"What did you say?"
"What did I say? I says, 'All right, yer Majesty.' An' I fetched the guns round to the northwestward."
"What did Napoleon do then?" asked Ed.
"What did he do? He just sat there on his white hoss an' he watched to see if we did it all right. An' we lined 'em up smart, an' unlimbered, an' back went the hosses, an' there we was, all ready in no time. The Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte he says, 'First-rate, boys; you did that slick as grease!'"
"An' then the rebels let off two guns for a signal, an' then their whole hundred an' thirty began to once, an' so did our eighty. An' that kep' up for an hour."
"Did any of their shots hit you?" inquired Jimmy.
"Not to speak of. They fired too high. Their shells went plumb over our heads, an' over the infantry, who was lyin' on the ground behind us, an' bust in the cemetary. Some of the gravestones was broke. Some of our men was killed when the caissons blew up."
We had no idea what caissons were; but they blew up—that was enough for us.
"Then the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ordered us to cease firin', one battery at a time. That was where he was foxy. He wanted to make the rebels think our guns had been dismounted, or that we was out of ammunition, so's they would charge. And he fooled 'em, sure enough, for pretty soon they did charge!"