"Your young friend is learning his recruit drill at the depot, I should think. If he were in my regiment I might not be able to give you much information about him. The army is a big affair, my boys, and I doubt if Rob and I will ever meet."
The boys' faces fell considerably.
"Do you think he likes it?" asked Roy, anxiously; "do you like being a soldier?"
"Of course I do, and if he has any stuff in him he will like it, too."
"And will he be sent to fight very soon?"
"I dare say he may do his seven years without a single fight!"
Roy looked very disappointed.
"If he doesn't fight, he might just as well have stopped at home. What's the good of being a soldier if you don't have any battles?"
"Soldiers prevent battles, sometimes."
This sounded nonsense to the boys. They bade the captain good-bye, and turned their pony's head homeward quite disconsolate.