"Corporal troc?" "Yes, sir." "I don't like this place, be quick." "Yes, sir." "Whiskey." "Hey, that bottle'll cost you a dollar, mister." "Here you are, sir." "Here, give me that, or give me a dollar." "Sir, put it on my bill." "You heard the major." "Major?" "I don't know him, an' he has no bill with me." "He does now, sir." "Oh, we'll see what the marshal has to say about that." "You have my permission, corporal." "Thank you, sir." "Corporal?" "Yes, sir?" "Tell me who that man is." "That's mccain, sir." "Lieutenant lucas mccain." "8th indiana, union army." "I just wanna make sure." "Imagine seeing' him after 15 years." "We're in luck, corporal." "We're in luck." "Lucas, that shirt is going to be much too big for mark." "The way that boy is growin'," "Milly, it'll be too small for him in three months." "Lieutenant mccain?" "I'm lucas mccain." "Major's compliments, sir." "He'd like you to join him outside, at your convenience." "Who are you?" "Corporal troc." "Aid to major king, sir." "At your service." "Well, you can tell the major," "If he wants to see me, come on in here." "That's impossible, sir." "Why?" "You wouldn't be expected to know why, would you?" "I don't know what you're talkin' about, corporal." "Shall I tell the major you'll be out, sir?" "Yes, you can tell 'im I'll be out, when I'm through in here." "Thank you, sir." "Who in the world are they?" "Search me." "Well, he certainly acted" "As if he knew you." "I mean, he called you lieutenant." "Well, I used to be a lieutenant, milly." "King?" "He said major king, didn't he?" "Now that name is familiar." "I don't think he recognized me, sir, or remembered you." "Really?" "That's odd." "We remember him very well, don't we, corporal?" "Yes, sir." "Very well." "These two here, micah." "Standin' here drinkin' my whiskey" "Like I was givin' it away." "Maybe you'd like to explain that, mister?" "Not mister." "I'm major aaron king, 12th cavalry," "Better known as king's huzzars." "Well, that so?" "Well, then," "Surely the major has a dollar for that bottle of whiskey." "I told that barkeeper to put it on my bill." "He has no bill with me, micah." "I never saw either one of them before." "It's only a dollar." "Sweeney?" "Charge the bottle to me." "What?" "Major is, uh, an old acquaintance of mine." "Well, if you say so, lucas." "Now, I assure you, sir, this matter is of no concern to you." "My compliments, major." "Very well, then, if you insist, thank you." "Just how long have you two been friends?" "Well, I wouldn't say we were exactly friends, micah." "Hardly." "But if we had met under different circumstances," "We might have been." "Eh, lieutenant?" "I'd like to think that, major." "I thought you said lieutenant mccain didn't remember us?" "Well, sir, when we were" "Well, at first I didn't, major." "It s been- 15 years." "Hmm, long time." "Oh, uh, you two knew each other during' the war?" "Siege of fort donaldson." "The battle of fort donaldson." "Battle of fort donaldson." "See micah, I was lieutenant then," "With the 8th indiana" "The 12th cavalry, king's huzzars, went down in glorious" "Defeat..." "To the 8th indiana." "If we'd had reinforcements, we'd have licked 'em." "Maybe so." "The fortunes of war, corporal," "How many times do I have to remind you o' that?" "Yes, sir." "Lieutenant mccain was our captain, marshal." "It was my platoon, major, not me alone." "You were in charge, sir." "That made you responsible." "Corporal, you were followin' the same orders I was." "Defeat the enemy?" "Of course." "I must apologize" "For my aid, gentlemen." "He finds it hard to blame only" "Circumstance for what happened to us afterwards." "You see," "We were sent to donnaton." "And after two an' a half years in prison," "Corporal troc an' I were all that remained" "Of the 12th cavalry." "I'm sorry, major." "I didn't know." "You didn't know?" "You didn't know?" "Troc!" "Again the fortunes of war." "You saw off that andersonville," "Northern