dgeted with the
pen upon the table.

"Oh--well--" he said.

"It's--it's kind of tough luck!" his friend contrived to say; and he
began to pace the floor again.

"Oh--well--"

"See here, ole stick-in-the-mud," Fred broke out abruptly. "After her
saying what she did-- Well, it's none o' my business, but--but--"

"Well, what?" Ramsey murmured. "I don't care what you say, if you want
to say anything."

"Well, I _got_ to say it," Fred half groaned and half blurted. "After
she said _that_--and she meant it--why, if I were in your place I'd be
darned if I'd be seen out walking with her again."

"I'm not going to be," Ramsey said, quietly.

"By George!" And now Fred halted in front of him, both being huskily
solemn. "I think I understand a little of what that means to you, old
Ramsey; I think I do. I think I know something of what it costs you to
make that resolution for your country's sake." Impulsively he extended
his hand. "It's a pretty big thing for you to do. Will you shake hands?"

But Ramsey shook his head. "I didn't do it. I wouldn't ever have done
anything just on account of her talkin' that way. She shut the door on
me--it was a good while ago."

"She did! What for?"

"Well, I'm not much of a talker, you know, Fred," said Ramsey, staring
at the pen he played with. "I'm not much of anything, for that matter,
prob'ly, but I--well--I--"

"You what?"

"Well, I had to tell her I didn't feel about things the way she did.
She'd thought I had, all along, I guess. Anyway, it made her hate me
or something, I guess; and she called it all off. I expect there wasn't
much to call off, so far as she was concerned, anyhow." He laughed
feebly. "She told me I better go and enlist."

"Pleasant of her!" Fred muttered. "Especially as we know what she thinks
enlisting means." He raised his voice cheerfully. "Well, that's settled;
and, thank God, old Mr. Bernstorff's on his way to his sweet little
vine-clad cottage home! They're getting guns on the ships, and the big
show's liable to commence any day. We can hold up our heads now, and
we're going to see some great times, old Ramsey boy! It's hard on the
home folks--Gosh! I don't like to think of that! And I guess it's going
to be hard on a lot of boys that haven't understood what it's all about,
and hard on some that their family affairs, and business, and so on,
have got 'em tied up so it's hard to go--and of course there's plenty
that just can't, and some that aren't h