diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-0.txt | 5516 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-0.zip | bin | 102026 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-h.zip | bin | 292454 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-h/60265-h.htm | 8498 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 68436 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-h/images/frontispiece.jpg | bin | 25955 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-h/images/frontpastedown.jpg | bin | 45653 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/60265-h/images/rearpastedown.jpg | bin | 45630 -> 0 bytes |
11 files changed, 17 insertions, 14014 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..19a054d --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60265 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60265) diff --git a/old/60265-0.txt b/old/60265-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 46efa18..0000000 --- a/old/60265-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5516 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing -Line, by Margaret Vandercook - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing Line - - -Author: Margaret Vandercook - - - -Release Date: September 8, 2019 [eBook #60265] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH -FIRING LINE*** - - -E-text prepared by Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Villanova University Digital Library -(https://digital.library.villanova.edu/) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustration. - See 60265-h.htm or 60265-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60265/60265-h/60265-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60265/60265-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Villanova University Digital Library. See - https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:382657# - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - -An additional Transcriber’s Note is at the end. - - - - - -THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE - - * * * * * -BOOKS BY MARGARET VANDERCOOK - -THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES - - THE RANCH GIRLS AT RAINBOW LODGE - THE RANCH GIRLS’ POT OF GOLD - THE RANCH GIRLS AT BOARDING SCHOOL - THE RANCH GIRLS IN EUROPE - THE RANCH GIRLS AT HOME AGAIN - THE RANCH GIRLS AND THEIR GREAT ADVENTURE - -THE RED CROSS GIRLS SERIES - - THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN THE BRITISH TRENCHES - THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE - THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN BELGIUM - THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY - THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE ITALIAN ARMY - THE RED CROSS GIRLS UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES - -STORIES ABOUT CAMP FIRE GIRLS - - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT SUNRISE HILL - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AMID THE SNOWS - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ACROSS THE SEA - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS’ CAREERS - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN AFTER YEARS - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE DESERT - THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT THE END OF THE TRAIL - - * * * * * - - -[Illustration: CAPTAIN CASTAIGNE LAY HIDDEN UNDER A PILE OF BED -CLOTHES--(_See page 225_)] - - -THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE - -by - -MARGARET VANDERCOOK - -Author of “The Ranch Girls Series,” “Stories -about Camp Fire Girls Series,” etc. - -Illustrated - -The John C. Winston Company -Philadelphia - -Copyright, 1916, by -The John C. Winston Co. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. PLACE DE L’OPERA 7 - - II. ANOTHER MEETING 23 - - III. THE CROSS OF THE LEGION OF HONOR 38 - - IV. ON THE ROOF 54 - - V. OTHER FIELDS 69 - - VI. THE CHATEAU 78 - - VII. NICOLETE 89 - - VIII. WHO GOES THERE? 103 - - IX. A CONVERSATION 116 - - X. CHATEAU D’AMÉLIE 126 - - XI. THE PREJUDICE DEEPENS 139 - - XII. NOT PEACE BUT WAR 150 - - XIII. DANGER 164 - - XIV. THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 177 - - XV. THE OTHER TWO GIRLS 192 - - XVI. THE DISCOVERY 202 - - XVII. RECOGNITION 214 - - XVIII. OUT OF THE DEPTH 227 - - XIX. EUGENIA 240 - - XX. THE POOL OF TRUTH 250 - - * * * * * - -THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE - - - - -CHAPTER I _Place de l’Opera_ - - -Not long after the beginning of the war in Europe four American girls -set sail from New York City to aid in the Red Cross nursing. - -When they boarded the “Philadelphia” they were almost strangers to one -another. And never were girls more unlike. - -Eugenia Peabody, the oldest of the four, hailed from Massachusetts -and appeared almost as stern and forbidding as the rock-bound coasts. -Privately the others insisted in the early part of their acquaintance -that this same Eugenia must have been born an “old maid.” - -Mildred Thornton was the daughter of a distinguished New York judge and -her mother a prominent society woman. But Mildred herself cared little -for a butterfly existence. With the call of the suffering sounding in -her ears she had given up a luxurious existence for the hardships and -perils of a Red Cross nurse. - -The youngest of the four girls, Barbara Meade, was a very small person -with a large store of energy and unexpectedness. And the last girl, -Nona Davis, was a native of the conservative old city of Charleston, -South Carolina. Although a mystery shadowed her mother’s history, Nona -had been brought up by her father, a one-time Confederate general, with -all the ideas and traditions of the old South. - -Yet in spite of these contrasts in their natures and lives, the four -American Red Cross girls had spent more than six months caring for -the wounded British soldiers in the Sacred Heart Hospital in northern -France. - -With the closing of the last story the news had come that the -headquarters of the hospital must be changed at once. At any hour the -German invaders might swarm into the countryside. - -There had been but little time to remove the wounded. So, not wishing -to add to the responsibilities and finding themselves more in the way -than of service, the four girls had escaped together to a small town in -France farther away from the enemy’s line. - -Here they concluded to offer their aid to the Croix de Rouge, or the -Red Cross Society of France. - -But this was in the spring, and now another autumn has come round. - -One wonders what the four American girls are doing and where they are -living. - - * * * * * - -The great square in front of the Grand Opera House in Paris surged with -excited people. - -Automobiles and carriages crowded with men and women, waving -tri-colored flags, filled the streets. It was a warm October night with -a brilliant canopy of stars overhead. - -“Vive la France! Vive l’Armée!” the throng shouted, swaying backward -and forward in its effort to draw closer to the great palace. - -There must have been between five and ten thousand persons in the -neighborhood, for tonight France was celebrating her greatest -achievement of the war. At last the news had come that the victorious -French army had driven the Germans back across the frontiers of -Alsace-Lorraine. Once again the French flag was planted within their -lost provinces. - - “Allons, enfants, de la patrie, - Le jour de gloire est arrivé.” - -In the crowd a woman had started the singing of the _Marseillaise_. -Immediately thousands of voices joined in the song, while thousands of -feet kept time upon the paving stones to this greatest of all marching -measures. - -Six broad streets in Paris converge into a triangular square which -is known as the Place de l’Opera. From here one looks upward to the -opera house itself, a splendid building three stories in height and -approached by a broad flight of stone steps. - -Standing within the crowd, a little to the left of the opera, was a -group of five persons, four of them girls, while the fifth was a young -man whose coat was buttoned in such a fashion that he appeared to have -but one arm. However, the other arm hung limp and useless underneath -his coat. - -Although their appearance and accents were those of foreigners, two -of the girls in the little party were singing along with the French -crowd. The other two were silent, although their faces expressed equal -interest and animation. - -Suddenly the singing of the street crowd ceased. The central door of -the opera house had been thrown open and a young woman came out upon -the portico. She was dressed in a clinging white robe and wore upon her -head a diadem of brilliants, while in her hands she carried the French -flag. So skilfully had the lights been arranged behind her that she -could be seen for a great distance. To the onlookers she represented -the symbolic female figure of the great French Republic, “Liberté, -Egalité, Fraternité.” - -For a moment after her appearance there was a breathless silence, then -the next even more enthusiastic shouts resounded: - -“Vive Chenel! Vive Chenel!” Hats were thrown into the air, thousands of -flags waved, while myriads of handkerchiefs fluttered like white doves. - -It was a night to be always remembered by the people who shared its -rapture. - - “Aux armes, citoyens, formez vos bataillons! - Marchons! Marchons!” - -With the closing of the final verse of the _Marseillaise_, in the midst -of the wild applause, the smallest of the four girls in the little -group placed her hand gently upon the armless sleeve of her young man -companion. - -“Tonight makes up for a good deal, doesn’t it, Dick?” she queried -a little wistfully. As she spoke her blue eyes were shining with -excitement, while a warm color flooded her cheeks. - -The young fellow nodded. “It is the greatest spectacle I ever saw and -one we shall never forget,” he replied. “Yet there will be a greater -night to come when this war is finally over, though when that night -will be no one can foretell.” - -Dick Thornton spoke gravely and seemed weary from the evening’s -excitement. But then something of what he had passed through in the -last six months showed in other ways than in his empty coat sleeve. - -Without his knowledge, the girl who had been speaking continued to -study him for another moment. Then she turned to Mildred Thornton, who -was on her other side, and whispered: - -“Mill, Dick is tired, but would rather die than confess it. Can’t you -think of some way to get us out of this crowd before the breaking up -begins? The jam then will be awful and we may not be able to keep -together.” - -Up to the instant of Barbara Meade’s suggestion, Mildred had forgotten -all personal matters in her interest in the music and the vivid beauty -of the scene surrounding them. Now she too glanced toward her brother. - -“Dick,” she suggested at once, “don’t you think we had best start back -toward our pension? Madame Chenel is to sing an encore and I’m sorry we -must miss it, but I really think it would be more sensible to go.” - -With the closing of the _Marseillaise_ the celebrated singer had -disappeared. Now in the midst of Mildred’s remark she returned to the -balcony of the Opera House. No longer was she wearing her crown of -brilliants, nor carrying the immense French flag. Instead her head was -uncovered, showing her dark hair and eyes and the flag she bore was -British, not French. - -Then she began singing in English, but with a delicious French accent: - - “It’s a long way to Tipperary, - It’s a long way to go.” - -The crowd joined in the chorus. There were soldiers on the street, who -had returned to Paris on leaves of absence, after learning English from -the Tommies in the trenches. Others had only a faint knowledge of a few -English words. But everybody sang, and because some of the voices were -French and others English the effect was all the more thrilling and -amusing. - -Naturally Dick hesitated for a moment, then he remembered his own -condition. Certainly he would be powerless to push their way through -the great throng. Then if by chance rioting should break out from sheer -excitement, it would be impossible for him to protect four girls. -True, the American Red Cross girls were fairly well able to look after -themselves in most emergencies. But Dick Thornton did not like the idea -of having them put to the test at such a time and under the present -circumstances. - -“I am afraid you are right, Mildred,” he agreed reluctantly. “Let’s -form a single file; I’ll go first and all of you follow me. Tell the -others.” - -Mildred at once put her arm inside a young woman’s who was standing -near her, apparently oblivious of the past conversation. Yet one would -have expected Eugenia Peabody to have been first to have made the -sensible suggestion of the past few moments. Yet it was Barbara Meade -with whom it had actually originated. - -But Eugenia too had been swept off her feet with enthusiasm. Moreover, -she could scarcely make up her mind now to agree to leave, although -plainly appreciating the situation. Eugenia looked surprisingly -handsome tonight. - -In the first place, she wore a new Paris frock, which after long -insistence the other three girls had persuaded her to buy. It was an -inexpensive dress of dark-blue cloth and silk, but it was stylishly -made and extremely becoming. Above all, Eugenia had at last discarded -the unattractive hat in which she had set sail, and which she had -resolutely worn until this day. The new one had only cost five francs, -but one should see the character of hat that can be bought in Paris for -one dollar! - -Eugenia, it is true, had begrudged even that small amount for her own -adornment, until Nona and Barbara had refused to appear upon the street -with her still in her ancient “Alpine.” However, although she rebelled -against the unnecessary extravagance, so far Eugenia had not regretted -her purchases. - -At the present moment she was standing next to Nona Davis and turned to -speak to her. - -“Nona, I am sorry when it’s all so wonderful, but we must start back to -the pension at once. Please come on,” she insisted authoritatively. - -And Eugenia had every reason to believe that Nona heard her words -and agreed with her. She even thought that Nona moved on a few paces -behind her. Moreover, this is exactly what she did. Nevertheless, Nona -afterwards insisted that her act must have been purely involuntary, -since she was not conscious of having heard or obeyed her companion. - -If the little group of five Americans had been enthralled by the -night’s excitement, it was Nona Davis who was most completely swept off -her feet. Never had she even dreamed of such beauty and glamour as this -gala night in Paris offered! - -So little even of her own land had Nona seen, nothing save Charleston -and the surrounding neighborhood and the view from her car window on -her way to New York City. - -The few days in London had been overhung with the thought of the work -ahead. But here in Paris for the past week the four Red Cross girls had -been enjoying a brief holiday and were completely under the spell of -the fascinating and beautiful city. - -Upon persons with a far wider experience of life and places than Nona -Davis, Paris frequently casts this same spell. Indeed, it sometimes -seems impossible that a city can be so beautiful and yet suited to the -uses of everyday life. Both in Paris and in Venice one often expects to -wake up and find the city a dream and not a reality. - -Certainly Nona had turned automatically to do as Eugenia had commanded -her. But unfortunately, at the same moment Madame Chenel finished her -English song and began at once on another which by an odd chance had a -reminiscent quality for Nona. Instinctively she paused to listen and -remember. - -Her impression of the song was one of long ago. Nona’s mother had -once been in New Orleans. Now the vision came to her daughter of an -old-fashioned spinet at one end of the drawing room in her home in -Charleston, and of a young woman in a white dress with blue ribbons -sitting there singing this same French verse. - -For the moment everything else was forgotten. The girl simply stood -spellbound until the great artist finished. Only when she began bowing -her thanks to the applauding crowd, did Nona turn again to look for -Eugenia and her other friends. But as more than five minutes had passed -since their warning, and as they had believed Nona following them, no -one of the four could be seen. - -Moreover, at this same moment the great crowd began to break up. Then, -as is always the case, everybody struggled to get away at the same -moment. - -Just at first Nona was not alarmed at finding herself alone; she was -simply bewildered. However, because she was endeavoring to stand still -while every one else was moving, she was constantly being shoved from -side to side. - -Her first intention was to remain in the same place for a few moments. -Then Dick or one of the girls would probably return for her. However, -she soon appreciated that no human being could push their way back -through the thronging multitude. Moreover, she too must move along or -be trampled upon. - -Fortunately, the fact that she was alone did not seem to have been -observed. For although the people in her neighborhood were not -rough and ugly, as an English or Teutonic crowd might have been, -nevertheless, Nona knew that for a young girl to be alone at night in -the streets of Paris was an unheard-of thing. Besides, later on the -crowd might indulge in noisier ways of celebrating the German defeat -than by listening to the singing of the great prima donna. - -What had she best do? As she was being pushed along, Nona was also -thinking rapidly, although somewhat confusedly. She had not been on the -street alone since her arrival. Both Mildred and Dick Thornton were -familiar with Paris and had been acting as the others’ escorts. - -Their little French pension happened to be over on the other side of -Paris. Fortunately, Nona remembered that she could find a bus near the -Madeleine, the famous church not more than a dozen blocks away from the -neighborhood of the opera. But how to reach this destination and what -bus to take after her arrival? These were problems still to be dealt -with. First of all, she must keep her forlorn condition a secret from -observers in order not to be spoken to by an impertinent stranger. - -Naturally Nona appreciated that it was impossible for all Frenchmen to -be equally courteous. Therefore, one of them might misunderstand her -present predicament. - -However, as there was nothing else to do she continued moving with the -crowd. In the meantime she kept assuring herself that it was absurd to -be so nervous over an ordinary adventure. Think what experiences she -had so lately passed through as a Red Cross nurse! - -But if she had only been wearing her nurse’s uniform, always it served -as a protection! Yet naturally when one was off duty and merely a -holiday visitor in a city, it was pleasanter to dress like other -persons. - -Like Eugenia, Nona was also wearing a new frock. Hers was of black -silk with a hat of black tulle, making her fair hair and skin more -conspicuous by contrast. Certainly she would be apt to attract -attention among the darker, more vividly colored French girls. - -But Nona had gone half the distance to the Madeleine before she was -annoyed. Then just as she was about to cross the street at one of the -corners, an arm was unexpectedly slipped through hers. - -With her heart pounding with terror and every bit of color drained from -her cheeks, Nona looked up into the eyes of an impertinent youth. - -“La belle Americaine!” he announced insolently. - - - - -CHAPTER II _Another Meeting_ - - -The next instant Nona recovered her poise. She was, however, both -frightened and angry. Yet if it were possible to avoid it, she did not -wish to raise an alarm nor create any kind of commotion upon the street. - -At first quietly and firmly she attempted removing her arm, at the -same time regarding the Frenchman with an expression of scorn and -disapproval. - -“Let me go at once,” she said, speaking excellent French, so there was -no possibility of being misunderstood. - -But the young man only shrugged his shoulders, looking, if she had but -known it, more mischievous than wicked. - -But Nona was now gazing despairingly about her. There were numbers -of persons near by, stout mothers and fathers, the respectable -tradespeople of Paris, with the usual French family of two children. -Nona could, of course, appeal to any one of them. But just at the -instant no one was sufficiently near to accost without raising her -voice. This would, of course, attract public attention, which, if -possible, Nona did not wish to do. - -So she waited another second, hoping her tormentor would release her -of his own accord. Finding he did not intend this, she glanced about -for assistance a second time. Then she discovered two young officers -passing within a few feet of her. One of them wore a British uniform -and the other French. - -Nona spoke quickly, knowing instinctively that the men were gentlemen. - -“Stop a moment, please!” she asked. “I am a stranger and have lost my -friends in the crowd. This man is annoying me.” - -Then in spite of her efforts the girl’s voice shook with nervousness -while her eyes filled with humiliated tears. - -With her first words the two officers whirled around. At the same -moment Nona’s persecutor started to run. However, he was not quick -enough, for the young French officer managed to slip his scabbard -between the fellow’s feet. At once he was face down on the ground and -only brought upright again by the officer’s hand on his collar. - -In the interval the other young man was gazing at Nona Davis in -surprise and perhaps with something like pleasure. - -“Miss Davis,” he began, lifting his officer’s cap formally, “are we -never to meet except under extraordinary circumstances? You may not -remember me, but I am Lieutenant Hume, Colonel Dalton’s aide. Perhaps -you recall that unfortunate affair in which Miss Thornton was concerned -at the Sacred Heart Hospital? But before that you know there was our -first meeting at the gardener’s cottage in Surrey.” - -It was unnecessary for Lieutenant Hume to present Nona with all -his credentials of acquaintance. For at this instant she was too -unreservedly glad to see him. To have discovered some one whom she knew -at such a trying time was an unexpected boon. - -“I am, you see--oh, I can’t explain now,” Nona protested. “But, -Lieutenant Hume, if you have nothing very important to do, won’t you -be kind enough to put me on the right bus. I am trying to get back -to our pension. And though I am sorry to be so stupid, I am lost and -dreadfully frightened.” - -The hand that Nona now extended to her English acquaintance was cold -with nervousness. - -Lieutenant Hume took it and bowed courteously. “Of course I will take -you home with the greatest pleasure,” he returned. At the same time he -smiled to himself: - -“Girls are indeed strange creatures, say what you will! Here is a young -American girl who has been doing Red Cross work near the battlefield. -She has been able to keep her head and remain cool and collected among -war’s horrors, but because she has been spoken to on the street by a -young ruffian she is terrified and confused.” Possibly she would have -scorned his protection in the face of an artillery charge, when under -the present conditions a masculine protector was fairly useful. - -Now for the first time the young French officer spoke. He had just -given his captive a rough shake and then straightened him up again -after a second attempt to get away. - -“What shall I do with this fellow, Mademoiselle?” he asked, speaking -English with difficulty, but showing extraordinarily white, even teeth -under a small, dark moustache. Indeed, Nona decided that she had never -seen a more charming and debonair figure than the young French officer, -when he finally engaged her attention. He could scarcely have been more -than five feet, four inches tall, yet his figure was perfectly built. -He was slender, but from the casual fashion in which he gripped the -other man, who was several inches taller and far heavier, he must have -been extraordinarily strong. - -“Oh, let the man go, please,” Nona murmured weakly. “Yes, I know I -should have you turn him over to a gendarme and appear against him in -court, but really I should hate doing it.” - -The girl smiled at the young French officer’s evident disappointment. -He made no protest, however; only he gave the man another half-savage -shake and said rapidly in French: - -“Why aren’t you with the army, you miserable loafer? Your name at -once?” Then, when the offender mumbled something indistinguishable: -“Report to me at the barracks tomorrow. Oh, I shall find you again, -never fear, and it will then be imprisonment for you.” - -The moment after the man had run away the French officer stood at -attention with his shoulders erect and his feet together. The next he -bowed to Nona in an exquisitely correct fashion, as Lieutenant Hume -introduced him. - -“Miss Davis, my friend, Captain Henri Castaigne, one of the youngest -captains in the French army.” Lieutenant Hume then added boyishly: -“Tomorrow he is to be presented with the Cross of the Legion of Honor.” - -Nona was naturally impressed by such an introduction. But evidently -the young officer preferred not having his praises sung to a complete -stranger. He pretended not even to have heard his friend’s last remark. - -“I will say au revoir,” he returned graciously. “Since you and -Lieutenant Hume are old acquaintances, he will prefer to take you to -your friends unaccompanied by me.” - -He was about to withdraw when Nona interposed. - -“But you must have had some engagement together for the evening. Now -if you separate on my account your evening will be spoiled. So please -don’t trouble to take me all the way to the pension; just find my -omnibus and----” - -Both young men laughed. The idea of leaving a girl alone in such an -extremity was of course an absurdity. - -“Oh, come along, Henri, Miss Davis will be able to endure your society -for a few moments as long as I was braced to endure it all evening.” -Lieutenant Hume added: “Besides, it may help your education to talk -to an American girl. Castaigne does not know a thing except military -tactics; he is rather a duffer,” the English officer continued half -proudly and half with a pretense of contempt. It was not difficult to -discover that there was a good deal of affection existing between the -two young officers of the Allied armies. - -Nona wondered how they happened to know each other so intimately. - -“By the way, Lieutenant Hume,” she asked, when they had finally reached -the desired square and stood waiting their turn on the overcrowded -omnibus. “How in the world do you chance to be in Paris instead of -at the front? The last time I heard of you, you were in the midst of -desperate fighting.” - -The young man answered so quietly that no one except his two companions -could hear. “I am in Paris on a private mission for the British -Government. I am not at liberty to say anything more.” - -Nona flushed, a little confused at having appeared to be curious when -she had only meant to be friendly. But immediately Lieutenant Hume -inquired: - -“May I ask the same question of you? How do you chance to be in Paris? -Did you come here after the Sacred Heart Hospital was closed? I knew -that one side of it had been struck by a shell and partly destroyed.” - -Nona nodded. “Yes, but let us not talk of that now, if you don’t mind. -We had to move the wounded soldiers, the supplies and everything in a -tremendous hurry. So we are resting now for a short time and afterwards -mean to go into southern France to help with the hospital work there. -But hasn’t tonight’s celebration been too wonderful? It is the very -first victory I have ever helped to celebrate and it has made me very -happy.” - -“Then you are not entirely neutral, as you Americans are supposed to -be?” Lieutenant Hume queried, waiting with more interest than was -natural for his companion’s reply. “I thought Red Cross doctors and -nurses were expected to have no feeling about the war.” - -Nona hesitated. “Of course, that is true so far as our nursing goes,” -she replied. “Naturally I would nurse any soldier without its making -the least difference what his nationality might be. But when it comes -to a question of my own personal feeling, well, that is a different -matter.” - -Nona’s answer was a little incoherent; nevertheless, her companion -seemed to find it satisfactory. - -On arriving at the pension Eugenia herself opened the door. The -concierge had previously admitted the girl and her two escorts to the -ground floor. - -The apartment where the four girls and Dick Thornton were at present -boarding occupied the third floor of an old house that had once -belonged to an ancient French family and had afterwards been converted -into an apartment building. Such houses are common in Paris. The -atmosphere of this one was gloomy and imposing and the hallway very -dark. - -At first Eugenia only saw Nona outside or she might have been more -amiable. However, she had been so frightened for the past hour that she -was thoroughly angry, an effect fright often has upon people. - -“Nona, what does this mean?” she demanded, speaking like an outraged -school-marm. “You have given us one of the worst hours any one of us -has ever spent. Why did you not come along with the rest of us? Of -course, no one wished to leave; it was quite as much of a sacrifice for -us as for you. Now Mildred and Barbara and Dick have had to go back to -look for you and to inform the police of your disappearance. I have -waited here, hoping for a message from them or you.” - -“Yes, I know. I am dreadfully sorry,” Nona replied more apologetically -than she actually felt. Naturally regretting the trouble she had given, -yet she did not enjoy being scolded before entire strangers. - -“Eugenia,” she protested, changing the tone of her voice in an effort -to stem the tide of her friend’s resentment, “I was so fortunate as -to meet Lieutenant Hume on the street. You may recall he was Colonel -Dalton’s companion when he visited the Sacred Heart Hospital. He and -his friend have been good enough to bring me home. I should like to -have you meet them.” - -Certainly Eugenia was somewhat nonplussed on discovering that there -had been an audience to overhear her reproaches. Still she was no less -offended. However, she could not exactly make up her mind to refuse to -be introduced to Nona’s acquaintances, who had undoubtedly been kind. - -The result was that she was stiffer and colder than ever before as she -stalked ahead into the pension drawing room, leaving the younger girl -and the two men to follow her. - -Moreover, Eugenia undoubtedly looked plain, partly as the result of her -severe mood and partly of her fatigue and anxiety. She had removed her -street suit and was wearing a gray frock that might have been cut out -by the village carpenter, so free was it from any possible grace or -prettiness. The dress had been intended to be useful and undoubtedly -had been, for Eugenia must have been wearing it for the past five years. - -But Eugenia really believed that she was fairly gracious to the two -young officers. She shook hands with both of them and asked them to be -seated. She even thanked them for escorting the scapegrace home, yet -all in a manner that suggested ice trying to thaw on an impossibly cold -day. - -Lieutenant Hume paid but little attention to her, being frankly too -much interested in Nona Davis to do more than be polite to Miss -Peabody, whom he regarded strictly in the light of a chaperon. - -But to Captain Castaigne Eugenia was at once a puzzle and an amusement. -In his life he had never seen any one in the least like her. - -The young French officer belonged to an old and aristocratic French -family. Had France remained a monarchy instead of becoming a republic, -he would have held a distinguished title. He was not a native of Paris, -for he had been brought up in the country with his mother upon their -impoverished estate. Later, as she considered a soldier’s life the -only one possible for her son, he had attended a military school for -officers. So it was true that he knew but little of women. However, -those he had met previously had been his mother’s friends and their -daughters. They were women with charming, gracious manners, of unusual -culture and refinement. Moreover, they had always been extremely kind -to him. Now this remarkable young American woman paid no more attention -to him than if he had been a wooden figure, and perhaps not so much. -Her appearance and manner recalled an officer whom he had once had as -a teacher. His colonel had been just such a tall, stern person, who -having given his orders expected them to be obeyed without demur. So -the young French officer was torn between his desire to laugh, which -of course his perfect manners made impossible, and his desire to offer -this Miss Peabody a military salute. - -She spoke the most extraordinary French he had ever heard in his life. -Her grammar was possibly correct, but such another accent had never -been listened to on sea or land. Captain Castaigne was not familiar -with Americans, so how could he know that Eugenia spoke French with a -Boston intonation? - -Ten, fifteen minutes elapsed, while conversation between Eugenia and -the French officer became more and more impossible. Nevertheless his -friend failed to regard Captain Castaigne’s imploring glances. - -At last the English officer realized that their call was becoming -unduly long under the circumstances. Yet before saying farewell he -managed a few moments of confidential conversation with Nona. - -“You will persuade your friends to come to the Review tomorrow? I -shall call for you more than an hour ahead of time. President Poincaré -himself is to present decorations to a dozen soldiers. I say it would -be rotten for you to miss it.” - -Undoubtedly Nona agreed with him. “You are awfully kind. I accept for -us all with pleasure and shall look forward then to tomorrow,” she -returned. “Thank you again for tonight, and good-by.” - - - - -CHAPTER III _The Cross of the Legion of Honor_ - - -That night just before falling asleep Nona Davis had an unexpected -flash of thought. It was odd that Lieutenant Hume, who had been -a friend in need, should turn out to be such a well-educated and -attractive fellow. Moreover, how did it happen that he was a British -officer? Now and then for some especial act of valor, or for some -especial ability, a man was raised from the ranks. Yet Nona did not -believe either of these things to have happened in Lieutenant Hume’s -case. - -What was the answer to the puzzle? He was the son of a gardener and -she herself had seen his mother Susan, a comfortable old lady with -twinkling brown eyes, red cheeks, a large bosom and a round waist to -match. Surely it was difficult to conceive of _her_ as the mother of -such a son! And especially in England where it was so difficult to -rise above one’s environment. - -Although tired and sleepy, Nona devoted another ten minutes to her -riddle. Then all at once the answer appeared plain enough. Lieutenant -Hume had doubtless been brought up as the foster brother of a boy -of nobler birth and greater riches than he himself possessed. Then, -doubtless, seeing his unusual abilities, he had been given unusual -opportunities. Nona had read English novels in which just such -interesting situations occurred, so she felt rather pleased with her -own discernment. However, if it were possible to introduce the subject -without being rude, she intended to make sure of her impression by -questioning Lieutenant Hume. One might so easily begin by