ite exercise of his altruistic
faculties can he indulge himself in the commendable civilian luxury of
caring for his neighbour.

And so it came about that Major Bayne, possessing in a large measure the
quality of "canniness" characteristic of his race--a quality which for
the benefit of the uninitiated Saxon it may be necessary to define as
being a judicious blending of shrewdness and caution,--and being
as well, again after the manner of his race, ambitious for his own
advancement, and, furthermore, being a man of conscience, had been so
entirely engrossed in the absorbing business of "watching his step" that
he had paid slight heed to the affairs of any other officer, and least
of all to those of the chaplain, whose functions in the battalion he had
regarded, it must be confessed, as more or less formal, if not merely
decorative.

But, in spite of all this, in the major the biggest thing was his heart,
which, however, true to his race type again, he kept stored in the
deepest recesses of his system. To "touch" the major's "heart" was an
operation of more than ordinary difficulty. It was that very thing,
however, which the letter to the battalion Commanding Officer from the
A. D. C. S. had achieved. The effect of this letter upon the members of
the mess, and most especially upon the junior major in regard to their
relation to their chaplain, was revolutionary. Hence the major's visit
to Barry upon the evening of his return.

It was with an unusually cordial handshake that he greeted the chaplain.

"We are glad to have you back with us, Captain Dunbar," he said. "We
missed you, and we have discovered that we need you. Things have
been moving while you were away. This battalion is undergoing a
transformation. The O. C. is tightening down the screws of discipline.
He sees, and we all are beginning to see, that we are up against a
different proposition from what we had imagined, and right here, Captain
Dunbar, I want to say for myself, and I believe for the rest of the
boys, that we have not given you a square deal."

His attitude and his words astounded Barry.

"Don't say that, major," he said, in a voice husky with emotion. "Don't
say that. I have been all wrong. I am not going to talk about it, but I
am awfully glad to get a second chance."

"If you need a second chance, Pilot," said the major, for the first time
using the friendly western sobriquet, "believe me, you'll get it."

The major sat down, pulled out