Themajortooktheletterfromhisbreastpocket，andputitinhishand。Barryhelditamoment，thencarriedittohislips。
　　"Now——that’s——all——major，"hewhispered。"Tell——her——I——thank——
　　God——for——her——and——for——the——other。Major——tell——theboys——that——
　　God——isgood——。Never——tobe——afraid——butto——carryon——"
　　Itwashislastword，andtherecouldbenobetter。"Godisgood。
　　Neverbeafraidbutcarryon。"
　　CHAPTERXX
　　"CARRYON"
　　ThenextdaybutonetheycarriedthePilottohisgraveinthelittleplotoutsidethewalledcemeteryontheoutskirtsofthecityofAlbert。Ithadbeenarrangedthatonlyasmallguardshouldfollowtothegrave。Butthisplanwaschanged。SergeantMackay，whowastheonlysergeantleftafterconsulting"theboys，"
　　cametoMajorBayne。
　　"Theboysfeelbad，sir，"hesaid，"thattheycan’tgowiththePilot，excuseme，sir，thechaplain。"
　　"Dothey？"saidthemajor。"Wewanttoavoidcongestioninthestreets，andbesideswedon’twanttoexposethemen。Theyarestillshellingthecity，youknow。"
　　"Iknow，sir，"repliedthesergeant。"Theboyshaveheardtheshellsbefore，sir。Andthere’snotsomanyofthemthattheywillcrowdthestreetsmuch。"
　　"Letthemgo，sergeant，"saidthemajor，andSergeantMackaywentbackwiththewordtothemen。"AndIwantyoutolooklikesoldiers，"saidthesergeant，"forrememberwearefollowingasoldiertohisgrave。"
　　Andlooklikesoldierstheydidwitheverybuttonandbayonetshining，astheyhadnevershoneforbattalioninspection。
　　Theyhadpassedthroughanexperiencewhichhadleftthemdazed；
　　theyhadmarcheddeliberatelyintothemouthofhellandhadcomebackstunnedbywhattheyhadseenandheard，incapableofemotion。
　　Sotheythought，tilltheylearnedthatthePilothadbeenkilled。
　　Thentheyknewthatgriefwasstillpossibletothem。Withtheirgriefmingledakindofinexplicablewrathatthemannerofhisdeath。
　　"IfithadbeentheO。C。now，oranyoneelsebutFattyMatthews，"
　　saidSergeantMackayindisgust，expressingthegeneralopinion。
　　"Itisanawfulwaste。"
　　UnderthefigureoftheVirginandChild，leaningoutinpityandappealovertheshatteredcity，throughmarchingbattalions"goingin"and"comingout，"thelittlepitifulremnantmadeitsway，thebandleading，theBrigadeandDivisionalHeadquartersStaffsbringingupintherear。Theservicewasbriefandsimple，abrotherchaplainreadingatthemajor’ssuggestionthePsalmwhichBarryhadreadathislastParadeServicewiththebattalion。
　　Attheconclusionoftheservice，thedivisionalcommandersteppedforwardandsaid，"MayIoffertheofficersandmenofthisbattalionmyrespectfulsympathywiththeminthelossoftheirchaplain？Duringtheselastweeks，Ihadcometoknowhimwell。CaptainDunbarwasachaplaininhisbrigade。Hewasmore。Hewasagallantofficer，abravesoldier，aloyal—heartedCanadian。Themoraleofthisdivisionishigherto—daybecausehehasbeenwithus。Hedidhisdutytohiscountry，tohiscomrades，tohisGod。Whatmorecanweaskthanthis，forourselvesandforourcomrades？"
　　ThentherewasalittlepauseandMajorBaynebegantospeak。Atfirsthisvoicewashuskyandtremulous，butashewenton，itgatheredstrengthandclearness。Heremindedthemhow，whenthechaplaincametothemfirst，theydidnotunderstandhim，nortreathimquitefairly，buthowintheselastmonths，hehadcarriedtheconfidence，andthelove，ofeveryofficerandmaninthebattalion。
