concealed in the

o f - forest at the bottom that military rat trap , in which half a hundred men in possession o f the exits might have starved an army to sub Of i n mission , lay five regiments Federal

fan try . They had marched all the p revious

day and night and were resting . At nightfall

they would take to the road again , climb to the place where their unfaithful sentinel now the o f slept , and descending other slope the ridge fall upon a camp of the enemy at about

midnight . Thei r hope was to surp rise it , for o f the road led to the rear of it . In case fail

ure, their position would be perilous in the extreme ; and fail they surely would Should accident o r vigilance app rise the enemy of the

movement . II The sleep ing sentinel in the clump of lau rel wa s a young Virginian named Carter D ruse . so n H e was the of wealthy p arents , an only c ase child , and had known such and cultiva 1 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS tion and high living as wealth and taste were able to command in the mountain country of western Virginia . H is home was but a few miles from where he now lay . One morning he had risen from the b reakfast—table and : said , quietly but gravely Father , a Union regiment has arrived at G rafton . I am going ” to join it .

The father lifted his leonine head , looked at the so n a moment in silence , and replied “ v Well , go , sir, and whate er may occur do

u . what yo u conceive to be your d ty Vi rginia , s to which you are a traitor, mu t get on with S o u t yo u . hould we both live to the end of

o f . the war , we will speak further the matter h as Your mother, as the physician informed you , is in a most critical condition ; at the best she cannot be with us longer than a few weeks , but that time is p recious . It would be better ” not to distu rb her . S to o Carter Druse , bowing reverently his u father, who ret rned the salute with a stately courtesy that masked a b reaking heart, left the home o f his childhood to go soldiering . By conscience and courage, by deeds of devotion and daring , he soon commended himself to his fellows and his officers ; and it w as to these qualities and to some knowledge o f the coun O F AMBROSE BIERCE 1 9 try that he owed his selection fo r his p resent t the N perilous du y at extreme outpost . ever theless , fatigue had been Stronger th an resolu r tion and he had fallen asleep . What good o b ad angel came in a dream to rouse him from his o f who sa ? state crime, shall y Without a m ovement , without a sound , in the p rofound n silence and the lang uor of the late after oon , some invisible messenger of fate touched with

“ —unsealing finger the eyes o f his consciousness whispered into the ear o f his spirit the mys terious awakening word which no human lips no eve r have spoken , human memory ever has

recalled . He quietly raised his forehead from his arm and looked between the masking stems o f his the laurels , instinctively closing right o f hand about the stock his rifle .

H is first feeling was a keen artistic delight . O C f — n a colossal p edestal , the li f, motionless at the extreme edge o f the capping rock and t sk —was sharply ou lined against the y, an

equestrian statue o f imp ressive dignity . The o f sat o f figure the man the figure the horse , of straight and soldierly, but with the repose a Grecian god carved in the marble which lim o f t c os i ts the suggestion activi y . The gray tume harmonized with its aerial background ; the metal o f accoutrement and cap arison was 20 THE COLLECTED WORKS softe ned and subdued by the shadow ; the ’ animal s skin had no points o f high light . A carbine strikingly foreshortened lay across the

o f pommel the saddle , kept in place by the “ ” right hand grasping it at the grip ; the left

. hand , holding the bridle rein , was invisible In silhouette against the Sky the p rofile Of the horse was cut with the sharpness of a cameo ; it looked across the heights of air to the con fronting cli ffs beyond . The face of the rider, turned slightly away, showed only an outline of temple and beard ; he was looking down ward to the bottom of the valley . M agnified ’ by its lift against the sky and by the soldier s testifying sense o f the formidableness o f a al near enemy the group appeared of heroic , most colossal , size .

For an instant Druse had a strange , half d efin e d feeling that he had slept to the end o f the war and was looking upon a noble work o f art reared upon that eminence to com memorate the deeds of an heroic p ast o f which he had been an inglo rious p art . The feeling was dispelled by a slight movement of the : group the horse , without moving its feet, had drawn its body slightly backward from the verge ; the man remained immobile as b e fore . B road awake and keenly alive to the OF AMBROSE BIERCE 21

significance of the situation , D ruse now b rought the butt o f his rifle against his cheek by cautiously pushing the barrel forward

th rough the bushes , cocked the piece , and glancing through the sights covered a vital ’ spot of the horseman s b reast . A touch upon the trigger and all would have been well with

C arter D ruse . At that instant the horseman turned hi s head and looked in the direction of — hi s concealed foeman seemed to look into his his very face, into eyes , into his b rave, com

p assionate heart . I s it then so terrible to kill an enemy in — war an enemy who has surp rised a secret ’ vital to the safety of one s self and comrades — an enemy more formidable fo r hi s know ledge than all his army fo r its numbers ? Carter D ruse grew p ale ; he shook in every saw limb , turned faint, and the statuesque

group before him as black figures , rising, fall o f ing, moving unsteadily in arcs circles in a

fiery sky. H is hand fell away from his hi s weapon , head slowly dropped until h is

face rested on the leaves in which he lay. This courageous gentleman and hardy soldier

was near swooning from intensity of emotion . It was n o t fo r long ; in another moment his

face was raised from earth , his hands resumed 22 THE COLLECTED WORKS

their places o n the rifle, his forefinger sought

, the trigger ; mind , heart, and eyes were clear conscience and reason sound . He could not hope to capture that enemy ; to alarm him would but send him dashing to his camp with o f his fatal news . The duty the soldier was plain : the man must be shot dead from a m — ’ bush without warning , without a moment s

Spiritual p rep aration , with never so much as an unspoken p rayer, he must be sent to his — account . But no there is a hope ; he may have discovered nothing—perhaps he is but admiring the sublimity of the landscape . If permitted , he may turn and ride carelessly away in the direction whence he came . S urely it will be possible to judge at the i n stant o f his withdrawing whether he knows . It may well be that his fixi ty of attention Druse turned his head and looked th rough the o f deeps air downward , as from the surface w to the bottom o f a translucent se a . He sa c reeping across the green meadow a sinuous — line of figures o f men and horses some fool ish commander was permitting the soldiers of his escort to water their beasts in the open , in plain view from a dozen summits ! Druse withdrew his eyes from the valley and fixed them again upon the group of man

2 4! THE COLLECTED WORKS

p resented a clean , vertical p rofile against a background of blue sky to a point half the way down , and of distant hills , hardly less

o f . blue , thence to the tops the trees at its base Lifting his eyes to the dizzy altitu de of its — summit the office r saw an astonishing sight a man o n horseback riding down into the valley through the air ! S traight up right sat the rider , in military fashion , with a firm seat in the saddle , a strong clutch upon the rein to hold his charger from too impetuous a plunge . From his bare head his long hair streamed upward , waving like a s plume . H is hand were concealed in the ’ cloud of the horse s lifted mane . The ani mal ’s body was as level as if every hoof stroke encountered the resistant earth . Its o f motions were those a wild gallop , but even fi as the of cer looked they ceased , with all the legs th rown sharply forward a s in the act o f h ! alig ting from a leap . But this was a flight Filled with amazement and terror by this — apparition of a horseman in the sky half b e lieving himself the chosen scribe of some new e o fli c e r Apocalyps , the was overcome by the intensity of his emotions ; his legs failed him and he fell . Almost at the same instant he OF AMBROSE BIERCE 25 — heard a c rashing sound in the trees a sound — that died without an echo and all was still .

f to . The o ficer rose his feet, trembling The familiar sensation o f an ab raded shin re i called h s dazed faculties . Pulling himself together he ran rapidly obliquely away from the cliff to a point distant from i ts foot ; there about he expected to find his man ; and there i n about he naturally failed . In the fleeting stant o f his vision his imagination had been so wrought upon by the apparent grace and ease and intention o f the marvelous p erform ance that it did not occur to him that the line o f march o f aerial cavalry is directly d own o f ward , an d that he could find the objects his

search at the very foot o f the cliff. A half

hour later he returned to camp . This ofli c er w as a wise man ; he knew better

than to tell an incredible truth . He said

nothing of what he had seen . But when the commander asked him if in his scout he had learned anything Of advantage to the expedi tion he answered “ Yes si r is , ; there no road leading down ” into this valley from the southward .

The commander, knowing better, smiled . 26 THE COLLECTED WORKS

After firing his shot, Private Carter Druse reloaded hi s rifle and resumed his watch . Ten minutes had hardly passed when a Fed eral sergeant crept cautiously to him o n hands and knees . Druse neither turned his head nor o r looked at him , but lay without motion Sign o f recognition . ” Did you fire ? the sergeant whispered .

Yes. At wh at ? ”

A horse . It was standing on yonder rock — ee i s p retty far o ut. You s it no longer ”

f . there . It went over the cli f ’ The man s face was white , but he showed

o f . no other Sign emotion Having answered , he turned away his eyes and said no more .

The sergeant did not understand . “ ” mo S ee here, D ruse , he said , after a ’ “ ’ u se ment s silence , it s no making a mys

te r . y I order you to report . Was there any ” body o u the horse ? Y ” es. Well ?

My father . The sergeant rose to his feet and walked “ . ! away Good God he said . OF AM BROS E BIERCE 27

AN O CC URREN C E AT OWL C REEK B RIDGE

MAN stood upon a railroad bridge

in northern Alabama , looking down into the swift water twenty feet b e ’ lo w. The man s hands were behind

hi . s back, the wrists bound with a cord A a rope closely encircled his neck . It was t ta c hed to a stout cross - timber above his head

and the slack fell to the level o f his knees . Some loose boards laid upon the sleepers sup porting the metals o f the railway supplied a — footing for him and his executioners two o f d p rivate soldiers the Federal army, directe by a sergeant who in civil life may have been ff a deputy sheri . At a short remove upon the same temporary platform was an ofli c er in the o f uniform his rank, armed . He was a cap

tain . A sentinel at each end of the bridge stood with his rifle in the position known a s “ ” sa o f support , that is to y, vertical in front

the left shoulder, the hammer resting o n the — forearm thrown straight across the chest a 28 THE COLLECTED WORKS

formal and unnatural position , enforcing an erect carriage o f the body . I t did not appear to be the duty o f these two men to know what was occurring at the centre of the bridge ° they merely blockaded the two ends of the foot planking that traversed it . Beyond o n e o f the sentinels nobody was in sight ; the railroad ran straight away into a forest fo r a hundred yards , then , curving, was lost to view. Doubtless there was an outpost farther along . The other bank of the stream — was open ground a gentle acclivity topped with a Stockade Of vertical tree trunks , loop holed for rifles , with a single embrasure through which p rotruded the muzzle o f a brass cannon commanding the b ridge . M id way of the slope between bridge and fort were — the spectators a single company o f infantry ” o f in line, at parade rest, the butts the rifles o n the ground , the barrels inclining slightly backward against the right shoulder, the hands crossed upon the stock . A lieutenant o f stood at the right of the line , the point his sword upon the ground , his left hand resting upon his right . Excepting the group Of fou r o f at the centre the b ridge, not a man moved .

The company faced the b ridge , staring ston ily, motionless . The sentinels , facing the OF ’AMBRO S E BIERCE 29

o f b anks the stream, might have been statues to ado rn the b ridge . The captain stood with o f folded arms , silent, observing the work his no subordinates , but making sign . Death is a dignitary who when he comes announced is to be received with formal manifestations o f

respect, even by those most familiar with him . In the code of military etiquette silence and

fixity are forms o f deference . The man who was engaged in being hanged

- was app arently about thirty five years of age . o ne H e was a civilian , if might judge from w as his habit, which that of a planter . H is —a featu res were good straight nose, firm

mouth , broad forehead, from which his long, b dark hair was combed Straight ack, falling behind his ears to the collar of his well - fitti n g

- frock coat . He wore a mustache and pointed

beard , but no whiskers ; his eyes were large ha d and dark gray, and a kindly exp ression which o n e would hardly have expected in one E whose neck was in the hemp . vidently this

w as no vulgar assassin . The liberal milita ry code makes p rovision for hanging many kinds

o f s . person , and gentlemen are not excluded two The p rep arations being complete , the p rivate soldiers stepped aside and each drew away the plank upon which he had been 30 THE COLLECTED WORKS

standing . The sergeant turned to the cap tain , saluted and placed himself immediately b e ofli c e r o ne hind that , who in turn moved ap art

pace . These movements left the condemned man and the sergeant standing on the two ends o f of the same plank, which spanned th ree the

- cross ties of the b ridge . The end upon which a lm o st b u t the civilian stood , not quite , reached

a fourth . This p lank had been held in place by the weight of the captain ; it was now held f by that o the sergeant . At a signal from the

former the latter would step aside , the plank would tilt and the condemned man go down o between tw ties . The arrangement com mended itself to his j u dgment as simple and ff e ective . H is face had not been covered nor

his eyes bandaged . He looked a moment at ” hi his unsteadfast footing, then let s gaze wander to the swirling water of the Stream

racing madly beneath his feet . A p iece of dancing driftwood caught his attention and

his eyes followed it down the current . How slowly it appeared to move ! What a slugg ish stream ! He closed his eyes in order to fix his last

thoughts upon his wife and children . The water, touched to gold by the early sun , the brooding mists under the banks at some dist

32 THE COLLECTED WORKS is as yet outside thei r lines ; my wife and little ones are still beyond the invader’s farthest ” advance . s set As the e thoughts , which have here to be down in words , were flashed into the doomed man ’s b rain rather than evolved from it the captain nodded to the sergeant. The sergeant stepped aside . II

- to - do Peyton Farquhar was a well planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama fam ily . Being a slave owner and like other slave owners a politician he was naturally an orig inal secessionist and ardently devoted to the

Southern cause . Circumstances of an imper ious nature , which it is unnecessary to relate here , had p revented him from taking service with the gallant army that had fought the dis astrous camp aigns ending with the fall of

Corinth , and he chafed unde r the inglorious f hi restraint , longing for the release o s o f o energies , the larger life the soldie r, the p o r tu n it p y for distinction . That opportunity, he felt , would come , as it comes to all in war time . Meanwhile he did what he could . N 0 service was too humble for him to per i n S form aid of the outh , no adventure too perilou s for him to undertake if consistent OF AMBROSE B IERCE 33 with the character o f a civilian who was at who heart a soldier, and in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a p art o f the frankly villainous d ictum i s that all fair in love and wa r. One evening while Fa rq uhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench near the en is - trance to h grounds , a gray clad soldier rode

up to the gate and asked for a drink of water . r was too to M s. Farquhar only happy serve

him with her own white hands . While she was fetching the water her husband ap p ro a c hed the dusty horseman and inquired

eagerly for news from the front . Y The anks are rep airing the railroads, “ an said the man , and are getting ready for

other advance . They have reached the Owl C reek b ridge , put it in order and built a Stock has ade on the north bank. The commandant

issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering o r with the railroad , its bridges , tunnels trains ”

aw . will be summarily hanged . I s the order “ How fa r i s it to the Owl Creek bridge ?

Fa rq uh a r asked . “ s About thirty mile . Is there no force o n this side the c reek? h ou o n he Only a picket post alf a mile t, t 34 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o f railroad , and a single sentinel at this end ” the bridge . “ — S uppose a man a civilian and Student o f hanging—should elude the p icket post and ” perhaps get the better o f the sentinel , said “ ac c om Farquhar, smiling, what could he p li sh ? a The soldier reflected . I was there ” “

. I r month ago , he replied obse ved that the flood o f last winter had lodged a great quantity o f driftwood against the wooden pier is now at this end of the bridge . It d ry and ” would burn like tow.

The lady had now brought the water , which c eremo n the soldier drank . He thanked her i o usl y, bowed to her husband and rode away .

An hour later, after nightfall , he repassed the plantation , going northward in the direction h e from which had come . He was a F ederal scout. 111 As Peyton Farquhar fell Straight down ward th rough the b ridge he lost consciousness o n e and was as already dead . From this state — he was awakened ages late r it seemed to him — , by the pain o f a sharp p ressu re upon his o f throat, followed by a sense suffocation . K een , poignant agonies seemed to shoot from OF AMBROSE BIERCE 35 his neck downward through every fibre of his

body and limbs . These p ains appeared to fl ash along well - d efin ed lines o f ramification and to beat with an inconceivably rapid o f periodicity . They seemed like streams pulsating fire heating him to an intolerable As his c o n temperature . to head, he was — scious Of nothing but a feeling o f fulness o f un c c om congestion . These sensations were a o f p an ied by thought. The intellectual p art his natu re was already effaced ; he had power w a o to s . nly feel , and feeling torment H e was conscious of motion . Encomp assed in a was luminous cloud , of which he now merely he the fiery heart, without material substance, o swung through unthinkable arcs of oscillati n , i like a vast pendulum . Then all at once, w th

terrible suddenness , the light about him shot upward with the noise o f a loud pl ash ; a was his was frightful roaring in ears , and all

cold and dark . The power o f thought was restored ; he knew that the rOp e had broken

and he had fallen into the stream . There was no additional strangulation ; the noose about his neck was already suffocating him and kept i f the water from h s lungs . To die o hanging — at the bottom o f a river l the idea seemed to He hi him ludicrous . opened s eyes in the 36 THE COLLECTED WORKS darkness and saw above him a gleam of light, how ow ! was but distant, h inaccessible He still sinking, fo r the light became fainter and fainter until it was a mere glimmer . Then it w began to grow and brighten , and he kne that he was rising toward the surface— knew it with reluctance , for he was now very com ” f rt l o ab e . To be hanged and drowned , he n o t thought, that is so bad ; but I do not wish n o t to be shot . No ; I will be shot ; that is not ’ fa i rf

ff a He was not conscious of an e ort , but sharp p ain in his wrist app rised him that he was trying to free his hands . He gave the ob struggle his attention , as an idler might serve the feat of a juggler, without interest in e ffo rt l— the outcome . What Splendid what ! magnificent, what superhuman strength Ah, that was a fine endeavor ! B ravo ! The cord fell away ; his arms parted and floated up o n s ward , the hands dimly seen each ide in the growing light . He watched them with a new interest as fi rst one an d then the other pounced upon the noose at his neck . They tore it away re and thrust it fiercely aside , its undulations “ - sembling those of a water snake . Put it ! back, put it back He thought he shouted his f these words to hands , for the undoing o OF AMBROSE BIERCE 37 the noose had been succeeded by the direst p ang that he had yet experienced . H is neck ached horribly ; his b rain was on fire ; his heart , which had been fluttering faintly, gave to o u a great leap , trying force itself t at his

mouth . H is whole b o dy was racked and wrenched with an insupportable anguish ! ' B u t his disobedient hands gave no heed to the

command . They beat the water vigorously

with quick , downward strokes , forcing him to

the surface . He felt his head emerge ; his eyes were blinded by the sunlight ; his chest

exp anded convulsively, and with a sup reme and crowning agony his lungs engulfed a

great draught of air, which instantly he ex p ell ed in a sh riek ! H e was n ow in full possession of his phys

. rete rn a tu ical senses They were , indeed , p

rally keen and alert . Something in the awful disturbance o f his organic system had so exalted and refined them that they made o f record things never before perceived . H e felt the ripples upon his face and heard thei r

sep arate sounds as they struck . He looked at o n the the forest the bank of the stream , saw

individual trees , the leaves and the veining o f — each leaf saw the very insects upon them

- the locusts , the b rilliant bodied flies , the gray 38 THE COLLECTED WORKS spiders stretching their webs from twig to twig . He noted the p rismatic colors in all the dewdrops upon a m illion blades of grass . The humming of the gnats that danced above o f o f the eddies the stream , the beating the ’ - flies dragon wings , the strokes of the water ’ Spiders legs , like oars which had lifted their — boat all these made audible music . A fish slid along beneath his eyes and he heard the rush o f its body parti ng the water. He had come to the surface facing down the stream ; in a moment the visible world seemed to wheel slowly round , himself the saw p ivotal point, and he the b ridge , the fort, the soldiers upon the bridge, the captain , the sergeant, the two p rivates , his executioners .

They were in silhouette against the blue Sky. a They shouted and gesticulated , pointing t

. h a d him The captain drawn his p istol , but did not fire ; the others were unarmed . Their movements were grotesque and horrible, thei r forms gigantic . Suddenly he heard a sharp report and something struck the water smartly within a few o f inches his head , spattering his face w t . i h sp ray He heard a second report, and saw one of the sentinels with his rifle at his s d houl er, a light cloud of blue smoke rising

40 THE COLLECTED WORKS

voice of Niagara , yet he heard the dulled thunder of the volley and, rising again toward o f the surface , met Shining bits metal , singu

l a rl . y flattened , oscillating slowly downward Some o f them to u ched him on the face an d hands , then fell away, continuing their des cent . One lodged between his collar and neck ; it was uncomfortably warm and he snatched it o u t. to As he rose the surface, gasp ing for saw h ad b reath , he that he been a long time under water ; he was perceptibly farther down stream—nearer to safety The soldiers had almost finished reloading ; the metal ramrods flashed all at once in the sunshine as they were drawn from the barrels , tu rned in the air, and thrust into their sockets . The two Senti in effec t nels fired again , independently and ll u a y. The hunted man saw all this over his shoulder ; he was n ow swimming vigorously with the current . H is brain was as energetic as his arms and legs ; he thought with the rap idity of lightning . O ” “ The fficer, he reasoned , will not make ’ that martinet s error a second time . I t is as easy to dodge a volley as a single shot . He has p robably already given the command to OF AMBROSE BIERCE 41

fire at will . God help me , I cannot dodge them all ! An app alling plash within two yards o f him was followed by a loud , rushing sound , d i mi n u e n d o , which seemed to travel back through the air to the fort and died in an ex plosion which stirred the very river to its deeps ! A rising sheet o f water curved over him , fell down upon him , blinded him , strangled him ! The cannon h ad taken a A h and in the game . s he shook his head free from the commotion o f the smitten water he heard the deflected shot humming through the ai r ahead , and in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest b e yond . “ d o They will not that again , he thought “ the next time they will use a charge of grape . I must keep my eye upon the gun ; the smoke will app rise me— the report arrives too i late ; it lags behind the missile . That s a ” good gun . S uddenly he felt himself whirled round and — round Sp inning like a top . The water, the n ow banks , the forests , the distant b ridge, fort — and men all were commingled and blurred . Objects were rep resented by their colors only ; — circular horizontal streaks o f color that was 42 THE COLLECTED WORKS

all he saw . He had been caught in a vortex and was being whirled o n with a velocity of advance and gyration that made him giddy and sick . In a few moments he was flung upon the gravel at the foot o f the left bank o f the stream—the southern bank—and behind a p rojecting point which concealed him from o f his enemies . The sudden arrest his mo o n e o f his o n tion , the abrasion of hands the gravel , restored him, and he wept with de light . He dug his fingers into the sand , threw it over himself in handfuls and audibly blessed it . It looked like diamonds , rubies , emeralds ; he could think of nothing beautiful which it did not resemble . The trees upon the bank were giant garden plants ; he noted a definite order in their arrangement, inhaled o f the fragrance thei r blooms . A strange, roseate light shone through the sp aces among their trunks and the wind made in their o f azo li a n branches the music harps . He had — no wish to perfect his escape was content to remain in that enchanting spot until re taken . A whiz and rattle of grapeshot among the branches high above his head roused him from his dream . The baffled cannoneer had o fired him a random farewell . He sp rang t OF AMBROSE BIERCE 43 h is feet, rushed up the Slop ing bank , and p lunged into the forest .

All that day he traveled , laying his course b n i n y the rounding su . The forest seemed terminable ; nowhere did he discover a b reak ’

n o t . in it, even a woodman s road He had n o t known that he lived in so wild a region . There was something uncanny in the revela tion . B y nightfall he was fatigued, footsore , o fhis famishing . The thought wife and child ren urged him on . At last he found a road which led him in what he knew to be the right a s direction . It was wide and straight as a city street, yet it seemed untraveled . No

fields bordered it, no dwelling anywhere . N o t so much as the barking o f a dog suggested o f human habitati on . The black bodies the o n trees formed a Straight wall both sides , terminating on the horizon in a point, like a diagram in a lesson in perspective . Over u head , as he looked p through this rift in the u n wood , shone great golden stars looking familiar and grouped in strange constellations . He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign sig n ific ance The wood on either side was full of — singular noises , among which once, twice , 4543 THE COLLECTED WORKS — and again he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue . His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it he found it horribly swollen . He knew that it had a circle of black whe re the rop e had bruised it . His eyes felt congested ; he could no longer close them . H is tongue was swollen with thirst ; he relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from between his teeth into the cold air . How softly the turf had — carpeted the untraveled avenue he could no longer feel the roadway beneath his feet ! u f Doubtless , despite his s fering, he had fallen asleep while walking , fo r now he sees — another scene perhaps he has merely rec ov ered from a delirium . H e Stands at the gate of his own home . All is as he left it , and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine .

He must have traveled the entire night . As he pushes Open the gate and p asses up the wide white walk , he sees a flutter of female garments ; his wife , looking fresh and cool and sweet, steps down from the veranda to meet him . At the bottom of the steps she stands ff waiting, with a smile of ine able joy , an atti tude of matchless grace and dignity . Ah , how beautiful she is ! He sp rings forward with extended arms . As he is about to clasp OF AMBROSE BIERCE 45 her h e feels a stunning blow upon the back o f the neck ; a blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock o f a — cannon then all is darkness and silence ! his Peyton Farquhar was dead ; body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side f beneath the timbers o the Owl C reek bridge . 46 THE COLLECTED WORKS

CHIC KAM AUGA

NE sun ny a u tum n afternoon a child strayed away from its rude home in a small field and entered a forest u n o b I t served . was happy in a new sense o f o o r freedom from control , happy in the p p tun i ty of exploration and adventure ; fo r this ’ o f child s Sp irit, in bodies its ancestors , had for thousands o f years been trained to memo rable — feats o f discovery and conquest victories i n s battles who e c ritical moments were centuries , ’ whose victors camps were cities of hewn stone . From the cradle o f its race it had conquered its way through two continents and passing a se a great had penetrated a third , there to be to a born war and dominion s a heritage .

The child was a boy aged about Six years , so n the of a poor planter . In his younger

manhood the father had been a soldier, had fought against n aked savages and followed the flag of his country into the cap ital of a S civilized race to the far outh . In the peace ful life of a planter the warrior- fire survived ; is once kindled , it never extinguished . The man loved military books and pictures and the

48 THE COLLECTED WORKS

conqueror, and like one , the mightiest, he Cou ld not a r c urb the lust fo r w ,

r No r learn that tempted F ate will leave the lo ftiest Sta . Advancing from the bank of the creek he suddenly found himself confronted with a new and more formidable enemy : in the path Was that he following, sat, bolt up right, with ears erect and p aws suspended before it, a rabbit ! With a startled cry the child turned and fled , he knew not in what direction , call ing with inarticulate cries for his mother, weeping, stumbling, his tender Skin cruelly torn by b rambles, his little heart beating hard — — with terror breathless , blind with tears lost ! in the forest Then , for more than an hou r, he wandered with erring feet th rough the ! tangled undergrowth , til at last , overcome by fatigue , he lay down in a narrow space b e two tween rocks , within a few yards o f the

Stream and still grasping his toy sword , no longer a weapon but a companion , sobbed himself to sleep . The wood birds sang v merrily abo e his head ; the squirrels , whisk o f ing thei r bravery tail , ran barking from tree to tree , unconscious of the p ity of it , and m fl‘l somewhere far away was a strange , u ed thunder, as if the partridges were drumming OF AMBRO S E B IERCE 49

’ in celeb ration of nature s victory over the son o f her immemorial enslavers . And back at

the little plantation , where white men and black were h astily searching the fields and ’ hedges in alarm , a mother s heart was b reak

ing for her missing child . u Ho rs passed , and then the little sleeper o rose t his feet . The chill o f the evening was hi s o f in limbs, the fear the gloom in his heart.

B ut he had rested, and he no longe r wept. With some blind instinct which impelled to action he struggled through the undergrowth about him and came to a more open ground his ac on right the b rook, to the left a gentle c livi t y studded with infrequent trees ; over all ,

o f . the gathering gloom twilight A thin ,

ghostly mist rose along the water . It fright o f ened and repelled him ; instead recrossing,

in the direction whence he had come , he r tu rned his back upon it, and went fo ward

toward the dark inclosing wood . Suddenly he saw before him a strange moving object — which he took to be some large animal a d o —he n o t g , a pig could name it ; perhaps it o f w as a bear. He had seen pictures bears, but knew O f nothing to their discredit and had o n Bu t vaguely wished to meet e. something — in form o r movement o f this object some 50 THE COLLECTED WORKS thing in the awkwardness o f i ts app roach told him that it was not a bear, and curiosity was stayed by fear. He stood still and as it came slowly on gained courage every moment o r n o t f he saw that at least it had the long, im menacing ears of the rabbit . Possibly his p ressio n able mind was half conscious o f some thing familiar in its shambling, awkward gait . Before it had app roached near enough to re solve his doubts he saw that it was followed by another and another . To right and to left were many more ; the whole open Space about him was alive with them—all moving toward the brook .

They were men . They crept upon thei r hands and knees . They used thei r hands only, dragging their legs . They used their knees only, their arms hanging idle at their sides . They strove to rise to their feet, but fell p rone in the attempt . They did nothing naturally, and nothing alike , save only to advance foot by foot in the

. S same direction ingly, in pairs and in little groups, they came on through the gloom , some halting n ow and again while others crep t slowly p ast them , then resuming thei r move ment . They came by dozens and by hun dreds ; a s far on either hand as one could see OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 51 in the deepening gloom they extended and the black wood behind them appeared to be in

exhaustible . The very ground seemed in o n e motion toward the creek . Occasionally no t o n who h ad p aused did again go , but lay

. w as . motionless He dead Some, p ausing,

made strange gestures with their hands,

erected their arms and lowered them again , clasped their heads ; Sp read their p alms u p

ward , as men are sometimes seen to do in pub

lic p rayer . N o t all o f this d id the child note ; it is what would have been noted by an elder ob s saw erver ; he little but that these were men ,

yet crept like babes . B eing men, they were

n o . t terrible , though unfamiliarly clad He

moved among them freely, going from one to another and peering into thei r faces with

childish curiosity. All thei r faces were sing ularly white and many were streaked and — g o uted with red . Something in this some

thing too , perhaps , in their grotesque attitudes and movements— reminded him of the p ainted clown whom he had seen last summer in the

circus, and he laughed as he watched them . n B ut o and ever on they crept, these maimed

and bleeding men , as heedless as he of the dramatic contrast between his laughter and 52 THE COLLECTED WORKS

wn o their o ghastly gravity . T him it was a ’ ne merry spectacle . He had seen his father s groes creep upon their hands and knees for his — “ amusement had ridden them so , making ” n ow a believe they were his horses . He p p ro ac hed one of these crawling figures from behind and with an agile movement mounted u re it astride . The man sank pon his b reast, covered , flung the small boy fiercely to the ground as an unbroken colt might have done , then turned upon him a face that lacked a lower jaw— from the upper teeth to the throat ' was a great red gap fr i n g ed with hanging u n shreds o f flesh and splinters of bone . The o f natural p rominence nose , the absence of chin , the fierce eyes , gave this man the appear ance o f a great bird o f p rey crimsoned in o th roat and breast by the blood f its quarry .

The man rose to his knees , the child to his feet .

The man Shook his fist at the child ; the child , terrified at last, ran to a tree near by, got upon the farther side of it and took a more serious V o f s iew the ituation . And so the clumsy multitude dragged itself slowly and painfully along in hideous pantomime—moved forward down the slope like a swarm of great black — beetles , with never a sound of going in s lence p rofound , absolute . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 53

I o f nstead darkening, the haunted land he scap e began to b righten . Through t belt o f trees beyond the b rook shone a strange red o f light, the trunks and b ranches the trees making a black lacework against it . It struck the creeping figures and gave them monst'rous s hadows , which caricatured their movements o n the lit grass . It fell upon their faces,

touching thei r whiteness with a ruddy tinge, accentuating the stains with which so many o f

them were freaked and maculated . It sparkled on buttons and bits of metal in thei r

Clothing . Instinctively the child turned to ward the growing Splendor and moved down the slope with his horrible companions ; in a few moments had p assed the foremost o f the — throng not much of a feat, considering his

advantages . H e placed himself in the lead ,

his wooden sword still in hand , and solemnly

directed the march , conforming his p ace to theirs and occasionally turning as if to see that

his forces did not Straggle . S urely such a

leader never before had such a following. Scattered about upon the ground now slowly narrowing by the encroachment o f this

awful march to water , were certain articles to ’ which , in the leader s mind , were coupled no : significant associations an occasional blanket, 54 THE COLLECTED WORKS

tightly rolled lengthwise, doubled and the ends bound together with a string ; a heavy r ifle— knapsack here , and there a b roken such a o f r e things , in short, s are found in the rear “ ” treating troops , the spoor of men flying E from their hunters . verywhere near the creek , which here had a margin of lowland , the earth w as trodden into mud by the feet o f men and horses . An observer of better ex p e ri en c e in the use o f his eyes would have noticed that these footprints pointed in both directions ; the ground had been twice p assed — n over i advance and in retreat . A few hours before , these desperate , stricken men , with their more fortu nate and now distant com rades , had penetrated the forest in thousands .

Their successive battalions , b reaking into

re - swarms and forming in lines , had passed — the child o n every side had almost trodden o n him as he slept . The rustle an d murmur Al of their march had not awakened him . ’ most within a stone s throw o f where he lay they had fought a battle ; but all unheard by him were the roar of the musketry , the shock “ of the cannon , the thunder o f the captains ” and the sho u ting . H e had Slep t th rough it all , grasping his little wooden sword with per haps a tighter clutch in unconscious symp athy

56 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o f rear these, the open Spaces of the forest showed the leader as many formless figures of his grim command as at first ; but not nearly so many were in motion . He waved his cap for their encouragement and smilingly pointed with his weapon in the direction o f — the guiding light a p illar of fire to this strange exodus . o f Confident of the fidelity his forces , he now entered the belt of woods , p assed th rough it easily in the red illumination , climbed a fence , ran across a field , turning now and to again coquet with his responsive shadow , and so app roached the blazing ruin o f a ! dwelling . Desolation everywhere In all the wide glare not a living thing was visible . He cared nothing fo r that ; the spectacle pleased , and he danced with glee in imitation o f the wavering flames . He ran about, col e O le ting fuel , but every bject that he foun d was too heavy for him to cast in from the dis tance to which the heat limited his app roach . — In despai r he flung in his sword a s u rrender to the superior forces of nature . H is military career was at an end . S hifting his position , his eyes fell upon some outbuildings which had an oddly fam iliar appearance , as if he h ad dreamed o f them . He stood considering them with won OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 57

der when suddenly the entire plantation , with to as its inclosing forest, seemed turn if upon a

. swun h lf p ivot H is little world g . a around ;

the points o f the compass were reversed . He recognized the blazing building a s his own home ! For a moment he stood stup efied by the o f power the revelation , then ran with stum

- o f bling feet , making a half circuit the ruin .

There , conspicuous in the light of the con fla r a tio n g , lay the dead body of a woman

the white face turned upward , the hands o f th rown out and clutched full grass , the

clothing deranged , the long dark hair in

tangles and full o f clotted blood . The o f w as greater p art the forehead torn away, and from the j agged hole the b rain p ro ru d ed t , overflowing the temple , a frothy mass o f gray, crowned with clusters of crimson — bubbles the work of a shell .

The child moved his little hands , making

wild uncertain gestures . He uttered a series , — o f inarticulate and indescribable cries some thing between the chattering of an ape and the — a u n gobbling of a turkey startling, soulless ,

o f . holy sound , the language a devil The

child was a deaf mute .

Then he stood motionless , with quivering

. lips , looking down upon the wreck 58 THE COLLECTED WORKS

A SON OF THE GOD S

A STUDY I N TH E PRES ENT TEN SE

B REE! Y day and a sunny land An scape . open country to right and

left and forward ; behind , a wood . f In the edge o this wood , facing the open but not venturing into it , long lines of troops , halted . The wood is alive with them , and full of confused noises— the occasional rattle of wheels as a battery of artillery goes into position to cover the advance ; the hum and m u rmu r of the soldiers talking ; a sound o f inn u merable feet in the dry leaves that strew the interspaces among the trees ; hoarse com mands of o fli c e rs. Detached groups of horse men are well in front— not altogether exposed — many of them intently regarding the crest o f a hill a mile away in the direction o f the i n te r r e v u t d . F o r p ad ance this powerful army, moving in battle order through a forest, has met with a formidable obstacle— the open country . The crest o f that gentle hill a mile away has a sinister look ; it says , Beware ! Along it runs a stone wall extending to left OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 59

and right a great distance . Behind the wall is a hedge ; behind the hedge are seen the tops o f trees in rather straggling order. Among — the trees what ? It is necessary to know .

