, that all we can do, even to the sacrifice of our
lives, is none too high a price to pay for our beloved country."

"I wish I might have gone to France, Father," said Theo earnestly.

"A boy of fifteen is too young to go," returned Dr. Swift. "If you
were older I should be the first to bid you Godspeed, for it is a
great opportunity for service. Those who are not sharing it are
missing one of life's richest experiences. It means danger, privation,
perhaps death; but it means also the exercise of all that is finest in
our natures--patriotism, heroism, the dedication of ourselves to a
great cause. I should have been proud to have you in France,
Theo. However, there is much a boy can do here and now. He can begin
being a loyal unselfish citizen, and training himself to bear his part
when he shall be older. Get your education first. Prepare yourself to
be of value to humanity so that when your time to help comes it may
find you useful and ready."

There was a moment of silence.

The great logs in the rough stone chimney crackled and snapped, and up
the flue roared the blaze. Outside all was still save when the breeze
stirred the giant pines causing them to give out a mighty whisper like
the murmur of the sea.

It was a cozy interior over which the firelight flashed.

The log cabin had been sheathed to keep it warm and tight, and to
conceal its barrenness on the walls had been tacked a few gaily
colored prints. On one side of the room were several well-filled
bookshelves, while on the opposite wall were racks for pipes and
guns. From over the fireplace an elk's head peered forth, catching the
scarlet glow from the fire on its mammoth antlers. Two small bedrooms
which led out of this living-room completed the cabin. Outside stood
four others built exactly like this one, and in addition a
dining-cabin, cook-house, and two cabins for the guides.

Aside from this tiny settlement on the lake's edge there was not a
house for twenty miles. It was a wilderness indeed!

"Are there any other people staying here at the camp beside
ourselves?" inquired Theo at last.

Dr. Swift, who had seated himself before the fire, nodded.

"Yes, there is a Mr. Croyden, from Trenton, New Jersey, whom I have
met here before--a splendid man, whom you will like. He is a great
fisherman--comes back every season just about this time. At present
there is no one else, so you will not find the woods overcrowded."

Theo laughed at the bare sugges