Teddy did not understand this conversation, but he gathered from the major's tone that he did not approve of him.
'Do you think I'm too small to be a soldier?' he asked.
The major laughed. 'Don't bother your head about your size,' he said; 'you'll grow, and there's plenty of time before you.'
'I don't want to be a drummer,' said Teddy earnestly; 'I'd rather wait and be a proper soldier—a soldier that fights.'
'A capital decision—stick to it, little chap, and you have my hearty approval.'
'You have your father's blood in your veins,' said the colonel, laughing; 'meanwhile, I suppose you try your hand on the village boys, to content your fighting propensities.'
'No,' said Teddy, a grave look coming into his sunny blue eyes. 'I don't fight with anybody but Ipse now; he keeps me always busy.'
'Who is Ipse?' asked Mrs. Graham.
'He's my own enemy; Mr. Upton told me about him. You see, I belong to God's army. He takes very little soldiers. I've been enlisted for months and months, and Ipse is just another part of me—the bad part!'
There was silence on the little company for a minute, then Major Tracy said with a laugh, 'What an original little oddity it is!—quite a character!'