Colonel Mallory was a soldier — by his uniform, by his instincts, by the savagery of command decisions made in the field for most of his adult life.
Lieutenant Ben Hannibal was a man, but it was not yet clear if he was a soldier. In a little while they would charge over the crest and smash the Indian village without warning and without mercy. And without the legal right to do so.
The Colonel had decided that the men would follow Ben Hannibal in the charge. But if the Colonel was wrong — they would all be staring the unspeakable in the face...