By the
full moon hanging low in the west he knew what
he might not have known otherwise: that it was
near the hour of dawn. A light mist lay along the
earth, partly veiling the lower features of the land-
scape, but above it the taller trees showed in well-
defined masses against a clear sky. Two or three
farmhouses were visible through the haze, but in
none of them, naturally, was a light. Nowhere, in-
deed, was any sign or suggestion of life except the
barking of a distant dog, which, repeated with me-
chanical iteration, served rather to accentuate than
dispel the loneliness of the scene.
The man looked curiously about him on all sides,
as one who among familiar surroundings is unable
to determine his exact place and part in the scheme
of things. It is so, perhaps, that we shall act when,
risen from the dead, we await the call to judgment.
A hundred yards away was a straight road, show-
ing white in the moonlight. Endeavouring to orient
himself, as a surveyor or navigator might say, the
man moved his eyes slowly along its visible length
and at a distance of a quarter-mile to the south of
his station saw, dim and grey in the haze, a group
of horsemen riding to the north. Behind them were
men afoot, marching in column, with dimly gleam-
ing rifles aslant above their shoulders. They moved
slowly and in silence. Another group of horsemen,
another regiment of infantry, another and another
--all in unceasing motion toward the man's point
of view, past it, and beyond.
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