"And for that reason you went to war?" she said.
"In part, yes," I answered.
"How I should like to see the woman!" she cried. "How proud she must be of you!"
"Of me?" I laughed. "The woman? Why, she doesn't exist."
"Then why did you turn soldier?"
"I feared that some day there might be a woman, and when that day came I wished to be prepared. I thought that the men who fought would be the men of the future. But I have learned a great deal. They will be the men of the past in a few months. The memory of a battle's heroes fades away almost with the smoke. In a little while, to receive our just recognition we old soldiers will have to parade before the public with a brass band, and the band will get most attention. Would you know that Aaron Kallaberger was a hero of Gettysburg if he didn't wear an army overcoat?"
"Oh, yes," she said. "I have heard about it so often. He has told me a hundred times."
"I suppose you have told a hundred other persons of Aaron's prowess?" said I.
"No-o-o," she answered.
"And so," said I, "when Perry Thomas finished his oration last night, I had to catch it up; and if my soldiering is to result in any material good to me I must keep that oration moving to the end."