appy, of course, to avail myself of the opportunity
to meet face to face such an interesting group of men, men who
have had such a large share in making the history of this country,
in the Civil War and since. But surely, Mr. McCall, such men do
not hold an annual reunion with their Tontine insurance agreement
as the sole tie to hold them together. These men must be above
such things. What is there, aside from the insurance, that has
held this group together for sixty-five years?"

"Oh, so you heard about this Tontine insurance, did you?" asked
McCall.

"I told Professor Brierly about it, Mac," stated Jimmy.

"Oh, I see. Well, you're right, Professor. This is not the thing
that holds them together." He ground his cigarette stub into a
tray and taking out his pipe, began meditatively filling it. He
lit it carefully and took a thoughtful puff or two. He continued:

"If you've read your history you will remember that at one time,
toward the end of that dreadful struggle, the Civil War, all
males, from about the age of sixteen upwards, were either drafted
or enlisted on both sides. Boys of fourteen in active combat
service were fairly common. Father and sons often fought side by
side. What is still more deplorable is the fact that often
brothers, and even fathers and sons, fought on opposite sides."

McCall puffed more slowly. He was apparently choosing his words
carefully.

"What I want to make clear is that thousands of boys in their
teens, as young as thirteen and fourteen, were in active combat
service. The conditions at that time, of course, were such that
boys matured much earlier than they do now.

"Imagine if you will, Camp Douglas, near Chicago, northern prison
for Confederate soldiers, where seven thousand prisoners of war
were quartered. Picture several hundred prisoners taken at Fort
Donelson, including men from Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, sent to
Douglas soon after their capture; shivering in the snow in the
center of the parade ground, wearing upon their backs all the
colors of the rainbow, ragged garments intended for a much warmer
climate, frames all unaccustomed to the rigors of a northern
winter. A week before, these men were fighting under the serpent
flag of Douglas.

"Understand that if you will. Fiery Southerners, among them boys,
to whom restraint was particularly galling. What more natural than
an attempted prison break." McCall paused uncertainly and
continued: "The jail break failed bu