Chapter Four is narrated by Private Otto Flickner, a Minnesota artilleryman. It is the first night of the battle, and Flickner is cowering at the riverbank with hundreds of other deserters. He rationalizes his actions by claiming, "I'm not scared, I'm just what they call demoralized." His search for justification leads him to remember the days events: the shattering surprise attack, one failed attempt after another to stand and fight, the endless concussions of oncoming enemy shells, and finally his running away because "so much is enough but a little bit more is too much." He and the other deserters are jeered at and called cowards by some reinforcements that pass by; their words force Flickner to realize that a coward is exactly what he has been. Without any real conscious effort, he finds himself leaving the riverbank and wandering through the woods looking for his unit. Almost miraculously, he comes upon them getting ready for one last stand. His sergeant, who witnessed his desertion, greets him as if nothing had happened and directs him back to his old gun.