"Yes, yes!" eagerly exclaimed the old man.

"--and I bought up all the disabled cavalry horses I could find--"

"I see! I see!" cried the old man. "And good beef they make,
too."

"They do! they do! and the profits are immense."

"I should say so!"

"And now, sir, I claim your daughter's fair hand!"

"Boy, she is yours. But hold! Look me in the eye. Throughout
all this have you been loyal?"

"To the core!" cried William Barker.

"And," continued the old man, in a voice husky with emotion, "are
you in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war?"

"I am, I am!"

"Then, boy take her! Maria, child, come hither. Your William
claims thee. Be happy, my children! And whatever our lot in life
may be, LET US ALL SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT!"

3.4. A ROMANCE--THE CONSCRIPT.

[Which may bother the reader a little unless he is familiar with