"What do you take me for, young fellow?" he retorted indignantly. "Do you s'pose I've been a-cookin' an' eatin' Uncle Sam's beans all these years an' ain't learnt how to cook bean soup without burnin' it? Ef that soup scorches I'll agree to eat the whole mess." "Of course you know how to cook 'em," I said apologetically, "but I noticed the beans are gettin' soft and thought maybe while you was busy at something else they might get burnt." "Ain't you never learnt how to keep beans from stickin' to the bottom of the camp-kettle?" "No, except to keep stirring them," I replied. "Well, I didn't think you'd a-got through five years of soldierin' on the plains without learnin' how to keep beans from burning. Now, I'll tell you of a trick that's worth a dozen of stirrin' 'em when you've got somethin' else to do besides standin' by the kettle an' watchin' 'em. When your beans begin to git soft just drop two or three metal spoons into the camp-kettle, then go on about your business, an' long as they don't bile dry they won't burn. You savvy the philosophy of it?" "No, I don't." "Well, it's just this: the heat keeps the spoons a-dancin' around in the bottom of the kettle, an' that keeps the beans from settlin' an' burning. Savvy? Easy as rollin' off a log when it's explained to you, ain't it?" After getting back to camp with the mules and broncos newly shod, we had just taken our seats around our mess-box table when who should ride up but Wild Bill. He had heard from Brown of our move and came out to see how we were fixed. As he reined up near us Jack saluted him with: "Get down, Bill, an' hitch your hoss an' watch me eat." "Not by a durned sight, Jack; I can do a heap better than that," replied the scout, too familiar with the rough hospitality of the frontier to wait for a more formal invitation; "but if you've got time to watch me eat I'll show you how to do it." He dismounted, tied his horse to the wagon, turned up a water bucket for a seat, and sat down to dinner with us. "The smell of that bean soup catches me." As a surprise, when we had nearly finished Tom went to the oven and brought out a couple of nice hot pies. "What a blessin' it is, sure," said Jack, "to have somethin' to cook an' somebody that knows how to cook it!" "Well," replied Tom, "it's better than having a surplus of cooks an' no rations--a state of affairs we all know something about." "I was just a-goin' to remark," added Bill, "that I see you've got a good cook in the outfit, an' that's no small help. I always knew Tom was a first-class soldier, an' now I've found out another of his accomplishments. Boys, I expect to be out to Fort Larned before long, an' if I ever strike your trail out in that neighborhood I'll sure foller it up an' invite myself to take a square meal with you once in a while." "Well, I'll tell ye right now, Bill, you'll always be welcome," said Jack, while Tom and I added: "Second the motion."