Heputhisarmaroundheralmosttimidlyandkissedheronthecheek，agreatloveforherspringingupinhisheart。“Thatsettiesit，“hesaid。“Don’tcry，Jalyie。You’llneverbesorryforit。Don’tcry。Itkindo’hurtsmetoseeit。“
Hedidn’tunderstandherfeelings。Hewasonlyawarethatshewascrying，andtriedinabunglingwaytosootheher。Butnowthatshehadgivenway，shesatdowninthegrassandweptbitterly。
“Yulyie!“yelledtheoldNorwegian，likeadistantfog-horn。
Thegirlsprangup；thehabitofobediencewasstrong。
“No；yousetrightthere，andI’llgoround，“hesaid。“Otto!“
Theboycamescramblingoutofthewoodhalfdressed。Robtossedhimuponthehorse，snatchedJulia’ssun-bonnet，puthisownhatonherhead，andmovedoffdownthecornrows，leavingthegirlsmilingthroghhertearsashewhistledandchirpedtothehorse。
FarmerPeterson，seeingthefamiliarsunbonnetabovethecornrows，wentbacktohiswork，withasentenceofNorwegiantrailingafterhimlikethetailofakite-somethingaboutlazygirlswhodidn’tearnthecrustoftheirbread，etc。
Robwaswildwithdelight。“GitupthereJack!Hay，youoldcorncrib!Say，Otto，canyoukeepyourmouthshetifitputsmoneyinyourpocket？“
“Jesttryme’n’see，“saidthekeen-eyedlittlescamp。“Well，youkeepquietaboutmybeingherethisalter-noon，andI’llputadollarony’rtongue-hay？-what？-understand？“
“Showmey’rdollar，“saidtheboy，turningaboutandshowinghistongue。
“Allright。Begintopracticenowbynottalkin’tome。“
Robwentoverthewholesituationonhiswayback，andwhenhegotinsightofthegirlhisplanwasmade。Shestoodwaitingforhimwithanewlookonherface。Hersullennesshadgivenwaytoapeculiareagernessandanxietytobelieveinhim。Shewasalreadylivingthatfreelifeinafar-offwonderfulcountry。Nomorewouldhersternfatherandsullenmotherforcehertotaskswhichshehated。She’dbeamemberofanewfirm。She’dwork，ofcourse，butitwouldbebecauseshewantedto，andnotbecauseshewasforcedto。Theindependenceandthelovepromisedgrewmoreandmoreattractive。ShelaughedbackwithasofterlightinhereyeswhenshesawthesmilingfaceofRoblookingatherfromhersun-bonnet“Nowyoumustn’tdoanymoreo’this，“hesaid。“Yougobacktothehousean’telly’rmotheryou’retoolametoplowanymoretoday，andit’stoolate，anyhow。To-night!“hewhisperedquickiy。
“Eleven!Here!“
Thegirl’sheartleapedwithfear。“I’mafraid。“
“Notofme，areyeh？“
“No，I’mnotafraidofyou，Rob。“
“I’mglado’that。I-Iwantyouto-tolikeme，Julyie；won’tyou？“
“I’lltry，“sheansweredwithasmile。
“Tonight，then，“hesaidasshemovedaway。
“Tonight。Goodbye。“
“Goodbye。“
Hestoodandwatchedhertillhertallfigurewaslostamongthedroopingcornleaves。Therewasasingularchokingfeelinginhisthroat。Thegirl’svoiceandfacehadbroughtupsomanymemoriesofpartiesandpicnicsandexcursionsonfar-offholidays，andatthesametimesuchsuggestionsofthefuture。Healreadyfeltthatitwasgoingtobeanunconscionablylongtimebeforeeleveno’clock。
Hesawhergotothehouse，andthenheturnedandwalkedslowlyupthedustyroad。OutoftheMayweedthegrasshopperssprang，buzzingandsnappingtheirdullredwings。Butterflies，yellowandwhite，flutteredaroundmoistplacesintheditch，andslenderstripedwatersnakesglidedacrossthestagnantpoolsatsoundo~
footsteps。
Butthemindofthemanwasfarawayonhisclaim，buildinganewhouse，withawoman’sadviceandpresence。
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Itwasawindlessnight。ThekatydidsandanoccasionalcricketweretheonlysoundsRobcouldhearashestoodbesidehisteamandstrainedhiseartolisten。Atlongintervalsalittlebreezeranthroughthecornlikeaswiftserpent，bringingtothenostrilsthesappysmellofthegrowingcorn。Thehorsesstampeduneasilyasthemosquitoessettledontheirshininglimbs。Theskywasfullofstars，buttherewasnomoon。
“Whatifshedon’tcome？“hethought。“Orcan’tcome？Ican’tstandthat。I’llgototheoldmanan’say，’Lookyhere-’Sh!“
Helistenedagain。Therewasarustlinginthecorn。Itwasnotlikethefitfulmovementofthewind；itwassteady，slower，andapproaching。Itceased。Hewhistledthewailing，sweetcryoftheprairiechicken。Thenafigurecameoutintotheroad-awoman-
Julia!
