"Git some commissary and pour into them gunboats!" "Second relief's come, boys; we can all go home now." "Grab a root!" "Hep—hep—hep!" "How'd ye leave Mary Ann?" Si had never been under such a fire before. He stood it as long as he could, and 'then he stopped. "Halt!" shouted a chorus of voices. "Shoulder—Arms!" "Order—Arms!" By this time Si's wrath was at the boiling point. Casting around him a look of defiance, he exclaimed: "You cowardly blaggards; I can jest lick any two of ye, an' I'll dare ye to come on. If the 200th Ind. was here we'd clean out the hull pack of ye quicker'n ye can say scat!" This is where Si made a mistake. He ought to have kept right on and said nothing. But Si had to find out all these things by experience, as the rest of the boys did. Si Defies a Regiment 129 All the members took a hand in the game. They just got right up and yelled, discharging at Si a volley of expletives and pointed remarks that drove him to desperation. Instinctively he brought up his gun. "Load in nine times—Load!" shouted a dozen of the Illinois tramps. If Si's gun had been loaded he would have shot somebody, regardless of consequences. Thinking of his bayonet, he jerked it quickly from its scabbard. "Fix—Bay'net!" yelled the ragged veterans. And he did, though it was more from the promptings of his own hostile feelings than in obedience to the orders. "Charge—Bay'net!" Si had completely lost control of himself in his overpowering rage. With blood in his eye, he came to, a charge, glancing fiercely from one side of the road to the other, uncertain where to begin the assault. Instantly there was a loud clicking all along the line. The Illinois soldiers, almost to a man, fixed their bayonets. Half of them sprang to their feet, and all aimed their shining points at the poor young Hoosier patriot, filling the air with shouts of derision. It was plain, even to Si in his inflamed state of mind, that the odds against him were too heavy. "Unfix—Bay'net!" came from half the regiment. Si concluded he had better get out of a bad scrape the best way he could. So he took off his bayonet and put it back in its place. He shouted words of defiance to his tormentors, but they could not be heard in the din. "Shoulder—Arms!" "Right—Face!" "Right shoulder shift—Arms!" "Forward—March!" These commands came in quick succession from the ranks amidst roars of laughter. Si obeyed the orders and started off. "Left—left—left!" "Hayfoot—strawfoot!" Forgetting his blisters. Si took the double-quick while the mob swung their caps and howled with delight. Si didn't "ketch up" with the 200 Ind. until after it had gone into camp. Shorty had a quart of hot coffee waiting for him. "Shorty," said Si as they sat by the fire,—"I'm goin' to drop dead in my tracks before I'll fall out again." "Why, what's the matter?" "Oh, nothin'; only you jest try it," said Si.