“Father, will you bring baby in now and put him in his cradle? Betty has had him nearly all day.” And father went. Oh, beautiful mother! How did she know!
Then Betty settled herself at Peter Junior’s feet and looked up in his eyes gravely. “What will you be, now you are a soldier?” she asked.
“Why, a soldier.”
“No, I mean, will you be a general––or a flag carrier––or will you drum? I’d be a general if I were you––or else a drummer. I think you would be very handsome for a general.”
Peter Junior threw back his head and laughed. It was the first time he had laughed that day, and yet he was both proud and happy. “Would you like to be a soldier?”
“Yes.”
“But you might be killed, or have your leg shot off––or––”
“I know. So might you––but you would go, anyway––wouldn’t you?”
“Certainly.”