Brooding. 149
young soldiers to join the ranks ; for we may be all
soldicrs in a way, you know. We'll be in the same
regiment after all, Tommy, under one Captain,
even Christ.”

I kept my eyes out to sea as I said this, so I do
not know how Tommy looked, and he made no
answer in words. Only he laid his hand for a
moment or two on my shoulder, and I think we
both felt very near to each other, as comrades in
the same army, fighting the same warfare.

“Maybe you are in the right on’t, Reuben,” said
Tommy, after a pause. “I wisht I was young
enough to go to school again, and learn with you.
I believe as you med make a scholard of me, which
is more than poor old Mr. Tombs ever did, not to
one of us all. Not but I can read and write now,
pretty tidy ; and I can do the ciphering real sharp,
if it isn’t too hard. But I did not think it was much
odds, was you learn’d or not; and I hears now as
you gets on ever so much better if you are a tidy
scholard. There’s a night school, they tells me,
over at the depét; and I’m going to stick to and
learn like anything, now I knows there’s reason
for it.”

Tapplauded this resolution, and we made promises
of many letters to pass between us, telling one
another all that we saw and did, and went on talk-