“Of course,” said the boy, proudly. “It is my father’s wish.”
“And you know nothing, then, about a soldier’s life?”
“Oh, yes, I do,” cried the boy, with his face lighting up.
“Hah! Then your father has taught you to be a soldier and man?”
“Oh, no; he has taught me to read and write. It was some one else who taught me how to use a sword and spear.”
“Hah!” cried the visitor, quickly. “Then you are not all a student?”
“Oh, no.”
“You know how to use a sword?”
“Yes,” said Marcus, laughing, “and a spear and shield as well,” and, warming up, the boy began to talk quickly about all he had learned, ending, to his visitor’s great interest, with a full account of his training in secret and his father’s discovery and ending of his pursuits.
“Well, boy,” said the guest, at last, “it seems a pity.”