donnaton." "Both blights on the face of humanity." "Oh, did I offer you a drink, lieutenant?" "Major, I..." "I don't think the middle of the street is the" "Place to- look, why don't we all go in the saloon?" "No!" "Prepare to mount, corporal." "If you mind, it is a small place, no room enough to" "Move around in." "I..." "I don't like being crowded in." "It's" "Major, sir." "Come along now, sir." "We'll mount right now." "Yes, quickly." "Good day, gentlemen." "What do you make of that, lucas?" "I don't know what to make of it, micah." "I never saw anybody" "Like those two." "War, imprisonment, they can do a lot of things to a man." "Like you said, the war has been over a long time." "You heard what he said, micah." "Donnaton prison, some say it was worse than andersonville." "Perfect, corporal, couldn't be better." "Shall I make camp, sir?" "By all means." "Yeah, open sky above us, horizon all around us," "Everythin' is big, wide, free, nothin' to close in." "Hey!" "Corporal, come here." "Look at that." "Yes, sir." "Look here." "Stone floor." "Remember we had stone floor?" "An' we couldn't dig, because it was stone." "Walls were strong," "No windows..." "No light." "It was a tomb, corporal, it was a livin' tomb." "Major." "Major, sir, I'll get you a drink." "A drink will make" "You feel better, an' a good night's rest." "Drink, yeah." "Rest an' a drink." "By all means a drink." "Yes, we'll drink." "We'll drink to the past." "The past that still lives." "Lives in the body an' soul of lieutenant lucas mccain." "8th indiana." "Here, pa." "Oh, thanks, son." "If you wait till I get back" "From school, I'll help you with the rest of the wood." "Oh, this won't take long." "Besides, I want you to stop" "At milly's on the way home from school." "Oh, what for?" "Well, I bought you three new" "Shirts yesterday, she wants to take some tucks in them for you." "They're kinda big." "Didn't she have any in my size?" "These will fit you." "Hmm." "About six months from now." "Six?" "Oh, pa." "Nice pile of firewood," "Lieutenant." "Turn around." "An' don't you try nothin'." "What's that gun for?" "Major's orders, lieutenant." "The major- -major, sir!" "Good work, corporal." "Thank you, sir." "Corporal troc is most reliable." "Corporal, search the barn," "An' take what we need." "An' there'll be food in the house." "Now just" "Don't you move, you turn around." "What is it you want, major?" "You, lieutenant mccain, you." "An' I won't hesitate to kill you if a need arises," "Although I don't want to yet." "You'd kill me, why?" "Once I stood under your gun," "A helpless prisoner, as you stand now." "An' for that I an'" "Corporal troc's made two an' a half years in the hell" "That was donnaton prison." "Look, major, that was 15 years ago." "We were at war." "That's over now, ended." "There shall be no end of the war, lieutenant, as long as men" "Like you an' I still oppose one another." "I don't oppose anybody." "As long as the memory of donnaton remains, you oppose me." "Now, major, I had nothin' to do with you being in that prison." "You captured me, lieutenant, as I have captured you." "You're out of your mind." "How dare you speak to a superior officer like that?" "You sure know how to rile up the major like that, lieutenant." "Next time he's gonna use that gun to kill you with!" "Let's get on with it, corporal." "We have a good ride ahead of us." "Yes, sir." "On your feet, lieutenant." