Some way, the voice would not be stilled. "Fighting for the right!" If not, why not? Because I am a fool; he did not say this aloud, but in his own heart he knew it was true. And there came to him the memory of a quiet country village, of a little sitting-room, a round stand, a Bible, a chair where he knew that mother often knelt and prayed for him, asking that he might be led to enlist under that other banner, even the banner of Jesus Christ.
"What is going on under that big tent?" asked one of his comrades.
"They are having some sort of a religious meeting, I reckon," replied another.
"We may as well stroll over that way and look in for a while. It will do no harm to mix in a little religion, I suppose."
And so the three "looked in" upon a religious service held in the great tabernacle. Strangely enough the speaker who occupied the platform uttered words which exactly matched John Lewis' mood. The others thought them commonplace enough, but to John Lewis' newly-awakened consciousness they seemed simply wonderful.
"That man is fighting for the right," he said to himself; "now if I were! What if I should turn right about and resign my commission in Satan's army and enlist in the army of the Lord? What if I should now? Wouldn't the boys stare?" and he chuckled inwardly over the thought of their amazement at such a move on his part. "And what would mother say? I don't know but she would die of joy. That would be a pity, but, after all, it might be better than to die of grief, and I reckon she'll do that if I keep on fighting under the old leader. I believe I will make a swap."
"Next summer" had come. Again John Lewis joined his comrades on an excursion to the Islands; again he drank from the fountain, and as he turned away he said to a friend:
"It was right here that the little fellow asked me that question. I would like to see him again and tell him I am fighting for the right now."
But Bertie was not to know of the result of his interest in the stranger. He has never seen his soldier friend since that day of his first missionary effort, but we hope that both are still fighting for the right.