Part I
So they told us before we left to walk to the station that we should huddle in a large group in front of the train depot and wait for the sergeant to come and tell us what to do. The sergeant was late, and it was cold, so we huddled for the warmth, all pressed together. There was a lot of coughing and sneezing and cursing and pushing and shoving; it would have been worse--the pushing and shoving--if we hadn't been so pressed together.
When the sergeant arrived, we were a pretty sorry looking lot. Several had passed out from sickness, and from being pushed so close together, and the sergeant elbowed his way into our midst, looking about and shaking his head and calling us pigs and brainless jackasses and many other things just as bad--and worse.
"Get back there! Go over here! Line up in three rows! Come on, come on--we don't have all day, you stupid yokels. Get in line, that's right, three rows; face the man in front of you and stand still." He pointed to me and three others. "And you four look around and see if any of the fallen are able to get up and move under their own power. Quick, quick! Dammit, the train we have to catch will be along any minute!"
Part II
I hurried around with the other three, and we looked over the fallen men, and shook their shoulders, and told them, "You'd better get up. We're going to catch a train. You'll be all right then. You can sit down and rest." Most of the men got up, dusted themselves off, and got into one or another of the three lines, and waited with the others. But several men did not get up right away. We had to help them over to the lines so they would not be left behind.
The sergeant motioned for three of the men to get in line, and told me, "You're going to be my assistant. You're going to help me keep these other asses in line until we get them to camp. Do you understand?"
I didn't, completely, but nodded my head, not wanting to make trouble.
The sergeant said to the others, "This man is my assistant. You will do as he says. He outranks all of you, and you will obey him the same as you obey me--or else!"
No one said anything, but some of the men glared at me with hatred in their eyes. But moments before, I had been one of them, a draftee in the army; but now I was their master--and their enemy.
Part III
There was not much to do on the train. The men were packed into narrow seats like sardines for the four-hour journey; the sergeant and I were at the back of the passenger car, with a whole seat to ourselves. I could feel the other men's animosity toward me; I was one of them, yet had somehow been elevated miles above them in the blink of an eye. They were angry, they were jealous, they did not wish me well--this I could tell.
When the train stopped at the station outside the army camp, the sergeant and I yelled at the others to get off the train, form two rows, and walk toward the camp, which we could see in the distance. The walk was uneventful, for the wind had died down a bit, and it did not seem to cold.
Inside the camp, an officer came to replace the sergeant, and I was sent back in line with the others. Apparently my assistance was no longer required.
The officer proceeded to tell us that we were no longer needed in the army. He thanked us for our time, but without much enthusiasm, then sent us in to an administrative office to receive our discharge papers, even though we had never been properly sworn into the army. Then, the officer again put me in charge of the others and told me to march them, loose step, back to the station. He gave me a paper which would allow us to ride the train back to our starting point, and dismissed us.
Part IV
On the way back to the depot, the others called me "Hey, sergeant!" "Greetings, general!" and many other things half in earnest, half in jest.
By the time we got back to the train station, I was tired of them all, and told them flatly, "Go to hell, you guys!"
Then the train came, I gave the conductor the paper allowing us to travel, and we came back home.
And on the way back we became friends again, and began wondering aloud why the army had called us in the first place, since it refused to take us when we did show up.
Many years have passed since then, and we are still wondering. We have come to the conclusion that, like God, the army works in mysterious ways.
So they told us before we left to walk to the station that we should huddle in a large group in front of the train depot and wait for the sergeant to come and tell us what to do. The sergeant was late, and it was cold, so we huddled for the warmth, all pressed together. There was a lot of coughing and sneezing and cursing and pushing and shoving; it would have been worse--the pushing and shoving--if we hadn't been so pressed together.
When the sergeant arrived, we were a pretty sorry looking lot. Several had passed out from sickness, and from being pushed so close together, and the sergeant elbowed his way into our midst, looking about and shaking his head and calling us pigs and brainless jackasses and many other things just as bad--and worse.
"Get back there! Go over here! Line up in three rows! Come on, come on--we don't have all day, you stupid yokels. Get in line, that's right, three rows; face the man in front of you and stand still." He pointed to me and three others. "And you four look around and see if any of the fallen are able to get up and move under their own power. Quick, quick! Dammit, the train we have to catch will be along any minute!"
Part II
I hurried around with the other three, and we looked over the fallen men, and shook their shoulders, and told them, "You'd better get up. We're going to catch a train. You'll be all right then. You can sit down and rest." Most of the men got up, dusted themselves off, and got into one or another of the three lines, and waited with the others. But several men did not get up right away. We had to help them over to the lines so they would not be left behind.
The sergeant motioned for three of the men to get in line, and told me, "You're going to be my assistant. You're going to help me keep these other asses in line until we get them to camp. Do you understand?"
I didn't, completely, but nodded my head, not wanting to make trouble.
The sergeant said to the others, "This man is my assistant. You will do as he says. He outranks all of you, and you will obey him the same as you obey me--or else!"
No one said anything, but some of the men glared at me with hatred in their eyes. But moments before, I had been one of them, a draftee in the army; but now I was their master--and their enemy.
Part III
There was not much to do on the train. The men were packed into narrow seats like sardines for the four-hour journey; the sergeant and I were at the back of the passenger car, with a whole seat to ourselves. I could feel the other men's animosity toward me; I was one of them, yet had somehow been elevated miles above them in the blink of an eye. They were angry, they were jealous, they did not wish me well--this I could tell.
When the train stopped at the station outside the army camp, the sergeant and I yelled at the others to get off the train, form two rows, and walk toward the camp, which we could see in the distance. The walk was uneventful, for the wind had died down a bit, and it did not seem to cold.
Inside the camp, an officer came to replace the sergeant, and I was sent back in line with the others. Apparently my assistance was no longer required.
The officer proceeded to tell us that we were no longer needed in the army. He thanked us for our time, but without much enthusiasm, then sent us in to an administrative office to receive our discharge papers, even though we had never been properly sworn into the army. Then, the officer again put me in charge of the others and told me to march them, loose step, back to the station. He gave me a paper which would allow us to ride the train back to our starting point, and dismissed us.
Part IV
On the way back to the depot, the others called me "Hey, sergeant!" "Greetings, general!" and many other things half in earnest, half in jest.
By the time we got back to the train station, I was tired of them all, and told them flatly, "Go to hell, you guys!"
Then the train came, I gave the conductor the paper allowing us to travel, and we came back home.
And on the way back we became friends again, and began wondering aloud why the army had called us in the first place, since it refused to take us when we did show up.
Many years have passed since then, and we are still wondering. We have come to the conclusion that, like God, the army works in mysterious ways.
