And so I am--and so I shall be when danger calls;
you dislike this repulsive mission on which I'm entering. Just now it's
the _one_ and only thing a brave man can do for his country. Forget that
I'm a spy and remember that I'm fitted for a divine service. I speak two
languages beside my own. Our people don't study languages. Few men of my
culture and endowment will do this dangerous and disagreeable work. I
rise on wings at the thought of it!"
The mother's spirit caught at last the divine spark from the soul of the
young enthusiast. Her eyes were wide and shining without tears when she
slipped both arms about his neck and spoke with deep tenderness.
"You have fully counted the cost, my son?"
"Yes."
"The lying, the cheating, the false pretenses, the assumed name, the
trusting hearts you must betray, the men you must kill alone, sometimes
to save your own life and serve your country's?"
"It's war, mater dear. I hate its cruelty and its wrongs. I'll do my
best in these early days to make it impossible. But if it comes, I'll
play the game with my life in my hands, and if I had a hundred lives I'd
give them all to my country--my only regret is that I have but one--"
"How strange the ways of God!" the mother broke in.
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