en, so I got off. I guess I was the last one on the ship. She
made an awful noise when she went down."

"Yes--and----"

"There's nothing else." Tom's reports of thrilling happenings were
always provokingly tame and brief. "I swam around for about two hours, I
guess. I had a piece of a door to hold on to. That scar's where a big
wave banged me against it.--A schooner picked me up. I'd 'a' got picked
up sooner, maybe, only I was the last one and I drifted away from the
ship lane--sort of. It was going to South America after bananas, so they
took me there."

"How'd you get back?"

"Came home on another ship. I worked cabin boy. They caught a German
spy on the first ship."

It was quite like him not to tell how they _happened_ to catch the spy.

"And then you came right here?"

"They gave me dinner in the Sailors' Mission in New York, and then I
started out here."

"You don't mean you _walked_?"

"I'm going to Mrs. O'Connor's in the Alley where I used to live--till I
can get a job. I made two good friends, but I don't know whether they
were drowned.--You look good in your soldier suit."

Roscoe had to get control of himself before he could answer.

"That's a screech-owl," said Tom; "hear him? When you get--when I was a
scout we had to learn the calls of all the different birds."

"Never mind that. Why did you go on that ship?"

"I told you--I wanted to help with the Colors."

Roscoe struggled again with his voice.

"Don't you think you did enough for the Colors," he said thickly, "when
you gave me this uniform? Don't you think that was enough?"

"I didn't give it to you."

"Sit down here a minute. Don't you think you did enough for the Colors
when you started me--over the top? Don't you?"

"It wasn't me. Anyhow, you can't do too much for the Colors."

Roscoe paused with his hand on Tom's knee. "No, I guess you can't," he
said.

"You never told anybody, did you?" Tom asked.

"No," said Roscoe, with that little sneer of self-disgust. "I never
told."

"It would of spoiled it all if you had. You got to be careful never to
tell. You got to be specially careful, now you're a soldier--and look so
fine and straight."

"Don't, Tom."

"You got to promise you'll never tell," said Tom, scenting danger in
Roscoe's manner. "Will you?"

"Have you got any money at all, Tom?"

"You got to promise you'll never let 'em know about it now. Do you?"

"Never mind that, Tom----"

"You've got to. Do you?" Tom p