"Oh, you should have heard them talk at the meeting to-day; and Papa says that every young man should be ready to fight. He only wishes that he was young enough. Amy writes that Fritz Tomkins is crazy to leave college and volunteer, but his uncle won't let him, because his father is in China. But lots of men are leaving college to go into the army. Don't you think 'tis very noble in Arthur?" The last sentence was a change from the main subject, for Arthur's college years were far away; but it showed where Brenda's heart lay, and Julia did not laugh at her. "Come," she said, "let us go upstairs; you have never visited the home economics class, and you are just in time for it." So hand in hand the two cousins went upstairs, and if Brenda was less cheerful than usual, only Julia noticed this. "The dusty class," as some of the younger girls called it, because "Dust and its dangers" had been the subject of the lessons. "How businesslike it is!" exclaimed Brenda, glancing around the plain room, fitted with its long wooden table, plain walls, at one end of which were many glass bottles and tubes. "Test tubes," explained Julia, as Brenda asked a question; "and these gas jets that rise from the table are very useful in some of their experiments." "Yes, that is some of Pamela's Ruskin," Julia added, as Brenda stopped before a simply framed card on which in illuminated text was the following: "There are three material things, not only useful, but essential to life. No one knows how to live till he has got them. "These are Pure Air, Water, and Earth. "There are three immaterial things, not only useful, but essential to life. No one knows how to live till he has got them also. "These are Admiration, Hope, and Love." "It looks very scientific," said Brenda, "with all those bottles and tubes. I should call it a regular laboratory." "So it is," responded Julia; "and though the girls are untrained, and rather young to understand thoroughly the scientific value of much that is taught them, they do enjoy the experiments." At this moment the teacher entered the room. "Tell me, Miss Soddern," said Julia, after introducing Brenda to the teacher,--"tell me if the girls have had any success with their bacteria; I know that they are very much interested in their little boxes." "Oh, I'm going to have them report this morning. You must wait until they come." In a moment the girls filed in, Concetta, Luisa, Gretchen, Haleema, and the rest whom Brenda knew best, and with them two or three girls from outside who were members of the League; for in this, as in other classes, it had seemed wise to enlarge the work a little. So the class had taken in some of those whom the membership in the League had interested in things that otherwise they might not have had the interest to study.