“I’m sure I don’t know. I don’t believe he would dare to grumble. The other fellows would jump on him pretty quick.”
“Perhaps joining the army will make a man of him.”
“I hope so.” Dave shook his head dolefully. “Nat certainly was a slacker. He didn’t believe in fighting, no matter what the provocation.”
“If he comes to France perhaps we’ll see him, Dave.”
“It’s possible, but not very probable, Phil—with so many hundreds of thousands coming over. He may not come to this part of the country at all. You know they are sending some of our men up into Belgium, and others down into Italy, as well as over here.”
“Did your uncle have anything to say about the Widow Carot and her children, or that rascally spy, Rudolph Holtzmann?”
“He said that the widow was overjoyed at the recovery of her children, and they were greatly pleased to think that Holtzmann was going to get what was coming to him from the French Government. Of course, our claim against Holtzmann has not yet been settled; but I think that sooner or later we’ll get that money through the French courts.”
A little later Roger came back, and Dave and some of his other chums noticed that he looked unusually thoughtful. Dave at once mentioned the letter from his Uncle Dunston and told what it contained.
“You got some letters too, didn’t you, Roger?” he remarked after he had finished telling his news and when there had come something of an awkward pause.
“Yes, I got two; one from my mother and the other from Laura. My mother says that she and father are well and that father is very deep in affairs at Washington. These are certainly mighty busy times for a United States senator.” Roger paused and Dave waited for him to go on. It was quite usual for the chums to mention what their letters contained, and often one or another would read a portion of an epistle which he thought might prove especially interesting.