ly right way for a soldier to feel."

"I would have liked the Thirty-fourth better, too," remarked Mrs.
Overton thoughtfully. "The Thirty-fourth is soon due to be back from the
Philippines, while your new Thirty-seventh may just be getting ready to
start there."

"And the last bit of my news, Mother, is that I am to report for duty
with my new regiment on September fifteenth."

"So soon?" cried Mrs. Overton, her voice keen with disappointment. "Why,
it seems as though you had come home only yesterday. And now you must
run away again."

"All in the soldier's game. But it won't be long before you'll be coming
out to visit me."

"You have no house on the post, and you won't have any place to keep me
if I come, Hal."

"A bachelor officer, Mother, must be very attentive to the married women
on the post. Then one of the married women will invite his mother to
visit at her quarters."

"You don't have to _flirt_ with married women, I hope?"

"Not so you could notice it, Mother," replied Lieutenant Hal gravely.
"An officer, we are taught in the Army, is the descendant of the knight
of old. So the officer must be careful to be always very respectful with
all women. If he fails in that obligation his brother officers make his
stay in the Army so disagreeable that he's glad to get out of the Army
altogether."

"Is the whole regiment stationed at Fort Cutler?"

"Fort Butler, Mother. No; only the second battalion of the regiment.
Major Tipton will be my immediate commanding officer. And now you'll
excuse me, won't you?"

"You're going around to Noll's?"

"Yes. We made a request that we be assigned to the same battalion. I'm
mighty anxious to know whether it has been convenient to grant our
wish."

"Does Mr. Ad Interim have anything to with _that_?" demanded Mrs.
Overton.

"I believe not," laughed Hal, then vanished through the doorway.

"Strange to me what complete fascination there can be about the Army,"
mused Mrs. Overton. "That boy of mine, now that he's ordered to join his
regiment again, is wholly and unreasonably happy."

Noll had received his orders just before Hal arrived. Lieutenant Terry
was also ordered to Fort Butler.

"There isn't a thing left that we can ask for!" exclaimed Hal
contentedly.

"I hope we'll have as good luck with each step upward," beamed young
Terry.

"There may come a time in our upward progress when we can't serve in the
same regiment," warned Hal. "That will be when we beco