to those they loved and were on the
point of quitting.

The Alstons had taken a house for the winter, and George caught her
there once or twice, and would rather not have seen her at all, she was
so painfully cordial, so bound up in her war work of which he felt
himself the chief victim. He began to fear that he would not see her
alone again before he sailed; that he might never be with her alone
again.

He didn't care either for the pride she took in Dalrymple's presence at
the second camp.

"He's sure to do well," she would say. "He's always had all sorts of
possibilities. Watch the war bring them out."

Why did women like the man? There was no question that they did. They
talked now, in ancient terms, of his permanent exit from the field of
wild oats. He could be so fascinating, so thoughtful--of women. But men
didn't like him. Dalrymple's fascinating ways had caught them too
frequently, too expensively. And George didn't believe in his reform,
saw symptoms, as others did, of its true value when, at the close of the
second camp, Dalrymple got himself assigned to the trains of the
division. It was rumoured he had left Plattsburgh a second lieutenant.
It was fact that he appeared at Upton a captain. Secret intrigues in
Washington by fond parents, men whispered; but the women didn't seem to
care, for Dalrymple hadn't shown himself before any of them carrying
less than the double silver bars of a captain.

George received his prophesied majority at the moment of this
disagreeable arrival. That did impress Sylvia to the point of making her
more cordial in public, more careful than before not to give him a word
in private. As the day of departure approached he grew increasingly
restless. He had never experienced a sensation of such complete
helplessness. He was bound by Upton. She could stand aside and mock him
with her studied politenesses.

Blodgett ran down a number of times, to sit in George's quarters,
working with the three partners over figures. They made tentative lists
of what should be sold at the first real whisper of peace.

"But there'll be no peace for a long time," Blodgett promised. "There's
a lot of money for you boys in this war yet."

They laughed at him, and he looked a little hurt, apparently unable to
see anything humorous in his cheerful promise.

Dalrymple was aware of these conferences, for he was frequently about
the regimental area. George wasn't surprised, when he sat alone one
night