Yesterday , and for many days and nights a l p reviously, we were fighting somewhere ; ways there was cannonading, with occasional o f keen rattlings musketry, mingled with ’ o r cheers , our own the enemy s , we seldom knew, attesting some temporary advantage . This morning at dayb reak the enemy w a s gone . We have moved forward across his so earthworks , across which we have often vainly attempted to move before , through the é o f hi s d b ris abandoned camps , among the

o f the . graves his fallen , into woods beyond How curiously we had regarded every thing ! how odd it all had seemed ! Nothing had appeared quite familiar ; the most c o m mo n l a c e —an o ld p objects saddle , a splintered — wheel , a forgotten canteen everything had related something o f the mysterious person ality of those strange men who had been kill ing u s. The soldier never becomes wholly familiar with the conception o f his foes as men like himself ; he cannot divest himself o f the feeling that they are another order o f b e ff ings , di erently conditioned, in an environ 60 THE COLLECTED WORKS

s ment not altogether of the earth . The smalle t vestiges of them rivet his attention and engage i n a c e s his interest . He thinks of them as c s ible ; and , catching an unexpected glimpse of them , they appear farther away, and therefore — larger , than they really are like objects in a fog . He is somewhat in awe of them . From the edge o f the wood leading up the acclivity are the tracks o f horses and wheels o f the wheels cannon . The yellow grass is beaten down by the feet of infantry . Clearly they have p assed this way in thousands ; they have not withdrawn by the country roads . — This is sig n ific a n t i t is the difference b e tween reti ring and retreating . ou r That group of horsemen is commander, ff his sta and escort . He is facing the distant

field - crest , holding his glass against his eyes his with both hands , elbows needlessly elev a ted . It is a fashion ; it seems to dignify the S act ; we are all addicted to it . uddenly he lowers the glass and says a few words to those about him . Two o r three aides detach them selves from the group and canter away into

the woods , along the lines in each direction . n o t We did hear his words , but we know : ! to them Tell General . send forward the skirmish line . Those of us wh o have been OF AMBROSE BIERCE 61 o u t of place resume ou r positions ; the men resting at ease straighten themselves and the

- ranks are t e formed without a command . S ome o f us staff Officers dismount and look at o u r saddle girths ; those already on the ground remount . Galloping rapidly along in the edge o f the open ground comes a young officer o n a snow white horse . H is saddle blanket is scarlet . What a fool ! N O o n e who has ever been in action but remembers how naturally every rifle turns toward the man o n a white horse ; no one but has observed how a bit of red en rages the bull o f battle . That Such colors are fash ion able in military life must be accepted as the most astonishing of all the phenomena of human vanity . They would seem to have

- been devised to increase the death rate . ofli c e r This young is in full uniform , as if —a on p arade . He is all agleam with bullion

- - blue and gold edition o f the Poetry of War. A wave o f derisive laughter runs abreast o f B ut how him all along the line . handsome he — is with what careless grace he sits his horse ! H e reins up within a respectful distance O f the corps commander and salutes . The old soldier nods familiarly ; he evidently knows is him . A b rief colloquy between them going 6 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS on ; the young man seems to be p referring some request which the elder on e is indisposed ! to o to grant . Let us ride a little nearer . Ah — i o fli c e r late r is ended . The young salutes his again , wheels horse, and rides straight to ward the crest o f the hill ! o f A thin line skirmishers , the men de six o r so ployed at paces apart, now pushes from the wood into the open . The com his mander speaks to his bugler, who claps

- - - l - ’ r a la la ! Tr a a la . instrument to his lips . T

The skirmishers halt in their tracks . M eantime the young horseman has a d an v c ed a hundred yards . He is riding at a walk, straight up the long slope , with never o f ! a turn the head . How glorious ! Gods what would we not give to be in his place with his soul ! He does n o t d raw his sab re ; his his right hand hangs easily at side . The b reeze catches the plume in his hat and flut ters it smartly . The sunshine rests upon his

- shoulder straps , lovingly , like a visible bene diction . S traight on he rides . Ten thousand p airs of eyes are fixed upon him with an i n tensity that he can hardly fail to feel ; ten thousand hearts keep quick time to the i n au d

- ible hoof beats of his snowy steed . He is — he not alone draws all souls after him . But

64 THE COLLECTED WORKS — the spectators a start, as if they had received an electric shock— and looking forward again to the now distant horseman you’ would see that he has in that instant altered his di rection and is riding at an angle to his former course . The spectators suppose the sudden deflection to be caused by a shot , perhaps a wound ; but take this field - glass and yo u will observe that he is riding toward a break in the wall and to hedge . He means , if not killed , ride through and overlook the country beyond . You are not to forget the natu re of this ’ man s act ; it is n o t permitted to you to think o f o n it as an instance of b ravado , nor, the

o f . other hand , a needless sacrifice self If the enemy has not retreated he is in force on that ridge . The investigator will encounter nothing less than a line - Of- battle ; there i s no need of pickets , videttes , skirmishers , to give warn i n g o f our app roach ; our attacking lines will a n be visible , consp icuous , exposed to artillery fire that will shave the ground the moment they b reak from cover , and for half the dis tance to a sheet of rifle bullets in which no thing can live . In short , if the enemy is there , it would be madness to attack him in front ; he mu st be m an aeuvred o u t by the immemo rial o f plan th reatening his line of communication . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 6 5 as necessary to his existence as to the diver at f e his the bottom o the s a air tube . But how ascertain if the enemy is there ? There is but o n e — o way, somebody must g and see . The natural and customary thing to d o is to send o forward a line f skirmishers . But in this case they will answer in the affirmative with all their lives ; the enemy, crouching in double ranks behind the stone wall and in cover of the hedge , will wait until it is possible to count ’ each assailant s teeth . At the first volley a half of the questioning line will fall , the other half before it can accomplish the p redestined retreat . What a p rice to p ay for gratified curiosity ! At what a dear rate an army must sometimes purchase knowledge ! Let me ” — p ay all , says this gallant man this military Ch rist ! There is no hope except the hOp e ag a inst hope that the crest is clear . True , he might o p refer capture t death . So long as he a d n o t fire — ? vances , the line will why should it H e can safely ride into the hostile ranks and become a p risoner o f war . But this would o u r d efeat his object . It would not answer question ; it i s necessary either that he return unharmed or be shot to death before ou r eyes . c a Only so shall we know how to act . If p 6 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS u red — t why, that might have been done by a

- half dozen stragglers . Now begins an extraordinary contest of i n tell ec t between a man and an army . Our o f horseman , now within a quarter a mile of the crest, suddenly wheels to the left and gal lops in a direction parallel to it . He has caught sight o f his antagonist ; he knows all . Some slight advantage of ground has enabled him to overlook a part of the line . If he were here he could tell us in words . But that is now hopeless ; he must make the best use of the few minutes of life remaining to him, by compelling the enemy himself to tell us as — much and as plainly as possible which , nat

u r a ll u . y, that discreet powe r is rel ctant to do r iflema n Not a in those crouching ranks , not s a cannoneer at those masked and shotted gun , im but knows the needs of the situation , the e ra tive p duty of forbearance . Besides , there has been time enough to forbid them all to

ifl - . r e fire True , a single shot might drop him and be no great disclosure . But firing is i n fec tio u s— see and how rapidly he moves , with never a p ause except as he whirls hi s ho rse about to take a new direction , never directly backward toward us , never directly forward hi s toward executioners . All this is vi sibl e OF AMBROSE BIERCE 67 th rough the glass ; it seems occurring within - see pistol shot ; we all but the enemy, whose p resence , whose thoughts, whose motives we T infer. o the unaided eye there is nothing o n but a black figure a white horse, tracing slow zigzags against the slope of a distant hill —so slowly they seem almost to creep . — — N ow the glass again he has tired of his failure , or sees his erro r, or has gone mad ; i s as he dashing directly fo rward at the wall , to ! if take it at a leap , hedge and all One moment only and he wheels right about and is Sp eeding like the wind straight down the — ! Slope toward his friends , toward his death Instantly the wall is topped with a fierce roll o f smoke for a distance of hundreds of yards o dissi t right and left . This is as instantly p ated by the wind, and before the rattle of i re u s s . 0 the rifles reaches he down N , he covers his seat ; he has but pulled his horse ! upon i ts haunches . They are up and away

A tremendous cheer bursts from ou r ranks , relieving the insupportable tension o f ou r feel ? ings . And the horse and its rider Yes , — they are up and away. Away, indeed they o u r a re making directly to left, parallel to the now steadily blazing and smoking wall . o f The rattle the musketry is continuous , and 68 THE COLLECTED WORKS every bullet’s target is that courageous heart S uddenly a great bank o f white smoke An pushes upward from behind the wall . — other and another a dozen roll up before the thunder of the explosions and the humm ing of the missiles reach ou r ears and the missiles themselves come bounding th rough o f clouds dust into our covert, knocking over here and there a man and causing a temporary

o f . distraction , a passing thought self I n c redible l— The dust drifts away . that enchanted horse and rider have passed a ravine and are climbing another slope to un o f veil another conspiracy silence , to thwart o f the will another armed host . Another mo ment and that crest too is in eruption . The horse rears and strikes the air with its fore feet. They are down at last . But look again the man has detached himself from the dead animal . He stands erect, motionless , holding his sab re in his right hand straight

u . above his head . His face is toward s Now he lowers his hand to a level with his face and moves it outward , the blade of the sabre i describing a downward curve . It s a Sign to ’ s us , to the world , to posterity . It is a hero r salute to death and histo y . OF AMBROSE B IERCE 69

Ag ain the spell is b roken ; ou r men attempt to cheer ; they are choking with emotion ; they utter hoarse, discordant cries ; they clutch their weapons and p ress tumultuously forward o r into the open . The skirmishers , without

ders , against orders , are going forward at a keen run , like hounds unleashed . Our cannon speak and the enemy’s now Open in full s to a ee choru ; right and left s far as we can s ,

the distant c rest, seeming now so near, erects its towers of cloud and the great shot pitch

roaring down among ou r moving masses . Flag afte r flag of ours emerges from the

wood , line after line sweeps forth , catching

the sunlight on i ts burnished arms . The rear battalions alone are in obedience ; they p re serve their p roper distance from the insurgent

front .

The commander has not moved . He now removes his field -glass from h is eyes and

glances to the right and left. H e sees the human cu rrent flowing on either side of him

and his huddled escort, like tide waves p arted o f by a rock . Not a Sign feeling in his face ; d he is thinking. Again he irects his eyes for ward ; they slowly traverse that malign and his awful crest . He addresses a calm word to

Tr a -la - la ! Tra -la -la ! e bugler . The injun 70 THE COLLECTED WORKS

tion has an imperiousness which enforces it . I t is repeated by all the bugles of all the sub ordinate commanders ; the sharp metallic notes assert themselves above the hum o f the advance and penetrate the sound o f the cannon . To halt is to withdraw . The colors move slowly b ack ; the lines face about and n w u sulle ly follo , bearing thei r wo nded ; the

s s . ski rmi her return , gathering up the dead d ! Ah , those many, many needless ead That great soul whose beautiful body is lying over s yonder, so conspicuous again t the sere hill side— could it not have been sp ared the bitter consciousness of a vain devotion ? Would one exception have marred too much the p itiless ? perfection of the divine, eternal plan

72 THE COLLECTED WORKS

fear , was a scout . The general commanding his division was n o t content to obey orders blindly without knowing what was in his n o t o n d e front, even when his command was ta c hed o f service , but formed a fraction the line of the army ; nor w as he satisfied to re ‘ c e ive his knowledge of his o is- cl - o is th rough the customary channels ; he wanted to know more than he was apprised of by the corps commander and the collisions of pickets and

. S skirmishers Hence Jerome earing , with his

extraordinary daring , his woodcraft , his sharp

eyes , and truthful tongue . On this occasion his instructions were simple : to get as near the ’ enemy s lines as possible and learn all that he

could . In a few moments he had arrived at the

- picket line , the men on duty there lying in groups of two and four behind little banks o f earth scooped out of the slight dep ression in

u which they lay, their rifles p rotr ding from the green boughs with which they had masked

their small defenses . The forest extended

without a break toward the front , so solemn and Silent that only by an effort o f the im ag in a tio n could it be conceived as populous — with armed men , alert and vigilant a forest formidable with possibilities of battle . Paus OF AMBROSE BIERCE 73

ing a moment in on e of these rifle -pits to ap p rise the men o f his intention S earing crept stealthily forward on his hands and knees and was soon lost to view in a dense thicket of un d e r r b u sh . “ o f o f the Th at is the last him , said one “ m en ; I wish I had his rifle ; those fellows ” will hurt some o f u s with it . S o n o f earing crept , taking advantage every accident of ground and growth to give him

self better cove r. H is eyes penetrated every where , his ears took note of every sound . He t o f Stilled his breathing, and a the cracking a twig beneath his knee stopped his p rogress

and hugged the earth . It was slow work, but n o t tedious ; the danger made it exciting, but by n o physical signs was the excitement mani w as a s fest . H is pulse regular, his nerves were as steady a s i f he were trying to trap a sp arrow . “ “ It seems a long time , he thought, but ” I cannot have come very far ; I am still alive . He smiled at his own method o f estimating distance , and c rept forward . A moment later he suddenly flattened himself upon the earth and lay motionless , minute after minute . Th rough a narrow opening in the bushes he had caught Sight o f a small mound of yellow 74 THE COLLECTED WORKS

’ — - clay one o f the enemy s rifle p its . After his some little time he cautiously raised head, inch by inch , then his body upon his hands , o o n o f sp read u t each side him , all the while a n intently regarding the hillock of clay . In his other moment he was upon feet, rifle in a t hand, striding rapidly forward with little i n tempt at concealment . He had rightly te r reted p the signs , whatever they were ; the enemy was gone . To assure himself beyond a doubt before going back to report upon so important a mat S ter, earing pushed forward across the line of abandoned pits , running from cover to cover s in the more open fore t, his eyes vigilant to discover possible stragglers . He came to the — edge of a plantation one of those forlorn , deserted homesteads of the last years o f the s war, upgrown with bramble , ugly with b roken fences and desolate with vacant build ings having blank apertures in place of doors and windows . After a keen reconnoissance from the safe seclusion o f a clump o f young pines S earing ran lightly across a field and th rough an orchard to a small structure which o n stood apart from the other farm buildings , a slight elevation . This he thought would enable him to overlook a large scope o f OF AMBROSE B IERCE 75 country in the direction that he supposed the

enemy to h ave taken in withdrawing . This o f building, which had originally consisted a single room elevated upon four posts about

ten feet high , was now little more than a roof ;

the floor had fallen away, the joists and planks loosely piled o n the ground below o r resting o n end at various angles , not wholly torn from

thei r fastenings above . The supporting posts

were themselves no longer vertical . It looked as if the whole edifice would g o down at the

touch o f a finger. Concealing himself in the débris o f joists and flooring Searing looked across the open ground between hi s point o f view and a spur

- o f K . ennesaw Mountain , a half mile away A road leading up and across this spur was — c rowded with troop s the rear- guard o f the

- retiring enemy, their gun barrels gleaming in

the morning sunlight . S earing had n ow learned all that he could w h hope to know . It as is duty to return to h is o wn command with all possible Speed and o report his discovery . B ut the gray column f Confederates toiling up the mountain road — was singularly tempting . His rifle an ordin ” ary Sp ringfield , but fitted with a globe — sight and hair - trigger would easily send i ts 76 THE COLLECTED WORKS ounce and a quarter of lead hissing into their ff midst . That would p robably not a ect the o f duration and result the war, but it is the business of a soldier to kill . It is also his hab it if he is a good soldier . S earing cocked “ ” his rifle and set the trigger . But it was decreed from the beginning of time that Private S earing was not to murder anybody that b right summer mo rning , nor was the Confederate retreat to be announced v by him . For countless ages e ents had been so matching themselves together in that won d ro us mosaic to some parts of which , dimly discernible , we give the name of history, that the acts which he had in will woul d have o f marred the harmony the p attern . Some twenty- five years previously the Power cha rged with the execution of the work a c cording to the design h ad provided against that mischance by cau sing the birth of a cer tain male child in a little village at the foot o f the Carpathian Mountains , had carefully v s u reared it, super i ed its ed cation , directed its a desires into a milit ry channel , and in due o fli c e r time made it an of artillery . By the concurrence of an infinite number o f favoring influences and their preponderance over an

o c e r infinite number of opposing ones , this fli OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 77 of artillery had been made to commit a b reach o f discipline and flee from his native country

to avoid punishment . He had been directed o f to New O rleans ! instead New York) , where a recruiting officer awaited him on the

wharf . H e was enlisted and p romoted , and things were so ordered that he now com m a n d ed a Confederate battery some two miles S along the line from where Jerome earing , the

Federal scout , stood cocking his rifle . No — thing had been neglected a t every step in the ’ o f p rogress both these men s lives , and in the o f lives their contemporaries and ancestors , and in the lives of the contemporaries o f their

ancestors , the right thing had been done to

b ring about the desired result . H ad anything in all this vast concatenation been overlooked Private S earing might have fired o n the

retreating Confederates that morning , and A . s would perhaps have missed it fell out, a

Confederate captain of artillery, having no thing better to do while awaiting hi s turn to o ff pull out and be , amused himself by Sight ing a fie ld - p iece obliquely to his right at what he mistook for some Federal Ofli c e rs on the h crest of a hill , and discharged it . The s ot

flew high of its mark . As Jerome S earing drew back the hammer 78 THE COLLECTED WORKS o f his rifle and with his eyes upon the distant Confede rates con sidered where he could plant his Shot with the best hope o f making a widow o r — or an o rphan a childless mother , perhaps S all three , for Private earing, although he had repeatedly refused p romotion , was not o f — h e without a certain kind ambition , heard a rushing sound in the air, like that made by the wings of a great bird swoop ing down upon i a re ts prey . Mo re quickly than he could p p to hend the gradation , it increased a hoarse a s s and horrible roar, the mis ile that made it o u t sp rang at him of the sky, striking with a deafening impact one o f the posts supporting the confusion of timbers above him , smash ing it into matchwood , and bringing down the o f crazy edifice with a loud clatter, in clouds blinding dust ! When Jerome Searing recovered conscious ness he did not at once understand what had occurred . It was , indeed , some time before he opened his eyes . F o r a while he believed that he had died and been buried , and he tried o f to recall some portions the burial service . H e thought that his wife wa s kneeling upon hi s to grave , adding her weight that o f the

. o f earth upon his b reast The two them , widow and earth , had crushed his coffi n . Un

80 THE COLLECTED WORKS

‘ remembering all and nowise alarmed, again opened his eyes to reconnoitre , to note the

to . strength of his enemy, plan his defense

H e was caught in a reclining posture , his An back firmly suppo rted by a solid beam . other lay across his breast, but he had been able to shrink a little away from it so that it im no longer opp ressed him , though it was it movable . A brace joining at an angle had wedged him against a p ile of boards o n his

o n . left , fastening the arm that side H is legs , slightly p arted and straight along the ground , were covered upward to the knees with a mass o f débris which towered above his narrow horizon . H is head was as rigidly fixed as in v — a ise ; he could move his eyes , his chin no more . Only his right arm was p artly free . “ ” u s You must help out of this , he said to it . B ut he could not get it from under the heavy i t mber athwart his chest , nor move it outward more than six inches at the elbow . S r earing was not seriously injured , n o did he suffer pain . A smart rap o n the head from a flying fragment of the splintered post, incurred simultaneously with the frightfully sudden Shock to the nervous system , had momentarily dazed him . H is term of u n consciousness , including the period o f rec ov OF AMBROSE BIERCE 81 u ery, d ring which he had had the Strange sec fancies , had p robably not exceeded a few u o ds , for the dust of the wreck had not wholly cleared away as he began an intelligent survey o f the situation . With his partly free right hand he now tried to get hold of the beam that lay across ,

n o t . but quite against, his b reast In no way could he do so . He was unable to dep ress the shoulder so a s to push the elbow beyond that edge o f the timber which was nearest his knees ; failing in that, he could not raise the forearm and hand to grasp the beam . The b race that made an angle with it downward and backward p revented him from doing any i n thing that direction , and between it and his body the sp ace w as not half so wide as the length o f his forearm . Obviously he could not get his hand under the beam nor over it ; n o t the hand could , in fact, touch it at all .

H aving demonstrated his inability, he de s isted , and began to think whether he could reach any of the débris p iled upon his legs . In surveying the mass with a view to de rm in i n te g that point, his attention was ar rested by what seemed to be a ring of shining hi metal immediately in front of s eyes . It appeared to him at first to surround some 82 THE COLLECTED WORKS m perfectly black substance , and it was so e

- what more than a half inch in diameter . It suddenly occurred to his mind that the black ness was simply shadow and that the ring was in fact the muzzle of his rifle p rotruding from the pile of débris . He was not long in satisfy — ing himself that this was so if it was a satis faction . By closing either eye he could look a little way along the b arrel— to the point where it was hidden by the rubbish that held it . He could see the one Side , with the corre

S o n di n p g eye , at appa rently the same angle as the other side with the other eye . Looking with the right eye , the weapon seemed to be directed at a point to the left of his head , and to vi c e ve rsa . He was unable see the upper surface of the barrel , but could see the under surface of the stock at a slight angle . The o f p iece was , in fact , aimed at the exact centre his forehead .

In the perception of this circumstance , in the recollection that just p reviously to the mischance of which this uncomfortable situ ation was the result he had cocked the rifle and set the trigger so that a tou ch would dis i t S f charge , Private earing was a fected with a feeling o f uneasiness . But that was as far as e was possibl from fear ; he a b rave man , some OF AMBROSE BIERCE 83 what familiar with the aspect of rifles from f o f o . that point view, and cannon too And n ow he recalled , with something like amuse o f ment, an incident his experience at the o f e Storming Missionary Ridge , wh re , walk ’ ing up to o ne of the enemy s embrasures from which he had seen a heavy gun throw charge after charge o f grape among the assailants he had thought for a moment that the piece had been withdrawn ; he could see nothing in the opening but a b razen circle . What that was he had understood just in time to step aside as it pitched another p eek o f i ron down that o n e o f swarming slope . To face firearms is the commonest incidents in a soldier’s life b e fi rearms , too , with malevolent eyes blazing

a . hind them . That is what soldier is for S S till , Private earing did not altogether relish

his . the situation , and turned away eyes his After groping, aimless, with right hand fo r a time he made an ineffectual attempt to o release his left . Then he tried t disengage hi fixit w as an s head , the y of which the more noying from hi s ignorance of what held it .

Next he tried to free his feet, but while exert ing the powerful muscles o f his legs for that purpose it occurred to him that a d isturbance o f the rubbish which held them might dis 84 THE COLLECTED WORKS charge the rifle ; how it could have endu red what had already befallen it he could not understand , although memory assisted him en with several instances in point . One in parti lar he recalled , in which in a moment of mental abstraction he had clubbed his rifle and beaten ’ o u t another gentleman s brains , observing afterward that the weapon which he had been diligently swinging by the muzzle was loaded , — o f capped , and at full cock knowledge which circumstance would doubtless have u cheered his antagonist to longer end rance . He had always smiled in recalling that “ bl u nder of his green and salad days as a

b u t . soldier , now he did not smile He tu rned his eyes again to the muzzle of the rifle and for a moment fancied that it had moved ; it seemed somewhat nearer . o f Again he looked away . The tops the distant trees beyond the bounds of the plant ation interested him : he had not before o b served how light and feathery they were , nor ho w u v darkly bl e the sky was , e en among thei r b ranches , where they somewhat p aled it with their green ; above him it appeared a l “ most black . It will be uncomfo rtably ho t “ o here , he th ught , as the day advances . I ” wonder which way I am looking . OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 85

see Judging by such shadows a s he could , he decided that his face was due north ; he would at least not have the sun in his eyes , — an d and north well , that was toward his wife children . “ ! ” “ B ah he exclaimed aloud , what have ” they to d o with it ? “ ’ o u t H e closed his eyes . As I can t get I m ay as well go to sleep . The rebels are gone and some o f our fellows are sure to stray o ut ’ ” here foraging . Th ey ll find me . b e But he did not sleep . G radually he — came sensible o f a p ain in his forehead a dull ache , hardly perceptible at first, but growing more and more uncomfortable . H e opened his eyes and it was gone— closed them “ ”

. ! and it returned The devil he said , irrelevantly , and stared again at the sky . H e heard the Singing of birds , the strange metall i c note of the meadow lark, suggesting the clash of vib rant blades . He fell into pleasant memories of his childhood , played again with hi s b rother and sister, raced across the fields, to shouting alarm the sedentary larks , entered the so mbre forest beyond and wi th timid step s followed the faint path to Ghost Rock, stand ing at last with audible heart - throbs before ’ the Dead M an s Cave and seeking to penetr ate 86 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o b its awful mystery . For the first time he served that the opening of the haunted cavern was encircled by a ring o f metal . Then all e lse vanished and left him gazing into the bar rel o f his rifle as before . But whereas before

n ow i n c on it had seemed nearer, it seemed an e ivabl e c distance away , and all the more sin ister for that . He cried out and , startled by — something in his o wn voice the note o f fear “ ’ lied to himself in denial : I f I don t sing ' o u t I may stay here till I die . He now made no further attempt to evade the menacing stare o f the gun barrel . I f he turned away his eyes an instant it was to look for assistance ! although he could not see the

u b e ground on either side the r in ) , and per mi tte d them to return , obedient to the imper v ati e fascination . If he closed them it was from weariness , and instantly the poignant pain in his forehead— the p rophecy and — menace of the bullet forced him to reopen them . The tension of nerve and b rain was too severe ; natu re came to his relief with inte rvals of unconsciousness . Reviving from one of o f these he became sensible a sharp , smarting

his : pain in right hand , and when he worked o r his fingers together, rubbed his palm with

88 THE COLLECTED WORKS

little ring of metal with its black interior . The pain in his forehead was fierce and incessant . He felt it gradually penetrating the brain more and more deeply, until at last its p ro gress was arrested by the wood at the back of i n su f his head . It grew momentarily more ferabl e : he began wantonly beating his lac c rated hand against the splinters again to counteract that horrible ache . I t seemed to

u throb with a slow, regular rec rrence , each pulsation sharper than the p receding, and o u t sometimes he cried , thinking he felt the fatal bullet . No thoughts of home , of wife and children , of country , of glory . The whole f record of memory was e faced . The world — had passed away not a ve stige remained . Here in this confusion of timbe rs and boards is the sole universe . Here is immortality in — time each pain an everlasting life . The throbs tick o ff eternities . S Jerome earing, the man of courage , the formidable enemy, the strong , resolute war rior, was as pale as a ghost . His j aw was fallen ; his eyes p rotruded ; he trembled in every fibre ; a cold sweat bathed his entire body ; he screamed with fear . He was n o t in — he wa sane s terrified . In grop ing about with his torn and bleeding OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 89

hand he seized at last a strip of board , and , pulling, felt it give way . It lay parallel with his body, and by bending his elbow as much as the contracted space would permit, he could draw it a few inches at a time . Finally it was altogether loosened from the wreckage covering his legs ; he could lift it clear of the i ts ground whole length . A great hope came into his mind : perhaps he could work it up is to ward , that say backward , far enough to o r lift the end and push aside the rifle ; , if that o f were too tightly wedged , so place the strip to board as deflect the bullet . With this object

” b ' he p assed it backward inch y inch , hardly daring to b reathe lest that act somehow defeat re his intent, and more than ever unable to move his eyes from the rifle , which might perhaps now hasten to imp rove its waning h opportunity. Something at least ad been gained : in the occup ation o f his mind in this attempt at self - defense he was less sensible o f the pain in his head and had ceased to wince . But he was still dreadfully frightened and his teeth rattled like castanets . The strip of board ceased to move to the H suasion of his hand . e tugged at it with all i o f h s strength , changed the direction its length all he could , but it had met some ex 90 THE COLLECTED WORKS tended obstruction behind him and the end in front was still to o far away to clear the pile o f débris and reach the muzzle of the gun . It l extended , indeed, near y as far as the trigger guard, which , uncovered by the rubbish , he could imperfectly see with hi s right eye . H e his tried to b reak the strip with hand , but had

n o . hi re leverage In s defeat , all his terror turned , augmented tenfold . The black aperture o f the rifle appeared to threaten a sharpe r and more imminent death i n punish o f ment o f his rebellion . The track the bullet through his head ached with an intenser anguish . He began to tremble again .

Suddenly he became composed . His tremor subsided . He clenched his teeth and drew down his eyebrows . He had not ex ha n sted his means o f defense ; a new design — had shaped itself in his mind another plan o f battle . Raising the front end of the strip o f board, he carefully pushed it forward th rough the wreckage at the side o f the rifle until it p ressed against the trigger guard . Then he moved the end slowly outward until he could feel that it had cleared it, then , closing his eyes, th rust it against the trigge r with all his strength ! There was no explosion ; the rifle had been discharged as it d ropped from his OF AMBROSE BIERCE 9 1

hand when the building fell . But it did its work .

S Lieutenant Adrian earing , in command of the p icket- guard on that p art o f the line th rough which his b rother J erome had passed o n hi s sat his mission , with attentive ears in b reastwork behind the line . Not the faintest sound escaped him ; the cry of a bird , the o f b arking of a squirrel , the noise the wind among the p ines—all were anxiously noted i h s . S by overstrained sense uddenly, directly in front of his line , he heard a faint, confused rumble , like the clatter of a falling building translated by distance . The lieutenant me ’ h a n ic ll i c a y looked at h s watch . S ix o clock and eighteen minutes . At the same moment an officer app roached him o n foot from the rear and saluted . ” fi Lieutenant, said the of cer, the colonel di rects you to move fo rward you r line and

. . c o n feel the enemy if you find him If not, o tin ue the advance until directed t halt . There is reason to think that the enemy has ” retreated . The lieutenant nodded and said nothing ; c e r the othe r ofii retired . In a moment the o f t - men , app rised their du y by the non com 9 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS

ofli c ers l o w missioned in tones , had dep loyed from their rifle - pits and were moving forward in skirmishing order, with set teeth and beat ing hearts . This line o f skirmishers sweeps across the plantation toward the mountain . They pass o f o bse rv on both sides the wrecked building , ing nothing . At a Short distance in thei r. rear their commander c omes . He casts his eyes curiously upon the ruin and sees a dead body half buried in boards and timbers . It is so covered with dust that its clothing is Con federate gray . Its face is yellowish white ; c hec ks u the are fallen in , the temples s nken , to o , with sharp ridges about them , making the forehead forbiddingly narrow ; the upper lip , slightly lifted , shows the white teeth , rigidly clenched . The hair is heavy with moisture, the face as wet as the dewy grass all about. From his point o f view the o fli c e r does not observe the rifle ; the man w as apparently o f killed by the fall the building . o fli c e r Dead a week, said the curtly, moving on and absently p u lling o ut his watch ’ as if to verify his estimate of time . Six o clock and forty minutes . OF AMBROSE B IERCE 93

' KILLED AT RESACA

HE best soldier of o u r staff was B r l e o n e o f Lieutenant H erman ay , ’ wo - - re the t aides de camp . I don t member where the general p icked him up ; from some Ohio regiment, I think ; o f us none had p reviously known him , and it would have been strange if we had , for no two o f us S n o r came from the same tate , even from adjoining S tates . The general seemed to think that a position on his staff was a distinction that should be so judiciously conferred as not to beget any sectional jealousies and imperil the i ntegrity o f that p art of the country which was still an integer . He would not even C o fli c e rs his hoose from own command , but by some jugglery at dep artment headquarters ob u tai n ed them from other brigades . Under s ch ’ circumstances , a man s Services had to be very distinguished indeed to be heard of by his “ family and the friends o f his youth ; and the Speaking trump o f fame was a trifle hoarse from loquacity, anyhow . Lieutenant B rayl e was more than six feet o f in height and splendid p roportions , with 94 THE COLLECTED WORKS the light hair and gray - blue eyes which men so gifted usually find associated with a high order of courage . As he was commonly in full uniform , especially in action , when most o fli c e rs are content to be less flamboya n tly attired , he was a very striking and conspicuous A ’ . s figure to the rest, he had a gentleman s ’ ’ manners, a Scholar s head , and a lion s heart . w s His age a about thirty . We all soon came to like B r ayle as much as we admired him , and it was with sincere concern that in the engagement at Stone ’s — River o u r first action after he joined us we observed that he had one most Objection able and unsoldierly quality : he was vain o f his courage . During all the vicissitudes and o f mutations that hideous encounter, whether o u r troops were fighting in the open cotton

fields , in the cedar thickets , or behind the n o t railway embankment, he did once take cover , except when sternly commanded to do so by the general , who usually had other things to think o f than the lives o f his staff — o e r o r o f . ffic s those his men , for that matter In every later engagement while B r ayle was with us it was the same way . He would sit u his horse like an equestrian stat e , in a storm o f bullets and grape, in the most exposed

96 THE COLLECTED WORKS In such circumstances the life of a staff officer o f a brigade is distinctly n o t a happy ” o n e , mainly because of its p recarious tenure and the unnerving alternations o f emotion to o f which he is exposed . From a position that comp arative security from which a civilian “ ” would ascribe his escape to a miracle , he may be despatched with an order to some com mander of a p rone regiment in the front line — a person fo r the moment inconspicuous and not always easy to find without a deal o f search among men somewhat p reoccupied , and in a din in which q u estion and answer alike must be imp arted in the Sign language . It is customary in such cases to duck the head o n o f and scuttle away a keen run , an object lively interest to some thousands o f admiring — i marksmen . In returning well , it s not cus to ma ry to return . ’ B rayle s p ractice was different . He would to consign his horse the care of an orderly, — he loved his horse , and walk quietly away on his perilous errand with never a stoop of the back, his Splendid figure , accentuated by i h s uniform , holding the eye with a strange fascination . We watched him with suspended ou r o u r one b reath , hearts in mouths . On o f o ne o f occasion this kind , indeed , ou r num OF AM BROSE BIERCE 97

so ber, an impetuous stammerer, was possessed by his emotion that he shouted at me ’ I ll b - b - bet you t- two d - d -d ollars they d -drop him b -b -before he g -gets to that d -d ditch ! ” I did n o t accept the b rutal wager ; I

thought they would . ’ Let me do justice to a b rave man s memory ; in all these needless exposu res of life there was n o n o r n r r i ‘v visible bravado subseque t n a at o n . In the few instances when some o f us had to B ra le ventu red remonstrate , y had smiled

pleasantly and made some light reply, which , n o t howeve r, had encouraged a further pur

suit o f the subject . Once he said “ to C aptain , if ever I come grief by for

getting your advice , I hope my last moments will be cheered by the sound of your beloved

voice b reathing into my ear the blessed words, ’ o I told you s . We laughed at the captain— just why we — could p robably n o t have explained and that afternoon when he was shot to rags from an ambuscade B r ayle remained by the body fo r

some time , adjusting the limbs with needless care—there in the middle of a road swept by gusts o f grape and canister ! It is easy to con o f di d em n this kind thing, and not very fli c ult 98 THE COLLECTED WORKS

i s to refrain from imitation , but it impossible B ra l e wa s not to respect, and y liked none the l ess for the weakness which had so heroic an

. n o t exp ression We wished he were a fool , but he went on that way to the end , sometimes to hard hit , but always returning duty about as good as new .

Of course , it came at last ; he who ignores the l aw of p robabilities challenges an a dve r is sary that seldom beaten . It was at Resaca , in Georgia , during the movement that resulted in the taking of Atlanta . In front of our ’ b rigade the enemy s line o f earthworks ran th rough open fields along a slight crest . At each end of this Open ground we were close up to him in the woods , but the clear ground we hO e could not p to occupy until night, when darkness would enable us to burrow like moles and th row up earth . At this point our line was a quarter - mile away in the edge o f a

u wood . Ro ghly, we formed a semicircle , the ’ enemy s fortified line being the chord o f the arc . to Lieutenant, go tell Colonel Ward work up as close as he can get cover, and not to waste much ammunition in unnecessary firing . ” You may leave you r horse . When the general gave this direction we OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 99

i n o f were the fringe the forest , near the right extremity of the arc . Colonel Ward was at the left . The suggestion to leave the horse obviously enough meant that B rayl e was to

take the longer line , through the woods and

among the men . Indeed , the suggestion was needless ; to go by the short route meant ab so

l utely certain failure to deliver the message . B B ra l e efore anybody could interpose , y had cantered lightly into the field and the enemy ’s io works were in crackling c o n flag ra t n . “ S top that damned fool ! ” shouted the

general .

