CHAPTER XIV 



A Farewell "Hike" 



THIS morning I got into my 

 "knickers" and a good stout pair 

 of army shoes and took the road. It 

 was Saturday, too, and the golf links 

 looked inviting enough, but the season 

 was rapidly coming to an end, and I 

 preferred a tramp outside, because I 

 knew that within a week we would be 

 back in town where I was certain to be 

 uncomfortable for a time among the 

 crowds after having been so long in the 

 open country. The air was soft and 

 cool, the sun just bright enough and the 

 fields and hills and distant points were 

 sleeping in an atmosphere that told 

 the story old, yet ever new, of summer 

 gone. A note of universal gladness 

 [189] 



