n was nearly a mile away.

"I wonder where the fort is," returned Hal. "We'll ask the operator."

Apparently the operator was too well accustomed to seeing soldiers to
take any deep interest in this new pair. But he was obliging, at any
rate.

"Wait a minute," he called back, in answer to Private Overton's
question, "and I'll go and show you the road."

So the two soldiers stood by their canvas cases until the operator had
finished at his clicking instruments. Then the operator came out,
heading for the rear door of the station.

"I'll show you from here, Jack," called the operator. "You see that
road? Follow it about a half a mile; take the first turn to the left,
and then keep straight on until you come to the fort."

"How far is Fort Clowdry?" Hal wanted to know.

"About three miles from here."

"Good road?" questioned Noll.

"Tenderfeet, ain't you?" asked the operator, smiling.

"Yes," admitted Hal.

"Thought you must be," nodded the operator, "else you'd know that the
road between an Army post and the nearest freight station is always a
good one. Them Army wagon bosses would put up a fearful holler if they
had to drive the transport wagons over bad roads. Just joining?"

"Yes," assented Hal.

"Good luck to you! Well, follow the road and you can't have any
trouble."

"Thank you, and good-night," came from both recruits. Then, each taking
a new grip on his canvas case, which was fairly heavy, the recruits
started down the road.

They came, finally, to the turn to the left.

"These equipment cases don't grow any lighter with distance, do they?"
laughed Hal.

"Mine doesn't," grunted Noll.

When they had walked on a good deal farther Noll remarked:

"I wish we had that operator here!"

"What for?"

"He told us it was three miles. We could ask him what kind of miles."

"There's daylight coming," nodded Hal, pointing to the east. "That will
make the distance seem shorter."

The sun up, at last, gave the recruits their first glimpse of their
first station in the Army. Fort Clowdry lay before them. There were no
frowning parapets, no stone battlements, no cannon in sight. Fort
Clowdry, as seen at the distance, consisted of a great number of
buildings, of all sizes.

Boom! went a gun suddenly.

"Great!" cried Hal, his eyes shining. "That's the essence of the
soldier's life--the sunrise gun. The Flag has just been hauled up."

In the middle distance the recruits caught sight of a soldier pac