here seemed no time for thought, John's mother and I could not
realize the full meaning of all that was happening. But we knew that
John was snatched away from us just after he had come, and it was
hard--it was cruelly hard.

But such thoughts were drowned in the great surging excitement that
was all about us. In Melbourne, and I believe it must have been much
the same elsewhere in Australia, folks didn't know what they were to
do, how they were to take this war that had come so suddenly upon
them. And rumors and questions flew in all directions.

Suppose the Germans came to Australia? Was there a chance of that?
They had islands, naval bases, not so far away. They were Australia's
neighbors. What of the German navy? Was it out? Were there scattered
ships, here and there, that might swoop down upon Australia's shores
and bring death and destruction with them?

But even before we sailed, next day, I could see that order was
coming out of that chaos. Everywhere recruiting offices were opening,
and men were flocking to them. No one dreamed, really, of a long
war--though John laughed, sadly, when someone said it would be over in
four months. But these Australians took no chances; they would offer
themselves first, and let it be decided later whether they were needed.

So we sailed away. And when I took John's hand, and kissed him good-by,
I saw him for the last time in his civilian clothes.

"Well, son," I said, "you're going home to be a soldier, a fighting
soldier. You will soon be commanding men. Remember that you can never
ask a man to do something you would no dare to do yourself!"

And, oh, the braw look in the eyes of the bonnie laddie as he tilted
his chin up to me!

"I will remember, Dad!" he said.

And so long as a bit of the dock was in sight we could see him waving
to us. We were not to see him again until the next January, at Bedford,
in England, where he was training the raw men of his company.

Those were the first days of war. The British navy was on guard. From
every quarter the whimpering wireless brought news of this German
warship and that. They were scattered far and wide, over the Seven
Seas, you ken, when the war broke out. There was no time for them to
make a home port. They had their choice, most of them, between being
interned in some neutral port and setting out to do as much mischief
as they could to British commerce before they were caught. Caught
they were sure to be. They must have k