discussing -English literature, a subject certainly broad enough in itself. Then -one could mention a particular book, where a foster brother played a -conspicuous part. But while trying to recall a story with just the -exact situation she required, Nona went to sleep. - -She and Barbara shared the same room. But fortunately no one of -her other friends had been so severe as Eugenia. However, after the -departure of the two young men, realizing that she had been tiresome, -Nona had been sufficiently contrite to appease even Eugenia. - -The next morning at _déjeuner_ Dick Thornton declared that Nona’s -adventure had really resulted in good fortune for all of them. More -than most things he had desired to attend the review of the fresh -troops about to leave Paris for the firing line. Moreover, it would be -uncommonly interesting to see the presentation of the decorations by -the French President. And if Nona had not chanced to meet Lieutenant -Hume and his friend, neither of these opportunities would have been -theirs. Dick had no chance of securing the special invitations and -tickets necessary for seats in the reviewing stand. Privately Dick had -intended escaping from the four girls to witness the scene alone. But -now as Lieutenant Hume had invited all of them it would be unnecessary -to make this confession. - -The review was to take place on a level stretch of country just outside -Paris between St. Cloud and the Bois. - -Having in some magical fashion secured two antiquated taxicabs, -Lieutenant Hume arrived next day at the pension. He and Nona and -Eugenia started off in one of them, with Barbara, Mildred and Dick in -the other. - -During the ride into the country Lieutenant Hume talked the greater -part of the time about his friend, Captain Castaigne, whom Nona and -Eugenia had met the evening before. The two men had only known each -other since the outbreak of the war, yet a devoted friendship had -developed between them. - -Indeed, Nona smiled to herself over Lieutenant Hume’s enthusiasm; it -was so unlike an Englishman to reveal such deep feeling. But for the -time being Captain Henri Castaigne was one of the idols of Paris. The -day’s newspapers were full of the gallant deed that had won him the -right to the military order France holds most dear, “The Cross of the -Legion of Honor.” - -Nevertheless, during the early part of the conversation Eugenia -scarcely listened. She was too busily and happily engaged in watching -the sights about her. Paris was having a curious effect upon the New -England girl, one that she did not exactly understand. She was both -shocked and fascinated by it. - -In the first place, she had not anticipated liking Paris. She had -only consented to make the trip because they were in need of rest and -the other girls had chosen Paris. Everything she had ever heard or -read concerning Paris had made her feel prejudiced against the city. -Moreover, it was totally unlike Eastport, Massachusetts, where Eugenia -had been born and bred and where she had received most of her ideas of -life. - -Yet there was no denying that there was something about Paris that took -hold even of Eugenia Peabody’s repressed imagination. - -It was a brilliant autumn afternoon. The taxicab rattled along the -Champs Elysées, under the marvelous Arc de Triomphe and then turned -into the wooded spaces of the Bois. - -Every now and then Eugenia found a lump rising in her throat and her -heart beating curiously fast. It was all so beautiful, both in art and -nature. Surely it was impossible to believe that there could be an -enemy mad enough to destroy a city that could never be restored to its -former loveliness. - -Perchance the war had purified Paris, taking away its uglier side in -the healing influence of patriotism. For even Eugenia’s New England -eyes and conscience could find but little to criticize. Naturally many -of the costumes worn by the young women she considered reprehensible. -The colors were too bright, the skirts were too short. French women -were really too stylish for her severer tastes. For there was little -black to be seen. This was a gala afternoon, so whatever one’s personal -sorrow, today Paris honored the living. - -Before Eugenia consented to listen Lieutenant Hume had arrived in -the middle of his story, and then she listened only half-heartedly. -She was interested chiefly because the young Captain she had met the -evening before was so far from one’s idea of a hero. He was more like -a figure of a manikin dressed to represent an officer and set up in a -shop window. His features were too perfect, he was too graceful, too -debonair! But in truth Eugenia’s idea of a soldier must still have been -represented by the type of man who, shouldering a musket and still in -his farmer’s clothes, marched out to meet the enemy at Bunker Hill. - -Some day Eugenia would learn that it takes all manner of men and women -to make a world. And that there are worthwhile people and things that -do not come from Boston. - -“He was in the face of the enemy’s fire when a shell exploded under -his horse,” Lieutenant Hume explained. “He and the horse were shot -twenty feet in the air. When they came down to earth again there was -an immense hole in the ground beneath them and both man and horse were -plunged into it. Rather like having one’s grave dug ahead of time, -isn’t it?” - -Nona nodded, leaning across from her seat in the cab with her golden -brown eyes darkening with excitement and her hands clasped tight -together in her lap. - -Eugenia kept her eyes upon her even while giving her attention to -the narrative. Personally she considered Nona unusually pretty and -attractive and the idea worried her now and then. For there were to be -no romances if she could prevent them while the four American Red Cross -girls were in Europe. If they wished such undesirable possessions as -husbands they must wait and marry their own countrymen. - -“But Captain Castaigne was not hurt? So he still managed to carry the -messages to his General?” Nona demanded. She was much interested in -getting the details of the story before seeing its hero again. - -Robert Hume was talking quietly. Nevertheless it was self-evident that -he was only pretending to his casual tone. - -“Of course Captain Castaigne was injured. There would have been no -reason why any notice should have been taken of him if he had only -done his ordinary duty. Fact is, when he crawled out he was covered -with blood and nearly dead. The horse was killed outright and Henri -almost so. Nevertheless he managed to run on foot under heavy fire to -headquarters with his message. No one knows how he accomplished it and -he knows least of all. He simply is the kind of fellow who does the -thing he starts out to do. We Anglo-Saxons don’t always understand -the iron purpose under the charm and good looks these French fellows -have. But fortunately we don’t often use cavalrymen now for carrying -despatches. Motor cars do the work better when there is no telephone -connection.” - -“Yes, and I’m truly glad,” Nona murmured softly. She was thinking of -how many gallant young cavalry officers both in France and England -those first terrible months of the war had cut down, before the lessons -of the new warfare had been learned. - -But Eugenia had now awakened to a slight interest in the conversation. - -“Your young friend looks fit enough now,” she remarked dryly. - -The English officer was not pleased with Eugenia’s tone. “Nevertheless, -Captain Castaigne has been dangerously ill in a hospital for many -months, although he is returning to his regiment tomorrow.” - -After this speech there was no further opportunity for conversation. -The two cabs had driven through the Bois and were now in sight of the -field where the review was to be held. - -Drawn up at the left were two new regiments about to depart for the -front. Most of the soldiers were boys of nineteen who would have -finished their terms of military service in the following year, but -because of necessity were answering France’s call today. They were -wearing the new French uniform of gray, which is made for real service, -and not the old-fashioned one with the dark-blue coat and crimson -trousers. These too often formed conspicuous targets for the enemy’s -guns. - -Across from the recruits stood another line of about fifty men. They -were old men with gray hair. If their shoulders were still erect -and their heads up it was not because this was now their familiar -carriage. It was because this great day had inspired them. For they -were the old soldiers who had been gallant fighters in 1870, when -France had fought her other war with Germany. Now they were too old -to be sent to the firing line. Nevertheless, each one of them was -privately armed and ready to defend his beloved Paris to the last gasp -should the enemy again come to possess it. - -Between the two lines and on horseback were President Poincaré, -France’s new war minister and half a dozen other members of the Cabinet. - -Then standing in a small group separated from the others were the -soldiers who were about to be decorated for especial bravery. - -While Lieutenant Hume was struggling to find places for his guests, -Nona was vainly endeavoring to discover the young French officer whom -she had met so unexpectedly the evening before. She was anxious to -point him out to Mildred and Dick and Barbara. - -But after they were seated it was Eugenia who found him first. Captain -Castaigne was wearing an ordinary service uniform with no other -decorations besides the emblems of his rank. - -Then a few moments later President Poincaré and his staff dismounted. - -The four American girls were distinctly disappointed by the French -President’s appearance. He is a small, stout man with a beard, very -middle class and uninteresting looking. Yet he has managed to hold -France together in times of peace and of war. - -This was indeed a great day for Paris. Rarely are medals for bravery -bestowed upon the soldiers save near the scene of battle by the -officers in command. Yet there was little noise and shouting among the -crowd as there had been the evening before. They were unusually silent, -the women and girls not trying now to keep back the tears. - -Sixty-four buglers sounded a salute. Then President Poincaré marched -forward and shook hands with every soldier in the group of twelve. -Eleven of them were to receive the new French decoration which is -known as the “Croix de Guerre.” This is a medal formed of two crossed -swords and having a profile of a figure representing the French -Republic in the center. But Captain Castaigne alone was to be honored -with the Cross of the Legion of Honor. - -First President Poincaré pinned the medal on the breast of a boy -sentry. He had stood at the mouth of a trench as the Germans -approached, and though wounded in half a dozen places had continued to -fire until his companions had been warned of the attack. - -Then one after the other each soldier received his country’s thanks -and the recognition of his especial bravery until at length President -Poincaré came to young Captain Castaigne. - -One does not know exactly what it was in the young man’s appearance -that touched the older man. Perhaps when you learn to know more of -his character you will be better able to understand. For after the -President had bestowed the higher decoration upon the young captain, he -leaned over and kissed him. - -Eugenia Peabody had an excellent view of the entire proceeding. Though -her lips curled sarcastically, strangely enough her eyes felt absurdly -misty. She much disliked this French custom of the men kissing each -other, for Eugenia believed very little in kissing between either -men or women. Nevertheless, she did feel disturbed by the whole -performance, and hoped that her friends were too much engaged to pay -attention to her. Above all things Eugenia desired that Barbara Meade -should not observe her weakness. She knew Barbara would never grow -weary hereafter of referring to the amazement of Eugenia’s giving way -to tears in public and without any possible excuse. - -Ten minutes later the review began with a blare of trumpets. Then -gravely the new regiments passed before the President and his officers. -Afterwards they marched away until a cloud of dust hid them and there -was nothing for the spectators to do but return to their own homes. - -Nevertheless, the young French Captain managed to make his way to his -English friend. He appeared as indifferent and as debonair as he had -the evening before. One could never have guessed that he had just -received the greatest honor of his life, and an honor given to but few -men. - -Reference to his decoration he pretended not to be able to understand, -although Mildred, Barbara and Dick tried to compliment him with their -best school French. - -But beyond inclining her head frostily, Eugenia made no attempt at a -further acquaintance with the young soldier. - -However, several times when he believed no one was observing him, -Captain Castaigne stole a furtive glance at Eugenia. - -She was somewhat better looking than she had been the evening before, -yet she was by no means a beauty. Moreover, she was still a puzzle. - -Then the boy--for after all he was only twenty-three--swallowed a -laugh. At last he had found a real place for Eugenia. No wonder he had -thought of his former colonel. Recently he had learned that a regiment -of women in Paris were in training as soldiers. He could readily behold -Eugenia in command. - -The other three American girls were charming and he was glad to have -met them. But Eugenia he trusted he might never see again. He was glad -to be returning to the firing line next day. Let heaven preserve him -from further acquaintance with such an unattractive person! - - - - -CHAPTER IV _On the Roof_ - - -One week longer the American Red Cross girls remained in Paris. They -were only tourists for these brief, passing days. Yet all the while -they were waiting for orders. After having nursed the British soldiers -for a number of months, when the Sacred Heart Hospital was no longer in -existence, they had concluded to offer their services to France. - -Therefore, like soldiers, they also were ready upon short notice -to start for the front. But in the meantime there was Paris to be -investigated, where the October days were like jewels. One saw all that -it was humanly possible to see of pictures and people and parks and -then came home to dream of the statues in the Luxembourg, or of Venus -in her shaded corner in the Louvre, or else of the figure of Victory -midway up the Louvre’s central staircase. - -To one another the girls confessed that it was difficult to think of -war so near at hand, or of the experiences through which they had so -lately passed. Yet one saw the streets full of soldiers and knew that a -great line of fortifications encircled Paris, such as few cities have -ever had in the world’s history. Also, there were always guns mounted -on high towers waiting for the coming of the Zeppelin raid. - -“Then one night, as luck would have it,” Barbara insisted, “the raid -came just in the nick of time. For how could the Germans have dreamed -that we were leaving for southern France the next morning?” - -Nevertheless, the luggage of the Red Cross girls was actually packed -and in spite of war times the girls had added to the amount. Moreover, -they were due to take the ten o’clock train next day at the Gare de -Lyons. So because they were weary, a little sorry at having to leave -Paris, and yet curious of the new adventures ahead, the four girls -retired early. - -In one way Paris has conspicuously changed since the outbreak of -the war. She has become an early-to-bed city and except on special -occasions her cafés are all closed after dark. - -So Dick Thornton, although not leaving with the girls the next day, -found little to amuse him on the same evening. He had said good-night -soon after dinner and then gone for a long walk. For in truth he did -not wish to have an intimate farewell talk with his sister or any one -of her friends. - -The hazards of war had used Dick pretty severely. He had not come to -Europe to act as a soldier; nevertheless, in a tragically short time, -before he had even begun to be fairly useful, he had paid a cruel -penalty. Dick believed that he would never again be able to use his -right arm. - -He did not intend, however, to allow this to make him morose or -disagreeable and so seldom spoke of it. But now and then he used -to desert his four feminine companions and walking through the -semi-darkened streets of Paris try to work out a solution for his -future. - -So by chance it was Dick who gave the alarm to the household on the -night of Paris’ long-anticipated Zeppelin raid. - -He had just come home and was standing idly before the door waiting to -awaken the concierge who presides over the destinies of all Parisian -apartment houses. A beautiful night, the sky was thickly studded with -stars, although there was no moon. - -Suddenly Dick heard a tremendous explosion. Naturally his first thought -was a bomb and then he smiled at himself. In war times every noise -suggested a bomb. This noise may have been nothing but an unusually -loud automobile tire explosion. However, Dick was not particularly -convinced by his own suggestion. He remained quiet for another moment -with all his senses acute. The streets in his neighborhood had been -well-nigh deserted at the moment of the shock. If it were nothing they -would still continue so. A brief time only was necessary for finding -out. For an instant later windows were thrown open and every variety of -heads thrust forth with eyes upturned toward the sky. - -Then a fire engine rattled by and afar off a bugle call sounded. - -That moment Dick pounded at the closed door of their house, but the -concierge was already awake and let him in at once. Then with a few -bounds he cleared the steps and stood knocking at his sister’s bedroom -door. - -“Something startling is happening, I don’t know exactly what,” he -announced hurriedly. “But you girls had best get on some clothes and -come out. I am going up on the roof. If it is a Zeppelin raid the city -officials have warned people to go down to the cellars. I’ll let you -know in half a minute.” - -But in half a minute Dick did not return. There seemed to be no danger -for the present at least, and besides he had a masculine contempt for -the length of time it takes girls to put on their clothes, even in -times of emergency. Moreover, he kept staring up at the heavens too -entranced by the spectacle to think of danger. - -Five Zeppelins were passing over Paris, the projectiles which they -dropped in passing leaving long trails of light behind them. - -Soon after a small voice spoke at Dick’s elbow: “It’s wonderful, isn’t -it? When I was a little girl I could never have believed that I should -see real fireworks like these.” - -Without glancing around Dick naturally recognized the voice. It always -amused him to hear Barbara talk of the days when she was little, as she -appeared so far from anything else even now. - -“You had better go downstairs, little girl, with the other girls;” he -commanded. “Yes, it is a wonderful spectacle, but this is no place for -you.” - -Then hearing her laugh lightly, he did turn around. Assuredly Barbara -could not go down to the other girls, since they were assembled on the -roof with her, and not only the girls but a third of the people in the -pension. They were all talking at once in French fashion. - -Dick felt rather helpless. - -“I thought I told you to go to the cellar,” he protested. But Barbara -paid not the slightest attention to him and the other girls were out of -hearing. - -She was clutching his left arm excitedly. - -Now they could see the aeroplanes that had come out for the defense of -Paris circling overhead and firing upon the Zeppelins and farther off -in the distance the thunder of cannon could be heard. - -“Paris is being wonderfully good to us, isn’t she?” Barbara whispered. -“We keep seeing more and more amazing things.” - -Dick scoffed. “I thought you pretended to be a coward, Barbara, though -it is difficult for me to think of you as one.” - -And to this the girl made no answer except, “I don’t believe any one -in Paris is seriously frightened. A raid is not the terrible thing -everybody feared, at least not one like this.” - -But Dick was not so readily convinced. There was a chance that these -first air raiders were but scouts of the great army of German Zeppelins -that London and Paris have both been dreading since the outbreak of the -war. - -Moreover, Dick was not alone in this idea. He could see now that the -tops of all the large houses and hotels in the neighborhood, as far as -one could discern, were thronged with as curious a crowd as his own. -And from the streets below chatter and laughter and now and then cries -of terror or admiration floated upward. - -Of course, there were many persons in Paris that night wiser or at -least more prudent than the four American Red Cross girls, and there -were a number of places where proper precautions were taken. However, -no one thought of going to bed again. - -By and by the three other girls joined Barbara and Dick. But now there -was nothing more to be seen save the stars in the sky which were too -eternal to be appreciated. So when the noise of the cannonading had at -last died away, Madame Raffet, who had charge of the pension, asked her -guests to come down into the drawing room for coffee. - -The girls were cold and dismal now that the excitement had passed and -were glad enough of the invitation. Dick Thornton, however, resolutely -declined to join them. He was still not in the mood for cheerful -society, although he did not offer this excuse. He merely said that he -always had wished to see the dawn steal over Paris and here was the -opportunity of a lifetime, since the dawn must break now in a short -while. - -It may be that Barbara Meade guessed something of her friend’s humor, -for she went quietly away with the other girls, not joining her -protests with theirs over Dick’s unusual obstinacy. - -An hour and a half passed, perhaps longer. Dick had found a seat on -a stone ledge between two tall chimney stacks. It was a long, cold -bench and he was growing rather tired of his bargain. Still, there was -a grayness over things now and daylight must soon follow. Yet he was -sorry he had not gone downstairs with the others; it would have been -an easy enough business to have returned to his perch later and coffee -would undoubtedly have been a boon. - -He was kicking his feet rather more like a disconsolate small boy, who -had been sent upstairs to his room alone for punishment, than like a -romantic youth about to pay tribute to his Mistress Paris, when Barbara -Meade joined him for the second time that evening. - -However, this time he saw her coming and her welcome was far more -enthusiastic. - -The girl had put on her long gray-blue nursing coat, but wore a -ridiculous little blue silk cap pulled down over her curls. Moreover, -Dick Thornton had to rush forward to meet her to keep her from -tripping, since she was dragging his neglected overcoat with her and -also trying to carry a thick mug of coffee. - -Dick snatched at the mug none too politely. - -“I say, you are a trump!” he remarked with such fervor, however, that -any girl would have forgiven him. - -Then Barbara sat down beside him on the stone ledge and after seeing -that he had put on the overcoat, watched him drink the coffee. She even -added two rolls for his refreshment from the depth of her pocket. - -“I made the coffee for you myself. I think it rather good of me,” she -remarked placidly. “The other girls are lying down. But I had a fancy -to see the dawn over Paris myself and I thought if I brought you a -present you would not send me away.” - -Dick smiled, for the dawn had broken when Barbara came. From their -tall roof they had a marvelous view of the city and the long line of -beautiful bridges crossing the Seine. And there, not far away, looking -as if she were built half upon the water and half upon land, the Church -of Notre Dame. - -A sudden glory of red and gold bathed its two perfect towers and the -cross above. Slipping down between the grinning gargoyles along its -sides it dipped into the river below. In another direction Montmartre -was shimmering like a rainbow, steeped in the colors and the glories of -romance. - -Barbara shivered over the strange beauty after the excitement of the -night before. And although Dick was there and they were good friends, -she wished that one of the girls had also been her companion. It was a -time when she would have liked to put her hand inside a friend’s just -for the sense of warm human companionship. - -But Dick was not at the moment looking or thinking of her. It was -hardly to be wondered at, the girl thought with the old grace of a -smile at herself. There were so many better things to see. Yet it gave -her the chance for a farewell study of him. They were to part now in a -short time, for how long neither of them knew. - -The next instant Barbara regretted her decision. For how wretchedly -Dick Thornton was looking! Could any one believe that only a little -over a year had passed since their first meeting on the March night -when she had arrived so unceremoniously at his father’s house. -Certainly Dick had been more than kind to her even then. - -A moment later when Dick did chance to glance toward his companion she -was crying hard but silently. - -Once or twice before Dick had been surprised at Barbara Meade’s -unexpected tears, but now he understood them at once. - -He offered her the comfort she had wished a little while before. Gently -he took her hand inside his left one. - -“I know you are thinking of me, Barbara, and this tiresome old arm of -mine. It is tremendously kind of you,” he protested. “But I want you -to promise me not to worry and to keep Mill from fretting if you can. -I hate you girls to go off to work again without me, but I’ve made up -my mind to stay around Paris for a few months. I’m rather glad to have -this chance to explain things to you. Of course, you know that when -that shell shattered my shoulder it seemed to paralyze my arm. Well, -I have not given up hope that something may yet be done for it. So as -soon as I can get hold of one of the big surgeons here in Paris I want -him to have a try at me. They are fairly busy these days with people -who are of more account, but if I hang around long enough some one -will find time to look after me. You know I have never told, nor let -Mildred tell mother and father just how serious things are with me. But -if nothing can be done I’ve made up my mind to go home and find out -what a one-armed man can do to be useful. He isn’t much good over here -at present. You see, Barbara, I have not yet forgotten your New York -lectures on the duty and beauty of usefulness.” - -Dick said this in a laughing voice, with no intention of attempting the -heroic, so Barbara did her best to answer in the same spirit. - -Nevertheless, she had never gotten over her sense of responsibility and -might always continue to feel it. - -“Oh, I am sure something _can_ be done,” she answered, forcing herself -to speak bravely. “But in any case you will come and say good-by to -Mill and the rest of us before you sail, won’t you?” she concluded. - -Dick nodded, but by this time they had both gotten up and were walking -across the roof top side by side. - -“I say, Barbara,” Dick added shyly just at the moment of parting, -“however things turn out, promise me you won’t take it too seriously. -Somehow I can’t say things as well as other fellows, but I’m not sorry -I came over, in spite of this plagued arm of mine. I don’t know why -exactly, but this war business makes a man of one. Then when one thinks -of what other fellows are having to give up--oh well, I read a poem by -an Englishman who was killed the other day. Would you mind my reciting -the last lines to you?” - -Then taking the girl’s consent for granted, Dick went on in a grave -young voice that had much of the beauty which Barbara remembered in his -song the year before. - -“His name was Rupert Brooke and he wrote of the men who were going to -die as he did: - - “These laid the world away; poured out the red - Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be - Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene - That men call age; and those who would have been - Their sons, they gave--their immortality.” - - - - -CHAPTER V _Other Fields_ - - -The work which the American girls were to do for the French _Croix de -Rouge_ (Red Cross) was to be accomplished under entirely different -circumstances. - -They traveled southeast nearly an entire day and toward evening were -driven through a thickly wooded country to the edge of the Forest of Le -Prêtre. - -An American field hospital, an exact duplicate of those used in -America, had recently been presented to the French Government by -three Americans who desired that their identity be kept a secret. The -hospital was made up of twenty tents; six of them large enough to take -care of two hundred wounded men. And these hospital tents could be put -up in fifteen minutes and taken down in six by the American ambulance -volunteers, many of them students from Columbia, Harvard, Williams and -other American universities. - -So it was thought fitting that the four American Red Cross girls, who -had lately offered their services to France, should assist in the -nursing at these new hospitals. They had been located in southern -France near the lines and just beyond the reach of the enemy’s guns. - -Therefore it was self-evident that different living arrangements would -have to be made for the nurses. So Nona, Barbara, Mildred and even -Eugenia were unfeignedly glad when they learned that they were to live -together in a tiny French farmhouse within short walking distance of -the field hospital. There they were to do their own housekeeping, with -the assistance of an old man who would take charge of the outdoor work. - -The farmhouse had been offered for their use by the French countess -who was the owner of an ancient chateau about a mile away. Indeed, the -farmhouse lay within the boundaries of her lands. - -When the girls first tumbled out of the carriage they were too tired -to be more than half-way curious over their new abode. But half an hour -later they were investigating the entire place with delight. - -This was because they had already rested and eaten a supper that would -have served for all the good little princesses in the fairy stories. - -Naturally the girls had expected to find their little house empty. But -no sooner had they started up the cobblestone path to the blue front -door when an old man appeared on the threshold, bowing with the grace -of an eighteenth century courtier. He was only François, the old French -peasant who was to be of what service he could to them. - -There in the clean-scrubbed dining room stood a round oak table set -with odd pieces of china, white and blue and gold, hundreds of years -old and more valuable than any but a connoisseur could appreciate. - -François himself waited to serve supper. The Countess, whose servant -he had been for fifty years, had sent over the food--a pitcher of new -milk, a square of golden honey, _petit fromage_, which is a delicious -cream cheese that only the French can make, and a great bowl of wild -strawberries, which ripen in autumn in southern France. Besides this -there was a big loaf of snowy bread. - -Barbara straightway threw her bonnet and coat aside. Then as she found -the first place at the table she exclaimed, “So this is what one has to -eat in France in war times!” - -A few moments later Mildred took her place at what was hereafter to be -known as the head of the table, with Eugenia just across and Barbara -and Nona on either side. For so almost unconsciously the little family -of four girls arranged themselves. Although it was not until later that -Mildred Thornton was to prove the real authority in domestic matters, -while Eugenia continued to regard herself as intellectual head of -the family, with Nona and Barbara as talented but at times tiresome -children. - -However, after thanks and good-byes were said to old François, the -girls started on their tour of the little house. Evidently it had -belonged to real farmer people who must have worked some of the land -of the countess. Doubtless the men had gone to war and the women found -employment elsewhere. - -The farmhouse was only one story and a half high, with the kitchen -and dining room below, but above there were four small bedrooms with -a single window each and sloping ceilings. But the charming thing was -that the walls were of rough plaster painted in beautiful colors--one -rose, one blue, one yellow and the other lavender. - -So the girls chose each the color she most loved--Barbara the blue, -Nona the pink, Mildred the lavender, and Eugenia, professing not to -care, the yellow. - -It was just about dusk when they finally came outdoors again for a -better view of the house itself. They had scarcely done more than -glanced at it on entering. - -The farmhouse was built of wood which had once been white but was now a -light gray with the most wonderful turquoise blue door and shutters. - -Indeed, the girls were to find out later that the little place was -known in the neighborhood roundabout as “The House with the Blue Front -Door.” - -But though the house was so delightful that the girls had almost -forgotten the sadness of their errand to the country, the landscape was -far less cheerful. - -A row of poplar trees, already half stripped of their leaves, formed a -windbreak at one side of the house. Growing close on the farther side -were a dozen pine trees, suggesting gloomy sentinels left to guard the -deserted place. - -There were no other houses in sight. - -“I wonder where the chateau is?” Barbara asked a trifle wistfully. “I -suppose if our services are not required at the hospital at once we -might go in the morning to call on the Countess to thank her for her -kindness.” - -Immediately Eugenia frowned upon the suggestion. She was a little -depressed by the neighborhood, now that evening was coming on, and she -still found it difficult to agree often with Barbara. - -“Of course we shall do no such thing,” she answered curtly. “Exchanging -friendly visits with new and unknown neighbors may be a western custom, -but so far as I have been told it is assuredly not the custom in -France. Why, there are no such exclusive persons in the world as the -old French nobility, of which this countess is a member. Can’t you just -imagine what she would think of the forwardness of American girls if we -should intrude upon her in such a fashion?” - -“Oh,” Barbara replied in a rather crestfallen voice as Nona put her -arm across her shoulder. Then they started into the house together. A -little later, however, she regained a part of her spirit, which Eugenia -and the coming of night had crushed. - -“I wonder, Eugenia,” she inquired in the soft tones in which she was -most dangerous, “how you have learned so much concerning the customs of -the old French nobility. Was it because you were introduced to Captain -Castaigne the other day? I believe Lieutenant Hume said that he really -belonged to the aristocracy, but preferred not to use his title in -Republican France.” - -Eugenia flushed and was about to answer curtly when Mildred Thornton -interposed good-naturedly: - -“For goodness sakes, children, don’t quarrel on our first evening, or -you may bring us bad luck! Remember, we have got to prove that girls -can live and work together. But I don’t want to preach. Let’s go to bed -so we can get up early in the morning and unpack and get used to things -about the house. I have no doubt some one from the field hospital will -come over to tell us what they wish us to do. I am afraid I don’t -know much about housekeeping or cooking except for the sick, but I am -certainly going to try and learn.” - -So the girls went in and each one lighted a candle and retired to her -own room. - -When she was nearly asleep, however, Barbara was startled by a head -being thrust inside her door. Then by her flickering light she -discovered Eugenia’s face looking uncommonly handsome with two long -braids of dark hair framing her clear-cut features. - -“Sorry I was so cross, Barbara,” she whispered. “You know, child, -sometimes I feel that I must have been born an old maid.