"Yes?" they cried eagerly.
"It's about our Sergeant William Mullins Sanderson," she announced, her eyes sparkling.
"Yes?" they cried again, and Mollie added impatiently:
"Oh, Betty, don't keep us waiting. What about him?"
"Only," said Betty, speaking very slowly and distinctly, "that he's got the thing he wanted most in the world—besides his mother. This morning he received his overseas orders."
"Oh, Betty!" cried Mollie, her eyes big and round. "Isn't he simply wild about it?"
"He's delirious," said Betty simply, adding, with the ring of pride in her voice: "He seemed two inches taller when he told me about it. Oh, the spirit of our boys—the wonderful spirit of them! It can't take them long, it can't, when they once get started!"
"But Mrs. Sanderson," put in Amy gently. "How is she taking it?"
"I haven't seen her yet," said Betty, her face sobering a little. But it brightened again as she added with conviction: "I think we know enough about that little lady to be sure she'll take it standing up and be prouder than ever of her 'Willie boy.'"
"Of course she will," said Grace softly, her eyes following the red disc of the sun as it sank slowly in the west. "We're all awfully proud of them, but I don't think any of us can help wishing that it were all over instead of just beginning, and that the boys were coming home to us victorious."