Old Woman. Is that you, Charles? | |
| Young Soldier. Yes, Granny—where are you? | |
| Old Woman. I am here in the corner, Charles. How did you escape from the battle? | |
| Young Soldier. I do not know; but here I am, as you can see. | |
| Old Woman. I do not see you very plainly, Charles. | 5 |
| Young Soldier. I cannot see you at all, Granny. | |
| Old Woman. I tell you I am here in the corner. | |
| Young Soldier. Very well, Granny; I begin to see you now. | |
| Old Woman. Please close the door behind you. I would not have it open for a minute with all those strange noises about. | |
| Young Soldier. I cannot close the door, Granny. It must have been jammed by the explosion. | 10 |
| Old Woman. But it has been swinging in the wind. | |
| Young Soldier. Yes, but I cannot close it. Where are all the others? | |
| Old Woman. They went away in a big cart. | |
| Young Soldier. Is Margaret safe? | |
| Old Woman. She went away in the cart. | 15 |
| Young Soldier. Why did not you go? | |
| Old Woman. I am too old to leave the house where I was born. I hid myself, and your father said they could not waste time looking for me. | |
| Young Soldier. How long before the firing began did they leave? | |
| Old Woman. About an hour, I think. | |
| Young Soldier. Then they must all be killed. | 20 |
| Old Woman. Yes, perhaps. | |
| Young Soldier. They might have hidden in the hills. | |
| Old Woman. They did not have time. War is terrible for poor people, Charles. | |
| Young Soldier. It is, indeed. If you could see the things I have seen! Our field and the old barn are all torn, and the bridge over the brook is blown up. | |
| Old Woman. It is very terrible to think of. | 25 |
| Young Soldier. Granny! | |
| Old Woman. Yes, Charles. | |
| Young Soldier. If I tell you something you must not be frightened. | |
| Old Woman. I will try not to be. | |
| Young Soldier. I am only a ghost, Granny. I am lying dead out there with my eyes open. I could not close them any more than I could close the door. | 30 |
| Old Woman. Now I can tell you, Charles: I am only a ghost, too; my body is lying in the cellar. | |
| Young Soldier. You were killed when the shell blew the house to pieces? | |
| Old Woman. Yes, Charles. | |
| Young Soldier. What shall we do now, Granny? | |
| Old Woman. We can do nothing but linger now. Perhaps when the war is over we shall die completely. | 35 |
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