Confederate Lieutenant Anderson Blanks has grown weary of the War Between the States. He is all too aware of the tenuous thread that ties him to this earth -- as he writes a letter home to his sister, he realizes he may be among the dead by the time she receives the missive. His melancholy mood is shared by other soldiers in the campsite; in the cool Virginia night, the pickets claim to hear ghosts in the woods, and their own talk spooks them. Andy knows the "ghost" is nothing more than a wounded soldier left on the battlefield, dying in the darkness. With compassion, Andy takes the picket's lantern and canteen in the hopes of easing the soldier's pain. After a tense confrontation with the soldier, Andy is shocked to discover none other than Samuel Talley, a young man Andy's father had chased from their plantation when the romantic relationship between the two boys came to light. The last time the two had seen each other, Sam had been heading west to seek his fortune, and had promised to send for Andy when he could. Then the war broke out, and Andy had enlisted in the Confederate Army to help ease the financial burden at home. Apparently Sam had similar ideas -- he now wears the blue coat of a Union solider. Sam is severely wounded and infection has begun to set in. Andy can't sneak him into his own camp for treatment because all Union soldiers are taken prisoner. But Andy's Confederate uniform prevents him from seeking help from the nearby Union camp, as well. It's up to Andy to tend his lover's wound and get Sam the help he needs before it's too late ... and before Andy's compatriots discover Sam's presence.

A Heart Divided

“I’m not dying,” the soldier said, his voice stubborn. 


For a moment he didn’t think the soldier would answer, and he wondered if he could chance another step. He imagined the man somewhere ahead of him, propped up against the body of a fallen comrade maybe, the last of his strength used to level the rifle where Andy stood.He heard me approach and loaded the gun while he sang, enticing me on like a siren singing a sailor to his death.Andy felt a surge of pride at the soldier’s presence of mind despite his circumstances. In another world, he thought maybe they might have been friends. 


Finally there was a sigh and the stranger laughed, a weary sound. “You thought me dying,” he said, “and you came for my rations, is that it? You’d take the clothes from my back and the shoes from my feet, and help yourself to any money you find, any food I have, my ammunition and weapon, maybe. Anything on me.” 


Chapter 4