o show he was a better shot, and he banged away and missed,
too, and then the other boys, they had to try their hands, and they
belted away, one after another, and they all missed. I guess we didn't
count as we ougther've done on the goin' forward o' the train, because
we all struck much nearer than we expected to that nigger on a mule, and
scared his mule nigh out o' his skin. We really didn't intend no harm."

"Where did you git catridges?" demanded Si.

"Why, that box that Alf Russell got was half full. He tried to keep 'em
all hisself, and intended to shoot 'em off, one by one, to make the rest
of us envious. Alf always was a pig in school, and never would divide
his apples or doughnuts with the other boys. But we see them almost as
quick as he did, an' Gid and me set down on him suddently, as he was
lying on the roof, and took away all his catridges, and give 'em around
to the rest o' the boys, one a-piece."

"Are they all gone now?"

"Yes, sir; every one shot away," answered Harry regretfully.

Si looked through several of the boxes and at some of the guns to assure
himself of this. He gave those near him a lecture on their offense, and
then climbed down into the car and resumed his paper, while Shorty
was soon immersed again in the abstruse study of the relation of the
cross-barred designs on the back of the cards to the numbers and suits
of their faces.

They had passed Lavergne, and were approaching Stewart's Creek, when
another startling rattle of musketry broke out, this time from the
forepart of the train.

"Now, great Scott, what's up?" said Si angrily, as he quickly surveyed
the surrounding country. He saw that they were not attacked, and then
clambered to the top of the car, where he noticed little wreaths of
powder-smoke lingering around the squad in which were Jim Humphreys,
little Pete Skidmore and Wes. Brown.

"What're you young whelps shootin' for?" demanded Si. They were all
so abashed at his sternness that they could not find their tongues for
reply, until little Pete piped up:

"Why we've bin talkin' to the train men, and they said they wuz shot
at wunst, about a year ago, from that swamp back there, and we got some
catridges from them, and we thought we saw something moving in there,
though Jim Humphreys said it wuz only burned stumps that we took for
men, and them other boys back there had bin shootin' off their gunn and
tryin' 'em, and we thought we could too--"

"You little brats,"