A p rivate of the escort , with more ambition to than b rains , Spu rred forward obey, and within ten yards left himself and his horse

dead on the field of honor . B ra l e y was beyond recall , galloping easily to along, p arallel the enemy and less than two to hundred yards distant . He was a p icture see ! H is hat had been blown or shot from his hi s head , and long, blond hair rose and fell o f sat with the motion his horse . He erect in

the saddle , holding the reins lightly in his left

hi s . hand , right hanging carelessly at his side An occasional glimpse of his handsome p rofile a s he turned hi s head on e way or the other p roved that the interest which he took in what 1 00 THE COLLECTED WORKS was going o n was natural and without affecta tion . was The pictu re intensely dramatic , but in e S o f no degr e theatrical . uccessive scores rifles spat at him viciously as he came within o u r o f the range , and own line in the edge timber b roke ou t in visible and audible d e N o o f o r fen se . longer regardful themselves their orders , our fellows sp rang to thei r feet, and swarming into the open sent b road sheets o f bullets against the blazing crest o f the ff o ending works , which poured an answering fire into thei r unp rotected groups with deadly ff e ect . The artillery on both sides joined the battle, punctuating the rattle and roar with

- deep , earth shaking explosions and tearing the air with storms of screaming grape , which from the enemy’s side splintered the trees and o Spattered them with blood , and from urs defiled the smoke Of his arms with banks and o f is clouds dust from h p a rapet . My atte ntion had been fo r a moment drawn to the general combat, but now, glancing down the unobscured avenue between these two saw B ra le thunderclouds , I y , the cause n o e o f the carnage . Invisible w from ither side , and equally doomed by friend and foe,

- he stood in the shot swept space , motionless, OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 01 his face toward the enemy . At some little dis o tance lay his h rse . I instantly saw what had

stopped him . As topographical engineer I had , early in

the day, made a hasty examination of the

g round, and now remembe red that at that

point was a deep and sinuous gully, crossing ’ half the field from the enemy s line, its general

course at right angles to it . From where we B ra le now were it was invisible, and y had evi l d en t n o t . y known about it Clearly, it was

imp assable . Its salient angles would have afforded him abso lute security if he had chosen to be satisfied with the miracle already

wrought in his favor and leapt into it. He

could not go forward , he would not turn back ;

h e stood awai ting death . It did not keep him

long waiting . in By some mysterious coincidence , almost stan ta n eou sl y as he fell , the firing ceased , a few desultory shots at long intervals serving

rather to accentuate than break the Silence . It was as if both sides had suddenly repented of

- their p r o fitless crime . Fou r stretcher bearers

o f ours , following a sergeant with a white flag, soon afterward moved unmolested into the ’

B r a l e s . field , and made straight for y body S everal Confederate ofli c ers and men came 1 02 THE COLLECTED WORKS

out to meet them, and with uncovered heads assisted them to take up their sacred burden . As it was borne toward us we heard beyond — the hostile works fifes and a muffled drum a dirge . A generous enemy honored the fallen b rave . ’ Amongst the dead man s effects was a soiled

- distr ib u Russia leather pocketbook . In the u r tion of mementoes of o friend, which the general , as administrator, decreed , this fell to me . o f on A year after the close the war, my way

. to California , I opened and idly inspected it Out of an overlooked compartment fell a let ter without envelope or address . It was in a ’ woman s handwriting, and began with words o f endearment, but no name . “ It had the following date line : S an Fran cisco , Cal . July 9 , The signatu re was “ o f u Darling, in marks q otation . Incident ’ in ally, the body of the text, the writer s full —l M a ri an name was given Mendenhall . The lette r showed evidence o f cultivation and good breeding , but it was an ordinary love letter, if a love letter can be ordinary.

There was not much in it, but there was some I t thing . was this : “ M r . Winters , whom I shall always hate

1 04 THE COLLECTED WORKS

is Madam , I said , pardon me , but that the blood o f the truest and bravest heart that ” ever beat . She hastily flung the letter o n the blazing “ ! o f coals . Uh I cannot bear the sight Ho w ? blood ! she said . did he die I had involuntarily risen to rescue that scrap of paper, sacred even to me , and now A he Stood p artly behind her . s s asked the qu estion she turned her face about and slightly upward . The light of the burning letter was reflected in her eyes and touched her c hec k with a tinge o f crimson like the stain upon its page . I had never seen anything so beautiful as this detestable creature . “ He was bitten by a snake I replied . OF AMBROS E BIERCE 1 05

THE AFFAIR AT C OULTER’S NOTC H

you think , Colonel , that your b rave Coulter would like to put one of his ? ” guns in here the general asked . He was apparently not altogether serious ; it certainly did not seem a place

where any artillerist , however b rave , would

like to put a gun . The colonel thought that possibly his division comm ander meant good hu m o re dly to intimate that in a recent c o n versation between them Captain Coulter’s o courage had been t o highly extolled . “ General , he replied warmly, Coulter would like to put a gun anywhere within o f reach those people , with a motion of his o f hand in the direction the enemy .

It is the only place , said the general . He

was serious , then . ” The place was a dep ression , a notch , in o f the Sharp crest a hill . It was a pass , and

th rough it ran a turnp ike , which reaching this highest point in its course by a sinuous ascent

through a thin forest made a similar, though

less steep , descent toward the enemy . For a a to mile to the left and mile the right, the 1 06 THE COLLECTED WORKS

ridge , though occupied by Federal infantry lying close behind the sharp crest and appear ing as if held in place by atmospheric p ress ure , was inaccessible to artillery . The re was o f no p lace but the bottom the notch , and that was barely wide enough fo r the roadbed . From the Confederate side this point was commanded by two batteries posted on a slightly lower elevation beyond a creek , and a

- half mile away . All the guns but one were masked by the trees of an orchard ; that o n e — it seemed a bit o f imp u dence was on an open lawn directly in front of a rathe r grandiose ’ building, the planter s dwelling . The gun — was safe enough in its exposure but only because the Federal infantry had been for ’ o t h— i bidden to fire . Coulter s N c t came to so— n o t be called was , that pleasant summer “ o n e afternoon , a place where would like to ” put a gun . Three o r fou r dead horses lay there sprawling in the road , three or fou r dead men row o f in a trim at one side it, and a little

. o n back, down the hill All but e were cav a l r men y belonging to the Federal advance . c o m One was a quartermaste r . The general manding the divi sion and the colonel c om a f es m nding the brigade , with their sta fs and

1 08 THE COLLECTED WORKS

sa t e slender and lithe, and his horse with s me was thing of the air o f a civilian . In face he o f a type singularly unlike the men about him ;

- - thin , high nosed , gray eyed , with a slight blond mustache, and long, rather straggling w a s hair o f the same color . There an app ar His ent negligence in his attire . cap was worn with the visor a trifle askew ; his coat n - was butto ed only at the sword belt, showing a considerable expanse of white shirt, toler ably clean for th a t stage o f the camp aign . But the negligence was all in his dress and bear in g ; in his face was a look of intense interest in his surroundings . His gray eyes , which seemed occasionally to strike right and left

- across the landscape, like search lights, were for the most part fixed upon the sky beyond the Notch ; until he should arrive at the sum mit of the road there was nothing else in that direction to see . As he came opposite his division and b rigade commanders at the road side he saluted mechanically and was about to

on . s pass The colonel igned to him to halt. C ” “ aptain Coulte r, he said , the enemy has twelve p ieces over there o n the next ridge .

If I rightly understand the general , he directs ” o that y u b ring up a gun and engage them . There was a blank silence ; the general OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 1 09 looked stolidly at a distant regiment swarm ing slowly up the hill through rough under a o f growth , like torn and draggled cloud blue smoke ; the captain appeared n o t to have observed him . Presently the captain spoke, slowly and with apparent effort “ sa Si r ? On the next ridge , did you y, Are the guns near the house ? “ Ah , you have been over this road before . ” Directly at the house . “ And it is—necessary— to engage them ? The order is imperative ?

H is voice w as husky and b roken . He was w as visibly p aler . The colonel astonished and mortified . He stole a glance at the com set mander . In that , immobile face was no sign ; it was as hard as b ronze . A moment later the general rode away , followed by his

f . sta f and escort The colonel , humiliated and indignant, was about to order Cap tain Coulter in arrest , when the latter spoke a few words his in a low tone to bugler, saluted , and rode straight forward into the Notch , where, o f field p resently , at the summit the road , his sk glass at his eyes , he showed against the y, he and his horse , sharply defined and statuesque . The bugler had dashed down the 1 1 0 THE COLLECTED WORKS

speed and disappeared behind a wood . Pres ently his b u gle was heard singing in the c c dars , and in an incredibly short time a single gun with its caisson , each drawn by six horses and manned by its full complement of gunn e rs , came bounding and banging up the grade in a storm of dust, unlimbered under cover , and was run fo rward by hand to the fatal crest among the dead horses . A gesture ’ o f the captain s arm , some strangely agile movements of the men in loading , and almost before the troops along the way had ceased to hear the rattle of the wheels , a great white cloud sp rang forward down the slope , and with a deafening report the affair at Coulter’s

Notch had begun . It is not intended to relate in detail the p rogress and incidents o f that ghastly con — a s test contest without vicis itudes , its alterna ff s Al tions only di erent degrees of de p air . most at the instant when Captain Coulter’s gun blew its challenging cloud twelve answer ing clouds rolled upward from among the trees about the plantation house , a deep mul tiple report roared back like a broken echo , and thenceforth to the end the Federal can n o n ee rs fought their hopeless battle in an atmosphere of living iron whose thoughts

1 1 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS piece with my congratulations o n the accuracy ” o f h is fire .

- Turning to his adjutant general he said , Did you observe Coulter ’s damned reluct ” ance to obey orders ? “ ” Yes , sir , I did .

Well , say nothing about it, please . I don ’t think the general will care to make any accusations . He will p robably have enough to do in explaining his own connection with this uncommon way of amusing the rear ” guard of a retreating enemy . o fli c e r m A young app roached fro below, climbing b reathless up the acclivity . Almost before he had saluted , he gasped out “ Colonel , I am directed by Colonel H ar ’ m o n to say that the enemy s guns are within o f easy reach of our rifles , and most them vis ” ible from several points along the ridge . The b rigade commander looked at him without a trace of interest in his exp ression . “ ” I know it , he said quietly . The young adjutant was visibly embar rassed . Colonel H armon would like to have ” permission to silence those guns , he stam mered . S o should I , the colonel said in the same “ s tone . Pre ent my compliments to Colonel OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 1 3 H armon and say to him that the general ’s orders for the infantry not to fire are still in ’ fo rc ef

c o l The adjutant saluted and retired . The o uel ground hi s heel into the earth and turned ’ to look again at the enemy s guns . ” “ - Colonel , said the adjutant general , I ’ to sa don t know that I ought y anything, but is D o there something wrong in all this . you happen to know that Cap tain Coulter is from the South ? ” “ N o w a s ? ; he , indeed I heard that last summer the division which the general then commanded was in the ’ vicinity of Coulter s home - camped there for

weeks , and “ ! Listen said the colonel , interrupting Do with an upward gesture . you hear tha t? “ ” That was the silence o f the Federal gun . ff o f The sta , the orderlies , the lines infantry — “ ” behind the crest all had heard , and were l ooking curiously in the direction o f the

crater, whence no smoke now ascended except ’ desulto ry cloudlets from the enemy s shells . o f Then came the blare a bugle , a faint rattle o f wheels ; a minute later the sharp reports

recommenced with double activity . The de 1 1 4 THE COLLECTED WORKS mo lished gun had been replaced with a sound one . “ - Yes , said the adjutant general , resuming his narrative , the general made the acquaint ’ ance o f Coulter s family . There was trouble — ’ — I don t know the exact natu re of it some ’ is -ho t thing about Coulter s wife . She a red S ecessionist, as they all are , except Coulter

- himself, but she is a good wife and high b red lady. There was a complaint to army head quarters . The general was transferred to this ’ o dd division . It is that Coulter s battery ” should afterward have been assigned to it . The colonel had risen from the rock upon Hi which they had been sitting . s eyes were blazing with a generous indignation . S ” ee here, Mo rrison , said he , looking his ff ffi “ gossiping sta o cer straight in the face, did you get that sto ry from a gentleman o r a liar ? ’ I don t want to say how I got it, Colonel , unless it is necessary ” he was blushing a —“ ’ trifle but I ll stake my life upon its truth in the main . The colonel turned toward a small knot o f fi of cers some distance away . Lieutenant ! ” Williams he shouted . One of the Officers detached himself from

1 1 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS — was now firing . The men they looked like ! s demons of the pit All were hatle s , all stripped to the waist, their reeking skins black with blotches o f powder and Sp attered with

f . gouts o blood They worked like madmen , with rammer and cartridge , lever and lanyard . They set their swollen Shoulders and bleeding hands against the wheels at each recoil and heaved the heavy gun back to its place . There were no commands ; in that awful envi ron ment of whooping shot , exploding shells , shrieking fragments of iron , and flying splint ers of wood , none could have been heard . ffi fi i n di sti n O cers , if of cers there were , were — g u ish abl e ; all worked together each while he - lasted governed by the eye . When the gun was sponged , it was loaded ; when loaded , aimed and fired . The colonel observed some — thing new to hi s military experience some thing horrible and unnatural : the gun was bleeding at the mouth ! In temporary default o f water, the man sponging had dipped his ’ o f Sponge into a pool comrade s blood . In all this work there was n o clashing ; the duty of

. o ne a n the instant was obvious When fell , o a ther, looking trifle cleaner, seemed to rise ’ o from the earth in the dead man s tracks , t fall in h is turn . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 1 7 With the ruined guns lay the ruined men alongside the wreckage, under it and atop of — it ; and back down the road a ghastly p ro — cession l crept o n hands and knees such o f the wounded as were able to move . The colonel — he had compassionately sent his cavalcade — to the right about had to ride over those who were entirely dead in order not to crush those who we re partly alive . Into that hell he tran q uilly held his way, rode up alongside the a gun , and , in the obscurity of the last disch rge , tapp ed upon the c hec k the man holding the — who rammer straightway fell , thinking him self killed . A fiend seven times damned s his Sp rang out of the moke to take place , but p aused and gazed up at the mounted o fli c e r with an unearthly regard , his teeth flashing between h is black lips , his eyes , fierce and exp anded , burning like coals beneath his bloody b row . The colonel made an author i ta tive gesture and pointed to the rear . The k fiend bowed in to en of obedience . It was

C aptain Coulter . S imultaneously with the colonel ’s arresting f e o . Sign , silence f ll upon the whole field action The p rocession o f missiles n o longer streamed o f fo r into that defile death , the enemy also had ceased firing . His army had been gone for 1 1 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS

- hou rs , and the commander of his rear guard , who had held his position perilously long in hope to silence the Federal fire , at that strange “ moment h ad silenced his own . I was not ” aware of the b readth of my authority, said the colonel to anybody, riding fo rward to the crest to see what had really happened . An hou r later his brigade was i n bivouac ’ o n the enemy s ground , and its idlers were examining, with something of awe , as the ’ faithful inspect a saint s relics , a score of straddling dead horses and three disabled guns , all Sp iked . The fallen men had been carried away ; their torn and broken bodies would have given too great satisfaction .

Naturally, the colonel established himself and his military family in the plantation

. b u t house I t was somewhat Shattered , it was better than the Open air . The furniture was greatly deranged and broken . Walls and ceilings were knocked away here and there, and a lingering odor of powder smoke was ’ everywhere . The beds , the closets of women s clothing , the cupboards were not greatly dam aged . The new tenants for a night made themselves comfortable , and the vi rtual ’ effacement of Co u lter s battery supplied them with an interesting top ic .

1 20 THE COLLECTED WORKS

hand , app roached the man and attentively considered him . The long dark beard was — the hair of a woman dead . The dead woman clasped in her arms a dead b abe .

Both were clasped in the arms of the man , p ressed against his b reast , against his lips . There was blood in the hai r of the woman ; there was blood in the hai r of the man . A yard away, near an irregular dep ression in the beaten earth which formed the cellar’s floor a fresh excavation with a convex bit of iron , having jagged edges , visible in one of the — ’ sides lay an infant s foot . The colonel held

u Of the light as high as he co ld . The floor the room above was broken through , the splinters pointing at all angles downward . “ ” is - This casemate not bomb p roof , said the colonel gravely . It did not occur to him that his summing up of the matter had any levity

m i t. They stood about the group awhile in silence ; the staff officer was thinking of his n s unfi ished upper, the orderly of what might possibly be in one of the casks on the other Side of the cellar Suddenly the man whom they had thought dead raised his head and gazed tranquilly into their faces . H is com plexion was coal black ; the cheeks were ap OF AMB ROSE BIERCE 1 21 p a t ently tattooed in irregular sinuous lines

m . fro the eyes downward The lips , too , were white , like those of a stage neg ro . There hi was blood upon s forehead . o r The staff officer d rew back a p ace , the d erl y two paces . ou ? What are y doing here, my man said the colonel, unmoved . “ to si r w This house belongs me, , as the reply, civilly delivered . ou ? ! ? To y Ah , I see And these

My wi fe and child . I am Captain Coul 1 22 THE COLLE CTED WORKS

THE COUP DE G RACE

HE fighting had been hard and con tin u o u s ; that was attested by all the o f w a s senses . The very taste b attle re in the air . All was now over ; it mained only to succor the wounded and bu ry ” — “ s the dead to tidy up a bit, as the humo ri t o f a bu rial squad put it . A good deal of “ ” tidying up was required . As far as one could see th rough the forests , among the

. splintered trees , lay wrecks of men and horses

- Among them moved the stretcher bearers , gathering and carrying away the few who o f showed signs of life . Most the wounded had died of neglect while the right to min ister to their wants was in dispute . It is an army regu lation that the wounded must wait ; the be st way to care for them is to win the

u battle . It m st be confessed that victo ry is a distinct advantage to a man requiring atten b u t tion , many do not live to avail themselves of it . The dead were collected in groups of a dozen or a score and laid side by side in rows while the trenches were dug to receive them .

1 24 THE COLLECTED WORKS

Nine men in ten whom yo u meet after a battle inquire the way to some fraction of the army — as if any one could know . Doubtless this o fli c e r w as lost . After resting himself a mo ment he would p resumably follow one of the retiring bu rial squads . When all were gone he walked straight away into the forest toward the red west , its light staining his face like blood . The ai r of confidence with which he now strode along showed that he wa s on familia r ground ; he had recovered his bearings . The dead on his right and on his left were unregarded a s he passed . An occasional low moan from some sorely- stricken wretch whom the relief - parties had not reached , and who would h ave to p ass a comfortless night beneath the stars with his u n thi rst to keep him company, was equally

. u O fi heeded What , indeed , co ld the f ce r have u n o ? done , being no s rgeon and having water the s At head of a hallow ravine , a mere dep ression of the ground , lay a small group of bodies . He saw , and swerving suddenly from his cou rse walked rapidly toward them . S canning each one sharply as he passed , he stopped at last above one which lay at a slight remove from the others , near a clump of small trees . He looked at it narrowly . It seemed OF AMBRO SE B I ERCE 1 25 o t stir . He stooped and laid his hand upon its face . It screamed .

The officer was Captain Downing Mad o f o f well , a M assachusetts regiment infantry, a daring and intelligent soldier, an honorable man . In the regiment were two b rothers named l r — Ha c ow Ca ffa l and C reede Halc row. C af fal Ha lc row was a sergeant in Captain M ad ’ well s company, and these two men , the sergeant and the captain , were devoted f ff . so o friends In fa r as disparity rank, di er ence in duties and considerations o f military discip line would permit they were commonly u together . They had , indeed, grown p to o f gether from childhood . A habit the heart Off a ffal H lc row is n o t easily b roken . C a had nothing military in his taste nor disposition , but the thought o f sep aration from his friend was disagreeable ; he enlisted in the company

M a dwell - in which was second lieutenant . two Each had taken steps upward in rank, but between the highest non - commissioned and the lowest commissioned officer the gulf is deep and wide and the old relation was maintained ff with difficulty and a di erence . Hal c row o f Caffal wa C reede , the brother , s 1 2 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o f — a the major the regiment cynical , saturn ine man , between whom and C aptain Mad well there was a natu ral antipathy which cir c um sta n c es had nourished and strengthened to an active animosity . But for the restrain ing influence of their mutual relation to C a ffa l these two patriots would doubtle ss have e n d eavo red to dep rive their country o f each ’ other s services . At the opening o f the battle that morning the regiment was perfo rming outpost duty a a t mile away from the main army . It was tacked and nearly surrounded in the forest, but stubbornly held its ground . During a Ha lc row lull in the fighting, M ajor came l to Captain M a dwe l . The two exchanged “ : formal salutes , and the major said Cap tain , the colonel directs that you push your company to the head of this ravine and hold

u yo r place there until recalled . I need hardly apprise you of the dangerous charac o u o u ter of the movement , but if y wish , y can , I suppose , turn over the command to your

first- lieutenant . I was not , however , di rected to authorize the substitution ; it i s merely a ffi suggestion of my own , uno cially made . To this deadly insult Captain M adwell coolly replied

1 28 THE COLLECTED WORKS

It was d efiled with earth and dead leaves . Protruding from it was a loop of small i n testine . In all his experience Captain M ad well had not seen a wound like this . He could neither conjecture how it wa s made nor explain the attendant circumstances— the strangely torn clothing , the p arted belt, the besmirching of the white skin . He knelt and made a closer examination . When he rose to ff c e his feet, he turned his eyes in di e rent dir tions as if looking for an enemy . Fifty yards away, on the crest of a low , thinly wooded O v hill , he saw several dark bjects mo ing about — a among the fallen men herd of swine . One i ts stood with back to him , its shoulders sharply elevated . Its forefeet were upon a human body, its head was dep ressed and i n i vis ble . The b ristly ridge of its chine showed black against the red west . Captain M a dwell drew away his eyes an d fixed them again upon the thing which had been his ffie n d . The man who had su ffered these monstrous mutilations was alive . At intervals he moved

his limbs ; he moaned at every breath . He stared blankly into the face o f his friend and if touched screamed . In his giant agony he had torn up the ground on which he lay ; his OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 29 clenched hands were full o f leaves and twigs and earth . Articulate speech was beyond his power ; it was impossible to know if he were sensible to anything but pain . The exp res sion o f his face was an appeal ; his eyes were ? full of p rayer . For what There was no misreading that look ; the captain had too frequently seen it in eyes o f those whose lips had Still the power to fo r o n formulate it by an entreaty death . C sc io u sl o r y unconsciously, this writhing frag o f ment of humanity, this type and example acute sensation , this handiwork of man and beast , this humble , unheroic Prometheus , was

- e o imploring everything, all , the whole non g , o f fo r the boon oblivion . To the earth an d sk the y alike , to the trees , to the man , to what o r ever took form in sense consciousness , this incarnate suffering addressed that silent plea . ? a c For what, indeed For that which we co rd to even the meanest creature without sense to demand it , denying it only to the wretched of o u r o wn race : for the blessed re o f lease , the rite uttermost compassion , the

r c e c o up d e g d . Captain M a dwell Spoke the name o f his friend . He repeated it over and over with s o u t effect until em o tion cho ked hi utterance . 1 30 THE COLLECTED WORKS H is tears plashed upon the livid face beneath saw no his own and blinded himself . He thing but a blurred and moving object, but the moans were more distinct than ever , inter rup ted at briefer intervals by sharper shrieks . his He turned away, struck hand upon his forehead , and strode from the Spot . The swine , catching sight of him , threw up their crimson muzzles , regarding him suspiciously f a second, and then with a gru f, concerted

o ut o f . grunt, raced away sight A horse , its

- foreleg Sp lintered by a cannon shot , lifted its head sidewise from the ground and neighed s M adwell p iteou ly . stepped forward , drew his revolver and shot the poor beast between its the eyes , narrowly observing death struggle , which , contrary to his expectation , w as violent and long ; but at last it lay still . i ts um The tense muscles of lips , which had i n covered the teeth a horrible grin , relaxed ; - o n o f the sharp , clean cut p rofile took a look p rofound peace and rest.

Along the distant , thinly wooded crest to westward the fringe of sunset fire had now o u nearly bu rned itself t. The light upon the trunks of the trees had faded to a tender gray ; shadows were in their tops , like great dark birds aperch . Night was coming and there

1 32 THE COLLECTED WORKS

with all his strength and weight . The blade sank into the man ’s body—th rough his body into the earth ; Captain M a dwell came near falling forward upon hi s work . The dying man drew up his knees and at the same time threw his right arm across his breast and grasped the steel so tightly that the knuckles

Of the hand visibly whitened . By a violent but vain effort to withdraw the blade the wound was enlarged ; a rill of blood escaped, running sinuously down into the deranged clothing. At that moment th ree men stepped silently forward from behind the clump of young trees which had concealed their ap p roach . Two were hospital attendants and carried a stretcher. C Halc ro The third was Major reede w. OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 33

RKER ADDERS N PA O , PHILO SOPH ER

R S ER I ON , what is your name ? As I am to lose it at daylight to morrow morning it is hardly worth

while concealing it . Parker Adder

You r rank ? A somewhat humble o n e ; commissioned officers are too p recious to be risked in the ” perilous business of a spy. I am a sergeant . “ O f what regiment ? ” Yo u must excuse me ; my answer might , o u for anything I know, give y an idea of whose forces are in you r front . S uch know ledge as that is what I came into your lines to ” to obtain , not imp art . “ ” Y o u are not without wit . I f you have the patience to wait you will ” - find me dull enough to morrow . How do you know that y o u are to die to morrow morning ? ” “ Among Sp ies captured by night that is the o n e O O o f custom . It is f the nice bservances ” the p rofession . 1 34 THE COLLECTED WORKS The general so far laid aside the dignity app rop riate to a Confederate Ofli c e r of high rank and wide renown as to smile . But no o n e in his power and out of his favor would have drawn any happy augury from that o ut ward and visible Sign of app roval . It was neither genial nor infectious ; it did not com m u n ic a te itself to the othe r persons exposed to — i t the caught spy who had p rovoked it and the armed guard who had brought him into the tent and now stood a little ap art, watching his - prisone r in the yellow candle light . It ’ was no p art of that warrior s duty to smile ; he had been detailed for another purpose . The conversation w as resumed ; it was in character f a trial for a capital o fense . “ You admit , then , that you are a Spy o u that y came into my camp , disguised as you are in the uniform o f a Confederate sol to dier, obtain information secretly regard ing the numbers and disposition of my ” troops . “ Regarding , p articularly, their numbers .

Their disposition I already knew . It is morose .

The general b rightened again ; the guard , o f ac with a severer sense his responsibility, c en tu a te d the austerity of his exp ression and

1 36 THE COLLECTED WORK S frail structure shook and swayed and strained at its confining stakes and ropes .

The general finished writing, folded the half - sheet o f paper and spoke to the soldier

o n : T a ssm a n guarding Ad d e rs Here , , take ” - that to the adjutant general ; then return . “ ? ” And the p risoner, General said the u soldier, saluting , with an inq iring glance in the direction of that unfortunate . ” ffi Do . as I said , replied the o cer , curtly The soldier took the note and ducked o t f himself u o the tent . General Clavering turned his handsome face toward the Federal s py, looked him in the eyes , not unkindly, and m ” said It is a bad night, y man . “ ”

es. For me, y Do you guess what I h ave written ?

S sa . omething worth reading, I dare y And— perhaps it is my vanity— I venture to ' I ” suppose that am mentioned in it . Yes ; it is a memorandum for an order to be read to the troops at r e ve ill e concerning you r execution . Also some notes fo r the guidance of the p rovost - marshal in arranging ” the details of that event .

I hope , General , the spectacle will be in tell i en tl fo r g y arranged , I shall attend it my self . OF AMB ROSE BIERCE 1 37

H ave you any arrangements o f you r own that you wish to make ? D o you wish to see a ? chaplain , for example “ I could hardly secure a longe r rest fo r ” myself by dep riving him o f some of his . “ ! d o o u Good God , man y mean to go to you r death with nothing but jokes upon you r lips ? D o you know that this is a serious mat ter ? How can I know that ? I have never

been dead in all my life . I have heard that

death is a serious matter, but never from any ” o f those who have experienced it . The general was silent for a moment ; the —a man interested , perhaps amused him type

not p reviously encountered . “ ” “ —a Death , he said , is at least a loss loss o f as o f o o r such happiness we have, and pp ” tun iti es for more . “ A loss o f which we shall never be c on scious can be borne with composu re and there Yo u fore expected without app rehension .

must have observed , General , that of all the dead men with whom it is you r soldierly pleasure to strew your p ath none Shows signs ” o f regret . I f the being dead is not a regrettable con so— dition , yet the becoming the act of dying 1 38 THE COLLECTED WORKS — appears to be distinctly disagreeable to o ne ” who ha s not lost the power to feel . “ Pain is disagreeable , no doubt . I never suffer it without more o r less discomfort . But he who lives longest is most exposed to it. What you call dying is simply the last p ain there is really no such thing as dying . Sup pose , for illustration , that I attempt to escape . You lift the revolver that you are courteously concealing in your lap , and

The general blushed like a girl , then laughed softly , disclosing his b rilliant teeth , made a slight inclination of his handsome S head and said nothing . The py continued I You fire , and I have in my stomach what did not swallow . I fall , but am not dead . — After a half hou r of agony I am dead . But at any given instant of that half - hour I was n eithe r alive or dead . There is o transition p eriod . “ When I am hanged to - morrow morning it will be quite the same ; while conscious I v shall be li ing ; when dead , unconscious . Nature appears to have ordered the matter quite in my interest— the way that I should i ” . s have ordered it myself It so simple, he “ added with a smile , that it seems hardly ” worth while to be hanged at all .

1 40 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

The general appeared no t to have heard ; ’ the spy s talk h ad merely turned his thoughts

into an unfamiliar channel , but there they pursued their will independently to conclu o f sions their own . The storm had ceased , and something o f the solemn spi rit o f the night had imp arted itself to his reflections , givin g them the sombre tinge o f a super a n natural dread . Perhaps there was element ” of . p rescience in it I should not like to die, “ ” — - he said not to night . was — i f in He interrupted , indeed , he had — tended to speak further by the entrance of fi o f f Hasterli c k an Of cer his sta f , Captain , the

- p rovost marshal . This recalled him to him self ; the absent look passed away from his face . “ C aptain , he said , acknowledging the fi ’ “ i of cer s salute, this man s a Yankee spy cap tu red inside o u r lines with incriminating papers on him . He has confessed . How is the weather ? ” “ is si r The storm over, , and the moon shin

' o f Good ; take a file men , conduct him at once to the p arade ground , and shoot ” him . ’ A sharp cry b roke from the S py s lips . He OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 1 41

h o u t threw imself forward , thrust his neck, ex an d ed his his p eyes , clenched hands . “ ” G o d ! Good he cried hoarsely, almost inarticulately ; you do not mean that ! You — I forget am not to die until morning. “ ” o f I have said nothing morning , replied “ was the general , coldly ; that an assumption ” o f your own . You die now . “ — I re But, General , I beg imp lore you to member ; I am to hang ! I t will take some — — time to erect the gallows two hours an r hou r . Spies a e hanged ; I have rights under ’ F o r military law . Heaven s sake , General , conside r how short

Captain , observe my directions . The Officer drew his sword and fixing his eyes upon the p risoner pointed silently to the

Opening of the tent . The p risoner hesitated ; the o fli c er grasped him by the collar and

pushed him gently forward . As he ap p ro ac hed the tent pole the frantic man sp rang to it and with cat- like agility seized the handle

o f - the bowie knife , plucked the weapon from the Scabbard and thrusting the captain aside leaped upon the general with the fury of a the madman , hurling him to ground and fall

ing headlong upon him as he lay . The table

was overturned , the candle extinguished and 1 42 THE COLLECTED WORKS

they fought blindly in the darkness . The p rovost- marshal sp rang to the assistance o f his superior officer and w as himself p rostrated upon the Struggling forms . Curses and inar tic u l a te cries of rage and p ain came from the welter o f limbs and bodies ; the tent came down upon them and beneath its hampering and envelop ing folds the struggle went on . Ta ssm an Private , retu rning from his errand and dimly conjecturing the situation , threw down his rifle and laying hold of the Hom e ing canvas at random vainly tried to drag it o ff the men under it ; and the sentinel who paced up and down in front , not daring to his leave beat though the skies should fall , his r discharged rifle . The repo t alarmed the camp ; drums beat the long roll and bugles sounded the assembly, b ringing swarms of

- h alf clad men into the moonlight, dressing as they ran , and falling into line at the Sharp o f commands thei r officers . This was well ; being in line the men were unde r control ; they stood at arms while the general ’s staff and the men o f his escort b rought order o u t o f con fusion by lifting o ff the fallen tent and pulling apart the breathless and bleeding actors in that

Strange contention . o n e : B reathless , indeed , was the captain was

1 44 THE COLLECTED WORKS

“ tion ; he is su ffering from fright . Who and ” what is he ?

Private T assm an began to explain . It was the Opportunity o f his life ; he omitted no thing that could in any way accentuate the importance of his own relation to the night’s events . When he had finished his story and was ready to begin it again nobody gave him any attention . The general had n ow recovered conscious ness . He raised himself upon his elbow, S looked about him , and , seeing the py crouch -fire ing by a camp , guarded , said simply Take that man to the p arade ground and ” shoot him . “ ’ o f The general s mind wanders , said an c e r fi standing near . “ n o t u H is mind does wander, the adj tant “ general said . I have a memorandum from him about this business ; he had given that — same order to Hasterl i c k with a motion of the hand toward the dead p rovost - marshal ” ! s and , by God it hall be executed . Ten min u tes later S ergeant Parker Adder so n o f , the Federal army, philosopher and wit, kneeling in the moonlight and begging in coherently for his life , was shot to death by twenty men . As the volley rang o u t upon the OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 45

o f keen air the midnight, General Clavering , lying white and still in the red glow o f the

- fire camp , opened his big blue eyes, looked pleasantly upon those about him and said : How silent it all is ! ”

- The surgeon looked at the adjutant general , ’ gravely and significantly . The p atient s eyes

slowly closed , and thus he lay for a few f moments ; then , his face su fused with a smile “ o f f ine fable sweetness , he said , faintly I ” so suppose this must be death , and p assed

away . 1 46 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

AN AFFAIR OF OUTPO STS

CONCERNING TH E WISH TO BE DEAD

WO sa t men in conversation . One

was the Governor of the S tate . The year w a s 1 86 1 the war was on and the Go vernor already famou s for the intellig ence and zeal with which he di rec te d all the powers and resources of his

S tate to the service of the Union . “ ” What ! y o u ? the Governor was saying in evident surp rise— “ you too want a military ? fifin commission Really, the g and drumm ing must have effected a p rofound alteration o f re in you r convictions . In my character c ru iti n g sergeant I suppose I ought not to be ” — fastidious , but there was a touch of irony “ in his manner well , have you forgotten that an oath of allegiance is required ? ” “ I have altered neither my convictions nor ” my sympathies , said the other , tranquilly . “ S While my sympathies are with the outh , as

o u y do me the honor to recollect, I have never

1 48 TH E COLLECTED WORKS authority has given a simple recipe for being ‘ a good soldier : Try always to get yourself ’ killed . It is with that purpose that I wish to enter the service I am not, perhaps , much ” o f . a patriot, but I wish to be dead

The Governor looked at him rather sh arply, “ then a little coldly . There is a simpler and ” franker way , he said . “ was In my family sir the reply, we — , , do not do that no Arm isted has ever done ” that . A long silence ensued and neither man looked at the other . Presently the Governor lifted his eyes from the pencil , which had

u : res med its tapping , and said “ Who is she ? ” ” My wife . The Governor tossed the pencil into the desk, rose and walked two or three times Arm isted across the room . Then he turned to , who also had risen , looked at him more coldly than before and said But the man— would — it not be better that he could not the country spare him better than it can spare yo u ? Or ‘ are the Armi ste d s opposed to the unwritten

Armi sted s The , apparently , could feel an : o f insult the face the younger man flushed , OF AMB ROSE BIERCE 1 49

to then p aled , but he subdued himself the service o f hi s purpose . ’ h e The man s identity is unknown to me, said , calmly enough . “ ” Pardon me , said the Governor, with even less o f visible contrition than commonly u n ’ d e rlies reflec those words . Afte r a moment s “ tion he added : I shall send yo u to - morrow ’ a captain s commission in the Tenth Infantry, ” now . . at Nashville , Tennessee Good night ”

i r o u . s . Good night, I thank y

Left alone , the Governor remained for a time motionless , leaning against his desk . Presently he shrugged his shoulders as if “ ff is th rowing o a burden . This a bad busi ” ness , he said . S eating himself at a reading- table before hi s the fire , he took up the book nearest hand , O absently pening it . His eyes fell upon this sentence “ When God made it necessary fo r an un faithful wife to lie about her husband in justi fic a ti o n of her own sins He had the tender ness to endow men with the folly to believe her . was H e looked at the title of the book ; it ,

0 1 His E x c e lle n c y the F 0 .

H e flung the volume into the fire . 1 50 THE COLLECTED WORKS

HOW TO SAY WHAT IS WORTH H EARING

o f The enemy, defeated in two days battle at Pittsburg Landing, had sullenly retired to F o r s Corinth , whence he had come . manife t incompetence Grant , whose beaten army had been saved from destruction and capture by ’ v Buell s soldierly acti ity and skill , had been relieved of his command , which nevertheless had not been given to Buell , but to H alleck, o f slu a man unproved powers , a theorist, g g u ish , irresol te . Foot by foot his troops , — always deployed in line - o f battle to resist the ’ en enemy s bickering skirmishers , always trenching against the columns that never came , advanced across the thi rty miles of forest and swamp toward an antagonist p re pared to vanish at contact , like a ghost at

- cock crow . It was a campaign of excursions ” and alarums , of reconnoissances and counter

o f - marches , cross purposes and counter an d m d e orders . For weeks the solemn farce

u held attention , luring disting ished civilians from fields of political ambition to see what they safely could of the horrors o f war . was o u r Among these friend the Governor . At the headquarters of the army and in the

1 52 THE COLLECTED WORKS

” “ I understand , he said , gravely, that — some o f my men are out there a company of the Tenth , commanded by Captain Armi sted . I should like to meet him if you do not mind . ’ He is worth meeting . But there s a bad s e bit o f jungle out there , and I hould advis that you leave you r horse and —with a look at the Governor ’s retinue— “ you r other im ” n p edim e ta . The Governor went forward alone and on

- foot . In a half hour he had pushed through a tangled undergrowth covering a boggy soil ' and entered up o n firm and more open ground . Here he found a half - company of infantry lounging behind a line of stacked rifles . The — men wore their accoutrements their belts ,

- cartridge boxes , haversacks and canteens . Some lying at full length o n the dry leaves were fast asleep : others in small groups gos siped idly o f this and that ; a few played at cards ; none was far from the line of stacked ’ arms . To the civilian s eye the scene was one o f s f so l careles ness , confusion , indi ference ; a dier would have observed expectancy and readiness. At a little distance apart an offi ce r in sa t fatigue uniform , armed , on a fallen tree OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 53

to a noting the app roach of the visitor, whom sergeant , rising from one of the groups , now came forward . “ to see Armisted I wish Captain , said the

Governor .

