After Mrs Barrymore had assisted the old lady to take off her bonnet and gloves, she came and sat on the sofa beside her son, and taking his hand said, ‘Oh John, why on earth have you done this foolish thing?’ Jack explained the circumstances under which he had left Phogg & Cheetham’s; how Barrymore had rescued him from the tramps; and how, despairing of ever getting another situation, he had enlisted. ‘Mr Bailey told me that whatever happened I must not be a burden to you,’ he said, ‘and this seemed to open a career to me. I like the life and think I shall be happy; there are plenty of chances of promotion for a well-behaved, educated lad.’ ‘That interfering Bailey! he had no business to say anything of the kind,’ said Mrs Blair. ‘You should have come home at once, John. Your sisters and I would have welcomed you with open arms, and we would have shared our last crust with you. Did we ever give you a wry word that you should have thought yourself compelled to take such a terrible step as this?’ ‘It was because I knew you would do all this that I determined not to be a burden to you,’ said Jack. ‘I have got to make my own way in the world, and the sooner I begin the better. I would a thousand times rather be a soldier than a quill-driver.’ ‘As an officer I should not have minded so much, but as a private soldier--no, it must not be. You know that although I have been on distant terms with my family ever since I married your late dear father, they are in good circumstances. My brother is a colonel and holds an appointment at the Horse Guards. I shall write to him and beg of him to procure your discharge.’ ‘Mother,’ said Jack firmly, ‘this you must not do. Ask no favours for me. It would cost a lot of money to buy me out, and I will not be beholden to those people who cast you off. Besides, I should be still in the same position; I should have no career before me. So, as I have chosen this life, I will stick to it.’ At tea-time Sergeant Barrymore assured Mrs Blair that her son had done nothing derogatory. ‘One of the best officers in our regiment,’ he said, ‘is a man who won his commission from the ranks. Your son has chosen an honourable career and joined one of the finest regiments in the service. Let him remain, madam, and you will have no cause to regret it. I have great hopes of Master Jack.’