They detained him only a half-hour, but when he left them it was with the understanding that his army should move forward at once and attack upon the morrow. It seemed a bit unusual, not to say unmilitary, to David, to arrange such matters so thoroughly with the enemy, but his corporal assured him that under certain conditions the thing was done.
There being no other part of the "Charge" that would fit, David said over to himself a great many times on the way to the hospital the opening lines:
"Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward.
All in th' valley of Death
Rode th' six hundred...."
As he went up the hospital steps, tap-tapping on his crutches because he would not let anybody carry him, the situation seemed to him much better. He stopped upon the top step, balanced himself upon one crutch, and waved the other at his staff—and at the "Six Hundred," pressing on behind.
"Forward, th' Light Brigade!
'Charge for th' guns!' he said...."
"What's the little chap saying?" Uncle Chester murmured into the ear of Uncle Arthur, as the small figure hurried on.
"He's living out 'The Charge of the Light Brigade,'" Arthur answered, and there was no smile on his lips. Uncle Chester swallowed something in his throat.
It may have been a common thing for the hospital nurses and doctors to see a patient in military clothes arrive accompanied by four other military figures—the uniforms a little mixed; but if they were surprised they gave no sign. The nurse who put David to bed wore a Red Cross badge on her sleeve—hastily constructed by Doctor Wendell. This badge David regarded with delight.
"Why, you're a real army nurse, aren't you?" he asked happily.
"Of course. They are the kind to take care of soldiers," she returned. And after that there was a special bond between them.