She looked at me as if she had forgotten my existence.

"I would give a year of my life to meet such a man," said she.
"But that is what living in the country means. One never sees anybody
but just those who are fit for nothing better."

I do not know that she meant to hurt me, though she was never very
backward at that; but whatever her intention, her words seemed to strike
straight upon a naked nerve.

"Very well, Cousin Edie," I said, trying to speak calmly, "that puts the
cap on it. I'll take the bounty in Berwick to-night."

"What, Jack! you be a soldier!"

"Yes, if you think that every man that bides in the country must be a
coward."

"Oh, you'd look so handsome in a red coat, Jack, and it improves you
vastly when you are in a temper. I wish your eyes would always flash
like that, for it looks so nice and manly. But I am sure that you are
joking about the soldiering."

"I'll let you see if I am joking."

Then and there I set off running over the moor, until I burst into the
kitchen where my mother and father were sitting on either side of the
ingle.

"Mother," I cried, "I'm off for a soldier!"