and had stood the test. At home and abroad, on land and sea, they had
come face to face with danger and death. But the fortune that "favors the
brave" had not deserted them, even in moments of deadliest peril. They
were accustomed to refer to themselves laughingly as "lucky," but those
who knew them best preferred to call them plucky. A stout heart and a
quick wit had "many a time and oft" extricated them from positions where
luck alone would have failed them.

And most of their adventures had been shared in company. The tie of
friendship that bound them together as closely as brothers was of long
standing. Beginning at a summer camp, five years earlier, where chance
had thrown them together, it had grown increasingly stronger with every
year that passed. A subtle free masonry had from the start made each
recognize the others as kindred spirits. Since this first meeting their
paths had seldom diverged. Together they had gone to college, where their
athletic prowess had put them in the first rank in sports and made them
popular among their comrades. On the baseball diamond they had played
their positions in brilliant fashion, and on the football gridiron they
had added to their laurels. When Bert had been chosen to go to the
Olympic games abroad, his "pals" had gone with him and exulted in his
glorious victory, when, in the Marathon race, he had beaten the crack
runners of the world. Nor were they to be denied, when his duty as
wireless operator had carried him over the Pacific to meet with thrilling
experiences among the yellow men of Asia. In every time of storm and
stress they had stood with him shoulder to shoulder, and faced life and
death with eyes wide open and unafraid. They were worthy lieutenants of
a brave and intrepid leader.

For, that he was their leader, they themselves would have been the first
to admit, although he would have modestly disclaimed it. He never