ying. Miss Ellison
had not seemed to think it was very funny, but that had only made Roscoe
laugh the more. "I'd rather kill time than kill Germans," he had said
lightly. And Miss Ellison had said, "You're quite brave at killing time,
aren't you?"

It was just joking and jollying, thought Tom, as he turned over for the
fourth or fifth time, and he wished that _he_ could joke and jolly like
that. He made up his mind that when Roscoe came upstairs in the morning
he would ask him whether the Germans weren't cowards to murder innocent
women and children, and whether he would really want to be like them. He
believed he could say that much without a tremor, even in front of Miss
Ellison.

He wished morning would come so that he could be sure that Roscoe ... so
that he could say that when Roscoe came upstairs.

"I'll bet he'll be sleepy after being out so late," thought Tom.

CHAPTER IV

THE CUP OF JOY

Tom was to have the next day off for his patriotic activities, but he
went to the Temple Camp office early in the morning to get the mail
opened and attend to one or two routine duties.

He found Miss Ellison already at her desk, and she greeted him with a
mysterious smile.

"I hear you're going to be one of the celebrities," she said, busying
herself with her typewriter machine.

"One of the what?" said Tom.

"One of the leading figures of the day. I don't suppose you'll even
_look_ at poor me to-morrow.--I was down in the bank and Mr. Temple said
to send you down as soon as you came in."

"Me?" stammered Tom.

"Yes, you."

For a few seconds Tom waited, not knowing what to say or do--especially
with his feet.

"You didn't notice if Roscoe was down there, did you?" he finally
ventured.

"I most certainly did not," answered Miss Ellison, smiling with that
same mysterious smile, as she tidied up her desk. "I have something else
to think of besides Mr. Roscoe Bent."

Tom shifted from one foot to the other. "I thought you--maybe--kind
of--I thought you liked him," said he.

"Oh, did you?"

He had never been quite so close to Miss Ellison before, nor engaged in
such familiar discourse with her. He hesitated, moving uneasily, then
made a bold plunge.

"I think you can--I think a person--I think a feller can tell if a girl
kind of likes a certain feller--sort of----"

"Indeed!" she laughed. "Well, then, perhaps you can tell if I like
_you_--sort of."

This was too much for Tom. He wrestled for a