d of the line.

However, as Billy wished to think things out for himself, these walks
afforded a wonderful opportunity. The difficulty of his life had always
been due to his refusal to accept any judgment except his own. He
honestly could not understand why his family even thought they had the
right to interfere with him. Yet now he was up against the great fact of
human discipline, the law which so often forces us to submit to a higher
power.

The boys at the National Guard camp were not much older than himself, at
least some of them were not. Nevertheless they were engaged upon tasks
which he knew must be hard and distasteful and were prepared to face far
worse things later on. Some of them had thought the question over for a
long time, nearly three years in fact, until they were prepared to fight
the enemy, body and soul, to a finish. Others of the soldiers were not
given to thinking, but were obeying a good fighting instinct. All of
them, however, were acknowledging an authority higher than their own and
obeying a higher will.

Often Billy wondered how he should feel if the war lasted long enough to
make the same demand upon him? Would he give up his belief in peace and
the unrighteousness of war to serve as a common soldier in the ranks?
And even if he did do this, was it in him to make a good soldier, to
sacrifice himself for a common cause? Sometimes Billy prayed to be
delivered from the test.

Yet whatever his own mental problems, there was one big fact of which
Billy became daily more assured and that was his tremendous personal
admiration for the new National Guard soldiers. Certainly theirs was the
road of heroism and self-sacrifice, while the pacifists, even if right
in principle, were skulking behind the protection the soldiers gave to
them.

There were moments when Billy became a little scornful of the pacifists,
himself included, who preferred the easiest way.

Ordinarily the boy took his long tramps to and from camp alone, but on
the day after his brief conversation with the two workmen, the men
joined him at the close of the day, walking for a short distance one on
either side. Billy felt absurdly proud, as if the men at last regarded
him as one of them. They even spoke of labor unions in his presence and
Billy was glad to announce that he approved of unions.

Afterwards, perhaps four or five days later, Billy did not return to the
Sunrise camp, even at the comparatively late hour which had beco