Evening star., 1917-05-20


it for our revolaver. Penrod. don't It?
I'll give you half of it."
Penrod affected some enthusiasm.
Sam. We'll keep it out here in the
stable"
"Yes. and Wen go huntin' with it.
Well do lots of things with it," But
Sam made no effort to take 1t, and
neither boy seemed to feel yesterdays
necessity to show the other how he
did. wait till next Fourth o. July"
This melted genuine spark from
Penrod.
Fourth O. July. l guess she'll be
little better than any firecrackers.
be goin'. 'Bing! Bing. Bing"
The suggestion of noise stirred his
comrade. "I'Il bet she'll go off 1oudern
that time the gasworks blew up: L
wouldn't be afraid to shoot her of any
time" ,
Il bet you would" said Penrod. You
aren't used to revolavers the way /"
You aren't. eitherw Sam exclaimed.
promptly. "I wouldn't be any more
afraid to shoot her off than you would"
You would. too"'
II would not
"Well. let's see you, then; you talk
SO much," and Penrod handed the wea-
pom scornfully to Sam. who at once be-
came less self-assertive.
I'D shoot her off in minute" Sam
said. ''only it might break sumpthing
if it hit it."
Hold her up in the air. then. 1t can't
hurt the roof, can ft?"
Sam, with a desperate expression,
lifted the revolver at arms length.
Both boys turned away their heads
and Penrod put his fingers in his ears
but nothing happened. What's the
NATTER" he demanded "Why don't
you go on if you're goin' top
X
Sam lowered his arm. II guess
didn't have her cooked" he said, apollo
getically. whereupon Penrod loudly
jeered.
"rryin' to shoot revolaver and
didn't know any more about revolavers
"There" Sam exclaimed. managing
to draw back the hammer until two
chilling clicks warranted his opinion
that the pistol was now ready to per-
form it's Office. II guess she'll do all
right to suit you this time"
"Well. why'n't you go ahead. then; you
know so much! And as Sam raised his
arm. Penrod again turned away his
head and placed his forefngers in his
ears.
A pause followed.
"Why'n't you go ahead?'
Penrod after waiting in keen sus-
pense turned to behold his friend
standing with his righs arm above his
head, his left hand OVER his left ear,
and both eyes closed.
Il can't pull the trigger" said sam.
sympathy with the great muscular ef-
forts of other parts of his body. she
won't pull"'
scorn I'll bet could pull her
Sam promptly opened his eyes and
handed the weapOn TO PSnrOd.
"All right" he said, with surprising
and unusual mildness. You try her,
then"
able extent, Penrod attempted to talk
his own misgivings out of countenance.
Poor little baby" he said, swinging
the pistol at his side with fair pre-
tense of careless ease. "Ain't even
little baby! Well. if you can't even do
that much, you better watch me while
"Well,"' said Sam, reasonably, why
don't you go on and do it, then?
We'll. am goin' to. amt r.
We'll. then, why don't your
"Oh, I'll do 1t fast enough to suit you,
guess" Penrod retorted, swinging
the big revolver up little higher than
his shoulder and pointing it in the di-
Sam" he jeered. you'll be pretty
scared when l shoot her off. guess"
well, why don't you see if l will?
I bet you're afraid yourself"
''Oh. I am. am II" said Penrod, in a
reckless voice-and his finger touched
the trigger. 1t seemed to him that his
finger no more than touched it; perhaps
he had been reassured by Sans asser-
tion that the trigger was difficult. His
intentions must remain in doubt. and
probably Penrod himself was not cer-
tain of them; but one thing comes to
the surface as entirely dednite-that
trigger was not SO hard to pull as Sam
said it was.
Bang, Wh-a-a-ack, 4 shattering
report split the air of the stable and
there was an orifice of remarkable di-
ameter in the alley door. With these
phenomena. three yells, expressing ex-
citement of different kinds. were al
most simultaneous = two from within
the stable and the third from a point
in the alley about eleven inches lower
than the orifice just constructed in the
planking of the door. This third point,
roughly speaking, was the open mouth
of a gayly dressed young colored man,