Hetookherinhisarmsasshecamepantinguptohim。
“Rob!“
“Julyie!“
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Afewwords，thedulltreadofswifthorses，therisingofasilenttrainofdust，andthenthewindwanderedinthegrowingcorn。Thedustfell，adogbarkeddowntheroadandthekatydidssangtotheliquidcontraltooftheriverinitsshallows。
THERETURNOFAPRIVATE
Ontheroadleading“backtoGod’scountry“andwileandbabies。
I
ThenearerthetraindrewtowardLaCrosse，thesobererthelittlegroupof“vets“became。OnthelongwayfromNewOrleanstheyhadbeguiledtediumwithjokesandfriendlychaff；orwithplanningwithelaboratedetailwhattheyweregoingtodonow，afterthewar。Alongjourney，slowly，irregularly，yetpersistentlypushingnorthward。whentheyenteredonWisconsinTerritorytheygaveacheer，andanotherwhentheyreachedMadison，butafterthattheysankintoadumbexpectancy。Comradesdroppedoffatoneortwopointsbeyond，untiltherewereonlyfourorfiveleftwhowereboundforLaCrosseCountyThreeofthemweregauntandbrown，thefourthwasgauntandpale，withsignsoffeverandagueuponhim。Onehadagreatscardownhistemple；onelimped；andtheyallhadunnaturallylargebrighteyes，showingemaciation。Therewerenobandsgreetingthematthestations，nobanksofgailydressedladieswavinghand-kerchiefsandshouting“Bravo!“astheycameinonthecabooseofafreighttramintothetownsthathadcheeredandblaredatthemontheirwaytowar。Astheylookedoutorsteppedupontheplatformforamoment，asthetrainstoodatthestation，theloaferslookedatthemindifferenfly。Theirbluecoats，dustyandgrimy，weretoofamiliarnowtoexcitenotice，muchlessafriendlyword。Theywerethelastofthearmytoreturn，andtheloafersweresurfeitedwithsuchsights。
ThetrainjoggedforwardsoslowlythatitseemedlikelytobemidnightbeforetheyshouldreachLaCrosse。Thelittlesquadof“vets“grumbledandswore，butitwasnouse，thetrainwouldnothurry；andasamatteroffact，rtwasnearlytwoo’clockwhentheenginewhistled“downbrakes。“
Mostofthegroupwerefarmers，livingindistrictsseveralmilesoutofthetown，andallwerepoor。
“Now，boys，“saidPrivateSmith，heofthefeverandague，“wearelandedinLaCrosseinthenight。We’vegottostaysomewheretillmornin’。Now，Iain’tgotnotwodollarstowasteonahotel。I’vegotawifeandchildren，soI’mgoin’toroostonabenchandtakethecostofabedoutofmyhide。“
“Samehere，“putinoneoftheothermen。“Hide’llgrowonagain，dollarscomehard。It’sgoin’tobemightyhotskirmishin’tofindadollarthesedays。“
“Don’tthinkthey’llbeadeputationofcitizenswaitin’to’scortustoahotel，eh？“saidanother。Hissarcasmwastooobvioustorequireananswer。
Smithwenton：“Thenatdaybreakwe’llstartf’rhome；atleastI
will。“
“Well，I’llbedummedifI’lltaketwodollarsouto’myhide，“oneoftheyoungermensaid。“I’mgoin’toahotel，efIdon’tneverlayupacent。“
“That’lldof’ryou，“saidSmith；“butifyouhadawifean’threeyoung’unsdependin’onyeh-“
“WhichIain’t，thanktheLord!anddon’tintendhavin’whilethecourtknowsitself。“
Thestationwasdeserted，chill，anddark，astheycameintoitatexactlyaquartertotwointhemorning。Litbytheoillampsthatflaredadullredlightoverthedingybenches，thewaitingroomwasnotaninvitingplace。Theyoungermanwentofftolookupahotel，whiletherestremainedandpreparedtocampdownonthefloorandbenches。Smithwasattendedtotenderlybytheothermen，whospreadtheirblanketsonthebenchforhim，andbyrobbingthemselvesmadequiteacomfortablebed，thoughthenarrownessofthebenchmadehissleepingprecarious。
