the base kettle drum. Off duty, Jerry rather
resembled a toy soldier, but when in giving his orders he stiffened his
body, threw up his head, and stuck out his hands, he looked so like the
wooden figures out of Noah's ark, that the boys burst into a shout of
laughter.

"Now, genl'men," exclaimed Jerry in a severe tone, "this won't do.
Silence in the ranks. Squad! 'Shun. The fust manoover I shel teach you,
genl'men, is the manoover of 'parade rest.' Now look at me, and do as I
do."

Anybody would have supposed, naturally enough, that to stand at rest
meant to put your hands in your pockets and lean against a tree; but
what Jerry did, was to slap his right hand against his left, like a
torpedo going off, and fold them together; stick out his left foot, lean
heavily upon his right, and look more like a Dutch doll than ever.

The boys accordingly endeavored to imitate this performance; but when
they came to try it, a difficulty arose. Whatever might be their usual
ideas on the subject, there was a diversity of opinion now as to the
proper foot to be advanced, and a wild uncertainty which was the left
foot. The new soldiers shuffled backward and forward as if they were
dancing hornpipes; while Jerry shouted, "Now, then, genl'men, I can't
hear them hands come together smartly as I'd wished, not like a row of
Jarsey cider bottles a poppin' one arter the other, but all at once.
Now, then, SQUAD! 'SHUN!" in a voice of thunder, "Stan' at parade rest!
No--no--them _lef futs_ adwanced! Well if ever!" And Jerry in his
indignation gave himself such a thump on his chest that he knocked all
the breath out of his body, and had to wait some moments before he could
go on; while the boys, bubbling over with fun, took his scoldings in
high good humor, and shrieked with laughter at their own ridiculous
blunders, to the high wrath of their ancient instructor; who was so
deeply interested and in earnest about his pursuit, that he didn't fail
to lecture them well for their "insubornation;" which, indeed, nobody
minded, except Tom Pringle, who, by the by, was from Maryland, and many
of whose relations were down South. He had been looking rather sulky
from the beginning of the drill, and now suddenly stepped from his place
in the ranks, exclaiming, "I won't play! now I vow I won't!"

"Why, Tom, what is the matter? Are you mad at us?" cried half a dozen
voices at once.

"Humm--" grumbled sulky Tom.

"What say? I can't hear you," said Fredd