young men of Springvale, who had grown up to the life here and on whom
the cares of citizenship, and the town's good name were soon to rest;
and for the young men who would not be with us again: for Tell Mapleson,
that the snares of a great city like St. Louis might not entrap him; for
James Conlow, whose lines had led him away from us; for David Mead,
going soon to the far-away lands where the Sierras dip down the golden
slope to the Pacific seas; for August Anderson, also about to go away
from us, that life and health might be his; and last of all for Philip
Baronet. A deeper hush fell upon the company bowed in prayer.

"For Philip Baronet, the strong, manly boy whom we all love, the
brave-hearted hero who has gone out from among us, and as his father did
before him for the homes of a nation, so now the son has gone to fight
the battles of the prairie domain, and to build up a wall of safety
before the homes and hearthstones of our frontier." And then he offered
thanksgiving to a merciful Father that, "in the awful conflict which
Philip, with a little handful of heroes, has helped to wage against the
savage red man, a struggle in which so many lives have gone out, our
Philip has been spared." His voice broke here, and he controlled it by
an effort, as in calm, low tones he finished his simple prayer with the
earnest petition, "Keep Thou these our boys; and though they may walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, may they fear no evil, for
Thou art with them. Amen."

It was the first intimation the town had had of what I was doing.
Springvale was not without a regard for me who had loved it always, and
then the thought of danger to a fellow citizen is not without its
appeal. I have been told that Judge Baronet and Aunt Candace could not
get down the aisle after service until after ten o'clock that night and
that the tears of men as well as women fell fast as my father gave the
words of the message sent to him by Governor Crawford on the evening
before. Even Chris Mead, always a quiet, stern man, sat with head bowed
on the railing of the pew before him during the recital. It was noted
afterwards that Judson did not remain, but took Lettie Conlow home as
soon as the doxology was ended. The next day my stock in Springvale was
at a premium; for a genuine love, beside which fame and popularity are
ashes and dust, was in the heart of that plain, good little Kansas town.

Bud called to say good-bye to Marjie, before