"Yes, Miss Helen."
"Papa says the negro trooper saved his life and stole his knife."
"But I did not steal the knife, Miss Helen—I did not know I had it till two months after the battle, when they gave me back my clothes in the hospital. There was—"
"That stealing part is one of papa's jokes, Hayward. But you didn't know it was papa, did you?"
"Yes, Miss Helen. I knew him when I saw him fall."
"What? And you've never let him know? Why have you kept it secret?"
Hayward did not answer. She continued.
"He would be very grateful. He does not know who it was, for I've heard him say so. All that he knows is that it was a trooper of the 10th."
She stopped and waited for an answer, but he stood in silent indecision as to what he should say to her. If he should now disclose himself the President would doubtless weaken the force of his obligation by giving him in token of his gratitude some appointment which not only would fall far short of the lieutenant's commission to which he aspired, but also would remove him from the young woman who in the last minute had become so simply and earnestly sympathetic in her manner. He weighed the pros and cons quickly.
"Why haven't you told him?" persisted Helen.