The sergeant eyed him n arrowly, saying ffi nothing , pointed to the o cer, and taking a o f rifle from one the stacks , accomp anied h im . “ This man wants to see you , sir, said the fi sergeant , saluting . The of cer rose . I t would have been a sharp eye that would have recognized him . His hair, which but a few months before had been b rown , was streaked with gray . His face , tanned by

a . exposure , was seamed s with age A long livid scar across the forehead marked the stroke o f a sab re ; o n e c hec k was drawn and puckered by the work of a bullet. Only a woman of the loyal North would have thought the man handsome . “ ” A rmisted— Captain , said the Governor, “ his extending hand , do you not know me ? ” “ si r o u— I know you , , and I salute y as the ” Governor of my S tate . Lifting his right hand to the level o f his O eyes he th rew it utward and downward . In 1 54 THE COLLECTED WORKS

the code of military etiquette the re is no p ro

vision for shaking hands . That of the civilian o r was withdrawn . If he felt either surp rise

chagrin his face did n o t betray it . “ It is the hand that signed you r commis ”

s . ion , he said “ And it i s the hand

The sentence remains unfinished . The S harp report of a rifle came from the front,

followed by another and another . A bullet hissed through the forest and Struck a tree near

by. The men sp rang from the ground and ’ even before the captain s high , clear voice was “ ” done intoning the command At- ten - tion !

had fallen into line in rear o f the stacked arms . Again— and now through the din of a crack

—« ling fusillade sounded the strong , deliberate ” sing- song of authority : Take arms ! followed by the rattle Of unlocking bayo

nets . B ullets from the unseen enemy were now

flying thick and fast, though mostly well spent and emitting the humming sound which sig n i fied interference by twigs and rotation in the

plane of flight . Two o r three o f the men in

the line were already struck and down . A few wounded men came limping awkwardly o u t of the undergrowth from the Skirmish line

1 56 THE COLLE CTED WORKS

THE FIGHTING OF ONE WHOSE H EART WAS NOT IN THE QUARREL

Guided in h is retreat by that o f the fugitive wounded, the Governor struggled b ravely to the rear th rough the “ bad bit of c on jungle . He was well winded and a trifle

rifle - fused . Excepting a single shot now and was o f again , there no sound strife behind him ; the enemy was pulling himself together for a new onset against an antagonist of whose numbers and tactical disposition he was in f doubt. The ugitive felt that he would p rob to ably be spared his country, and only com mended the arrangements of Providence to that end , but in leaping a small brook in more open ground one of the arrangements incurred the mischance o f a disabling sprain at the

. his ankle He was unable to continue flight, for he was too fat to hop , and after several vain attempts , causing intolerable pain , seated himself o n the earth to nurse his ignoble dis ability and dep recate the military situation . A b risk renewal o f the firing b roke out and stray bullets came flitting and droning by. o f two Then came the crash clean , definite OF AMB RO SE B IERCE 1 57 vo s r t lley , followed by a continuous a tle , through which he heard the yells and cheers o f the combatants , punctuated by thunder o f claps cannon . All this told him that ’ Armisted s little command was bitterly beset

and fighting at close quarters . The wounded men whom he had distanced began to Straggle

by on either hand , their numbers visibly aug men ted by new levies from the line . Singly c o m and by twos and threes , some supporting

rades more desperately hurt than themselves , fo r but all deaf to his appeals assistance , they sifted through the underbrush and di sap

p ea red . The firing was increasingly louder

and more distinct, and p resently the ailing fugitives were succeeded by men who Strode

with a firmer tread , occasionally facing about

and discharging their pieces , then doggedly

resuming their retreat, reloading as they Two o r as walked . three fell he looked , and o f lay motionless . One had enough life left in him to make a pitiful attempt to drag him

self to cover . A passing comrade paused

beside him long enough to fire , app raised the poor devil ’s disability with a look and moved o n sullenly , inserting a cartridge in his

weapon . I n all this was none of the pomp o f war 1 58 THE COLLECTED WORKS

— o f no hint glory . Even in his distress and peril the helpless civilian could n o t forbear to contrast it with the gorgeous parades and reviews held in honor of himself— with the b rilliant uniforms , the music , the banners , and s the marching . It wa an ugly and sickening : business to all that was artistic in his nature ,

s . revolting, brutal , in bad ta te “ ! Ugh he grunted , shuddering this is beastly ! Where is the charm o f it all ?

Where are the elevated sentiments , the devo tion , the heroism , the c e From a point somewhere near, in the dir o f tion the pu rsuing enemy , rose the clear, de

- o f A rm i s e liberate sing song Captain t d .

- — - ! S . tead y, men stead y Halt Com ” - mence fir ing . The rattle of fewer than a score of rifles could be distinguished th rough the general : uproar , and again that penetrating falsetto “ r - - Cease fi ing . In re treat m a a a rc h ! In a few moments this remnant had drifted slowly past the Governor, all to the right of him as they faced in retiring , the men de

- ployed at intervals of a half dozen p aces . At the extreme left and a few yards behind came

. The the captain civilian called out his name ,

1 60 THE COLLECTED WORKS

Officer p arried the blow at the cost o f a b roken arm and drove his sword to the hilt into the ’ giant s breast . As the body fell the weapon was wrenched from his hand and before he could pluck his revolver from the scabbard at his belt another man leaped upon him like a tiger , fastening both hands upon his th roat and bearing him backward upon the p rostrate

Governor, still struggling to rise . This man was p romptly spitted upon the bayonet of a Federal sergeant and his death - gripe on the captain ’s th roat loosened by a kick upon each wrist . When the captain had risen he was at o f the rear his men , who had all p assed over and around him and were thrusting fiercely at their more numerous but less coherent a n ta g i on sts. Nearly all the rifles on both sides were empty and in the crush there was neither time nor room to reload . The Confederates were at a disadvantage in that most of them lacked bayonets ; they fought by bludgeoning — and a clubbed rifle is a formidable arm . The sound o f the conflict was a clatter like that of the interlocking horns o f battling bulls — n o w o f and then the pash a crushed skull , o r an oath , a grunt caused by the impact of a ’ rifle s muzzle against the abdomen transfixed by its bayonet . Th rough an Opening made by OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 1 6 1 the fall o f o n e o f his men Captain Armisted his his sprang , with dangling left arm ; in right

- hand a full charged revolver, which he fired with rap idity and terrible effect into the thick o f the gray crowd : but across the bodies of the slain the survivors in the front were pushed forward by their comrades in the rear till again they b reasted the tireless bayonets . — There were fewer bayonets now to b reast a

- beggarly half dozen , all told . A few minutes — more of this rough work a little fighting — back to back and all would be over. Suddenly a lively firing was heard on the right and the left : a fresh line of Federal skirmishers came forward at a run , driving before them those parts of the Confederate line that had been sep arated by staying the advance o f the centre . And behind these new and noisy combatants , at a distance of two or three hundred yards , could be seen , indistinct — among the trees a line - o f battle !

Instinctively before retiring, the crowd in gray ma de a tremendous rush upon its hand ful o f antagonists , overwhelming them by mere momentum and , unable to use weapons in the crush , trampled them , Stamped savagely

n h o thei r limbs , t eir bodies , their necks , their faces ; then retiring with bloody feet across i ts 1 6 2 TH E COLLECTED WORKS own dead it joined the general rout and the incident was at an end .

TH E GREAT H ON OR TH E GREAT

The Governor, who had been unconscious , u slo wl opened his eyes and stared abo t him , v ’ recalling the day s events . A man in the uni form Of a majo r was kneeling beside him ; he o was a surgeon . Grouped ab ut were the ’ ff civilian members of the Governor s sta , their faces exp ressing a natural solicitude o e regarding their fli c s. A little ap art stood General M asterson addressing anothe r officer and gesticulating with a cigar . He was say “ ing : It was the beautifulest fight ever ” — b rea t l made y God , sir, it was g The beauty and greatness were attested by a row of dead , trimly disposed , and another of wounded , less formally placed , restless , half v b eb an d a ed . naked , but b ra ely g ” d o si r ? How you feel , said the surgeon . ” I find no wound .

I think I am all right , the p atient replied , sitting up . It is that ankle . The surgeon transferred his attention to the

1 6 4 THE COLLECTED WORKS He smiled brightly and glancing at the “ surgeon and his assistants added : At p res ent - if yo u will permit an allusion to the hor — ‘ ro rs o f peace I am in the hands of my friends . The humor o f the great is infectious ; all laughed who heard . “ Where is Captain A rmi sted ? the Gov e rn o r asked , not altogether carelessly . s The urgeon looked up from his work, pointing silently to the nearest body in the row o f dead , the features discreetly covered with a handkerchief . I t was so near that the great man could have laid his hand upon it, but he did not . He may have feared that it would bleed . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 65

THE STORY OF A CON SC I EN CE

APTAIN PARRO L HARTROY stoo d at the advanced post of his

- p icket guard , talking in low tones n with the sentinel . This post was o a ’ turnpike which bisected the captain s camp , a - n o t half mile in rear, though the camp was in fi sight from that point . The of cer was appar ently giving the soldier certain instructions was perhaps merely inquiring if all were quiet m an in front . As the two stood talking a app roached them from the direction of the camp , carelessly whistling, and was p romptly w as halted by the soldier . He evidently a — a civilian tall person , coarsely clad in the — ff o f home made stu yellow gray, called but ” ’ tern t u , which was men s only wear in the latter days of the Confederacy . On his head was a slouch felt hat, once white , from beneath which hung masses of uneven hair, seemingly unacquainted with either scissors o r ’ a comb . The man s face was rather striking ; broad forehead , high nose , and thin cheeks , the mouth invisible in the full dark beard , 1 66 THE COLLECTED WORKS

which seemed as neglected as the hair . The eyes were large and had that steadiness and fixi ty of attention which so frequently mark a considering intelligence and a will not easily — turned from its purpose so say those phys i og n o mi sts who have that kind o f eyes . On o n e the whole , this was a man whom would be likely to observe and be observed by . He carried a walking- stick freshly cut from the forest and his ailing cowskin boots were white with dust . “ S how your pass , said the Federal sol dier, a trifle more imperiously perhaps than he would have thought necessary if he had not his been under the eye of commander, who with folded arms looked on from the road side . “ ’ ’ ’ e G in e r a l Lowed you d re lect me , , said the wayfarer tranquilly, while p roducing the o f paper from the pocket his coat . There was — something in his tone perhaps a faint sug — gestion of irony which made his elevation o f his obstructor to exalted rank less agreeable to that worthy warrior than p romotion is com m o n l - y found to be . Yo u all have to be purty e rtic kl e r p , I reckon , he added , in a more

- conciliatory tone, as if in half apology for being halted .

1 6 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS

“ where he had quietly served until di sc ov ered H is post was o n e of exceptional p eril ; its defense entailed a heavy responsibility and he had wisely been given corresponding dis be cretionary powers , all the more necessary o f cause his distance from the main army, the p recarious nature of his communications a n d the lawless character of the enemy’s irregular troops infesting that region . H e had strongly fortified his little camp , which emb raced a village o f a half - dozen dwellings and a coun try store , and had collected a considerable quantity of supplies . To a few resident civilians of known loyalty, with whom it was an d o f desirable to trade , whose services in various ways he sometimes availed himself, he had given written passes admitting them within his lines . It is easy to understand that an abuse of this p rivilege in the interest o f the

enemy might entail serious consequences . Captain Ha r troy had made an order to the effect that any o n e so abusing it would be summarily shot . While the sentinel had been examining the civilian ’s p ass the captain had eyed the lat ter narrowly . He thought his appearance familiar and had at first no doubt of having OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 69 given him the pass which h ad satisfied the was n o t ot sentinel . It until the man had g out of sight and hearing that hi s identity was dis closed by a revealing light from memory . With soldierly p romptness of decision the

officer had acted o n the revelation .

To any but a singularly self -possessed man the app arition o f an offi cer of the military o n e forces , formidably clad , bearing in han d a sheathed sword and in the other a cocked

revolver, and rushing in furious pursuit, is no doubt disquieting to a high degree ; upon the man to whom the pursuit was in this in stance directed i t appeared to have no other effect than somewhat to inten sify his tran q u ill

ity . H e might easily enough have escaped to o r into the forest the right the left, but — chose anothe r course o f action turned and

quietly faced the captain , saying as he came up : I reckon ye must have something to

sa . y to me , which ye disremembered What mout it be neighbor ? ” n o t But the neighbor did answer, being engaged in the unneighborly act o f covering

him with a cocked p istol . 1 70 THE COLLECTED WORKS S urrender, said the captain as calmly as a slight b reathlessness from exertion would “ ” permit, or you die . There was no menace in the manner o f this demand ; that was all in the matter and in the o f means enforcing it . There was , too , some thing not altogether reassuring in the cold gray eyes that glanced along the barrel o f the F o two weapon . r a moment the men stood looking at each other in silence ; then the n o o f — civilian , with appearance fear with as great app arent unconcern as when complying with the less austere demand of the sentinel slowly pulled from his pocket the p aper which had satisfied that humble functionary and

o u t s held it , aying ’ I reckon this ere p a rss from M ister H art roy is ” ffi in The p ass is a forgery, the o cer said, “ te r in — rup t g . I am Captain Ha r troy and ” a re D r ame you r B rune . It wo u ld have required a sharp eye to observe the slight pallor of the civilian ’s face s at these word , and the only other manifesta tion attesting their significance w a s a vo l un tary relaxation of the thumb and fingers hold ing the dishonored p aper , which , falling to th e road , unheeded , was rolled by a gentle

1 72 THE COLLECTED WORKS these two enigmatical men retraced their steps and soon passed the sentinel , who ex p ressed his general sense o f things by a need less and exaggerated salute to his commander .

Early o n the morning after these events the two men , captor and captive , sat in the tent o f o n the former . A table was between them o f ffi which lay , among a number letters , o cial and p rivate , which the captain had written during the night, the incriminating papers found upon the Spy . That gentleman had d Slept th rough the night in an a joining tent ,

. s unguarded Both , having b reakfa ted , were now smoking .

. Ha rtro M r B rune , said Captain y, you probably do not understand why I recognized n o r how you in your disguise, I was aware of ” your name . “ I have not sought to learn , Cap tain , the p risoner said with quiet dignity . “ Nevertheless I should like you to know f Yo if the story will not o fend . u will perceive that my knowledge o f you goes back to the 1 autumn of 86 1 . At that time you were a — p rivate in an Ohio regiment a b rave a nd trusted soldier . To the surp rise and grief of OF AMB ROSE BIERCE 1 73 your officers and comrades you deserted and ou went over to the enemy. Soon afterward y were captured in a skirmish , recognized, tried

- by court martial and sentenced to be shot . Awaiting the execution of the sentence you w ere confined , unfettered , in a freight car o f standing o n a side track a railway. ” At G rafton , Virginia , said B rune, push ing the ashes from his cigar with the little o f finger the hand holding it, and without

looking up . “ ” t e At G rafton , Virginia , the captain “ t d so! p ea e . One dark and stormy night a i a dier who had just returned from a long , o n tig uin g march w as put guard over you . H e a s t on a cracke r box inside the car, near the

door, his rifle loaded and the b ayonet fixed . Yo u sa t in a corner and his orders were to kill ” o you if you attempted t rise . “ But if I a sked to rise he might call the

corpora! of the guard . “ Yes. As the long silent hours wore away the soldier yielded to the demands o f nature : he himself incu rred the death penalty by ” o f sleeping at his post duty . “ ” Yo u did . What ! yo u recognize me ? you have known me all along ? ” 1 74 THE COLLECTED WORKS The captain had risen and was walking the Hi s o f . floor his tent, visibly excited face was

flushed , the gray eyes had lost the cold , piti less look which they had shown when B rune had seen them over the pistol barrel ; they had softened wonderfully . “ his I knew you , said the spy , with cus “ to ma r y tranquillity, the moment you faced me , demanding my su rrende r . In the circum stances i t would have been hardly becoming in me to recall these matters . I am perhaps a s traitor, certainly a py ; but I should not wish to seem a suppliant . The captain had paused in his walk and was facing his p risoner . There was a singular huskiness in his voice as he spoke again . “ M r . B rune , whatever your conscience may permit you to be , you saved my life at what you must have believed the cost of your own . Until I saw you yesterday when halted by my — sentinel I believed yo u dead thought that you had suffered the fate which through my o w n crime you might easily have escaped . You ha d only to step from the car and leave

fi - me to take your place before the r in g squad . Yo u You had a divine comp assion . p itied my fatigue . You let me sleep , watched over me, and a s the time drew ne a r for the relief - guard

1 76 THE COLLECTED WORKS — my colors the Confederate colors . I should like to add that before deserting from the Fed eral se rvice I had earnestly asked a discharge , was o n the ground of altered convictions . I answered by punishment . “ ff Ah , but if I had su ered the penalty of — my crime if yo u had not generously given me the life that I accepted without gratitude you would not be again in the shadow and ” imminence o f death . The p risoner started slightly and a look o f anxiety came into his face . One would

s w as . have aid , too , that he surp rised At a that moment a lieutenant, the adjutant, p p ea red at the opening o f the tent and saluted . ” “ Captain , he said , the b attalion is ” formed . Captain Ha r troy had recovered his com e r p o su re . He turned to the o fli c and said sa Lieutenant, go to Captain G raham and y that I direct him to assume command of the battalion and p arade it outside the p arapet . This gentleman is a deserter and a spy ; he is to be shot to death in the p resence of the troops . He will accompany you , unbound and ” unguarded . While the adjutant waited at the doo r the two m en inside the tent rose and exchanged OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 77

t ce remonious bows, B rune immediately etir ing .

H alf an hour later an old negro cook , the only person left in camp except the com was mander , so startled by the sound of a vol ley o f musketry that he dropped the kettle that hi he was lifting from a fire . But for s con ste rn a tio n and the hissing which the contents o f the kettle made among the embers, he might

also have heard , nearer at hand , the single p istol shot with which Captain Ha r troy t e n o u n c ed the life which in conscience he could

n o longer keep . In compliance with the terms o f a note that he left fo r the offi cer who succeeded him in

command , he was buried , like the deserter an d s sol py, without military honors ; and in the em n shadow o f the mountain which knows no more o f war the two sleep well in long- for

gotten graves . 1 78 THE COLLECTED WORKS

ON E KIND OF O FFIC ER

OF THE USES OF CIV ILITY

APTAIN R S M E AN O , it is not

hi n permitted to you to know a nyt g . It is suffi cient that you obey my — order which permit me to repeat . If you perceive any movement o f troops in you r front you are to op en fire , and if attacked hold this position as long as you can . Do I ? make myself understood , sir “ Nothing could be plaine r . Lieutenant ” — o fli c e r o f Price , this to an his own batte ry , who had ridden up in time to hear the order “ ’ ” is i n the general s meaning clear, s it ot? ” Perfectly . o n F o r The lieutenant passed to his post. a moment General Cameron and the com o f mander the battery sat in thei r saddles , looking at each other in silence . There was no more to say ; apparently too much had already been said . Then the superior o fli c er nodded coldly and turned his horse to ride away . The artillerist saluted slowly, gravely, and with

1 80 THE COLLECTED WORKS with soaken garments and rifles imperfectly p rotected by capes of overcoats they went dragging in sinuous lines hither and thither through dripping forest and flooded field . o fli c e rs Mounted , their heads p rotruding from rubber ponchos that glittered like black armor, picked their way, singly and in loose groups , among the men , coming and going with apparent aimlessness and commanding attention from nobody but o n e another . Here d e file d and there a dead man , his clothing with earth , his face covered with a blanket or showing yellow and claylike in the rain , added his dispiriting influence to that o f the other dismal features of the scene and augmented the general discomfort with a p articular de e i on j c t . Very repulsive these wrecks looked — not at all heroic , and nobody was accessible o f to the infection their p atriotic example .

Dead upon the field of hono r, yes ; but the field o f honor was so very wet ! It makes a f di ference . ' The general engagement th s i all expected did not occur, none of the small advantages accruing, now to this side and now to that, in isolated and accidental collisions being fol

- lowed up . H alf hearted attacks p rovoked a sullen resistance which was satisfied with mere OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 1 81

repulse . O rders were obeyed with mechanical n o fidelity ; one did any more than his duty . “ is — The army cowardly to day, said Gen

eral Cameron , the commander of a Federal

- to . b rigade , his adjutant general “ fi The army is cold , replied the of cer “ ’ — es addressed , and y , it doesn t wish to be ” like that . to o n e o f He pointed the dead bodies , lying o f in a thin pool yellow wate r, its face and clothing besp attered with mud from hoof and

wheel . The army’s weapons seemed to share its mil r i ta y delinquency . The rattle of rifles sounded

flat and contemptible . It had no meaning and scarcely roused to attention and expectancy — the unengaged parts o f the line - o f battle and dis the waiting reserves . Heard at a little o f tance, the reports cannon were feeble in volume and ti m b r e : they lacked sting and re

sonance . The guns seemed to be fired with

light charges , unshotted . And so the futile

o n Le ) day wore its dreary close, and then to a night o f discomfort succeeded a day o f app re i n h en s o .

An army has a personality . Beneath the individual thoughts and emotions of i ts com

ponent p arts it thinks and feels as a unit . And 1 82 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o f in this large , inclusive sense things lies a wiser wisdom than the mere sum of all that it knows . On that dismal morning this great b rute force , groping at the bottom of a white ocean of fo g among trees that seemed as se a weeds , had a dumb consciousness that all was ’ not well ; that a day s man oeuvring had re su lte d i ts in a faulty disposition of parts , a blind diffusion of its strength . The men felt insecure and talked among themselves of such tactical errors as with thei r meager military vocabulary they were able to name . Field and line o fli c e rs gathered in groups and spoke more learnedly of what they app rehended s with n o greater clearness . Commander of brigades and division s looked anxiou sly to thei r connections on the right and on the left , sent Staff officers o n errands of inqu iry and pushed ski rmish lines silently and c a u tio u slv forward into the dubious region between the known and the unknown . At some points on the line the troops , apparently of thei r own volition , constructed such defenses as they could withou t the silent spade and the noisy ax . One o f these points was held by Captain ’ Ransome s battery of six guns . Provided w always ith intrenching tools , his men had

1 84 THE COLLECTED WORKS

HOW TO PLAY THE CANNON WITHOUT NOTES

Captain Ransome sat motionless and silent men o n horseback . A few yards away his were standing at their guns . Somewhere everywhere within a few miles— were a hun d red thousand men , friends and enemies . Yet he was alone . The mist had isolated him as completely as if he had been in the heart of a desert . H is world was a few square yards of wet and trampled earth abo u t the feet of his horse . His comrades in that ghostly domain were invisible and inaudible . These were conditions favorable to thought , and he was thinking . Of the nature of his thoughts his clear- cut handsome features yielded no attest ing sign . H is face was as inscrutable as that f o the Sphinx . Why should it have made a record which there was none to observe ? At the sound o f a footstep he merely turned his eyes in the direction whence it came ; o n e of hi s sergeants , looking a giant in stature in the false perspective of the fog , app roached , and when clearly defined and reduced to his true d u imensions by p ropinquity, sal ted and stood at attention . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 85

W ffi ell , Morris , said the o cer, returning ’ his subordinate s salute .

Lieutenant Price directed me to tell you , si r , that most of the infantry has been with ” drawn . We have not su fli c ien t support . “ ” Yes , I know . I am to say that some o f o u r men have been out over the works a hundred yards and ” report that ou r front is not picketed .

Yes . They were so far forward that they heard ” the enemy . ”

Yes. They heard the rattle o f the wheels o f ” artillery an d the commands of offi cers . Y ” es.

The enemy is moving toward ou r works .

Cap tain Ransome, who had been facing to — the rear o f hi s line toward the point where the b rigade commander and his cavalcade had — been swallowed up by the fo g reined his

horse about and faced the other way . Then

he sa t motionless as before . “ Who are the men who made that state ? ” ment he inquired , without looking at the sergeant ; his eyes were directed straight into'

the fog over the head o f his horse . “ Corporal Hassman and Gunner Man ” n ing . 1 86 THE COLLECTED IV OR K S

Captain Ransome was a moment silent . A

Slight pallor came into his face , a slight com

p ression affected the lines of his lips , but it would have required a closer observer than

S ergeant Morris to note the change . There w a s none in the voice . “ S l ergeant , present my comp iments to Lieutenant Price and direct him to open fire ” with all the guns . G rape . The sergeant saluted and vanished in the

fo g .

TO INTRODUCE GENERAL M ASTERSON

S earching fo r his division commander, General Cameron and his escort had followed the line o f battle for nearly a mile to the right ’ o f s Ran ome s battery , and there learned that the division commander had gone in search o f the corps commander . I t seemed that everybody was looking for his immediate

superior an ominous circumstance . It

meant that nobody was quite at ease . S o Gen

fo r - eral Cameron rode on another half mile , where by good luck he met General M aster so n , the division commander, returning . “ ” o fli c e r Ah , Cameron , said the higher ,

reining up , and throwing his right leg across

1 88 THE COLLECTED WORKS

rode rapidly toward the spot . But they were soon impeded , for they were compelled by the

- o f— fog to keep within sight of the line battle, behind which were swarms of men , all in motion across their way . Everywhere the line was assuming a sharper and harder definition , to fi as the men sp rang arms and the of cers , “ ” with drawn swords , dressed the ranks .

- Color bearers unfurled the flags , buglers blew ” the assembly, hospital attendants appeared ffi with stretchers . Field o cers mounted and sent their impedimenta to the rear in care of negro servants . B ack in the ghostly sp aces o f the forest could be heard the rustle and mur mu r of the reserves , pulling themselves together .

Nor was all this p reparation vain , for scarcely five minutes had p assed Since Captain ’ Ransome s guns had broken the truce o f doubt before the whole region was aroar : the enemy had attacked nearly everywhere .

HOW SOUNDS CAN FIGHT SHADOWS

Captain Ransome walked up and down b e hind his guns , which were firing rap idly but with steadiness . The gunners worked alertly, OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 1 89

but without haste o r apparent excitement . There was really n o reason fo r excitement ; it i s not much to point a cannon into a fog and d o fire it . Anybody can as much as that .

The men smiled at their noisy work , per it forming with a lessening alacrity . They

cast curious regards upon their captain , who had now mounted the banquette of the fort ific a tion and was looking across the p arapet

as if observing the effect of his fire . But the only visible effect was the substitution o f

l o - wide , w lying sheets of smoke for their bulk fo S o f g . uddenly out of the obscurity burst in a great sound of cheering, which filled the tervals between the reports o f the guns with startling distinctness ! To the few with

leisure and opportunity to observe, the sound w a s — so u so inexp ressibly strange lo d , near, ! so menacing, yet nothing seen The men who

had smiled at their work smiled no more , but performed it with a serious and feverish act

ivity . From his station at the p arapet Captain Ransome now saw a great multitude of dim gray figures taking shape in the mist below the him and swarming up the slope . B ut

work of the guns was now fast and furious . They swept the populous declivity with gusts 1 90 THE COLLECTED WORKS o f grape and canister, the whirring of which could be heard th ro u gh the thunder of the o f explosions . In this awful tempest iron the assailants struggled fo rward foot by foot across their dead , firing into the emb rasures , reloading , firing again , and at last falling in their turn , a little in advance of those who had e fallen before . Soon the smoke was dens enough to cover all . It settled down upon d e the attack and , drifting back, involved the see v fen se . The gunners could hardly to ser e thei r pieces , and when occasional figures of the enemy appeared upon the p arapet— hav ing had the good luck to get near enough to it, between two embrasures , to be p rotected — from the guns they looked so unsubstantial that it seemed hardly worth while for the few infantrymen to go to work upon them with the bayonet and tumble them back into the ditch . As the commander o f a battery in action can find something better to do than cracking re individual Skulls , Captain Ransome had tired from the p arapet to his p roper post in o f rear his guns , where he stood with folded arms , his bugler beside him . Here , during o f the hottest the fight, he was app roached by Lieutenant Price who had just sabred a dar

1 92 THE COLLECTED WORKS

’ grasping the flag . The man s few followers turned and fled down the slope . Looking over the p arapet , the captain saw no living thing . He observed also that no bullets were coming into the work .

He made a sign to the bugler, who sounded the command to cease firing . At all other points the action had already ended wi th a repulse o f the Confederate attack ; with the cessation of this cannonade the silence was absolute .

HY B I AFF O T D BY A IT S OT B ST W , E NG R N E , I N E TO AFFRONT B

General M asterson rode into the redoubt .

The men , gathered in groups , were talking loudly and gesticulating . They pointed at

o n e . the dead , running from body to another They neglected their foul and heated guns and forgot to resume their outer clothing .

They ran to the p arapet and looked over, some of them leaping down into the ditch . A score were gathered about a flag rigidly held by a dead man .

Well , my men , said the general cheerily, ” o f you have had a p retty fight it . They stared ; nobody replied ; the p resence OF AMBROSE BIERCE 1 93 o f the great man seemed to embarrass and

alarm . Getting no response to his pleasant con

- ffi descension , the easy mannered o cer whistled a o r o f b ar two a popular air , and riding for ward to the parapet, looked over at the dead . In an instant he had whirled his horse about wa s o f and spurring along in rear the guns , o r his eyes eve rywhere at once . An fli c e sa t o n o n e o f the trail of the guns , smoking a

cigar . As the general dashed up he rose and

tranquilly saluted . “ Captain Ransome ! ”— the words fell s o f sharp and har h , like the clash steel blades “ — you have been fighting o u r o wn men our ’ o wn si r o u ? i men , ; do y hear H art s br g ade l ” “ ” General , I know that . Yo u it— ou sit know y know that, and you ? ’ here smoking Oh , damn it, H amilton , I m ” to - losing my temper, this his p rovost mar — . S shal ir Captain Ransome , be good — enough to say to say why you fought o u r ” o wn men . “ That I am unable to say . In my orders that information was withheld . Apparently the general did not comp re hend . 1 9 4 TH E COLLE CTED WORKS

f o u Who was the aggressor in this af air, y ” o r General H art ? he asked . “ I was . — And could yo u n o t have known could see i r o u ou r you not , s , that y were attacking own men ? ” The reply was astounding ! “ to I knew that, general . It appeared be ” none of my business .

Then , b reaking the dead silence that fol : lowed his answer , he said “ I must refer you to General Cameron . — as General Cameron is dead , sir dead as — he can b e as dead as any man in this army .

He lies back yonder under a tree . Do you mean to say that he had anything to do with this horrible business ? ”

O e r Captain Ransome did not reply . bs v ing the altercation his men had gathered about

to watch the outcome . They were greatly ex ' cited . The fog, which had been p artly dis si a ted p by the firing , had again closed in so darkly about them that they drew more closely together till the judge on horseback and the accused standing calmly before him had b u t a narrow Sp ace free from intrusion . It was

o f - the most informal courts martial , but all felt that the formal on e to follow would but

1 96 THE COLLECTED WORKS

” o f mander the battery was acting, the lieu tenant continued , still addressing the general , “ ” I know nothing . Captain Ransome felt his world sink away i from h s feet . In those cruel words he heard the murm u r of the centuries breaking upon o f o f the shore eternity. He heard the voice doom ; it said, in cold , mechanical , and “ ” : ! measured tones Ready, aim , fire and he felt the bullets tear his heart to shreds . He heard the sound o f the earth upon his coffi n and ! if the good God was so merciful) the o f song a bird above his forgotten grave . hi s Quietly detaching sabre from its supports ,

- he handed it up to the p rovost marshal . OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 1 97

ON E I CE N E OFF R, O M AN

APTAIN G RAF F EN REI D stood hi at the head of s company . The

regiment was not engaged . I t formed

o f - o f- a p art the front line b attle , which stretched away to the right with a visi ble length o fnearly two miles through the open wa s ground . The left flank veiled by woods ; to the right also the line was lost to sight, but

it extended many miles . A hundred yards in re rear was a second line ; behind this , the serve b rigades and divisions in column . B at teri es o f artillery occup ied the Sp aces between low o f and crowned the hills . Groups horse — the i r sta ffs men generals with and escorts, and field ofli c ers o f regiments behind the colors— b roke the regularity of the lines and columns . Numbers of these figu res of inter est had field - glasses at their eyes and sat motionless , stolidly scanning the country in front ; others came and went at a Slow canter, bearing orders . There were squads of

- - stretcher bearers , ambulances , wagon trains ’ o ffic ers with ammunition , and servants in rear — — o f all o f all th at was visible for Still in rear 1 98 THE COLLECTED WORKS o f these , along the roads , extended for many miles all that vast multitude o f non -combat ants who with their various i mp e dime n ta are assigned to the inglorious but important duty ’ o f supplying the fighters many needs .

- o f- i An army in line battle await ng attack, o r s c on p repared to deliver it, p resents trange

trasts. At the front are p recision, formality, fixi t y, and silence . Toward the rear these characteristics are less and less conspicuous, and finally, in point of space , are lost alto o gether in confusion , m tion and noise . The homogeneous becomes heterogeneous . De fin i tion is lacking ; repose is replaced by an apparently purposeless activity ; harmony

. C vanishes in hubbub , form in disorder om motion everywhere and ceaseless unrest . The who d o men not fight are never ready . From his position at the right o f his c om r ffen reid pany in the front rank, Captain G a had an unobstructed outlook toward the

- o enemy . A half mile f open and nearly level ground lay before him , and beyond it an ir a not regular wood , covering slight acclivity ; a human being anywhere visible . He could imagine nothing more peaceful than the ap p ea r an c e of that pleasant landscape with its long stretches o f b rown fields over which the

200 THE COLLECTED WORKS

His fortunes of others . silent devotion to principle had conquered at last : he had been relieved of his hateful duties and ordered to the front , and now , untried by fire , stood in the van of battle in command of a comp any of hardy veterans , to whom he had been only

- b . a name , and that name a y word By none — not even by those o f his brother offi cers in — whose favor he had waived his rights was his devotion to duty understood . They were too busy to be just ; he w a s looked upon as one who had shirked his duty , until forced unwill l i n . 0 0 g y into the field T p roud to explain , to o yet not insensible to feel , he could only endure and hope . Of all the Federal Army o n that summer morning none had accepted b a ttle more joy o usl en re i y than Anderton G raff d . His spirit hi s . was buoyant, faculties were riotous He was in a state o f mental exaltation and scarcely could endure the enemy’s tardiness in advancing to the attack . To him this was op ortu n it — fo r p y the result he cared nothing . o r as Victory defeat, God might will ; in one o r in the other he should p rove himself a soldier and a hero ; he should vindicate his right to the respect o f his men and the com — p anio n ship o f his brother offic e rs to the c on OF AMBRO S E B IERCE 201

o i his sideration f h s sup eriors . How heart leaped in his b reast as the bugle sounded the stirring notes of the “ assembly ” ! With what o f a light tread, scarcely conscious the earth b en eafh his feet, he Strode forward at the head o f his company, and how exultingly he noted the tactical dispositions which placed his regi ment in the front line ! And if perchance some memory came to him o f a p air o f dark eyes that might take o n a tenderer light in ’ o f reading the account that day s doings , who shall blame him for the u nmartial thought or count it a debasement of soldierly ardor ?

S f - uddenly, from the orest a half mile in front - app arently from among the upper b ranches of the trees , but really from the ridge beyond— rose a tall column of white smoke . A moment later came a deep , jarring — — b a explosion , followed almost attended y hideous rushing sound that seemed to leap forward across the intervening sp ace with i n ~ to conceivable rap idity , rising from whisper roar with too quick a gradation for attention to note the successive stages o f i ts horrible p rogression ! A visible tremor ran along the lines of men ; all were startled into motion . C aptain G ra ffen reid dodged and threw up his hi of s . hands to o n e side head , palms outward 202 THE COLLECTED WORKS

As he did so he heard a keen , ringing report, and saw on a hillside behind the line a fierce — ’ roll of smoke and dust the Shell s explosion . It had passed a hundred feet to his left ! He heard , or fancied he heard , a low, mocking laugh and tu rning in the direction whence it came saw the eyes o f his first lieutenant fixed upon him with an unmistakable look of amusement . He looked along the line of faces in the front ranks . The men were ? laughing . At him The thought restored the color to his bloodless face— restored too much of it . H is cheeks burned with a fever o f shame . ’ The enemy s shot was n o t answered : the o f fic e r in command at that exposed p art of the line had evidently no desire to p rovoke a can n o n e a d . For the forbearance C aptain Graf fe n r e i d was conscious of a sense of gratitude . He had not known that the flight of a p ro j ec til e was a phenomenon of so app alling l character . H is conception of war had a a ready undergone profound change , and he was conscious that his new feeling was mani festing itself in visible pertu rbation . His blood was boiling in his veins ; he had a chok ing sensation and felt that if he had a com mand to give it would be inaudible , or at least

204 THE COLLECTED WORKS

keen , sharp hissings in the ai r, terminating ab ruptly with a thump near by . The man at ’ Captain G r a ffen re id s side dropped his rifle ; his knees gave way and he p itched awkwardly forward falling upon his face . Somebody ” shouted Lie down ! and the dead man was h a rdly distinguishable from the living . It lo oked as if those few r ifle - shots had slain ten fi re tho usand men . Only the field of cers mained erect ; their concession to the emer g e n c y consisted in dismounting and sending thei r horses to the Shelter of the low hills im mediately in rear . Captain G r a ffen reid lay alongside the dead man , from beneath whose breast flowed a little rill of blood . I t had a faint , sweetish odor t hat sickened him . The face was crushed into the earth and flattened . It looked yellow su already, and was repulsive . Nothing g gested the glory of a soldier’s death nor miti gated the loathsomeness of the incident . He could not turn his back upon the body without facing away from his company .

