"Yer not used to this," said Corporal Grimm. "I tell ye, when ye get used to it, this is nuthin'. Why, when I was with General Preston, we traveled so fur and so long in the quicksand, and our legs became so loose at the knees, that we had to run straps under the soles of our boots and strap our legs tight to our bodies, or we would have lost 'em sure."
"Well, I shall have to go to strapping mine soon, I am certain," said the young soldier with an incredulous smile.
"Them was awful times when I was out with General Preston!" said the corporal, shaking his head in sad reminiscence.
Abner Tompkins was with this train, but having sprained his ankle, he was unable to ride his horse, and had been placed in a wagon. All day long it had rumbled and jolted over the hills of Southern Virginia, and he was tired, sick, and faint with the constant motion. He leaned against the side of the wagon and gazed out from under the cover. He saw a long line of slow-moving, muddy wagons, and to the right a long line of infantry, some of the men wet and weary as they were singing.
Passing one part of the line, he heard a not unmusical voice caroling:
"Oh, that darling little girl, that pretty little girl,
The girl I left behind me."
Further a chorus of voices joined in:
"All the world is cold and dreary
Everywhere I roam."