me an exciting one about guns and war."

"Very well I'll try, but be still," Lucia gave in, well knowing that
she would not have to go very far.

"Once upon a time," she began, "there was a soldier. He had very big
eyes, and he came from the south where the sun is very warm and the sky
and the water are very, very blue."

"Was he brave?" Beppi interrupted sleepily.

"Oh, yes, he was very brave," Lucia replied hurriedly, "very brave, and
he loved his country more than anything else in the world."

She waited but Beppi's voice commanded.

"Go on, don't stop."

"Well, one day he was sent to guard a gate of a city, and he walked up
and down before it with his gun on his shoulders, and no one could pass
him unless it was a friend."

She paused again. Beppi was breathing regularly.

"Old sleepy head!" Lucia whispered, and kissed him tenderly.

The story was not continued and before many minutes she was fast asleep
herself.

It was an hour before sunrise when she awoke. The air that found its