He fixed his eyes upon the fo rest, where all again was silent . He tried to imagine what was going on there— the lines of troops form ing to attack , the guns being pushed forward o f by hand to the edge the open . He fancied OF AMB ROSE BIERCE 205 he could see their black muzzles p rotruding from the undergrowth , ready to deliver thei r — storm o f missiles such missiles as the o n e so whose shriek had unsettled his nerves . The distension of his eyes became painful ; a mist seemed to gather before them ; he could no see longer across the field , yet would not with d raw his gaze lest he see the dead man at his side . The fire of battle was no t n ow burning very ’ b rightly in this warrior s soul . From inac tion had come introspection . He sought rather to analyze his feelings than distinguish himself by courage and devotion . The result c o was p rofoundly disappointing . He v ered his face with his hands and groaned aloud . The hoarse murmur of battle grew more and more distinct upon the right ; the murmu r h ad , indeed , become a roar, the throbbing, a thunde r . The sounds had worked round ’ obliquely to the front ; evidently the enemy s

w a s left being driven back, and the p rop itious moment to move against the salient angle of his line would soon arrive . The silence and mystery in front were ominous ; all felt that they boded evil to the assailants . Behind the p rostrate lines sounded the hoof 206 THE COLLECTED WORKS beats of galloping horses ; the men turned to c e rs look . A dozen staff o fli we re riding to the various brigade and regimental com manders , who had remounted . A moment u t more and there was a chorus of voices , all — “ tering o u t of time the same words Atten ! ” tion , battalion The men sp rang to their feet and were aligned by the comp any com manders . They awaited the word for ward awaited , too , with beating hearts and se t teeth the gusts of lead and i ron that were to smite them at their first movement in obedi ence to that word . The word was not given ; the tempest did not b reak out . The delay was ! hideous , maddening It unnerved like a respite at the guillotine . Captain G ra ffen re i d stood at the head of his company , the dead man at his feet . He — heard the battle o n the right rattle and crash o f o f musketry, ceaseless thunder cannon , desultory cheers of invisible combatants . He marked ascending clouds of smoke from dis o f tant forests . He noted the sinister silence the forest in front . These contrasting ex tremes affected the whole range of hi s sensi

ili o n f b ties. The strain upon his nervous rg a i z a i n h n d t o was insupportable . H e grew o t a

. do a n d cold by turns He p anted like a g ,

208 THE COLLECTED WORKS

“ IR o t e S : I have the honor t report, with h r t . gard to the action of the o inst , that owing to the enemy’s wi thdrawal from my front to reinforce his beaten left, my command was as fol not seriously engaged . My loss was ” : K o n e o fli c e r one . lows illed , , man OF AM BRO S E BIERCE 209

GEO RGE THURSTON

THREE INCIDENTS IN THE LI FE OF A MAN

B ORGE THURSTON was a first lieutenant and aide - de - camp on the ff Sta of Colonel B rough , command

ing a Federal b rigade . Colonel w as n a s B rough o ly temporarily in command ,

- senior colonel , the brigadier general having been severely wounded and granted a leave of

absence to recover . Lieutenant Thurston ’ w as , I believe , of Colonel B rough s regiment,

to which , with his chief, he would naturally have been relegated had he lived till o u r ’ b rigade commander s recovery . The aide whose p lace Thurston took had been killed in ’ battle ; Thu rston s advent among us was the only change in the p ers o n n e l o f o u r staff con sequent upon the change in commanders .

We did not like him ; he was unsocial . This , however, was more observed by others than o r o n by me . Whether in camp the march , o r e n bivo u a c in barracks , in tents , , my duties as topographical engineer kept me working like a beaver— all day in the saddle and half 2 1 0 THE COLLECTED WORKS

- the night at my drawing table , platting my

u surveys . It was haza rdo s work ; the nearer ’ to the enemy s lines I could penetrate , the more valuable were my field notes and the re

l i n su t g maps . It was a business in which the lives of men counted as nothing against the chance o f defining a road o r sketching a bridge . Whole squadrons of cavalry escort had sometimes to be sent thundering against a powerful infantry outpost in order that the b rief time between the charge and the i n evitable retreat might be utilized in sounding a ford o r determining the point of intersection o f two roads . In some of the dark corners o f England and Wales they have an immemorial custom of “ ” beating the bounds of the parish . On a certain day o f the year the whole population turns o u t and travels in p rocession from one landmark to another o n the bo u ndary line . At the most important points lad s are soundly beaten with rods to make them remember the place in after life . They become authorities . Our frequent engagements with the Con

u federate outposts , p atrols , and sco ting parties

u had , incidentally, the same ed cating value ; they fixed in my memory a vivid and appar — ently imperishable picture o f the locality a

2 1 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS

both sides , but Thurston remained in the cen o f o f ter the road , which at intervals a few sec o n d s was swept by gusts of grape and canister that tore the air wide open as they passed . He had dropped the rein o n the neck of his horse and sa t bolt up right in the saddle , with S folded arms . oon he was down , his horse o f torn to pieces . From the side the road , my pencil and field book idle , my duty forgotten , I watched him slowly disengaging himself from the wreck and rising . At that instant, the cannon having ceased firing, a burly Con federate trooper o n a spirited horse dashed like a thunderbolt down the road with drawn saber . Thurston saw him coming, d rew him self up to his full height , and again folded w as his arms . He too brave to retreat before the word , and my uncivil words had disarmed him . He was a Spectator . Another moment and he would have been split like a mackerel , but a blessed bullet tumbled his assailant into the dusty road so near that the impetus sent the body rolling to Thurston’s feet That evening, while platting my hasty survey, I to found time frame an apology, which I o f think took the rude , p rimitive form a con fessio n that I had spoken like a maliciou s idiot . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 21 3 A few weeks later a part of our army made ’ an assault upon the enemy s left . The attack, which was made upon an unknown position

and across unfamiliar ground , was led by our brigade . The ground was so b roken and the underb rush so thick that all mounted offi cers — and men were compelled to fight o n foot the b i f rigade commander and h s sta f included . In the m élé e Thu rston w as p arted from the rest u s of , and we found him, horribly wounded , only when we had taken the enemy’s last de fe nse He was some months in hospital at

N ashville , Tennessee , but finally rejoined us . his H e said little about misadventure , except that he had been bewildered and had strayed ’ into the enemy s lines and been shot down ; but o from n e of his captors , whom we in turn had “ captured , we learned the particulars . He ” came walking right upon us as we lay in line , “ i n said this man . A whole comp any of us stan tly sp rang up and leveled o u r rifles at his

o f . b reast , some them almost touching him ‘ ou Th row down that sword and surrender, y ’ damned Yank ! shouted some o n e in author

ity . The fellow ran his eyes along the line of

rifle barrels , folded his arms across his b reast, his right hand still clutching his sword, and ‘ ’

n t. deliberately replied , I will o I f we had 21 4 THE COLLECTED WORKS

all fired he would have been torn to shreds . ’ ’ o f fo r on e S . ome us didn t I didn t, ; nothing ” could have induced me . When one is tranquilly looking death in the eye and refusing him any concession one ’ naturally h as a good opinion of one s self . I d on ’t know if it was this feeling that in Thurs ton found exp ression i n a stifli sh attitude and folded arms ; at the mess table one day, in his absence , another exp lanation was suggested by ou r quartermaster, an irreclaimable stam “ ’ — merer when the wine was in : It s h is

— - - w ay o f m - m - mastering a c - c -consti t tu ” tion al - r— n w— t tendency to u a ay. “ ” ! o u t What I flamed , indig nantly rising ; you intimate that Thurston is a coward and in his absence ? — — — If he w ere a cow wow-ard h e — ’ w wouldn t t- try to m -m - master it ; and if he ’ — - — w ere p p resent I w wouldn t d -d - dare to ” - - d d . discuss it, was the mollifying reply

This intrepid man , George Thu rston , died

. was an ignoble death The brigade in camp , with headquarters in a grove of immense trees . To an upper b ranch o f one of these a venture some climber had attached the two ends o f a long rope and made a swing with a length o f not less than one hundred feet. Plunging

21 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS w hi rest it from s hands . All saw the peril o u t to ll cried to him desist, and gesticulated at him as , indistinct and with a noise like the rush of a cannon shot in flight, he swept past us throu gh the lower reaches o f his hideous oscillation . A woman standing at a little dis tance away fainted and fell unobserved . Men from the camp o f a regiment near by ran

. S in crowds to see , all shouting uddenly , as o n Thurston was his upward curve , the shouts all ceased . Thurston and the swing had parted— that is all that can be known ; both hands at once o f had released the rope . The impetus the light swing exhausted , it was falling back ; ’ a l the man s momentum was carrying him , w most erect, up ard and forward , no longer in a re his , but with an outward cu rve . It could have been but an instant, yet it seemed an age . “ r o u t : I c ied , or thought I cried out My God ! will he never stop going up ? ” He to p assed close the branch of a tree . I re member a feeling o f delight as I thought he would clutch it and save himself . I speen lated on the possibili ty of it sustaining his

. weight He passed above it, and from my point o f view was sharply outlined against the blue . At this distance of many years I can OF AMBROSE BIERCE 21 7 d istinctly recall that image of a man in the sk i ts y, its head erect, its feet close together, — n . hands I do ot see its hands All at once , t with astonishing suddenness and rapidi y, it tu rns clear over and pitches downward .

There is another c ry from the crowd , which has rushed instinctively forward . The man has become merely a whirling object , mostly legs . Then there is an indescribable sound o f the sound an impact that shakes the earth , and these men , familiar with death in its most n u awful aspects , turn sick . M any walk steadily away from the Spot ; others support themselves against the trunks of trees or sit at a dva n t the roots . Death has taken an unfair age ; he has Struck with an unfamiliar weapon ; he has executed a new and disquieting strata gem . We did not know that he had so ghastly

o f so . resou rces , possibilities terror dismal ’ Thurston s body lay on its back . One leg was a n d bent beneath , b roken above the knee the bone driven into the earth . The abdomen had burst ; the bowels p rotruded . The neck was b roken . The arms were folded tightly across the b reast . 2 1 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS

THE M OC KIN G -BI RD

HE S time, a pleasant unday after

noon i n the early autumn of 1 86 1 . ’ The place , a forest s heart in the mountain region of southwestern G ra ro c k V irginia . Private y of the Federal ' Army is discovered seated comfortably at the root of a great pine tree , against which he his leans , legs extended straight along the his ground , his rifle lying across his thighs , hands ! clasped in order that they may not fall away to his sides ) resting upon the barrel of o f the weapon . The contact the b ack of his head with the tree has pushed his cap down

° ward over his eyes , almost concealing them o n e seeing him would say that he slept . Private G rayro c k did not sleep ; to have done so would have imperiled the interests of S wa s the United tates , for he a long way out side the lines and subject to capture o r death at the hands of the enemy . Moreover, he was in a frame of mind unfavorable to repose . The cause o f his perturbation of spirit was this : during the p revio u s n ight he had served o n - the picket guard , and had been posted as a

220 THE COLLECTED WORKS lonely post that S aturday night he stood stock still , leaning against the trunk of a large tree , staring into the darkness in his front and try ing to recognize known objects ; for he had been posted at the same spot during the day . But all was n ow different ; he saw nothing in detail , but only groups of things , whose shapes , not observed when there was some o f thing more them to observe , were now unfamiliar . They seemed not to have been is there before . A landscape that all trees and undergrowth , moreover, lacks definition , is confused and without accentuated points upon which attention can gain a foothold . Add the o f gloom a moonless night , and something more than great natural intelligence and a city ’ education is required to p reserve one s know is o ledge o f direction . And that how it c G ra ro c k curred that Private y , after vigilantly watching the spaces in his front and then imp rudently executing a circumspection of his whole dimly visible environment ! silently walking around his tree to accomplish it) lost his bearings and se riously imp aired his use — fulness as a sentinel . Lost at his post unable to say in which di rection to look fo r an ’ enemy s app roach , and in which lay the sleep ing camp for whose security he was account OF AMBROSE BIERCE 221

his — too o f able with life conscious , , many another awkward feature of the situation and o f ff own considerations a ecting his safety,

Private G rayro c k was p rofoundly disquieted . N o r was he given time to recover his tran fo r quillity, almost at the moment that he realized his awkward p redicament he heard a stir of leaves and a snap of fallen twigs , and turning with a stilled heart in the direction saw whence it came , in the gloom the indis tinct outlines of a human figure . “ ” ! G ra ro c k H alt shouted Private y , per em to ril as t p y in du y bound , backing up the command with the sharp metallic snap of his —“ ” cocking r ifle who goes there ? There was no answer ; at least there was an ’ instant s hesitation , and the answer , if it came , ’ was lost in the report of the sentinel s rifle . In the silence o f the night and the forest the sound was deafening, and hardly had it died away when it was repeated by the p ieces

f s m ! o the pickets to right and left, a y u n p athetic fusillade . Fo r two hours every converted civilian of them had been evolving enemies from his imagination , and peopling the woods in his front with them , and G ray rock’s Shot had started the whole encroaching host into visible existence . Having fired , all 2 22 THE COLLECTED WORKS — to retreated , breathless , the reserves all but G ra ro c k n o t w c e y , who did kno in what dir

t . ion to retreat When , no enemy appearing, the roused camp two miles away had un dressed and got itself into bed again , and the

was re - p icket line cautiously established , he was his discovered bravely holding ground , and wa s complimented by the offi cer of the guard a s the one soldier o f that devoted band who could rightly be considered the moral o f equivalent of that uncommon unit value , “ ” a whoop in hell . G ra roc k In the mean time, however, y had made a close but unavailing search for the mortal part o f the intruder at whom he had ’ a i n fired , and whom he had marksman s tuitive sense o f having hit ; fo r he was one of those born experts who shoot without aim by an instinctive sense of direction , and are nearly a s dangerous by night as by day . Dur ing a full half of his twenty - four years he had been a terror to the targets of all the shooting galleries in three cities . Unable now to pro duce his dead game he had the discretion to hold his tongue , and was glad to observe in his officer and comrades the natural assump tion that not having run away he had seen “ ” nothing hostile . H is honorable mention

224 THE COLLECTED WORKS and in point of fact his character was a singu l a rly felicitous compound o f boldness and sensibility, courage and conscience . “ ” I find myself disappointed, he said to himself , sitting there at the bottom of the golden haze submerging the forest like a “ subtler sea disappointed in failing to dis cover a fellow- man dead by my hand ! Do I then really wish that I had taken life in the performance of a duty as well performed without ? What more could I wish ? If any danger threatened , my shot averted it ; that is

to . what I was there do No , I am glad indeed if no human life was needlessly extinguished by me . But I am in a false position . I have s u ffered myself to be complimented by my fi of cers and envied by my comrades . The camp is ringing with p raise of my courage .

That is not just ; I know myself courageous , but this p raise is fo r specific acts which I did — not perform , or performed otherwise . It is believed that I remained at my post b ravely, n without firing , whereas it was I who bega no t the fusillade , and I did retreat in the gen eral alarm because bewildered . What, then , shall I do ? Explain that I saw an enemy and ? o f fired They have all said that themselves , yet none believes it . S hall I tell a truth OF AMBROS E BIERCE 225

which , discrediting my courage , will have the effect o f a lie ? Ugh ! it is an ugly business

altogether . I wish to God I could find my man ! ” so G ra roc k And wishing, Private y , over come at last by the languor o f the afternoon and lulled by the Stilly sounds o f insects dron

ing and p rosing in certain fragrant shrubs , so far forgot the interests o f the United S tates as to fall asleep and expose himself to capture .

And sleeping he dreamed .

He thought himself a boy, living in a far, fair land by the border o f a great rive r upon which the tall Steamboats moved grandly up and down beneath their towering evolutions e of black smoke , which announced th m long before they had rounded the bends and marked thei r movements when miles o u t o f

Sight . With him always , at his side as he was on e watched them , to whom he gave his — heart and soul in love a twin b rother. To gether they strolled along the banks of the Stream ; together explored the fields lying

farther away from it, and gathered pungent mints and sticks of fragrant sassafras in the hills overlooking all—beyond which lay the o f Realm Conjecture , and f rom which , look

ing southward across the great river, they 226 THE COLLECTED WORKS

caught glimpses of the Enchanted Land .

H and in hand and heart in heart they two , the only children o f a widowed mother, walked in paths of light through valleys of peace, seeing new things under a new sun . And

‘ through all the golden days floated o n e un — o f ceasing sound the rich , thrilling melody

- a mocking bird in a cage by the cottage door . It pe rvaded and possessed all the Spiritual in te rva ls of the dream , like a musical benedic tion . The joyous bird was always in song its infinitely various notes seemed to flow from ff at its throat , e ortless , in bubbles and rills

- o f each heart beat, like the waters a pulsing i n sp ring . That fresh , clear melody seemed , d o f eed , the spirit the Scene , the meaning and interp retation to sense o f the mysteries o f life and love . But there came a time when the days o f the dream g rew dark with sorrow in a rain o f tears . The good mother was dead , the m e a dowsid e home by the great river was b e b roken up , and the b rothers were parted o f tween two thei r kinsmen . William ! the dreamer) went to live in a populous city in the

Realm of Conjecture , and John , crossing the river into the Enchanted Land , was taken to a distant region whose people in their lives

22 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS golden haze to eastward until light and shade were blended in undistinguish able blue . r ro c k his Private G ay rose to feet , looked cautiously about him , shouldered his rifle and o ff set toward camp . He had gone perhaps

- a half mile , and was p assing a thicket of laurel , when a bird rose from the midst of it o f and perching on the b ranch a tree above, poured from its joyous b reast so inexhaustible ’ floods of song as but o n e o f all God s creatures can utter in His p raise . There was little in — that i t w as only to open the bill and breathe ; yet the man stopped as if Struck— stopped and let fall his rifle , looked upward at the bird , covered his eyes with his hands and wept like ! a child For the moment he was , indeed , a child , in sp irit and in memory, dwelling again

- E by the great river, over against the nchanted Land ! Then with an effort o f the will he pulled himself together, picked up his weapon and audibly damning himself for an idiot strode o n . Passing an opening that reached o f into the heart the little thicket he looked in, and there , supine upon the earth , its arms all abroad , its gray uniform stained with a single

Spot of blood upon the breast, its white face turned Sharply upward and backward , lay the — image o f himsel fl the body of John Gray OF AMB RO SE B IERCE 229

rock , dead of a gunshot wound , and still warm ! H e had found his man . As the unfortunate soldier knelt beside that masterwo rk o f civil war the shrilling bird

upon the bough overhead stilled her song and , ’ flushed with sunset s crimson glory, glided silently away through the solemn sp aces o f the

- wood . At roll call that evening in the Fed eral camp the name William G rayroc k

b rought no response , nor ever again there

after .

THE MAN OUT OF THE NO SE

T the intersection o f two certain streets in that p art of S an Francisco known by the rather loosely applied is name of North Beach , a vacant i s lot, which rather more nearly level than is 'o r usually the case with lots , vacant otherwise , o f in that region . Immediately at the back it to the south , however, the ground slopes steeply upward , the acclivity b roken by three terraces cut into the soft rock . It is a place for goats and poor persons , several families of each class h aving occupied it jointly and “ amicably from the foundation of the city . One of the humble habitations of the lowest terrace is noticeable for its rude resemblance to the human face , or rather to such a simula crum of it as a boy might cut o u t o f a hol n o ff lowed pumpkin , meaning o ense to his two race . The eyes are circular windows , the is nose a door, the mouth an aperture caused n o by removal of a board below . There are AS too doorsteps . a face, this house is large ;

to o . as a dwelling, small The blank, unmean 233 234 THE COLLECTED WORKS ing stare o f its lidless and b rowless eyes is uncanny . S s o u t ometimes a man step of the nose , c ar turns , p asses the place where the right should be and making his way th rough the th rong o f children and goats obstructing the narrow walk between his neighbors ’ doors and the edge o f the terrace gains the street by de scending a flight of rickety stai rs . Here he pauses to consult his watch and the Stranger who happens to pass wonders why such a man as that can care what is the hour . Longer observations would show that the time of day is an important element in the man ’s move ’ fo r two ments , it is at p recisely o clock in the afternoon that he comes forth 365 times in r eve y year . Having satisfied himself that he has made n o mistake in the hou r he replaces the watch and walks rapidly southward up the street two squares , turns to the right and as he ap p ro ac hes the next corner fixes his eyes on an upper window in a th ree- story building across

. the way This is a somewhat ding y structure , o f originally red brick and now gray. It shows the touch Of age and dust . Built for a is a dwelling , it now a f ctory . I do not know what is made there ; the things that are com

236 THE COLLECTED WORKS

among whom they live , at rates which destroy

Chinese and domestic competition .

fi - This man is about fty seven years of age, His though he looks greatly old er . hair is d n o i s ead white . He wears beard , and always newly shaven . H is hands are clean , his nails o f well kept . In the matter dress he is dis tinc tl y superior to his position , as indicated by his surroundings and the business of his wife .

H e is , indeed , very neatly , if not quite fash ion a l n o b . y, clad His silk hat has a date his earlier than the year befo re the last , and boots , scrupulously polished , are innocent of patches . I am told that the suit which he wears during his daily excursions of fifteen minutes is not the o n e that he wears at home . n h a s ro Like everythi g else that he , this is p vid ed and kept in rep air by the wife , and is renewed as frequently as her scanty means permit .

Thirty years ago John Ha rdshaw and his wife lived on Rincon H ill in one o f the finest o f residences that once aristocratic quarter . ih H e had once been a physician , but having heri te d a conside rable estate from his father concerned himself n o more about the ailments o f his fellow- creatures and found as much OF AMBROSE BIERCE 237 wo rk as he cared for in managing his own ff a airs. Both he and his wife were highly fre cultivated persons , and their house was q uen te d by a small set o f such men and women as persons o f their tastes would think worth

. S a s . . knowing o far these knew, M r and M rs Ha rd shaw lived happily together ; certainly the wife was devoted to her handsome and accomplished husband and exceedingly p roud o f him . Among their acquaintances were the B ar — two wells man , wife and young children o i S acramento . M r . B arwell was a civil and mining engineer, whose duties took him much from home and frequently to S an Francisco . On these occasions his wife commonly aecom p a n i e d him and passed much o f her time at f r r h a l o M s. Ha d s aw the house her friend , ,

o f . ways with her two children , whom M rs m Ha rd shaw . U , childless herself , grew fond o f luckily, her husband grew equally fond — thei r mothe r a good deal fonder . S till more was unluckily , that attractive lady less wise than weak . At about three o ’clock one autumn morning I S c saw Officer No . 3 of the acramento poli e a man stealthily leaving the rear entrance o f a gentleman ’s residence and p romptly arrested 238 THE COLLECTED WORKS — him . The man who wore a slouch hat and — shaggy overcoat offered the policem an o ne o n e hundred , then five hundred , then thou sand dollars to be released . As he had less than the first mentioned sum o n his person the officer treated his p roposal with virtuous con temp t . B efore reaching the Station the p risoner agreed to give him a check for ten thousand d ollars and remain ironed in the willows along the river bank until it should be paid . As this only p rovoked new derision sa he would y no more , merely giving an obviously fictitious name . When he was searched at the station nothing of value was found o n him but a miniature portrait of M rs . — !B arwell the lady of the house at which he was caught . The case was set with costly dia monds ; and something in the quality of the man ’s linen sent a p ang of unavailing regret through the severely incorruptible bosom of 1 Offi cer No . 3. There was nothing about the ’ p risoner s clothing n o r person to identify him and he was booked for burglary under the name that he had given , the honorable name

o f K. . n John Smith The K. was an inspiratio upon which , doubtless , he greatly p rided him

Self . In the mean time the mysterious disappear

240 THE COLLECTED WORKS p rove that Ha rdsha w had found means to sub o h due her will t is own . She left the p rison, a broken -hearted woman refusing to answe r a single question , and retu rning to her desolate

- i a home renewed , in a half hearted way, her q ui ries fo r her missing husband . A week “ later she was herself missing : she had gone back to the States — nobody knew any more than that . On his trial the p risoner pleaded guilty ”

b of so . y advice his counsel , his counsel said

N u evertheless , the j dge , in whose mind sev eral unusual ci rcumstances had created a o n doubt, insisted the district attorney placing 1 Officer No . 3 on the stand , and the deposi at tion of M rs . B arwell , who was too ill to

was . tend , read to the jury It was very b rief She knew nothing o f the matter except that the o f likeness herself was her p roperty, and had , she thought, been left on the p arlor table when she had retired on the night o f the a rrest . She had intended it as a p resent to her on husband , then and still absent in Europe business for a mining comp any . This witness’s manner when making the deposition at her residence w a s afterward de scribed by the district attorney as most extra ordinary . Twice she had refused to testify, i and once, when the deposit on lacked noth OF AMBROS E BIERCE 241

she ing but her signature , had caught it from ’ the clerk s hands and torn it in pieces . She had called her children to the bedside and su d emb raced them with streaming eyes , then d en l she y sending them from the room, veri fied her statement by oath and signature, and “ ” at fainted slick away, said the district w . as torney It at that time that her physician , arriving upon the scene, took in the situation at a glance and grasp ing the rep resentative of the law by the collar chucked him into the his street and kicked assistant after him . The insulted majesty of the law was not vin di c ated ; the victim of the indignity did n o t even mention anything of all this in court . He was ambitious to win his case , and the circum stances o f the taking of that deposition were not such as would give it weight if related ; and after all , the man on trial had committed an offense against the law’s majesty only less heinous than that o f the irascible physi e ian . By suggestion of the judge the jury rend e red a verdict o f guilty ; there was nothing else to do , and the p risoner was sentenced to

fo r . the p enitentiary three years His counsel , who had objected to nothing and had made — no plea for lenity had , in fact, hardly said a — ’ word wrung hi s client s hand and left the 242 THE COLLECTED WORKS

room . I t was obvious to the whole bar that he had been engaged only to p revent the court from appointing counsel who might possibly insist o n making a defense . John Ha rd sh aw served out his term at S an

Quentin , and when discharged was met at the w ho p rison gates by his wife, had returned ” from the States to receive him . It is thought they went straight to Europe ; any ho w —o i - , a general power attorney to a lawyer — still living among u S from whom I have — many o f the facts of this simple history was executed in Paris . This lawyer in a short time sold everything that Ha r d shaw owned in w as California , and for years nothing heard of the unfo rtunate couple ; though many to whose ears had come vague and inaccurate o f intimations their strange story, and who had known them , recalled thei r personality with tenderness and thei r misfortunes with compassion . S a ome ye rs later they returned , both broken in fortune and spirits and he in health . The pu rpose of their return I have not been able F o r to ascertain . some time they lived , under the name of Johnson , in a respectable enough o f S quarte r south M arket treet, p retty well o ut , and were never seen away from the vicin

244 THE COLLE CTED WORKS

o f was possessed by the sp irit unrest . God knows what led him whither he went , but he crossed M arket S treet and held his way north ward over the hills , and downward into the region known as North Beach . Tu rning aim lessly to the left he followed his toes along an u nfamiliar street until he was opposite what fo r that period was a rather grand dwelling , and for this is a rathe r shabby factory . Cast ing his eyes casually upward he saw at an Open window what it had been better that he — had not seen the face and figure o f Elvira

B arwell . Their eyes met . With a Sharp ex clamation , like the cry of a startled bird , the lady sp rang to her feet and th rust her body o u t o f half the window , clutching the casing on each Side . Arrested by the cry, the people Ha rd shaw in the street below looked up . his stood motionless , speechless , eyes two “ ! n e flames . Take care shouted some o in the d as crow , the woman Strained further and im l ac further forward , defying the silent, p o f able law gravitation , as once she had defied that other law which God thundered from o f S inai . The suddenness her movements had tumbled a torrent o f dark hair down her shoulders , and now it was blown about her cheeks , almost concealing her face . A OF AMBROSE BIERCE 245

so c moment , and then A fearful ry rang a s she through the street, , losing her balance , c on pitched headlong from the window, a o f fused and whirling mass Skirts , limbs , hair ,

and white face , and struck the p avement with a horrible sound and a force of impact that was felt a hundred feet away . For a moment all eyes refused their office and turned from

the sickening Spectacle on the Sidewalk . saw Drawn again to that horror, they it

strangely augmented . A man , hatless , seated

flat upon the paving stones , held the broken ,

bleeding body against his b reast, kissing the mangled cheeks and Streaming mouth through o f his tangles wet hair, own features indis tin g u ish a bly crimson with the blood that half strangled him and ran in rills from his soaken

beard . ’ The reporter s task is nearly finished . The B a rwells had that very morning returned ’ from a two years absence in Peru . A week

late r the widower, now doubly desolate , since there could be n o missing the significance o f ’ Ha rd shaw s horrible demonstration , h ad sailed for I know n o t what distant port ; he has Ha r d shaw—as neve r come back to stay . John — so n no longer p assed a year in the S tockton

asylum for the insane , where also , through the 246 THE COLLECTED WORKS

a d influence of pitying friends , his wife was mitted to care fo r him . When he was dis n o t re charged , cured but harmless , they turned to the city ; it would seem ever to have had some dreadful fascination for them . For a time they lived near the M ission Dolores , in poverty only less abject than that which is their p resent lot ; but it was too far away from the objective point of the man ’s daily p ilgrim

ff . S age . They could not a ord car fare o that poor devil of an angel from Heaven— wife to — this convict and lunatic obtained , at a fair

- enough rental , the blank faced shanty on the lower terrace of Goat H ill . Thence to the structure that was a dwelling and is a factory so i s the distance is not great ; it , in fact , an ’ agreeable walk, judging from the man s eager a and cheerful look s he takes it . The return to journey appears be a trifle wearisome .

248 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o f ing range low, heavily wooded hills , con sid e r ab l y shortening the distance . By this trail I was returning one evening later than usual . It was the last day of the term and I had been detained at the schoolhouse until al most dark, p reparing an account of my stew a r dshi — p for the trustees two of whom , I to p roudly reflected , would be able read it, and the third ! an instance o f the dominion o f mind over matter) would be overruled in his customary antagonism to the schoolmaster o f his own creation . I had gone not more than a quarter o f the way when , finding an interest in the antics of a family o f lizards which dwelt thereabout and seemed full o f reptilian j o y fo r their im munity from the ills incident to life at the sat B rownville House , I upon a fallen tree to AS observe them . I leaned wearily against a b ranch o f the gnarled o l d trunk the twilight deepened in the somber woods and the faint new moon began casting visible shadows and gilding the leaves of the trees with a tender but ghostly light . ’ o f — I heard the sound voices a woman s, angry, impetuous , rising against deep mas en line tones , rich and musical . I strained my eyes , peering through the dusky shadows o f the OF AMBROSE BIERCE 249

f o n wood , hoping to get a V iew o the intruders

see o n e . my solitude , but could no For some yards in each direction I had an uninterrupted view of the trail , and knowing of no other within a half mile thought the persons heard must be app roaching from the wood at o ne

side . There was no sound but that o f the n o so voices , which were w distinct that I could catch the words . That of the man gave me an o f imp ression anger, abundantly confirmed by the matter Spoken . “ e I will hav no threats ; you are powerless , o u as y very well know . Let things remain as o r G od ! f they are , by you shall both suf er ” f r o it . “ ” What do you mean ? this was the voice o f the o f the woman , a cultivated voice , voice “ — ” . n o a lady You would t murder us . was There no reply, at least none that was audible to me . During the silence I peered into the wood in hope to get a glimpse of the f speakers , for I felt sure that this was an a fair o f gravi ty in which ordina ry scruples ought n o t to count . It seemed to me that the woman was in peril ; at any rate the man had not dis avowed a willingness to murder . When a man is enacting the rOle o f potential assassin he has not the right to choose his audience . 250 THE COLLECTED WORKS

After some little time I saw them , indistinct in the moonlight among the trees . The man , the tall and slender, seemed clothed in black ; out woman wore, as nearly as I could make , a o f gown gray stuff. Evidently they were still f unaware o my p resence in the shadow, though fo r some reason when they renewed their conversation they spoke in lower tones and I could no longer understand As I l ooked the woman seemed to sink to the ground and raise her hands in supplication , as is frequently done on the stage and never, so as far I knew, anywhere else , and I am now not altogether sure that it was done in this instance The man fixed his eyes upon her ; they seemed to glitter bleakly in the moon light with a n expression that made me app re hensive that he would tu rn them upon me . I d o not know by what impulse I was moved, o ut o f but I sp rang to my feet the Shadow . At that instant the figures vanished . I peered in vain th rough the spaces among the trees and o f clumps undergrowth . The night wind rustled the leaves ; the lizards had retired early , reptiles of exemplary habits . The little moon was already Slipping behind a black hill in the west .

I went home , somewhat distu rbed in mind,

252 THE COLLECTED WORKS With a nebulous kind of app rehension that I might be recognized as the mute inglorious hero o f an adventure which had in my con sc io u sn ess and conscience something of the character of eavesdropping , I allowed myself only a hasty cup of the lukewarm coffee thoughtfully p rovided by the p rescient wait ress for the emergency, and left the table . As I passed o u t of the house into the grounds I heard a rich , strong male voice singing an “ aria from Rigoletto I am bound to say that it was exquisitely sung, too , but there was something in the performance that displeased sa me , I could y neither what nor why, and I walked rapidly away . Returning later in the day I saw the elder o f the two young women standing o n the porch and near her a tall man in black cloth — ing the man whom I had expected to see . All day the desire to know something of these p ersons had been uppermost in my mind and I n ow resolved to learn what I could of them in any way that was neither dishonorable nor l o w. The man was talking easily and affably to his companion , but at the sound of my foot o n steps the gravel walk he ceased , and turn ing about looked me full in the face . He was OF AMBROSE BIERCE 253

o f un om app arently middle age , dark and c mon l his y h andsome . H is attire was faultless ,

bearing easy and graceful , the look which he of turned upon me open , free, and devoid any o f i t suggestion rudeness. Nevertheless affected me with a distinct emotion which o n subsequent analysis in memory appeared to be — compounded o f hatred and dread I am un

willing to call it fear . A second later the man

and woman had disappeared . They seemed

to have a trick o f disappearing . On entering

the house , however , I saw them through the Open doorway o f the p arlor as I passed ; they had merely stepped through a window which

opened down to the floor . Cautiously app roached o n the subject of her new guests my landlady p roved not u n

gracious . Restated with , I hope , some small reverence fo r English grammar the facts were these : the two girls were Pauline and Eva M aynard o f S an Francisco ; the elder was

Pauline . The man was Richard Benning,

thei r guardian , who had been the most inti

o f . mate friend their father, now deceased M r. Benning had b rought them to B rownville in the hope that the mountain climate might E benefit va , who was thought to be in danger

o f consump tion . 2 54 THE COLLECTED WORKS Upon these short and simple annals the landlady wrought an emb roidery of eulogium which abundantly attested he r faith in M r . !B enning’s will and ability to p ay for the best that her house afforded . That he had a good heart w as evident to her from his devotion to his two beautiful wards an d his really touch ing solicitude for their comfort . The evi dence imp ressed me as insufficient and I “ silently found the Scotch verdict, Not p roven .

