One autumn night, four Confederate soldiers in worn, gray uniforms are encamped on a hill as they wait for their orders. One man heats food in a tin cup, and two other men are resting away from the fire, while Edmond sits with his shirt unbuttoned as he tries to read a letter. One of the resting men asks about the object around Edmond's neck, but Edmond does not answer.
The men speculate that the object is a picture of Edmond, while Nick, the man with a tin cup, speculates that it is a magical Catholic to protect Edmond, who is French and who has not been injured after a year and a half of war. Edmond jokingly agrees. Homesick, he lies on his back and thinks of the spring day when Octavia said goodbye to him. She had given him her locket, which has images of her parents and the date of their marriage.