very wide awake this
morning. The stranger had a gun. And when the brave handsome man offered
the stranger a drink what do you suppose the stranger said?"

"I know," cried little Prudence eagerly. "He said, 'Why yes I don't care
if I do.' That's what they all say."

"No, Prudence," replied Miss Pinkwood. "The stranger refused a drink."

"Oh come now, Aunt Polly," chorused the boys and girls. "You said you
were going to tell us a true story." And their little faces fell.

"Children," said Miss Polly, "the stranger refused the drink because he
was a Revenue Officer. And he pointed his gun at the brave handsome man
and said he would have to go to jail because he had not paid the tax on
his whisky. And the brave handsome man would have had to have gone to
jail, too; but fortunately his brother came up just at the right time
and--"

"Shot the Revenuer dead," cried the children in glee.

"Yes children," said Miss Polly. "He shot the Revenue Officer dead."

"Oh goody goody," cried all. "Now tell us another story. Tell us about
the time your father killed a Revenue Officer with an ax."

"Oh you don't want to hear that again, do you children?" said Aunt
Polly.

"Oh yes--yes--please," they cried, and Aunt Polly was just going to
begin when Jed the driver stopped his horses and said:

"This hilltop is as good a place to shoot from as I know of, Miss
Pinkwood. You can see both roads, and nobody can see you."

"Thank you, Jed," said Aunt Polly giving him a kindly smile, and without
more ado the children clambered out of the carryall and filled their
guns with powder and bullets.

"I get first shot," proudly announced Robert, the oldest boy, and
somewhat of a bully.

"Robert!" said Aunt Polly severely, and she looked almost ready to cry,
for Aunt Polly had tried hard to teach the boys to be true knights of
chivalry and it hurt her to have Robert wish to shoot a Revenue Officer
before the girls had had a chance. Robert had not meant to hurt Aunt
Polly's feelings but had only been thoughtless, and soon all was
sunshine again as little Ellen the youngest made ready to fire the first
shot.

The children waited patiently and soon they were rewarded by the sight
of a Revenue Officer riding on horseback in the distant valley, as
pretty a target as one could wish.

"Now do be careful, dear," whispered Miss Pinkwood, "for if you miss, he
may take alarm and be off." But little Ellen did not miss. "Bang" went
her gun and the