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 caress. Thus they grew to be good chums, and their friendship ripened rapidly.

It had been such an exciting afternoon and the Colonel was so good to him that Pierre did not once think of his mistress until the soldier drew the sparkling bracelet from his pocket and kissed it before lying down in his blanket in front of an open fire. He had been offered a bed but refused it, saying that he could not get accustomed to the blanket too soon.

"You want to kiss it, too, little soldier?" asked the man, placing the bracelet before the dog's muzzle. Pierre licked it and whined softly.

"We both love her, don't we, little soldier? We'll keep right on loving her till the end of life, whether that be long or short—who knows?"

Pierre was filled with a great sense of