"He would never have had that Cross to pawn if he hadn't been brave," said Roy, flushing slightly.
"Good for you, Roy!" said the young soldier.
Mr. Ellsworth laughed pleasantly at Roy's unshakable faith in his absent friend.
"That's right, Roy," said Mrs. Ellsworth, with a very sweet smile. "You stand up for him."
"If I can't stand up for him, I'll keep still," said Roy.
"Well, then, I guess you'll have to keep still," laughed Mr. Ellsworth, "for there isn't much defense. I did all I could for Tom," he added, more soberly. "If his three years of scouting didn't teach him to keep his word with me as I always kept mine with him, it must have been to no purpose. He might have waited a little, kept his solemn promise, and gone into the army under the same honorable conditions as you did," he said, turning to the soldier; "and we should all have——"
"What's the matter?" exclaimed Roy.
THE LAST THEY SAW OF TOM, HE WAS CLINGING TO ONE OF THE FLAPPING DOORS, HIS FOOT BRACED AGAINST A CABLE CLEAT. Page 174