“Guess they are. Guess they’ll fix those dons――blow their walls to pieces. They’re sixty-eight-pounder shell guns and thirty-two-pounder solid shot fellows. You bet! The army’s got some just as big, but they haven’t come yet, so the navy’s going to help us out. We’ve a battery of twenty-four-pounders out there, though. Only seven hundred yards from the walls. Wait till you hear the music.” “The walls haven’t been hurt yet; or they hadn’t been, when I left,” said Jerry. “That’s because we weren’t ready. We’ve had to use mortars; but throwing bombs into houses isn’t what we’re here for. Old Fuss and Feathers――he knows what he’s about. That’s why he called on the navy, when his own siege guns didn’t arrive. He wants to finish things here and march on into the mountains before the yellow fever starts up. Say, it’s been pretty hot in Vera Cruz, hasn’t it, with all those bombs bursting?” “It certainly has,” Jerry answered soberly. “They’ve killed people who weren’t fighting, and knocked down a lot of houses.” “Well, that’s war. The Mexicans ought to have surrendered when they had a chance. They can surrender any time. All they need do is to hang out a white flag. Fuss and Feathers is going to take their city. He doesn’t want their houses, though, and I guess he’s sorry to hurt non-combatants. The civilians ought to have moved their families out. After we’ve breached the walls proper and forced terms, we’ll have Vera Cruz as a base and we’ll march straight to the Halls of Montezuma.” “Who’s Fuss and Feathers?” Hannibal stared. “You don’t know anything about the army, that’s sure. Fuss and Feathers is Major-General Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of the United States army. We call him Fuss and Feathers, for fun. Not when he’s around, though. M-m-m! You bet not! He’s a stickler for discipline. But he’ll take us to the Halls of Montezuma.” “Where are they, Hannibal!” “My eye, you’re green! The Halls of Montezuma are the capitol in the City of Mexico, of course. Guess you’ve a lot to learn. Want me to show you about? Maybe I can find you a job if you’re an American. Looks like you need a suit of clothes――but you aren’t much worse than some of those Mohawks are already. Come on; let’s walk.” “You see, I’m off duty,” Hannibal explained, as he strolled with Jerry in tow. “We had to work half the night, digging trenches. We just got back. Golly, but that was a storm, wasn’t it! Filled us up as fast as we could dig out. But no storms are going to stop this army. Say; do you know where you are?” “In the American army.”