He moved gently across the floor, and then passed toward the open door.
How good that puff of fresh air and freedom felt on his face! He did not
know that Colonel Woodville raised his head on the pillow, glanced after
him, and then let his head sink back and his eyes close again. A low
sigh came between the colonel's lips, and it would have been difficult to
say whether it was relief or regret.
Dick stepped into the narrow path cut in the side of the ravine and
inhaled more draughts of the fresh air. How sweet and strong it was!
How it filled one's lungs and brought with it life, courage and
confidence! One had to live in a hole in a hill before he could
appreciate fully the blessed winds that blew about the world. He knew
that the path ran in front of other hollows dug in the earth, and he felt
sorry for the people who were compelled to burrow in them. He felt sorry,
in truth, for all Vicksburg, because now that he was outside his fears
for Grant disappeared, and he knew that he must win.
While he remained in the path a deep boom came from the direction of the
Union army and a huge shell burst over the town.
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