Certainly M r . Benning was most attentive to his wards . In my strolls about the country I frequently encountered them— sometimes in company with other guests of the hotel — ex lo ri n p g the gulches , fishing, rifle shooting, and otherwise wiling away the monotony o f co u ntry life ; and although I watched them as closely as good manners would permit I saw nothing that would in any way explain the strange words that I had overheard in the wood . I had grown tolerably well acquainted with the young ladies and could exchange looks and even greetings with their guardian without actual repugnance . A month went by and I had almost ceased to interest myself in their affairs when one night ou r entire little community was thrown

256 THE COLLECTED WORKS she burst into a passion o f tears and clung to him as a child to its mother . He smiled with a smile that affected me most disagreeably perhaps any kind of smile would have done — so and led her silently out o f the room . There was an inquest— and the customary : verdict the deceased , it appeared , came to her “ ” b e death through heart disease . I t was a ilur e fore the invention o f heart f , though the heart of poor Pauline had indubitably failed . The body was embalmed an d taken to S an Francisco by some o n e summoned thence Eva n o r ac for the pu rpose , neither Benning o f companying it . Some the hotel gossips ventured to think that very strange , and a few hardy sp irits went so far as to think it very strange indeed ; but the good landlady gen e ro u sl e y th rew h rself into the b reach , saying it was owing to the p recarious nature of the ’ I n o gi rl s health . t is t of record that either o f the two pe rso n s most affected and appar ently least concerned made any explanation . One evening about a week after the death I went out upon th e veranda o f the hotel to get a book that I had left there . Under some vines shutting out the moonlight from a part o f the space I saw Richard B enning , for whose apparition I was p rep ared by having OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 257

i Eva p rev ously heard the low, sweet voice of n ow M aynard , whom also I discerned , stand ing before him with o n e hand raised to his shoulder and her eyes , as nearly as I could judge , gazing upward into his . He held her disengaged hand and his head w as bent with a singular dignity and grace . Their attitude was that of lovers , and as I stood in deep shadow to observe I felt even guiltier than o n that memorable night in the wood . I was about to retire , when the girl spoke , and the contrast between her words and her attitude w a s so su rp rising that I remained , because I had merely forgotten to go away . ” “ she You will take my life , said , as you ’ a s did Pauline s . I know your intention well as I know your power, and I ask nothing, only that yo u finish your work without needless ” delay and let me be at peace . He made no rep ly— merely let go the hand that he was holding, removed the other from his Shoulder, and turning away descended the Steps leading to the garden and disappeared in the sh rubbery . But a moment later I heard , seemingly from a great distance, his

fine clear voice in a barbaric chant, which as I listened b rought before some inner Spiritual o sense a consciousness f some far, strange land 258 THE COLLECTED WORKS

peopled with beings having forbidden powers . o f The song held me in a kind spell , but when it had died away I recovered and instantly perceived what I thought an opportunity. I walked out of my shadow to where the girl stood . She turned and stared at me with o f something of the look, it seemed to me, a hunted hare . Possibly my intrusion had frightened her . “ ” I M iss M aynard , said , I beg you to tell me who that man is and the nature o f his

o u . power over y Perhaps this is rude in me , i n o t n but it s a matter for idle civilities . Whe a woman is in danger any man has a right ” to act . She listened without visible emotion almost I thought without interest, and when I had finished she closed her big blue eyes as if unspeakably weary . “

Yo u . can do nothing, she said

I took hold of her arm , gently shaking her as one shakes a person falling into a danger o us sleep . “ ” Yo u must rouse yourself , I said some thing must be done and yo u must give me leave to act . You have said that that man i — killed your sister , and I believe t that he ” ou will kill y , and I believe that .

26 0 THE COLLECTED WORKS

him . I shall deny all . Your word against — ou mine i t will be that . Do y think your authorities ’ will believe you ? n o God She was w smiling like an angel and , help me ! I was heels over head in love with ! o f her Did she , by some the many methods o f to divination known her sex , read my feel ings ? Her whole manner had altered . “ ” She Come , said , almost coaxingly

promise that you will not be impolite again .

She took my arm in the most friendly way .

Come , I will walk with you . H e will not — ” know he will remain away all night . Up and down the veranda we paced in the she re moonlight , seemingly forgetting her cent bereavement , cooing and mu rmuring girl wise o f every kind of nothing in all B rown ville ; I silent , consciously awkward and with something of the feeling of being concerned in — an intrigue . It was a revelation this most charming and apparently blameless creature coolly and confessedly deceiving the man for whom a moment before she had acknow ledged and shown the supreme love which

finds even death an acceptable endearment . “ Truly , I thought in my inexperience, ” is here something new under the moon .

And the moon must have smiled . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 261‘

! Before we parted I had exacted a p romise that She would walk with me the next after noon— before going away forever— to the Old ’ o n e M ill , of B rownville s revered antiquities , 1 erected in 860 . “ ” i s If he not about, she added gravely, as

I let go the hand she had given me at parting,

and of which , may the good saints forgive me , I strove vainly to repossess myself when she it—so as had said charming, the wise French ’ h as d o in man pointed out, we find woman s O its fidelity when we are its bjects , not vic

tims . In apportioning his benefactions that

night the Angel o f S leep overlooked me .

The B rownville House dined early, and

after dinner the next day M iss M aynard , who to had not been at table , came me on the o f veranda , attired in the demurest walking

n o t . costumes , saying a word He was evi “ ” d en tly not about . We went slowly up the as a road that led to the Old M ill . S he w p n o p a ren tly t strong and at times took my arm , relinquishing it and taking it again rather o r cap riciously, I thought . Her mood , rather o f a s her succession moods , was as mutable

skylight in a rippling sea . She jested as if o f she had never heard such a thing as death ,

and laughed o n the lightest incitement, and 26 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS directly afterward would sing a few bars of some grave melody with such tenderness of exp ression that I had to tu rn away my eyes lest she should see the evidence o f her success n o t in art, if art it was , artlessness , as then I she was compelled to think it . And said the oddest things in the most unconventional way, ski rting sometimes unfathomable abysms of thought , where I had hardly the courage to set foot . In short, she was fascinating in a t ff thousand and fif y di erent ways , and at every step I executed a new and p rofounder emo tio n a l folly, a hardier Spiritual indiscretion , incurring fresh liability to arrest by the con stab ul a ry of conscience fo r infractions o f my own peace . she Arriving at the mill , made no p retense o f stopping, but tu rned into a trail leading th rough a field of stubble toward a creek. Crossing by a rustic bridge we continued on n ow o f the trail , which led uphill to one the m ost picturesque spots in the country . The ’ — o f Eagle s Nest , it was called the summit a cliff that rose sheer into the ai r to a height of hundreds of feet above the forest at its base . From this elevated point we had a noble view o f another valley and of the opposite hills

flushed with the last rays of the setting sun .

26 4 THE COLLECTED WORKS

and moved slowly away from him . He also rose continuing to look at her . H e had still in his hand the bunch o f flowers . The girl i

to . turned , as if speak, but said nothing I recall clearly now something of which I was — but half - conscious then the dreadful contrast between the smile upon her lips and the terri fied exp ression in he r eyes as She met his steady and imperative gaze . I know nothing o f how how it happened , nor it was that I did not sooner understand ; I only know that with the smile of an angel upon her lips and that look o f terror in her beautiful eyes Eva May nard sp rang from the cliff and shot crashing into the tops of the pines below ! How and how long afterward I reached the sa place I cannot y , but Richard Benning was already there , kneeling beside the dreadful thing that had been a woman . “ — ” S . he is dead quite dead , he said coldly o I will go to town for assistance . Please d ” me the favor to remain .

He rose to his feet and moved away, but in a moment had stopped and turned about .

You have doubtless observed , my friend , “ o w he said , that this was entirely her n act . I did not rise in time to p revent it, and you , not OF AMBROSE BIERCE 265

— o knowing her mental condition y u could not, ” o f course , have suspected . Hi s manner maddened me . You as I are much her assassin , said , as ” if you r damnable hands had cut her throat . He sh rugged his shoulders without reply

and , turning, walked away . A moment later o f I heard , th rough the deepening Shadows

the wood into which he had disappeared , a v L a d o n n a rich , strong , baritone oice singing ” ” e m obile , from Rig oletto . 26 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS

THE FAM OU S GILS ON BEQUEST

T was rough on Gilson . S uch was the u n s m a terse , cold , but not altogether y p thetic judgment of the better public Opin — ion a t M ammon H ill the dictum of re f s ec tabili t . o p y The verdict the opposite , or — rather the opposing , element the element that lurked red - eyed and restless about Moll ” ’ “ t Gurney s deadfall , while respectabili y ’ took it with sugar at M r . . Bentley s gor — Jo g eo u s saloon was to p retty much the same f o r general ef ect , though somewhat more n ate ly expressed by the use o f p icturesque expletives , which it is needless to quote .

u Virt ally, M ammon Hill was a unit on the

Gilson question . And it must be confessed that in a merely temporal sense all was not well with M r . Gilson . He had that morning B ren tsh aw been led into town by M r . and publicly charged with horse stealing ; the sheriff meantime busying himself about The Tree with a new manila rope and Carpenter Pete being actively employed between drinks u pon a pine box about the length and b readth o f M r . Gilson . S ociety having rendered its

2 6 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS Prominent among those in whom this sus p i c io n had ripened into a steadfast conviction h B ren ts a . was M r . w At all seasonable and B ren tsh aw unseasonable times M r . avowed ’ il n hi s belief in M r . G so s connection with these unholy midnight enterp rises , and his o wn willingness to p repare a way for the solar beams through the body o f any o n e who might th ink it expedient to utter a different opinion —w o n e hich , in his p resence , no was more careful n o t to do than the peace - loving per n so most concerned . Whatever may have been the truth of the matter, it is certain that Gilson frequently lost more “ clean dust ” at ’ Jo . Bentley s faro table than it was recorded in local history that he had ever honestly earned at draw poker in all the days o f the ’ camp s existence . But at last M r . Bentley fearing , it may be, to lose the more p rofitable ‘B ren sh w— p atronage of M r . t a peremptorily C refused to let Gilson oppe r the queen , intim ating at the same time , in his frank, forth o f right way, that the p rivilege losing money ” was at this bank a blessing appertaining to , p roceeding logically from , and coterminous o f with , a condition notorious commercial - righteousness and social good repute . The Hill thought it high time to look after OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 269 a person whom its most honored citizen had felt it his duty to rebuke at a considerable per sonal sacrifice . The N ew Jerusalem c o n tingent, p articularly, began to ab ate some thing o f the toleration begotten o f amusement at thei r own blunder in exiling an objection able neighbor from the place which they had left to the place whither they had come . o f o n Mammon H ill was at last e mind . Not much was said , but that Gilson must hang was “ ” in the ai r . But at this critical juncture in his affairs he showed signs o f an altered life w as if not a changed heart . Perhaps it only that “ the bank being closed against him he had no further use fo r gold dust . Anyhow the sluice boxes were molested no more for

: ever . But it was impossible to rep ress the o f his abounding energies such a nature as , and he continued , possibly from habit , the tortuous courses which he had pu rsued for p rofit o f M r . Bentley . After a few tentative and resultless undertakings in the way of — highway robbery i f o n e may venture to designate road - agency by so harsh a name he made o n e o r two modest essays in horse d was her ing, and it in the midst of a p romis as ing enterp rise of this character, and just he his f i ts had taken the tide in a fairs at flood, 270 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o n that he made shipwreck . For a misty, B ren tsh aw moonlight night M r . rode up alongside a person who was evidently leaving that part of the country, laid a hand upon the ’

G ilso n s s . halter connecting M r . wri t with Mr ’ Harper s bay mare , tapped him familiarly on the c h ec k with the barrel of a navy revolver and requested the pleasure of his comp any in a direction opposite to that in which he was traveling . n It was indeed rough o Gilson . On the mo rning after his arrest he was

. re tried , convicted , and sentenced It only so mains , far as concerns his earthly career, to fo r hang him , reserving more particular men tion his last will and testament , which , with great labor, he contrived in p rison , and in which , p robably from some confused and im b e perfect notion of the rights of captors , he q u e athe d eve rything he owned to his l awfle ” kete r n e xec B re tsha . . w , M r The bequest, however, was made conditional on the legatee taking the testator ’s body from The Tree and “ ” planting it white . — S o M r . Gilson w a s I was about to say ” o ff swung , but I fear there has been al ready something to o much o f slang in this es straightforward statement of facts ; besid ,

272 THE COLLECTED WORKS s tated compensation to the executor , Henry B ren tshaw Clay ; p rovided , that if more than o n e person made such p roof the estate was to be equally divided between or among them . But in case none should succeed in so estab ’ lishin g the testator s guilt , then the whole p roperty, minus court expenses , as aforesaid, Should go to the said Henry Clay B re n tshaw

fo r own . his use , as stated in the will The syntax o f this remarkable document was p erhaps open to critical objection , but that was clearly enough the meaning o f it . The o rthography conformed to no recognized sys n ot tem , but being mainly phonetic it was

. As ambiguous the p robate judge remarked , it would take five aces to beat it . M r . B rent

- hum o re dl shaw smiled good y, and after per forming the last sa d rites with amusing as ostentation , had himself duly sworn exec utor and conditional legatee under the p rovi sions of a law hastily passed ! at the instance o f the member from the M ammon Hill dis tri et) by a facetious legislatu re ; which law was afterward discovered to have created also three o r fou r lucrative offi ces and authorized the expenditure o f a considerable sum of pub lic money for the construction o f a certain railway b ridge that with greater advantage OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 273 might perhaps have been erected o n the line o f some actual railway . B Of course M r . ren tshaw expected neither p rofit from the will nor litigation in couse u en c e al q of its unusual p rovisions ; Gilson , “ ” though frequently flush , had been a man whom assessors and tax collectors were well o satisfied t lose no money by . But a careless and merely formal search among his p apers revealed title deeds to valuable estates in the East and certificates o f deposit for in credible sums ih banks less severely scrupulous

than that of M r. Jo . Bentley . The astounding news got ab road directly

throwing the Hill into a fever o f excitement .

P a tr i o t The M ammon H ill , whose editor h ad been a leading spi rit in the p roceedings that ’ resulted in G ilso n s dep arture from New

Jerusalem , published a most complimentary o f obituary notice the deceased , and was good enough to call attention to the fact that his de S graded contemporary, the quaw Gulch

la r i o n C , was b ringing virtue into contempt by beslavering with flattery the memory of on e who in life had spurned the vile Sheet a s a the nuisance from his door . Undeterred by p ress , however, claimants under the will were n ot slow in p resenting themselves with their 274 THE COLLECTED WORKS evidence ; and great as was the Gilson estate it appeared conspicuo u sly paltry considering the vast number of sluice boxes from which h it w as averred to have been obtained . T e country rose as one man !

B ren tsh w . M r . a was equal to the emergency With a shrewd application of humble aux i li a r y devices , he at once erected above the bones of his benefactor a costly monument, overtopping every rough headboard in the u cemetery, and on this he judiciously ca sed to o f own be inscribed an epitaph his composing, u eulogizing the honesty, p blic spi rit and “ o f cognate virtues him who slept beneath , a victim to the unjust aspersions of Slander’s ” viper brood .

Moreover, he employed the best legal talent in the Territory to defend the memory o f his five departed friend , and for long years the Territorial courts were occupied with litiga o ut tion growing of the Gilson bequest . To B re n ts fine forensic abilities M r . h a w opposed abilities more finely fo rensic ; in bidding for purchasable favors he offered p rices which utterly deranged the market ; the judges found at his hospitable board entertainment fo r man and beast , the like of which had never been Sp read in the Territory ; with mendacious wit

276 THE COLLECTED WORKS

p rone to earth . The ghoulish flood had ex h um e d the poor, decayed p ine coffin , which

- now lay half exposed , in pitiful contrast to the pompous monolith which , like a giant note of admiration , emphasized the disclosure . s To this dep res ing spot, d rawn by some subtle influence he had sought neither to resist l B ren tsh aw . a nor analyze , came M r . An

e B ren tshaw . t red man was M r . Five years of toil , anxiety, and wakefulness had dashed his black locks with streaks and patches o f gray, bowed his fine figure , drawn sharp and angular his face , and debased his walk to a N o r doddering Shu ffie . had this lustrum of fierce contention wrought less upon his heart and intellect . The careless good humor that had p rompted him to accept the trust o f the dead man had given place to a fixed habit o f melancholy . The firm , vigorous intellect had overripened into the mental mellowness of second childhood . His broad understanding had narrowed to the accommodation of a o f Single idea ; and in place the quiet, cynical incredulity of former days , there was in him a fli tted haunting faith in the supernatural , that and fluttered about his soul , shadowy , batlike , ominous of insanity . Unsettled in all else , his understanding clung to o n e conviction with OF AMBROSE BIERCE 277 the o f tenacity a wrecked intellect . That was an unshaken belief in the entire blamelessness o s f the dead Gilson . H e had o often sworn to this in court and asserted it in private conver — sation had so frequently and so triumphantly established it by testimony that had come ex pensive to him ! for that very day he had paid

o . the last dollar o f the Gilson estate to M r. J B entley, the last witness to the G ilson good character) —that it had become to him a sort o f on e religious faith . It seemed to him the — great central and basic truth o f life the sole serene verity in a world o f lies . s On that night, a he seated himself pen l sive y upon the p rostrate monument, trying by the uncertain moonlight to spell out the epitaph which five years before he had com p osed with a chuckle that memory had not o f recorded , tears remorse came into his eyes as he remembered that he had been mainly instrumental in compassing by a false accusa ’ tion this good man s death ; for during some fo r o f . the legal p roceedings , M r H arper, a consideration ! forgotten ) had come forward and sworn that in the little transaction with his b ay mare th e deceased had acted in strict Ha r e ri an accordance with the p wishes, con fiden ti ally communicated to the deceased and 278 THE COLLECTED WORK S by him faithfully concealed a t the cost o f his B ren tshaw life . All that M r . had since done ’ fo r the dead man s memory seemed pitifully — inadequate most mean , paltry, and debased with selfishness ! As sa t h he t ere , torturing himself with futile regrets, a faint shadow fell across his eyes . Looking toward the moon, hanging saw low in the west, he what seemed a vague, watery cloud obscuring her ; but as it moved so that her beams lit up one side of it he per c eived the clear, sharp outline of a human

figure . The app arition became momentarily more distinct, and grew, visibly ; it was draw as ing near . Dazed were his senses , half locked up with terror and confounded with h w d . B ren ts a readful imaginings, M r yet o r e could but p erceive , think h perceived, in this unearthly shape a strange similitude to M the mortal part of the late ilton Gilson , as that person had looked when taken from The

Tree five years before . The likeness was i n d eed complete , even to the full , stony eyes , and a certain shadowy circle about the neck . It was o r without coat h at , p recisely as Gilson had been when laid in his poor, cheap casket by the not ungentle hands of C arpenter Pete fo r whom some one had long since per

2 80 THE COLLECTED WORKS

mind in a fevered body . Perhaps it was a solemn farce enacted by p ranking existences that throng the shadows lying along the border of another world . God knows ; to us is permitted only the knowledge that when the sun of another day touched with a grace o f gold the ruined cemetery o f M ammon H ill his u kindliest beam fell pon the white , still of B ren sh face Henry t aw, dead among the dead . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 281

THE APPLI CANT

USHIN G his adventurous shins th rough the deep snow that had fallen

overnight, and encouraged by the glee o f his little sister , following in the O b o pen way that he made, a sturdy small y, ’ the so n o f G rayville s most distinguished his citizen , struck foot against something of which there was n o visible Sign on the surface o f the snow . It is the purpose of this narra

tive to explain how it came to be there . N 0 one who has had the advantage o f pass ing th rough Grayville by day can have failed to observe the large stone building crowning the l ow hill to the north of the railway station — sa that is to y, to the right in going toward

- G reat Mowb ray . It is a somewhat dull look o f E ing edifice , the arly Comatose order, and appears to have been designed by an architect u n who sh rank from publicity, and although to his — able conceal work even compelled , in set this instance , to it on an eminence in the — sight o f men did what he honestly could to insu re it against a second look . S o far as con s cern its outer and visible aspect, the Aber 282 THE COLLECTED WORKS sush Home fo r Old Men is unquestionably in hospitable to human attention . But it is a

u building of great magnit de , and cost its benevolent founder the profit of many a cargo o f the teas and silks and sp ices that his ships brought up from the under- world when he was in trade in Boston ; though the main ex pense was its endowment . Altogether, this reckless person had robbed his heirs - at- law o f n o less a sum than half a million dollars and

flung it away in riotous giving. Possibly it w as with a V iew to get o u t o f sight of the si lent big witness to his extravagance that he sho rtly afterward disposed o f all his Gray ville p roperty that remained to him , turned his back upon the scene of his p rodigality and went o ff across the sea in o n e o f his own ships . B u t the gossip s who g o t their insp iration most directly from Heaven declared that he went in — search of a wife a theory not easily recon ciled with that of the village humorist , who solemnly averred that the bachelor philan thro i st p had dep arted this life ! left G rayville , to wit) because the marriageable maidens had made it too hot to hold him . However this al may have been , he had not retu rned , and though a t long intervals there had come to

G rayville , in a desultory way, vague rumo rs

284 THE COLLECTED WORKS S pain , with himself as castellan; hospitably entertaining about a score of sleek and p ros

e ro us - p middle aged gentlemen , consummately good - humored and civilly willing to pay for ro their board and lodging . In this revised p c e o f j t philanth ropy the trustees , to whom he was indebted for his offi ce and responsible for

his . conduct, had not the happiness to appear AS was to them , it held by the village humor i st aforementioned that in their management o f the great charity Providence had thought fully supplied a n incentive to th rift . With the inference which he expected to be drawn from that view we have nothing to d o ; it had neither support nor denial from the inmates , w ho certainly were most concerned . They o ut lived their little remnant of life , crept into n graves eatly numbered , and were succeeded by other old men as like them as could be de sired by the Adversary o f Peace . I f the Home was a place of punishment fo r the sin o f unthrift the veteran offenders sought justice with a persistence that attested the sincerity of their penitence . I t is to one o f ’ these that the reader s attention is now invited . In the matter of attire this person was not

. fo r altogether engaging B ut this season , which was midwinter, a careless observer OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 28 5

might have looked upon him as a clever de vice o f the husbandman indisposed to share the fruits o f his toil with the crows that toil — a n not, neither spin error that might not have been dispelled without longer an d closer observation than he seemed to court ; fo r Ab ersush S his p rogress up treet, toward o f the Home in the gloom the winter evening, was not visibly faster than what might have been expected of a scarecrow blessed with

youth , health , and discontent . The man was

- n o t indisputably ill clad , yet without a certain o b fitness and good taste, withal ; for he was vio u sly an applicant for admittance to the was Home , where poverty a qualification . In the army o f indigence the uniform is rags ; they serve to distinguish the rank and file

from the recruiting ofli c e rs. As o ld o the man , entering the gate f the ffl grounds , shu ed up the b road walk, already

- white with the fast falling snow, which from time to time he feebly shook from its various

o f hi s n coigns vantage on person , he came u der inspection o f the large globe lamp that burned always by night over the great door

of the building . As if unwilling to incur its to revealing beams , he turned the left and , passing a considerable distance along the face 286 THE COLLECTED WORKS

u emi tt of the b ilding , rang at a smaller door i n g a dimmer ray that came from within , through the fanlight , and expended itself incuriously overhead . The door was opened by n o less a personage than the great M r . Til v . v body himself Obser ing his isitor, who at once uncovered , and somewhat shortened the o f u radius the permanent curvat re of his back, the great man gave visible token of neither T il o . . b d was surp rise nor displeasure M r y , indeed , in an uncommonly good humor, a phenomenon ascribable doubtless to the cheer ful influence of the season ; fo r this was Christ Eve mas , and the morrow would be that blessed 365th part o f the year that all Christ ian souls set apart for mighty feats o f good i l . T b o d so ness and joy M r . y was full of the spi rit of the season that his fat face and p ale f v blue eyes , whose ine fectual fire ser ed to dis ti n uish g it from an untimely summer squash , effused so genial a glow that it seemed a p ity v that he could not ha e lain down in it , bask ing in the consciousness of his own identity .

He was hatted , booted , overcoated , and um b rel l a e d , as became a person who was about to expose himself to the night and the storm on i an errand of charity ; fo r M r . T lb o dy had j ust p arted from his wife and children to go

28 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS ter which laymen are devoid of the light to expound . Tilbo d ac c om Yes , continued M r . y, h is m o d a ti n g his gait to that of comp anion , who was mechanically , and not very success

fully, retracing the track that he had made “ through the snow ; they have decided that, under the circumstances— under the very o u — it peculiar circumstances , y understand would be inexpedient to admit you . As superintendent and e x ofli ei o secretary o f the “ — Tilbo d honorable board as M r . y read his title clear ” the magnitude of the big building , seen through its veil of falling snow , appeared to suffer somewhat in comp arison to it is my duty info rm you that, in the words o f Deacon Byram , the chairman , your p res ence in the Home would— under the circum

—~ stances b e peculiarly embarrassing . I felt it my duty to submit to the honorable board the statement that you made to me yesterday of your needs , your physical condition , and the trials which it has pleased Providence to send upon you in your very p roper effort to p resent you r claims in person ; but , after careful , and sa o f I may y p rayerful , consideration you r — case with something too , I trust , of the large charitableness app rop riate to the season— it w as decided that we would not be justified in OF AM BROS E BIERCE 289 doing anything likely to imp air the usefulness o f the institution intrusted ! under Provi to dence ) our care . They had n ow p assed o ut of the grounds ; the street lamp opposite the gate was dimly o ld visible through the snow . Already the ’ was man s former track obliterated, and he seemed uncertain as to which way he should

o . Til o d g . M r b y had drawn a little away

from him , but p aused and turned half toward

him , app arently reluctant to forego the con

tinn ing opportunity .

Under the circumstances , he resumed , “ the decision But the o ld man was inaccessible to the suasion o f his verbosity ; he had crossed the wa s street into a vacant lot and going forward , rather deviously toward nowhere in p articular — to which , he having nowhere in p articular to was n o t so d as go , reasonless a p rocee ing it

looked . And that is how it happened that the next

morning , when the church bells of all Gray ville were ringing with a n added unction ap ro ri ate son p p to the day, the sturdy little of

Deacon Byram , b reaking a way through the o f his snow to the place worship , struck foot o f Ab ersush against the body Amasa , philan thropist. 290 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

A WATCH ER BY THE DEAD

N an upper room of an unoccupied dwell ing in the part of S an Francisco known as un North Beach lay the body of a man ,

der a sheet . The hou r was near nine in the evening ; the room was dimly lighted by a single candle . Although the weather was r to warm , the two windows , contra y the cus t tom which gives the dead plen y of air, were closed and the blinds drawn down . The fu rniture of the room consisted of but three — an - - p ieces arm chair , a small reading stand supporting the candle , and a long kitchen

o f . table , supporting the body the man All to these , as also the corpse , seemed have been recently brought in , for an observer, had there o n e been , would have seen that all were free from dust , whereas everything else in the room was p retty thickly coated with it, and there were cobwebs in the angles of the walls . Under the sheet the outlines o f the body could be traced , even the features , these hav ing that unnatu rally sharp definition which

292 THE COLLECTED WORKS strong iron bars crossing it within a few inches o f the glass and imbedded in the masonry on

. each side . He examined the other window

It was the same . He manifested no great curiosity in the matter, did not even so much as raise the sash . If he was a p risoner he was c om apparently a tractable one . Having o f p l eted his examination the room , he seated

- himself in the arm chair , took a book from his pocket , drew the stand with its candle alongside and began to read . — The man was young n o t more than thirty

— - dark in complexion , smooth shaven , with brown hair . His face was thin and high “ firm nosed , with a b road forehead and a ness o f the chin and jaw which is said by those having it to denote resol u tion . The eyes were gray and steadfast, not moving ex cept with definitive purpose . They were now for the greater part o f the time fixed upon his book, but he occasionally withdrew them and a turned them to the body on the table , not, p a re n tl p y, from any dismal fascination which under such circumstances it might be sup posed to exercise upon even a courageous per so n , nor with a conscious rebellion against the contrary influence which might d ominate a timid one . He looked at it as if in his read OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 293 ing he had come upon something recalling h him to a sense of is surroundings . Clearly this watcher by the dead was discharging his a b e trust with intelligence and composure , s

came him . After reading fo r perhaps a half - hou r he seemed to come to the end o f a chapter and

quietly laid away the book . H e then rose and taking the reading- stand from the floor carried it into a corner of the room near o n e o f the windows , lifted the candle from it and retu rned to the emp ty fireplace befo re which

he had been sitting . A moment later he walked over to the body o n d the table , lifted the sheet and turne it o f b ack from the head , exposing a mass dark

- hair and a thin face cloth , beneath which the features Showed with even sharp er definition his than before . S hading eyes by interposing

h is free hand between them and the candle , he Stood looking at his motionless c o mp an i o n wi th

a serious and tranquil regard . S atisfied with his inspection , he pulled the sheet over the to face again and returning the chair, took o ff some matches the candlestick, put them in

- the side pocket of his sack coat and sat down . He then lifted the candle from i ts socket and

looked at it critically, as if calculating how 294 THE COLLECTED WORKS

long it would last . It was barely two inches long ; in another hour he would be in dark n ness . He replaced it i the candlestick and o blew it ut. II

’ In a physician s o fli c e in Kearny Street three men sat about a table , drinking punch l . a and smoking It was late in the evening, most midnight, indeed , and there had been no lack of punch . The gravest of the three , Dr . He lb e rson — i t , was the host was in his rooms they sat . He was about thirty years of age ; the others were even younger ; all were physicians . The superstitious awe with which the liv ” “ Helb e rso n ing regard the dead , said D r . , is hereditary and incurable . One needs no more be ashamed o f it than o f the fact that he inherits , for example , an incap acity fo r ” o r mathematics , a tendency to lie . ’ The others laughed . Oughtn t a man to be ashamed to lie ? ” asked the youngest of the three , who was in fact a medical student not yet graduated . “ I My dear Harper, said nothing about that . The tendency to lie i s o n e thing ; lying ” is another . “ ” B u t do you think, said the third man,

296 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

th rough it without going altogether mad , he

u n o t might j stly boast himself of woman born , f C azsa rean nor yet, like M acdu f , a p roduct of section . “ I thought you never would finish p iling “ up conditions , said H arper, but I know a man who i s neither a physician nor a soldier o u who will accept them all , for any stake y ” like to name . “ Who is he ? — His name is J a rette a Stranger here ; comes from my town in New York . I have n no mo ey to back him , but he will back him ” self with loads of it . How do you know that ? As fo r He would rather bet than eat . fear— I dare say he thinks it some cutaneous

o f ~ disorder, or possibly a p articular kind relig ious heresy . “ What does he look like ? Helbe rso n was evidently becoming interested . “ — Like M ancher, here might be his twin ” brother . “ Helbe rso n I accept the challenge, said , promptly . “ Awfully obliged to you fo r the compli ’ ” ment , I m sure , drawled M ancher, who was “ ’ ” growing sleepy . Can t I get into this ? OF AMBROSE BIERCE 297

“ N o l o t He b e rs n . against me , said I ’ o u don t want y r money . “ ” “ ’ All right, said M ancher ; I ll be the corpse .

The others laughed . The outcome o f this crazy conversation we

have seen .

In extinguishing his meagre allowance o f ’ arette s candle M r. J object was to p reserve it v against some unforeseen need . He may ha e o r thought , too , half thought, that the dark ness would be no worse at one time than an in su o rt other, and if the situation became pp able it would be better to have a means of wa s o r . relief, even release At any rate it

wise to h ave a little reserve of light , even if

only to enable him to look at his watch . N o sooner had he blown out the candle and set it o n the floor at his side than he settled

- himself comfortably in the arm chair, leaned

back and closed his eyes , hoping and expect

i n g to sleep . In this he was disappointed ; he hi and had never in s life felt less sleepy, in a

few minutes he gave up the attempt. But what could he d o ? He could not go groping about in absolute darkness at the risk of —at too o f b ruising himself the risk, , blunder 298 THE COLLECTED WORKS ing against the table and rudely distu rbing the dead . We all recognize their right to lie at rest, with immunity from all that is harsh and violent . J a re tte almost succeeded in making himself believe that considerations of this kind restrained him from risking the col i l sio n and fixed him to the chair . While thinking of thi s matter he fancied that he heard a faint sound in the direction of — the table what kind o f sound he could hardly have explained . He did not turn his head . — Why should he i n the darkness ? But he listened— why should he not ? And listening he grew giddy and grasped the arms o f the chair for support . There was a strange ring i n g in his ears ; his head seemed bu rsting ; his chest was Opp ressed by the constriction of his clothing . He wondered why it was so , and whether these we re symptoms of fear . Then ,

with a long and strong expiration , his chest appeared to collapse , and with the great gasp with which he refilled his exhausted l u ngs the vertigo left him and he knew that so intently had he listened that he had held his b reath a l ff most to su ocation . The revelation was vexatious ; he arose , pushed away the chair with his foot and strode to the centre o f the room . But o n e does not stride far in dark

300 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

u ishe d o n g it, placing it the floor at his side a s before . a re tt M r . J e was n o t at his ease ; he was dis ti n c tl y dissatisfied with his surroundings , and w “ ith himself for being so . What have I to “ ? u fear he thought . This is ridiculo s and disgraceful ; I will not be so great a fool . n o t o f But courage does come saying , I will ” be courageous , nor of recognizing its appro ri a en s a rette p t e s to the occasion . The more J condemned himself , the more reason he gave himself for condemnation ; the greater the number of variations which he played upon the simple theme of the harmlessness of the

u dead , the more ins pportable grew the discord “ ! ” i of his emotions . What he cried aloud n “ ! the anguish of his spirit, what Shall I , who have not a shade of superstition in my nature — I — I , who have no belief in immortality , who know ! and never more clearly than n ow) that the after - life is the dream of a desire shall I lose at once my bet, my honor and my

- self respect , perhaps my reason , because cer tain savage ancestors dwelling in caves and b u rrows conceived the monstrous notion that the dead walk by night ? —that Dis tin c tl . a re t y, unmistakably, M r J t e heard b e OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 301

hind him a light, soft sound of footfalls, de a e ! liberate , regular, successively ne r r

IV

Just before dayb reak the next morning D r. Helbe rson and his young friend H arper were driving slowly through the streets o f North ’ Beach in the doctor s coupé . “ H ave you still the confidence of youth in ” the courage o r stolidity o f your friend ? said e the elder man . Do you believe that I hav lost this wager ? kn ow I you have , replied the other, with enfeebling emphasis . “

o . Well , upon my soul , I hope s

It was spoken earnestly, almost solemnly.

There was a silence for a few moments . “ ” H arper, the doctor resumed , looking very serious in the shifting half- lights that entered the carriage a s they p assed the street “ ’ lamps , I don t feel altogether comfortable n ot about this b u siness . I f you r friend had irritated me by the contemptuous manner in which he treated my doubt o f hi s endu rance — — a pu rely physical quality and by the cool incivility o f his suggestion that the corpse be o f that a physician , I should not have gone 302 THE COLLECTED WORKS o n with it . I f anything should happen we

to . are ruined , as I fear we deserve be “ What can happen ? Even if the matter

u should be taking a serious t rn , of which I am not at all afraid , M ancher has only to ’ s re urrect himself and explain matters . With a genuine subject ’ from the dissecting o r room , one of your late p atients , it might be f ” d if erent .

. as D r M ancher, then , had been as good his “ ” p romise ; he w as the corpse . He l e r n . b so Dr was silent fo r a long time , ’ as the carriage , at a snail s pace , crept along the same street it had traveled two or three “ : times already . Presently he spoke Well , let us hope that M ancher, if he has had to rise from the dead , has been discreet about it . A mistake in that might make matters worse ” instead of better . “ ” Yes a rette , said H arper , J would kill ”— . h him But, Doctor looking at is watch as the carriage p assed a gas lamp “ it is nearly ’ ” fou r o clock at last . A moment later the two had quitted the vehicle and were walking b riskly toward the long - unoccupied house belonging to the doc

i n r tor which they had immured M r . J a ette in accordance with the terms of the mad

304 THE COLLECTED WORKS

“ ’ Helb erson I . m a physician , said D r , “ ” calmly ; there may be need o f o n e. They mounted the doo rsteps and were about to enter. The door was open ; the street lamp opposite lighted the passage into which it

. S opened . I t was full of men ome had as c en ded the stairs at the farthe r end , and, denied admittance above, waited for better fortune . All were talking, none listening . S o n uddenly, the upper landing there was a great commotion ; a man had sp rung ou t of a door and was b reaking away from those en deavo rin g to detain him . Down through the ff mass of a righted idlers he came , pushing them aside, flattening them against the wall o r on one side , comp elling them to cling to the o n rail the other, clutching them by the throat, striking them savagely, thrusting them back down the stairs and walking over the fallen . His clothing was in disorder, he was without a hat . His eyes , wild and restless , had in them something more terrifying than his ap a ren tl p y superhuman strength . H is face , - was smooth shaven , bloodless , his hair frost white . As o f the crowd at the foot the stairs , hav ing more freedom , fell away to let him pass OF AMBROSE BIERCE 305

arette ! a rette ! H arper Sp rang forward . J J he cried . Hel D r . be rson seized H arper by the collar m an d and dragged him back . The looke into their faces without seeming to see them and sprang through the door, down the steps , into the street, and away . A stout policeman , who had had inferior success in conquering his way down the stairway, followed a mo ment later and started in pursuit, all the heads — in the windows those o f women and children — now screaming in guidance . n ow The stai rway being partly cleared , most of the crowd having rushed down to the street to observe the flight and pursuit, D r . Helbe rson mounted to the landing, followed by H arper . At a door in the upper p assage “ an ofli c e r denied them admittance . We are ” physicians , said the doctor , and they passed was in . The room full of men , dimly seen , c rowded about a table . The newcomers edged their way fo rward and looked over the shoulders of those in the front rank . Upon the table , the lower limbs covered with a ill um sheet, lay the body of a man , b rilliantly ’ in ated by the beam o f a bull s - eye lantern held by a policeman standing at the feet . The 306 THE COLLECTED WORKS

— o f others , excepting those near the head the — fic e r himself all were in darkness . The face of the body showed yellow, repulsive , hor rible ! The eyes were partly open and u p turned and the jaw fallen ; traces of froth de

fil e d . the lips , the chin , the cheeks A tall man , evidently a doctor, bent over the body with his hand thrust under the shirt front . He withdrew it and placed two fingers in the “ Six open mouth . This man has been about “ i s hours dead , said he . It a case for the coroner? ’

He drew a card from his pocket, handed it to the offi cer and made his way toward the doo n “ — ! ffi Clear the room out , all said the o c er, sharply, and the body disappeared as if s it had been snatched away, as hifting the lantern he flashed its beam o f light here and there against the faces of the crowd . The f ! c o n e fect was amazing The men , blinded , fused , almost terrified , made a tumultuous

u r sh for the doo r, pushing , crowding , and o n e tumbling over another as they fled , like the hosts of Night before the shafts of Apollo .

