And so the town waited on events. She went about her business of feeding and clothing herself, but her ears were open, and if her mouth was shut her mind was at work, turning over the mighty and unaccustomed problems. Sabinsport was learning new words, struggling with strange ideas, trying to grasp their relation to herself. Did these things concern her and her business? If so, all right; but if not, well, she'd been trained not to interfere; and, above all, not to interfere in wars across the seas. Of all the 20,000 people in Sabinsport, only one was aroused to immediate action by the _Lusitania_. A week from the morning that he had heard the dire news at Jo's Mills, Dick came down to his breakfast to find his husky, cheerful, Irish Katie with swollen eyes and tragic mien. "Why, Katie!" he exclaimed. "What's the matter? What's Mikey been doing now?" He took it for granted it was Mikey. He had never known anything else to reduce Katie to tears. "Oh, my God!" wailed the woman, "he's gone--gone to the war--says he's gone for _you_. You never sent him away from me, Mr. Dick, and never said a word to me. You haven't a heart that hard. You couldn't do a thing like that." "I certainly wouldn't do such a thing, Katie. I haven't sent Mikey away. I don't understand it. Tell me what's happened--that's a good soul." But all that Katie could find words to say was: "Read that--and that to me, his own mother." Dick took the crumpled, tear-stained letter and read: "Dear Mother: "I'm going to war. They'll take me in Canada. You tell Mr. Dick to stop worrying because he can't fight. I'll do his fightin' and don't you go off your head. I can't stick around Sabinsport any longer with such things doin' in the world. The Dutchmen are off their bases--they've got to get back where they belong. "I'd said good-by but I knew you'd make a row. "Your loving son, "MIKEY FLAHERTY." "I didn't know this, Katie. Mikey never had dropped a word to me that would make me suspect he was thinking of this. I don't understand what he means by going for me." "I knew it, the spalpeen. I knew you'd never treat poor old Katie like this. I understand it well enough, now. It's him spilin' for the fight. It's my own fault. Didn't I tell him you was eatin' your heart out because you can't go, and he has been talkin' a lot of late about what you had been sayin' at the Club. Every night when he came home, it was Mr. Dick said this, and Mr. Dick said that. Silly old fool, I am. And him that would rather fight than eat and that sets the world by you, Mr. Dick." "But, Katie, what put that nonsense into your head?"