when
he was struck and there was revealed a great hogshead, larger, Tom
thought, than any he had ever seen.

"That's the kind of weapons they fight with," Roscoe said, disgustedly.
"Look here," he added, pulling the foliage away still more. "Don't touch
it. See? It leads down from another one. It's poison."

Tom, staring, understood well enough now, and he peered into the bushes
about him in amazement as he heard Roscoe say,

"Arsenic, the sneaky beasts."

"See what he was going to do?" he added, startling Tom out of his silent
wondering. "There's half a dozen or more of these hogsheads in those
bushes. As fast as this one empties it fills up again from another that
stands higher. There's a whole nest of them here. See how the pipe from
this one leads into the stream?"

"What's the wire for?" said Tom.

"Oh, that's so's they can open this little cock here, see? Start the
thing going. Don't pull away the camouflage. There may be another chap
up here in a little while, to see what's the matter. _Tommy'll_ take
care of them all right, won't you, _Tommy_?"

"Do you mean me?" Tom asked.

"I mean your namesake here," Roscoe said, slapping his rifle. "I named
it after you, you old glum head. Remember how you told me a feller
couldn't aim straight, _kind of_" (he mimicked Tom's tone). "You said a
feller couldn't aim straight, _kind of_, if he smoked cigarettes."

"I got to admit I was wrong," said Tom.

"You bet you have! Jingoes, it's good to hear you talk!" Roscoe laughed.
"How in the world did you get here, anyway?"

"I'll tell you all about it," said Tom, "only first tell me, are you the
feller they call the Jersey Snipe?"

"Snipy, for short," said Roscoe.

"Then maybe you saved my life already," said Tom, "out in No Man's
Land."

"Were you the kid on that wheel?" Roscoe asked, surprised.

"Yes, and I always knew you'd make a good soldier. I told everybody so."

"_Kind of?_ Tommy, old boy, don't forget it was _you_ made me a
soldier," Roscoe said soberly. "Come on back to my perch with me," he
added, "and tell me all about your adventures. This is better than
taking Berlin. There's only one person in this little old world I'd
rather meet in a lonely place, and that's the Kaiser. Come on--quiet
now."

"You don't think you can show _me_ how to stalk, do you?" said Tom.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ON GUARD

"You see it was this way," said Roscoe after hie had scrambled with
amazing agility up to his "pe