Itwaschill，thoughAugust，andthetwomensittingwithbowedheadsgrewstiffwithcoldandweariness，andwereforcedtorisenowandagain，andwalkabouttowarmtheirstiffenedlimbsItdidn’toccurtothem，probably，tocontrasttheircominghomewiththeirgoingforth，orwiththecominghomeofthegenerals，colonels，orevencaptains-buttoPrivateSmith，atanyrate，therecameasicknessatheartalmostdeadly，ashelaythereonhishardbedandwentoverhissituation。
Inthedeepofthenight，lyingonaboardinthetownwherehehadenlistedthreeyearsago，allelationandenthusiasmgoneoutofhim，hefacedthefactthatwiththejoyofhomecomingwasmingledthebitterjuiceofcare。Hesawhimselfsick，wornout，takinguptheworkonhishalf-clearedfarm，theinevitablemortgagestandingreadywithopenjawtoswallowhalfhisearnings。Hehadgiventhreeyearsofhislifeforamerepittanceofpay，andnow-
Morningdawnedatlast，slowly，withapaleyellowdomeoflightrisingsilentlyabovethebluffswhichstandlikesomehugebattlementedcastle，justeastofthecity。Outtotheleftthegreatriversweptonitsmassiveyetsilentwaytothesouth。Jayscalledacrosstheriverfromhillsidetohillside，throughtheclear，beautifulair，andhawksbegantoskimthetopsofthehills。
Thetwovetswereastirearly，butPrivateSmithhadfallenatlastintoasleep，andtheywentoutwithoutwakinghim。Helayonhisknapsack，hisgauntfaceturnedtowardtheceiling，hishandsclaspedonhisbreast，withacuriouspatheticeffectofweaknessandappeal。
Anengineswitchingnearwokehimatlast，andheslowlysatupandstaredabout。Helookedoutofthewindowandsawthatthesunwaslighteningthehillsacrosstheriver。Heroseandbrushedhishairaswellashecould，foldedhisblanketsup，andwentouttofindhiscompanions。Theystoodgazingsilentlyattheriverandatthehills。
“Looksnat’cherl，don’tit？“theysaidashecameout。
“That’swhatitdoes，“hereplied。“An’itlooksgood。D’yehseethatpeak？“Hepointedatabeautifulsymmetricalpeak，risinglikeaslightlytruncatedcone，sohighthatitseemedtheveryhighestofthemall。Itwaslightedbythemorningsuntillitglowedlikeabeacon，andalightscarfofgraymorningfogwasrollingupitsshadowedside。
“Myfarm’sjustbeyondthat。Now，efIcanonlyketcharide，we’llbehomebydinnertime。“
“I’mtalkin’aboutbreakfast，“saidoneoftheothers。
“Iguessit’sonemoremealo’hardtackf’rme，“saidSmith。
Theyforagedaround，andfinallyfoundarestaurantwithasleepyoldGermanbehindthecounter，andprocuredsomecoffee，whichtheydranktowashdowntheirhardtack。
“Time’llcome，“saidSmith，holdingupapiecebythecorner，“whenthis’llbeacuriosity。“
“IhopetoGoditwill!IbetI’vechawedhardtackenoughtoshingleeveryhouseinthecoulee。I’vechaweditwhenmylamperswasdown，andwhentheywasn’t。I’vetookitdry，soaked，andmashed。I’vehaditwormy，musty，sour，andblue-moldy。I’vehaditinlittlebitsandbigbits；’forecoffeean’aftercoffee。I’mreadyf’rachange。I’dliket’githol’tjestaboutnowo’someofthehotbiscuitsmywifec’nmakewhenshelaysherselfoutf’rcompany。“
“Well，ifyousettheregablin’，you’llneverseeyerwife。“
“Comeon，“saidPrivateSmith。“Waitamoment，boys；lesstakesuthin’。It’sonme。“Heledthemtotherustytindipperwhichhungonanailbesidethewoodenwaterpail，andtheygrinnedanddrank。ThingswereprimitiveinLaCrossethen。Then，shoulderingtheirblanketsandmuskets，whichtheywere“takinghometotheboys，“theystruckoutontheirlastmarch。
“Theycalledthatcoffee’Jayvy，“grumbledoneofthem，“butitneverwentbytheroadwheregovernmentJayvyresides。IreckonI
knowcoffeefrompeas。“