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI _The Chateau_ - - -Next morning Mildred and Eugenia went over the field hospital with a -French officer who had been sent to receive them. - -Barbara and Nona, therefore, undertook the unpacking and arranging of -their belongings and also the task of preparing lunch, which was to -be a light one. Indeed, all the household arrangements must be of the -simplest, so that the girls might have their strength and enthusiasm to -give to the work of nursing. - -But because they had gotten up soon after daylight, Nona and Barbara -found that they had two hours of freedom which might be spent in -investigating the neighborhood. So putting on ordinary clothes instead -of their nursing uniforms, they set out for a walk. - -“I suppose,” Barbara suggested, making an odd grimace, “that there is -no special harm in our walking through the estate of the countess and -possibly looking at the chateau if we chance to be in the vicinity. -I don’t believe that we can do much strolling about here without -encroaching on her place. From what François told us yesterday she owns -most of the countryside.” - -Nona laughed. “That is possibly an exaggeration. Still, I would like -to see the old chateau immensely. In spite of Eugenia, I agree with -you that we may be permitted to humbly gaze upon it without attempting -to speak to any one. I wonder in which direction we ought to go to -discover it?” - -The girls had gone several yards now and Barbara stopped and wheeled -about. - -“There is a pine forest over there to the left that is so lovely it -won’t matter if it brings us out at the end of nowhere. Only we ought -to drop bits of paper behind us like Hop o’ My Thumb for fear of -getting lost.” - -“I have a fairly good bump of locality,” the other girl answered. - -Then in spite of the fact that they were two feminine persons, neither -of the girls spoke again until they had walked at least a mile. Having -come unexpectedly upon a shining pool of water, it was then impossible -not to utter exclamations of delight. - -Nona dropped down on her knees and stared into the depth of it. “Have -you read ‘Peleas and Melisande,’ Barbara?” she asked. “It opens in the -most exquisite fashion with Melisande gazing down into the depth of the -pool and crying over something she has lost. One never knows exactly -what it is, but I always thought the entire story meant a reaching -after the light. I suppose that is what war is, though it is a cruel -and horrible way of searching for it.” - -Barbara nodded, although she did not know exactly what her friend was -talking about. There was a poetic streak in Nona Davis that no other -one of the four girls possessed. During her lonely childhood she seemed -to have read an odd assortment of books. Of course she had not the real -information that Eugenia had, but what she knew was more fascinating, -at least according to Barbara Meade’s ideas. - -“Well, I hope that war may never cross the border line into these -forests,” Nona added thoughtfully, “although I can imagine any one who -knew them could play hide and seek with an enemy for a long time. There -is a little hut over there that seems deserted; let’s go and see it.” - -As Barbara had been standing she of course had a better view than her -companion, but Nona obediently followed her. - -The little hut was empty. It was merely a tumbledown shack of logs -and stones. However, some one must have inhabited it at one time or -another, because there were signs of a fire and a few old pots and -pans, weather beaten and rusty, that had been left about. Moreover, -there was a moth-eaten fur rug that may have formed a bed. - -Yet it was lonely and uncomfortable looking, so the girls did not care -to linger. Besides, if they were to see the old French chateau during -the morning they must find a place where it was more likely to be. - -Discovering a path that appeared to have been more used than any other, -they followed it. In ten minutes after they came to the edge of the -clearing and there about a quarter of a mile beyond was the outline of -the chateau. - -“I suppose it is intruding to go nearer,” Barbara said plaintively, -“but I can’t get the least satisfaction from this bird’s-eye view.” - -“No doubt of it,” Nona answered, “yet I propose that we take the risk. -These are war times and very few servants are left about any of the old -places, so we may escape without being seen. I feel it is our duty, as -long as Eugenia is not along, to see all that we can before our work -begins. Then we’ll have no chance.” - -The chateau was in a measure a disappointment, because after all it -looked more like an old-time fortress than a dwelling house, and -besides was dreadfully dilapidated. - -“But once one was accustomed to this idea, it really became more -interesting,” Nona finally argued. - -A part of the chateau must have been erected in the fourteenth or -fifteenth century when feudal warfare was still carried on in France. -The stone tower had loopholes for windows with iron bars across, so -that the approach of an enemy could be discovered and he might be -attacked with slight danger to the inmates of the castle. This tower -was in a fairly good state of preservation, but the rest of the house, -where the living apartments were situated, was almost a ruin. There -were signs of poverty everywhere. The servants’ quarters were deserted, -there were no stables, nothing to suggest the prosperity that should -accompany so famous a possession as the old chateau represented. - -Indeed, the two American girls were so engaged in discussing the -situation that they were not aware of anyone approaching. Unexpectedly -they found a woman past middle age moving slowly toward them. She was -alone save that she was accompanied by an immense silver-gray dog, -which to Nona’s gratification she held by a leash. For in spite of -her bravery in other matters, Nona was ridiculously and unreasonably -fearful of dogs. - -“Gracious!” Barbara whispered, half amused and half terror-stricken. -“That must be the mythical countess herself. Shades of Eugenia, what -shall we say or do?” - -But the older woman gave them little opportunity for a decision. - -She was small and slender, dressed in black, with a lace shawl over her -head coming down into a point upon her forehead. Underneath were masses -of carefully arranged snow-white hair. The Countess’ face was almost as -white as her hair; there was nothing that gave it color save her lips -and a pair of somber dark eyes. Her expression was sad and aloof. - -She must have recognized the two girls as Americans and known for what -purpose they had just come to the neighborhood. Nevertheless, she -passed by them without speaking, save for a slight inclination of her -head. In spite of her kindness the evening before, assuredly she had no -desire for further acquaintance. - -When she was out of hearing Barbara and Nona gazed at each other like -two forward children. - -Then Barbara took off the small silk cap she was so fond of wearing. - -“I am taking it off to Eugenia, Nona,” she explained. “Thank fortune, I -did not intrude my western personality upon the great lady. I can just -imagine how she would have treated me if I had undertaken to thank her -for her kindness and what she would have thought about American girls -in general. Eugenia put it mildly. Well, as a greater person than I -am once remarked, ‘it takes all kinds of people to make a world.’ And -methinks before this war nursing experience is over we shall have met -a good many varieties. But let us get back to the little blue and gray -farmhouse as soon as possible. Goodness knows, I would rather live -in it than in a tumble-down chateau! Besides, I wish to apologize to -Eugenia.” - -However, the girls had only started on their return journey when some -one came hobbling along behind them. - -It was François and he carried a basket on his arm. - -Nona inquired a shorter way home and the old man explained that as -he was on the way to their house, he would like to be permitted to -accompany them. There was a road that was only half as long as the -route they had taken. - -Naturally the girls were glad enough for the old man’s escort, -especially as he was full of reminiscences of the neighborhood which he -loved dearly to impart. - -In his basket was another offering from the countess. Old François -explained that if she had passed them without seeming to notice their -presence, it was not that she intended being unkind. She was lonely and -depressed. All her kinspeople were at the front as well as her only -son, who was the last to bear the family name. Moreover, they had been -poor before, but now that all their farm people had gone off to the war -and there was no one left to work in the fields, where was a single -franc to come from? Besides, were not the Germans so near the line that -if the worst took place they would overrun the countryside and destroy -the little that was left? - -Finally the girls discovered that the old man and his mistress were -actually the only two persons remaining in the old chateau. When -François was compelled to be away the countess had only her great dog -for protection. - -The picture was a pathetic one and Nona and Barbara felt less aggrieved -by the older woman’s coldness. One could hardly wonder that she did not -care to meet or talk to strangers. - -“But aren’t you afraid to be here on this great place alone, François?” -Nona asked, more to persuade the old man to go on talking than because -she was interested in her question. - -The old peasant shook his head enigmatically. But he was a garrulous -old fellow and immensely pleased with Nona’s ability to speak French. - -“We will be in no danger,” he said, bobbing his head and then shrugging -his old shoulders until all his bent-over body seemed to be moving at -once, “even if the barbarians should devastate our land. If this should -happen the American girls must flee to old François for protection. -They could say what they liked about the Red Cross insuring them from -danger, he knew a better way.” But what the way was François would not -tell, although both girls teased and implored him to confide in them -all the way back to the “House with the Blue Front Door.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII _Nicolete_ - - -For the following week the four girls were too busy to think of -anything save their hospital work and their household responsibilities. - -But one afternoon about four o’clock one of their officer friends -suggested that they pay a visit to the French line of trenches in -their immediate neighborhood. Not the firing line, but the second line -trenches where the reserve soldiers slept, ate, smoked their cigarettes -and even edited a daily paper. - -For some little time there had been a lull in the fighting, so there -could be little danger in such a tour of inspection. Yet if there had -been, the Red Cross girls would have given it scant thought. They were -becoming so accustomed to the conditions of war that even Barbara -Meade confessed herself a little less of a coward. Indeed, they were -beginning to understand why many soldiers take their daily existence so -calmly and cheerfully, until actually they are bored, or homesick, or -both, unless fighting is going on or the prospects of it near. - -Trenches, you probably know, are not arranged in parallel lines, the -one exactly behind the other like long pieces of ribbon. They often -form a series of intricate underground passages, some of them crossing -and recrossing each other, so that in one battle front in France where -there were one hundred and forty miles of trenches there were only -twelve miles directly facing the enemy. - -Naturally the Red Cross girls could only see a very small section of -trench life during one afternoon’s visit. - -“But the briefness of the excursion was the chief thing to recommend -it,” Barbara Meade insisted afterwards, although interested at the time. - -Following their soldier guide, the girls walked through a deep, wide -tunnel with a wooden paving at the bottom, such as one used to see in -old-time village streets. - -Inside the light was dim and gray, broken by shafts of sunlight -filtering down through flimsy roofs of straw and branches of trees, -placed above the openings to conceal the French trenches from the -German air scouts. - -Eugenia and Nona kept together at first with Barbara and Mildred close -behind them. Every few feet of the way, however, one or all four of -them would stop for conversation with the French soldiers. - -Among the men there were several who had made pathetic efforts to turn -their mole-like quarters into semblances of homes. One young fellow had -actually swung a faded photograph of his mother upon a wooden peg which -he had hammered into the earth. So “Ma Mère” had become the mascot of -his trench. Because of her presence, the other soldier declared, not -one German shell had fallen into their ditch. - -Moreover, many good Catholics had iron or wooden crosses suspended -above the small heap of possessions each soldier was allowed to keep in -his trench. These were his knapsack and rifle, sometimes a few papers -and magazines, perhaps a writing pad and pencil and a small roll of -first-aid appliances presented by the French Red Cross Society. - -Of necessity a soldier’s existence inside a trench must be a quiet -one. Many of them are compelled to turn night into day, so they sleep -while the light shines and stay on guard at night when there is always -greater danger of attack. However, as it was late afternoon when the -Red Cross girls made their tour of inspection, it was about the time -the soldiers enjoyed their recreation. Only the sentries appeared to be -doing active duty. Many of the other men were smoking or joking with -one another, some of them were even drinking afternoon tea after the -fashion they had acquired from the English Tommies. - -As the four American girls, preceded by their guide, approached, -walking along through the center of the trench as if they were on a -city street, first the soldiers stared at them with surprise and then -with pleasure. It was an odd sight to see a petticoat in such a place! - -Naturally the soldiers wished to shake hands with their guests, to ask -questions about their wounded comrades, and in many cases to tell them -how they had conquered the difficulties in their underground existence. - -Yet how differently the four girls were affected by the experience! -Barbara Meade felt extraordinarily depressed. Even if the soldiers did -make the best of things, she could not help thinking that many of them -were just young boys who ought to have been whistling and working in -the sunshine, or else studying or playing upon college grounds. - -Mildred also found it difficult to behave as cheerfully as she would -have liked. However, Nona and Eugenia were really too entertained by -what they saw and heard to reflect upon anything save the wonder of the -scene about them. - -The American girls were at present nursing in that portion of France -where the trench system has been known to the outside world as “The -Labyrinth,” so intricate and maze-line are its passageways. - -But it was almost at the end of their journey when Barbara Meade made a -discovery that in some odd fashion made a stronger appeal to her than -any of the wonders they had seen. Their trip had of course been made -through one of the rear trenches at some distance from the German line. -Now they had come to the last ditch they were to be allowed to enter. -It was less deep than the others and sloped gradually to the earth -above. Moreover, the light now shone more distinctly, so that just at -first the girls were a little blinded after the darkness. It was always -perpetual twilight in the deeper trenches until night fell. - -Barbara stood for a moment with her eyelids fluttering and a curiously -intense expression on her face. Then she reached out her hand and -touched Mildred Thornton, who chanced at the instant to be nearest her. - -“I can’t understand,” she whispered. Then without finishing her -sentence she wrinkled up her small nose in an absurd fashion, sniffing -the heavy underground air. - -“I suppose our trip has gone to my head,” she murmured, “but do you -know I thought I just smelt a delicious odor of flowers. Do you suppose -it is because the air here is different?” - -Eugenia also sniffed. “Flowers!” she repeated indignantly, overhearing -the remark. “Really, Barbara, I don’t see how you can manage to be -foolish so many times.” Nevertheless, she slipped her arm inside the -younger girl’s, noticing that she looked pale and tired. - -At this time the officer who had been acting as their escort moved on -ahead with Nona and Mildred following him. - -A second later and Eugenia also stopped, arching her thin nostrils. - -For there standing just in front of Barbara was an unexpected figure. -He was a boy of about nineteen. But instead of having the dark hair and -eyes of most young Frenchmen, he was blond, with pale gold hair, blue -eyes and the faintest down of a future moustache. Moreover, he held -a bunch of old-fashioned flowers in his hand, which he was thrusting -toward the two strange young women. - -“There, I did know what I was talking about, after all!” Barbara -ejaculated faintly to her companion. However, Eugenia had a habit of -paying no attention to one when she chanced to be in the wrong. - -“Thank you,” she remarked graciously to the young soldier as she -accepted his flowers, for Eugenia could be gracious when she chose. -“But do tell how you managed to find a bouquet at such a time and -place?” - -She was speaking her best school French, but in spite of her peculiar -accent the soldier somehow managed to understand. - -“Out of my _own_ garden,” he replied, with a faint lifting of the blond -mustache. - -The young soldier looked like a grown-up baby, Barbara thought, with -his fair curly hair, his pink cheeks and his china-blue eyes. - -“You see there are long hours here in the trenches when we men have so -little to do, one suffers the _grand ennui_,” he explained to Eugenia. -“So my friends and I have made a garden. If you have a minute more to -spare will you come and see?” - -Obediently the two girls followed until the soldier led them to the -opening in the trench that led up to the outside world. Already Nona -and Mildred and the young officer had disappeared. - -But there like a sunken garden about four feet below the earth were two -beds of bright old-fashioned flowers and small stunted evergreens. The -gardeners had left a pathway of earth in the center of the trench, just -as one might in any ordinary garden. - -Barbara rubbed her eyes. She was pretending to be overcome with -surprise, but in reality felt the tears coming. For some reason she -could not explain it struck her as terribly pathetic that the soldiers, -hiding in these trenches for such tragic work, should spend their spare -hours making the dark world beautiful. - -Eugenia was bent upon understanding the situation. - -“Did you actually plant seeds here in such a place and under such -conditions and make them grow?” she demanded. “Whatever made you think -they would blossom?” - -The French soldier smiled. He seemed rather to enjoy the questioning, -since it showed the proper interest and admiration for his work. - -“I brought back the first plant from our garden when I had been at -home on sick leave,” he explained proudly. “Then without thinking -or expecting the flower to live, I thrust my plant into the earth -where there was a little sunlight. Then the _pauvre petite_ grew and -flourished and so I wrote home for others. Later my comrades grew -interested. They brought water for my plants and saved their tobacco -ashes to put around them. Then they too asked that more plants be sent -them. Some we found by the wayside in our walks through the woods. We -have been lucky because no German shell has dared destroy our garden.” - -The young fellow looked so pleased that even Eugenia, who was far less -sentimental than Barbara, felt touched. It might be ridiculous to -spend one’s time tending a garden when there was so much more important -work to be done, but then the French are an artistic and a sentimental -people. One had read of the soldiers in the trenches planting gardens -in their spare hours without really believing it until now. - -But Eugenia was impatient to be gone. The other three girls expected -to return home immediately, but she wished first to pay a short visit -to the field hospital back of the trenches to inquire about one of her -patients. - -However, when once they were safe upon the face of the earth again, -both girls uttered exclamations of surprise. But neither of them -showed the least desire to move away. For there just ahead of them was -a stretch of level green country with about fifty soldiers forming a -circle within it. They were not lounging or talking, but were alert and -interested. They were watching something or someone who must be in the -center of the circle. - -Barbara and Eugenia discovered that Nona and Mildred had joined the -group. They were equally absorbed. Indeed, when the two girls joined -them, Barbara had to stand on tiptoe to find out what was going on. -Neither of her friends paid the slightest attention to her. Indeed, it -was only through the kindness of a soldier who moved aside to make room -for her and Eugenia that they were able to see what was taking place. - -There in the middle of the green space was such an entrancing figure -that Barbara fairly gasped with surprise and pleasure. Eugenia frowned -with a mixture of disapproval and interest. - -A girl of about fifteen or sixteen was dancing for the entertainment of -the soldiers. She was slender, with straight black hair, loose to her -shoulders. On her head was a scarlet cap and she wore a thin blouse and -a short skirt the color of her cap. As she whirled about in her dance -now and then she would snatch the cap from her head. Then the girls -could see that she seemed to bend and sway almost without effort. Her -eyes were large and dark and her lips a bright red, yet in spite of -the exercise of the dance her cheeks remained pale. - -“She is like a poppy dancing in the wind, isn’t she, Eugenia?” Barbara -whispered admiringly. - -Eugenia looked severe. “I must say I cannot approve of such an -exhibition,” she commented. - -For once Barbara agreed. “I don’t _approve_ either, but the girl is -entrancing. I wonder who she is and what her name can be? The soldiers -behave as if she had danced for them before.” - -At this moment Barbara heard a voice at her elbow and turning -discovered the young Frenchman who had presented them the bunch of -flowers. - -His pink cheeks were pinker than ever and his eyes bluer. Once again -Barbara decided that he was a glorified, grown-up baby. He held a -little spray of mignonette in his hand which he tossed toward the -little dancer. - -“She is Nicolete,” he whispered excitedly. “At least that is what I -have chosen to call her. No one knows who she is or where she comes -from, only that she dances for us here nearly every afternoon at this -hour.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII _Who Goes There?_ - - -Eugenia stayed later at the hospital than she expected. The patient she -had left a few hours before was not so well and wished her to be with -him. So she sat holding the boy’s hand and talking to him gently until -he had fallen asleep. It was curious that Eugenia, who was always so -stern with well persons, was wonderfully sympathetic with her patients. -She was firm, of course, but only when she felt it necessary for their -good. For Eugenia was not a “butterfly” nurse, the name that has been -applied to the fashionable society women who have been caring for the -wounded as much for their own entertainment as the soldiers’ good. - -So somehow, in spite of her American French, the boy she had -been tending preferred her to remain by him rather than his own -countrywoman. - -She was very tired when she slipped away. She had come to the field -hospital at eight o’clock in the morning, worked until four, then spent -two hours in the trenches and afterwards another two hours at nursing -again. For it was after eight o’clock when she started for home. - -Naturally no one appreciated that Eugenia was returning alone. Of -course, in war times the Red Cross nurses had grown accustomed to -caring for themselves as well as other persons. Nevertheless, this -evening the circumstances were unusual. Eugenia was a stranger in a -strange land. She had only recently come to this portion of France, -was unfamiliar with the country, which was filled with regiments of -soldiers. Moreover, the night was uncomfortably dark. Had the doctors -or attendants at the field hospital known of her departure, one of them -would have insisted upon accompanying her. - -However, no one is sensible when tired. So for some reason, although a -little nervous at the prospect ahead of her, Eugenia got away without -being seen. She was determined to give no trouble. Of course, if she -had been Barbara, or Nona, or Mildred she would have considered it -fool-hardy, almost wicked, to have attempted walking a mile in the -darkness alone. But with Eugenia Peabody the case was different. No one -had ever thought of looking after her in her life, and surely no one -would begin now. - -The first part of her trip home was along a path through the open -fields. As Eugenia hurried on toward their little adopted home she -began wondering if the girls had missed her at supper time. This was -the pleasantest hour in all their day. Then possibly because she was -weary she decided that they had probably been glad to be relieved of -her presence. For no one of the American Red Cross girls really cared -much for her. Of this Eugenia was convinced. Nona and Mildred both -tried to be kind and Barbara behaved as well as she could, except on -occasions when she felt especially antagonistic. - -Once or twice Eugenia stumbled, not because there were difficulties -in her way but because she was thinking so deeply. What could be the -trouble with her nature? As she was in a mood of severe truthfulness -with herself she realized that no one had ever loved her a great deal -in her entire life. - -Left an orphan when she was a few years old, she could not recall her -mother or father. Of course, her Aunt Rebecca, who had brought her up, -had been reasonably fond of her. But Eugenia was convinced that she had -never been an attractive child. - -Yet why, tonight of all nights, should she fall to thinking of herself? -And why in this darkness and in a foreign land should she have such a -clear vision of the little girl in the old New England town? - -One thing she recalled most distinctly: she must have always looked -old. Strangers used to discuss her and people used always to expect -more from her than from the other children of the same age. Moreover, -she had always been painfully shy and this shyness had colored her -whole life. - -As a child she simply had to pretend to feel superior and to be -serious-minded, because she did not know how to play and laugh like -the others did. Since she had been grown up, and for the same reason, -she had gone on behaving in the same way. - -Often here in Europe with the other Red Cross girls she had wished to -be as gay and nonsensical as they were. Yet she never knew how to relax -into a frivolous mood. - -Once the tears actually started into Eugenia’s dark eyes. She realized -that now and then she had even been jealous of her three companions. -Nona and Barbara were so pretty and charming and Mildred had qualities -finer than these two possessions. Besides, the three girls made her -feel so dreadfully old. This is never an agreeable sensation after -twenty, however much the teens may aspire to appear elderly. Then -Eugenia managed to smile at herself, although it was a kind of twisted -smile. It occurred to her to wonder if she had failed to like Barbara -Meade because it was Barbara who had first suggested that she must be a -great deal older than the rest of them. - -Deliberately Eugenia now began to walk slowly. She did not wish to -arrive at home in her present mood. Having passed through the fields, -she was now on her way through the lane that led through an open woods -directly to the “House with the Blue Front Door.” Dozens of times -Eugenia had made this trip in the daytime, but a country road has a -very different appearance at night. Moreover, the trees made the lane -seem far darker than the path through the open fields. - -It was stupid not to have brought her electric flashlight! However, -nothing had so far disturbed Eugenia’s progress. Not one wayfarer or -soldier out upon leave had she encountered, although the neighborhood -was thickly populated with men and women living on the outskirts of the -entrenchments. - -Eugenia hoped that if she should meet a passerby he might be a soldier. -There were but few of them who would not respect her uniform. However, -she was beginning to forget her previous nervousness, for this lane was -not a frequently traveled one. It merely led past their little house -into the heavier woods beyond, where Barbara and Nona had told of their -discovery of the deserted hut and the pool of Melisande. - -There was no moon and Eugenia was making little noise. She had a -fashion of being able to get about almost soundlessly, a characteristic -she had cultivated in the sick room until she could move almost as -quietly as an Indian. - -Then suddenly she began to feel more sensible and cheerful. Home was no -longer far away and even if no one loved her very devotedly, at least -the girls would have saved supper for her. Food would go a long way -toward dispelling her blues. - -Unconsciously Eugenia was moving more rapidly. She had almost broken -into a run before she became aware of footsteps behind her. Then, -although pausing for about half a second to find out, she could not -decide whether one or half a dozen persons were following her. - -It was most unreasonable of Eugenia. She had no cause for thinking -that the presence of other persons traveling the same lane meant -they were in pursuit of her. But have you ever given way to an attack -of melancholy? Then you know that invariably it leaves your nerves -unstrung and ready for a collapse. - -Certainly Eugenia did not consider herself beautiful or attractive, -yet even in the midst of her self-depreciation she had not thought to -bewail her own lack of judgment. Nevertheless, almost at once after -hearing the steps she started to run. This was, of course, the most -ridiculous thing she could have done. A moment’s thought and she must -have appreciated the fact. These were war times and the suggestion that -one wished to escape a pursuer was in itself a sign of guilt. - -Immediately Eugenia increased her speed, at the same instant the -persons or things behind her gave chase. The next moment a voice rang -out. Something it said in French which held a tone of authority. -However, Eugenia paid it not the slightest attention. Only a quarter of -a mile beyond lay “The House with the Blue Front Door,” so her one idea -now was to reach it. - -“Barbara! Barbara!” Eugenia called faintly, though just why she should -have endeavored to summon the smallest and apparently the most timid of -the Red Cross girls, far be it from Eugenia to understand either then -or afterwards. Fright sometimes makes one do extraordinary things. - -But imagine the stately Eugenia running through the night with her -nurse’s coat forming a kind of sail behind her, her bonnet in her hand -and her heavy hair unbound and falling down her neck, crying out to -Barbara for protection. - -But Barbara herself could not have run faster, for now Eugenia had real -cause for fear. A great something was pounding nearer and nearer her. -The sound it made was scarcely human. Then again a voice shouted a few -words sharply in French. In her terror Eugenia could not comprehend -their meaning. Nevertheless, she must have hesitated for an instant, -for immediately after something struck her on either shoulder. Falling, -she was thus unable to see what had happened, but remained mute with -the horror. The tremendous thing still hovered over her so that she -dared not speak or move. - -Naturally an eternity seemed to have passed over Eugenia. However, it -was only another moment before a light flashed in her face. - -“Sacre cœur!” she heard a voice exclaim. “Une femme!” - -Then the great creature that had pinned her down moved away and Eugenia -felt a hand upon her arm. - -“I beg a thousand pardons,” a voice said in English. “You will never be -able to forgive me. But why did you not halt when I called out to you? -I am a French officer and feared you were a runaway soldier or a thief. -They come now and then to our camp. But that I should allow you to be -struck down by my dog! Monsieur le Duc, I am most bitterly ashamed of -you. You at least should have known better.” - -This last remark was addressed to the dog, in order to gain time and to -help cover the young French officer’s chagrin and confusion. With his -light he had of course discovered that Eugenia was wearing a nurse’s -uniform, which made his act the more unpardonable. Nevertheless, as he -apologized he was struggling to help her to arise. - -By this time Eugenia was more or less herself again and moreover was -exceedingly angry. She was frightened and hurt by her experience, but -more, her dignity was upset as it had never been before. - -Eugenia disdained the French officer’s assistance. Quickly as possible -she got up on her feet, though still unable to speak because of a queer -contraction in her throat and odd shaking of her knees. One glance -she deigned to give at the great beast that had so frightened her. -She could only see the outline of an immense dog, that appeared as -apologetic as the man since his master’s rebuke. But Eugenia would not -look at the young officer. However, it would have done little good, for -she could not have seen him with any distinctness in the darkness. - -Yet Eugenia would have been both amazed and annoyed if she had dreamed -of how clearly the offender could see her. He had managed to turn his -flashlight upon her in such a way that he had a perfect vision of her -without being seen. - -Curiously Eugenia was looking unusually handsome. Her cheeks were -brilliantly flushed and her dark eyes glowing with a mixture of -emotions. Moreover, she had beautiful hair when it was unbound, -although few people realized it after she had twisted it into a tight -rope to adorn her head. - -“I presume your mistake was unintentional,” she remarked in an icy -voice, “but please in future be more careful of the victims of your -mistakes.” - -Surely Eugenia had forgotten that she was speaking to an officer in -the French army, for her tone was that of a severe elder addressing -an erring child. She did not at present know the officer’s rank, age -nor condition of life. But one is by no means sure that any possible -consideration would have influenced Eugenia in her present mood. - -“No, I prefer to find my way home alone,” she continued in answer to -her companion’s humble request to accompany her. - -So Eugenia walked on with her head very high for the rest of the -journey, pretending