up.

"Well, Al, what is it?" he asked.

Albert came over and stood beside the desk. The captain, after a
moment's scrutiny of the young man's face, put down his newspaper.

"Well, Al?" he said, again.

Albert seemed to find it hard to speak.

"Grandfather," he began, "I--I--Grandfather, I have come to ask a favor
of you."

The captain nodded, slowly, his gaze fixed upon his grandson's face.

"All right; heave ahead," he said quietly.

"Grandfather, you and I have had a four years' agreement to work
together in this office. It isn't up yet, but--but I want to break it. I
want you to let me off."

"Humph! . . . Let you off, eh? . . . What for?"

"That's what I came here to tell you. Grandfather, I can't stay
here--now. I want to enlist."

Captain Zelotes did not answer. His hand moved upward and pulled at his
beard.

"I want to enlist," repeated Albert. "I can't stand it another minute.
I must. If it hadn't been for you and our promise and--and Madeline, I
think I should have joined the Canadian Army a year or more ago. But now
that we have gone into the war, I CAN'T stay out. Grandfather, you don't
want me to, do you? Of course you don't."

His grandfather appeared to ponder.

"If you can wait a spell," he said slowly, "I might be able to fix it
so's you can get a chance for an officer's commission. I'd ought to have
some pull somewheres, seems so."

Albert sniffed impatient disgust. "I don't want to get a commission--in
that way," he declared.

"Humph! You'll find there's plenty that do, I shouldn't wonder."

"Perhaps, but I'm not one of them. And I don't care so much for a
commission, unless I can earn it. And I don't want to stay here and
study for it. I want to go now. I want to get into the thing. I don't
want to wait."

Captain Lote leaned forward. His gray eyes snapped.

"Want to fight, do you?" he queried.

"You bet I do!"

"All right, my boy, then go--and fight. I'd be ashamed of myself if I
held you back a minute. Go and fight--and fight hard. I only wish to God
I was young enough to go with you."

CHAPTER XIII

And so, in this unexpected fashion, came prematurely the end of the
four year trial agreement between Albert Speranza and Z. Snow and Co.
Of course neither Captain Zelotes nor Albert admitted that it had ended.
Each professed to regard the break as merely temporary.

"You'll be back at that desk in a little while, Al," said the captain,
"addin' up figgers and torme