"Well, all I've got to say," said Jimmieboy, "is that if anybody ever came to me and asked me where he could find a futile person, I'd send him over to you. Here we've wasted nearly the whole afternoon and we haven't got a single thing. We haven't even talked of anything but peaches and cherries, and we've got to get jam and sugar and almonds yet." Here the major smiled. "It isn't any laughing matter," said Jimmieboy. "It's a very serious piece of business, in fact. Here's this Parawelopipedon going around ruining everything he can lay his claws on, and instead of helping me out of the fix I'm in, and starting the expedition off, you sit here and tell me about Apogees and other things I haven't time to hear about." "I was only smiling to show how sorry I was," said the major, apologetically. "I always smile when I am sad, And when I'm filled with glee A solitary tear-drop trick- Les down the cheek of me." "Oh, that's it," said Jimmieboy. "Well, let's stop fooling now and get those supplies." "All right," assented the major. "Where are the soldiers who accompanied you? We'll give 'em their orders, and you'll have the supplies in no time." "How's that?" queried Jimmieboy. "Why, don't you see," said the major, "that's the nice thing about being a general. If you have to do something you don't know how to do, you command your men to go and do it. That lifts the responsibility from your shoulders to theirs. They don't dare disobey, and there you are." "Good enough!" cried Jimmieboy, delighted to find so easy a way out of his troubles. "I'll give them their orders at once. I'll tell them to get the supplies. Will they surely do it?" "They'll have to, or be put in the guard-house," returned the major. "And they don't like that, you know, because the guard-house hasn't any walls, and it's awfully draughty. But, as I said before, where are the soldiers?" "Why!" said Jimmieboy, starting up and looking anxiously about him. "They've gone, haven't they?" "They seem to have," said the major, putting his hand over his eyes and gazing up and down the road, upon which no sign of Jimmieboy's command was visible. "You ordered them to halt when you sat down here, didn't you?" "No," said Jimmieboy, "I didn't." "Then that accounts for it," returned the major, with a scornful glance at Jimmieboy. "They've gone on. They couldn't halt without orders, and they must be eight miles from here by this time." "What'll happen?" asked the boy, anxiously. "What'll happen?" echoed the major. "Why, they'll march on forever unless you get word to them to halt. You are a gay general, you are." "But what's to be done?" asked Jimmieboy, growing tearful.