id absently--"everybody, I suppose. How do I
know, child?"

"Just ordinary people?"

"Just ordinary people," he responded quietly. A few minutes later
as they entered their own street he said:

"I suppose I had better tell my wife about this to-night. I don't
know--it will be in the morning papers; but I think I had better
break it to her to-night."

"She will have to know--sometime--of course----"

Halting at the foot of the stoop he turned and peered through his
glasses at his sister-in-law.

"I don't want Stephen to start any nonsense about going."

"Going where?" she asked innocently.

He hesitated: "I don't want to hear any talk from him about
enlisting. That is what I mean. Your influence counts with him
more deeply than you know. Remember that."

"Steve--_enlist_!" she repeated blankly.

She could not yet comprehend what all this had to do with people
she personally knew--with her own kin.

"He must not enlist, of course," she said curtly. "There are
plenty of soldiers--there will be plenty, of course. I----"

Something silenced her, something within her sealed her lips. She
stood in silence while Craig fitted his night-key, then entered the
house with him. Gas burned low in the hall globes; when he turned
it off a fainter light from above guided them.

"Celia, is that you?" she called gently,

"Hush; go to bed, Honey-bell. Everybody is asleep. How pale you
are, Curt--dearest--dearest----"

The rear room was Ailsa's; she walked into it and dropped down on
the bed in the darkness. The door between the rooms closed: she
sat perfectly still, her eyes were wide open, staring in front of
her.

Queer little luminous shapes danced through obscurity like the
names from the kerosene torches around the bulletin; her ears still
vibrated with the hoarse alarm of the voices; through her brain
sounded her brother-in-law's words about Steve, repeated
incessantly, stupidly.

Presently she began to undress by sense of touch. The gas in the
bathroom was lighted; she completed her ablutions, turned it off,
and felt her way back to the bed.

Lying there she became aware of sounds from the front room. Celia
was still awake; she distinguished her voice in quick, frightened
exclamation; then the low murmur continued for a while, then
silence fell.

She raised herself on one elbow; the crack of light under the door
was gone; there was no sound, no movement in the house except the
measured tick