ng now and then, lost to a world where his
companion was joyfully conscious of the prettiness of new-born and
translucent foliage.

Always pleased to sit down, Rivers dropped his thin length of body upon
the brown pine-needles near the cabin and settling his back against a
fallen tree-trunk made himself comfortable. As usual, when at rest, he
began to talk.

"John," he said, "you and Tom McGregor had a quarrel long ago--and a
fight."

"Yes, sir," returned John wondering.

"I saw it--I did not interfere at once--I was wrong."

This greatly amused John. "You stopped it just in time for me--I was
about done for."

"Yes, but now, John, I have talked to Tom, and--I am afraid you have
never made it up."

"No, he was insolent to Leila and rude. But we had a talk about it--oh, a
good while ago--before she went away."

"Oh, had you! Well, what then?"

"Oh, he told me you had talked to him and he had seen Leila and told her
he was sorry. She never said a word to me. I told him that he ought to
have apologized to me--too."

Rivers was amused. "Apologies are not much in fashion among Westways
boys. What did he say?"

"Oh, just that he didn't see that at all--and then he said that he was
going away this fall to study medicine, and some day when he was a doctor
he would have a chance to get even with me, and wouldn't he dose me well.
Then we both laughed, and--I shook hands with him. That's all, sir."

"Well, I am pleased. He is by no means a bad fellow, and as you know he
is clever--and can beat you in mathematics."

"Yes, but I licked him well, and he knows it."

"For shame, John. I wish my Baptist friend's boy would do better--he is
dull."

"But I like him," said John. "He is so plucky."

"There is another matter I want to talk about. I had a long conversation
about you with your uncle the night before he left. I heard with regret
that you want to go into the army."

"May I ask why?" said John, as he lay on the ground lazily fingering the
pine-needles.

"Is it because the hideous business called war attracts you?"

"No, but I like what I hear of the Point from Uncle Jim. I prefer it to
any college life. Besides this, I do not expect to spend my life in the
service, and after all it is simply a first rate training for anything I
may want to do later--care of the mills, I mean. Uncle Jim is pleased,
and as for war, Mr. Rivers, if that is what you dislike, what chance of
war is there?"

"You have very like