“What were you going to say?” questioned Ruth, when he caught himself once. “You act as if you had something on your mind of special importance, Jack.”
“Not at all! Not at all!” he returned hastily. “How are you getting along with your studies, Ruth? Do your eyes interfere much with them?”
“Not a great deal. But, of course, I have to be more or less careful. But I’m doing finely, so the teachers say.”
“We’re going to have an election of officers soon,” continued the young captain. “Some of the fellows are urging me to run for major of the battalion. Ralph Mason is going to drop out, you know.”
“Oh, Jack! why don’t you run?”
“Do you want me to run, Ruth?”
“Why, of course! if there’s any chance of getting it, and I don’t see why there shouldn’t be,” she returned quickly.
Her manner was so intimate that once again he was on the point of mentioning the party. But then he shut his teeth hard and pretended to be interested in something taking place at the other tables.
“Don’t you think you could win the election if you tried?” Ruth continued, after looking at him questioningly for a moment.
“Oh, I guess I’d have as good a chance as any one in command. Of course, there are a number of other officers who would have as good a chance as I’d have. But I’m not altogether sure that I want to be major. If I held that office Colonel Colby would expect me to toe the mark all the time just as an example to the others. Even as it was, he didn’t like to have me as a captain and Fred as a lieutenant mixed up in that snowball affair.”