'Well, he's very fond of soldiers,' said Edith.

'Ah!' said Mr Ottley approvingly; 'what we want for empire-building is
conscription. Every fellow ought to be a soldier some time in his life.
It makes men of them '--he glanced round rather contemptuously--'it
teaches them discipline.'

'I don't mean,' said Edith hastily, 'that he wants to _be_ a soldier.
But he likes playing with them. He takes them to bed with him. It is as
much as I can do to keep him from eating them.'

'The angel!' said Mrs Ottley.

'You must be careful about that, Edith,' said Bruce solemnly. 'I
understand red paint is poisonous.'

'It won't hurt him,' said old Mr Ottley, purely from a spirit of
contradiction.

'But he's just as fond of animals,' said Edith quickly, to avert a
storm. 'That Noah's Ark you gave him is his greatest pleasure. He's
always putting the animals in and taking them out again.'

'Oh, the clever darling!' cried Mrs Ottley. 'You'd hardly believe it,
Edith, but Bruce was like that when he was a little boy too. He
used to--'

'Oh mother, do shut up!' said Bruce shame-facedly.

'Well, he was very clever,' said Mrs Ottley defiantly. 'You'd hardly