"Our father lost all his money suddenly, owing to a blackguard he
trusted cheating him. He found it out, and it killed him," Tom said
quietly.

The colonel saw he was speaking the truth. "Well, well," he said
kindly, "we must see what we can do for you, boys. They are young,
Manley, but that will improve, and by the time that they have been a
year at the depot--"

"Oh, if you please, colonel," Tom said, "we want to go on foreign
service, and it's knowing that your regiment was under orders for
foreign service we came to it."

"Impossible!" the colonel said shortly.

"I am very sorry for that, sir," Tom said respectfully, "for we would
rather belong to this regiment than any in the service; but if you
will not let us go with it we must try another."

"Why would you rather belong to us than to any other?" the colonel
asked, as the boys turned to leave the room.

"I had rather not say, sir," Tom said. "We have a reason, and a very
good one, but it is not one we should like to tell."

The colonel was silent for a minute. He was struck with the boys'
appearance and manner, and was sorry at the thought of losing them,
partly from interest in themselves, partly because the sea service was
generally so much more attractive to boys, that it was not easy to get