The Battle Ground

The Battle Ground, by Ellen
Glasgow

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Title: The Battle Ground
Author: Ellen Glasgow
Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6872] [Yes, we are more than

one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on February 5,
2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
BATTLE GROUND ***

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THE BATTLE GROUND
By ELLEN GLASGOW
To
The Beloved Memory of My Mother

CONTENTS
BOOK FIRST
GOLDEN YEARS
I. "De Hine Foot er a He Frawg" II. At the Full of the Moon III. The
Coming of the Boy IV. A House with an Open Door V. The School for
Gentlemen VI. College Days
BOOK SECOND

YOUNG BLOOD
I. The Major's Christmas II. Betty dreams by the Fire III. Dan and Betty
IV. Love in a Maze V. The Major loses his Temper VI. The Meeting in
the Turnpike VII. If this be Love VIII. Betty's Unbelief IX. The
Montjoy Blood X. The Road at Midnight XI. At Merry Oaks Tavern
XII. The Night of Fear XIII. Crabbed Age and Callow Youth XIV. The
Hush before the Storm
BOOK THIRD
THE SCHOOL OF WAR
I. How Merry Gentlemen went to War II. The Day's March III. The
Reign of the Brute IV. After the Battle V. The Woman's
Part VI. On the Road to Romney
VII. "I wait my Time" VIII. The Altar of the War God IX. The Montjoy
Blood again
BOOK FOURTH
THE RETURN OF THE VANQUISHED
I. The Ragged Army II. A Straggler from the Ranks III. The Cabin in
the Woods IV. In the Silence of the Guns V. "The Place Thereof" VI.
The Peaceful Side of War. VII. The Silent Battle VIII. The Last Stand
IX. In the Hour of Defeat X. On the March again XI. The Return

BOOK FIRST
GOLDEN YEARS

I

"DE HINE FOOT ER A HE FRAWG"
Toward the close of an early summer afternoon, a little girl came
running along the turnpike to where a boy stood wriggling his feet in
the dust.
"Old Aunt Ailsey's done come back," she panted, "an' she's conjured
the tails off Sambo's sheep. I saw 'em hanging on her door!"
The boy received the news with an indifference from which it blankly
rebounded. He buried one bare foot in the soft white sand and withdrew
it with a jerk that powdered the blackberry vines beside the way.
"Where's Virginia?" he asked shortly.
The little girl sat down in the tall grass by the roadside and shook her
red curls from her eyes. She gave a breathless gasp and began fanning
herself with the flap of her white sunbonnet. A fine moisture shone on
her bare neck and arms above her frock of sprigged chintz calico.
"She can't run a bit," she declared warmly, peering into the distance of
the long white turnpike. "I'm a long ways ahead of her, and I gave her
the start. Zeke's with her."
With a grunt the boy promptly descended from his heavy dignity.
"You can't run," he retorted. "I'd like to see a girl run, anyway." He
straightened his legs and thrust his hands into his breeches pockets.
"You can't run," he repeated.
The little girl flashed a clear defiance; from a pair of beaming hazel
eyes she threw him a scornful challenge. "I bet I can beat you," she
stoutly rejoined. Then as the boy's glance fell upon her hair, her
defiance waned. She put on her sunbonnet and drew it down over her
brow. "I reckon I can run some," she finished uneasily.
The boy followed her movements with a candid stare. "You can't hide
it," he taunted; "it shines right through everything. O Lord, ain't I