　　"WeretheCommandingOfficerhereto—day，hewouldtell，asIhaveoftenheardhimtell，howgreatlythechaplainhadcontributedtothedisciplineandtothemoraleofthisbattalion。Hehelpedusalltobebettersoldiersandbettermen。Henevershrankfromdanger。Heneverfalteredinduty。Helivedtohelphiscomradesandtosaveacomradehegavehislifeatlast。"
　　Themajorpaused，lookedrounduponthegallantremnantofaoncesplendidbattalion，hislipsquivering，hiseyesrunningoverwithtears。Buthepulledhimselftogether，andcontinuedwithsteadyvoicetotheend。
　　"ButnottosaythesethingsamIspeakingtoyoutoday。IwishonlytogiveyouthislastmessagefromourSkyPilot。ThisisthePilot’slastmessage：’TelltheboysthatGodisgood，andwhentheyareafraid，totrustHim，and"carryon。"’Andformyself，men，IwanttosaythathewastheonlymanthatshowedmewhatGodislike。"
　　Inthatcompanyofmenwhohadlookedsteadfastlyintothefaceofdeath，therewerenoeyeswithouttears，manyofthemwereopenlyweeping。
　　Whenthemajorhadfinished，theofficerspresent，beginningwiththedivisionalcommander，cameandstoodattheheadoftheopengraveforasinglemoment，thensilentlysalutedandturnedaway。
　　ItwasthedutyofBuglerPatMcCanntosound"TheLastPost，"butpoorPatwastooovercomewithhissobbingatoncetoperformthislastduty。WhereupontherunnerPickles，standingwithrigid，stonyfacebesidehischum，tookthebuglefromhishandsandtheresoundedforththatmostbeautifulandmostpoignantofallmusicalsoundsknowntoBritishsoldierstheworldover，"TheLastPost，"
　　endingwiththatlast，high，long—drawn，heart—piercingnoteoffarewell。
　　Then，becausethewarwasyettobewon，they"carriedon，"thebattalionmarchingawaytoamerrytune。
　　BesideBarry’sgravetherestilllingeredthreemen，thedivisionalcommander，MajorBayne，andCaptainNeil。
　　"IamthinkingofthatlittlegirlinLondon，"saidthedivisionalcommander，andforthefirsttimehisvoicebroke。Theotherswaited，lookingathim。"Wewillholdbackthisnewsforacoupleofdays，andIthink，major，yououghttogoand——"
　　"No，general！——MyGod，no！Don’taskme！"Themajorwasprofoundlyagitated。"SendNeil，here。Heknowsherwell，andhiswifeishergreatfriend。"
　　"Verywell，major，Ithinkthatwillbebetter，"saidthegeneralinhiscourteous，gentlevoice。"Youknowher，CaptainFraser，andyoucanbebetterspared。"
　　Andsoitwasarranged。CaptainNeiltelegraphedPaulatomeethimatBoulogne，andtogethertheymadethejourneytoLondon，carryingwiththemsadandfearfulhearts。
　　TheyfoundPhyllisinalittleflatwhichhermotherhadtaken。
　　Whenshesawthemherfacewentwhite，andherhandsflewtoherbosom。Speechless，andwithagreatfearinherwide—openbrowneyes，shestoodlookingfromonetotheother，waitingfortheirmessage。Paulawenttoherandwithoutawordputherarmsroundher，andheldherclose。
　　"Iknow，Paula，"shesaid，puttinghergentlyawayfromher。"I
　　knowwhatyouhavetotellme。Barryisdead。Mydearloveisdead！"Hervoicewastender，softandlow。"Don’tfeartotellme，Neil，"shesaid。"See，Iamquitesteady。"Sheputoutherhandthathemightseethattherewasnotremourinit。
　　"Sitdown，darling，"besoughtPaula，againwindingherarmsabouther。
　　"No，no，letmestand，Pauladear。See，Iamquitestrong。Nowtellmeaboutit，Neil——allaboutit。Youwerehisdearfriend，youknow。"
　　Hervoice，sosweet，sosoft，soperfectlycontrolled，helpedCaptainNeilwithhistask。Itseemedanoffencethatheshouldintrudeanyexhibitionofgrieforemotionupontheserenecalmofthisyounggirl，standingsostraight，soproud，andregardinghimwithsuchbraveeyes。
