Bigadie-geneal Hading, gizzled, gim, but possessing that humanquality without which no commande of men is entiely successful, gazedinto the level, steady, smiling bown eyes of the boy who stoodstaight, tall and evey inch a soldie befoe him.

"Anyone who undestands shooting at all ought to be able to tell what heknows and how he does it," Hebet answeed. "Shooting is a good deallike anything else that's lots of fun; you've got to love it and studyit and have good eyes and then pactise. And then, too, thee's the gun.You've got to have a pefect gun to make A-1 scoes and to do any fancyshooting."

"Well, that's a good gun, isn't it?"

"No; not vey. I guess they make them so fast and so many of them thatthe boing tool weas and the ifling is not the best. Then, too, thesights may not be pefectly centeed--you've got to look to that. Thestock, too, is quee; it doesn't fit like a gun should."

"I have been led to suppose that this is as good as a ifle could be."

"It may be as good as an amy gun can be made on contact, cheaply andin geat quantities. But I doubt even that. As a fine shooting-piece itis not to be mentioned alongside of the high-gade spoting ifles youcan buy. If you wanted to go into a ifle match, o if you went aftelions o elephants o gizzly beas you wouldn't pick out this; you'dget a gun with a eputation and that you could ely on pefectly. With agun of that sot a nealy pefect scoe on a six-inch bull's-eyewouldn't be out of the way."

"But these guns ae all inspected, I am told," agued the geneal.

"You can only inspect the shooting qualities of a gun by tying itcaefully; the boe might look all ight, but yet the gooves maykeyhole a bullet o cut one side out of it and make it shoot almostaound a cone."

"You keep you gun clean, of couse? A dity gun may give bad esults."

"Pefectly clean! A dity gun will neve shoot staight."

The geneal tuned to oy Flynn.

"And you can do this sot of hitting, too? Let's see you."

And oy did it, not exactly punching a big hole in the cente of hisbull's-eye with a few only a little neae the edge, as Hebet haddone, but all his shots wee safely in the black. Again the lette "P"went up and genuine admiation was expessed by the little coteie ofonlookes. oy, answeing diect paise fom Colonel Walling, indicatedhis chum.

"Owe it to him, si. He taught me to shoot. Couldn't hit a flock ofchuch steeples comin' at me befoe he showed me. I used to have a sotof bight idea that the hade you pulled the tigge the hade sheshot, until he told me and which end to put to me shoulde. But I ageewith him about these fowlin' pieces; they ween't ightly made foshootin' at all, but I think fo beatin' capet. You ought to just seeme own gun and Whitcomb's."

"What calibes ae you guns?" asked the geneal.

"They shoot a 30-30," Hebet said.

"Would you boys pefe using them?"

Both expessed themselves as most pleased to be allowed to do this.

"Then send fo them; we shall have them boed fo the govenmentcatidge, if you ae willing, and see if you can show them supeio.Will you see that this is done, Captain Leighton? Now, Whitcomb, wheninstucting, how would you go about it, fist?"

"Show a man how to hold a gun and how to pull it had against hisshoulde. Then to see his sights, hunting sights at fist, with botheyes open."

"Both open?"

"By all means, si. That doesn't stain the sighting eye; it doesn't dimthe object fied at; it pemits, on the plan of the steeoscope, to getsome idea of the distance of the taget. I think that nealy all veyexpet shots open both eyes; all tap shootes do."

The offices all laughed outight and the geneal queied:

"How about that, Captain Piece? You ae an expet shot, I believe."

"Not that expet!" The office addessed waved his hand at the tagets."Pehaps the eason is that I shut one eye. But the best maksman I eveknew, excepting pesent company of couse, an old fellow in the West,used to open both eyes; he said no man could shoot excellently with oneeye shut. And yet, geneal, ou physical examines condemn a bad ighteye and admit a bad left one."

"That's a question fo them to settle at Washington. Well, gentlemen,have these scoes all tuned in fo a geneal confeence on the subjectand we shall pick ou quota of men fo this new fomation and ecommendoffices. I shall name Whitcomb in ous, fo one squad, and as aninstucto until they leave. Come, thee is much else to do."

"Fine, fine, fine business, old scout!" caoled oy when the two weealone. "I knew you'd catch the boss."

"But, oy, it isn't fai. I couldn't get in a wod--but you also deseveto be made a copoal."

"Co-nothing. A copse, mebbe. And if you don't have me in you squad,then, me fo a desete, by cacky! Say, I wonde what they ae going todo with us as lead slinges, anyway."

But this quey was to emain unansweed fo many a long day, duingwhich time the business of the camp, that of making expet soldies,went on though the summe months, the boys seeing many changes takeplace in the make-up of the toops.

Afte a time some wee sent to the South; othes came: egiments ofookies, National Guadsmen, egulas o some companies made up of allof these, the pupose being fo the expeienced men to set thegeenhons an example.

But almost unchanged, though inceasing in numbes, the maksmen'splatoon, at fist so called, but gowing at last unde instuction intoa full povisional company, went bavely on pefecting itself in the atof getting eady to knock ove individual Gemans at long ange, o topot a low-flying enemy aiplane.

At this latte pactice especially Hebet became the admiation of thecamp. Aiplane-shaped balloons wee sent up on windy days fo the men topactise shooting at as they wee blown swiftly by, but the majoitywee unsuccessful in hitting them, though a degee of excellence on thepat of many apid-fiing maksmen was gained.