not to know that the officer and his dog were -keeping at a respectful distance in order to afford her a safe escort. - -This was scarcely necessary “after the pot was in the fire,” Eugenia -thought, recalling an old New England expression. She was no longer -frightened now that she could see the light in their own little French -farmhouse. - -Yet to the surprise and consternation of the three American Red Cross -girls, Eugenia burst into tears the moment Barbara had opened the blue -front door. - - - - -CHAPTER IX _A Conversation_ - - -Eugenia sat in an old oak chair in the farmhouse dining room while -Barbara swept and dusted. - -It was the morning after her experience in the woods and actually she -had confessed to a headache and had decided not to go to the field -hospital for her daily nursing. - -At present the four American girls were on day duty and remained at the -hospital from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, their -places being taken by other nurses at that hour. But each girl had one -day of rest and by chance this happened to be Barbara’s. - -Eugenia had been asleep when Nona and Mildred went away to work and -only in the last half hour had crept downstairs. All her life every -now and then she had been subject to wretched headaches which left her -speechless and exhausted. But so far since coming abroad her three -girl companions had not been aware of them. - -Now every now and then while Barbara worked she glanced toward Eugenia. -It was difficult to recognize the severe and energetic Miss Peabody in -this white-faced, quiet girl. For Eugenia had never since the beginning -of their acquaintance looked so young. For one thing, she was wearing a -beautiful violet cashmere kimono Mildred had presented her during their -stay in Paris. She had never worn it until now. At least the gift had -not come directly from Mildred or Eugenia would never have accepted it. -But Mrs. Thornton had written from New York asking that Mildred’s new -friends receive some little gifts from her, and Mildred had chosen four -kimonos. They were too pretty for nursing use, so the other girls had -been enjoying theirs in the evenings alone at home. - -Eugenia had never consented to relax even to that extent when work was -over and there was no possibility of company. Now, however, her costume -was not of her own choosing, for after Barbara had taken a cup of -coffee to her room and persuaded her into drinking it, she had dressed -her in the new kimono without asking permission. Also she had brushed -and plaited Eugenia’s heavy hair into two long braids. - -“Funny for a New England old maid to be able to look like an Italian -Madonna simply because her hair is down and her head aches,” Barbara -thought to herself after one of her quick glances at Eugenia. - -She made rather a fetching picture herself, but Barbara was at present -entirely unconscious. Simply because it happened to be the most useful -costume she owned for the purpose, she was clad in a French peasant’s -smock of dark-blue linen, and wore a little white cap at a rakish angle -on top of her brown curls. Her hair was now sufficiently long to twist -into a small knot at the nape of her neck, where delicate tendrils were -apt to creep forth like the new growth on a vine. - -Finally Eugenia, opening her eyes and catching sight of Barbara, at -this moment on tip toes in her effort to dust the tall mantel-shelf, -said unexpectedly: - -“You are very pretty, Barbara dear, and just the kind of a little woman -that men are apt to care for. I wonder if you ever think of marrying, -or do you mean to go on nursing all your life? Now and then I have -thought that Dick----” - -But her sentence was interrupted by Barbara’s dropping the candlestick -which she was dusting and then turning to stare at her companion. - -“Why, Eugenia, I thought you were asleep,” she began reproachfully. -Then showing the dimple which she so resented, she added slyly, “But -what on earth made you speak on such a subject? I never dreamed that -you ever had a thought of such a thing in your life.” - -Barbara bit her lips. No wonder Eugenia considered her a goose, for -certainly she seemed possessed of the fatal gift of saying the wrong -thing. - -Eugenia was no longer pale. Indeed, a wave of hot color had turned her -entire face crimson. - -“Am I so unattractive as all that?” she asked slowly, forgetting her -headache for the instant and feeling a return of the mood that had -troubled her the evening before, until the excitement of her adventure -had driven it from her mind. - -“Do you know, Barbara, I was trying to decide just last night what was -the matter with me. Now I know you don’t like me, but I think you are -fair. Tell me why you suppose I have never even thought of love and -marriage and the kind of happiness other girls expect. I’m not so very -old, after all! But you are right in one idea. I never, never have -dreamed of it for myself. For one thing, no one has ever been in love -with me even the least little bit in all my life!” - -In spite of the tactlessness of Barbara’s speech actually Eugenia was -speaking without the least temper, when ordinarily she was given to -showing anger with her companion under the slightest provocation. - -In consequence Barbara felt entirely disgusted with herself, and what -was worse--ridiculously tongue-tied. - -“Oh, I did not mean anything like that,” she stammered. “That is--at -least--why, of course you are as nice as anyone when you let yourself -be, Eugenia. But you do seem cold, as if you considered other people -not exactly worth your attention. And--and----” - -Not feeling that she was making out a very good case for herself, -Barbara put her duster down and came and sat on a wooden stool near the -older girl. - -“I am an idiot, Eugenia,” she insisted scornfully. “No wonder Dick -Thornton always declares I have never grown up. Besides, I don’t -believe you have never had any one in love with you, not even a young -girl-and-boy affair. No girl ever lives to be as old as you are -without----” - -Again Barbara stopped short, biting her lips. - -But Eugenia only shook her head and laughed. “I am the exception that -proves the rule. Besides, my dear, you came from the west and not -New England, and you weren’t, as people have so often said of me, -‘born an old maid.’ But never mind, I won’t ask any more embarrassing -questions.” - -Eugenia tried to speak lightly, half amused and half hurt by the -expression of chagrin on Barbara Meade’s face. - -“By the way,” she added, in an effort to change the subject, “how is -Dick Thornton? I have been meaning to ask you what you have heard from -him.” - -This time the younger girl flushed, but so slightly that Eugenia did -not appear to notice it. - -“I have heard nothing at all,” she returned honestly. “But I don’t -suppose Dick is better, as Mildred and Nona have both had letters and -say there was nothing important in them.” - -Suddenly Barbara took Eugenia’s hand. - -“You have more experience than the rest of us,” she began with unusual -humility. “I wonder if you think Dick has a chance of ever using his -arm again?” - -The other girl hesitated. Certainly she had no right to believe that -Barbara felt more than the natural interest in Dick that they all -had for Mildred’s brother and their own friend. And, as Barbara had -just suggested, Eugenia was not supposed even to think on romantic -subjects. Nevertheless, her voice was unusually gentle as she replied: - -“I don’t really know one thing in the world about it, Barbara, but Dick -is young and has lots of determination and most certainly I have not -given up hope.” - -Eugenia had another twinge of pain in her temples at this second and so -closed her eyes. Although hearing a knock at their back door, she did -not open them even when Barbara left the room. - -A moment later, hearing a strange sound, she was surprised by a sudden -sense of terror, almost of suffocation. Yet surely she must be in a -kind of nightmare brought on by her illness, since the sound suggested -the footsteps which had pursued her the night before and brought on the -same unreasoning fear. - -Clutching the sides of her chair, Eugenia stared ahead of her. - -There in the doorway, leading from the kitchen into the principal room -of the farmhouse, stood an immense dog. It was odd the manner in which -he surveyed Eugenia. There was suspicion, distrust and withal an air -of apology in his manner. - -The dog was a magnificent creature, a great Dane, silver-gray in -color with a heavy silver collar about its throat, engraved with what -appeared to be a coat of arms. - -Ordinarily Eugenia had a strong affection for animals, so it was absurd -of her to be so nervous because of her experience the evening before. -Nevertheless, she felt again that she could neither speak nor move. - -Yet at this moment Barbara danced in, pushing aside the big dog as -fearlessly and unceremoniously as if he had been a Persian kitten. She -held a number of letters in her hands and a big bunch of autumn leaves. -Behind her, with the eternal basket on his arm, hobbled old François, -the French servant from the home of the owner of their farmhouse. - -He looked like a little old brown gnome with his crooked legs, his -stooping shoulders and brown peaked cap almost the color of his skin. - -“François is better than a fairy godmother--he is a fairy godfather!” -Barbara exclaimed delightedly. “He has brought us letters and good news -of all kinds this morning. You are sure to feel better when you hear, -Eugenia. But how did you happen to bring Duke over with you, François? -I thought he was supposed to stay at home and take care of his mistress -when you were compelled to leave her alone.” - -Eugenia listened with only mild attention. Evidently this dog belonged -to the countess upon whose estate they were living. He could scarcely -be the creature that had behaved so unceremoniously with her the night -before. - -But François’ little black eyes were twinkling. “Monsieur le Duc is -able to be with me because Madame is _not_ alone today,” he explained -proudly. - -Eugenia frowned. “What a pompous, ridiculous name to bestow upon a dog, -no matter how splendid he happened to be! But wasn’t there something -familiar in his title? Surely it was the same name that the young -French officer had used to his dog the night before!” - - - - -CHAPTER X _Chateau d’Amélie_ - - -“My dear Eugenia, you might as well confess that you are desperately -interested. If you say anything else we won’t believe you,” Barbara -declared positively. - -Three days afterward, between four and five in the afternoon, the four -American Red Cross girls were leaving the little French farmhouse -together, and evidently with some definite intention. Nevertheless, -the journey could have nothing to do with their nursing, since the -faces and the costumes of three of the girls suggested a gala occasion. -Eugenia, however, having entirely recovered her health and poise, had -returned to her former manner and character. Yet she too was wearing -her best dress, recently purchased in Paris, and was looking sternly -handsome. - -“Then I might as well not answer you at all, Barbara, since you have -made up your mind already what I should reply,” she answered curtly. -Without intending to be ungracious she stalked off in front of the -little procession. - -The other two girls laughed, but Barbara, making a little grimace, ran -on until she was able to catch up with Eugenia. She was beginning to -think now and then that the older girl’s manner was more severe than -her emotions. Now she gave her arm a little shake. - -“Don’t be so superior, Miss Peabody from Boston! You must make -your confession along with the rest of us. So tell me the honest -truth--‘hope I may-die-if-I-don’t’ kind--aren’t you terribly pleased -that the Countess, whose guests we have been for some time, has -condescended to be willing to meet us and has asked us to have coffee -with her this afternoon at her chateau?” - -Still Eugenia demurred. “Oh, I presume it will be a novel experience. -Nevertheless, I don’t think we show proper pride in accepting an -invitation before the Countess has called upon us. It isn’t the way we -do such things at home. If it comes to a question of family, of course -I am an American, but the Peabodys of Boston----” - -Barbara’s laughter rang out deliciously. She was in the gayest -possible humor and suggested a little woodland creature in her brown -cloth suit and hat with a single scarlet wing. What had become of the -serious-minded young American woman devoting her life to the care of -the wounded? - -“But it isn’t a question of family, Eugenia, or how should I dare live -and breathe in the same world with you, any more than with a French -countess?” she protested. “But please remember that we have accepted -a great deal more from this same Countess than a simple invitation to -spend an hour with her. We are living in _her_ house, we have been -eating a goodly portion of her food. Oh, I know this is because we -are in France to nurse the soldiers she adores! Still, I can’t see -that this cancels our obligations. Besides, she is a much older woman -and----” - -Eugenia put her one disengaged hand up to her ear. - -“I surrender, Barbara, in all meekness! But really, it is not necessary -to produce so many arguments for doing a thing you are simply crazy -to do. You merely wish to gratify your curiosity. You know, I don’t -believe that we should be engaging in frivolous pursuits like paying -visits upon strangers, when we are here in Europe for such serious -purposes. Still, I don’t suppose that an occasional break really -interferes with our work.” - -“Certainly not,” Barbara finished with emphasis. Then she skipped along -beside her taller companion like a small girl endeavoring to keep up -with a large one. “Besides, Eugenia, think of how wonderful the news -is! The Germans are actually retiring of their own accord! There hasn’t -been any fighting in our neighborhood for over a week now. No wonder -the Countess Amélie feels like having guests at last. François says -that she has not been so cheerful since the war began. I don’t know -how you feel, Eugenia, but Mildred and Nona and I think it a wonderful -experience to see the inside of an old French home which was in -existence long before the French Revolutionary days. It seems that this -Countess has never even gone to Paris, nor visited anyone except her -old family friends who are also members of the nobility. She won’t even -acknowledge that France is today a great Republic. She still tries to -live like the _grande dames_ of the days before the Revolution.” - -Eugenia fairly sniffed. Also she held her shoulders straighter and her -head higher. - -“Then she must be a very absurd old woman and I am more than ever sure -that I shall not like her. The idea of not realizing that a republic is -the only just form of government in the world! I wouldn’t be anything -except an American----” - -Once more Barbara smiled, patting the older girl’s arm soothingly. - -“Of course you wouldn’t, my dear, and neither would any of the rest of -us, except perhaps Nona. She is really an old-time aristocrat, although -she would rather perish than think so. But just the same I don’t see -why one should not be interested in contrasts in this life! What could -be greater than the gulf between this old French aristocrat and us?” - -“What indeed?” answered Eugenia, more wisely than she then knew. - -For at this moment the interest which the four girls had been feeling -in their new hostess temporarily died away. - -According to Nona’s and Barbara’s suggestion, and in spite of the -distance, they were approaching the chateau through the woods, which -the two girls had visited the day after their arrival in this portion -of southern France. - -November had come, but the autumn was so far deliciously warm. -Difficult it was to imagine a world at war on this afternoon and in -this particular forest! For, by some freak of fortune, this woodland -had so far escaped the ravages of the German shells. Over it and around -it they had ploughed their devastating way. But until now the birds -prepared their winter nests here undisturbed in the tall trees, and the -pool of Melisande remained unbroken save by its own ripples. - -Again the girls walked more quietly along the path under the trees than -in the open country. They were thinking perhaps of different things, -while their eyes were absorbed in the loveliness about them. For after -months of nursing, sometimes amid horrors and suffering one could not -afterwards discuss, it was healing to both soul and body to inhale the -sweetness of the earth and air. - -Southern France was unlike the land lying to the north and close to the -Belgian frontier, where the Red Cross girls had for some months past -been nursing the British soldiers. That was an orchard and a vineyard -country, this a land of forest and of golden grain fields. Many of the -trees were pine and cedar, yet there were occasional maples and elms, -and here and there a chestnut. - -A small branch of scarlet and yellow leaves dropped near Eugenia’s -feet. It was a far call to her New England home, yet somehow the color -and the atmosphere of the woods awakened home memories. Unconsciously -Eugenia stopped and thrust the bunch of leaves inside her belt. -Against the blue of her costume they shone like flame, making her eyes -and hair show darker by contrast and bringing a brighter tone to her -clear but pale skin. - -Noticing the attractive effect of the careless decoration, the three -other girls were far too wise to mention the fact to Eugenia, or -assuredly the leaves would again have been trampled under foot. - -However, they had other interests more engrossing to absorb them. - -Barbara and Nona led a short detour for a sight of the old hut that -had interested them on their previous walk. But Mildred and Eugenia -were both a little scornful of the story that this was a hermit’s -hut, uninhabited for a number of years. This afternoon it was so -self-evident that some one was now living in it that Eugenia hurried -the others away. No one could be seen at the moment, but there was a -pile of fresh ashes in front of the house, a stack of freshly gathered -wood and chips by the tumbled-down door, and a scarlet cap caught in -the top of a tall bush. - -Moreover, because it was growing late and their invitation was for -five o’clock, Eugenia could not be persuaded to linger by the tiny -lake which Nona had christened by the poetic title of the “Pool of -Melisande.” The pool one might visit on another afternoon, but perhaps -there might never come a like opportunity from the Countess. - -Indeed, as the four girls finally approached the ancient stone -house never would they have confessed to one another how nervous -they were feeling over the next hour. Nona Davis was perhaps least -self-conscious. Life in the southern part of the United States among -a few conservative old families is not unlike that of the almost -forgotten nobility of old France. - -The path to the Chateau d’Amélie, whose title came down from the first -countess of the name, was as overgrown with weeds as any deserted -farmhouse. Yet who would look down at their feet when trees more than a -hundred years old stood guard along the avenue leading to the ancient -portico? And in crossing a rickety bridge could one think of the loose -planks, knowing that the muddy water that flowed under it was once the -moat that surrounded the feudal palace? - -Nevertheless, Barbara had to stifle a laugh when at length François -opened the iron-bound wooden door admitting them to the chateau. For -instead of his peasant’s blouse and peaked cap, this afternoon François -wore a livery which must have been handed down to him by a majordomo -at least twice his size. His small, bent-over form was almost lost in -the large trousers, while the tails of the long coat with its tarnished -gold lace hung down past his knees. - -Moreover, François’ manner was equally changed. Gone was the friendly -light in his little dark eyes, the protecting, almost patronizing -manner which he had grown accustomed to using in his devoted service -to the American Red Cross girls. This old Frenchman had his nation’s -gift of feeling the part he was called upon by fate to play. Today old -François felt himself a servant of the days of the great Louis XIV. -Apparently he had never seen his lady’s guests before. - -Hobbling along, François conducted the visitors toward the drawing -room through a cold, gray stone hall. There was no furniture to be -seen except two tall, carved chairs and an enormous shield, hanging -suspended from the wall. - -Inside the drawing room, however, there was a kind of shabby splendor, -very interesting to the four American girls, no one of whom had seen -anything like it. - -On the floor was a great rug of tapestry showing nymphs and dolphins -carrying wreaths of fruit and flowers woven into the design. The blue -and rose and brown of the colors had so faded that they were lovelier -than any artist’s palette could have painted them. - -The four girls sat down in chairs covered with tapestry of the same -kind, which they guessed must be almost priceless in value. But there -were only a few other articles of furniture in the room--a beautiful -old cabinet, a mahogany table inlaid with brass, a Louis XIV sofa, -while on the walls were not more than half a dozen pictures by French -masters. Nevertheless, the room was complete in beauty and elegance. -So the American girls did not dream that once it had been crowded with -rare treasures, sold one by one to meet the family necessities. - -However, there were only a few minutes in which the guests could make -a study of their surroundings. Very soon their hostess entered with -old François bowing before her as if she had been an empress. She was -accompanied by a young man in the uniform of a French officer. - -The Countess Amélie wore a dress of black silk and on her head a cap of -lace with the Marie Antoinette point in front. Her hair was exquisitely -white and her eyes dark. In spite of the natural coldness and hauteur -of her expression she was evidently trying to appear friendly. - -Her four guests bowed gravely as she shook hands with them, welcoming -them to her home. However, it must be confessed that Eugenia’s bow was -even more stiff than her hostess’s. - -Also Eugenia frowned, while the other three girls smiled. For the young -officer, whom the Countess Amélie afterwards introduced as her son, was -Captain Henri Castaigne, whom they had met through Lieutenant Hume in -Paris, and upon whom they had seen bestowed the Cross of the Legion of -Honor. - - - - -CHAPTER XI _The Prejudice Deepens_ - - -“Then you knew we were here?” Nona questioned half shyly. - -Nona and Barbara were seated on a wide window seat with Captain -Castaigne beside them. A little further on Eugenia, in a carved, -high-back chair, was watching the group but taking little part in the -conversation. Mildred and the Countess Amélie were on the opposite side -of the great room, still having their coffee and chatting amiably, -though in not an animated fashion. For the Countess would have scorned -to speak any language but her beloved French, and while Mildred’s -French was good it was not very rapid. Nevertheless, her manners were -undeniably sweet and unaffected and the Countess plainly approved of -her more than any one of the other girls. - -Captain Castaigne smiled at Nona. - -“Well, I had my suspicions,” he answered, with the faintest gleam -of amusement in his dark eyes. “Moreover, I received a letter from -Lieutenant Hume telling me that four American Red Cross girls had -disappeared from Paris and were nursing somewhere in southern France.” -The young officer bowed his head with a pretense of penitence. “Also -I must confess that I have asked a few questions of old François. You -see, I have only recently been transferred to a regiment near my own -home, else I should have prayed for the privilege of calling upon you. -But not having seen any one of you until this afternoon, I could not be -sure my surmise was correct.” - -In her throne-like chair Eugenia’s shoulders assumed a straighter pose, -while her face turned unexpectedly scarlet. - -“Are you entirely convinced you have seen _no one_ of us since our -meeting in Paris?” she inquired so suddenly and in such a peculiar -tone, even for Eugenia, that Nona and Barbara turned to glance toward -her in surprise. - -Not having spoken in the past ten minutes, her eyes were now fixed upon -the young French officer with an expression which Barbara Meade at -least recognized. It plainly expressed disapproval. - -Nevertheless, there was no reason why Captain Castaigne should -instantly become embarrassed. Up to this time he had been a delightful -host, gracious and gay. Certainly his manners were not like those -of an American or an Englishman, but Nona and Barbara instinctively -understood that his fashion of paying pretty compliments and his -somewhat devoted air as he talked to one, were simply characteristics -of a foreigner. - -Now, however, he blushed and stammered like a school-boy. With -Eugenia’s gaze upon him he crimsoned and cast down his eyes. - -“If I _have_ seen one of you before I am sure I have not recognized -you,” he returned with unnecessary humility. “I have been at work with -my soldiers most of the time since receiving my new command. I only -return to the chateau occasionally to see my mother.” - -Eugenia’s nostrils arched slightly in a way she had when angry. - -“Do you usually pay these visits in the daytime or in the evening?” she -questioned, with what seemed to the other two girls rather too much -curiosity. For these were war times when one was not supposed to ask -questions that were not absolutely necessary. - -Still the young officer showed no resentment. - -“I have no regular hour, Mademoiselle. Whenever I can be spared I -desire to be with my mother. There are only the two of us and we have -been much separated. First there were the years devoted to my training -as a soldier and since has come the cruel fortune of war.” - -From the opposite side of the room the Countess Amélie must at this -moment have guessed that her son was speaking of her. She looked toward -him with such a combination of pride and devotion that it was almost -touching. Her whole face softened. - -But Eugenia did not observe her. - -“I am not so sure we have not met each other in this neighborhood quite -recently,” she continued with extraordinary coldness. Nona and Barbara -became more and more surprised. For although Eugenia was not cordial -with strangers, she was usually civil. Vainly they were searching -their minds for some remark with which to turn the current of the -conversation when Eugenia went on: - -“I was on my way home to our little farmhouse the other evening, after -nursing at the field hospital until quite late. I met some one, an -officer, I think. It was then too dark for me to see his face, but I -have been wondering ever since----” - -At this moment Eugenia’s speech was interrupted, but not by one of her -companions. For the heavy door of the drawing room was pushed slowly -open and a great dog walked majestically into the room. - -He paused for an instant to gaze at his mistress. Then receiving her -silent permission, he started a pilgrimage about the room. - -Nona shrank behind the smaller Barbara, for in spite of her usual -bravery she had a nervous fear of dogs. However, this great Dane was -not to be feared by guests inside his own domain. As he padded from -one visitor to the other it was plain that he was greeting each one of -them in turn. Mildred came first and was allowed to lay her hand on his -head, then Nona and Barbara. Afterwards the dog moved toward Eugenia. -Within a few feet of her he paused, his ears and tail visibly drooping, -and turned imploring eyes upon his young master. - -Whatever the signal that passed between them, the next moment the -splendid creature sank down at Eugenia’s feet, burying his head between -his forepaws. His whole attitude indicated a prayer for pardon. - -Immediately after Captain Castaigne got up and walked over toward -Eugenia. He stood silent for half a moment, evidently hoping that she -might relax from her severity. - -Never in his life had he met such an extraordinary and difficult young -woman! As he had been under the same impression five minutes after -their introduction in Paris, why should Fate be so unkind as to cause -them to see each other again? And then to place him in such an awkward -position as he now found himself! - -“I owe you ten thousand pardons, Mademoiselle. Ah, more than that, for -I consider my own act unpardonable!” he exclaimed. “Until you spoke I -had been hoping that I might be mistaken, and that it was _not_ you -whom I caused to suffer the other evening.” - -The young Frenchman cast his eyes imploringly toward Eugenia, clasping -his hands together in a dramatic fashion. - -If only Eugenia had been able to smile at this moment, how much simpler -the future would have been! But remember, Eugenia had a Puritan -conscience, and a Puritan conscience often exacts its pound of flesh in -payment for sins from other people as well as from itself. Moreover, -Eugenia disliked Captain Castaigne’s manners and appearance intensely. -To her he appeared theatrical and insincere. A simple, straightforward -American apology she believed she would have accepted at once. But this -young aristocrat with his too perfect features and physique must suffer -for his offense. No doubt the other girls would have forgiven him. -He looked like the type of man most women would deal gently with, so -Eugenia felt it would undoubtedly be good for him to be snubbed by her. - -As she now stared severely at the young Frenchman in answer to his -pleading, she looked like all the Pilgrim fathers’ portraits that hang -on old New England family walls melted together into one face. Of -course, he did not understand her in the least. Lieutenant Hume had -explained that the Miss Peabody he had met in Paris was an old maid -from Boston. But this conveyed nothing to Captain Castaigne’s mind. Old -maids in France were not in the least like this young woman and he had -a very vague idea of where Boston was and of what the city could be -like. However, he did know that he had offended against a Frenchman’s -and an officer’s code of manners and was therefore willing to make any -possible apology. - -“You will understand that not only did I not know you: I did not -realize that you were a woman or I should never have sent my dog to -interrupt you. Why, why did you not halt when I called out to you? If -only you had given one little sign, made the least sound! I thought I -should have fainted when I beheld a figure upon the ground and in the -uniform of a Red Cross nurse, the uniform I respect most in all the -world.” - -There could be no doubt of Captain Castaigne’s sincerity at this -moment. Nona and Barbara, who were listening with intense interest to -his plea, were deeply moved by the tribute he thus paid the Red Cross -work. But if Eugenia felt this she did not reveal it. - -“I prefer not to discuss the accident,” she returned, rising from her -chair and preparing to leave. “Certainly I realize that you would not -have desired to injure me personally had you known I was a Red Cross -nurse. But I cannot see that you are justified in sending that great -beast of a dog to attack wayfarers, simply because you do not chance to -know who they are.” - -Barbara and Nona had also gotten up intending to withdraw with their -friend. Actually at this moment Barbara had the temerity to giggle, -although no one but Nona was aware of it. It was so absurd to hear -Eugenia lecturing a French officer with regard to his duties and -privileges. It was even funnier to see the spirit in which he accepted -his snubbing! - -“But, Mademoiselle,” he continued, shrugging his slender shoulders, -decorated with the gold braid of his rank, “surely you must appreciate -that in these war times we have many dangerous visitors to our -entrenchments. One cannot permit a wanderer to remain at large who -refuses to give an account of himself? Besides, my dog would have -injured no one. He had his orders merely to hold the prisoner until I -could reach him.” - -Captain Castaigne laid his boyish hand on the head of the great -dog, who at once rose up clumsily and stood beside him. “Some day, -Mademoiselle, I shall pray that my dog and I may do you a service to -atone for our mistake. To many a wounded soldier Le Duc has brought -aid on the battlefield. In any case the offense was mine, while his -only that of obedience to a stupid master. Say at least that you -forgive my dog?” - -The young officer spoke so winningly that even Eugenia was compelled to -relent slightly. However, she still retained an uncomfortable vision -of herself, face downward upon the ground with this young Captain -Castaigne holding the light above her and gazing down on her prostrate -form. - -Nevertheless, she accepted the large paw that Duke stretched forth -to her. As the eyes of Eugenia and the dog met, the ghost of an -understanding passed between them. - -The next instant, after saying farewell to their hostess, she departed, -the other three Red Cross girls following her. - -“What a very objectionable young woman,” the Countess Amélie remarked -to her son in French, when speaking of their guests a short time -afterwards. The young officer did not inquire which one of the four -girls she meant. - - - - -CHAPTER XII _Not Peace But War_ - - -Later that same evening the girls were seated in their living room at -the farmhouse. It was almost bed time, so heavy curtains had been drawn -across their small windows, shutting out all possible vision of the -outside world. - -But wearing their four new kimonos the girls were grouped in -characteristic attitudes about a small fireplace on the right side of -the room. - -Suddenly, after a warm afternoon, a November rain had fallen, bringing -with it cold and dampness. So, although a fire in France is regarded -as a great luxury, the American girls felt compelled to have one. It -was not of the generous kind to which they were accustomed at home, but -was built of carefully hoarded sticks and pine cones old François had -brought them from time to time as valuable gifts. Therefore, the girls -were huddled closer to the fire and to one another than under ordinary -circumstances. - -Just at present, however, there was no talking going on, which was -most unusual, since Nona and Barbara were especially addicted to this -feminine habit, while neither Eugenia nor Mildred were extraordinarily -silent. However, at the moment both Mildred and Nona were writing -letters, while Barbara was reading a queer, old-fashioned book she had -discovered stored away in the attic of their little farmhouse. It was, -of course, written in French, and she was supposed to be improving her -vocabulary. But the French was so peculiar that now and then she was -forced to stop to consult a dictionary. - -Eugenia was also reading, although her literature was of a more serious -character. She was studying a series of reports the Red Cross societies -of Europe had recently issued. The papers offered important information -and advice to the Red Cross nurses, and Eugenia was too deeply -interested in her profession to neglect any chance for improvement. - -She and Mildred were at a small table by the fire with the lamp between -them, while Nona and Barbara were mounted upon sofa cushions, which -they had placed on the bare floor. - -By and by Barbara glanced up at the alarm clock on the mantelpiece. -It was standing side by side with a tall French clock of silver gilt -that must once have been a bridal offering. However, the French clock -had these long years been silent, while tonight the plebeian American -timepiece ticked resolutely on. - -Seeing the hour, Barbara yawned, closed her book and then, clasping her -hands over her knees, began rocking slowly back and forth. - -No one at first paid the least attention to her. - -“It is nearly bed time,” she announced finally, “and I do wish -everybody would stop what they are doing and let us talk for a while. -Somehow tonight I feel as if we were four girls away at a foreign -boarding school, instead of four young women intent upon caring for the -wounded. How wonderful if by chance we were nearing the end of this -impossible war!” - -After this there was another instant’s silence, though each girl was -keenly aware of Barbara’s last speech. Nona looked up toward the little -wooden crucifix, belonging to the owners of the farmhouse, which had -been left in its honored place upon the wall. Her lips said nothing, -but the appeal of her spirit went deeper than words. Mildred’s eyes -suddenly blurred with tears. She had been writing to her father, -whom she adored, and all at once the time seemed endless since their -farewell. But Eugenia merely put down her papers and sat watching the -younger girl on the floor. - -Except for the fall of the rain the night was very still. There was no -thunder and lightning and no wind. - -Perhaps it was because of what she had just been reading, or the -discomfort of her visit earlier in the afternoon, but Eugenia was -feeling curiously unstrung. Somehow Barbara’s innocent remark disturbed -her. - -“I don’t think there is any chance of the war’s being over for many a -long day, Barbara,” she returned curtly. “Just because we have been -having a lull in the fighting lately you must not feel that work is -over. That is, not unless you want to go home. I often think that best -for all of you three young girls. If you can feel like a boarding -school miss, Bab, certainly you are an infant. But it is good of you to -include me among the pupils in view of what you really think about my -age.” - -Barbara laughed, although a little surprised and touched by a portion -of the other girl’s speech. For had not Eugenia called her Bab and laid -her strong, fine hand on her hair? Barbara rather liked the feeling -of Eugenia’s fingers. They were firm and yet gentle tonight. Always -Barbara knew that they were singularly handsome hands, and more than -that, they were hands revealing unusual ability. They were not small, -but slender and long, with beautiful almond-shaped nails and a curious, -vibrant quality at the finger tips. - -Barbara took one of them in her own and studied it curiously. - -“You have wonderful nursing hands, Eugenia. One feels as if they could -take away pain and almost bring people back to life. Of course, I know -you are right about the war. It isn’t over just because of the heavenly -quiet we have been having lately in this neighborhood. But do let us be -frivolous while we can. Mildred, you have finished your letter, haven’t -you? Nona, when will you ever be through? To whom on earth are you -writing that you can have so much to say? Whoever he or she is I wish -could see you. You look like a Fra Angelico angel in that flowing blue -robe tonight.” - -Just long enough to blow a kiss Nona looked up. “Oh, I am writing -to Dick Thornton,” she explained casually. “I had a letter from him -the other day asking me to tell him just what we were doing. He said -Mildred would never tell him half enough.” - -A strange little lump mysteriously caught in Barbara’s throat. Dick had -not yet written her and she had thought they were as intimate friends -as he and Nona. Then the smile that was characteristic of her ability -to see things truthfully hovered around her lips. After all, did she -really desire Dick Thornton to behold Nona tonight? Never had she seen -her looking prettier! She had on a blue crêpe wrapper the color of the -Italian sky, her pale yellow hair was unbound and hanging in a single -long curl down her back. Moreover, the fire had flushed her cheeks and -made her dark eyes shine. - -Then noticing that Eugenia’s eyes were studying her gravely, Barbara -shook her head and laughed. - -“I have a perfectly delicious piece of gossip to confide, if you will -all listen. If you don’t I’m going to bed this minute.” - -Nona sealed her letter. - -“What on earth are you talking about, Barbara?” she demanded. “How can -you have heard any more gossip than the rest of us? You can’t have -found a lost will or a lost romance in that old book you dug out of the -attic.” - -Having at last gained the desired attention of her audience, the -youngest of the four Red Cross girls was not disposed to hurry. - -“Well, no, not exactly,” she hedged. “And yet I have been amusing -myself fitting the two stories together. Remember the young girl we saw -dancing for the soldiers the other afternoon?” - -“Goodness, yes,” Eugenia replied. “But what a surprising person you -are, Barbara. She is about the last person in the world I would have -guessed you had in mind. What on earth made you think of her again?” - -Holding up three fingers, Barbara counted them out slowly. “One, two, -three things made me think of her. Now listen to me attentively, for -‘hereby hangs a tale.’ And perhaps if we exercise enough imagination we -can turn it into the oldest romance of the Troubadours, those poets of -old Provence whose names stand high in the records of song and story. -Remember the tale of ‘Aucassin and Nicolete’ is over seven hundred -years old! We may have to make a few changes to fit it into modern -times.” - -Mildred Thornton made no effort to stifle her yawn. - -“Oh, goodness gracious, do go on and get to your story or I shall -retire to bed. At least I remember that the blond young soldier told -you the little dancing girl’s name was Nicolete. It was odd for you to -come across the poem so unexpectedly tonight. I read it long ago in my -literature class at school. But where, please, is ‘Aucassin,’ the hero -of your tale, and where, for that matter, is Nicolete? You told me that -she was supposed to disappear after her dance and no one knew what had -become of her,” Mildred protested. - -Barbara turned appealingly to Eugenia. “Do make Mildred hush and not -take the fine flavor from my romance,” she begged. “The young soldier -may not have known where the young dancing girl lives, but I do. -Indeed, we all passed her home this afternoon. Didn’t you see a little -scarlet cap on the bayberry bush outside the old hut in the woods? -Well, Nicolete has been living there recently, with an old grandmother, -or an old woman of some kind. She is the adopted daughter of some -mysterious person, I am told. You recall that Nicolete was a slave -girl owned by a viscount?” - -Eugenia got up slowly out of her chair. - -“I don’t mean to be rude, child, but really I have to attend to some -things before I go to bed and your story seems rather far fetched. Tell -us who Nicolete’s adoring lover is and wait until tomorrow for the -rest.” - -Barbara shrugged her shoulders petulantly. - -“Of all the disagreeable audiences this is the worst!” she asserted. “I -thought maybe you might be interested in something except horrors. The -story is that this little gypsy girl is really very much in love with -Captain Castaigne, whom we saw this afternoon. That is, she may not be -exactly in love with him, but the soldiers think she is. His mother is -terribly angry, because, of course, they belong to one of the oldest -families in France while she is ‘Poor Little Miss Nobody of Nowhere.’ -Then another romantic point is that the little blond soldier who gave -us the flowers is enamored of Nicolete. Monsieur Bebé is what the -other soldiers call him, so I wasn’t so far wrong in thinking he looked -like a baby.” - -Barbara did not observe that Eugenia was frowning majestically and that -Mildred Thornton looked rather bored. - -Nona, however, was smiling good-humoredly. - -“Hurry up and finish, Barbara. Is Captain Castaigne pining away for the -fair Nicolete, refusing to be a knight or to bear arms for his country? -I thought he was supposed to be an extraordinary young officer,” Nona -questioned. - -Undoubtedly Barbara was crestfallen. - -“I suppose that is the weakest part of the story,” she confessed. “I -don’t know whether Captain Castaigne cares for this particular Nicolete -in the least. He does not care for anything but his beloved country, I -believe. But if you won’t be interested in my romance, please listen to -the first part of my poem,” Barbara begged, picking up her discarded -book. “There is a translation here of the first verse: - - “Who would list in right good verse - Tale of grief full sad to hear, - Of two children young and fair, - Nicolete and Aucassin; - Of the woes he had to bear - And the doughty deeds to dare - For his love with face so clear? - Sweet the song, the fable rare, - Courtly and well served the fare; - No man is so full of care, - None so wretched, none so bare, - So o’erdriven by despair - But the hearing will repair, - Give him jollity to spare, - So rich the tale.” - -As she finished the verse Eugenia reached down and taking hold of -Barbara lifted her to her feet. - -“You are perfectly absurd with your little love tale, dear, and I don’t -see the least point in it. Still, it has been nice and restful to have -had a quiet evening like this. Perhaps it is better for us to forget -the tragedies about us now and then. Besides, I expect I need more -education in romance. But go upstairs to bed, all of you at once. I’ll -close up the house for the night.” - -Eugenia shooed the three girls away as if they had been chickens and -she a guardian hen. But after they left her she did not start upon her -task at once. Instead she stood with her hands clasped looking down -into the fire. - -Outside the rain must have ceased for she no longer heard the noise of -it. Indeed, the world seemed strangely quiet to ears accustomed to the -cannonading she had heard so often in the past months. - -But she was not thinking of this at the present moment, but of her -visit to the chateau earlier in the afternoon. The call had not been -an agreeable one, for she had never felt more ill at ease. However, -Eugenia made up her mind that she would never accept an invitation -there again. She might then escape meeting either the Countess or her -son. And with this thought in mind she stopped to put out the last -flickering flames of the fire. - -There she remained crouched in the same position for five minutes, -while upstairs in their bedrooms the other three American Red Cross -girls were almost equally inanimate. For after the quiet of the night -their ears and hearts were suddenly stunned by a burst of terrific -artillery firing. It was as if all the heavy guns of all the armies in -Europe were concentrated upon this particular quarter in France. - -By and by Eugenia rose up wearily with her face whiter and older than -it had been for some time. - -“I am afraid the Germans have not retreated of their own accord,” she -said, unconsciously speaking aloud. “We may have some hard days ahead -of us. But if they do manage to force the French line of trenches and -reach us, I shall not care so much if only the other girls can get -away. It will not so much matter with a woman as old as I am, and I -shall be glad to be useful.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII _Danger_ - - -All night the bombardment continued. Now and then the girls slept, but -more often they lay awake, wondering just where the fighting could be -taking place and if the field hospital could be in danger. - -But at daylight the noise grew less and three of the girls fell into -deeper slumber than they had known since saying good-night to one -another. - -But Eugenia did not wish to sleep again. Very quietly she got up and -went about their little house hiding away their stores of provisions. -Then she locked up odd windows and doors that might by chance be -forgotten. Afterwards she investigated her own bag of nursing supplies -and saw that everything that might be needed for emergency work was -there. - -Although it was still between five and six o’clock, Eugenia next made -things ready for breakfast and then went upstairs and waked the other -girls. Well she knew that their services would be needed earlier than -usual that morning! The night’s fighting meant many more wounded, who -would be brought to them for succor as soon as possible. - -Therefore, once they were up and dressed, the girls naturally wished to -be off to their work at once. Yet against their wills Eugenia insisted -that they eat unusually large breakfasts. She even packed a basket of -food for them to take to the hospital, although their noonday meal was -always given them there. - -However, nothing was said at breakfast about her proceedings, but -later Barbara followed Eugenia about their little house, regarding her -suspiciously. - -Desultory firing was still going on; occasionally one could hear the -cracking of a score of rifles or the shriek of a bursting shell. But -this had become a common experience in the past nine months to the -American Red Cross girls and would hardly explain Eugenia’s unusually -serious view of the situation. - -Finally Barbara managed to corner the older girl in the kitchen, where -she laid her hand quietly on her arm. - -“Tell me, Eugenia, please, have you any special reason for believing -that the fighting is to be more serious in this neighborhood than any -we have yet seen? Have the soldiers or officers told you to expect -unusual trouble? Tell me the truth. I would rather know, and I think -I can promise not to be such a coward as I was when our war nursing -started.” - -For a moment Eugenia hesitated. Her face was serious but not severe -this morning and the two expressions were very unlike. - -“I am going to tell you exactly the truth, Barbara, when I say that no -one has given me information of any kind. I have only heard, just as -you have, that after months of fighting in this locality the Germans -evacuated their trenches and moved back of the line of their own -accord. But the truth is, I have been feeling horribly uneasy ever -since I became aware of the impression this had made on the French army -near here. I have always feared it was a piece of clever strategy on -the part of the Germans to gain time and perhaps to bring up more guns. -And all last night, while the cannonading was going on, after weeks -of comparative quiet, I became more and more convinced of my idea. Of -course, it may be absurd, but just the same I have the feeling that we -ought to be prepared for perhaps the most strenuous times of our lives.” - -Suddenly Eugenia placed her hands on either side Barbara’s cheeks, -which had grown round and rosy as a child’s again, with the weeks of -outdoor life and the easier work. - -“I want you to promise me something, Barbara; promise for yourself -and if you can to use your influence with the other girls. If by -chance the enemy should conquer this part of France and our field -hospital be forced to move further back, you will go back with them. -But if anything should happen to make this impossible, go to the -Countess Amélie and remain with her. She is a stranger, but she is an -older woman and I’d feel ever so much happier to have you under her -protection.” - -Trying her best to show no signs of uneasiness at Eugenia’s speech, -nevertheless Barbara Meade’s face unconsciously whitened and her blue -eyes grew dark. - -“That is a rather impossible promise,” she returned, smiling, although -her voice was not quite steady. “Of course, I am not convinced that -you are right in your fears in the first place, but if you should -be, why are you asking me to influence the other girls to leave this -neighborhood? You have a great deal more influence that I have. Do you -mean that you don’t intend to go with us?” - -At this the older girl walked across the room and stood for a moment -by the one window which looked out upon the woods. If she had wished -to reply at once it would have been impossible. For at this instant a -tremendous shell exploded at no great distance away, shaking the little -house and making a noise that was almost deafening. - -Yet neither girl mentioned the occurrence to the other. - -When it was over Eugenia turned quietly around. - -“I expect to remain here if I find I can be more useful. But after all, -I may be talking like a foolish old crow croaking over misfortunes that -never come. Goodness knows, the French have repelled numbers of attacks -before! Even if the Germans have reinforcements they will probably -drive them back. I only wanted us to be prepared to meet the worst. But -I’m dreadfully sorry if I have frightened you unnecessarily, so perhaps -it will be best not to speak of my foolishness to the other girls. Now -let’s hurry and be off.” - -But Barbara would not be hurried, neither would she be silenced. - -She sat down for a moment on the top of a high wooden stool, her feet -swinging in the air, looking like a little girl of fourteen, in spite -of the fact that she wore her nurse’s cap and uniform. - -“I think you forget that we are Red Cross nurses,” Barbara argued -thoughtfully, talking not so much to her companion as to herself. “So -even if the Germans do take the trenches in this vicinity and occupy -the French country, we shall be perfectly safe. Our Red Cross badges -are our protection.” - -The older girl put her arm across the younger one’s shoulder, not -affectionately, but protectingly. - -“More than probably you are right, Barbara. But somehow I’d feel -happier not to have you girls too near here. Many of the houses may -be burned and the German soldiers excited by their triumph. It would -be the same in any conquered country, I have no doubt. I do not mean -that I think the German soldiers more brutal than other men under like -conditions. But remember, we have been living in an enemy’s country and -nursing their soldiers and even if ninety-nine of the soldiers were -considerate, one might be rough and unkind. Of course, I can’t make you -promise to do what I ask against your will, but if the danger comes -will you remember what I have said and try and be prudent?” - -And Barbara nodded as she got off her stool. - -“I won’t say anything to the others, but I am going to put the Red -Cross flag on our little house before we leave,” she answered, speaking -in the most matter-of-fact tone. “It can’t do any possible harm and -I think might have been a good idea all along to advertise us to our -neighbors. Dear little ‘House with the Blue Front Door,’ I hope we may -not leave you in many months! Somehow I have grown deeply attached to -you!” - -A little while afterwards the four girls started for the field -hospital, which was situated about a mile on this side of the last row -of the French trenches. - -Although they had been up for some time, it was not more than half-past -six when they set out. The air was still and heavy with smoke. It would -have been difficult to decide whether the noise of the distant guns or -the ominous lull in the firing was more trying to the nerves. - -But the girls did not discuss the situation as they walked along. -Indeed, they did not talk at all, but plodded quietly ahead, intent on -the work before them and saving all their strength until then. - -A short distance from the field hospital they were met by two of the -hospital assistants. One of them joined Eugenia, the other kept in the -group with the other three girls. They were two American college boys. - -“Things are pretty lively around here, Miss Peabody. I suppose you have -been hearing the racket all night. The news is that the Germans have -captured thirty yards of the first line of the French trenches, but of -course we are expecting the Frenchies to get them back again. Still, it -might have been wiser if you had stayed in your own place today. Your -house is a little farther back.” - -Eugenia smiled in a friendly fashion at her companion. She was -surprisingly popular with the staff at the field hospital, although -ordinarily having little to say to them except upon matters concerning -her nursing. But the young fellow who had walked out to meet them was a -Harvard University boy who had come to France to assist with the field -hospital work. He was one of fourteen or fifteen young fellows who were -able to take down or set up one of the new field hospitals, consisting -of some twenty tents, in about half an hour. - -Naturally as he and Eugenia hailed from the Bay State, there was that -bond between them. - -“Have they been bringing in many wounded this morning?” Eugenia asked -as quietly as if she had been discussing an ordinary topic. - -Her companion nodded. “It has been pretty bad,” he returned, trying to -speak with an affectation of carelessness. The fact is he had intended -studying to be a surgeon after graduating at college and of course -should not be upset by a few wounded men. But it wasn’t very jolly to -see a lot of fellows suffering and not to be able to help them. - -“Then I expect we had best hurry,” Eugenia answered. Afterwards neither -of them spoke again. Yet the young man looked at Eugenia admiringly. -Perhaps she was not as much of a beauty as two of the other American -Red Cross girls. Nevertheless, she wasn’t bad looking in her way, and -certainly a man would like to have her take care of him if he happened -to be bowled over. You could always count on her being right there -when the time came, and knowing exactly what to do. One couldn’t help -admiring efficiency in this world wherever one saw it. - -Certainly the American boy had been right in his statement. Conditions -at the field hospital were pretty bad when the four girls arrived there. - -All the beds in the tents were filled with the wounded. Yet every five -or ten minutes another injured soldier requiring immediate care would -be borne to the hospital by his companions until long lines of them -were stretched out upon the grass. Moreover, one knew that there were -perhaps hundreds of others lying hurt in the trenches to whom no relief -could be given until the fighting ceased. - -Now there seemed little prospect that a lull could come until the -night. Then perhaps the bombarding would not be so continuous. - -However, the Germans must have previously located the weak points in -the enemy’s defences since the cannonading had begun the night before. - -Three or four hours passed and no one appeared to think there could be -danger at the field hospital. Perhaps they were too busy to think at -all. Besides, the firing seemed to be directed upon the trenches, so -that only an occasional shell, failing to hit its mark, shrieked over -them or burst at a distance too far away to cause alarm. - -But it must have been about noon, though no one knew the exact hour, -when suddenly news came that the French had been forced to retreat -from the front trenches to the second line. Then immediately after the -Germans directed a number of their large guns, not upon the trenches, -but upon the little town of Le Prêtre, which lay behind the field -hospital, the forest and the chateau of the Countess Amélie. - -Nor did the shells and shrapnel continue to pass over the hospital. -Indeed, they sometimes seemed to be the actual target of the great -guns, though this was of course not true. - -One of the white tents was torn to pieces and a doctor and two nurses -hurt. - -Barbara had just come out of this tent on an errand for the surgeon. -After the explosion she found herself standing but a few yards from the -débris, with Nona Davis running toward her. - -“The field hospital is to be moved, Barbara dear, and they wish all of -us to go along with them. Eugenia and Mildred cannot leave, but you and -I are to go back to our little house and pack up the things we actually -must have. Everything and everybody connected with the hospital must be -on the move in the next half hour. There is a chance that the French -may retreat beyond the village, so as to force the enemy out of their -trenches into the open fields. Come, we must run for it. I don’t see -how we shall ever manage to get to our home and back in such a short -time. But we can help to bring up the rear.” - -Nona slipped her arm through Barbara’s and the two girls started back -for “The House with the Blue Front Door.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV _The Parting of the Ways_ - - -The two girls reached the farmhouse in a shorter time than they had -believed possible and at once rushed upstairs to their rooms. There -they dragged out their suit-cases, and Mildred’s and Eugenia’s as well, -and began packing them with the clothes they felt to be absolutely -necessary for their work. - -They knew the wounded must first be removed from the field hospital, -with only the nurse and doctors who would have charge of them. But -there would also be other motor cars to transport the additional -nurses, physicians and hospital assistants. Moreover, since all the -tents and the supplies must afterwards be gotten away this would surely -require a fair amount of time. So in case they were late and missed the -first of the departing cars, they would certainly be stored away in one -of the later ones. - -“I do wish we had asked Eugenia and Mildred to wait until we returned -to the hospital before they leave,” Barbara called from beneath the bed -in Mildred’s room, where she was dragging out a pair of shoes. - -“It wouldn’t have made any difference if we had asked,” Nona answered. -“Mildred is to go in one of the first motor ambulances with the -wounded, as she has charge of two critically ill soldiers. And of -course Eugenia will do whatever she thinks wisest. Certainly she won’t -wait for us if she thinks it best to go first.” - -“I am not so sure of that,” Barbara replied, and then there was a -silence lasting for several moments. - -Afterwards Barbara and Nona wondered why they were not more frightened -during this half hour. The fact is that they had not yet appreciated -the seriousness of the French retreat, nor the great task of moving the -field hospital beyond the present danger line. - -Moreover, they were too busy to think clearly on any subject, and a -time of action is seldom a time of fear. - -Except for the two girls moving hastily about, the little farmhouse -was delightfully quiet and peaceful after the dreadful morning at the -hospital. Once the thought flashed through Barbara Meade’s mind: “If -only they might stay here in the little ‘House with the Blue Front -Door’ and take their chances with the enemy!” They would be under the -protection of the Red Cross. However, as they had received their orders -from an authority higher than Eugenia’s, like soldiers they must do as -they were commanded, without considering their personal inclinations. - -So Barbara, having finished Mildred’s packing, took her suit-case -downstairs by the front door. She then went up for Eugenia’s, which -Nona had by this time completed. It was heavier than the other and she -staggered a little and had to stop to recover her breath after she had -placed it alongside Mildred’s. - -Therefore, she chanced to be standing just beside the front door when -the first knocking on the outside began. Nona had drawn a great, -old-fashioned bolt across the door after entering, chiefly with the -idea that they should not be disturbed at their tasks. - -Barbara did not open the door at once. - -This knocking was not of an ordinary kind, such as one would expect -from a visitor. It was very insistent, never stopping for a second; it -was indeed, a kind of hurried tattoo. - -“Who is there?” Barbara demanded. But before any one else could reply -Nona called from upstairs. - -“Please don’t open the door, Barbara, at least not until we are about -to start. There isn’t an instant to waste in talking to any one.” - -In consequence Barbara turned away, but immediately after she -recognized the voice of old François. - -“Open, open!” he shouted, first in French and then in English, having -acquired a few words from his four American girl friends. - -Then Barbara drew back the latch and François tumbled in. - -The old fellow’s brown face was ashen and the pupils of his little -black eyes were dilated with fear. - -He had evidently been running until he was almost out of breath. - -“The French are retreating, all our army at once: They are tramping, -tramping through the fields and the woods. Madame the Countess says you -are to come to the chateau immediately. Soon the Germans will be here -and then----” - -The old French peasant flung out his withered hands and rolled his eyes -upward. Words failed to express his pent-up emotions. - -But Barbara shook her head quietly. - -“You are very kind, François. Tell the Countess Amélie we are most -grateful for her thought of us. But we are going to the rear with the -field hospital staff and in any case we should be safe as Red Cross -nurses. Go back to her now, for she needs you more than we do. This -must be a terrible experience for her.” - -Old François straightened his crooked back against the front door, -which he had most carefully closed after entering. - -“But you must come and at once, Mademoiselle. For the Countess is ill, -perhaps dying from the shock of the news we have just received,” he -insisted. “Her son’s, Captain Henri’s, regiment has been destroyed. -Some of the men have been taken prisoners, the others killed or -wounded. And we have had no word from our young captain since the -fighting began.” - -The old servant’s face worked with emotion and his eyes filled with -tears. - -“Oh, I am so sorry,” Barbara murmured pitifully, and then realizing the -inadequacy of words at such a time, turned to Nona, who had at this -instant come downstairs, carrying her own and Barbara’s bags. - -“What shall we do, Nona?” Barbara demanded. “We should have started -back to the field hospital before this. And yet if we go now and leave -the Countess ill with no one to look after her, it seems too cruel! -Suppose I go with François and you return to the hospital and explain -what has delayed me. Tell Eugenia where I am. Somehow I feel that -perhaps the Countess Amélie needs my care more than the soldiers do -today. There are so many other nurses to look after them, while she is -old and alone.” - -Nona’s dark eyes looked troubled, nevertheless she shook her head. - -“I don’t agree with you, Barbara. We ought to be at our posts. We have -promised our services to the soldiers; besides, I could not let you go -alone to the Countess. Don’t you know that when the German soldiers -overrun this countryside the chateau will be one of the first places -to be seized? It is the most important house in the neighborhood and -the German officers are sure to take up their headquarters there.” Nona -held out her hand to François. - -“I too am sorrier than I can say, but we can’t do what you ask of us,” -she declared, “we must go back to our work. Please try and make the -Countess Amélie understand. Now good-by, François, and may we meet -again in happier times. You must move away from the door and let us be -off, for we are dreadfully late already from talking to you.” - -But old François did not stir. - -“You have lived in Madame’s house, you have eaten of her food, and yet -when she may be dying you will not serve her. Because you wear on your -arm the badge of the _Croix de Rouge_, does it mean that you care only -for soldiers? Because Madame is a woman and an old one, you feel no -interest in her! Truly if she dies this war will have killed her, for -one does not die only from wounds of the flesh.” - -Barbara’s blue eyes had slowly filled with tears during the old -peasant’s speech. But now a resolute line formed about the corners of -her pretty mouth that only showed there occasionally. - -“I am going to the Countess, Nona,” she remarked quietly. “You must do -whatever your conscience prompts you to do. Mine tells me that we have -accepted a great deal from the Countess and now she needs me more than -any one else. If the hospital staff consider me a deserter, I cannot -help it. Besides, I almost promised Eugenia that I would go to the -Countess Amélie if the Germans conquered this part of the countryside. -It was for another reason I promised, but tell her, please, and she -will understand. Good-by; I’ll join you as soon as possible. Don’t -worry about me.” - -Barbara stooped and picked up her bag. - -“I’ll find my way to the chateau alone. Fortunately, I know the way,” -she added. “François, you must go with Miss Davis, so as to carry -the other suit-cases. Then you’ll come back to Madame as quickly as -possible.” - -Taking a watch out of her pocket, Nona now glanced at it. - -“I am coming with you, Barbara. Already we are nearly an hour behind -the time when the field hospital expected to be on its way. If I return -now I shall either find that everybody and everything has departed, -or else it will merely be an additional trouble to dispose of me at -the last. A day’s loss of _my_ services cannot make such a great -difference. So we can first find out how greatly the Countess Amélie -needs us, and then tomorrow, one or both of us must somehow manage to -rejoin the army. The French retreat may not be so universal as we fear.” - -By this time the blue front door had been flung open by François, -so that outside the girls could hear the tramping of many feet. But -the feet were moving with a rhythmical swing that proved the French -soldiers were at least retreating in good order. So far there had been -no rout by the enemy. - -Now François was in the greatest hurry of the three. He had taken -Barbara’s bag out of her hand and now laid hold of Nona’s. Then he set -off, trotting so rapidly down the path, in spite of his age and crooked -legs, that the two girls could scarcely keep up with him. Afterwards he -led their way into the woods, skirting along by the edge of the trees -and keeping safely out of sight of the soldiers, although numbers of -them were marching through the same woods on the farther side. - -It was by this time early in the afternoon, but the girls found the -chateau undisturbed. Indeed, the autumn sun shone down upon it with -the same tranquillity as though the world had been at peace instead of -war. Across the neglected lawn a peacock stalked as majestically and -disdainfully as if the old gardens had been filled with the belles and -beaus in the silks and satins of a more picturesque age. - -However, the two American girls were living in a too tragically -workaday world. They had no thought and no time for beauty, since a -shorter and more compelling word urged them on. - -The lower part of the old chateau was deserted, and as neither Nona nor -Barbara knew the way upstairs, François preceded them. He opened first -the door of the Countess Amélie’s room, but found it empty. Without -hesitating, he then turned and walked quickly down a narrow corridor to -another room at almost the opposite end of the house. Knocking at this -door and receiving no answer, he crept in softly, beckoning to the two -girls to follow him. - -But this room was so vast that neither Nona nor Barbara immediately -discovered its occupant. Evidently it was a man’s room and must have -covered the entire southern end of the chateau. Yet it was almost bare -of furniture of a conventional kind. On the walls old muskets hung and -bayonets of a bygone generation. The floor was of stone, uncarpeted, -and there were only two chairs, a tall chest of drawers and a single -iron bed in the apartment. If the young Captain Castaigne was a dandy, -as Eugenia considered him, certainly there was nothing about his room -to suggest it! - -But Barbara was first to reach the bed, because she first saw that -the Countess Amélie had thrown herself upon it. She may have fainted -earlier in the day and thus alarmed François, but at present she -showed no signs of serious illness. Her face was drawn with suffering, -nevertheless she attempted to rise and speak to her guests as soon -as Barbara approached. The