"What did he do? He just sat there on his white hoss an' he watched to see if we did it all right. An' we lined 'em up smart, an' unlimbered, an' back went the hosses, an' there we was, all ready in no time. The Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte he says, 'First-rate, boys; you did that slick as grease!'" "An' then the rebels let off two guns for a signal, an' then their whole hundred an' thirty began to once, an' so did our eighty. An' that kep' up for an hour." "Did any of their shots hit you?" inquired Jimmy. "Not to speak of. They fired too high. Their shells went plumb over our heads, an' over the infantry, who was lyin' on the ground behind us, an' bust in the cemetary. Some of the gravestones was broke. Some of our men was killed when the caissons blew up." We had no idea what caissons were; but they blew up--that was enough for us. "Then the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ordered us to cease firin', one battery at a time. That was where he was foxy. He wanted to make the rebels think our guns had been dismounted, or that we was out of ammunition, so's they would charge. And he fooled 'em, sure enough, for pretty soon they did charge!" He paused, and bit off some more tobacco, while we jumped up and down with excitement. Then he pointed again with his cane. "Do you see them three trees to the left of the white house? Well, bearin' a little to the right of them is a clump of bushes. There was some woods at that p'int of the enemy's position, an' they come outer them. We could see 'em plain as day, a long line of infantry, an' the officers on hosses. Some of 'em was in gray uniforms, but not all. We could see their flags, an' the sun shinin' on the bayonets. First one long line come, an' then another, an' then another. There was close to fifteen thousand of 'em--more than all the folks in this town!" We followed his gaze across the pond, across the mall, to that clump of bushes. At any moment we expected to see the gray-clad lines break out from behind them and start toward us with loud yells. But we had forgotten how securely we were planted behind the old man's batteries. "It didn't take us a minute to open on 'em. We had our guns trained in no time, an' we made it mighty hot for 'em as they come across that valley. One bunch come right for my guns, but we had loaded with grape an' we just blew 'em to smithereens. They turned round, what was left of 'em, an' run back like Jesse. There was a rebel general on a brown hoss, an' his hoss went down, an' we nearly got _him_." He stopped. After waiting a moment, we all burst out:-- "What happened then?" "Why, nothin'. The battle was over. The rebels had skedaddled. But the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, he called me 'round to his tent that night, an' he give me this cane." "What, _that_ one?" "This one. He says, says he: 'I like the way you worked your guns to-day, an' I want you to keep this stick to remember me by. I cut it myself.'"