ing and fearless, the eyes of a man
who owes his life to his vigilance and his courage.

Before turning in for the night, Barry went to the river's edge, and
stood looking up at the stars holding their steadfast watch over the
turbulent and tossing waters below.

"Quiet, ain't they?" said a voice at his shoulder.

"Why, you startled me, Mr. McCuaig; I never heard you step."

McCuaig laughed his quiet laugh.

"Got to move quietly in this country," he said, "if you are going to
keep alive."

A moment or so he stood by Barry's side, looking up with him at the
stars.

"No fuss, up there," he said, interpreting Barry's mood and attitude.
"Not like that there pitchin', tossin', threatenin' water."

"No," said Barry, "but though they look quiet, I suppose if we could
really see, there is a most terrific whirling of millions of stars up
there, going at the rate of thousands of miles a minute."

"Millions of 'em, and all whirlin' about," said McCuaig in an
awe-stricken voice. "It's a wonder they don't hit."

"They don't hit because they each keep their own orbit," said Barry,
"and they obey the laws of their existence."

"Orbut," enquired McCuaig. "What's that?"

"The trail that each star follows," said Barry.

"I see," said McCuaig, "each one keeps its own trail, its own orbut,
and so there's peace up there. And I guess there'd be peace down here if
folks did the same thing. It's when a man gets out of his own orbut
and into another fellow's that the scrap begins. I guess that's where
Germany's got wrong."

"Something like that," replied Barry.

"And sometimes," continued McCuaig, his eyes upon the stars, "when a
little one comes up against a big one, he gets busted, eh?"

Barry nodded.

"And a big one, when he comes up against a bigger one gets pretty badly
jarred, eh?"

"I suppose so," said Barry.

"That's what's goin' to happen to Germany," said McCuaig.

"Germany's a very powerful nation," said Barry. "The most powerful
military nation in the world."

"What!" said McCuaig. "Bigger than Britain?"

"Britain has two or three hundred thousand men in her army; Germany has
seven millions or more, with seventy millions of people behind them,
organised for war. Of course, Britain has her navy, but then Germany has
the next biggest in the world. Oh, it's going to be a terrific war."

"I say," said McCuaig, putting his hand on Barry's shoulder. "You don't
think it will bother us any to lick her?"

"It