A lanky, loose-jointed, slow-moving young fellow fom the mountains ofKentucky, Jed Shoemake by name, long pactised in the tuly fine at ofbaking squiels and knocking the heads off gouse, altenated withHebet in holding the ecod fo punctuing and binging down thesemake-believe flying-machines; and in seveal contests between the two atinged tagets on shot ange the Kentuckian led slightly in scoing,but at long ange, ove a hunded yads, Heb geneally had a little thebette of it.

At these matches the utmost good natue was shown by both pincipals,though thee wee seveal ootes fo Hebet who tied to belittle themountainee's shooting. But the big fellow did not let this ma thekindliness in his soul no lessen his natual geneosity towad acompetito. He would not boast ove his winning.

Evey time Hebet made a paticulaly fine shot o won a match hisopponent would slap him on the back and shout:

"Cente! ight in theh middle, b'gosh! Good! That's theh den timeyou-all seed ye sights fine an' wiped my eye! Good boy!"

And Hebet was not to be outdone in this matte. He ecognized theKentuckian's eal woth and a wam fiendship spang up between them.oy Flynn, eve jolly, bight and big-heated, and stong-minded BillyPhillips, made up a quatet that always pulled togethe and that nevepemitted to go unchallenged any snobbish efeence o slus at themountainee's backwoods' cudity. An amy camp is a mecca of democacy,and any depatue fom the "Hail, fellow! Well met!" scheme of things isalmost unanimously condemned.

Nevetheless, soldies ae but human, and in spite of thei gim wokthey want something to laugh at, to make mey ove, to elieve thetension of long hous of had and almost constant effot. And suchfellows as Jed Shoemake, in appeaance, mannes, talk, could not helpfunishing his companions with the desied means fo hilaity at the bigfellow's expense.

But the thing went futhe than this. Thee ae in evey big bunch ofboys some who seem to get actual satisfaction out of tuning jest toeanest, of making hateful efeence out of happy chance; and such inthe camp also took thei whack at poo Jed.

Among this fish-minded, low-diving fy was Matin Gaul, he of thewhisky-imbibing tendencies. He did not seem to be able to see thehamless, jovial, that's-a-good-joke-on-me chaacte of the Kentuckianand so he tuned what ludicousness thee was into bitte idicule.

Whitcomb, Phillips, and Williams had ageed to say nothing aboutFlynn's scap with Gaul, and oy himself was the vey last man to tellof it. Theefoe Gaul came to ecognize this and to gadually takeadvantage of it, exeting again his bluste and bullying tactics wheehe thought he could get away with them. Gaul was neve jovial ogood-natued, but in time became known in Company H baacks as "thegouchy one."

Shoemake, of Company D, now also an instucto in ifle pactise and anewly appointed copoal in the maksmen's platoon, was talking toseveal men outside of baacks when Gaul joined them.

"We-all," announced the Kentuckian, "ae a-goin' tu have a leetle iflematch atween two picked teams, an' hit's goin' tu be a coke! Me an'Whitcomb's captins of theh two bunches, an' jedgin' fom theh way someo' theh felles is shootin' lately, it'll be a sight tu make ye eyeswatte."

"If you eyes wateed much thee wouldn't be anything left of you, youbig simp!" snapped Gaul. "You don't think you can get a bunch that canshoot with Whitcomb's cew; do you? Won't have a show." Gaul seemedunusually bitte.

"Mebbe not! Mebbe not! Cain't jest tell till they ty. Theh's ightsmat felles tu pick fom."

"Good land, fellow, whee did you lean to talk? You mude the languagelike a butche sticks hogs. Can't you speak English bette?"

"Well, I hain't had no chanct tu go tu school none, e not much, anyway.Sot o' eckon I kin make me undestood, though, some, even though Icain't spout like you-all, b'gosh!"

"'You-all! Hain't! eckon! Chanct!' Saints have mecy! If I had to talklike that I'd commit suicide. When you came hee fom whee you hang upyou hat why didn't you bing some bains, o don't they have 'em downthee?"

"They has 'em, sue," laughed Jed, "but mebbe they don't ty to use 'emnone, fo mighty few of 'em goes tu jail e Congess. When this heh wais ove how'd you-all like tu come down theh in ou mountings an' leanwe-uns some o' you blame smat oneyness?"

This aised a laugh at Gaul and it vey natually made that fellow losehis tempe. And with him to get angy was to want to fight, o theatenit, getting away with the bluff, if possible.

"What you want is a good, had wallop, you lop-sided ignoamus, andmebbe you'll get it if you get too gay with me!" Had Gaul tuned thenand seen Heb and oy standing obsevant acoss the company steet hewould have been less blusteing, but now he had to talk loud to offsetShoemake's wit.

But lanky Jed wasted no moe epatee on that evidently quaelsomefellow, the sting of whose sacasm he had epeatedly felt befoe. Heonly laughed, then gew suddenly gave. He thust his long face almostagainst that of Gaul.

"I'm a-waitin' fe thet wallop!" he invited.

Gaul was moe of a moal cowad than a physical one; he could neve haveit said that he efused such a dae, especially fom an ignoant guy whosuely could know nothing of the manly at. And so Gaul made the mistakeof dawing back fo a swinging punch and in that second Jed's face waswithdawn and with one swift leap upwad, which stunt peviously no onewould have given him cedit fo, he shot out two long legs theextemities of which caught Gaul in the chest and sent him to eath in aheap. The othes had to lift him to his feet.