"Hardly likely," chuckled Hal. "An officer carries only a cane or a stick of some sort just in order that he may point out the location of the enemy, or to indicate some tree on the other side that he thinks has a sharp-shooter up among the foliage, and, of course, he wears his heavy service revolver." "And an officer never leads a charge, flourishing his sword?" "Hardly. The officer would be in too much danger from the bullets of his own men if he got in front of them." "Then an officer isn't in so very much danger, after all," guessed Mrs. Overton, speaking in a tone of relief. "Some one in front of him will stop the bullets." "No one man can stop a bullet that's going under full steam, Mother. At two or three hundred yards' range, to-day, a bullet will pass through six or eight men in succession, if there are that many men in its path." "I--I guess I don't want to hear any more of that kind of stuff," shivered the little woman. "It all sounds--awfully dangerous!" But Hal's mother was not idle. With the deft fingers of a woman she was lifting and laying out the handsome uniforms one by one. "Here's the one I want you to wear when you go out with your father and me this evening," she said, holding up the full-dress uniform. Hal laid down the sword he had been examining, stepped over and placed an arm around his mother's waist. "Mother, dear, I'm afraid you don't understand. An officer, when away from troops and duty, rarely wears his uniform in public. It would be looked upon as a foolish piece of vanity on his part." "But you wore your sergeant's uniform when you first came home." "All I can say, Mother, is that the two cases are different. One of these days you'll understand just why an enlisted man goes off post in uniform, and an officer, when away from his duties, ordinarily wears citizen's dress. But here's one uniform, Mother, that I can wear at home in hot weather." He lifted two garments from near the bottom of the box. "Why, that's only a set of tennis flannels," objected his mother. "It's part of an officer's prescribed uniform, just the same," Hal assured her. "But there's no gold lace, no braid, no shoulder-straps--nothing." Mrs. Overton's voice quivered with disappointment. "Here's the red sash that goes with the trousers," smiled Hal, bringing to light the article he had named. "That gives the suit quite a gay and military appearance, as you'll soon see." "It doesn't look like much more than any clerk might wear," remarked Mrs. Overton, doubtfully. "It isn't meant to. This flannel undress is intended for an officer to wear when he doesn't want to look conspicuous among civilians. I'll go to my room and put it on presently, and then I think you'll like it a whole lot better." "Maybe," said Mrs. Overton doubtfully. "All this time," pursued Lieutenant Hal, "I'm wondering whether Noll had found a letter waiting for him at his home, and whether his news was as fine as mine."