锘挎澀宸炶冻娴存补鍘?
give room for all that he’s stowin’ away.”
“Harry Joslyn 鏉窞瓒虫荡瀵绘ml ‘s runnin’ nose-and-nose with him. There ain’t the width o’ their forelocks difference. Harry’s yelled for more beans at the same second that Gid has. In fact, not one of ’em has lagged. They’re a great gang, I tell you, but I wouldn’t 鏉窞娲楁荡鐨勫湴鏂?want to board any one of ’em for six bits a week.”
Maj. Oglesvie came up.
“Serg’t Klegg,” said he, “the Quartermaster says that he’s got a train load of ammunition to send forward, but he’s scarce of guards. I
thought of your squad. Don’t you think you could take charge of it? I don’t imagine there is much need of a guard, for things have been pretty quiet down the road for some weeks. Still, it isn’t right to send off so important a train without any protection.”
“Only be too glad of the dooty, sir,” answered Si, saluting. “It’ll give the 鏉窞妗戞嬁涓績鐗规湇 boys something to think of besides hanging guerrillas. Besides,
they’re just crazy to git hold o’ guns. Where kin I git muskets for ’em?”
“March them right over to that shed there,” said the Major, “and the Quartermaster will issue them muskets and equipments, which you can turn over again when you 鏉窞妗戞嬁ml reach Chattanooga. Good-by. I hope you’ll have a pleasant trip. Remember me to the boys of the old brigade and tell them I’ll be with them before they start out for Atlanta.”
“Purty slouchy bizniss that, givin’ these kids guns before they’ve had any drill at all鈥攄on’t know even the facin’s, let alone the manual of arms,” remarked Shorty doubtfully, as they marched over to the shed. “They’ll be shooting holes through each others’ heads and the tops o’ the cars, and’ll waste more ammynition than a six-mule team kin haul. They’ll make a regler 鏉窞姘寸（q寰俊 Fourth o’ July from here to Chattynoogy.”
“Don’t be worried about them boys,” Si reassured him. “Every one of ’em is used to handlin’ guns. Then, we kin keep the catridges ourselves and not issue any till they’re needed, which they mayn’t be.”
The boys were in a buzz of delight at getting the guns they had so longed for, and Si’s first duty was to end an exuberant bayonet fencing match between Gid and Harry which was imitated all along the line.
“Stop that,” he called. “Put your minds to learnin’ to load and shoot first. It’ll be some time before you git a chance to prod a rebel with a bayonet. Rebels are as wild as crows. You’ll be lucky to git as close to ’em as the other side of a 40-acre field.”
“But s’posin’ a rebel runs at you with his bayonet,” expostulated Harry Joslyn, “oughtn’t you to know how to ward him off and settle 鏉窞娌瑰帇鎸夋懇浼氭墍璁哄潧 him?”
“The best way’s to settle him jest as he comes over the hill, half-a-mile away, with an ounce o’ cold lead put where he lives. That’ll take the pint offen his bayonet mighty certainly.”
Si and Shorty showed the boys how to put on the belts carrying the cap- and cartridge-boxes, and gave them a little dumb-show instruction in loading and firing, ending with exhibiting to them a cartridge, and the method of tearing it with the teeth and putting it in the gun.
“Now give us some catridges,” clamored the boys, “and let us do some real 鏉窞鐢峰＋spa浼氭墍 shootin