But he wished he could. She had
asked him to consider her a real friend, and to Jed, who had so
few, a friend was a possession holy and precious.
Meanwhile the war was tightening its grip upon Orham as upon every
city, town and hamlet in the land. At first it had been a thing to
read about in the papers, to cheer for, to keep the flags flying.
But it had been far off, unreal. Then came the volunteering, and
after that the draft, and the reality drew a little nearer. Work
upon the aviation camp at East Harniss had actually begun. The
office buildings were up and the sheds for the workmen. They were
erecting frames for the barracks, so Gabriel Bearse reported. The
sight of a uniform in Orham streets was no longer such a novelty as
to bring the population, old and young, to doors and windows. Miss
Maud Hunniwell laughingly confided to Jed that she was beginning to
have hopes, real hopes, of seeing genuine gold lace some day soon.
Captain Sam, her father, was busy. Sessions of the Exemption Board
were not quite as frequent as at first, but the captain declared
them frequent enough. And volunteering went on steadily here and
there among young blood which, having drawn a low number in the
draft, was too impatient for active service to wait its turn.
Gustavus Howes, bookkeeper at the bank, was one example. Captain
Sam told Jed about it on one of his calls.
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