Then the officer moved over to where Tip Branders and his mother sat. Tip rose awkwardly.
"Branders, I'm sorry to say we must decline your enlistment," announced the recruiting officer, in a low tone.
"Wot's that?" demanded Tip unbelievingly.
"I find myself unable to accept you as a recruit in the Army," replied the lieutenant.
"Why, wot's the matter?" demanded Tip, thunderstruck. "Didn't I get by the sawbones all right?"
"If you mean the surgeon, yes," replied the recruiting officer. "But I regret to say that we do not receive satisfactory accounts of you from the home town."
"Wot's the matter? Somebody out home trying to give me the crisscross?" demanded Tip indignantly.
"We do not receive a satisfactory account of your character, Branders, and therefore you are not eligible for enlistment," went on Shackleton. "Madam, I am extremely sorry, but the regulations allow me to pursue no other course in the matter. I cannot enlist your son."
"See here, officer——" began Mrs. Branders hoarsely, as she got upon her feet.
"When addressing Mr. Shackleton, call him 'lieutenant,' not 'officer,'" murmured one of the orderlies in her ear.