"Company, attention!" ordered Jack, coming to the front with drawn sword, and the boys drew up in straight rows across the green. The drum rattled, and presently quite a crowd of old men, women, and children collected to see the drill. "Carry--arms!" went on Jack, and the guns came to a carry, and likewise the pistols. "Present--arms! Shoulder--arms! Forward--march!" "Dum! dum! dum, dum, dum!" went the drummer, and off marched the company to the end of the green. "Right--wheel!" came the next command, and the boys wheeled with the order of a veteran body, for each was enthusiastic to do his best. "Forward!" and they marched on again, and so the marching kept up until the square had been covered several times. "Halt!" Thus the commanding went on. "Load! Take aim! Fire!" And twenty-odd gun and pistol hammers came down with a sharp clicking, for none of the weapons were loaded, the boys saving their powder and ball until such time as they might actually be needed. A short parade around the main streets followed, and then Jack dismissed the company. "It was splendid!" cried Marion enthusiastically. "I declare, Jack, how did you ever get them drilled so nicely?" "Oh! the fellows take to it naturally. Besides, Darcy did as much as I did." "No, Jack is our chief drillmaster," put in Darcy. "He takes to soldiering as a duck takes to a pond." "It's wonderful. Still, I hope you never have to go to war," concluded Marion. "If we do, we'll try to give a good account of ourselves," said Darcy, as Marion walked away. "Indeed we will!" cried our hero. Now she was in town Marion concluded to do some shopping, and accordingly made her way to one of the general stores, a place kept by Lemuel Blackwood, one of the oldest merchants in that part of the State. Blackwood's store was usually crowded with goods of every description, but the war had all but wrecked his trade, and his stock was scanty and shop-worn. "How do you do, Marion?" said he, when the girl entered. He had known her from childhood. "How do you do, Mr. Blackwood?" she returned. "Pretty fairly, for an old man, Marion. That is, so far as my health goes. Business is very poor, though." "The war has taken the people's money." "Yes, yes! It is awful! Sometimes I think it will never end." "Do you think we will win, Mr. Blackwood?" At this the old man shook his head slowly. "I used to hope so, Marion. But now--the most of our best soldiers have been shot down. The North can get new recruits, but we don't seem to have many more men to go to the front." "Have you any more calico like that which I got a few weeks ago?" "No, I can't get a single piece, no matter how hard I try." "What have you in plain dress goods?"