Carter Druse was born in Virginia. He loved his parents, his home and the south. But he loved his country, too. And in 1861, when the US was divided by a terrible war, Carter Druse, a southerner, decided to join the army of the north.

He told his father about his decision one morning at breakfast. The old man looked at his only son for a moment, too shocked to speak. Then he said, “Please don’t tell your mother about your decision. She is sick, and we both know she has only a few weeks to live. ”

Carter’s father paused, again looking deep into his son’s eyes. “Carter, ” he said, “No matter what happens, be sure that you always do what you think is your duty. ”

Both Carter Druse and his father left the table that morning with broken hearts. And Carter soon left his home and everyone he deeply loved behind.

One sunny afternoon, a few months later, Carter Druse was sent to guard a road which was only a few miles from an enemy’s base. It began in a forest, down in the valley, and climbed up the side of a huge rock. Anyone standing on the top of this high rock would be able to see down into the valley.

Hidden in the valley’s forest were thousands of Carter’s fellow soldiers. They had marched for thirty-six hours. Now they were resting.

Their plan was to attack by surprise their enemy on the other side of the valley. But if their enemy learned about the army hiding in the forest, the soldiers would find themselves in a trap with no escape. That was why Carter Druse had been sent to guard the road and it was his duty to be sure that no enemy soldier spied on the valley, where the army of the north was hiding.

Suddenly, he saw a man on horseback standing on the huge rock.

At that instant, the horseman turned his head and looked in Carter’s direction.

It was a Friday afternoon in November. After school, while all other students left the classroom and headed towards home, Mike stayed to go over what he had learned that day. About twenty minutes later, he took out his schoolbag, and decided to return home.

He looked out of the window and found it was going to rain soon. The wind was blowing violently, and the dark clouds were gathering. Luckily, Mike brought an umbrella to school that morning. Carrying his schoolbag and the umbrella, Mike walked out of the classroom in a hurry. His home was more than three kilometers away. Being afraid of the heavy rain, Mike quickened his steps. After Mike had just walked for dozens of meters, it began to thunder and rain lightly. Mike put up his umbrella to prevent himself from getting wet. He didn't want to get sick because of the cold rain. All of the passers-by alongside the road quickened their steps, and the air was filled with people's anxiety. When Mike walked for about eight minutes, he saw a black car that was not far away slowly pulling up beside the road. A middle-aged driver stepped out of the car and appeared anxious. He checked one of the car's tyres (轮胎），finding his car couldn't move on unless the tyre was repaired. He then brought out some tools from the back of his car and bent down to fix the tyre. It began to rain heavily. But the man didn't return to his car. Instead, he continued to fix his car. He was alone, without an umbrella over his head. The drops of the rain coldly hit the trees' leaves, the ground, and also the man. The raindrops soon left big marks on his gray coat. Seeing that, Mike somehow felt quite sorry for the man. He couldn't help thinking, “If my father is trapped in such a situation, how upset he'll be! And how strongly he may wish that some kind person could help him!”

Thinking of that, Mike ran to the man, without hesitation.

Before long, Mike's shoulder got wet due to the rain.