Lucius quivered with amazement. The Grizzly was coming out in a new line. The soft Southern voice with its clipped syllables was gone, and in its place was the slow drawl and marked nasal twang of the New Englander. The very expression of the face was changed, though this Lucius could not see. The natural shrewdness was gone out of it, and only good-humoured, dull vacancy reigned in its stead. ‘Upon my word, you are a nice young man,’ said the general, smiling in spite of himself at Ephraim’s ridiculous appearance. ‘What do you mean, sir, by making free with my breakfast? Don’t you know I could have you court-martialed and shot for this?’ ‘Oh lordy, lordy! don’t you do that, ginrul,’ whined Ephraim, seemingly in a paroxysm of terror. ‘I’ll never dew it again. Yew don’t know how hungry I war. Lemme off, ginrul! Lemme off!’ He clasped his hands supplicatingly. The brigadier exploded again, and Shields, with a good-natured laugh, said: ‘Well, we’ll consider what is to be done with you. Who are you, and to what regiment do you belong?’ ‘Number twenty, Company D, the “Trailing Terrors,”’ drawled Ephraim. ‘What! You are one of Spriggs’s “Trailing Terrors,” are you? By Jove! you look it. Why did you not come out just now when your commanding officer was here?’ ‘Bekase he war telling lies!’ boldly answered Ephraim to the supreme astonishment of Lucius; ‘and I never could abide lies.’ ‘Lies!’ echoed General Shields. ‘What do you mean, sir? Are you aware that you are speaking of your superior officer?’ ‘I know that, ginrul,’ replied Ephraim, adding with a subdued grin: ‘I ain’t saying nuthing worse about him than I’ve heard this morning. All the same, he war telling lies about that balloon. I war thar, so I guess I should know.’ ‘You were there!’ repeated General Shields. ‘I understood the colonel to say that none of his men were on hand.’ [Illustration: ‘Upon my word, you are a nice young man,’ said the general. ] ‘Waal, I war thar, whether he saw me or not,’ insisted Ephraim. ‘Well, what happened?’ asked the general, interested. ‘Part of what he said, a good deal he didn’t say, and a heap less than he did say,’ returned Ephraim oracularly. ‘The balloon came down right enuff, and thar war two folk in it. They got out and were surrounded instanter. They never raised a finger tew resist. How could they when there war ba’nets agin their chests, and they war nuthing but a couple of boys.’ ‘Boys!’ exclaimed the general in a tone of incredulity. ‘What could boys be doing sailing about in a balloon?’ ‘I guess that’s their business,’ answered Ephraim. ‘Anyhow, thar they war, and what they said and what they stuck tew war that they had made a balloon, and jest came out fer a bit of a spree.’ ‘But the arms and the plans?’ interrogated the general.