"Blamed if that feller didn"t make a good line{137} shot," said Si, glancing up just above his head to where a twig had been clipped off the persimmon tree behind which he was standing. "He put up his sights a little too fur, or he"d "a" got me."

Si took careful aim at where he supposed the lurking marksman to be and fired.

There was a waving of the tops of the bushes, as if the men concealed there had rushed out.

"Guess we both landed mighty close," said Shorty triumphantly. "They seem to have lost interest in this piece o" sidehill, anyway."

He and Si made a rush down the hill, and gained the covert of the fence just in time to see the rails splintered by a bunch of shots striking them.

"Lay down, Yanks!" called out Shorty cheerily, dropping into the weeds.

"Grab a root!"

To the right of them they could see the rest of Co. Q going through similar performances.

Si and Shorty pushed the weeds aside, crawled cautiously to the fence, and looked through. There was a road on the other side of the fence, and beyond it a grove of large beech trees extending to the bank of the river. Half concealed by the trunk of one of these stood a tall, rather good-looking young man, with his gun raised and intently peering into the bushes. He had seen the tops stir, and knew that his enemies had gained their cover. He seemed expecting that they would climb the fence and jump down into the road. At a little distance to his right could be seen other men on the sharp lookout.

Shorty put his hand on Si to caution and repress{138} him.

With his eyes fixed on the rebel, Shorty drew his gun toward him. The hammer caught on a trailing vine, and, forgetting himself, he gave it an impatient jerk. It went off, the bullet whistling past Shorty"s head and the powder burning his face.

The rebel instantly fired in return, and cut the leaves about four feet above Shorty.

"Purty good shot that, Johnny," called out Shorty as he reloaded his gun; "but too low. It went between my legs. You hain"t no idee how tall I am."

"If I couldn"t shoot no better"n you kin on a sneak," answered the rebel, his rammer ringing in his gun-barrel, "I wouldn"t handle firearms. Your bullet went a mile over my head. Must"ve bin shootin" at an angel. But you Yanks can"t shoot nary bit--you"re too skeered."

"I made you hump out o" the bushes a few minutes ago," replied Shorty, putting on a cap. "Who was skeered then? You struck for tall timber like a cotton-tailed rabbit."

"I"ll rabbit ye, ye n.i.g.g.e.r-lovin" whelp," shouted the rebel. "Take that," and he fired as close as he could to the sound of Shorty"s voice.

Shorty had tried to antic.i.p.ate his motion and fired first, but the limbs bothered his aim, and his bullet went a foot to the right of the rebel"s head. It was close enough, however, to make the rebel cover himself carefully with the tree.

"That was a much better shot, Yank," he called out. "But ye orter do a powerful sight better"n that on a sneak. Ye"d never kill no deer, nor rebels nuthor, with that kind o" shootin". You Yanks are{139} great on the sneak, but that"s all the good it does, yet ye can"t shoot fer a handful o" huckleberries."

"Sneaks! Can"t shoot!" roared Shorty. "I kin outshoot you or any other man in Jeff Davis"s kingdom. I dare you to come out from behind your tree, and take a shot with me in the open, accordin" to Hardee"s tactics. Your gun"s empty; so"s mine. My chum here"ll see fair play; and you kin bring your chum with you. Come out, you skulkin" brindle pup, and shoot man fashion, if you dare."{140}

"Ye can"t dare me, ye n.i.g.g.e.r-stealin" blue-belly," shouted the rebel in return, coming out from behind his tree. Shorty climbed over the fence and stood at the edge of the road, with his gun at order arms. Si came out on Shorty"s left, and a rebel appeared to the right of the first.

For a minute all stood in expectancy. Then Shorty spoke:

"I want nuthin" but what"s fair. Your gun"s empty; so"s mine. You probably know Hardee"s tactics as well as I do."

"I"m up in Hardee," said the rebel with a firm voice.

"Well, then," continued Shorty, "let my chum here call off the orders for loadin" and firin", and we"ll both go through "em, and shoot at the word."

"Go ahead--I"m agreed," said the rebel briefly.

Shorty nodded to Si.

"Carry arms," commanded Si.

Both brought their guns up to their right sides.

"Present arms."

Both courteously saluted.

"Load in nine times--Load," ordered Si.

Both guns came down at the same instant, each man grasped his muzzle with his left hand, and reached for his cartridge-box, awaiting the next order.

"Handle cartridges."

"Tear cartridges."

"Charge cartridges," repeated Si slowly and distinctly. The rebel"s second nodded approval of his knowledge of the drill, and sang out:

"Good soldiers, all of yo"uns."

"Draw rammer," continued Si,{141}

"Turn rammer."

"Ram cartridge."

Shorty punctiliously executed the three blows on the cartridge exacted by the regulations, and paused a breath for the next word. The rebel had sent his cartridge home with one strong thrust, but he saw his opponent"s act and waited.

"Return rammer," commanded Si. He was getting a little nervous, but Shorty deliberately withdrew his rammer, turned it, placed one end in the thimbles, deliberately covered the head with his little finger, exactly as the tactics prescribed, and sent it home with a single movement. The rebel had a little trouble in returning rammer, and Shorty and Si waited.

"Cast about,"

"Prime!"

Both men capped at the same instant.

"Ready!"

Shorty c.o.c.ked his piece and glanced at the rebel, whose gun was at his side.

"Aim!"

Both guns came up like a flash.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DUEL. 139]

Si"s heart began thumping at a terrible rate. He was far more alarmed about Shorty than he had ever been about himself. Up to this moment he had hoped that Shorty"s coolness and deliberation would "rattle" the rebel and make him fire wildly. But the latter, as Si expressed it afterward, "seemed to be made of mighty good stuff," and it looked as if both would be shot down.

"Fire!" shouted Si, with a perceptible tremor in his voice.{142}