BERTIE and his mother were spending the summer at the Thousand Islands;
they had a pretty cottage that overlooked the river, and Bertie was
very fond of watching the never-ceasing ripple of the waters, and he
learned to look for the different boats that ply the waters of the
St. Lawrence during the season. One day an excursion boat touched the
pier and a company of gayly dressed soldiers stepped off. What boy's
heart does not beat quicker at the sight of a finely-uniformed military
company? Bertie was no exception to the rule, and gave his mother no
rest until she had promised to take him out into the park where he
could see the soldiers. And accordingly after dinner they strolled out
and Mrs. Grant and a friend found seats under the trees where they
could read or talk and keep an eye upon the restless boy.
Just before leaving home for the Islands Bertie had been taught a bit
of a poem which he had recited at a Sunday-school concert. One line ran:
I'm a little soldier fighting for the right.
The soldiers were strolling about in pairs and singly, and Bertie stood
near the fountain watching a fine-looking fellow who had stopped for
a cool drink of sparkling water. Suddenly the words of his recitation
came into his mind and without hesitation he stepped up to the
stranger and said:
"Man, are you a soldier fighting for the right?" and then stood still
looking at the soldier as if waiting for a reply.
"Who are you?" asked the stranger.
"Oh,