Betty waited until the crowd had passed out and he was alone with Colonel Nicolay. She hurried to his desk with her second case which she had kept outside in the corridor until the time to enter.
A young mother walked timidly in, smiling apologetically. She carried a three-months-old baby in her arms. She was evidently not in mourning, though her eyes were red from weeping.
"What's the matter now?" the President laughed, nodding to Betty.
"Tell him," she whispered.
"If you please, sir," the woman began timidly, "we ain't been married but a little over a year. My husband has never seen the baby. He's in the army. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I come down to Washington to get a pass to take the baby to him. But they wouldn't let me have it. I've been wandering 'round the streets all day crying till I met this sweet young lady and she brought me to you, sir——"
The President turned to his secretary:
"Let's send her down!"
The Colonel smiled and shook his head:
"The strictest orders have been given to allow no more women to go to the front——"
The big gentle hand stroked the shaggy beard.