CHAPTER XI
MOVING PICTURES
The man on the black horse continued to ride toward the two boys,Uncle Daniel and Mr. Bobbsey. Behind him more men on horses rushedforward, but they were going toward some soldiers on foot, who werefiring their rifles at the "cavalry," as Harry called them, that beingthe name for horse-soldiers.
"Oh, look, some of the men are falling off their horses!" cried Bert
"Maybe they are hurt," Harry said.
"No, I guess it's only making believe, if this is a sham battle," wenton Bert.
By this time the man on the black horse was near Mr. Bobbsey.
"You had better stand farther back, if you don't mind," he said.
"Why, are we in danger here?" asked Uncle Daniel.
"Well, not exactly danger, for we are using only blank cartridges. Butyou are too near the camera. You'll have your pictures taken if youdon't look out," and he smiled, while his horse pawed the ground,making the soldier's sword rattle against his spurs.
"Camera!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "Is someone taking pictures of thissham battle?"
"Yes, we are taking moving pictures," replied the soldier. "The manwith the camera is right over there," and he pointed to a little hill,on top of which stood a man with what looked like a little box onthree legs. The man was turning a crank.
"Moving pictures!" repeated Uncle Daniel, looking in the directionindicated.
"That's what this sham battle is for," went on the soldier who satastride the black horse. "We are pretending to have a hard battle, tomake an exciting picture. Soon the camera will be pointed over thisway, and as it wouldn't look well to have you gentlemen and boys inthe picture, I'll be obliged to you if you'll move back a little."
"Of course we will," agreed Mr. Bobbsey.
"Especially as it looks as though the soldiers were coming our way."
"Yes, part of the sham battle will soon take place here," thecavalryman went on.
"Come on back, boys!" cried Uncle Daniel, "We can watch just as wellbehind those trees, and we won't be in the way, and have our picturestaken without knowing it."
"Yes, and we won't be in any danger of having some of the paperwadding from a blank cartridge blown into our eyes," added Mr.Bobbsey.
"Say, this is great!" cried Harry. "I'm glad we came."
"So am I," said Bert
The boys looked on eagerly while the battle kept up. They saw thesoldiers charge back and forth. The cannon shot out puffs of whitesmoke, but no cannon balls, of course, for no one wanted to be hurt.Back and forth rushed the soldiers on horses, and others on foot,firing with their rifles.
Of course they were not real soldiers, but were dressed in soldiers'uniforms to make the picture seem real. I suppose you have often seenin moving picture theatres pictures of a battle.
It was well that Mr. Bobbsey and the others had gotten out of the way,for shortly afterward the men rushed right across the spot where Bertand Harry had been standing.
"If we were there, then we'd have been walked on," said Bert.
"Yes, and we'd have had our pictures taken, too," said Harry, pointingto the man with the camera who had taken a new position.
"I wouldn't mind that, would you?" asked Bert.
"No, I don't know as I would," replied the country cousin. "It wouldbe fun to see yourself in moving pictures, I think. Oh, look! Thathorse went down, and the soldier shot right over his head."
A horse had stumbled and fallen, bringing down the rider with him. Butwhether this was an accident, or whether it was done on purpose, tomake the moving picture look more natural, the boys could not tell.
The firing was now louder than ever. A number of cannon were beingused, horses drawing them up with loud rumblings, while the menwheeled the guns into place, loaded and fired them.
On all sides men were falling down, pretending to be shot, for thosewho took the moving pictures wanted them to seem as nearly like realwar as possible.
"Oh, here they are!" suddenly exclaimed a voice back of Mr. Bobbseyand the others.
Turning, Bert saw his mother, with Aunt Sarah, Flossie, Freddie andNan. They had come up the hill to look down into the valley and seewhat all the excitement was about.
"Yes, here we are!" cried Mr. Bobbsey. "Isn't this great? It's a shambattle."
"What for?" asked his wife, and she had to speak loudly to be heardabove the rattle and bang of the guns.
"For moving pictures," answered Mr. Bobbsey, pointing to the men withthe cameras, for now three or four of them were at work, taking viewsof the "fight" from different places.
"Mercy! What a racket!" exclaimed Aunt Sarah.
"Oh, I don't like it!" cried Flossie, covering her ears with herchubby hands. "Take me away, mamma; I'm afraid of the guns!"
"Pooh! There's nothing to be scared of!" exclaimed Freddie. "I'm goingto be a soldier when I grow up, and shoot a gun."
"You can't play with me if you do," declared Flossie, when the bang ofthe cannon stopped for a moment, leaving the air quiet.
"I don't want to play with girls--I'm going to be a fighting soldier!"declared Freddie. "Hi! Hark to the guns! Boom! Boom!" and he jumped upand down as the cannon thundered again.
"Oh, I don't like it! I want to go home and play with my doll!"half-sobbed Flossie. "I don't like fighting."
"And I don't, either," said Nan, though she was not afraid. It was thenoise for which she did not care.
"Hi! That was a fine one!" cried Freddie, as one of the largest cannonfired a blank shot at a group of horse soldiers.
"Please take me home!" sobbed Flossie, and there were tears in herblue eyes now.
"Yes, we'll go home," said Mrs. Bobbsey.
"You can play you are a nurse, Flossie, and take care of your doll.We'll leave the battle to the boys and men."
"I can stay, can't I?" asked Freddie, who was delighted at the livelyscene down below, and he jumped about in delight as cannon aftercannon went off.
"Yes, you may stay," said his father.
"We'll look after him," he added to his wife.
Freddie crowded up to where Bert and Harry were eagerly watching thesham battle, and stood between his brother and cousin.
"Boom! Boom!" he cried. "I like this!"
But little Flossie covered her ears with her hands and went on downthe hill, toward the farmhouse, with her mother and aunt. Nan wentwith them also, as she said the firing made her head ache.