ting public.

The excitement over Red Cross troubles during the winter almost made
folk forget the war. The terrible onrush of the enemy had been stopped
at the Marne, and, lulled by an over-censored press, the public settled
down to the belief that when the Spring came the Germans would be
forced back across the Rhine and the war would be over. Britain was
safe anyway, every one knew that. For there was the Navy and that, as
every one knew, was invincible.

The first contingent had gone; English and Scottish reservists like
Burke had left, and many another Old Country man had volunteered, going
back to give the old land a helping hand. Then there were the gay lads
full of adventure like Trooper, up and away at the first glad chance of
looking into "the bright face of danger," and some serious minded ones
also, knowing that a terrible danger menaced humanity and they must
stand as a wall between. But the great mass of young Canada was as yet
undisturbed, and while the press could have called them with one bugle
sound, the press sent them back to their work and their play, and so
they lingered undisturbed.

Wallace had to part with Christina at Christmas time, a consummation
that had been devoutly looked forward to by his mother. He left her
with many promises to write and to be home for Easter. Christina had
scarcely time to miss him for Sandy and Neil came home and Mary and
Hugh McGillivray came up from Port Stewart and the house rang with the
good times they all had together. And Grandpa could scarcely be
persuaded to go to bed lest he miss some of Jimmie's and Sandy's antics.

On Christmas day a letter came from the two absent ones. They were
invited to take dinner with some friends in Prairie Park, people who
had heard Neil preach when he was in the west, and they declared he
would be one of Canada's leading preachers some day.

Allister wrote a longer letter than usual to Christina. There was an
entirely new note in it.

"This war has knocked things endways for me I'm afraid," he said. "You
needn't say anything to John or the boys yet, but if everything keeps
rolling down hill as fast as it's been going there will be no college
for any one next year. So perhaps you were just as wise to stay home.
I didn't know just how good you were to let Ellen come till she told me
all about it. It's been rough on Ellen and you've been a brick to let
her come. But if things don't get too rotten we'll win out y