"Goodness, you'd think we were going to murder them," broke in Mollie impatiently. "I wish you'd do something and not talk so much." "Anything to oblige--see you later." Allen saluted smartly and went off briskly in search of the other boys. Betty's eyes almost unconsciously followed the fine, stalwart figure till it disappeared around the corner of one of the buildings, and Mollie, who had been watching her closely, suddenly put an arm about her in a little impulsive hug. "He _is_ splendid, dear," she whispered, and once more Betty flushed to the roots of her pretty hair. They had only a few minutes to wait before Allen came striding back to them, with two other khaki-clad figures. The girls shrank farther back into the shadows of the building. Not until they were almost upon them did the boys catch sight of them. Then Roy and Frank just stood still and gaped, as Allen had done. "Great jumping jerushaphat!" cried Roy, at last finding his tongue. "If it isn't the very people we wanted most to see in this world. Welcome, little strangers! Oh, gee, but you're welcome!" Then Frank added some equally incoherent phrases, and for a few moments confusion reigned, while they shook hands over and over again, all talked at once to nobody in particular, and generally enjoyed themselves. "And the best part of it is," said Roy enthusiastically, "that we can be free to show you girls about the place. And I tell you, it's something to see!" Before the girls had been half shown about the place, they more than agreed with him. It was wonderfully inspiring, to see those hundreds of boys, with their splendidly trained young bodies and their determined young faces, knowing they were devoting their lives freely and cheerfully to the greatest cause in all history. The girls peeped into the long, low buildings that were the sleeping quarters of the men, with their cots all in a row and clothes hung neatly along the wall. They saw the guardhouse, where unruly soldiers were confined and forced to a state of reasonableness. They regarded it with awe, and Amy even backed away from it a little. "I don't like barred windows," she said. "It always makes me shiver." "Humph," said Mollie, the irrepressible. "You'd better get used to them, Amy, dear. Some day we'll be feeding the boys peanuts through the bars." "Gee, isn't she complimentary?" said Roy, as they walked on. "You don't know what models of deportment we've been since we came here." "Yes," put in Grace sweetly, "they say military training does work miracles!" "It's too bad you missed guard mount this morning," said Allen, while the rest laughed at Roy's discomfiture. "That's when they change the guard, isn't it?" asked Betty. "Yes, and they're very formal about it," Allen continued. "It's really very impressive, and the band is a joy forever. You must get up bright and early in the morning." "As if we didn't always," said Betty indignantly.