e as a marine at a Court-Martial. No wonder
your mother thought you had scored a blank."

"Well, the fact is, my friend Kavanagh has not had my luck. It is
awfully hard lines, for he has only missed it by twenty marks. It is a
bad job."

"Aye, it is a pity," said Captain Strachan. Reginald Kavanagh was a
general favourite in the family, with whom he had twice been to stay in
the holidays. "A pity for him and a pity for the service. He was cut
out for a soldier if ever a lad was. Well, I hope he will study hard
now, and succeed next time."

"That is the worst of it," said Tom. "He has no second chance, for he
has no money to live upon till the time comes. I told you about that
will which has been stolen or lost; that was the only thing he had to
depend upon, and he has got to earn his bread."

There was a general murmur of regret. Mrs Strachan particularly pitied
him for having no mother to console him, though her husband thought that
this was a redeeming feature in the case. If he had to bear her
disappointment as well as his own it would be a great deal worse, he
said, and no young fellow of spirit wants to be pitied.

"Besides," he added, "there is this to be thought of. Suppose he had
succeeded, he would not have been in a very pleasant position. A
subaltern trying to live upon his pay is placed about as uncomfortably
as a lad can be. For my part, I am not sure that I would not sooner be
a full private, if I must take to soldiering at all."

"But your other friend, Forsyth, who went out to Egypt to find the man
who was supposed to have the will--has nothing been heard from him?"
asked Mary.

"Nothing to help," replied Tom. "There has been one letter from him,
and he was as hopeful as ever; but he had only got as far as Cairo. Of
course, if he succeeds Kavanagh will be right enough, but what is he to
do in the meantime? He has no relative to go to, you see."

"We would have him here for a spell if it were likely to do him any
good," said Captain Strachan.

"Thank you, father. It will be kind to ask him, but I know he won't
come. He has never been sanguine about Forsyth's recovering the will,
and I know had made up his mind to face the situation if he failed in
this. He would feel that coming here would only make it more difficult
afterwards. He expected to be spun, and I have no doubt has fixed his
plans."

Although his friend's failure damped Tom Strachan's pleasure in his own
succes