Richard and Henry were greatly excited over the prospect and worked with a will the following day in getting out stores, munitions, clothing and otherwise preparing for the hoped-for duty ashore. "It’s lucky we went to Guantanamo, Dick, else we might not have had any experience with these big Colt’s forty-fives we pack around on our hips," Henry remarked. The two lads were at the time carefully oiling and cleaning their heavy revolvers, the weapons the "musics" of the Corps carried into conflict. Splendid shooting arms they were, too, and during the stay in Cuba they had received a certain amount of practise with them in connection with the Navy Small Arms Course, wherein scores with both rifle and revolver were required. As he spoke, Henry whirled the open cylinder about, and with a clever twist of the wrist snapped it shut, then pointing the empty revolver at a passing man he snapped the hammer rapidly. "Stop that!" came a curt command, and looking up Henry found Corporal Dorlan standing over him. The look in Dorlan’s eye was not pleasant to see, and the usual good-natured smile was missing from the older man’s face. "Stop what?" asked Henry, flushing because of the harshness in Dorlan’s voice and glance. "Stop that foolishness! Ye ought to be gettin’ sense in the noodle of ye after bein’ these months in the marines." "I reckon I’ve as much sense and maybe a little more than some marines around here, who’ve been in as many hitches[#] as I have months, and I don’t need a trial by Summary Court to teach me lessons," and Henry glared hotly at the veteran soldier. [#] "Hitches"--Enlisted man’s term for enlistments. "If that’s the case, me lad, let’s see ye use it, both in yer actions and yer manners," said Dorlan, and the twinkle was now returning to the gray-blue eyes; "but I’ll tell ye one thing sure;--it won’t be a ’summary’ but a ’general’ ye will be after gettin’ if ye go around so careless like aimin’ and shootin’ yer gun at human bein’s, and ye can put that in your pipe and shmoke it for the rest of yer life, and ’twill do ye a wurrld of good." By this time Henry’s better nature asserted itself and rising he put out his hand frankly and asked the elder man to excuse his unwisely chosen words. Richard, witnessing the incident, was happy to see these two good friends of his settle so amicably what might have developed into a bitter animosity on the part of the young Southerner. "Now that ’the battle is over, Mother Dear,’" quoted Dick, "suppose you sit down, Corporal Michael Dorlan, and tell us the causes of the Revolutionary War." "And I could do that too, me lad," said Dorlan, smiling at Richard, whom he claimed as his own particular protégé, "but I’ll sit me down and tell ye somethin’ that may be of interest and profit to the two of yez." Seating himself on a near-by sea-chest, Dorlan continued: