served the conventions; had hired a housekeeper and a maid, and there
was, of course, the day nurse. Having thus surrounded his betrothed
with a sort of feminine bodyguard, he spoke of the wedding as happening
in the spring. And he was hard to move. As has been said, the General
had once commanded a brigade. He was immensely entertained and
fascinated by the lady who was to be his wife. But he was not to be
managed by her. She found herself, as he grew stronger, quite
strangely deferring to his wishes. She found herself, indeed, rather
unexpectedly dominated.

She came back to the Doctor. "Aren't you going to wish me happiness?"

"No. How can I, Hilda?"

After he had left her, she stood very still in the middle of the room.
She could still see him as he had towered above her--his crinkled hair
waving back from his handsome head. She had always liked the youth of
him and his laughter and his boyish fun.

The rich man upstairs was--old--.

CHAPTER XX

THE VISION OF BRAVE WOMEN

And now the Tin Soldier was to go to the wars!

Derry, swinging downtown, found himself gazing squarely into the eyes
of the khaki-clad men whom he met. He was one of them at last!

He was on his way to meet Jean. The day before they had gone to church
together. They had heard burning words from a fearless pulpit. The
old man who had preached had set no limits on his patriotism. The
cause of the Allies was the cause of humanity, the cause of humanity
was the cause of Christ. He would have had the marching hymn of the
Americans "Onward, Christian Soldiers." His Master was not a shrinking
idealist, but a prophet unafraid. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto
thee, Bethsaida! . . . It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
in the day of Judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto Heaven, shall be brought down to hell . . ."

"I am too old to go myself," the old man had said, "but I have sent my
sons. In the face of the world's need, no man has a right to hold
another back. Personal considerations which might once have seemed
sufficient must now be set aside. Things are at stake which involve
not only the honor of a nation but the honor of the individual. To
call a man a coward in the old days was to challenge his physical
courage. To know him as a slacker in these modern times is to doubt
the quality of his mind and spirit. 'I pray thee have me excused' is
the word of one lost to th