Upon the struggling, trampling mass the offi ce r poured his light without pity and without

. He o n cessation Caught in the current , lb e rs

308 THE COLLECTED WORKS

in familiar conversation . Another man , who had been observing them for some time , him self unobserved , app roached and , courteously hi lifting s hat from locks as white as frost , : said I beg your pardon , gentlemen , but when you have killed a man by coming to life , it is best to change clothes with him , an d at ” the first oppo rtunity make a b reak for liberty . Helb e rso n and H arper exchanged sig n ific ant glances . They were obviously amused . The former then looked the stranger kindly in the eye and replied : “ That has always been my plan I entirely agree with you a s to its a dvan t

He stopped suddenly, rose and went white .

- He stared at the man , open mouthed ; he trembled visibly . “ ” ! see Ah said the stranger, I that you are indisposed , Doctor . I f you cannot treat yourself D r . H arper can do something for ”

o u . y , I am sure “ ? Who the devil are you said H arper, bluntly. Th e stranger came nearer and , bending “ m toward them , said in a whisper I call y ’ a re tte self J sometimes , but I don t mind tell ing you , for old friendship , that I am Dr . ” William Mancher . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 309

The revelation b rought H arper to his feet . M ancher ! he cried ; and Helb e rso n added ” I is ! t true , by God “ ” Yes , said the stranger, smiling vaguely, “ ” is it true enough , no doubt . He hesitated and seemed to be trying to t e

call something, then began humming a

popular air . H e had apparently forgotten

their p resence . “ o f Look here , M ancher, said the elder

the two , tell us just what occurred that night — ” a rette . to J , you know “ ”

a rette . Oh , yes , about J , said the other “ ’ It s o dd I should have neglected to tell yo u

I tell it so often . You see I knew, by over

hearing him talking to himself , that he was ’ p retty b adly frightened . S o I couldn t resist the temptation to come to life and have a bit — ’ o f fun o u t o f him I couldn t really . That was all right, though certainly I did not think

so . he would take it seriously ; I did not, truly — ob And afterward well , it was a tough j — changing p laces with him , and then damn ’ ” you ! you didn t let me o u t ! Nothing could exceed the ferocity with

which these last words were delivered . Both

men Stepped back in alarm . “ ” We P— — Helb e rson why why, Stam 31 0 THE COLLECTED WORKS

- mered , losing his self possession utterly , we ” had nothing to do with it . ’ - Didn t I say yo u were D rs . Hell born and ”

S ? . harper inquired the man , laughing “ Helb e rso n My name is , yes ; and this gen ” tl em a n . is M r Harper, replied the former, “ reassured by the laugh . But we are not — o ld physicians now ; we are well , hang it, ” man , we are gamblers .

And that was the truth . “ — ln A very good p rofession very good , S deed ; and , by the way , I hope harper here ’ p aid over J a re tte s money like an honest stakeholder . A very good and honorable p ro ” fessio n u , he repeated , thoughtf lly, moving “ o n carelessly away ; but I stick to the old e. I am High Sup reme Medical Ofli c e r o f the Bloomingdale Asylum ; it is my duty to cure ” the Sup erintendent .

31 2 THE COLLECTED W OR KS

o f points light, apparently about an inch o f ap art . They might have been reflections the gas jet above him , in metal nail heads ; he gave them but little tho u ght and resumed his — reading . A moment late r something some impulse which it did not occu r to him to analyze— impelled him to lowe r the book again and seek for what he saw before . The points of light were still there . They seemed to have become b righter than before , shining with a greenish lustre that he had not at first to o observed . H e thought , , that they might — have moved a trifle were somewhat nearer . to o They were still much in shadow , however, to reveal their nature and origin to an indolent attention , and again he resumed his reading . Suddenly something in the text suggested a thought that made him start and drop the book for the third time to the side of the sofa , whence , escaping from his hand , it fell sp rawling to the floor, back upward . B ray ton — , half risen , was staring intently into the o f obscurity beneath the bed , where the points him light shone with , it seemed to , an added was fire . His attention now fully aroused , his

. a l gaze eager and imperative I t disclosed ,

- most directly under the foot rail of the bed, — the coils of a large serpent the points of OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 31 3 ! light were its eyes Its horrible head , thrust flatly forth from the innermost coil and rest ing upon the outermost, was directed straight o f toward him , the definition the wide , b rutal j aw and the idiot- like forehead serving to show the direction of its malevolent gaze . The eyes were no longer merely luminous points ; they looked into his own with a mean

ing, a malign significance .

A snake in a bedroom o f a modern city o f is so dwelling the better sort , happ ily, not common a phenomenon as to make explana

tion altogether needless . H arker B rayton , a

o f t - five bachelo r thir y , a scholar, idler and and o f something of an athlete , rich , popular

sound health , h ad returned to S an Francisco from all manner o f remote and unfamiliar Hi s luxu ri countries . tastes , always a trifle o u s on , had taken an added exuberance from long p rivation ; and the resources of even the Castle Hotel being inadequate to their per e fe t gratification , he had gladly accepted the D ru rin his . hospitality of friend , D r g , the dis i ’ h . D ru r n s tin u is ed . g scientist D r g house, a

o ld - o n e n ow large , fashioned in what is an o bscu re quarter of the city, had an outer and 31 4 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

visible aspect o f p roud reserve . It plainly would n o t associate with the contiguous ele a ments of its altered environment, and p p ea re d to have developed some of the ec c en tri c i ties which come of isolation . One of “ ” these was a wing, consp icuously irrelevant in point of architecture , and no less rebellious in matter of purpose ; for it wa s a combination

o f . laboratory , menagerie and museum It was here that the doctor indulged the sc ien tific side of his nature in the study of such forms of animal life as engaged his interest — and comforted his taste which , it must be s confe sed , ran rather to the lower types . For o n e of the higher nimbly and sweetly to re commend itself unto his gentle senses i t had at least to retain certain rudimentary character “ istic s allying it to such dragons o f the ” Hi p rime a s toads and snakes . s scientific sympathies w e re distinctly reptilian ; he loved natu re ’s vulgarians and described himself as ! o the ola of zo logy . H is wife and daughters n o t having the advantage to share his enlight ened cu riosity regarding the works and ways o f - - ou r ill starred fellow creatures , were with n eedless a u sterity excluded from what he called the S nake ry and doomed to companion ship with their own kind , though to soften the

31 6 T HE COLLECTED WORKS ring the call bell and bring a servant ; but although the bell cord dangled within easy reach he made n o movement toward it ; it had occurred to his mind that the act might sub e o f jc t him to the suspicion fear, which he certainly did n o t feel . He was more keenly conscious of the incongruous nature of the sit n ation than affected by its perils ; it was revolt ing, but absurd . The reptile was o f a species with which

B rayton was unfamiliar . Its length he could only conjecture ; the body at the largest visible part seemed about as thick as his forearm . ? In what way was it dangerous , if in any way Was it venomous ? W as it a constrictor ? His knowledge of nature ’s danger signals did not enable him to say ; he had never deciphered the code . If not dangerous the creature w as at least “ d e r a — offensive . I t was t p matter out of ” place an impe rtinence . The gem was u n worthy o i the setting . Even the barba rous taste of ou r time and country , which had o f u loaded the walls the room with p ict res , the floor with furniture and the furniture with

- a - n o t bric b rac , had quite fitted the place for o f B e this bit the savage life of the jungle . — — sides insupportable thou g ht l the exhala OF AM BROS E BIERCE 31 7 tions o f its b reath mingled with the atmos he re p which he himself was breathing . These thoughts shaped themselves with g reater or less definition in B rayton’s mind a n d begot action . The p rocess is what we call consideration and decision . It is thus that we are wise and unwise . It is thus that the withered leaf in an autumn b reeze shows o r greater less intelligence than its fellows , o r The falling upon the land upon the lake . secret o f human action i s an open one : some thing contracts our muscles . Does it matter if we give to the p reparatory molecular changes the name of will ? B rayton rose to his feet and p repared to back softly away from the snake , without dis

tu rb in . g it if possible, and through the door so o f Men retire from the p resence the great, fo r greatness is power and power is a menace . He knew that he could walk b ackward with

u t . S o error hould the monster follow, the taste which had plaste red the walls with p aintings had consistently supplied a rack of murderous O riental weapons from which he could snatch o n e to suit the occasion . In the ’ m e an time the snake s eyes burned with a more p itiless malevolence than before . B rayton lifted his right foot free of the 31 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS

floor to step backward . That moment he felt a strong aversion to doing so . “ ” I am accounted b rave , he thought ; is ? bravery, then , no more than pride Because there are none to witness the shame shall I retreat ? ” He was steadying himself with his right o f sus hand upon the back a chair, his foot pended . “ “ Nonsense ! he said aloud ; I am not so great a coward as to fear to seem to myself ” afraid . He lifted the foot a little higher by slightly bending the knee and thrust it sharply to the — flo o r a n inch in front o f the other ! He could not think how that occurred . A trial with the left foot had the same result ; it was again in advance of the right . The hand upon the chair back was grasp ing it ; the arm was straight , reaching somewhat backward . One might have said that he was reluctant to lose ’ his hold . The snake s malignant head was still thrust forth from the inner coil as before , the neck level . It had not moved , but its eyes n o w were electric sparks , radiating an infinity o f luminous needles .

The man had an ashy pallor . Again he took a step forward , and another , p artly dragging

320 T HE COLLECTED WORKS scape seemed to rise swiftly upward like the drop scene at a theatre , and vanished in a blank . Something struck him a hard blow upon the face and b reast . He had fallen to the floor ; the blood ran from his b roken nose wa s and his bruised lips . For a time he dazed and stunned , and lay with closed eyes , his face against the floor . In a few moments he had recovered , and then knew that this fall , by withdrawing his eyes , had broken the spell that held him . He felt that now , by keeping his gaze averted , he would be able to retreat . But the thought o f the serpent within a few o f — feet his head , yet unseen perhaps in the very act of sp ringing upon him and throwing — its c oil s about his throat w a s too horrible !

He lifted his head , stared again into those baleful eyes and was again in bondage . The snake had not moved and appeared somewh a t to have lost its power upon the imagination ; th e g orgeous illusions of a few s moment before were not repeated . Beneath that flat and b rainless brow its black, beady eyes simply glittered as at first with an ex p ression unspeakably malignant . It was as if the creature , assured of its triumph , had de te rmi n e d n o to p ractise more alluring wiles .

Now ensued a fearful scene . The man , OF AMBROSE BIERCE 321

o f his p rone upon the floor , within a yard h enemy , raised the upper p art of is body upon his elbows , his head th rown back , his legs e xtended to their full length . H is face was white between i ts stains of blood ; his eyes were strained open to their uttermost exp an hi sion . There was froth upon s lips ; it o ff dropped in flakes . Strong convulsions ran

through his body , making almost serpentile

undulations . He bent himself at the waist, i shifting h s legs from side to side . And every

movement left him a little nearer to the snake . He th rust his hands forward to b race him

self back, yet constantly advanced upon his

elbows . IV

D D ru rin his sa t . r . g and wife in the library

The scientist w as in rare good humor . “ I have just obtained by exchange with “ another collector, he said , a Splendid ” h us specimen o f the opki op a g . ” “ And what may that be ? the lady i n

quired with a somewhat languid interest . “ i n o r Why, bless my soul , what p rofound g

ance ! My dear , a man who ascertains after marriage that his wife does not know G reek o hi o ha us is entitled to a divorce . The p p g is

a snake that eats other snakes . 322 THE COLLECTED WORKS

” she I hope it will eat all yours , said , how d absently shifting the lamp . But oes it get the other snakes ? By charming them, I ” suppose . d oc That is just like you , dear, said the “ a n f o f . tor, with a fectation petulance You know how irritating to me is any allusion to that vulgar superstition about a snake’s ” power o f fascination . The conversation was interrupted by a mighty cry, which rang through the silent house like the voice o f a demon shouting in a tomb ! Again and yet again it sounded , with terrible distinctness . They sp rang to their feet, the man confused , the lady pale and speechless with fright . Almost before the echoes o f the last cry had died away the doctor o u t o f was the room , Sp ringing up the stairs two steps at a time . In the corridor in front ’ o f B rayton s chamber he met some servants who had come from the upper floor To gether they ru shed at the door without knock ing. I t was unfastened and gave way . Bray his ton lay upon stomach on the floor, dead . H is head an d arms were partly concealed under the foot rail of the bed . They pulled y the body awa , turning it upon the back . The face was daubed with blood and froth , the

324 THE COLLECTED WORKS

A HOLY. TERROR

HERE was an entire lack o f interest in the latest arrival at Hu rdy e Gurdy . He was not even ch risten d with the p icturesquely descriptive nick- name which is so frequently a mining ’ camp s word of welcome to the newcomer . In almost any other camp thereabout this circum stance would o f itself have secured him some “ such appellation as The White -headed Co ” “ ” n un d rum o r No S —an , arvey exp ression nai vely supposed to suggest to quick i n tellig en c es ui e b e the Sp anish q n sa . He came with out p rovoking a ripple o f concern upon the — social surface o f Hu rdy-Gurdy a place which to the general Californian contempt o f ’ men s personal history sup eradded a local f own indif erence of its . The time was long past when it was of any importance who came o r 0 there, if anybody came. N o n e was liv Hu rd - ing at y Gu rdy . ' Two years before , the camp had boasted a stirring population o f two o r three thousand n males and not fewer tha a dozen females. OF AMBRO SE BIERCE 325

A majority o f the former had done a few ’ w to the eeks earnest work in demonstrating, disgust of the latter, the singularly mendacious character o f the person whose ingenious tales o f rich gold deposits had lured them thither

work , by the way, in which there was as little mental satisfaction a s pecuniary p rofit ; fo r a bullet from the pistol o f a public - spirited citizen had put that imaginative gentleman beyond the reach o f aspersion on the third ’ o f . S day the camp s existence till , his fiction

had a certain foundation in fact , and many had lingered a considerable time in and about

Hu rd - y Gu rdy, though now all had been long

gone . B ut they had left ample evidence o f their sojourn: From the point where Injun C reek Rio S S falls into the an Juan mith , up along both banks of the former into the canon o f whence it emerges , extended a double row forlorn shanties that seemed about to fall ’ upon o n e another s neck to bewail their desola tion ; while about an equal number appeared to have straggled up the slope on either hand and p erched themselves upon commanding

eminences , whence they c raned forward to get

a good view o f the affecting scene . Most of these habitations were emaciated as by famine 32 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS to the condition o f mere skeletons , about which clung unlovely tatters of what might

. h ave been skin , but was really canvas The little valley itself , torn and gashed by pick and shovel , was unhandsome with long , bend ing lines of decaying flume resting here and o f there upon the summits sharp ridges , and stilting awkwardly across the intervals upon unhewn poles . The whole place presented that raw and forbidding aspect o f arrested ’ development which is a new country s sub sti tute fo r the solemn grace o f ruin wrought by time Wherever there remained a p atch o f the original soil a rank overgrowth of weeds and b rambles had Sp read upon the scene , and from its dank, unwholesome shades the visitor cu rious in such matters might h ave obtained ’ n umberless souvenirs o f the camp s former — glo ry fellowless boots mantled with green mould and plethoric of rotting leaves ; an occasional old felt hat ; desultory remnants o f a flannel shirt ; sardine boxes inhumanly muti lated and a surprising p rofusion o f black bot tles distributed with a truly catholic impar i li t a t . y, everywhere II

The man who had n ow rediscovered Hu rdy- Gurdy was evidently not cu rious as to

32 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS distance at a right angle to his former course he drove down a third , and repeating the p rocess sank home the fourth , and then a fifth . This he split at the top and in the cleft i n se t ted an o ld letter envelope covered with an

o f . intricate system pencil tracks In short, he staked o ff a hill claim in strict accordance with the local mining laws of Hu r dy- Gurdy and put up the customary notice . It is necessary to explain that one o f the — adjuncts to Hu r dy- Gurdy one to which that metropolis became afterward itself an adjunct — o f was a cemetery . In the first week the camp ’s existence this had been thoughtfully o u t laid by a committee of citizens . The day after had been signalized by a deb ate between two members of the committee , with reference to a mo re eligible site , and on the third day the necropolis was inaugurated by a double funeral . As the camp had waned the cemet ery had waxed ; and long before the ultimate inhabitant, victorious alike over the insidious malaria and the forthright revolver, had turned the tail of his p ack - ass upon Injun Creek the outlying settlement had become a n o t populous if popular suburb . And now, when the town wa s fallen into the sere and o f yellow leaf an unlovely senility, the grave yard— though somewhat marred by time and OF AMBROSE BIERCE 329

no t circumstance , and altogether exempt from innovations in grammar and experiments in sa orthography, to y nothing o f the devastating — coyote answe red the humble needs o f its

denizens with reasonable comp leteness . It

comp rised a generous two acres of ground , which with commendable th rift but needless care h ad been selected fo r its mineral u n worth , contained two or three skeleton trees ! on e o f which had a stout lateral b ranch from which a weather-wasted rope still sig n ific an tl y dangled) , half a hundred gravelly

mounds , a score of rude headboards display ing the literary peculiarities above mentioned

and a struggling colony of p rickly pears . ’ as Altogether, God s Location , with charac te ri stic reverence it had been called , could justly boast of an indubitably superior quality

! set o f desolation . I t was in the most thickly tled part o f this interesting demesne that

f o ff . M r. Jef erson Doman staked his claim I f in the p rosecution o f his design he should deem it expedient to remove any of the dead they would have the right to be suitably t e

interred . m

ff was This M r. J e erson Doman from Eliz a htown six b e b et , New Jersey, where years fore he h ad left his heart i n the keep ing of 330 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

- - a golden haired , demure mannered young woman named Mary Matthews , as collateral sec u rity for his return to claim her hand . “ ’ I j u st kn o w you ll never get back alive ” you never do succeed in anything, was the ’ remark which illu strated M iss M atthews s in notion of what constituted success and , fe ren ti a ll o f en c o u r y, her view the nature of ’ ’ en : a g em t. She added If you don t I ll go to

California too . I can put the coins in little ” bags a s you dig them out . This characteristically feminine theory of auriferous deposits did not commend itself to : the masculine intelligence it was M r . Do man ’s belief that gold was found in a liquid state . He d ep recated her intent with c o n sid c rable enthusiasm , supp ressed her sobs with

u a light hand upon her mouth , la ghed in her eyes as he kissed away her tears , and with ” a cheerful Ta - ta went to C alifornia to labor fo r her through the long , loveless years , with a strong heart , an alert hope and a stead fast fidelity that never for a moment forgot what it was about . In the mean time , Miss M atthews had granted a monopoly o f her fo r humble talent sacking up coins to M r . Jo . S o f eeman , New York, gambler, by whom it was better app reciated than her commanding

332 THE COLLECTED WORKS

naturally have expected her to be . Soon after, however , her letters grew infrequent, and then ceased altogether .

But M r . Doman had another correspond

f Hu rd - . o ent, M r B arney B ree , y Gurdy, o f D o al fo rmerly Red g . This gentleman , though a notable figure among miners , was not a miner . H is knowledge of mining con sisted mainly in a marvelous command of its slang , to which he made copious contributions , enriching its vocabulary with a wealth o f u n common phrases more remarkable for their im aptness than their refinement, and which p ressed the unlearned “ tenderfoot ” with a lively sense o f the p rofundity o f their invent ’ o r s u acq irements . When not entertaining a circle o f admiring auditors from S an Fran cisco o r the East he could commonly be found pursuing the comp aratively obscure industry o f sweeping o u t the various dance houses and purifying the cusp idors . B arney had apparently but two p assions in — o f f life love Je ferson Doman , who had once been of some service to him , and love of h whisky, which certainly had not . He ad been among the first in the rush to Hu rdy

Gurdy, but had not p rospered , and had sunk by degrees to the position of grave digger. OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 333

s a Thi was not a vocation , but B arney in desultory way turned his trembling hand to it whenever some local misunderstanding at the card table and his o wn partial recovery from a p rolonged debauch occurred c o in c i l f d en t o . y in point time One day M r . Doman

received , at Red Dog, a letter with the simple Hu r d postmark , y, and being occupied

with another matter, carelessly thrust it into o hi a chink f s cabin for future perusal . Some two years later it was accidentally dislodged

° and he read it . It ran as follows

RDY n HU , Ju e 6 . ’ I r n FR EN D J EF F : I ve hit her ha d in the bo eyard . ’ ’ ’ She s b in a n ous I m on the ivv—th t s me an d l d d l . d a y y , m ’ m m i o too Yo rs ARN Y . u s la t ll u t. u B E y y y , ’ — ve c e er wit rr P . I h S S h c . . lay d a y

With some knowledge o f the general min ’ a r o t o s ing camp g and f M r . B ree s p rivate sy

tem for the communication o f ideas M r . Doman had no d ifli c ul ty in understanding by this uncommon epistle that B arney while per forming his duty as grave digger had un c ov ered a quartz ledge with no outcroppings ;

that it was visibly rich in free gold ; that, o f moved by considerations friendship , he was

willing to accep t M r . Doman a s a partner and ’ awaiting that gentleman s declaration o f his 334; THE COLLECTED WORKS will in the matter would discreetly keep the s s discovery a secret . From the po t cript it was plainly inferable that in o rder to conceal the treasure he had buried above it the mortal p art of a person named Scarry .

From subsequent events , as related to M r .

Doman at Red Dog, it would appear that before taking this p recaution M r . B ree must have had the th rift to remove a modest com eten c p y of the gold ; at any rate , it was at abo u t that time that he entered upon that memorable series o f potations and treatings which is still one o f the cherished traditions o f S S the an Juan mith country , and is spoken o f with respect as far away as Ghost Rock and

Lone Hand . At its conclusion some former

Hu rd - h d citizens of y Gurdy, for whom he a performed the last kindly office at the cemet ery , made room for him among them , and he rested well . IV ff H aving finished staking o his claim M r . Doman walked back to the centre of it and stood again at the spot where his search among the graves had expired in the exclama ” tion , Scarry . He bent again over the head board that bore that name and as if to rein force the senses o f sight and hearing ran his

336 THE COLLECTED WORKS

H er a ld her column - long obituary !written by the local humorist o f that lively sheet in the highest style of his art) Doman had p aid to her memory and to her historiographer’s genius the tribute of a smile and chivalrously n ow - forgotten her . Standing at the grave side o f this mountain Messalina he recalled the leading events of her turbulent career , as he had heard them celebrated at his sever al c amp

fires , and perhaps with an unconscious attempt at self - j u stific a tio n repeated that she was a holy terror, and sank his p ick into her grave

to . up the handle At that moment a raven , which had silently settled upon a branch o f the blasted tree above his head , solemnly snapped its beak and uttered its mind about the matter with an app roving croak . Pursuing his discovery of free gold with great zeal , which he p robably credited to his conscience as a grave digger, M r . B arney

B ree had made an unusually deep sepulcher, and it was near sunset before M r . Doman, laboring with the leisurely deliberation o f one “ ” who has a dead sure thing and n o fear of an adverse claimant’s enforcement of a p rior

ffi . right, reached the co n and uncovered it When he had d one so he was confronted by a difficulty for which he had made n o p ro OF AMBROSE BIERCE 337 — vision ; the c offin a mere flat shell o f n o t very

- well p reserved redwood boards , app arently had no handles , and it filled the entire bottom f o the excavation . The best he could do with o u t violating the decent sanctities o f the situa tion was to make the excavation sufficiently longer to enable him to stand at the head of the casket and getting his powerful hands un d ern eath erect it upon i ts narrower end ; and o f this he p roceeded to do . The app roach ’ f night quickened his e forts . He had no thought o f abandoning his task at this stage to resume it o n the morrow under more a dvan t

a g eo us conditions . The feverish stimulation o f cupidity and the fascination of terror held

him to his dismal work with an iron authority .

He no longer idled , but wrought with a terri

ble zeal . H is head uncovered , his outer gar

ments discarded, his shirt opened at the neck his h and th rown back from breast, down whic

ran sinuous rills of perspiration , this hardy and impenitent gold - getter and grave - robber toiled with a giant energy that almost dig n i fied the character o f hi s horrible purpose ; and when the sun fringes had burned themselves o f ou t along the crest line the western hills, and the full moon had climbed ou t o f the

shadows that lay along the pu rple plain , he 338 THE COLLECTED WORKS fi had erected the cof n upon its foot, where it stood p ropped again st the end of the open

u grave . Then , standing p to his neck in the earth at the opposite extreme of the excava c o fli n tion , as he looked at the upon which the moonlight now fell with a full illumination he was th rilled with a sudden terror to observe u pon it the startling app arition of a dark — F o r human head the shadow of his own . a moment this simple and natu ral ci rcumstance unnerved him . The noise of his labored b reathing frightened him , and he tried to still

his u u . it , but b rsting lungs wo ld not be denied

- Then , laughing half audibly and wholly with o u t o f spirit, he began making movements his head from side to side , in order to compel the apparition to repeat them . He found a com forting reassurance in as serting his command o wn over his shadow . He was temporizing, u d il at making, with unconscio s p rudence , a o r y opposition to an impending catastrophe . He felt that invisible forces of evil were clos fo r ing in upon him , and he p arleyed time with the Inevitable . H e n ow observed in succession several u n c ofli n usual circumstances . The surface of the upon which his eyes were fastened was not one flat ; it p resented two distinct ridges ,

340 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o f among the dead , this defiant antagonist darkness and desolation , succumbed to a s ridiculous urp rise . He was smitten with a — thrilling chill shivered , and shook his mass ive shoulders as if to throw o ff an icy hand .

He no longer b reathed , and the blood in his s veins , unable to abate its impetu , surged hotly beneath his cold skin . Unleavened with to s oxygen , it mounted his head and conge ted hi s brain . His physical functions had gone over to the enemy ; his ve ry heart was arrayed against him . He did not move ; he could not o c ofli n have cried u t. He needed but a to be dead— as dead as the death that confronted him with only the length o f an open grave and the thickness of a rotting plank between . on e Then , one by , his senses returned ; the tide o f terror that had overwhelmed his fac ul ties began to recede . But with the return of his senses he became singularly unconscious o f o f saw the object his fear . He the moon l c ofli n c ofli n ight gilding the , but no longer the that it gilded . Raising hi s eyes and turning his head , he noted , curiously and with surp rise , o f the black b ranches the dead tree , and tried to estimate the length o f the weather - worn rope that dangled from its ghostly hand . The ' monotonous barking of distant coyotes a fiec ted OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 341

him a s something he had heard years ago in a

dre am . An owl fla pp ed awkwardly above o n him noiseless wings , and he tried to fore cast the di rection o f i ts flight when it should encounter the cliff that reared its illuminated

front a mile away . H is hearing took account ’ o f a gopher s stealthy tread in the shadow of

the cactus . H e was intensely observant ; h is

senses were all alert ; but he saw not the c o fli n . As o n e can gaze at the sun until it looks black so and then vanishes , his mind , having ex h au sted i ts o f cap acities dread , was no longer conscious of the sep arate existence of anything

dreadful . The Assassin was cloaking the

sword . It was during this lull in the battle that

he became sensible of a faint, sickening odor . At first he thought it was that of a rattle

snake, and involuntarily tried to look about his

feet . They were nearly invisible in the gloom o f the grave . A hoarse, gurgling sound , like

- the death rattle in a human throat, seemed to o t sk come u of the y, and a moment later a

great, black , angular shadow, like the same sound made visible , dropped cu rving from the o f topmost b ranch the spectral tree , fluttered for an instant before his face and sailed

fiercely away into the mist along the c reek . 342 THE COLLECTED WORKS

It was the raven . The incident recalled him o f a to a sense the situation , and gain his eyes c o flfin sought the up right , now illuminated by saw the moon for half i ts length . H e the gleam o f the metallic plate and tried without moving to decipher the inscription . Then he fell to speculating upon what was behind it . Hi s creative imagination p resented him a vivid picture . The planks no longer seemed an obstacle to his vision and he saw the livid o f corpse the dead woman , standing in grave clothes , and staring vacantly at him , with lid less , shrunken eyes . The lower jaw was fallen , the upper lip drawn away from the uncovered teeth . He could make out a mot — tled pattern on the hollow cheeks the macu l tion s o f a decay . By some mysterious p rocess his mind reverted for the first time that day to the photograph o f M ary M atthews . He contrasted its blonde beauty with the fo rbidd — ing aspect o f this dead face the most be loved object that he knew with the most hid eous that he could conceive . The Assassin now advanced and displaying ’ the blade laid it against the victim s throat . to That is say, the man became at first dimly, o f then definitely, aware an imp ressive coin — — c idenc e a relation a p arallel between the

344 THE COLLECTED WORKS

A movement o f the coffin diverted his t thought . It came forward o within a foot of a his face , growing visibly larger as it p he ro a c d . p The rusted metallic plate , with an inscription illegible in the moonlight, looked n o t him steadily in the eye . Determined to

u shrink, he tried to brace his sho lders more o f firmly against the end the excavation , and nearly fell backward in the attempt . There was nothing to support him ; he had u n c o n sc io usl y moved upon his enemy, clutching the heavy knife that he had drawn from his belt . The coffin had not advanced and he smiled to n think it could o t retreat . Lifting his knife he struck the heavy hilt against the metal plate with all his power . There was a sharp , ring ing percussion , and with a dull clatter the whole decayed c o fli n lid b roke in pieces and came away, falling about his feet . The quick — and the dead were face to face the frenzied, shrieking man— the woman standing tranquil in her silences . She was a holy terror !

Some months late r a party o f men and women belonging to the highest social circles o f S an Francisco passed th rough Hu rdy Gurdy on their way to the Yosemite Valley OF AMBROSE BIERCE 345

by a new trail . They halted for dinner and during its p rep aration explored the desolate o f r camp . One the p arty had been at Hu dy o f i s in Gurdy in the days t glory . He had, o f n d deed , been one its p rominent citizens ; a it used to be said that more money p assed over his faro table in any one night than over those o f all his competitors in a week ; but being now a millionaire engaged in greater enter n o t o f p rises , he did deem these early successes sufli c ien t importance to merit the distinction

f . o remark H is invalid wife , a lady famous in S an Francisco for the costly nature o f her entertainments and her exacting rigor with regard to the social position and an tec ed ” o f ents those who attended them , accompanied

the expedition . During a stroll among the Po rfer shanties o f the abandoned camp M r. directed the attention o f his wife and friends to a dead tree o n a low hill beyond Injun

C reek. “ ” “ o u I As I told y , he said, passed 1 8 2 through this camp in 5 , and was told that no fewer than five men had been hanged here f by vigilantes at dif erent times , and all on that

tree . I f I am not mistaken , a rope is dangling

see the . from it yet . Let us go ove r and place M rfe r r. Po did not add that the rope in 346 TH E COLLECTED WORKS question was perhaps the very one from whose fatal emb race his own neck had once had an ’ escape so narrow that an hour s delay in tak ing himself out o f that region would have spanned it . Proceeding leisurely down the creek to a convenient crossing, the party came upon the cleanly p icked skeleton o f an animal which Po rfe r M r . after due examination p ronounced o t be that of an a ss. The distinguishing ears were gone , but much of the inedible head had been spared by the beasts and birds , and the stout bridle of horsehair was intact , as was the o f riata , similar material , connecting it with a picket p in still firmly sunken in the earth . The wooden and metallic elements o f a ’ t e miner s kit lay near by . The customary on o f marks were made , cynical the p art the men , sentimental and refined by the lady . A little later they stood by the tree in the cemet Po rfer f e ry and M r . suf iciently unbent from his dignity to place himself beneath the rotten rope and confidently lay a coil o f it about his to neck, somewhat, it appeared , his own satis his faction , but greatly to the horror of wife , to whose sensibilities the performance gave a smart shock . An exclamation from one o f the p arty

348 THE COLLECTED WORKS

’ P o r fe r s the nerves of M rs. fastidious sister hood o f both sexes let us n o t touch upon the p ainful imp ression p roduced by this u nc om mon inscription , further than to say that the elocutionary powers o f M r . Po rfer h ad never before met with so spontaneous and over whelming recognition . The next morsel that rewarded the ghoul in the grave was a long tangle of black hair defi led with clay : but this was such an anti climax that it received little attention . S ud d enl y, with a short exclamation and a gesture o f excitement, the young man unearthed a o f fragment grayish rock , and after a hurried As Po r fe r. inspection handed it up to M r . the sunlight fell upon it it glittered with a — yellow luster i t was thickly studded with Po rfe M r . r gleaming points . snatched it, bent his head over it a moment and threw it lightly away with the simple remark “ — ’ I ron pyrites fool s gold . The young man in the discovery shaft was a trifle disconcerted , app arently . Po rfe . r Meanwhile , M rs , unable longer to endure the disagreeable business , had walked back to the tree and seated herself at its root . While rearranging a tress o f golde n hair which h ad slipped from its confinement she OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 349 was attracted by what appeared to be and was really the fragment of an old coat. Look ing about to assu re herself that so unladylike sh an act was not observed , e thrust her jeweled hand into the exposed b reast pocket and drew

- out a mouldy pocket book. Its contents were as follows of s One bundle letter , postmarked Eliza ” th own be t . , New Jersey

One circle o f blonde hair tied with a ribbon . f One photograph o a beautiful girl .

O . ne ditto of same , singularly disfigured One name on back of photograph J effer ” son Doman . A few moments later a group of anxious Po rfer gentlemen surrounded M rs . as she sat o f motionless at the foot the tree , her head

dropped forward , her fingers clutching a

crushed photograph . Her husband raised her

head, exposing a face ghastly white, except

the long, deforming cicatrice , familiar to all her friends , which no art could ever hide , and which now traversed the pallo r o f her coun tenan c e like a visible curse . M ary M atthews Po rfe r had the bad luck to be dead . 350 TH E COLLECTED WORKS

THE SUITABLE S URROUNDING S

THE NIGHT

N E midsummer night a farmer’s boy living about ten miles from the city o f Cincinnati was following a bridle path through a dense and dark forest . He had lost himself while fo r searching some missing cows , and near midnight was a long way from home , in a p art o f the country with which he was unfamiliar .

u - But he was a sto t hearted lad , and knowing his general direction from his home , he plunged into the forest without hesitation , guided by the stars . Coming into the b ridle path , and observing that it ran in the right di rection , he followed it .

The night was clear, but in the woods it was was exceedingly dark . It more by the sense of touch than by that o f sight that the

. n o t lad kept the path He could , indeed , very easily go astray ; the undergrowth o n both sides was so thick as to be almost impenetrable . He had gone into the forest a mile o r more when he was surp rised to see a feeble gleam

352 THE COLLECTED WORKS

hand had assisted at the destruction . His penitence was of course poignant in p ropor tion to its tardiness and i n efli c a c y . He half expected to be set upon by all the unworldly and bodiless malevolences whom he had out raged by assisting to break alike their win dows and their peace . Yet this stubborn lad ,

Shaking in every limb , would not retreat . The blood in his veins was Strong and rich with the iron of the frontiersman . He was but two removes from the generation that had subdued the Indian . He started to p ass the house . As he was going by he looked in at the blank window sp ace and saw a Strange and — o f terrifying sight , the figure a man seated o f n in the centre the room , at a table upo which lay some loose sheets of paper . The elbows rested on the table , the hands support ing the head , which was uncovered . On each side the fingers we re pushed into the hair . The face showed dead - yellow in the light of a single candle a little to one side . The flame illuminated that side of the face , the other was ’ in deep shadow . The man s eyes were fixed upon the blank window sp ace with a stare in which an older and cooler observer might have discerned something of app rehension , OF AMBROSE BIERCE 353 but which seemed to the lad altogether soul

. less He believed the man to be dead . n ot The situation was horrible , but with ou t its fascination . The b oy stopped to note

. wa s it all He weak, faint and trembling ; he could feel the blood forsaking his face .

Nevertheless , he set his teeth and resolutely o advanced t the house . He had no conscious —i intention t was the mere courage of terror . He thrust his white face forward into the

illuminated opening . At that instant a

strange , harsh cry, a shriek, b roke upon the

— - silence of the night the note o f a screech owl . to The man sp rang his feet, overturning the

table and extinguishing the candle . The boy

took to his heels .

