"I need you now, Edwin--O God! how I need you! There never was a minute in
all these months since you've grown to understand how--it is between your
father and me that I needed you so much--"

"Mother, you mustn't make it harder for me to--tell you what I--"

"I think maybe something has happened to me, Edwin. I can feel myself
breathe all over--it's like I'm outside of myself somewhere--"

"It's nervousness, mother. You ought to get out more. I'm going to get you
some war-work to do, mother, that 'll make you forget yourself. Service is
what counts these days!"

"Edwin, it's come--he's leaving me--it--"

"Speaking of service, I--I guess I might have mentioned it before, mother,
but--but--when war was declared the other day, a--a bunch of us fellows
volunteered for--for the university unit to France, and--well, I'm
accepted, mother--to go. The lists went up to-night. I'm one of the twenty
picked fellows."

"France?"

"We sail for Bordeaux for ambulance service the twentieth, mother. I was
the fourth accepted with my qualifications--driving my own car and--and
physical fitness. I'm going to France, mother, among the first to do my
bit. I know a fellow got over there before we were in the war and worked
himself into the air-fleet. That's what I want, mother, air service!
They're giving us fellows credit for our senior year just the same. Bob