"Came home on another ship. I worked cabin boy. They caught a German spy on the first ship."
It was quite like him not to tell how they _happened_ to catch the spy.
"They gave me dinner in the Sailors' Mission in New York, and then I started out here."
"I'm going to Mrs. O'Connor's in the Alley where I used to live--till I can get a job. I made two good friends, but I don't know whether they were drowned.--You look good in your soldier suit."
Roscoe had to get control of himself before he could answer.
"That's a screech-owl," said Tom; "hear him? When you get--when I was a scout we had to learn the calls of all the different birds."
"Never mind that. Why did you go on that ship?"
"I told you--I wanted to help with the Colors."
"Don't you think you did enough for the Colors," he said thickly, "when you gave me this uniform? Don't you think that was enough?"
"Sit down here a minute. Don't you think you did enough for the Colors when you started me--over the top? Don't you?"
"It wasn't me. Anyhow, you can't do too much for the Colors."
Roscoe paused with his hand on Tom's knee. "No, I guess you can't," he said.
"You never told anybody, did you?" Tom asked.
"No," said Roscoe, with that little sneer of self-disgust. "I never told."
"It would of spoiled it all if you had. You got to be careful never to tell. You got to be specially careful, now you're a soldier--and look so fine and straight."
"You got to promise you'll never tell," said Tom, scenting danger in Roscoe's manner. "Will you?"
"You got to promise you'll never let 'em know about it now. Do you?"
"Can't you trust to a soldier's honor, Tom, without pinning him down?"
"Won't you trust a friend? Won't you trust a soldier's honor, Tom?"
For a few moments Roscoe sat breathing audibly and staring at Tom as if hardly knowing what to do or say next.
"Do you know where I'm going now?" he asked, feeling the necessity of speaking.
"Maybe I could guess," said Tom: "you're going up River Road. I bet she said you looked fine in your uniform."
"Yes, I'm going there. I'm going to take her to a racket in Bridgeboro."
"It's funny how I met you here," said Tom.
"You walked all the way out on the turnpike road, I suppose. Tom," he broke off suddenly, "there isn't any time to sit here and talk now; listen. It seems as if all these weeks had been wiped out and we were back up on that mountain again."