THE DAY BEFORE

- Good morning, Colston . I am in luck , it

seems . You have often said that my com men d a tio n o f your literary work was mere — civility, and here you find me absorbed act — u a lly merged i n you r latest story in the e M esse ng r . Nothing less shocking than your touch upon my shoulder would have roused ” me to consciousness . “ The p roof is stronger than you seem to : so know , replied the man addressed keen 354 THE COLLECTED WORKS is you r eagerness to read my story that yo u are willing to renounce selfish considerations and forego all the pleasure that you could get ” from it . “ ’ o u I don t understand y , said the other folding the newspaper that he held and putt “ i n g it into his pocket . You writers are a lo wh at I t . queer , anyhow Come , tell me have done or omitted in this matter . In what way o r does the pleasu re that I get , might get, from your work depend on me ? ” “ In many ways . Let me ask you how you would enjoy your breakfast if you took it in this

Street car . S uppose the phonograph so per fe c ted as to be able to give you an entire opera , — o u singing, orchestration , and all ; do y think you would get much pleasure out o f it if you turned it o n at you r o fli c e during business hou rs ? Do yo u really care fo r a serenade by Schubert when you hear it fiddled by an un timely Italian o n a morning ferryboat ? Are you always cocked and p rimed for enjoy ? o n ment Do you keep every mood tap , ready ? o u si r to any deman d Let me remind y , , that the Story which yo u have done me the honor to begin as a means o f becomi n g oblivious to ” the discomfort o f this car is a ghost story ! “ Well ?

356 THE COLLECTED WORKS

to treat him with gross injustice . By God , it is infamous ! ” The speaker had risen to his feet and was steadying himself by o n e of the straps hang ing from the roof o f the car . The other man looked up at him in sudden astonishment , wondering how so trivial a grievance could seem to justify so strong language . He saw that his friend ’s face was uncommonly pale and that his eyes glowed like living coals . Yo u know what I mean , continued the his writer, impetuously crowding words “ f you know what I mean , M arsh . My Stu f ’ in this morning s M ess e n g e r is plainly sub ‘ ’ headed A Ghost S tory . That is ample E notice to all . very honorable reader will understand it as p rescribing by implication the conditions under which the work is to be ” read . The man addressed as M arsh winced a tri fle : , then asked with a smile What condi tions ? You know that I am only a plain business man who cannot be supposed to un

d e rstan d . such things How, when , where Should I read your ghost story ? ” “ — — In solitude a t night by the light of a candle . There are certain emotions which a writer can easily enough excite— such as com OF AMBROSE BIERCE 357

o r p assion merriment . I can move yo u to tears o r laughter under almost any ci rcum stances . But fo r my ghost Story to be effect — ive you must be made to feel fear at least a — strong sense o f the supernatural and that is a d ffi v i cult matter . I ha e a right to expect that if you read me at all you will give me a chance ; that yo u will make yourself accessible ” to the emotion that I try to inspire . The car had n o w arrived at its terminus and stopped . The trip just completed was its first for the day and the conversation of the two

early p assengers had not been interrupted . The Streets were yet Silent and desolate ; the

house tops were just touched by the rising sun . ‘ AS they stepped from the car and walked away together M arsh narrowly eyed hi s com

p anion , who was reported , like most men of

uncommon literary ability, to be addicted to various destructive vices . That is the revenge which dull minds take upon bright ones in t e

sen tmen t of their superiority . M r. Colston was known as a man of genius . There are honest souls who believe that genius is a mode

o f excess . It was known that Colston did not

drink liquor, but many said that he ate op ium . — S omething in his appearance that morning a

certain wildness of the eyes , an unusual p allor, 358 THE COLLECTED WORKS a thickness and rapidity of speech— were

. taken by M r . M arsh to confirm the report had - Nevertheless , he not the self denial to abandon a subject which he found interesting, however it might excite his friend . ” “ Do you mean to say , he began , that if I take the trouble to observe your directions

—~ place myself in the conditions that you d e : mand solitude , night and a tallow candle you can with your ghostly work give me an uncomfortable sense of the supernatural , as o u ? y call it Can you accelerate my pulse , make me start at sudden noises , sen d a nervous chill along my spine and cause my hair to rise ? ” Colston tu rned suddenly and looked him “ Yo u squarely in the eyes as they walked . — ” would not dare you have not the cou rage , he said . He emphasized the words with a “ Yo u contemptuous gesture . are b rave — in enough to read me in a street car, but a — — — deserted house alone in the forest at night ! B ah ! I have a manuscrip t in my ” pocket that would kill you .

Marsh was angry . He knew himself “ courageous , and the words Stung him . If ” “ you know such a place , he said, take me there to - night and leave me you r Story and a

360 THE COLLECTED WORKS

was the blank front window . Here the dead body of a man . o n o n e It lay p artly side , with the forearm

o n . beneath it, the cheek the floor The eyes were wide open ; the stare was not an agree able thing to encounter . The lower jaw had fallen ; a little pool o f saliva had collected beneath the mouth . An overthrown table , a partly burned candle , a chair and some p aper with writing o n it were all else that the room contained . The men looked at the body, touching the face in turn . The boy gravely stood at the head , assuming a look of owner

I t o f . ship . was the p roudest moment his life “ ’ o f One the men said to him , You re a good ’ ” un - a remark which was received by the two others with nods of acquiescence . It was

Scep ticism apologizing to Truth . Then one o f the men took from the floo r the sheet o f fo r a l manuscript and Stepped to the window , ready the evening shadows were glooming

o f - - the forest . The song the whip poor will was heard in the distance and a monstrous beetle sped by the window o n roaring wings and thundered away out o f hearing . The man read ' TH E MAN USCRI PT

Before committing the act which , rightly OF AMBROSE BIERCE 36 1 o r wrongly, I have resolved on and appear fo r ing before my M aker judgment, I , J ames

. d R Colston , eem it my duty as a journalist to make a statement to the public . My name is , I believe , tolerably well known to the peo a s o f ple a writer tragic tales , but the somber eSt imagination never conceived anything so as tragic my own life and history . Not in incident : my life has been destitute o f a dven ture and action . But my mental career h as been lurid with experiences such as kill and — damn . I Shall not recount them here some of them are written and ready fo r publication is elsewhere . The object of these lines to ex plain to whomsoever may be interested that — my death is voluntary my own act . I shall ’ die at twelve o clock o n the night o f the I sth

- to o f July a significant anniversary me, for was o n it that day, and at that hour, that my B friend in time and eternity, Charles reede , performed his vow to me by the same act which his fidelity to our pledge n ow entails upon me . He took his life in his little house was in the Copeton woods . There the cus ’ toma ry verdict o f temporary insanity . H ad I testified at that inquest— had I told all I ” k m e ! new, they would have called mad Here followed an evidently long p assage 36 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS

which the man reading read to himself only .

The rest he read aloud . “ I have still a week o f life in which to ar range my worldly affairs and p repare for the great change . It is enough , for I have but few affairs and it is now four years since death became an imperative obligation . “ I shall bear this writing on my body ; the

finder will please hand it to the coroner . “ L JAM ES R . CO STON . — o n P . S . Willard M arsh , this the fatal fifteenth day of July I hand you this man u script , to be opened and read under the con di tio n s agreed upon , and at the place which s I de ignated . I forego my intention to keep it o n my body to explain the manner of my death , which is not important . It will serve to explain the manner of yours . I am to call for you during the night to receive assur ance that you have read the manuscript . You to know me well enough expect me . But, i l ’ w l b e a te r tw e lve o c l o c k. my friend , it f May God have mercy on our souls !

J . R. c .

Before the man who was reading this man u sc r i t p had finished , the candle had been picked up and lighted . When the reader had

364 THE COLLECTED WORKS

THE BOARDED WINDOW

N 1 8 0 3 , only a few miles away from what

is now the great city of Cincinnati , lay

an immense and almost unbroken forest . The whole region was Sparsely settled by — people o f the frontier restless souls who no sooner had hewn fairly habitable homes out of the wilderness and attained to that degree of p rosperity which to - day we Should call i n d ig en c e than impelled by some mysterious im pulse o f their nature they abandoned all and to pushed farther westward , encounter new perils and p rivations in the effort to regain the meagre comforts which they had voluntarily renounced . M any of them had al ready for s saken that region for the remoter settlement , b u t among those remaining was o n e who had been of those first arriving . He lived alone in a house o f logs surrounded on all sides by o f s the great forest, whose gloom and ilence o n e he seemed a part , for no had ever known him to smile nor speak a needless word . His simple wants were supplied by the sale or barter of skins o f wild animals in the river n o t town , for a thing did he grow upon the OF AMBROSE BIERCE 365

land which , if needful , he might have claimed by right o f undisturbed possession . There “ ” were evidences o f imp rovement a few acres of ground immediately about the house o f had once been cleared its trees , the decayed stumps o f which were half concealed by the new growth that had been suffered to repair the ravage wrought by the ax . Apparently ’ the man s zeal fo r agriculture had burned with a failing flame , exp iring in penitential ashes. lo The little g house , with its chimney of o f sticks, its roof warping clapboards weighted with traversing poles and its chink ing of clay, had a single door and, directly opposite , a window . The latter, however, — was boarded up nobody could remember a time when it was not . And none knew why it was so closed ; certainly not because of the ’ o f occup ant s dislike light and air, for on those rare occasions when a hunter had passed that lonely Spot the recluse had commonly been seen sunning himself on his doorstep if heaven had p rovided sunshine for his need . I fancy there are few persons living to - day who ever o f o n e knew the secret that window , but I am , as yo u Shall see . ’ The man s name was said to be Murlock . 36 6 THE COLLECTED WORKS

He was apparently seventy years old , actu

u ally abo t fifty . Something besides years had

a . had hand in his aging H is hai r and long,

u f ll beard were white , his gray , lustreless eyes

u sunken , his face sing larly seamed with wrinkles which appeared to belong to two i a te rse c ti n g systems . In figure he was tall and u —a sp are , with a stoop of the Sho lders burden w bearer . I never sa him ; these particulars I learned from my grandfather , from whom ’ s s al o I got the man s tory when I was a lad . He had known him when living near by in that early day .

u One day Murlock was fo nd in his cabin , dead . It was not a time and place for coron s ers and newspapers , and I uppose it was agreed that he had died from natu ral cause s t e o r I should have been told , and Should member . I know only that with W hat was p robably a sense of the fitness of things the body was buried near the cabin , alongside the his grave of wife , who had p receded him by so many years that local tra dition had retained s hardly a hint of her exi tence . That closes

u S — the final chapte r of this tr e tory excepting , indeed , the circumstance that many years afterward , in company with an equally in trep id Spirit, I penetrated to the place and

36 8 THE COLLECTED WORKS

n o was physician within miles , no neighbor ; nor was she in a condition to be left , to sum o f mon help . So he set about the task nurs ing her back to health , but at the end of the third day she fell into unconsciousness and so p assed away, apparently, with never a gleam of returning reason . From what we know of a natu re like his we may venture to Sketch in some of the de tails o f the outline picture drawn by my grandfather . When convinced that she was dead , Murlock had sense enough to remember that the dead must be p rep ared fo r burial . In performance of this sacred duty he blun dered now and again , did certain things incor rec tl y, and others which he did correctly were His done over and over . occasional failures to accomplish some simple and ordinary act o f filled him with astonishment , like that a drunken man who wonders at the suspension of familiar natural laws . He was surp rised, too n o t — , that he did weep su rp rised and a little ashamed ; surely it i s unkind not to weep “ To — for the dead . morrow , he said aloud, “ I shall have to make the coffi n and dig the grave ; and then I shall miss her, when she is n o — she longer in sight ; but now is dead , of — i s i t m ust course, but it all right be all right, OF AMBROS E BIERCE 369

somehow . Things cannot be so bad as they ” seem .

He stood over the body in the fading light, adjusting the hair and putting the finishing

touches to the simple toilet, doing all me c han ic a ll y, with soulless care . And still through his consciousness ran an undersense of — conviction that all was right that he should a s have her again before , and everything ex plained . He had had no experience in grief ; hi s cap acity had n o t been enlarged by use . His heart could not contain it all , nor his

imagination rightly conceive it . He did not know he was so hard struck ; tha t knowledge o would come later, and never g . G rief is an artist o f powers as various as the instruments

upon which he p lays his dirges for the dead,

evoking from some the sharpest, shrillest l ow notes , from others the , grave chords that throb recurrent like the slow beating o f a dis

tant drum . S ome natures it startles ; some it fie o n e o f stup e s. To it comes like the stroke n a arrow, stinging all the sensibilities to a keener life ; to another as the blow o f a b ludgeon , which in crushing benumbs . We may conceive Murlock to have been that way ff a ected , for ! and here we are upon surer g round than that o f conjectu re ) no sooner had 370 THE COLLECTED WORKS

o he finished his pious work than , sinking int a chair by the side o f the table upon which the W body lay, and noting how hite the p rofile his showed in the deepening gloom , he laid ’ his arms upon the table s edge , and dropped face into them , tearless yet and unutterably weary . At that moment came in through the open window a long , wailing sound like the c ry o f a lost child in the far deeps o f the dark en i n g wood ! But the man did not move .

Again , and nearer than before, sounded that unearthly cry upon his failing sense . Per hap s it was a wild beast ; perhaps it was a

F o r . dream . Murlock was asleep S ome hours later, as it afterward appeared , this unfaithful watcher awoke and lifting his — head from his arms intently listened he kn ew th e not why . There in black darkness by the

Side of the dead , recalling all without a Shock, h — he strained is eyes to see he knew not what . sus His senses were all alert, his breath was pended , his blood had stilled its tides as if to — assist the silence . Who what had waked ? him , and where was it S u ddenly the table shook beneath his arms , and at the same moment he heard , or fancied — that he heard , a light, soft step another sounds as o f bare feet upon the floor !

372 THE COLLECTED WORKS

saw vivid illumination , he an eno rmous p anther dragging the dead woman toward the i ts ! window, teeth fixed in her throat Then there were darkness blacker than before , and silence ; and when he returned to consciousness the sun was high and the wood vocal with songs o f birds .

The body lay near the window, where the beast had left it when frightened away by the

flash and report o f the rifle . The clothing was deranged , the long hai r in disorder, the l a limbs y anyhow . From the th roat, dread fully lacerated , had issued a pool of blood not yet entirely coagulated . The ribbon with which he had bound the wrists was broken ! the hands were tightly clenched . B etween ’ the teeth was a fragment o f the animal s ear . OF. AMBROSE BIERCE 373

! A LADY FROM REDHORSE

ORO ADO E U 2 0 . C N , J N FIN D myself more and more interested — . n o t in him It is , I am sure, his do you know any good noun correspond ing to “ ” the adjective handsome ? One does “ ” no t like to say beauty when speaking o f a man . H e is beautiful enough , Heaven knows ; I should not even care to trust you — with him fa i thfulest o f all possible wives — that you are when he looks his best, as he always does . Nor do I think the fascination o f his manner has much to do with it . You recollect that the charm o f art inheres in that u n d efin abl e which is , and to you and me , my o f dear I rene, I fancy there is rather less that in the branch Of art under consideration than to gi rls in their first season . I fancy I know how my fine gentleman p roduces many of his effects and could perhaps give him a pointer his o n heightening them . Nevertheless , man I ner is something truly delightful . suppose ’ what interests me chiefly is the man s brains . H is conversation is the best I have ever heard ’ o and altogether unlike any n e else s . He 374 THE COLLECTED WORKS

to seems know everything , as indeed he ought, fo r he has been everywhere , read everything, — seen all there is to see sometimes I think rather more than is good for him— and had acquaintance with the q u e e r es t people . And — then his voice I rene , when I hear it I actu i f ally feel as I ought to have paid at the door, though Of course it is my own door.

JULY 3. B a r r itz u s I fear my remarks about D r . m t o r have been , being thoughtless , very silly, you would not have written Of him with such

to . levity, not say disrespect Believe me , s dearest , he has more dignity and eriousness o f ! the kind , I mean , which is not inconsistent with a manner sometimes playf u l and always charming) than any O f the men that you and — I ever met . And young Raynor you knew Raynor at Monterey— tells me that the men all like him and that he is treated with something i s like deference everywhere . There a mys te r — y, too something about his connection v with the Bla atsky people in Northern India . Raynor either would not o r could not tell me

. B a r i tz the particulars I infer that D r . r is — ’ — thought don t you dare to laugh a magi i c a n . Could anything be finer than that ?

376 THE COLLECTED WORKS

I rene, I rene, I love the man beyond expres sion and you know how it is yourself . F ancy ! I an ugly duckling from Redhorse — , h daughter ! they say) of Old Calamity J im c ertainly his heiress , with no living relation but an absurd Old aunt who spoils me a thousand and fifty ways— absolutely destitute o f eve rything but a million dollars and a hope —I a ! in Paris, daring to love god like him M y dear, if I had you here I could tear your hai r out with m o rtific a tio n . I am convinced that he is aware o f my feel ing, for he stayed but a few moments , said nothing but what another man might have said half as well , and p retending that he had

- an engagement went away . I learned to day — ! a little bird told me the bell - bird) that he went straight to bed . How does that Strike you as evidence o f exemplary habits ?

L 1 J U Y 7 . h That little wretc , Raynor, called yester day and his babble set me almost wild . He — is never runs down that to say, when he ex Of o r terminates a score reputations , more less , he does not p ause between o n e reputation and the next. ! By the way, he inquired about his o f you , and manifestations interest in you OF AMBROSE BIERCE 377

’ l c e had , I confess , a good deal o f o r a z se mb a n . )

M r . Raynor observes n o game laws ; like Death !which he would inflict if Slander were h as fo r hi o n fatal ) he all seasons s w . But I fo r like him , we knew each other at Redhorse when we were young . He was known in “ I— O those days as Giggles , and I rene, can — “ ” you ever forgive me I was called Gunny . G o d knows why ; perhaps in allusion to the material o f my pinafores ; perhaps because “ ” is the name in alliteration with Giggles ,

for Gig and I were insep arable playmates , and the miners may have thought it a delicate civility to recognize some kind Of relationship

between us . — O d Later, we took in a third another f A ’ versit s w y b rood , who , like Garrick bet een

Tragedy and Comedy, had a chronic inability to adjudicate the rival claims Of Frost and Famine B etween him and misery there was ' Seldom anything more than a single suspender and the hope Of a meal which would at the same time support life and make it i n supp o rt u able . He literally p icked p a p recarious liv ing fo r himself and an aged mother by “ ” i s sa c hlo ridin g the dumps , that to y, the miners permitted him to search the heaps of ” waste rock for such pieces Of p ay o re as 378 THE COLLE CTED WORKS h ad been overlooked ; and these he sacked up and sold at the Syndicate Mill . He became o f a member our firm Gunny, Giggles , and ” — Dumps thenceforth through my favor ; for n o t n o r f I could then , can I now, be indif erent to his courage and p rowess in d efending against Giggles the immemorial right Of his sex to insult a strange and unp rotected female

- o ld myself . After Jim struck it in the Calamity and I began to wear shoes and go to school , and in emulation Giggles took to o f washing his face and became Jack Raynor, l d . B 85 C o . O Wells , Fargo , and M rs arts was c hlo rided herself to her fathers , Dumps drifted over to S an Juan Smith and turned stage driver, and was killed by road agents , O and S forth . ? Why do I tell you all this , dear B ecause it is heavy on my heart . Because I walk the

Valley of Humility . Because I a m subduing myself to permanent consciousness of my un B a r worthiness to unloose the latchet of D r. ’ h ’ . O o ritz s Shoe Because , h dear, dear, there s a cousin of Dumps at this hotel ! I haven’t o spoken t him . I never had much acquaint — ance with him, but do you suppose he has ? DO recognized me , please give me in you r

- O next your candid , sure enough pinion about

380 THE COLLECTED WORKS you are not lost to every feeling o f womanly delicacy yo u will accept my Statement without question . I soon established myself under my sunshade and had for some time been gazing o u t a dreamily over the sea , when he p ro ac he d O p , walking close to the edge f the — water i t was ebb tide . I assure you the wet sand actually b rightened about his feet ! As h is he app roached me he lifted hat , saying, ou —0 r M iss Dement , may I Sit with y will yo u walk with me ? The possibility that neither might be agree able seems not to have occurred to him . Did you ever know such assurance ? Assurance ?

a ll! My dear, it was gall , down right g Well , ’ I didn t find it wormwood , and replied , with my untutored Redhorse heart in my throat, I — h I shall be pleased to do a nyt i n g . Could words have been more stupid ? There are ’ o f 0 depths fatuity in me , friend my soul , that are Simply bottomless !

He extended his hand , smiling, and I de ’ livered mine into it without a moment s hesit his o ation , and when fingers closed about it t assist me to my feet the consciousness that it trembled made me blush worse than the red west . I got up , however, and after a while, Observing that he had not let go my hand I OF AMBRO S E BIERCE 381

pulled on it a little , but unsuccessfully . He o n Simply held , saying nothing, but looking down into my face with some kind Of smile ’ — I didn t know how could I ? - whether it was f fo r a fectionate , derisive , or what , I did not — look at him . How beautiful he was with the red fires Of the sunset bu rning in the o f DO depths his eyes . you know, dear, if the Thugs and Experts Of the Blavatsky region o f ? have any Sp ecial kind eyes Ah , you should have seen his superb attitude, the god like inclination o f his head as he stood over me afte r I had g o t upon my feet ! It was a fo r noble picture, but I soon destroyed it, I began at once to Sink again to the earth . o n e There was only thing for him to do , and he did it ; he supported me with an arm about my waist . ”

o u ? . Miss Dement , are y ill he said I t wa s not an exclamation ; there was neither alarm nor solicitude in it . If he had “ added : I suppose that is about what I am ” sa expected to y, he would hardly have ex p ressed his sense Of the situation more clearly . H is manner filled me with shame and i n I ff . dignation , for I was su ering acutely o ut o f h i s wrenched my hand , grasped the arm supporting me and pushing myself free , fell 382 THE COLLECTED WORKS

plump into the sand and sat helpless . My hat had fallen o ff in the struggle and my hair tumbled about my face and shoulders in the most mortifying way .

Go away from me , I cried , half choking .

l ea se — ! 0 p go away, you you Thug How ” d are you think tha t when my leg is asleep ? I actually said those identical words ! And then I broke down and sobbed . I rene , I ’ bl u bb e r ea l — His manner altered in an instant I could see that much through my fingers and hair . o n H e dropped one knee beside me , parted the tangle of hair and said in the tenderest “ : G o d way My poor girl , knows I have not o I ?— I intended to pain y u . How Should — — who love yo u I who have loved you for for years and years ! ” He had pulled my wet hands away from my face and was covering them with kisses . two My cheeks were like coals , my whole face was flaming and , I think, Steaming . What could I do ? I hid it on his shoulder— there was no other place . And , O my dear friend , how my leg tingled and thrilled , and how I wanted to kick ! a e We s t so fo r a long time . He had r leased one o f my hands to pass his arm about

384 TH E COLLECTE D WORKS

I am ashamed to say, darling, that it was through that unworthy person ’s suggestion ” that I came here from Vienna . ff I rene , they have roped in your a ectionate friend ,

MARY JAN E D EM ENT . — S . P . The worst Of it is that there is no mystery ; that was the invention of J ack Ray nor, to arouse my curiosity . J ames is not a

Thug . He solemnly assures me that in all his wanderings he has never set foot in S epoy . OF AMBROSE BIERCE 385

THE EYES OF THE PANTHER

ONE DOES NOT ALWAYS MARRY WH EN INSANE

MAN and a woman—natu re had done the group ing—sat on a rustic

Seat, in the late afternoon . The man

- was middle aged , slender, swarthy, with the exp ression of a poet and the complex

—« ion o f a pirate a man at whom on e would

look again . The woman was young, blonde , and graceful , with something in her figure ” movements suggesting the word lithe . S he was habited in a gray gown with o dd b rown

markings in the texture . S he may have been n o sa for beautiful ; on e could t readily y, her o eyes denied attention t all else . They were

- gray green, long and narrow, with an exp res

sion defying analysis . One could only know

that they were disquieting . Cleop atra may

have h ad such eyes .

The man and the woman talked . “ ” Yes , said the woman , I love you , God

ou . knows ! B u t marry y , no I cannot, will ” not . 386 THE COLLECTED WORKS

I rene , you have said that many times , ’ yet always have denied me a reaso n . I ve a right to know , to understand , to feel and p rove my fortitude if I have it . Give me a ” reason . For loving yo u ? The woman was smiling through her tears and her p allor That did not stir any sense o f humor in the man .

N 0 ; there is no reason fo r that . A reason ’ for not marrying me . I ve a right to know . ! ” I must know . I will know He had risen and was standing before her o n his — it with clenched hands , face a frown might have been called a scowl . He looked as if he might attempt to learn by strangling — her . S he smiled n o more merely sat look ing up into his face with a fixed , set regard that was utterly without emotion or sentiment . Yet it had something in it that tamed his t e sen tmen t and made him shiver . “ You a re determined to have my reason ? She asked in a tone that was entirely mechan — ical a tone that might have been her look made audible . “ I f you please— if I ’m not asking too much . Apparently this lord Of creation was y ield

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f feline beauty, her eyes always a fected him, Jenner B rading listened in silence to the story told by I rene Marlowe . In deference to the reader’s possible prejudice against the artless method of an unp ractised historian the author ventures to substitute his own version for hers.

F R A ROOM M AY BE TOO NARROW O THREE, THOUGH ONE IS OUTSIDE In a little log house containing a single room sparely and rudely furnished , crouch o n o n e o f ing the floor against the walls , was a woman , clasping to her breast a child . Out side , a dense unbroken forest extended for m any miles in every direction . This was at night and the room wa s black dark : no human eye could have discerned the woman and the

. O child Yet they were bserved , narrowly, vigilantly , with never even a momentary slackening o f attention ; and that is the pivotal fact upon which this narrative turns . O Charles Marlowe was f the class, now ex o f tinct in this country , woodmen pioneers men who found thei r most acceptable sur roundings in sylvan solitudes that Stretched a long the eastern slope o f the M ississippi V al OF AMBROS E BIERCE 389 ley, from the G reat Lakes to the Gulf o f Mex ic o . For more than a hundred years these r a men pushed ever westwa d, gener tion after generation , with rifle and ax, reclaiming from Natu re and her savage children here the and there an isolated acreage for plow, no sooner reclaimed than surrendered to their

less ventu resome but more thrifty successors . At last they bu rst throug h the edge o f the forest into the open country and vanished as

if they had fallen over a cliff. The woodman

“ pioneer i s n o more ; the pioneer o f the plains he whose easy task it was to subdue for oc c u pancy two - thirds o f the c ountry in a Single — generation is another and inferior creation . C With harles M arlowe in the wilderness ,

sharing the dangers , hardships and privations o f s that trange , unp rofitable life, were his wife to h o f his and child , w om , in the manner s the clas , in which domestic virtues were a

r he was a . eligion , passion tely attached The was woman still young enough to be comely, new enoug h to the awful isolation o f her lot o B t be chee rful . y withholding the large capacity fo r h appiness which the simple satis n o t faction s o f the forest life could have filled ,

Heaven had dealt ho norably with her . In her

light household tasks , her child , her husband 390 THE COLLECTED WORKS

She and her few foolish books , found abundant p rovision for her needs . One morning in midsummer Marlowe took down his rifle from the wooden hooks o n the wall and signified his intention o f getting game . “ ’ We ve meat enough , said the wife ; ’ - please don t go o ut to day . I dreamed last 0 ! night, , such a dreadful thing I cannot ’ recollect it, but I m almost sure that it will come to p ass if you go o u t . It is p ainful to confess th at M arlowe t e c eive d this solemn statement with less of grav ity than was due to the mysterious nature of the calamity foreshadowed . In truth , he laughed . “ b Try to remember, he said . M ay e you dreamed that Baby h ad lost the power o f ” speech . The conjecture was obviously suggested by the fact that B aby , clinging to the fringe o f his hunting - coat with all her ten pudgy thumbs was at that moment uttering her sense o f the situation in a series o f exultant g o o - goos in ’ spired by sight o f her father s raccoon - skin cap . The woman yielded : lacking the gift of humor she could no t hold out against his

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s . econd child. The first one was dead The as a father w de d . The home in the forest was lost and the dwelling in which She lived was unfamiliar. There were heavy oaken doors, a lways closed , and outside the windows, fastened into the thick stone walls , were iron o so n bars , bviously ! She thought) a p rovisio she against Indians . All this noted with an

- —an infinite self pity, but without surprise emotion unknown in dreams . The child in the cradle was invisible under its coverlet which something impelled her to remove . S so he did , disclosing the face of a wild ani mal ! In the shock of this dreadful revelation s the dreamer awoke , trembling in the darknes o f her cabin in the wood . As a sense of her actual surroundings came slowly back to her she felt for the child that was no t its a dream , and assured herself by breathing that all was well with it ; no r could she forbear to pass a hand lightly across its face . Then, moved by some impulse for which she p robably could not have accounted, she rose and took the Sleeping babe in her arms , holding it close against her b reast . The ’ head o f the child s cot was against the wall to which the woman now turned her back as she wo she Stood . Lifting her eyes saw t bright OF AMBROSE BIERCE 393 objec ts starring the darkness with a reddish

green glow . S he took them to be two coals on

the hearth , but with her returning sense o f d irection came the disquieting consciousness h n o t o that t ey were in that quarter f the room, to o the moreover were high , being nearly at o f —o f own level the eyes her eyes . For these w ere the eyes of a p anther. The beast was at the open window directly o n o N pposite and t five p aces away. othing

but those terrible eyes was visible, but in the dreadful tumult o f her feelings as the situation disclosed itself to her understanding she somehow knew that the animal was stand on ing its hinder feet, supporting itself with

- its p aws on the window ledge . That signified — a malign interest not the mere gratification s o f an indolen t curiosi ty. The consciousnes a c en tu at o f the attitude was an added horror, c o f a ing the menace those wful eyes , in whose steadfast fire her strength and courage were t alike consumed . Under heir silent question

ing she shuddered and turned sick. Her

knees failed her, and by degrees, instinctively striving to avoid a sudden movement that she mig ht b ring the beast upon her, sank to the

floor, crouched against the wall and tried to shield the babe with her trembling body with 394 THE COLL ECTED WORKS o ut withdrawing her gaze from the luminous orbs that were killing her . No thought of her — husband came to her in her agony n o hope n o r suggestion of rescue or escape . Her capacity for thought and feeling had nar rowed to the dimensions o f a single emotion ’ o f o f fear the animal s sp ring, of the impact its f o f body, the bu feting its great arms , the feel o f i ts teeth in her th roat, the mangling of her e n ow bab . Motionless and in absolute si she lence, awaited her doom , the moments a n d growing to hours , to years , to ages ; still those devilish eyes maintained their watch .

Returning to his cab in late at night with a deer on his shoulders Charles Ma rlowe tried the door . It did not yield . He knocked ; n o hi there was answer . He laid down s deer u A and went ro nd to the window . S he turned the angle of the building he fancied he heard a sound as of stealthy footfalls and a rustling in the undergrowth of the forest, but they to were too slight for certainty , even his p ractised ear . App roaching the window, and his to surp rise finding it open , he threw his leg over the sill and entered . All was dark ness and silence . He groped his way to the fire- an d place, struck a match lit a candle .

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“ is B ra It a sad , a terrible story, said “ a t . You ding last, but I do not understand call Charles M arlowe father ; that I know . ol his That he is d before time, b roken by some

o r I saw. great sorrow, I have seen , thought B ut ou s ou— , p ardon me, y aid that y that

“ I s w That am insane , aid the g irl , ithout a movement o f head o r body . “ But sa — d do , I rene, you y please , ear, not — look away from me you say that the child ” was dead , not demented . “ — Yes o n e I . , that am the second I was born three months after that night, my mother being mercifully permitted to lay v ” d own her life in gi ing me mine . Brading was a gain silent ; he was a trifle dazed and could not at once think o f the right thing to say. Her face was still turned away. In his embarrassment he reached impulsively toward the h ands that lay closing and u nc los —he not ing in her lap , but something could h — t ave said what restrained him . He then e r membered , vaguely, that he had neve alto g ether cared to take her hand . “ I s s it likely, She resumed , that a per on born under such circumstances i s like others ” is what you call sane ? OF AMBRO S E B IERCE 397

B rading did not rep ly ; he was p reoccupied with a new thought that was taking sh ape in — his mind what a scientist would have c alled

r . an hypothesis ; a detective , a theo y It might t on e hrow an added light, albeit a lurid , upon such doubt o f her sanity as her own assertion h ad not dispelled . s The country was still new and, out ide the ro fes villages , sp arsely populated . The p sional hunter was still a familiar figure , and among his trophies were heads and pelts o f the larger kinds o f game . Tales variously credible o f noctu rnal meetings with savage animals in lonely roads were sometimes cur of rent, passed th rough the customary stages growth and decay, and were forgotten . A recent a ddition to these popular apocrypha , a originating, pp arently, by spontaneous gen o f c ration in several households, was a p anther which had frightened some o f their members b looking in at windows by night . The yarn y — had caused its little ripple of excitement had even attained to the distinction of a place in the local newspaper ; but B rading had given it I ts no attention . likeness to the Story to which he had j ust listened n o w imp ressed him as Was not perhap s more than accidental . it possible that the one story had suggested the 398 THE COLLECTED WORKS — other that finding congenial conditions in a morbid mind and a fertile fancy, it had grown to the tragic tale that he had heard ? B rading recalled certain circumstances of ’ the girl s histo ry and disposition, of which, ’ with love s incuriosity, he had hitherto been — heedless such as her solitary life with her f o n e ather, at whose house no , apparently, was a n acceptable visitor and her strange fear of the night , by which those who knew her best accounted fo r her never being seen after dark . S u rely in such a mind imagination once s kindled might burn with a lawle s flame , pen etra ti n g and enveloping the entire structure .

That She was mad, though the conviction n o gave him the acutest pain , he could longer doubt ; she had only mistaken an effect o f her mental disorder for its cause , bringing into imaginary relation with her own personality

e - the vagari s of the local myth makers . With some vague intention o f testing his new “ ” n o o f theory , and very definite notion how hesit to set about it he said , gravely, but with ation “ — I I rene , dear, tell me beg you will not ff take o ence , but tell me ” she I have told you , interrupted , Speak i n g with a passionate earnestness that he had

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bachelor, and therefore , by the Draconian moral code of the time and place denied the services o f the only species of domestic serv “ ” ant known thereabout , the hired girl , he boarded at the village hotel , where also was Ofli was his c e . The woodside cottage merely a — lodging maintained at no great cost, to be — sure as an evidence of p rosperity and t e s e a ili o o ne p c t b ty . It would hardly d for to whom the local newspaper had pointed with “ ” p ride as the foremost jurist o f his time to “ be homeless , albeit he may sometimes have “ ” suspected that the words home and “ ” o I n house were n t Strictly synonymous . his o f deed , consciousness the disp arity and his will to harmonize it were matters o f logical fo r inference , it was generally reported that soon after the cottage w as built its owner had made a futile venture in the direction o f mar r i a e— so t e g had , in truth , gone far as to be j ec te d by the beautiful but eccentric daughter o f Old M an M arlowe , the recluse . This was publicly believed because he had told it him — self and she had not a reversal o f the usual o rder of things which could hardly fail to carry conviction . ’ B ra d in g s bedroom was at the rear o f the h ouse, with a single window facing the forest. OF AMBROSE BIERCE 40 1

One night he was awakened by a noise at that window ; he co uld hardly have said what it was like . With a little thrill of the nerves he sa t up in bed and laid hold of the revolver which, with a fo rethought most commend able i n on e addicted to the habit o f sleeping on the g round floor with an open window, he h a had put unde r is pillow. The room w s in un terrified absolute darkness, but being he knew where to direct his eyes , and there he held them , awaiting in silence what further mig ht occ u r . He could now dimly discern — the aperture a square of lighter black . Presently there appeared at its lower edge two g leaming eyes that burned with a malignant ’ lustre inexpressibly terrible ! Bra din g s heart g ave a great jump , then seemed to stand still . A chill passed along hi s Spine and through hi s hai r ; he felt the blood forsake his cheeks . He — could no t have cried o ut not to save his life ; but being a man of courage he would not, to

so . save his life , have done if he had been able

Some trepi dation his coward body might feel , ff but his spirit was of sterner stu . S lowly the shining eyes ros e with a steady motion that B ra seemed an app roach , and slowly rose ’ . ding s right hand , holding the pistol He fired ! 402 THE COLLECTED WORKS

Blinded by the flash and stunned by the t e port, B rading nevertheless heard , or fancied o f that he heard , the wild , high scream the so panther, so human in sound , devilish in suggestion . Leaping from the bed he hastily clothed himself and , pistol in hand , Sprang from the doo r , meeting two o r th ree men who came running up from the road . A brief explanation was followed by a cautious search of the house . The grass was wet with dew ; beneath the window it had been trodden and v partly le eled for a wide space , from which a devious trail ; visible in the light of a lan

led s . tern , away into the bu hes One of the

a n h men stumbled d fell upon his hands , whic as he rose and rubbed them together were slippery . On examination they were seen to be red with blood .

An encounter , unarmed , with a wounded panther was not agreeable to their taste ; all but Brading turned back . He , with lantern and pistol , pushed cou rageously forward into the wood . Passing th rou gh a difficult under O growth he came into a small pening , and there his cou rage had its reward , for there he found the body of his victim . But it was no

. o panther What it was is told , even t this day, u pon a weather - worn headstone in the village