“Now, Halpert,” said the superintendent, jocosely, “it’s your play. Ben here has toed the mark pretty squarely in my opinion. The rest is up to you.” “Why, I’ve got nothing against him now,” replied Hal. “I don’t lay things up anyway. I agree with him that he was too hasty about pitching into me for not giving away the name of the other fellow; but I don’t blame him one bit for getting mad about the sign. Anybody would have got mad about that, and had a right to. I would have got mad myself. So far as hurting me is concerned, I’m all right now, and I’m ready to forget it, as Mr. McCrae says.” “Good!” was the comment of the superintendent. “That’s fine! That settles it. We’ll dispense with the hand-shaking. It’s seven o’clock and I want you boys to get busy. Ben, you show your pal where that other rake is, and both of you go to it.” The task to which the two boys were assigned, and in which Ben had already been engaged for a day or two, was the grading of the lawn at the side of the armory. It was desirable that the grading should be completed and the seeding done before freezing weather should set in, in order that a green sward might show in the early spring. Stakes had been set and lines stretched, low places had been filled in, and it now remained only to shape the surface with the rake. It was not a hard task nor a menial one; it required some skill, and an eye for long and graceful curves, and the work was not without its satisfactions and its compensations. While the reconciliation between the two boys was apparently complete, it did not lead to comradeship. They differed from each other too radically in temperament, and in all the fundamental things on which personal characteristics are based, to make close companionship between them a possibility. But, during the period of their common labor, harmony and friendship were not lacking. It was three weeks later that the new armory was dedicated. Great preparations had been made for the event. The Governor of the State, the Adjutant-General, and the Major-General in command of the state militia, were all to be there. So also were the colonel of the regiment and his staff, and prominent guests from other cities. There was to be a big meeting at the armory in the afternoon, and a grand military ball in the evening. Captain McCormack was to be in charge of all the exercises, and Mr. Barriscale, as president of the local Armory Board, was to make a brief address at the afternoon meeting. The programme was carried out to the letter. Hal and Ben were not without their parts in the performance. Their familiarity with the armory, its nooks, corners, accessories and occupants, obtained through three weeks of employment there, made their services as errand boys and helpers especially acceptable. And the excitement and novelty of the occasion provided them with much entertainment.