"I am afraid it is as you have feared, dear," he said. "Professor Dempsey
has two sons--or rather, had--and their names were James and Arnold."

"Oh, Daddy!" Betty was quiet for a minute, letting the full consciousness
of what her father had said sink into her heart. Then her lips trembled
and her eyes filled with tears. "I--I was pretty sure it was true. But,
oh, I was hoping so hard that it wouldn't be!"




Chapter VIII

Premonitions



Betty kept her promise and called up the girls to tell them the news. Like
the Little Captain, they had felt almost sure of the identity of the two
Dempsey boys who had been killed in France, yet the confirmation of their
fears came as a distinct shock.

They waited for a couple of days, undecided what to do, if indeed it was
their place to do anything at all. Vaguely they felt the need of
comforting the queer little professor in his hour of greatest trouble, and
yet they were at a loss to know just how to go about it.

Meanwhile, the occupations that had ordinarily filled their days to
overflowing with fun, seemed dull and uninteresting and they found their
thoughts reverting again and again to the bereaved father in his lonely