them rebels,
who was tryin' to bayonet you, until Corp'l Elliott came raring down,
swinging his gun like a flail. Great Scott! didn't he lay 'em out,
though! I saw it all, as I was loading my gun in nine times to shoot
one of the rebels attacking you, I'd just got the cap on, when Corp'l
Elliott loped in."

"Orderly," said Si a little later, "we've got Jim Humphreys's grave dug.
Will you take the things out of his pockets to send to his folks? and
then we'll bury him."

"Better wait till the Captain comes back and gives the orders," said
the Orderly. "I don't want to touch his pockets without the Captain's
orders. Then, we ought to have his blanket to bury him in. You go ahead
and dig Bob Willis's grave, and I'll take a detail back and bring up the
blankets and things."

Shorty had pushed his unavailing search for little Pete far past the
point where he remembered to have seen the boy, in the midst of the
fighting. He had torn his hands and worn out his strength in tearing
aside the brush to expose every possible place that the dying boy or
his dead body might be concealed. He had reached the further side of the
obstruction, and sat down on a stump, in despair of heart and exhaustion
of body.

Those with him, more intent on getting something to eat, had pushed on
back to where their haversacks and canteens and blankets had been left.

Presently Shorty heard a call across the little valley:

"Cor--po--ral Ell--iott. Cor--po--ral Ell--iott!"

"Well, what is it?" Shorty called back, crustily.

"Lit--tle--Pete--and--Sandy--Ba--ker--is--o--ver--here," came back upon
the bright Spring air.

Shorty sprang up electrified, and tore across the intervening space
at the double-quick. He found Pete and Sandy Baker standing soberly on
guard over the line of the company's blankets and belongings.

"Great Jehosephat, you little brats, how did you git here?" he
exclaimed, snatching little Pete up and hugging him.

"Why shouldn't we be here?" asked Pete, as soon as he could get breath.
"Didn't the Captain order us to stay here? Me and Sandy follered you
fellers until you jumped inside the works, and the rebels was a runnin'.
We stood on top o' the bank and shot at the rebels as fast as we could
load our guns. We kept shootin' at 'em till they got clean down to the
road. Then we saw the Captain lookin' over our way, and we thought he
was comin' over there to skin us alive for leaving the things, and we
ducked down behind the