see them, puzzled him. He had a
frank face, a frank voice, but queer opinions, or so it seemed to,
Pierson--little bits of Moslemism, little bits of the backwoods, and the
veldt; queer unexpected cynicisms, all sorts of side views on England had
lodged in him, and he did not hide them. They came from him like bullets,
in that frank voice, and drilled little holes in the listener. Those
critical sayings flew so much more poignantly from one who had been
through the same educational mill as himself, than if they had merely
come from some rough diamond, some artist, some foreigner, even from a
doctor like George. And they always made him uncomfortable, like the
touch of a prickly leaf; they did not amuse him. Certainly Edward
Pierson shrank from the rough touches of a knock-about philosophy. After
all, it was but natural that he should.

He and Noel left after the first part of the concert, parting from the
other two at the door. He slipped his hand through her arm; and,
following out those thoughts of his in the concert-hall, asked:

"Do you like Captain Fort, Nollie?"

"Yes; he's a nice man."

"He seems a nice man, certainly; he has a nice smile, but strange views,
I'm afraid."

"He thinks the Germans are not much worse than we are; he says that a
good many of us are bullies too."

"Yes, that is the sort of thing I mean."

"But are we, Daddy?"

"Surely not."

"A policeman I talked to once said the same. Captain Fort says that very
few men can stand having power put into their hands without being
spoiled. He told me some dreadful stories. He says we have no
imagination, so that we often do things without seeing how brutal they
are."

"We're not perfect, Nollie; but on the whole I think we're a kind
people."

Noel was silent a moment, then said suddenly:

"Kind people often think others are kind too, when they really aren't.
Captain Fort doesn't make that mistake."

"I think he's a little cynical, and a little dangerous."

"Are all people dangerous who don't think like others, Daddy?"

Pierson, incapable of mockery, was not incapable of seeing when he was
being mocked. He looked at his daughter with a smile.

"Not quite so bad as that, Nollie; but Mr. Fort is certainly subversive.
I think perhaps he has seen too many queer sides of life."

"I like him the better for that."

"Well, well," Pierson answered absently. He had work to do in
preparation for a Confirmation Class, and sought his st