"'Yes, but what can you do in the Army, my Remi?'

"'I can fight,' answered the child simply, whereat the uncle shrugged
his shoulders in token of surrender.

"At first the officers were for sending the lad home, but he was
making himself so useful in many little ways, and his patriotism was
so deep and true that he finally was permitted to remain.

"What most disturbed Remi was that he had no rifle. The soldiers
laughed at him when he demanded one, so he determined to get one for
himself at the first opportunity.

"By this time they were well within sound of the big guns. The sound
reminded him of a distant thunderstorm. It grew louder as the hours
passed and the men neared the front. All understood what the sound
meant. To Remi that distant roar was the sweetest music he ever had
heard.

"The Territorials finally were halted in a shell-torn village for a
brief rest. Men were urgently needed at the front, and Remi's
companions soon entered a communicating trench that began under a
house in the village, and started for the firing line, a short
distance from the German trenches. Remi was sternly ordered to remain
behind. This order nearly broke his heart and, when he more fully
realized that he had been left behind, he sat down and gave way to,
bitter tears.

"A peculiar whistling sound in the air suddenly attracted his