ads of Cornwall were not
responding as we thought they should, to the call of their country.
From all parts of England young men were coming forward, and London was
enlisting volunteers at the rate of a thousand a day. Yorkshire and
Lancashire proved their devotion and their loyalty. Devon, too, our
sister county, more than maintained her traditions. We read how in one
little village where only thirty young men lived, twenty-five of them
had volunteered. "It is because our boys don't understand, don't
realise what we are fighting for," said one to another; and then we
heard with delight that Admiral Tresize and the Member of Parliament
for St. Ia were arranging for a public meeting, at which truth should
be made known.

During this time Bob Nancarrow was much alone. He seldom left the
house, neither was he to be seen in any of his old favourite haunts.
No one followed the fortunes of the war more closely than he. With
almost feverish eagerness he read every item of news, although, by his
own decision, he was an outsider. He was torn by two opposing forces.
One was the love of his country and his own people, and the other was
the voice of his conscience. He thought, when he happened to go into
the little town, that people nudged each other significantly as he
passed, and made unflattering remarks about him. As a matter of fact,
however, no such thing happened. True, there were some who wondered
why he remained at home, while all his schoolfellows and friends had
volunteered; but many more remembered that he was the son of Dr.
Nancarrow, a man who, to the time of his death, was an apostle of
peace. Of course the inner circle of his acquaintances knew the truth,
but they only talked of it among their own set, and thus Bob's fears
were groundless.

One day he was attracted by a large placard which appeared on all the
public hoardings headed by the Royal Coat of Arms: "'Your King and
Country Need You!' A great meeting will be held in the Public Hall on
Thursday night in order to explain why this war has taken place, and
why it is the duty of every man to help." It announced also that
Admiral Tresize was to take the chair, while, in addition to the local
Member, the meeting was to be addressed by Captain Trevanion, who was
coming down from Plymouth for this purpose, just before leaving for the
front.

"Of course I shan't go," said Bob to himself. "I know the reasons for
the war, and I should be in utter mise