Billy Boy Read Online Free PDF Page A

noticed, he crossed his arms over his chest, stretched his legs, and closed his tired eyes.
    A finger tapped his shoulder. He raised his head, which felt a little foggy. Frances Porter was looking down at him.
    â€œYou can go in now. I hope I didn’t startle you,” she said. “You’ve been asleep for some time.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” he said, rubbing his eyes. In the chair next to him an older man jabbed him in the ribs.
    â€œYou’ll be in a heap of trouble if the army catches you dozing on picket duty,” he said with a smirk.
    â€œPicket duty?”
    â€œOh, an innocent you are.”
    Billy said nothing, and walked timidly across the hall. He hesitated at the doorjamb, his gaze fixed on the grooves in the hobnailed floor.
    â€œDon’t stop there,” a firm voice said.
    Billy stepped warily into the room and stared at the officer in the crisp blue uniform sitting behind a desk, his thick, dark beard falling below a high-buttoned collar, his brown eyes narrow and penetrating. Billy recognized the oak desk as one from the schoolhouse and quietly wondered if his own pocketknife had marred its scarred surface. An American flag hung limply on a wooden shaft in the far corner of the bare room, providing the only color against the dull gray walls.
    Billy spoke first. “You the recruitin’ officer?”
    The uniformed man nodded. “Lieutenant Colonel Merrill. How old are you, son?” He scrutinized Billy from head to toe.
    â€œGonna be twenty come December.”
    â€œFair enough. Enlistment’s for three years. Are you aware of that?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œYou a drinking man?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œEver been in trouble?”
    Billy hesitated, shifted nervously on his feet. “Well, yes, sir, I reckon I have.”
    A frown crossed the officer’s face. “What kind of trouble?”
    â€œWell, last time when I didn’t finish up all my chores, Pa—”
    â€œChores?” The officer’s bushy eyebrows arched his face into a frown. “That the most trouble you’ve been in? Not finishing your chores?”
    Billy turned away from the officer’s stern gaze and stared vacantly at the American flag. He felt a lump in his throat. “Just forgot is all,” he said, wondering if he should leave.
    Lieutenant Colonel Merrill rubbed a hand along his beard, and then a faint smile crossed his face. “Farm boy, eh?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThis won’t be like the farm. You think you can perform the duties of a soldier?”
    Billy frowned with uncertainty.
    â€œDuties, young man. Can you handle them?”
    â€œYou mean like doing chores and all?”
    Lieutenant Colonel Merrill mumbled under his breath and then picked up a piece of paper from the desk. “I guess you could say duty is like doing chores. Only you have to finish your chores in the army.”
    â€œOh, yes, sir.” Billy bit down on his lower lip. “Then you ain’t sore at me? Am I gonna—”
    The officer waved an impatient hand as he cut Billy off in midsentence. “What’s your name?”
    â€œBilly Laird.”
    â€œFull name.”
    â€œWilliam H. Laird.”
    â€œWell, William H. Laird, you can expect to leave for Camp King on August seventh. Here are the terms of the enlistment.”
    Billy leaped down the town hall steps two at a time. The sky was a dark gray, the winds gusting, swirling dust and dirt in the crowded street. He hoped there was time to finish gathering hay before the rain came. Someone shouted his name. It was Harry, waving to him from the porch of Blaisdell’s Store, beckoning him over. Beside him, Mary Rogers held onto her hat and smiled.
    â€œHarry!” Billy yelled back as he ran into the street, darting out of the way of a wagon with empty milk tins rattling in the tailboard.
    â€œHey, Billy.”
    Billy stumbled on the stairs, laughed at his own