Noll, too, dropped to the ground, and Hyman followed the example. "Overton, I'll have to borrow some of that baby powder of yours to-night," sighed Hyman. "For your complexion?" grinned Hal. "No; to put in my shoes. This mountain hike has my feet in bad." "I'll tell you what you ought to do, just before every big hike," laughed Hal. "Don't tell me anything about the hospital," murmured Hyman disgustedly. "I tried that, day before we left Fort Clowdry, but the rainmaker warned me that if I tried to make hospital report, he'd see to it that I was left on thin gruel diet for a month." "The rainmaker knew his business," mocked Hal. "And I've heard another yarn about that rainmaker." "What?" "After a malingerer gets his thin gruel down the rainmaker gives him a stiff dose of syrup of ipecac, and the gruel comes up again." "There's no show for a man in the Army nowadays," sighed Hyman, who, with all his pretense at "kicking," was a keen soldier and dependable man. In every regiment are some soldiers who would shirk every arduous duty if it were possible. The favorite device, with such men, is to turn malingerer--that is, to pretend illness and gain admission to hospital, which means a solid rest while comrades are working hard. But the successes of malingerers in the way of shirking have made Army surgeons keener, also. Lucky is the suspected malingerer who doesn't get put on thin diet and fed nauseating medicines. From the group of officers ahead on the trail came Captain Freeman and First Lieutenant Ray of C Company. "Mr. Holmes," called Captain Freeman, "let C Company fall in and take up the march again." Young Lieutenant Holmes instantly gave the order to fall in. A moment later C Company moved off at the route step. "What does that mean?" Hal asked Hyman. "Oh, some new scheme that the officers have hatched up," replied Hyman. "There'll probably be a sham engagement on between C and our company to-morrow." "We're lucky if it doesn't take place in the night," grunted another soldier. "Well, my man, suppose it does?" demanded Sergeant Hupner, appearing behind the "kicker." "What do you suppose these manoeuvres are for? They're to teach you the soldier's trade. They're to fit you so that, in actual war, you'll know what to do under any given conditions. The better you know your trade, in war, the better chances you have to come out of the war alive. This field duty, which so many of you dislike, is for the training of every officer and man in the very things he does in war time. The better every officer and man understands them the better is each fellow's chance of keeping alive in war time. Those of you who grumble ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Look around you at some of the older soldiers who've seen service, and you'll find they never kick." "B Company fall in!" rang the order, this time from Captain Cortland.