what you mean by good," he returned,
with a dignity which, notwithstanding her momentary petulance, won
her full respect. "I am not going out in search of the path to a
generalship. Fighting isn't my real profession."

"Then what are you going for?" she demanded sharply. With no
consciousness of dramatic effect, his eyes turned to the Union Jack
fluttering above them.

"Because I couldn't stay away," he answered simply. "From
Magersfontein to Nooitdedacht, the pull on me has been growing
stronger. I am not needed at home; I can shoot a little and ride a
good deal. I am taking out my own horse; I shall draw no pay. I can
do no harm; and, somewhere or other, I may do a little good. For the
rest, I prefer the ranks. It's not always the broadest man who lives
entirely with his own class. For a while, I am willing to meet some
one outside. As soon as I get to Cape Town, I shall enlist in a
regiment of horse, put on the khaki and learn to wind myself up in
my putties. Then it will remain to be seen whether my old friends
will accept Trooper Weldon on their list of acquaintances."

"One of them will," the girl said quickly. "If only for the sake of
novelty, I shall be glad to know a man in the ranks."

He shook his head.

"No novelty, Miss Dent. I know any number of fellows who are doing
the same thing. We can't all be officers; a few of us must take
orders. Out in the hunting field, we say it is the thoroughbred dog
who answers to call most quickly."

She ignored his last words.

"And you don't even know where you are going?" she asked. "To Cape
Town."

"But after that?"

"To my banker. After that, to the nearest recruiting station."

"So you'll not stop in Cape Town?"

Weldon's quick ear caught the little note of regret in her voice.

"Not long. Long enough, however, to pull any latch-string that
offers itself to me."

Her eyes dropped to the shining sea.

"My mother will offer ours to you," she said quietly. Then she
added, with a swift flash of merriment, "And you will wish to see
Miss Arthur again."

Weldon cast a mocking glance over his shoulder at the recumbent,
open-mouthed form.

"Is the lady going to stop long with you?" he queried.

"Long enough to recover from her invalidism."

"To judge from her greeny-yellow cast of countenance, that may take
some time. But tell me, Miss Dent, does she always sleep out loud
like this?"

"Not always. It usually comes when she is taking what she calls
f