Countess Amélie belonged to the ancient -aristocracy of France whose women went to the guillotine with smiles -upon their faces. It was a part of their pride of class not to betray -their deeper emotions. - -Yet Barbara found the small hand held out to her extremely cold, and it -was with an effort that the older woman found herself able to stand. - -“I am more than glad you have been able to reach the chateau, Miss -Meade,” she began. “Doubtless you know as well as I do that our -French army is in retreat and that the German army may occupy this -neighborhood at any hour. But where are your other two friends? I -promised my son that in case of danger I would send for you. He could -not contemplate the thought of your being alone if the barbarians -overwhelmed us.” - -The Countess spoke quietly enough, yet there was bitter antagonism in -her voice. One could hardly expect a French woman to feel otherwise -at an hour like this. Remember also that this was a portion of France -near the border of Alsace-Lorraine, which the Germans took as a part of -their booty at the close of the Franco-Prussian war. - -The French people had not recovered from the bitterness of that defeat -when the great war began. - -Barbara was looking somewhat nonplussed at finding that the Countess -was not in need of her services as a nurse, so she allowed Nona to join -her and make the first reply. - -“We were under the impression that you were ill and needed us, or we -should not have come,” Nona answered. “The field hospital has been -moved and we intended leaving with them, so we should have been as safe -as possible. Our friends, Miss Thornton and Miss Peabody, have gone on -with the staff. Still, we appreciate your wishing to protect us,” she -ended gently. - -In reality, both Nona and Barbara were deeply chagrined at the position -in which they now found themselves. Yet there was no doubt that the -older woman had meant to be kind. Besides, nothing could be gained by -making a protest now. - -Both girls accompanied the Countess Amélie out of the room. - -“I am alone here, except for François,” she explained. “If the Germans -come this way, doubtless my chateau will be one of the first places -which they will require for their own use. Therefore, it is necessary -that we be ready to leave at once. You need not be frightened; -François, will go with us, and there is a secret passage leading away -from the chateau, through which we can make our escape without danger. -I am going to ask you to help me pack a small store of provisions, as I -think we will be happier with work to occupy our hands.” - -Not a word of her anguish over her son’s uncertain fate, nor a protest -at being forced in her old age to turn her back upon the home of her -ancestors! Surely this was aristocracy of the spirit as well as of -class, Nona and Barbara both thought to themselves, although neither -said a word to the other upon the subject. - -That afternoon, between five and six o’clock, François brought word -that the German army had captured the last line of French trenches and -would soon overflow into the countryside. - -Ten minutes later the Countess Amélie, Nona, Barbara and François, -voluntarily deserting the chateau, started upon an uncertain journey to -overtake the retreating French army. - - - - -CHAPTER XV _The Other Two Girls_ - - -Just as Nona and Barbara had anticipated, Mildred Thornton rode away -with her two patients in one of the first motor ambulances that -hurriedly withdrew from the field hospital to remove the wounded from -the scene of danger. But by another strange mischance Eugenia was left -behind. - -She had, of course, continued to assist with the hospital work so -long as there was anything for her to do. However, she had previously -insisted that she be allowed to depart in one of the last of the motor -vans. For the truth is she was unwilling to desert the neighborhood -until Nona and Barbara, having returned from the farmhouse, were able -to go along with her. - -So during the last quarter of an hour, when only the tents were left -to be piled upon the last trucks, Eugenia, having no more duties to -perform, wandered a short distance away. She only went about an eighth -of a mile along the path that led in the direction of the farmhouse -and there sat down under a tree to wait for the other two girls and to -watch for a prearranged signal. - -Until she began to rest Eugenia really had no idea of how tired she -was. She had been up and at work since five o’clock that morning under -conditions that would have exhausted the strongest person in the world. - -Now there were deafening noises reverberating all about her, while -over her head hung a heavy pall of smoke, sometimes darkening the -atmosphere, but now and then lifting enough to permit a shaft of light -from the November sun to shine through. - -At present the firing suggested that the fighting was still at some -distance away, nevertheless the girl realized that the battle must be -drawing nearer and nearer, for already a portion of the retreating -French army had passed within sight of the disbanded hospital. - -Eugenia was not conscious of being as greatly depressed by the French -defeat as the other three American Red Cross girls had been. Her chief -thought was the appalling increase of the wounded that this day’s -battle must have caused. At this moment there must be hundreds, perhaps -thousands of boys and men lying wounded and dying in the fields and -trenches with no one to bring them aid. - -“If only one could do _more_ to help!” the girl murmured, clasping her -hands wearily together in her lap, but at the same time keeping her -eyes fixed upon the path ahead. - -“Why in the world don’t those children come on?” she next asked -impatiently. “Certainly they should not have been trusted to undertake -our packing. I don’t doubt they are putting our new Paris clothes into -the bags!” - -As she made this speech, believing that she heard some one approaching, -Eugenia half rose. Then the next instant she was up and standing with -her back braced against the tree, upon which she had been previously -resting. For bounding toward her, with his tongue hanging out and his -head lolling from side to side, was the dog belonging to Captain Henri -Castaigne. - -After her past experience it was impossible for Eugenia not to feel -nervous, for the silver-gray brute was of enormous size and strength. -Yet when the dog reached her side, for the second time he crouched down -at Eugenia’s feet. This time, however, instead of hanging _down_ his -head, he turned his gray-brown eyes upward upon the girl’s with such a -depth of entreaty that, without knowing why, she was moved. - -“It is all right, Duke, I forgive you all the past, even if I have not -forgiven your master!” she exclaimed, speaking in a friendly tone, -although scorning to use the dog’s French name. “But do run home now to -your mistress. For this, I trust, is a final farewell between us, as we -shall probably never meet again.” - -Even though she spoke thus lightly, Eugenia was conscious that there -might be a possible tragedy in the fact that Duke could not return to -his master. Perhaps Captain Castaigne was even now among the missing. - -However, the great Dane gave no sign of having heard Eugenia’s -command, but instead gave her another look of profound appeal. When -she showed no indication of having understood his meaning, he got up -and caught her dress firmly between his teeth. Then not ungently but -authoritatively he began dragging her along with him. - -For the first moment Eugenia was too surprised to make any special -resistance. The next she called out angrily to the dog to let go; and -then, finding he had no idea of obeying her, tore her coat from between -his clenched teeth. - -Duke’s answer was to gaze at her reproachfully and then to gather a -larger portion of her clothing in his mouth and start off faster the -second time, with the girl obliged to follow. - -Naturally Eugenia was angry. This objectionable dog appeared designed -by fate to be a nuisance to her. Yet she was unable to make up her mind -what to do. She could tear herself away again with another disastrous -result to her clothing; besides, the dog would doubtless seize hold -on her again. And to struggle with the enormous creature could only -bring misfortune upon herself, since there was no doubt of Duke’s -determination. - -So for twenty yards or more Eugenia moved along without further -protest, then she concluded to call and summon some one to her -assistance. No one chanced to be in sight, but there were, of course, -several of the hospital workers not far away, so that in case Duke -turned dangerous a shot would quickly put an end to him. - -With this thought in mind Eugenia again looked at the dog. He was such -a magnificent creature it would be a tragedy to kill him. Besides, was -she not so sick at heart at all the unnecessary waste of death that she -would not voluntarily destroy the tiniest spark of life? - -Something of this feeling must have at this instant communicated itself -to Duke’s intelligence, for suddenly and of his own accord he released -Eugenia’s dress. But instead of leaving her he walked on a few steps -further, stopped, turned around again and made a second appeal and -then went slowly on a few feet more. - -Afterwards Eugenia decided that she must have been abnormally dull at -this time. But then her attention had been so concentrated upon the -hope of Barbara’s and Nona’s immediate return. For it was not until -Duke had made his third demand that his purpose finally occurred to -her. Of course, he wished her to go with him to find some lost place or -person. - -Eugenia never considered the possible distance that she might be -expected to travel, for all at once she seemed curiously under the -domination of the dog’s desire. For she straightway put her hand -reassuringly upon Duke’s collar. - -“It is all right, old fellow, I understand at last and will come along -with you,” she said aloud. - -Then in a perfectly matter-of-fact fashion Eugenia moved along by -the dog’s side. Soon after she knew that he was leading her in the -direction of the French trenches which were directly within the firing -line. However, it did not strike her that she was facing any greater -peril than she and the field hospital staff had been enduring all day. -For one grows accustomed to war’s horrors as well as to most other -things. - -Nevertheless, Eugenia flinched many times as the dog led the way, -walking now and then beside men’s bodies that did not stir either at -their approach or after their passing. Yet Red Cross nurses must learn -a certain amount of stoicism to be of real value in their work. - -Once or twice Eugenia wondered if she could possibly manage to finish -the task Duke required of her in time to leave with the last of the -field hospital staff, yet it was odd how secondary this idea became. - -Some other guiding force had taken possession of her at the time, for -the purpose in hand seemed the one thing supremely worth while. - -Only through one’s imagination can the picture of a battlefield be -really seen, for even when the eyes behold it, the spirit must act as -its interpreter. - -For nearly a year Eugenia had been nursing the soldiers in this worst -of all possible wars, yet it was not until this afternoon that she had -ever visited a battleground while the fighting was going on. - -But fortunately the field to which Duke brought her was no longer a -center of the firing. The field lay just behind a trench which but a -few hours before had been a target for German artillery. However, the -trench had already been captured, so that many of the soldiers who lay -dead upon the ground had been killed during their effort to retreat. - -Therefore the accident that occurred was not one which could have been -reasonably expected. - -With his great head bowed Duke was treading slowly, as if he realized -the ugliness of the human tragedy surrounding them. Neither was Eugenia -thinking of herself; nevertheless, a moment later and she lay stretched -upon the battleground, as still and unconscious as any of the recumbent -figures by whom she had so lately passed. - -There for hours Duke stood sentinel beside her, yet not knowing whether -he should go or remain. For while love compelled him in one direction, -his sense of honor constrained him to stay by the companion who had -fallen by his side. - -Did Duke realize his own responsibility in the catastrophe, that his -honor prevailed? - -The entire afternoon passed and finally evening came and yet Eugenia -did not stir. She looked an incongruous figure on the field of the -dead. For although she wore her nursing cloak it had floated open as -she fell, revealing her woman’s uniform with the cross of crimson upon -her arm. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI _The Discovery_ - - -But between eight and nine o’clock on that same evening Eugenia opened -her eyes. She was unable to think clearly at first and stared in -amazement at the canopy of blue sky above her head. What had become of -the familiar ceiling of her room at the farmhouse? - -But then her head was aching dully so that it made her more -uncomfortable to try to think at all. She did not even wish to call for -the other girls, because Barbara would probably come to her in a little -while. She remembered that Barbara had been especially kind when she -had just such another absurd headache a short time before. - -Closing her eyes again, Eugenia rested. But something warm and soft -seemed to be moving about near her face, breathing over her in a -curious, enveloping fashion impossible from a human being. It was like -a damp cloud. - -Putting out her hand, Eugenia touched Duke’s moist nose, and then -almost instantly returned to a knowledge of the situation. - -She recalled in detail the events of the past afternoon, but could -find no explanation for her own presence here upon the ground among -the wounded. For she was not suffering sufficient pain to suggest -that she had been shot by a stray rifle ball from the enemy’s lines. -Moreover, Eugenia found that she could move both her arms and legs -without difficulty. They were stiff, but that may have been due either -to fatigue or to her position upon the earth. However, the ache in her -head continued so that Eugenia put up her fingers to her temple. There -was a curious something clotted on her hair at the left side, which she -at once knew to be blood. - -Then she understood what had happened. A piece of shell from an -exploding bomb must have struck and stunned her into unconsciousness. -However, it must have come from such a distance that it had spent its -force, for she was not seriously injured. Already the slight scalp -wound had closed and was no longer bleeding. - -Eugenia rose up slowly to a sitting position, realizing fully the -gravity of her situation. Yet she would not allow herself to reflect -upon its horrors. She must decide what she should best do. Would it be -wiser to stay where she was for the rest of the night or try to seek -assistance? Yet what had taken place in the countryside during the -afternoon while she lay in a stupor? Were the French or the Germans in -possession of the neighborhood? - -However, Eugenia was not to be allowed to reach her decision alone. For -no sooner had she gotten up than Duke once more began pulling at her -dress, very softly at first, as one who has respect for an invalid, but -no less insistently. - -A dog’s devotion and a dog’s persistence are two qualities worthy of -human admiration and wonder. - -At this moment Eugenia felt both. She laid her hand quietly and -affectionately on Duke’s head. - -“I can’t go with you again. I am too used up, Duke, to help you find -your friend. You would simply have another victim on your hands. But -you need stay with _me_ no longer. I shall wait here for you until -daylight.” - -But though Eugenia waved her hand in token of dismissal and farewell, -the dog did not leave her, although he seemed to appreciate the fact -that she was unable to accompany him. For he gave up his hold on her -and merely sat down reflectively by her side, as if he too were trying -to decide what course it was wise to pursue. - -It was plain that Duke was wretchedly unhappy. If he could not show his -grief in a human fashion, he had his own especial methods. When Eugenia -put her arm about his body she could feel the anguished beating of his -heart. - -“I wonder who it can be, Duke, that you wish to find so ardently?” the -girl questioned. “Surely some one whom you love very deeply! I am sorry -to be so useless and it is dreadful to think of your friend’s long -waiting for your return, so you must go, Duke, even if I cannot go -with you. Then if you are no longer needed, come back to me.” - -Eugenia made this long speech aloud in a pleading tone, nevertheless -she again discovered that it was easier to say what this great dog -should do than to force him to obey one’s will. - -Yet while Eugenia was reflecting upon this fact she had her moment of -inspiration. She knew that in many parts of the army dogs had been -trained for searching out the wounded. Only a short time before in the -papers distributed by the French Red Cross Society she had read that -these dogs were sent forth with long ropes tied about their necks, so -that when possible the wounded were thus dragged to places of aid. - -Eugenia had no rope, but one often wonders why women are accused of -being without inventive talents. So far it is true that only a few of -their inventions have been of world value; to find them one must seek -among the homes. This American girl at once slipped off her long cloth -nursing coat. It was of strong, well-woven material, yet she managed -within a few moments to tear it into strips and then to knot the strips -firmly together. - -Then she tied the long cord about Duke’s neck. One could not tell -whether the dog would understand his mission, or whether the rope would -be of service when Duke reached his goal. Yet in every uncertainty in -life one must simply attempt the thing that seems most intelligent. And -Eugenia felt convinced that Duke would bring his friend back to her. -Then she could decide on what should be done next. - -Duke did seem to understand, for as soon as Eugenia had finished her -task and commanded him to be gone, he trotted obediently off until his -great shadow was lost in the distance. - -Then the girl lay down again. She had natural self-control and her -nursing had taught her even more. She must sleep if possible and in any -case not let herself dwell on her own presence here within the field of -the dead. - -When Eugenia closed her eyes the moon had not risen and the night was -fairly dark. Half an hour later, when she reopened them, a full moon -had flooded the field with light. She could see Duke approaching at -some yards away. He was moving slowly and it was difficult at first -to find out the reason. Eugenia rose quickly to her feet. Yes, it was -evident now: he _was_ drawing someone along behind him. - -The girl walked forward to meet the dog and his burden. Then, although -she had been growing daily more accustomed to war and its inevitable -sorrows, she stopped and drew in her breath sharply. The next instant -Eugenia had forgotten everything but that she was a Red Cross nurse -whose purpose was to do whatever she could to relieve suffering. - -The figure that the dog dragged along on the ground had the face turned -downward. But when she lifted the body up Eugenia was not surprised to -recognize in the white, still features, the face of young Captain Henri -Castaigne. All along she had thought it probable that Duke could feel -no such intense devotion for any one save his master. - -After the dog’s return the young officer had somehow managed to tie the -long strip of cloth about his own body. He must have realized that he -would lose consciousness on his journey to find succor, for he had been -cruelly wounded in both legs. - -Never before had Eugenia felt more painfully helpless. There were so -many things which should be done for the young soldier at once and she -was so unable to do any one of them. - -Of course, she knelt and felt the action of his pulse and heart, -finding neither so feeble as she had feared. Then Eugenia, who was -given to definite actions, made another decision. - -It would be impossible to be of service to Captain Castaigne here in -an open field with no water near, so far as she knew. She had a little -in the canteen in her pocket, but this would only be enough for him -to drink and would certainly be insufficient for the cleansing of his -wounds. Besides, even with the use of the small flashlight every Red -Cross nurse carries, she was unable to discover whether the rifle -balls were still imbedded in her patient’s flesh. Certainly he must be -carried to some place where he could receive proper attention, but in -the meantime Eugenia thanked Providence that she had with her her bag -of first aid appliances. It had been strapped about her waist while she -sat under the tree earlier in the day, waiting to start out with the -field hospital staff. Until now she had no thought or use for it. - -Eugenia used the necessary antiseptics and then bound the wounds as -carefully as possible. But she made no effort to bring her patient back -to consciousness. For the purpose she had in mind it would be best that -he feel and know as little as possible. - -Once her task accomplished Eugenia again wound her improvised rope -about Captain Castaigne’s waist. Again she signaled Duke to start upon -a journey, but this time she formed a member of the little party. - -Her idea was to get the wounded officer back in the neighborhood of -the field hospital, and then if she could find no aid there, somehow -to reach their own farmhouse. From there word could be sent to the -chateau. - -But the trip was a terrible one and took longer hours than one could -have imagined. Now and then Eugenia would try to assist by supporting -the young officer’s body with her own strength. But as she could not -lift him entirely this only seemed to make the task more difficult for -the devoted Duke. Often they were obliged to stop and then Eugenia -would kneel down beside the body to find out if the young man was still -alive. - -It was about dawn when they arrived at last in the neighborhood of the -former French field hospital, where the four American girls had been -nursing. But Eugenia found few traces of the hospital left. Everywhere -in the vicinity the ground had been trampled under foot. The white -tents had been folded, and like the proverbial Arabian tents, had -silently stolen away. Neither was there a single human being about. - -However, Eugenia had anticipated this. But she had also steadfastly -hoped that here upon more familiar ground she might make some useful -discovery. - -Ordering Duke to remain quiet beside his burden, Eugenia started upon a -pilgrimage. She must find something to make the trip to the farmhouse -more endurable, more possible for the young French soldier. Yet she -could not make up her mind to desert him in order to seek for help. - -At first, the girl could, of course, find nothing. But by wandering -around on the outskirts of the grounds, where the deserted hospital had -formerly stood, Eugenia finally came across an old wheelbarrow. It had -been used for bringing vegetables to the hospital staff, and being of -no value had been left behind. - -Scarcely an ideal motor ambulance for a wounded officer. Nevertheless -Eugenia seized upon the wheelbarrow with almost as much enthusiasm as -if it had been. For at least it had wheels and she would be able to -push it. - -Naturally this was a hard task, but one should not think upon the -difficulty when a task is to be accomplished. - -The blue front door of the little farmhouse was standing open when -Eugenia reached home. Half lifting and half dragging her patient, she -finally succeeded in placing him upon a small couch in their living -room. - -Then, being the methodical person she was, Eugenia went directly to the -kitchen, made herself a cup of coffee and drank it. For her strength -had almost given out and she knew not what work might lie ahead of her. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII _Recognition_ - - -However, it was nearly noon before Eugenia made the discovery that -the entire French army in the vicinity had retreated, leaving all -the country nearby in the hands of the Germans. Only then did she -appreciate the difficulty of concealing a young French officer in her -home, who would doubtless be taken prisoner if his presence and his -identity were discovered. - -Her information came about in this fashion. For two hours Eugenia -worked with her patient, washing his wounds and even managing to -extract a bullet which had lodged near the surface. Also she bathed his -face and poured brandy between his haggard lips until he opened his -eyes, only to close them again in utter exhaustion. Finally, when she -could do nothing more, Eugenia walked to her front door to get some -fresh air. She meant in a few moments to go to the Chateau d’Amélie and -send old François to the nearest village for a doctor. So far it simply -had not occurred to her that François and his mistress might have -deserted the chateau for the same reason that had compelled the removal -of the field hospital. - -Outside, like a tired sentinel, Eugenia found Duke asleep in the front -yard. Then while hesitating to wake him, even to keep guard over his -master, she became vaguely conscious that soldiers were marching past. -The next instant she realized that their uniforms were German and not -French and that they wore the eagle triumphant on their shining helmets. - -They were passing close to the little “House with the Blue Front Door,” -so that Eugenia wondered why no one stopped to investigate it. Then she -remembered that Barbara had hung the Red Cross emblem outside and that -the soldiers were treating it with extraordinary respect. - -Would they continue to do this after discovering that the only person -beside herself under the protection of the Red Cross flag was an -enemy’s officer? - -Eugenia was convinced otherwise. Captain Castaigne would be promptly -taken prisoner so soon as she told of his whereabouts and sent to a -hospital within the German lines. And to be moved at the present time -would probably mean the young officer’s death. - -Calling Duke inside, Eugenia closed and bolted the blue front door. -Then she considered whether she could manage to keep the young -Frenchman concealed and yet take the proper care of him. It would be -impossible to expect the assistance of a physician, for the nearest -village would assuredly be occupied by the Germans and to demand a -doctor must mean the betrayal of her patient. - -It was possible, however, that she could hide Captain Castaigne away -for a time at least, while she remained unmolested in the little -farmhouse, with Duke as her protector. She would explain to the German -officer in command just what had taken place that caused her to be left -behind by the hospital staff. Then there would be little reason for -interfering with her, unless the farmhouse should be required for the -shelter of the soldiers. But as it was small and somewhat out of the -way she hoped it might be ignored. - -The chiefly important thing was to wait quietly until the next morning -and then find out Captain Castaigne’s condition. Eugenia meant to make -as brave a fight for his life as possible. If he recovered there would -be time enough to determine whether he should surrender or make an -effort to escape and rejoin his command. Fortunately there were both -provisions and medical supplies stored in the farmhouse. Judge Thornton -had sent fresh orders of both from Paris quite recently. - -So for the rest of the afternoon and evening Eugenia sat by her patient -while Duke crouched on the floor near them both. No one disturbed them; -the little house might have been in the center of a vast desert for -any human interest it created. The day before Eugenia had closed its -outside windows and doors, and since had opened only the one window -necessary for light and air. - -For the greater part of the night Captain Castaigne was delirious from -a high fever. Eugenia knew that it would be almost impossible for him -to escape blood poison, after the dirt had been ground into his wounds -from the long dragging of his body on the earth. - -Nevertheless, now and then the young officer slept the sleep of utter -exhaustion, with Duke and Eugenia both slumbering beside him whenever -this opportunity came. - -Eugenia did not question the reason for her care. She had not liked the -young Frenchman at their first meeting in Paris. Certainly their second -accidental meeting in the woods had not increased her liking. Moreover, -she had been entirely out of sympathy with him, with his mother and -with their French ideas and environment on the afternoon of her one -call. - -Yet none of these things counted in the least with Eugenia. Captain -Castaigne was a French soldier, one of the men whom she had come to -Europe to nurse in case he needed her care. Therefore he should have -the best it was in her power to offer. - -Once, while in the act of giving him medicine to relieve his fever, the -young man murmured his mother’s name and for the instant Eugenia was -moved to sympathy. All the rest of the time her feeling was entirely -impersonal. Captain Castaigne was merely a patient who must if possible -be kept alive and later restored to health. If she had any feeling in -the matter Eugenia was sorry that she had ever made the young man’s -acquaintance before this night. - -Nevertheless, at about six o’clock the following morning, after an -entire hour of refreshing sleep, Eugenia opened her eyes to find her -patient gazing steadfastly at her. For the time being his delirium -had passed and she realized that he recognized her and longed to ask -questions but was still too weak and ill to speak. - -A half an hour afterwards, after a few sips of clam bouillon which -chanced to be among the household stores, Captain Castaigne said a few -words. - -“_What does this mean?_” he asked in painstaking English, appreciating -even in his present condition that Miss Peabody preferred the -conversation to take place in her native tongue. - -Eugenia thought quickly. The young officer could not entirely grasp the -situation even if she were able to tell him the entire story. Moreover, -at present the story was too long and too exciting for him to hear. -Also, he might feel burdened by his obligation to her and unwilling for -her to make the sacrifices necessary for his safety if he learned the -truth now. - -So she gazed back at him with the quiet serenity that made her so -valuable a nurse. - -“You understand you have been hurt? Well, I have been appointed to take -charge of you. You are to see no one else for a time, not even your -mother. Try to sleep now, for you must be as quiet as possible.” - -When Captain Castaigne immediately closed his eyes, Eugenia choked back -a sigh of relief. Evidently so far he had paid no attention to his -strange surroundings. It was her presence alone that had surprised him, -and he would probably be unable to make further inquiries for some time -to come. Possibly he would not even recognize her again. For Eugenia -understood the nature of the disease with which she was to do battle -and realized that there might be weeks of continued delirium. - -For the next fourteen days Eugenia was correct in her prognostication. -But as they were a rather dreadful two weeks for her she would never -talk of them freely afterwards. All that time she had but faint hope -that the young soldier would live, and except for her patient and Duke -she was completely alone. - -However, Eugenia managed to get the young fellow upstairs and into -Barbara’s former blue bedroom, although he was never conscious of the -change. - -She was compelled to do this, or else have her patient discovered. For -she was not to remain entirely undisturbed while the victorious German -soldiers overran the entire neighborhood. - -One afternoon, three days after their installation, when fortunately -she chanced to be working in her kitchen, a tremendous knocking -sounded upon the blue front door. Immediately Eugenia conceived that -it was some one sent to inquire why a solitary female should remain -sequestered in a house, when supplies and houses were so much needed -for the German soldiers. - -A satisfactory explanation would doubtless be difficult; nevertheless -Eugenia, with a blue check gingham apron over her nursing one and a cup -and saucer and dish towel in her hands, opened the front door. - -There was something which she hoped looked “old maidy” in this -suggestion of dishes and tea. Nothing to suggest the concealment of a -young French officer! - -Outside her door Eugenia encountered a stiff German youth in an -immaculate uniform, bearing an official letter. The letter commanded -Eugenia to report to the officer in authority in the nearest village. -She was to explain her presence in the neighborhood, her occupation, -and above all offer proof of her nationality. - -Therefore, before setting out the next morning Eugenia changed the -quarters of her patient. There could be little doubt that some one -would be sent to investigate the interior of the little “Farmhouse -with the Blue Front Door.” One could scarcely expect to keep a soldier -hidden in the only room of any size in the house. - -Fortunately Barbara’s room was the most inconspicuous of the four -bedrooms. Besides, Eugenia had a certain scheme in mind which she hoped -might help when the critical moment arrived. - -Naturally Eugenia had passports and certificates to identify herself as -an American Red Cross nurse. But she also took with her to the colonel -of the German regiment another paper of a different character. However, -she did not mean to show this before feeling her way very carefully. -The paper was a check for a large sum of money on an American bank in -Boston and signed with her own name. - -At the improvised office of the German colonel, Eugenia told her story -as briefly as possible. Moreover, she told the exact truth in regard -to herself in every detail up to a certain moment. This was the moment -when she awakened to consciousness after being struck by a German shell. - -There was nothing antagonistic in Eugenia’s manner with the officer. -She explained to him that the little French farmhouse had been allotted -to the use of the four American Red Cross nurses and that the other -three girls had retreated with the French field hospital staff. Then -she asked that she be allowed to remain in their house until such time -as she could communicate with her friends in America. As she was alone -it would be impossible to have German soldiers quartered upon her. - -At this moment Eugenia put her hand upon the check in her pocket. - -Very frankly she then declared that she realized it to be each person’s -duty to assist with the shelter and feeding of a victorious army. But -as she was unable to do either of these things, would not the colonel -accept money instead? She trusted that he would not be offended by -her unusual suggestion, for it appeared to her the only just and fair -thing to do under the circumstances. Finally after further discussion -and hesitation and another careful study of her passports, the German -officer agreed to do what Eugenia had suggested. However, he insisted, -as a matter of necessary formality, that two German soldiers be sent -to her house next day on a tour of inspection. When they came Eugenia -had the courage to show them into the very blue bedroom where the young -French officer lay concealed. But beforehand, and in spite of her -Puritan ancestry, she explained that this room was her own bedchamber. -Moreover, to prove that she had nothing to keep secret she had entirely -emptied her closet. Her own clothes, beside all those that the other -three girls had left behind, were thrown with pretended carelessness -on top the very bed where Captain Castaigne lay hidden under a pile of -bedclothes. - -The young Frenchman was in a stupor from fever at the time, so Eugenia -considered that there could be little risk of his either moving or -speaking. However, if risk there was, she felt compelled to take it. - -The German soldiers made no effort to give this special room a thorough -investigation. They merely glanced in, and then, like the proverbial -ten thousand men of King George’s army, marched out again. - -After this Eugenia was troubled no further by intruders from the ranks -of the Allies’ enemy. Her next visitor was of a much more unexpected -character. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII _Out of the Depth_ - - -All one night Eugenia feared that Captain Castaigne would die. - -This was the fourteenth night after the beginning of his fever and -a crisis in the disease. So for twenty-four hours she did not have -one-half hour of uninterrupted sleep. It was not because the young man -needed her constant care, for indeed he was never conscious of her -existence. When he called it was always to ask for some one else, and -yet it was always Eugenia who answered. Then for a little while at -least the patient would seem to be satisfied. - -But if at their first accidental meeting in Paris the four American -Red Cross girls had considered Captain Castaigne absurdly young for -his captain’s commission, what must they have thought of him now? To -Eugenia he appeared like a boy of sixteen. - -It is true that he had a tiny dark moustache, but except for this his -face remained smooth. Then his nurse had been compelled to cut off -all his dark hair in order to cool his head, and his slender body had -become wasted and his eyes sunken. Indeed, the features, which Eugenia -had once considered too perfect for a man’s, now frequently made her -think of a delicate cameo, when he lay with his face in profile against -the pure white of his pillow. - -Watching him on this night, which she feared might be his last, Eugenia -felt unusually moved. - -After all, he must have been a brave and capable fellow to have -received his present rank in the French army while still so young. -Moreover, there was a possibility that Captain Castaigne had more -force of character than she had ever given him credit for. Had he not -rebelled against his mother’s ideas of rank and dignity, and in spite -of his devotion to her refused to keep his title in a country which was -now a republic? Of course, Eugenia could not believe that the young -man really had the true democratic spirit in which she so thoroughly -trusted. Still there was a chance that he might not be so futile a -character as she had first supposed. - -Leaning over to wipe her patient’s face with a damp cloth, Eugenia -made up her mind to one thing. If Captain Castaigne died she would go -at once to the German colonel in command of the French village and -confess what she had done. Of necessity she must be punished for her -falsehood and treachery, but surely she would be permitted to send for -the Countess Amélie at the last. The young French officer could be of -no interest to his enemies after his death. - -But where the Countess could be hiding, nor whom she could find to -send for her, Eugenia had not the faintest idea. For these past two -weeks she had been so entirely shut away from the outside world. Except -for her one visit to the German colonel she had never left the little -“House with the Blue Front Door” since the night she first brought her -patient into it. Nor had Eugenia received a single line from any one -of the other three Red Cross girls to afford her the faintest idea -of what could have become of them. But she did not worry so much as -she might have done at a time when she was less occupied. Besides, -naturally she believed that the three girls were with the French field -hospital at some point back of the line of the French army’s retreat. - -Toward dawn Eugenia knew that the hour of greatest danger to her -patient would arrive. For it is an acknowledged scientific fact that -life is at its lowest ebb with the rising and the setting of the sun. - -Therefore, just before this time Eugenia left her patient’s bedside and -went into the room adjoining, which she used for her own needs. There -she washed her face and hands in cold water and, letting down her heavy -hair, plaited it in two braids. She was very tired and yet must prepare -herself to meet the coming hour with all the strength and wisdom she -could muster. - -Even as she made her toilet she was aware of the feverish muttering -of the young officer. His stupor had passed several days before, but -since his nurse could not decide whether his weak restlessness and -almost incessant crying out were not worse symptoms. Certainly they -were more trying upon her nerves. - -“Ma mère, ma mère,” he was repeating his mother’s name over and over -again, as if he must see her again before his spirit could leave his -body. - -Eugenia slipped back and for the hundredth time laid her hand gently -on the young fellow’s brow. Somehow he must be quieted, comforted -into thinking his mother near him. Then if he never returned to -consciousness he would pass out of the world’s alarms with a sense of -her presence. - -Do you recall that Barbara Meade had discovered a wonderful, healing -quality in the touch of Eugenia’s hands? It is true that a few people -have this vital, health-giving quality in their hands, which is not -true of others. - -Anyhow, Eugenia’s patient grew quieter, although he still murmured a -broken word now and then. He was strangely pathetic, because, however -much he might move his arms and the upper part of his body, his legs -remained lifeless. For now and then when he had endeavored to change -his position the pain had been so great as to pierce through his stupor. - -“Mon fils, mon fils,” Eugenia whispered several times. It was all the -French she dared permit herself to speak, and yet the simple words “my -son,” even spoken by a New England old maid, carried their magic. - -Yet Eugenia was looking little like an old maid as she leaned over the -French boy--and he was scarcely more than a boy. She wore the violet -wrapper, and as she kneeled her long dark braids of hair lay upon the -floor. She too had grown thin and white from her two weeks’ vigil of -nursing, cooking, taking entire charge of her patient, herself and -the little house. Nevertheless, Eugenia’s face had for some reason -softened, perhaps because she was too weary and too selfless in her -devotion to her patient to feel superior to any earthly thing. At this -moment her eyes were both sad and hopeful, while her lashes looked -longer and darker than usual against the pallor of her cheeks. - -Finally Captain Castaigne moved away from the soft pressure of his -nurse’s hands. As he moved with more strength than Eugenia believed him -to possess, for the next instant she watched him even more closely. - -He was muttering a number of confused phrases, now and then what -sounded like a command to his soldiers. Then all at once he stopped and -laughed a little foolishly. - -“Eugenia Peabody,” he pronounced the words distinctly, although with -a French accent which made the name more attractive than it ever had -before. “Eugenié Paybodé” was the way it sounded to its possessor. - -Eugenia stared more closely. Could Captain Castaigne know her once -again? Since the first night after his injury he never seemed to have -been aware of her identity. - -A further glance into his eyes showed this was not true. There was no -sign of intelligence there, only vagueness and a confused groping in -the dark. - -“Mademoiselle Paybodé, she is what you call in English ‘an old maid.’” - -Then the young officer laughed boyishly, as if he and a friend had been -discussing a new acquaintance and found the subject amusing. - -Eugenia flushed. It was absurd, but for the moment she felt hurt and -angry. Few of us like to be the subject of a joke and Eugenia was not -gifted with much sense of humor. But a little later she had the grace -to be ashamed of herself. However she might dislike the young Frenchman -whom she had been nursing so faithfully, she must remember that he had -unfailing good manners. Their one unfortunate meeting had been due to a -mistake on his part. Afterwards he had done all that he could to make -amends. Certainly he would be the last person to be rude to her under -the present circumstances if he had known what he was saying! Moreover, -the minute after he continued talking at random upon subjects which had -no possible connection. - -Soon after, glancing at her watch, Eugenia got up and crossed the -room. The next instant she returned in order to take her patient’s -temperature. His fever was not so high, but then his pulse and heart -seemed to be growing dangerously weaker. Giving him the necessary -stimulant, she again stood by his bedside, watching and waiting. - -Captain Castaigne was no longer talking in his delirium. He had grown -quieter and was staring, yet with an unseeing expression, at the -ceiling overhead. At this moment Eugenia discovered that the dawn had -come at last. A shaft of yellow light had entered the high window and -shone across the wounded officer’s face. It gave him such a curiously -transfigured look that for an instant Eugenia was frightened. But the -next, realizing what had occurred, she walked across to the window and -stood looking out at the country. - -The morning wind blew across her face. The dawn was a cold December one -and yet the air was grateful. A little later Duke came and thrust his -great head into Eugenia’s hand. Until this moment he had not left his -place by his master’s bedside since twilight the day before. But now he -too seemed to feel that there was nothing more love or vigilance could -do. One must simply wait. - -The landscape was particularly lovely this morning, Eugenia thought. A -white frost lay upon the meadows and trees like a veil, and one could -not see the devastation that the recent fighting must have brought -upon the countryside. Eugenia had the right to feel rather like a -prisoner, and yet she was not at this time conscious of herself. She -was wondering how the Countess Amélie could live when she learned that -her only son had fallen a victim to the enemy who had despoiled her -land and captured her home. She was an old woman and this would be too -full a measure of sorrow. - -How long Eugenia stood at the window she did not know. It could -scarcely have been more than a few moments, yet when she turned around -she was not aware of what had influenced her. Perhaps it was Duke’s -desertion, for once more he had marched over to his master’s side. -Here, he stood sentinel with his eyes fixed on the young captain’s -face. He no longer crouched upon the floor as he had been doing for the -past twelve hours. - -Straightway Eugenia experienced a sudden rushing of warm blood to her -own cheeks and a flooding sense of happiness and warmth. - -For Captain Castaigne was looking at her gravely, yet with entire -recognition. - -“I have come back to fight once more for France because of you,” he -whispered. Then, in spite of his exhaustion, he tried gallantly to lift -Eugenia’s fingers to his lips. But finding himself too weak, he simply -lay still and smiled at her. - -Utterly ridiculous in a self-possessed person like Eugenia! But because -she felt a sudden overpowering inclination to burst into tears of -relief at her patient’s safety, she frowned upon him sternly instead. - -“You are not to stir or speak until I return,” she announced severely, -and then deliberately left the room. Of course, she intended to get -some simple nourishment for the young officer at once, but this was -not the important reason for her withdrawal. Certainly Eugenia did not -so far intend to forget her dignity as a nurse as to show emotion! - -At about noon on the same day Eugenia was cheerfully working downstairs -in the little French kitchen, while Captain Castaigne was sleeping -quietly upstairs with the door open so that she could hear his faintest -move. - -For the kitchen had to be seriously considered. The supply of food -necessary for an invalid was growing dangerously low in their larder, -and for the next few weeks the wounded soldier must have proper -nutriment. After an hour’s investigation Eugenia decided that she must -go to the village and see what could be done. It would be difficult to -leave her patient alone, but his life was no longer in danger. Time -would bring healing, if nothing of an unexpected nature occurred. - -Then Eugenia heard a gentle tapping at her kitchen door. It was much -the same noise that François had been accustomed to make on his daily -visits with supplies from the chateau. For a moment Eugenia hoped that -François might have come unexpectedly to their aid. But on opening the -door, she found a wholly unexpected visitor. - -A young girl of about sixteen stood outside. At first Eugenia did not -recognize her. Then she saw that she wore a torn skirt and a little -scarlet cap and that she was singularly pretty and graceful. - -Like a flash a picture came before her; it was the figure of a little -girl dancing before a group of French soldiers. What was the name -Barbara had afterwards called her, the name of some character in an old -French romance? - -“Nicolete,” Eugenia said suddenly. And drawing the girl inside the -little kitchen, she carefully closed the outside door. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX _Eugenia_ - - -This year in the southern portion of France it was March, not May, that -came singing over the land. The days were soft and serene with the -warmth and sunshine of late spring. - -In front of the Chateau d’Amélie a peacock walked slowly across the -lawn, spreading his tail and then arching his neck in an effort to -behold his own grandeur. Near him two girls were walking up and down -with a young man dressed in the uniform of a British officer. Not far -away in a somewhat neglected garden a French peasant woman was laying -a cloth on a wooden table and setting out cups and saucers of fine old -china. It was self-evident that an afternoon meal of some kind was in -preparation and that the two girls and young man were waiting for it to -be made ready, and perhaps for other guests as well. - -This was all taking place in the very neighborhood which a few months -before had been overrun by the German troops after the retreat of the -French army. But the French had returned unto their own again, at least -in this particular vicinity where the Chateau d’Amélie had stood for -several centuries. Six weeks after their retreat before the superior -forces of the German enemy, the French had retaken their deserted -trenches, after driving the enemy out of the neighborhood. More than -this, they had afterwards forced the Germans to retire a quarter of a -mile further back beyond the borders of Alsace-Lorraine. - -Therefore happiness, or at least a degree of it, reigned once more in -this portion of France, and in no place perhaps was there a fuller -share than in the Chateau d’Amélie. - -“What do you suppose has become of Captain Castaigne? He promised to -join us at four o’clock,” one of the girls inquired carelessly. - -Before her question could be answered a wheeled chair appeared at one -side of the garden with a young man seated in it. His face and figure -suggested a semi-invalid, but his costume revealed extreme care and -elegance. Moreover, his expression was radiant. - -“Mes amis, you are more than welcome,” he cried, speaking a rather -absurd mixture of French and English. Then turning to the little old -man at the back of his chair he urged him to hurry, until the chair, -its driver and rider, fairly rollicked over the uneven lawn. - -There Captain Castaigne gravely shook hands with his guests, Nona -Davis and Barbara Meade, who had just come to the chateau from the -little “Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door.” Afterwards he smiled at -his friend Lieutenant Robert Hume, who was at present a visitor in his -house. - -“Mother will be here in a moment,” he explained. “She has asked me to -beg her adored American girl friends to wait a few moments until she is -able to be with them. The truth is, Madame la Comtesse is at present -engaged in making _petit gateaux_--little cakes, I believe you say. -She would not trust the peasant Emma with so delicate a commission. -But where is Mademoiselle Paybodé? Surely she has not forgotten her -promise!” - -Captain Castaigne’s face had suddenly changed; he seemed to be both -annoyed and disappointed. So as usual Barbara spoke impulsively without -thinking beforehand. - -“Oh, Eugenia is so tiresome!” she began with a little stamp of her -foot. “Nona and I thought all along up until the very last minute that -she was coming with us this afternoon. Then she insisted that she had a -slight headache and had best rest and read so it would not grow worse. -The truth is, I don’t believe she wanted to come. Besides, she had -the audacity to announce that she thought we would have a better time -without her.” - -Then Barbara ceased her confession, conscious that Nona was frowning -upon her and that it was scarcely good manners to have spoken so -freely. When would she ever get over her dreadful western candor? - -“I am sure Barbara is mistaken in at least a portion of her tirade,” -Nona interrupted. “Eugenia did have a headache or else she could not -have failed to wish to spend the afternoon with Madame Castaigne. -Really, I don’t think Eugenia is very well, although she will not admit -it. But since we came back to the farmhouse she has never been just the -same. She does not do half such hard nursing as she once did and yet -she is often tired and unlike herself. I expect----” Then Nona stopped -talking and laughed, for she had discovered Barbara smiling upon her -with wicked satisfaction. Having broken into the conversation to stem -the flood of Barbara’s tactlessness, she had now plunged in even deeper -than her friend. - -There was no one, however, to save her from the results of her -stupidity, for Henri Castaigne had flushed and looked miserably -uncomfortable as soon as she spoke. - -“There is small wonder that Miss Paybodé is not so strong as she once -was. When I think of all that she went through in those miserable weeks -with me, I cannot see how she endured it. It must have killed any one -else. Then there was the secrecy and the long concealment even when I -had sufficiently recovered to have been made a prisoner by the enemy. -Such strength, such courage! Mon Dieu, how shall I ever repay her?” - -The young French officer looked so unnecessarily tragic that to save -the situation his three friends laughed. - -“Oh, goodness, you don’t have to repay Eugenia! I am sure she really -loved taking care of you,” Barbara interposed. “Besides, I expect she -bullied you abominably. She adores bossing people. But there is my -Countess, I know she wishes to speak to me first, since I’m sure she -likes me best. _Au revoir._” And Barbara ran off in the direction of -the garden, where the figure of the Countess Amélie had just appeared, -leaving her three companions to follow. - -Nona then walked along by one side of Captain Castaigne’s chair, with -Lieutenant Hume on the other, while old François pushed nobly in the -rear. - -The French officer made no effort to hide his annoyance at Barbara’s -frankness. He was still weak and sometimes a little querulous after his -long illness. - -“Miss Meade does not understand, she does not appreciate Miss Paybodé,” -he began. “Even my mother, although she is on her knees to my friend -because of her great kindness to me, even she cannot see all that -Eugenié has been, all that she is----” - -This appeared to be a conversation of unfinished sentences, of things -better left unsaid, for Captain Castaigne now looked as if he would -give a great deal to have kept his last remark to himself. - -However, Nona Davis had the exquisite tact of many southern girls and -apparently had heard only the first part of her host’s speech. - -“Oh, you must not misunderstand Barbara and Eugenia,” she explained. -“Most of the time they disagree on every subject. But the truth is -they are really tremendously fond of each other. Why, now that Mildred -Thornton is in Paris with her brother Dick, I feel quite left out. -Barbara used to weep for Eugenia every night after we made our escape -with your mother and François through the passage under the chateau. -You see when we learned that she was not with Mildred, but had been -left behind, naturally we supposed that something dreadful had happened -to her. And of course Barbara understood how self-sacrificing Eugenia -always is and feared she had given her life for some one else. If you -only knew how happy we all were when we finally learned that you were -both alive and that Eugenia was caring for you!” - -“But how did you hear?” Lieutenant Hume demanded. The little party had -now almost reached the garden where the table was spread for their -entertainment, so there was but little time for Nona’s story. - -“Oh, we heard through a little French girl, Nicolete. You see, she came -to the farmhouse one day to see Eugenia, and after they had talked a -while Eugenia discovered that she was a friend of Captain Castaigne’s. -Then she told her that he was in hiding. After that Nicolete used to -come every day and bring supplies and seemed devoted to Eugenia. Well, -you remember Madame told you how François finally made his way back -to this neighborhood to try and find out what had become of Captain -Castaigne. You see the Countess was in despair, as naturally we all -believed that Captain Castaigne had been killed or taken prisoner, but -François would not give up. He was unkindly treated by the Germans when -he first came home, but afterwards they allowed him to work for them. -Then of course he saw Nicolete and she told him what had happened. So -we actually knew where Eugenia and Captain Castaigne were before we -were able to get back here. But you can imagine how anxious we used to -feel for fear they would be discovered and something dreadful done to -both of them!” - -“It is a perfectly ripping story,” Lieutenant Hume answered -convincingly. But he added nothing more, as Madame Castaigne at this -moment came forward to greet Nona. Actually the old French lady put -both her hands on Nona’s cheeks and kissed her daintily on the lips. -For the two young American girls had become her devoted friends and -admirers during the weeks they spent together after their escape from -the chateau. - -An hour later they were still sitting talking cheerfully together -in the old French garden. Only their host had disappeared. Captain -Castaigne had asked to be excused, and as he was still an invalid no -one thought seriously of his departure. Presumably he had retired -to his own apartments to rest. But the young French officer had not -felt like going indoors, although he was not in the mood for further -conversation. As it was still early in the afternoon he had asked -François to wheel his chair down into the woods which lay between the -chateau and the little “Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX _The Pool of Truth_ - - -There by the pool on a log with a book in her lap sat Eugenia. She -was not reading, however, although her book lay open. At the sound of -Captain Castaigne’s chair approaching she looked toward him. - -The young man’s expression was severe on this occasion, not Eugenia’s. - -“I am sorry to intrude upon you,” he began stiffly. “Your friends told -me that you were suffering from a headache; naturally I did not expect -to find you here.” - -In response Eugenia smiled good-naturedly, just as one might to a -fretful child. She had gotten up at once and now came forward and took -the young man’s hand. - -“I did have a headache, Captain Castaigne. I am too good a Puritan to -have told a complete story. But while I did not feel well enough to -see and talk to a number of persons, I did not desire to go to bed, -where Barbara was pleased to send me by way of punishment. Besides, -I knew your mother would prefer to have the two girls to herself. I -really think she misses them now that they can see so little of each -other. But why talk about me? You are stronger every day, aren’t you? -Can’t you walk with your crutches if François is near? Come, won’t you -try now? I am sure I can catch you if you are too much for François.” - -Two spots of angry color appeared in Captain Castaigne’s cheeks. - -“I am through with your support, Miss Paybodé,” he returned curtly. -“When I choose to walk I prefer not to be held up by a woman.” - -“Oh,” Eugenia answered, and stared at her former patient helplessly. -What had she said or done to make him so angry? - -But the next instant the young officer had taken her hand and in French -fashion touched it with his lips. - -“Forgive me,” he said, “I am impossible. This, after I depended on you -so long for every care. If you will be so good, I think I should like -to sit there on the log where you were sitting.” - -During his illness Eugenia had grown so accustomed to these swift -changes of mood in her patient that she paid no especial attention to -this one. Instead she helped him out of his chair and kept at his side -while he hobbled over to the log she had just deserted. - -But when she stood above him looking down upon him with pride and -satisfaction over his achievement he grew angry again. - -“If you cannot sit beside me I have no idea of taking your place,” he -protested. - -The next instant Eugenia sank meekly down. It rather amused her to have -Captain Castaigne treat her in this fashion. - -Just before them was the small lake which Nona and Barbara had -discovered the first morning after their arrival at the farmhouse. It -was shadowy now with the coming of evening, but still the water was -coolly clear. Its beauty soothed one to silence. - -It was Eugenia who spoke first. - -“I am glad to have this moment here with you, Captain Castaigne,” she -began, with a return to her former manner. “Because I wish to tell you -and have you explain to your mother that Nona and Barbara and I may be -leaving this part of the country in a little while. The truth is, our -services as nurses are not needed here as they were some months ago. -There is little fighting going on and several new French nurses came -down from Paris the other day. Besides this, Mrs. Thornton and Judge -Thornton have grown very nervous and unhappy over Mildred, as well as -the rest of us, in the last few weeks. They have both written to urge -me to persuade the other girls to join me and go into Belgium to help -with the relief work there. You are almost well now, so I shall be able -to say good-by with much greater satisfaction.” - -This last speech Eugenia made in a gracious tone and yet her companion -received it ungraciously. And this in spite of the fact that his manner -was usually charming. - -“There is no time when you would not say good-by to me with -satisfaction, Miss Paybodé,” he returned. “However, if I am spared -perhaps I may some day show my appreciation of your great kindness. -I have written my colonel to say that I shall be able to rejoin my -command in another week or ten days. I have wasted much valuable -time with two illnesses. Perhaps the third may be my lucky one!” he -finished, casting his dark eyes upward with dramatic intensity. - -In reply Eugenia actually patted his knee in a comforting, motherly -fashion. - -“Don’t be absurd. You cannot return to your command for two or three -months at least,” she admonished. - -“Two or three weeks shall be the limit to my patience,” her companion -repeated, still talking like a sulky boy. - -Eugenia frowned. “I shall speak to your mother. She will never allow -it.” Again her manner was that of a New England school teacher. -Nevertheless Captain Castaigne did not smile. Yet he seemed to have -forgotten his age and dignity as well as rank in the army, for you see -he had been a good many weeks under Eugenia’s discipline. - -“The day you go to Belgium I shall return to my post,” he muttered. - -Eugenia would like to have shaken him. Had he been in the little -“Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door,” she would simply have gotten up -at this instant and left her patient until he had learned to behave -himself. But at present the circumstances were different, and besides -she might not have a chance to talk to him again. So somehow he must be -made to behave sensibly. - -“You will do no such thing. You owe more than that to me,” Eugenia -protested unexpectedly. A few moments before she would not have -believed that any earthly thing could have forced her to mention, -either to Captain Castaigne or to any one else, the sacrifices which -she had made for him. But now she had spoken deliberately and meaning -exactly what she said. - -Nevertheless the young French officer did not answer immediately. - -“Eugenié,” he said finally, and the querulous, boyish note in his voice -had quite gone, “you must listen to me. I have been talking like a -child, but I am scarcely surprised at myself, since you have always -insisted upon treating me as scarcely more than a child. I have borne -with it because I have been ill and you have known me only in that -condition. But, Eugenié, I will endure it no longer.” - -The young man’s voice held a quietly determined quality. He was -perfectly courteous and yet his listener understood at this instant why -he was considered one of the most forceful as well as one of the most -popular of the younger officers in the French service. - -Nevertheless Eugenia scarcely knew how or what to reply. - -“I am so sorry, Captain Castaigne,” she answered. “I have not intended -to fail in respect to you. But perhaps I have unintentionally presumed -on your long weakness and dependence upon me.” - -And this from Eugenia! Moreover, her face had flushed and she could not -lift her lids because of the tears in her eyes. Yet she was not really -angry with Captain Castaigne. - -The next time he spoke his voice was once more gentle and he even -managed to smile. - -“You know that is not what I mean in the least. It is absurd of you -to talk of showing proper respect to me, Eugenié, as if I were your -commanding officer. Surely you understand that when a man cares for a -woman as I do for you, there is but one thing possible between them. -They must love each other fully and equally. I know you have nothing -but a kindly feeling for me, but you shall not go away, when I may -never see you again, without hearing the truth.” - -Still Eugenia did not understand! Nevertheless her face grew pale -instead of flushed and her dark eyes gazed into her companion’s almost -curiously. - -Yet the next moment, when Captain Castaigne touched her hand with -infinite gentleness and respect, she drew it coldly away from him. - -“I quite understand your gratitude, Captain Castaigne. But please -appreciate the fact that it is unnecessary for you to go this far to -express your obligation. I have only done for you what I would have -done for any one in the world under the same circumstances.” - -“I am entirely aware of that fact,” the young officer answered curtly. - -Then he and Eugenia both maintained a dignified silence for the space -of sixty seconds. - -By this time the girl rose up. - -“This is our good-by, perhaps. We may not see each other alone again. -You must forgive me if I seem to be cold and unfeeling. Of course, I -should have cared for any one just as I cared for you. But I should not -have been so glad to have been given the opportunity had my patient -been any other person.” Eugenia was trying her best to cast aside the -cold and formal manner which had made her misunderstood all the days -of her life. In her earnestness somehow she looked younger and humbler -than usual. Indeed, she was a very fair and lovely woman standing -there with her hands clasped before her. Her eyes were shining with -the sincerity of her emotion, while her attitude expressed a strange -mixture of dignity and appeal. - -“When we first met each other, Captain Castaigne, I confess I had a -wrong idea of you. Now I feel that I could have rendered France no -greater service than to have saved your life. Since I came abroad to -nurse in order to help the little I am able, perhaps my coming has not -been in vain. Good-by.” - -She was moving away, when the young officer reached out and took hold -of her skirt. - -“Please don’t go for another moment,” he pleaded. “Of course I -understand that so noble a woman cannot love a man who has so little to -offer as I have. Why, in spite of all our lands, my mother and I are -little more than paupers! And if I am spared when this war is over, -perhaps I shall always be lame.” - -The girl was standing looking down at the young fellow whose head was -slightly bowed, when instinctively she laid her firm, beautiful hand -on his head with unconscious sympathy and tenderness. She had done the -same thing so many times before during his illness. But Eugenia’s hand -now trembled a little, for she was slowly beginning to appreciate what -Captain Castaigne had been trying to say to her. - -Curious, for Eugenia to think first that she had never received a -proposal before in her life, or she might have known better how to -receive it. Then her next sensation was an odd combination of gratitude -and protest. - -“I have been very stupid, Captain Castaigne, and you have been very -good,” she answered. “But even if you believe what you have just said -to me, and of course I know that you would not deceive me, you yourself -must realize that nothing but friendship can ever exist between us. -I am several years older than you, and I have no delusions about my -own attractions. You are young and brilliant, but then I need not -enumerate your gifts,” the girl added, smiling with a kind of gentle -humorousness she had never possessed before. “All this is merely -gratitude you feel toward me, and a little affection because of my care -of you. Six months from now I shall be only a memory.” - -“Then you _do not_ love me?” Captain Castaigne inquired bluntly. He it -was who had now cast aside all his soft graciousness of manner, the -delicate evasions of the direct truth, that sometimes constitute what -is known as a charming manner. It was Eugenia who, in spite of her -Puritan faith and training, was refusing to meet the issue fairly. - -She hesitated because the truth overwhelmed her. The idea of caring for -Captain Castaigne except as a friend had never for a single instant -before occurred to her. Of course, he had filled her life and thoughts -for many weeks, but that was because of the peculiar situation into -which they had been forced by circumstances. Moreover, the thought of -their never meeting again had given her a sense of loss and emptiness. -Yet Eugenia stuck by her colors gallantly. - -“That is not the important question, Captain Castaigne, and I cannot -answer you. For always there would remain an impossible gulf between -us. There is your position, your mother’s disappointment, our different -ways of looking at life. Why, you would soon become dreadfully ashamed -of a New England old maid endeavoring to turn herself into a charming -young wife.” - -Eugenia glanced into the little pool of water near by, shadowed by the -trees. “Nona has been calling this tiny lake ‘The Pool of Melisande,’ -Captain Castaigne, but to me it is a mirror of truth, in which I can -see myself only too plainly. It is growing late and you must not be -out in the cold air. Please let me call François and have him take you -home.” - -Receiving no reply but a quiet look of determination, Eugenia summoned -the old man. Then she assisted François to get the young officer back -into his wheeled chair and afterwards stood watching them until they -had both disappeared. - -Then, as it was almost twilight, Eugenia turned and began to walk -slowly toward the little French farmhouse. She realized that she had -just deliberately turned her back upon the fairest opportunity life -might ever offer her. Nevertheless, both her conscience and her brain -approved her action. - -“There is only one thing which I might have confided and did not,” -Eugenia murmured reflectively. “Perhaps I should have explained that it -would not matter in the least that Henri and his mother have no money. -I have more than enough for us all.” Then as she drew nearer home: -“Never mind, Captain Castaigne will soon have forgotten what he has -just said to me. But perhaps it is just as well that we are soon to go -into Belgium to help with the Red Cross work there, for I may not find -it quite so easy to forget.” - -When she reached home it was dark. But as the other girls had not -yet returned from the chateau, Eugenia went upstairs to her own room -without making a light. There she flung herself down upon the bed, -remembering gratefully that because she had a headache, she might -reasonably be allowed to spend the evening alone. Then Barbara would -have no chance to ask questions. - - * * * * * - -The third volume in the American Girls’ Red Cross series is to be known -as “The Red Cross Girls in Belgium.” In this story the four girls will -be at work in an even more tragically interesting land. Here their -adventures and their romances will continue and one of the girls at -least shall find what is at once the end and the beginning of a girl’s -career. - -The book will also deal with conditions in Belgium at the present time -and show how the people of the United States have brought aid and -relief to a suffering nation. - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - -Punctuation has been made consistent. - -Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have -been corrected. - -The following change was made: - -p. 179: ” inserted (the enemy!” They) - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH -FIRING LINE*** - - -******* This file should be named 60265-0.txt or 60265-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/2/6/60265 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/60265-0.zip b/old/60265-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 58be653..0000000 --- a/old/60265-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60265-h.zip b/old/60265-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ebe0eaf..0000000 --- a/old/60265-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60265-h/60265-h.htm b/old/60265-h/60265-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 78016bb..0000000 --- a/old/60265-h/60265-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8498 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> -<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing Line, by Margaret Vandercook</title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.p1 {margin-top: 1em;} -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} - -/*Modified horizontal rules to fix ePub display issue*/ -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -/*End modified horizontal rule CSS*/ - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -/*Table of Contents format*/ -table.toc { max-width: 30em;} -td.tocchapter{ text-align: right; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 1em;} -td.toctitle { text-align: left; vertical-align: top; text-indent: -1.3em; padding-left: 1.3em;} -td.tocpage { text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom; padding-left: 1em;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -.boxit{ - max-width: 30em; - padding: 1em; - border: 0.2em solid black; - margin: 0 auto; } - -.padit{padding-left:4em} - -.boxtitle{ - max-width: 25em; - padding: 1em; - border-style:double; - border-width: 0.45em; - margin: 0 auto; } - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} - -.poetry -{ - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} - -.