of the voices. What a ringin' voice Capt. Scudder had. It beat
the bugle. You could hear him sing out, 'Co. C, on right, into line!
Forward, guide right--March!' farther'n you could the bugle. The last
time I heard him wuz as we wuz' going up Snodgrass Hill. A rebel bullet
went through his head just as he said, 'March!' Now, Lieut. Scripps is
in command o' Co. C, and he's got a penny-whistle voice that I can't git
used to."

"Lieut. Scripps's a mighty good man. He'll take Co. C as far as Capt.
Scudder would."

"I know that Scripps's all right. No discount on him. But it don't seem
natural, that's all. Every one o' the companies except ours has a
new man in command, and in ours Capt. McGillicuddy's voice has got a
different ring to it than before Chickamaugy."

"Practicin' to command the battalion," suggested Shorty. "You know he'll
be Major if McBiddle's made a full Kurnel."

"That reminds me," said Shorty, "that our squad o' recruits'll probably
fill up the rijimint so's to give McBiddle his eagle. They'll be 'round
presently to divide up the squad and assign 'em to companies. As all the
companies is about equally strong, they'll divide 'em equally--that'll
make six and one-half boys to each company. Capt. McGillicuddy bein' the
senior Captain, is to have first choice. We want to pick out the best
six and one-half for our company and put 'em in one squad at the right
or left, and give the Captain the wink to choose 'em."

"If we do it's got to be done mighty slick," said Si. "They're all
mighty good boys, and spunky. They'll all want to go with us, and if
they find out we've made any choice they'll never forgive us. I'd a'most
as soon have one six boys as another, yit if I had to pick out six I
believe I'd take Harry Joslyn, Gid Mackall, Alf Russell, Monty Scruggs,
Jim Humphreys and Sandy Baker."

"And Pete Skidmore," added Shorty. "We've got to take special care o'
that little rat. Besides, I want to. Somehow I've took quite a fancy to
the brat."

"Yes, we must take little Pete," assented Si. "The proportion's six and
one-half to a company. He 'll pass for the half man. But it won't do to
let him know it. He thinks he's as big as any man in the rijimint. But
how're we goin' to fix it not to let the other boys know that we've
picked 'em out?"

"I'll tell you what we'll do," said Shorty, the man of many wiles. "When
the boys are drawed up in line and Capt. McGillicuddy goes down it to
pick 'em out, you stand a