　　ThenCaptainNeiltoldhistale。HebeganwiththelastserviceupontheParadeGroundbeforethebattalionmovedintoaction。HetoldofBarry’sbitterdisappointment，andoftheirreliefthathewasnotallowedtoaccompanythemtothefrontline。HetoldofBarry’slongdayatthecasualtyclearingstation，andofhisservicetothewounded，andofhowgoodthedivisionalcommanderhadbeentohimthatnight。
　　"Itwastherehegotyourletter，Phyllis。"
　　"Oh，hegotmyletter。I’msoglad，"whisperedthegirl，withaquickbreathandasuddenflushingofherpalecheeks。"Heknew！
　　Heknew！"
　　"Ihavehisletterinreplyhere，"saidCaptainNeil，handingittoher。
　　Shetookitinbothherhands，kissedittenderly，asifcaressingachild，andputitinherbosom。
　　"Pleasegoon，"shesaid，andCaptainNeiltookuphistaleagain。
　　Hetoldhowthemajortriedtopersuadehimnottogooutafterthewoundedthatnight。
　　"But，ofcourse，hewouldgo，"thegirlsaidwithaproudlittlesmile，atwhichCaptainNeil’sself—controlquitegaveway，andhecouldonlylookatherpiteouslythroughhistears。
　　"Oh，I’msosorry，"shesaidgently。"Can’tyougoon？Iwanttohearsomucheverybit，butifyoucan’t——"
　　Atwhich，CaptainNeilgrippedhimselfhardandwenton，"andsohewentout，andtheysearchedthetrenchfromendtoend。Theyfoundonepoorchap，whoselegwasbadlysmashed——"
　　"Oh，I’msogladtheyfoundhim，"whisperedPhyllis。
　　"ThenSergeantMatthewsgothiswound，andtheshellsbegantofall。Theytookrefugeinashellhole，andthere，whilecoveringFattyMatthewsfromthebreakingshrapnel，Barrygothiswound。"
　　CaptainNeilwasforcedtopauseagainintherecitalofhisstory。
　　Afterafewminutes，hetoldofhowtheycarriedhimtohisgrave，andlaidhiminthecemeteryoutsidethecityofAlbert。
　　"Theboyswereallthere。Therewerenotmanyofthemleft，"hesaid。
　　"Howmany？"sheasked。
　　"Seventyonly，outoffivehundredandfourwhowentovertheparapettwonightsbefore。"
　　"Ah，poor，gallantboys！Ilovethem，Ilovethemall！"saidthegirl，claspingherhandstogether。
　　"Theywereallterriblybrokenupastheystoodaboutthegrave，andnowonder！Nowonder！Thenthedivisionalcommandermadealittlespeech，andthenourownmajorgavethemBarry’slastmessage。"
　　"Tellme，"saidthegirlgently，asCaptainNeilpaused。
　　"Itwasthis，"saidCaptainNeil。"’TelltheboysthatGodisgood，andwhentheyareafraid，totrustHim，and"carryon。"’"
　　"Thatwaslikehim，"shesaid。"ThatwaslikeBarry！Oh，Paula，"
　　shecried，turningtoherfriend。"I’msohappy！Itwasabeautifulclosingtoabeautifullife。Hewasabeautifulboy，Paula，wasn’the？Hisbodywasbeautiful，hissoulwasbeautiful，hislifewasbeautiful，andtheending，oh，wasbeautiful。Oh，Paula，Godisgood。IamsogladhegaveBarrytome，andgavemetohim。Oh，I’mso——happy——so——happy。"Hervoicesankintoawhisper。Thenafterafewmomentsofsilence，withalittlepiteouscry，shesuddenlybrokeforth，"ButPaula！Paula！heisgone。Ishallneverseehimagain。"
　　Paulaheldherarmstightlyabouther，sobbingasifherownheartwerebroken，butPhyllisrecoveredherselfquickly。
　　"No，no，"shesaidsoftly，asifcounsellingherownheart。"I
　　mustremember。’Godisgood，’hesaid，andso，Paula，Imustnotbeafraid。Godwasgoodtohim。Hewillbegoodtome。Hewillbegoodtohischild。"Hervoicesankagainintoawhisper。Shestoodsilentwitheyeslookingintothefardistance。Then，inaclear，firmvoice，shesaid，"Iwillnotbeafraid！Godisgood！
　　Iwill’carryon。’"
　　End