.

I put the sheet of paper down, feeling very sick and ill. And the worst
of it was, I knew that every word of it was true. I was young and
inexperienced then, and had not _nous_ enough to say plump out that my
eyes had been opened, and that I could see that I should be neither more
nor less than a fool if I wasted a single farthing over a story that
must be utterly worthless. So I prevaricated mildly, and said that I
certainly did not feel inclined to throw a hundred or even seventy-five
pounds away over a story without some certainty of success. 'I'll think
it over during the day,' I said, rising from my chair.

'Oh, we must know within an hour, at the outside,' Mr.---- said very
curtly. 'Our arrangements will not wait, and the time is very short now
for us to decide on our books for September. Of course, if you have not
got the money, we might reduce a little more. We are always glad, if
possible, to meet our clients.'

'It's not that,' I replied, looking at him straight. 'I have the money
in my pocket; but a Yorkshire woman does not put down a hundred pounds
without some idea what is going to be done with it.'

'You must let me have your answer within an hour,' Mr.---- remarked
briefly.

'I will,' said I, in my most polite manner; 'but I really must think out
the fact that you are willing to knock off twenty-five pounds at one
blow. It seems to me if you could afford to take that much off, and
perhaps a little more, there must have been something very odd about
your original offer.'

'My time is precious,' said Mr.---- in a grumpy voice.

'Then, good morning,' said I cheerfully.

My hopes were all dashed to the ground again, but I felt very cheerful,
nevertheless. I trotted round to my friend, Mr. Stevens, who gave a
whistle of astonishment at my story. 'I'll send my head clerk round for
your MS. at once,' he said, 'else you'll probably never see it again.'

And so he did, and so ended my next attempt to bring out my first book.

After this I felt very keenly the real truth of the old saying, 'Virtue
is its own reward.' For, not long after my episode with Mr.----, the
then editor of _London Society_ wrote to me, saying that he thought that
as I had already had several stories published in the magazine, it might
make a very attractive volume if I could add a few more and bring them
out as a collection of soldier stories.

[Illustration: LONG-LEGGED SOLDIERS]

I did not hesitate very long over this offe