a genuine spark from Penrod.

"Fourth o' July! I guess she'll be a little better than any
firecrackers! Just a little 'Bing!' Bing! Bing!' she'll be goin'. 'Bing!
Bing! Bing!'"

The suggestion of noise stirred his comrade. "I'll bet she'll go off
louder'n that time the gas-works blew up! I wouldn't be afraid to shoot
her off ANY time."

"I bet you would," said Penrod. "You aren't used to revolavers the way
I--"

"You aren't, either!" Sam exclaimed promptly, "I wouldn't be any more
afraid to shoot her off than you would."

"You would, too!"

"I would not!"

"Well, let's see you then; you talk so much!" And Penrod handed the
weapon scornfully to Sam, who at once became less self-assertive.

"I'd shoot her off in a minute," Sam said, "only it might break
sumpthing if it hit it."

"Hold her up in the air, then. It can't hurt the roof, can it?"

Sam, with a desperate expression, lifted the revolver at arm's length.
Both boys turned away their heads, and Penrod put his fingers in his
ears--but nothing happened. "What's the matter?" he demanded. "Why don't
you go on if you're goin' to?"

Sam lowered his arm. "I guess I didn't have her cocked," he said
apologetically, whereupon Penrod loudly jeered.

"Tryin' to shoot a revolaver and didn't know enough to cock her! If I
didn't know any more about revolavers than that, I'd--"

"There!" Sam exclaimed, managing to draw back the hammer until two
chilling clicks warranted his opinion that the pistol was now ready to
perform its office. "I guess she'll do all right to suit you THIS time!"

"Well, whyn't you go ahead, then; you know so much!" And as Sam raised
his arm, Penrod again turned away his head and placed his forefingers in
his ears.

A pause followed.

"Why'n't you go ahead?"

Penrod, after waiting in keen suspense, turned to behold his friend
standing with his right arm above his head, his left hand over his left
ear, and both eyes closed.

"I can't pull the trigger," said Sam indistinctly, his face convulsed as
in sympathy with the great muscular efforts of other parts of his body.
"She won't pull!"

"She won't?" Penrod remarked with scorn. "I'll bet _I_ could pull her."

Sam promptly opened his eyes and handed the weapon to Penrod.

"All right," he said, with surprising and unusual mildness. "You try
her, then."

Inwardly discomfited to a disagreeable extent, Penrod attempted to talk
his own misgivings out of countenance.

"Poor 'ittle baby!