A week thereafter the boys, now fully satisfied, left the hospital, and, as the doctor handed them their certificates of discharge, he remarked:
"The lieutenant sent your things to us the day they left the ridge. The attendant will get them for you."
They had entirely forgotten that they owned anything. The two packages were found intact, together with a note of regret from the lieutenant, and from the men of the 14th battery. It was a gratifying thing to receive, and greatly appreciated by the boys.
On the road they walked along toward the reserve camp two miles to the north, during which they met numerous fellow pedestrians, of all sorts, conditions and characteristics. Peddlers, hucksters, dealers in all sorts of wares, tradesmen, a few carpenters with their tools, going and coming, and this over a road which in normal times would not have a dozen visitors during the day. The vast army to the east brought trade to many inhabitants.
They were particularly interested in a peddler, who plied his trade with considerable energy. He would push to the front whenever a troop of soldiers appeared, offering his wares, and, after each sale, or when he had completed his canvass of a troop, would swing off his pack, take out the money, and count it. Then, invariably, he would draw out a pencil, note down something on the wrapper in which the money was kept, shoulder his pack, and march on.
"That fellow is the most particular man I ever met," remarked Ralph. "I suppose he puts down every sou he receives. He is what I would call a tightwad."
"Perhaps not that, but just a trifle careful," responded Alfred.
It was an amusing experience to the boys, as they watched his procedure. It was always the same and never varied. The camp was in sight, and they left the road to visit it, but before entering the grounds they sat down to rest, and while there the peddler passed them.
The boys waited until a regiment of newly arrived English entered the gateway, before they rose and followed. The peddler was on hand the moment the regiment halted, and obsequiously passed down the line offering his wares. They noticed that although there were no purchasers, nevertheless the peddler went through the same formula of making a notation on the paper, which was used as a wrapper for the money.
Parked at one side was an immense train of the well-known English three-inch guns, the counterpart of the French 75's which did such terrific execution several weeks previous to this time, as heretofore related.