The Last RebelAltsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
History
The Last Rebel
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
Prisoners -- Fiction; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
"The colonel hates all Yankees, and so do the rest of us," he said,
in surly fashion; "but he doesn't want to starve any of you to death,
though I guess you starved enough of us to death in Camp Chase."
"Camp Chase? what the deuce was that?" I asked.
"One of your war prisons," he replied. "Try that coffee; you'll find it
good, and you'll find the venison and the beef to be good too."
I had no doubt that I would. I put the question immediately to proof,
which, I may add, was satisfactory. Encouraged by his friendly comment
upon the food, in which he seemed to take a certain pride, perhaps
having cooked it himself, I spoke to him in friendly fashion, expecting
a reply of like tenor. But he seemed to have repented of his sudden
courtesy, and made no reply. He had placed the tray upon the table, and
without further word or action left the room. I heard him locking my
door with as much care as if he had been Colonel Hetherill himself.
I began now to feel that I was in truth and reality a prisoner, a fact
which I contemplated before only in a humorous or make-believe way.
Nevertheless it did not interfere with my appetite. I realized that
prisoners may become as hungry as free men, and, as I could truthfully
say I knew not where the next meal would come from, I made satisfactory
disposition of this.
Refreshed and strengthened, I put the emptied tray on the floor, and
drew my stool to the window, where I took a seat, hoping that the lady
of the castle, for so in my fancy I had named her, would appear again.
But the lady did not condescend, nor did any other human being. Perhaps
they did not know that I was waiting. Instead, I saw the coming of the
night.
Since that night I have felt pity for every prisoner in his cell who
watches the approach of darkness. There is so much friendliness, so
much good cheer and encouragement about the sun that even the felon
must look to him, through bars though it be, as a friend. Even I, who
was conscious of no crime and had just eaten a good warm supper, the
best of all tonics, felt my spirits decline with the day.
My window looked to the southwest, right into the eye of the setting
sun. It was a very big sun and a very red sun, turning all the
mountains into red, its blazing scarlet dyes rubbing out the more
modest yellows and browns, and even touching the withered grass with
flame. The red lances of light fell across the river, and the water
foaming around the mound seemed to break in bubbles of fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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