"Here's the one I want you to wear when you go out with your father and me this evening," she said, holding up the full-dress uniform.
Hal laid down the sword he had been examining, stepped over and placed an arm around his mother's waist.
"Mother, dear, I'm afraid you don't understand. An officer, when away from troops and duty, rarely wears his uniform in public. It would be looked upon as a foolish piece of vanity on his part."
"But you wore your sergeant's uniform when you first came home."
"All I can say, Mother, is that the two cases are different. One of these days you'll understand just why an enlisted man goes off post in uniform, and an officer, when away from his duties, ordinarily wears citizen's dress. But here's one uniform, Mother, that I can wear at home in hot weather."
He lifted two garments from near the bottom of the box.
"Why, that's only a set of tennis flannels," objected his mother.
"It's part of an officer's prescribed uniform, just the same," Hal assured her.
"But there's no gold lace, no braid, no shoulder-straps—nothing." Mrs. Overton's voice quivered with disappointment.
"Here's the red sash that goes with the trousers," smiled Hal, bringing to light the article he had named. "That gives the suit quite a gay and military appearance, as you'll soon see."