bullets which they
shot were peas. Rollo had seen these shooting-places before, when he
went through the Fields on the first Sunday after he came; so he did not
stop long here, but called Carlos's attention to something that he had
never seen before, which was going on at a place a little under a tree,
a little farther along. A large boy seemed to be pitching quoits. There
were a number of persons around him looking on. There was a sort of box
placed near the tree, the bottom of which was about two feet square. It
had a back next the tree, and two sides, but it had no front or top. In
fact, it was almost precisely like a wheelbarrow without any wheel,
legs, or handles.

[Illustration: SINGING IN THE OPEN AIR.]

The bottom or floor of this box had a great many round and flat plates
of brass upon it, about four inches in diameter, and about four inches
apart from each other. The player had ten other plates in his hand, of
the same size with those which were upon the bottom of the plate. He
took these, one by one, and standing back at a certain distance, perhaps
about as far as one good long pace, pitched them, as boys do quoits, in
upon the floor of the box. What he tried to do was, to cover up one of
the disks in the box so that no part of it could be seen. If he did so
he was to have a prize; and he paid two sous for the privilege of
playing. The prizes consisted of little articles of porcelain, bronzes,
cheap jewelry, images, and other similar things, which were all placed
conspicuously on shelves against the tree, above the box, in view of the
player.

It seemed to the bystanders as if it would be not at all difficult to
toss the disks so as with ten to cover one; but those who tried seemed
to find it very difficult to accomplish the object. Even if the disks
which they tossed fell in the right place, they would rebound or slide
away, and sometimes knock away those which were already well placed.
Still, after trying once, the players wore usually unwilling to give up
without trying a second, and even a third and fourth time, so that they
generally lost six or eight sous before they were willing to stop;
especially as the man himself would now and then play the disks, and he,
having made himself skilful by great practice, found no difficulty in
piling up his ten disks wherever he wished them to go.

"I could do it, I verily believe," said Rollo. "I should like to try. I
mean to go and ask my father if I may."

So