“That,” said Mr. Prescott, “is my treasure room. When I go in there, I think of brave men, and of how they helped the world along. What made you step back?”
“Because,” answered Billy, half ashamed, “I thought I saw a man in the corner pointing something at me.”
“I ought,” said Mr. Prescott, “to have thought of that before I took you into the room.
“I’ve been trying, for some time, to make that old suit of armor and that spear look like a knight standing there, ready for action. I must have, at last, succeeded, but I’m sorry that it startled you.
“You see I’m naturally interested in weapons of war because they are all made of steel or iron.”
“Battle-ships, too,” said Billy.
“Yes,” said Mr. Prescott. “But you mustn’t forget the great naval battles that were won with ships of wood.
“There’s one thing in that room,” Mr. Prescott went on, “that I am sure you will like to see. It is my great-great-grandfather’s musket.”
“Oh,” said Billy, “I didn’t know that you had a great-great-grandfather.”
“I did,” said Mr. Prescott, just as quietly as if Billy had been talking sense. “He was a brave man, too. That is the musket that he had when he was with General Washington at Valley Forge.”