“By thunder! They got that balloon in the bag!” one of the boys exclaimed.
Turning about, the sergeant held out his hand to the girl. She took it, man to man, a good hearty grip.
“That,” said one of the privates, “is better than the boy chinning the rope. You’d ought to go in for magic, Miss. There’s money in magic.”
The girl smiled, but made no reply. She glanced away at the shadows of the palm tree. The black dwarf was still there. Not knowing why, she shuddered, but she still did not tell him to go away.
The steel ball reached earth some distance away. The first gunner, still a bit of a skeptic, ran over to retrieve it.
“You never touched the steel ball!” he called on the way back.
“But he got the balloon!” the girl insisted. “That was very good indeed for the first try.”
“Thank—O—Thanks.” The sergeant made a bow. “Sometimes the Captain says I’m good and sometimes he says I’m—well, never mind just what he says. It’s not fit language for a lady.”
“I’m no lady,” the girl laughed. “I’m just a soldier, a WAC. So let’s just be nice and natural. Shall we have another try?”
“Oh sure! As many as you like.” The sergeant adjusted his gun.