THE SUMMIT OF THE YEARS 



the night, I am sure my legs would have refused to 

 move, and would have collapsed beneath me. What 

 a coward I was at that instant! The Old Conti- 

 nental would have disowned me. But darkness 

 makes cowards of us all. I suppose my imagination 

 ran away with me as it so often had done in my 

 boyhood in regard to "spooks" and hobgoblins. 



As the night wore on and no attack on our line 

 seemed imminent, I wandered toward the rear in 

 search of new adventure. Passing a long, low build- 

 ing that was being used as a hospital, where the 

 wounded were being cared for, I went in and offered 

 my services to the surgeons. The operating- tables 

 were full and a long line of the wounded sat crouched 

 against the wall waiting their turns. Some were 

 groaning and some were joking. 



The sight of human blood had always made me 

 faint, but now I seemed unusually stout of heart 

 and proceeded to hold instruments and pass vessels 

 with a coolness that quite surprised me. By force of 

 will I must have steeled myself against the gory 

 spectacle, for after about half an hour my composure 

 broke. I grew suddenly faint and came near falling 

 to the floor. The surgeon whom I was assisting, 

 seeing at a glance what had happened to me, said, 

 "Get out of here, get out of here!" and almost 

 shoved me into the open air. 



The air presently restored me, but I had had 

 enough of war, and went and crept in among some 



9 