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Take it easy, lieutenant." "You'll have a chance to talk" "While you're resting'." "You'll be resting' a long, long time." "Remarkable job, wouldn't you" "Say, lieutenant?" "Corporal troc an' I devised it ourselves." "'course it isn't spacious as our quarters in donnaton prison," "But it's only required to hold one man." "Remove the gag, corporal." "I believe that the lieutenant is tryin' to tell us somethin'." "You intend to put me in that thing?" "I not only intend putting' you in there, I intend keeping' you" "There..." "For two an' a half years." "But, major, you leave me in there, I wouldn't last a week." "We won't leave you, will we, corporal?" "No, sir." "Not for one minute." "Isn't proper to leave a prisoner." "Also I wanna observe" "Your reaction." "Besides, we have nowhere to go, what could be" "Better?" "We have open sky, we have fresh air." "This will be our home." "You're mad." "The both of you" "Are mad!" "Major, that..." "That thing is- it's a cage." "Release his hands." "Yes, major." "Besides, it would encourage him" "To escape." "It should be most interestin' to watch." "You listen to me, lieutenant." "You gonna crawl in there." "You" "Gonna crawl on your hands an' knees, like we did at donnaton." "An' you gonna start crawling' now or by all that's holy I'm gonna" "Blow your brains out!" "You hear me?" "!" "Now, you crawl!" "Come on." "Crawl in there like the animal you are!" "Pa?" "I'm home." "Sorry I'm late, but mr." "Griswald kept" "Pa?" "Pa." "There's fat an' bone left on there, corporal." "It's an ample" "A meal for our prisoner, wouldn't you say?" "Yes, sir." "Here." "Think I oughta dump in some of these coffee grounds?" "By all means." "You know, I believe he's not gonna like this." "I mean," "Leastways not at first he ain't." "It took us a while to get" "Used to the food at donnaton, if you recall." "Yes, sir, I recall." "Hey, lieutenant, we've got some dinner for ya." "Now I'm gonna" "Give it to you with one hand, an' I got my gun aimed at you," "With the other." "So don't you try nothin'." "Hope you don't mind eatin' off the ground." "Wouldn't do, if you haven't seen a tin plate." "We never did have tin plates at donnaton." "We didn't have any plates at all." "Eat well, sir." "Micah!" "Micah!" "You asleep, lieutenant?" "What is it?" "I thought I'd talk to you," "Keep up your morale." "At donnaton, the guards used to talk to us quiet often." "I can't hear what you're sayin'." "Ah, you want me to come closer." "I'm quite close enough." "What's the matter, major?" "You afraid?" "Of you?" "Hardly." "Well, I can't hear what you're sayin'," "You're gonna have to come closer." "I will not come any closer," "An' you can't make me!" "This is your prison, you hear me?" "This is not mine, this is your prison." "I don't belong in there!" "Major, sir." "Major." "I don't be" "Major, come on back now, sir." "Come on back an' lie down." "You look up at the stars, there've been nothin' above you," "Sir, but the stars." "Yes, the stars." "To be able to look up, an' see the stars." "Yes, sir." "Come on now." "You can look up an' see the stars winking'." "What's the matter, lieutenant?" "You're getting restless already?" "You better stop movin' around so much, it will wear yourself out." "You hear?" "I hear you." "Here look, lieutenant." "I've got some nice soft pork fat," "An' bread dippings for your breakfast." "An' I'm gonna have my" "Gun trained on you, so don't you try nothin'." "I want you to eat hearty." "You had no right to escape, you were my prisoner." "You better get to bed, son." "Ridin' with micah all night," "Lookin' for me must have tuckered you out." "No, pa, I'm not tired." "Uh, you're the one who needs a rest." "Must have been pretty bad, huh?" "Yeah." "But it was worse for them, mark." "Being like that 15 years later." "This was the major's." "How are you feelin', lucas boy?" "I'll tell you, micah, I'm glad I'm here." "You always told me a flag was a symbol of courage, pa." "What right do they have to carry this?" "It was their flag, mark." "Yeah, but look at the type of people they were," "What they did to pa." "Well, you can't rightly blame them, son." "Donnaton prison was" "Responsible for that." "This flag-this flag stands for the" "Bravery of all the men who fought an' died under it." "The men who fought against it." "Only to prove in the end that the victor an' loser" "Were one an' the same." "Free men in a free country."