ected, eyeing him seriously.

"Gran'pa," said she, "you've worn yourself out with work and worry.
They ought not to have put you on this Liberty Bond Committee; you're
too old, and you're not well or strong enough to endure all the anxiety
and hard work."

"For the honor of--"

"Yes, I know, dear. Our country needs you, so you mustn't break down.
Now come and drink a cup of coffee and I'll talk to you. I've a secret
to tell you."

He smiled, rather wanly and hopelessly, but he permitted the girl to
assist him to rise and to lead him to the breakfast room. There Mary
Louise poured his coffee and attacked her own breakfast, although with
indifferent appetite.

Gran'pa Jim was the only relative she had in all the world and she
loved him devotedly. Their life in the pretty little town had been
peaceful and happy until recently--until the war. But the old Colonel,
loyal veteran that he was, promptly made it _his_ war and was roused as
Mary Louise had never seen him roused before. In his mind was no
question of the justice of our country's participation in the world
struggle; he was proud to be an American and gloried in America's
sacrifice to the cause of humanity. Too old to fight on the
battlefield, he felt honored at his appointment to the membership of
the Liberty Bond Committee and threw all his energies into the task
assigned him. So it is easy to understand that the coldness and
reluctance to subscribe for bonds on the part of his fellow townsmen
had well nigh broken his heart.

This the girl, his closest companion, fully appreciated.

"Gran'pa," she said, regarding him across the table after their old
black mammy, Aunt Sally, had left them together, "I love my country, as
you know; but I love _you_ better."

"Oh, Mary Louise!"

"It's true; and it's right that I should. If I had to choose between
letting the Germans capture the United States, or losing you, I'd let
the Germans come! That's honest, and it's the way I feel. Love for
one's country is a fine sentiment, but my love for you is deeper. I
wouldn't whisper this to anyone else, for no one else could understand
it, but you will understand it, Gran'pa Jim, and you know my love for
you doesn't prevent my still being as good an American as the average.
However," continued the young girl, in a lighter tone, "I've no desire
to lose you or allow the Germans to whip us, if I can help it, so I've
got two battles to fight. The truth is, Gran'pa, that you're u