The Locket
I
One night in autumn a few men were gathered about a fire on the slope of a hill. They belonged to a small detachment of Confederate forces and were awaiting orders to march. Their gray uniforms were worn beyond the point of shabbiness. One of the men was heating something in a tin cup over the embers. Two were lying at full length a little distance away, while a fourth was trying to decipher a letter and had drawn close to the light. He had unfastened his collar and a good bit of his flannel shirt front.
"What's that you got around your neck, Ned?" asked one of the men lying in the obscurity.
Ned--or Edmond--mechanically fastened another button of his shirt and did not reply. He went on reading his letter.
"Is it your sweet heart's picture?"
"`Taint no gal's picture," offered the man at the fire. He had removed his tin cup and was engaged in stirring its grimy contents with a small stick. "That's a charm; some kind of hoodoo business that one o' them priests gave him to keep him out o' trouble. I know them Cath'lics. That's how come Frenchy got permoted an never got a scratch sence he's been in the ranks. Hey, French! aint I right?" Edmond looked up absently from his letter.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Aint that a charm you got round your neck?"
"It must be, Nick," returned Edmond with a smile. "I don't know how I could have gone through this year and a half without it."

吊缀

在一个秋天的晚上数名男子围着炉火聚集在山坡上。他们是同盟国军队里正在等待命令的一个小队伍。他们身穿的灰色制服已非常破旧。其中一名男子正在余火上加热着锡杯里的一些东西。还有两人平躺着保持了一点距离，而第四个人在接近灯光的地方正辩读着信件。他解开了衣领，这是件好的法兰绒衬衫。 "奈德，你脖子上带的是什么"， 其中躺在暗处的一个人问到。Ned另名Edmond机械似的很快扣上了他衬衣的另一个纽扣没有答复。他继续读着他的信。
"这是你爱人的照片吗" ？
"女人的照片是不允许的" 在篝火旁的男子讲到。他已把锡杯从火上拿下来，继续用着一个小棒子搅拌里面恶心的东西。 "那是护身符吧;一些辟邪的生意是神父为了让他避免灾难给他的。我知道他们——宗教信徒 。自从他当兵以来，这就是Franchy被升职也从未受过伤的原因。嘿！法国人！我说的对吗？"
Edmond心不在焉的从他的信上抬起了头问道
"怎么啦" ？。
"在你脖子上挂的是个护身符吧" ？
"当然是啦，尼克， "edmond微笑的回答到。"没有他我真不知道我这一年半是怎么走过来的"