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Je and pulled the softoh, Jeer stood for arise and fall of his breathing

"Good-night, laddie," he whispered at last, and touched the soft padded round of the little boy’s bottom "God bless you and keep you safe"

58

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

May 1, 1771

May Union Camp

I WOKE UP JUST PAST DAWN, roused by an insect of so I twitched rass, evidently alarledno more intruders in my blanket, drew a deep breath of sap-filled fresh air and relaxed luxuriously

I could hear faint stirrings nearby, but it was only the sta before the men did The ca several hundred men was likely to be at any hour The sheet of canvas overhead gloith soft light and leaf-shadows, but the sun was not yet fully up I closed et up for some time yet--and when I did, someone else would have ht before, after a winding journey down from the mountains and across the piedmont, to arrive at the place of rendezvous, at Colonel Bryan’s plantation We were in good time; Tryon had not yet arrived with his troops from New Bern, nor had the Craven and Carteret County detach the artillery field pieces and swivel guns Tryon’s troops were expected sometiht before

A grasshopper landed on the canvas above with an audible thump I eyed it narrowly, but it didn’t seeoodness Perhaps I should have accepted Mrs Bryan’s offer to findwith a few other officers’ wives who had acco in the field with hisa bed involving Jalanced sideways, careful not toquite still, though, utterly relaxed, save for his right hand He had this raised, and appeared to be exa and uncurling his fingers--as well as he could The fourth finger had a fused joint, and was perhtly twisted, a deep white scar spiraling round the middle joint

His hand was callused and battered by work, and the tiny stigma of a nail-wound still showed, pale-pink, in the middle of his palm The skin of his hand was deeply bronzed and weathered, freckled with sun-blots and scattered with bleached gold hairs I thought it remarkably beautiful

"Happy Birthday," I said, softly "Taking stock?"

He let the hand fall on his chest, and turned his head to look at h I suppose I’ve a few hours left I was born at half-six; I willna have lived a full half-century until supperti the blanket off The air was still delightfully cool, but it wouldn’t last long

"Do you expect to disintegrate

"Oh, I dinna suppose anything is likely to fall off by then," he said, consideringly "As to the workingsaye, well" He arched his back, stretching, and sank back with a gratified groan as my hand settled on hi order," I assured hihtly "Not loose at all"

"Good," he said, folding his hand firmly over mine to prevent further unauthorized experi stock, as ye say?"

I let him keep hold of the hand, but shifted to set my chin in the center of his chest, where a small depression seemed made for the purpose

"I always do that, when I have a birthday--though I generally do it the night before More looking back, I think, reflecting a bit on the year that’s just gone But I do check things over; I think perhaps everyone does Just to see if you’re the same person as the day before"

"I’m reasonably certain that I aes, do ye?"

I liftedplace and looked him over carefully It was in fact rather hard to look at him objectively; I was both so used to his features and so fond of thes about hierly forward, just slightly out of line with its fellows--and to respond to the slightest change of his expression--but not really to look at hirated whole