o
him. "I'll tell you! It takes my mother to remember what us fellows
like," and he smacked his lips.

The other package, addressed to Andy and Randy, contained a box of
home-made sugar cookies, while that which Spouter had received contained
a long loaf of ginger cake and a box of hard candies.

"Well, one thing is sure--they haven't forgotten us," was Spouter's
remark, as he passed the candies around.

All the boys were anxious to read their letters, and for the time being
everything else was forgotten. Mrs. Dick Rover wrote that nothing of
importance had happened at home since they had gone away. Ruth Stevenson
and May Powell were still with them, but all of the girls expected to go
to the Stevenson homestead to finish their school vacation.

The letter from Dick Rover had been sent from the battlefront in France.
In it he related how he and his brothers, as well as some of their old
school chums, had been in a number of small engagements. In one of these
Tom and Sam Rover had been slightly wounded by the fragments from a
shell, and he himself had been in a gas attack, but had escaped without
serious injury. All had been sent to the field hospital to be treated,
but now they were once more at the front in what were called their
winter quarters.

* * * * *

"The Boches are watching us like a cat watches a mouse, and we are
equally on the alert," wrote Dick Rover. "There have been no big
battles, but sniping is going on constantly, and several of our men have
been killed or wounded. We are all anxious to have the cold weather
break up, so that we can go forward and finish this war. We feel that we
can wallop the enemy, if only we have a chance to get at them."

* * * * *

"That's dad, all right," murmured Jack admiringly. He had read the
letter aloud for the benefit of the others.

"Oh, dear! I hope dad wasn't seriously hurt," murmured Fred.

"I think if our fathers were very badly hurt Uncle Dick would let us
know," answered Randy. "He isn't one to hold back news--he knows we want
the truth."

"If only this war was over!" remarked Andy, and now there was little of
his usual light-heartedness in his tone. "I won't feel at ease until our
soldiers are bound for home."

The six cadets talked over the letters they had received for some time.
They had brought stationery with them, and they spent the evening
writing letters in return.

"I don't se