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .indentquote0 {text-indent: -3.5em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .indent1{text-indent: -2em; padding-left: 3em;} -/* End poetry*/ - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -/*CSS to set font sizes*/ -/*font sizes for non-header font changes*/ -.xxlargefont{font-size: xx-large} -.xlargefont{font-size: x-large} -.largefont{font-size: large} -.smallfont{font-size: small} -.boldfont{font-weight:bold} -.cheaderfont{font-size:x-large} - -/*for drop caps*/ -p.dropcap { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -p.dropcap:first-letter -{ - float: left; - font-size: 2.75em; - padding-right: 0.05em; - margin-top: 0.1em; - margin-bottom: -0.1em; - line-height: 0.65em; -} - -/*CSS to force a page break in ePub*/ -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} - -/*Half-title page CSS*/ -#half-title -{ - text-align: center; - font-size: x-large; -} - -@media screen -{ - #half-title{ - margin: 6em 0; - } -} - -@media print, handheld -{ - #half-title{ - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; - margin: 0; - padding-top: 6em; - } -} -/*End half-title page CSS*/ - -/*CSS markup for handhelds -- put at end of CSS*/ -@media handheld -{ - img {max-width: 100%; height: auto;} /*Limit width to display*/ - - h2.no-break - { - page-break-before: avoid; - padding-top: 0; - } - - .poetry - { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; - } - - /*for drop caps -- gets rid of drop cap on eReaders*/ - p.dropcap:first-letter - { - font-size: 1em; - padding-right: 0em; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - line-height: 1em; - } -} -/*End CSS for handhelds*/ - - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing -Line, by Margaret Vandercook</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing Line</p> -<p>Author: Margaret Vandercook</p> -<p>Release Date: September 8, 2019 [eBook #60265]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood,<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Villanova University Digital Library<br /> - (<a href="https://digital.library.villanova.edu/">https://digital.library.villanova.edu/</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Villanova University Digital Library. See - <a href="https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:382657#"> - https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:382657#</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 551px;"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="551" height="800" alt="Cover." /> -</div> - - -<div class="p4"> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/frontpastedown.jpg" width="600" height="457" alt="Front paste-down." /> -</div></div> - -<p id="half-title">THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON<br /> -THE FRENCH FIRING<br /> -LINE</p> - -<div class="boxit"> - -<p class="xlargefont boldfont center">BOOKS BY MARGARET VANDERCOOK</p> - -<p class="center largefont p1">THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES</p> - -<p class="padit"><span class="smcap">The Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Ranch Girls’ Pot of Gold</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Ranch Girls at Boarding School</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Ranch Girls in Europe</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Ranch Girls at Home Again</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Ranch Girls and their Great Adventure</span></p> - -<p class="center largefont p1">THE RED CROSS GIRLS SERIES</p> - -<p class="padit"><span class="smcap">The Red Cross Girls in the British Trenches</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing Line</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Red Cross Girls in Belgium</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Red Cross Girls with the Italian Army</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Red Cross Girls Under the Stars and Stripes</span></p> - -<p class="center largefont p1">STORIES ABOUT CAMP FIRE GIRLS</p> - -<p class="padit"><span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls at Sunrise Hill</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls Amid the Snows</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls in the Outside World</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls Across the Sea</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls’ Careers</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls in After Years</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls in the Desert</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">The Camp Fire Girls at the End of the Trail</span></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="411" height="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p class="center"><span class="smcap">Captain Castaigne Lay Hidden Under a Pile of Bed -Clothes</span>—(<em>See <a href="#Ref_225">page 225</a></em>)</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="boxtitle"> - -<h1>The Red Cross Girls<br /> -On the French Firing Line</h1> - - -<p class="center p2" style="line-height:1.5">By<br /> -<span class="xlargefont">MARGARET VANDERCOOK</span></p> - -<p class="center">Author of “The Ranch Girls Series,” “Stories<br /> -about Camp Fire Girls Series,” etc.</p> - -<p class="center p2 xlargefont" style="font-style:italic">Illustrated</p> - -<p class="center p2 xlargefont">The John C. Winston Company<br /> -Philadelphia</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p class="center">Copyright, 1916, by<br /> -<span class="smcap">The John C. Winston Co.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[5]</span></p> - - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<div class="center"> -<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<tr><td class="tocchapter"><span class="smallfont">CHAPTER</span></td><td></td><td class="tocpage"><span class="smallfont">PAGE</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">I.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Place de l’Opera</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">II.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Another Meeting</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">III.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Cross of the Legion of Honor</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">On the Roof</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">V.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Other Fields</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Chateau</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Nicolete</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Who Goes There?</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">A Conversation</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">X.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Chateau d’Amélie</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Prejudice Deepens</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Not Peace But War</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Danger</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Parting of the Ways</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Other Two Girls</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Discovery</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Recognition</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Out of the Depth</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Eugenia</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Pool of Truth</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span></p> - -<p class="center xxlargefont">THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON<br /> -THE FRENCH FIRING<br /> -LINE</p> - - -<h2 class="no-break">CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Place de l’Opera</i></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">Not long after the beginning of the -war in Europe four American girls -set sail from New York City to -aid in the Red Cross nursing.</p> - -<p>When they boarded the “Philadelphia” -they were almost strangers to one another. -And never were girls more unlike.</p> - -<p>Eugenia Peabody, the oldest of the four, -hailed from Massachusetts and appeared -almost as stern and forbidding as the rock-bound -coasts. Privately the others insisted -in the early part of their acquaintance that -this same Eugenia must have been born an -“old maid.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[8]</span></p> - -<p>Mildred Thornton was the daughter of -a distinguished New York judge and her -mother a prominent society woman. But -Mildred herself cared little for a butterfly -existence. With the call of the suffering -sounding in her ears she had given up a -luxurious existence for the hardships and -perils of a Red Cross nurse.</p> - -<p>The youngest of the four girls, Barbara -Meade, was a very small person with a -large store of energy and unexpectedness. -And the last girl, Nona Davis, was a native -of the conservative old city of Charleston, -South Carolina. Although a mystery -shadowed her mother’s history, Nona had -been brought up by her father, a one-time -Confederate general, with all the ideas and -traditions of the old South.</p> - -<p>Yet in spite of these contrasts in their -natures and lives, the four American Red -Cross girls had spent more than six months -caring for the wounded British soldiers -in the Sacred Heart Hospital in northern -France.</p> - -<p>With the closing of the last story the news -had come that the headquarters of the<span class="pagenum">[9]</span> -hospital must be changed at once. At -any hour the German invaders might swarm -into the countryside.</p> - -<p>There had been but little time to remove -the wounded. So, not wishing to add to the -responsibilities and finding themselves more -in the way than of service, the four girls -had escaped together to a small town in -France farther away from the enemy’s line.</p> - -<p>Here they concluded to offer their aid -to the Croix de Rouge, or the Red Cross -Society of France.</p> - -<p>But this was in the spring, and now -another autumn has come round.</p> - -<p>One wonders what the four American -girls are doing and where they are living.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The great square in front of the Grand -Opera House in Paris surged with excited -people.</p> - -<p>Automobiles and carriages crowded with -men and women, waving tri-colored flags, -filled the streets. It was a warm October -night with a brilliant canopy of stars overhead.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[10]</span></p> - -<p>“Vive la France! Vive l’Armée!” the -throng shouted, swaying backward and -forward in its effort to draw closer to the -great palace.</p> - -<p>There must have been between five and -ten thousand persons in the neighborhood, -for tonight France was celebrating her -greatest achievement of the war. At last -the news had come that the victorious -French army had driven the Germans back -across the frontiers of Alsace-Lorraine. -Once again the French flag was planted -within their lost provinces.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="indentquote0">“Allons, enfants, de la patrie, -</div><div class="indent0">Le jour de gloire est arrivé.” -</div></div></div></div> - -<p>In the crowd a woman had started the -singing of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Marseillaise</i>. Immediately -thousands of voices joined in the song, -while thousands of feet kept time upon the -paving stones to this greatest of all marching -measures.</p> - -<p>Six broad streets in Paris converge into a -triangular square which is known as the -Place de l’Opera. From here one looks -upward to the opera house itself, a splendid<span class="pagenum">[11]</span> -building three stories in height and approached -by a broad flight of stone steps.</p> - -<p>Standing within the crowd, a little to the -left of the opera, was a group of five persons, -four of them girls, while the fifth was a young -man whose coat was buttoned in such a -fashion that he appeared to have but one -arm. However, the other arm hung limp -and useless underneath his coat.</p> - -<p>Although their appearance and accents -were those of foreigners, two of the girls -in the little party were singing along with -the French crowd. The other two were -silent, although their faces expressed equal -interest and animation.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the singing of the street crowd -ceased. The central door of the opera house -had been thrown open and a young woman -came out upon the portico. She was dressed -in a clinging white robe and wore upon her -head a diadem of brilliants, while in her -hands she carried the French flag. So -skilfully had the lights been arranged -behind her that she could be seen for a great -distance. To the onlookers she represented -the symbolic female figure of the great<span class="pagenum">[12]</span> -French Republic, “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.”</p> - -<p>For a moment after her appearance there -was a breathless silence, then the next even -more enthusiastic shouts resounded:</p> - -<p>“Vive Chenel! Vive Chenel!” Hats -were thrown into the air, thousands of flags -waved, while myriads of handkerchiefs -fluttered like white doves.</p> - -<p>It was a night to be always remembered -by the people who shared its rapture.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="indentquote0">“Aux armes, citoyens, formez vos bataillons! -</div><div class="indent0">Marchons! Marchons!” -</div></div></div></div> - -<p>With the closing of the final verse of the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Marseillaise</i>, in the midst of the wild -applause, the smallest of the four girls in the -little group placed her hand gently upon the -armless sleeve of her young man companion.</p> - -<p>“Tonight makes up for a good deal, -doesn’t it, Dick?” she queried a little -wistfully. As she spoke her blue eyes were -shining with excitement, while a warm color -flooded her cheeks.</p> - -<p>The young fellow nodded. “It is the -greatest spectacle I ever saw and one we<span class="pagenum">[13]</span> -shall never forget,” he replied. “Yet there -will be a greater night to come when this -war is finally over, though when that night -will be no one can foretell.”</p> - -<p>Dick Thornton spoke gravely and seemed -weary from the evening’s excitement. But -then something of what he had passed -through in the last six months showed in -other ways than in his empty coat sleeve.</p> - -<p>Without his knowledge, the girl who had -been speaking continued to study him for -another moment. Then she turned to -Mildred Thornton, who was on her other -side, and whispered:</p> - -<p>“Mill, Dick is tired, but would rather -die than confess it. Can’t you think of -some way to get us out of this crowd before -the breaking up begins? The jam then -will be awful and we may not be able to -keep together.”</p> - -<p>Up to the instant of Barbara Meade’s -suggestion, Mildred had forgotten all personal -matters in her interest in the music -and the vivid beauty of the scene surrounding -them. Now she too glanced toward her -brother.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[14]</span></p> - -<p>“Dick,” she suggested at once, “don’t -you think we had best start back toward -our pension? Madame Chenel is to sing an -encore and I’m sorry we must miss it, but I -really think it would be more sensible to -go.”</p> - -<p>With the closing of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Marseillaise</i> the -celebrated singer had disappeared. Now -in the midst of Mildred’s remark she -returned to the balcony of the Opera House. -No longer was she wearing her crown of -brilliants, nor carrying the immense French -flag. Instead her head was uncovered, -showing her dark hair and eyes and the flag -she bore was British, not French.</p> - -<p>Then she began singing in English, but -with a delicious French accent:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="indentquote0">“It’s a long way to Tipperary, -</div><div class="indent1">It’s a long way to go.” -</div></div></div></div> - -<p>The crowd joined in the chorus. There -were soldiers on the street, who had returned -to Paris on leaves of absence, after learning -English from the Tommies in the trenches. -Others had only a faint knowledge of a few -English words. But everybody sang, and<span class="pagenum">[15]</span> -because some of the voices were French and -others English the effect was all the more -thrilling and amusing.</p> - -<p>Naturally Dick hesitated for a moment, -then he remembered his own condition. -Certainly he would be powerless to push -their way through the great throng. Then -if by chance rioting should break out from -sheer excitement, it would be impossible -for him to protect four girls. True, the -American Red Cross girls were fairly well -able to look after themselves in most emergencies. -But Dick Thornton did not like -the idea of having them put to the test at -such a time and under the present circumstances.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid you are right, Mildred,” he -agreed reluctantly. “Let’s form a single -file; I’ll go first and all of you follow me. -Tell the others.”</p> - -<p>Mildred at once put her arm inside a -young woman’s who was standing near her, -apparently oblivious of the past conversation. -Yet one would have expected Eugenia -Peabody to have been first to have made the -sensible suggestion of the past few moments.<span class="pagenum">[16]</span> -Yet it was Barbara Meade with whom it -had actually originated.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia too had been swept off her -feet with enthusiasm. Moreover, she could -scarcely make up her mind now to agree -to leave, although plainly appreciating -the situation. Eugenia looked surprisingly -handsome tonight.</p> - -<p>In the first place, she wore a new Paris -frock, which after long insistence the other -three girls had persuaded her to buy. It -was an inexpensive dress of dark-blue cloth -and silk, but it was stylishly made and -extremely becoming. Above all, Eugenia -had at last discarded the unattractive hat -in which she had set sail, and which she had -resolutely worn until this day. The new -one had only cost five francs, but one -should see the character of hat that can be -bought in Paris for one dollar!</p> - -<p>Eugenia, it is true, had begrudged even -that small amount for her own adornment, -until Nona and Barbara had refused to -appear upon the street with her still in her -ancient “Alpine.” However, although she -rebelled against the unnecessary extravagance,<span class="pagenum">[17]</span> -so far Eugenia had not regretted her -purchases.</p> - -<p>At the present moment she was standing -next to Nona Davis and turned to speak to -her.</p> - -<p>“Nona, I am sorry when it’s all so -wonderful, but we must start back to the -pension at once. Please come on,” she -insisted authoritatively.</p> - -<p>And Eugenia had every reason to believe -that Nona heard her words and agreed with -her. She even thought that Nona moved -on a few paces behind her. Moreover, -this is exactly what she did. Nevertheless, -Nona afterwards insisted that her act must -have been purely involuntary, since she was -not conscious of having heard or obeyed -her companion.</p> - -<p>If the little group of five Americans had -been enthralled by the night’s excitement, -it was Nona Davis who was most completely -swept off her feet. Never had she even -dreamed of such beauty and glamour as this -gala night in Paris offered!</p> - -<p>So little even of her own land had Nona -seen, nothing save Charleston and the<span class="pagenum">[18]</span> -surrounding neighborhood and the view -from her car window on her way to New -York City.</p> - -<p>The few days in London had been overhung -with the thought of the work ahead. -But here in Paris for the past week the four -Red Cross girls had been enjoying a brief -holiday and were completely under the -spell of the fascinating and beautiful city.</p> - -<p>Upon persons with a far wider experience -of life and places than Nona Davis, Paris -frequently casts this same spell. Indeed, -it sometimes seems impossible that a city -can be so beautiful and yet suited to the -uses of everyday life. Both in Paris and -in Venice one often expects to wake up -and find the city a dream and not a reality.</p> - -<p>Certainly Nona had turned automatically -to do as Eugenia had commanded her. But -unfortunately, at the same moment Madame -Chenel finished her English song and began -at once on another which by an odd chance -had a reminiscent quality for Nona. Instinctively -she paused to listen and remember.</p> - -<p>Her impression of the song was one of -long ago. Nona’s mother had once been in<span class="pagenum">[19]</span> -New Orleans. Now the vision came to her -daughter of an old-fashioned spinet at one -end of the drawing room in her home in -Charleston, and of a young woman in a -white dress with blue ribbons sitting there -singing this same French verse.</p> - -<p>For the moment everything else was -forgotten. The girl simply stood spellbound -until the great artist finished. Only -when she began bowing her thanks to the -applauding crowd, did Nona turn again -to look for Eugenia and her other friends. -But as more than five minutes had passed -since their warning, and as they had believed -Nona following them, no one of the four -could be seen.</p> - -<p>Moreover, at this same moment the great -crowd began to break up. Then, as is -always the case, everybody struggled to get -away at the same moment.</p> - -<p>Just at first Nona was not alarmed at -finding herself alone; she was simply -bewildered. However, because she was -endeavoring to stand still while every one -else was moving, she was constantly being -shoved from side to side.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[20]</span></p> - -<p>Her first intention was to remain in the -same place for a few moments. Then Dick -or one of the girls would probably return -for her. However, she soon appreciated -that no human being could push their way -back through the thronging multitude. -Moreover, she too must move along or be -trampled upon.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, the fact that she was alone -did not seem to have been observed. For -although the people in her neighborhood -were not rough and ugly, as an English or -Teutonic crowd might have been, nevertheless, -Nona knew that for a young girl to be -alone at night in the streets of Paris was -an unheard-of thing. Besides, later on the -crowd might indulge in noisier ways of -celebrating the German defeat than by -listening to the singing of the great prima -donna.</p> - -<p>What had she best do? As she was being -pushed along, Nona was also thinking -rapidly, although somewhat confusedly. -She had not been on the street alone since -her arrival. Both Mildred and Dick Thornton -were familiar with Paris and had been -acting as the others’ escorts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[21]</span></p> - -<p>Their little French pension happened to -be over on the other side of Paris. Fortunately, -Nona remembered that she could -find a bus near the Madeleine, the famous -church not more than a dozen blocks away -from the neighborhood of the opera. But -how to reach this destination and what bus -to take after her arrival? These were -problems still to be dealt with. First of all, -she must keep her forlorn condition a secret -from observers in order not to be spoken -to by an impertinent stranger.</p> - -<p>Naturally Nona appreciated that it was -impossible for all Frenchmen to be equally -courteous. Therefore, one of them might -misunderstand her present predicament.</p> - -<p>However, as there was nothing else to -do she continued moving with the crowd. -In the meantime she kept assuring herself -that it was absurd to be so nervous over an -ordinary adventure. Think what experiences -she had so lately passed through as -a Red Cross nurse!</p> - -<p>But if she had only been wearing her -nurse’s uniform, always it served as a -protection! Yet naturally when one was<span class="pagenum">[22]</span> -off duty and merely a holiday visitor in a -city, it was pleasanter to dress like other -persons.</p> - -<p>Like Eugenia, Nona was also wearing a -new frock. Hers was of black silk with a -hat of black tulle, making her fair hair and -skin more conspicuous by contrast. Certainly -she would be apt to attract attention -among the darker, more vividly colored -French girls.</p> - -<p>But Nona had gone half the distance to -the Madeleine before she was annoyed. -Then just as she was about to cross the -street at one of the corners, an arm was -unexpectedly slipped through hers.</p> - -<p>With her heart pounding with terror and -every bit of color drained from her cheeks, -Nona looked up into the eyes of an impertinent -youth.</p> - -<p>“La belle Americaine!” he announced -insolently.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Another Meeting</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">The next instant Nona recovered -her poise. She was, however, both -frightened and angry. Yet if it -were possible to avoid it, she did not wish -to raise an alarm nor create any kind of -commotion upon the street.</p> - -<p>At first quietly and firmly she attempted -removing her arm, at the same time regarding -the Frenchman with an expression of -scorn and disapproval.</p> - -<p>“Let me go at once,” she said, speaking -excellent French, so there was no possibility -of being misunderstood.</p> - -<p>But the young man only shrugged his -shoulders, looking, if she had but known it, -more mischievous than wicked.</p> - -<p>But Nona was now gazing despairingly -about her. There were numbers of persons -near by, stout mothers and fathers, -the respectable tradespeople of Paris, with<span class="pagenum">[24]</span> -the usual French family of two children. -Nona could, of course, appeal to any one of -them. But just at the instant no one was -sufficiently near to accost without raising -her voice. This would, of course, attract -public attention, which, if possible, Nona -did not wish to do.</p> - -<p>So she waited another second, hoping -her tormentor would release her of his own -accord. Finding he did not intend this, -she glanced about for assistance a second -time. Then she discovered two young -officers passing within a few feet of her. -One of them wore a British uniform and -the other French.</p> - -<p>Nona spoke quickly, knowing instinctively -that the men were gentlemen.</p> - -<p>“Stop a moment, please!” she asked. -“I am a stranger and have lost my friends -in the crowd. This man is annoying me.”</p> - -<p>Then in spite of her efforts the girl’s -voice shook with nervousness while her eyes -filled with humiliated tears.</p> - -<p>With her first words the two officers -whirled around. At the same moment -Nona’s persecutor started to run. However,<span class="pagenum">[25]</span> -he was not quick enough, for the -young French officer managed to slip his -scabbard between the fellow’s feet. At -once he was face down on the ground and -only brought upright again by the officer’s -hand on his collar.</p> - -<p>In the interval the other young man was -gazing at Nona Davis in surprise and perhaps -with something like pleasure.</p> - -<p>“Miss Davis,” he began, lifting his -officer’s cap formally, “are we never to -meet except under extraordinary circumstances? -You may not remember me, but -I am Lieutenant Hume, Colonel Dalton’s -aide. Perhaps you recall that unfortunate -affair in which Miss Thornton was concerned -at the Sacred Heart Hospital? But -before that you know there was our first -meeting at the gardener’s cottage in Surrey.”</p> - -<p>It was unnecessary for Lieutenant Hume -to present Nona with all his credentials of -acquaintance. For at this instant she was -too unreservedly glad to see him. To -have discovered some one whom she knew -at such a trying time was an unexpected -boon.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[26]</span></p> - -<p>“I am, you see—oh, I can’t explain now,” -Nona protested. “But, Lieutenant Hume, -if you have nothing very important to do, -won’t you be kind enough to put me on -the right bus. I am trying to get back to -our pension. And though I am sorry to be -so stupid, I am lost and dreadfully frightened.”</p> - -<p>The hand that Nona now extended to -her English acquaintance was cold with -nervousness.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Hume took it and bowed -courteously. “Of course I will take you -home with the greatest pleasure,” he returned. -At the same time he smiled to -himself:</p> - -<p>“Girls are indeed strange creatures, say -what you will! Here is a young American -girl who has been doing Red Cross work -near the battlefield. She has been able to -keep her head and remain cool and collected -among war’s horrors, but because she has -been spoken to on the street by a young -ruffian she is terrified and confused.” -Possibly she would have scorned his protection -in the face of an artillery charge, when<span class="pagenum">[27]</span> -under the present conditions a masculine -protector was fairly useful.</p> - -<p>Now for the first time the young French -officer spoke. He had just given his captive -a rough shake and then straightened -him up again after a second attempt to get -away.</p> - -<p>“What shall I do with this fellow, Mademoiselle?” -he asked, speaking English with -difficulty, but showing extraordinarily white, -even teeth under a small, dark moustache. -Indeed, Nona decided that she had never -seen a more charming and debonair figure -than the young French officer, when he -finally engaged her attention. He could -scarcely have been more than five feet, -four inches tall, yet his figure was perfectly -built. He was slender, but from the casual -fashion in which he gripped the other man, -who was several inches taller and far -heavier, he must have been extraordinarily -strong.</p> - -<p>“Oh, let the man go, please,” Nona murmured -weakly. “Yes, I know I should -have you turn him over to a gendarme and -appear against him in court, but really I -should hate doing it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[28]</span></p> - -<p>The girl smiled at the young French -officer’s evident disappointment. He made -no protest, however; only he gave the -man another half-savage shake and said -rapidly in French:</p> - -<p>“Why aren’t you with the army, you -miserable loafer? Your name at once?” -Then, when the offender mumbled something -indistinguishable: “Report to me -at the barracks tomorrow. Oh, I shall -find you again, never fear, and it will then -be imprisonment for you.”</p> - -<p>The moment after the man had run away -the French officer stood at attention with -his shoulders erect and his feet together. -The next he bowed to Nona in an exquisitely -correct fashion, as Lieutenant Hume -introduced him.</p> - -<p>“Miss Davis, my friend, Captain Henri -Castaigne, one of the youngest captains in -the French army.” Lieutenant Hume then -added boyishly: “Tomorrow he is to be -presented with the Cross of the Legion of -Honor.”</p> - -<p>Nona was naturally impressed by such -an introduction. But evidently the young<span class="pagenum">[29]</span> -officer preferred not having his praises -sung to a complete stranger. He pretended -not even to have heard his friend’s last -remark.</p> - -<p>“I will say au revoir,” he returned graciously. -“Since you and Lieutenant Hume -are old acquaintances, he will prefer to take -you to your friends unaccompanied by me.”</p> - -<p>He was about to withdraw when Nona -interposed.</p> - -<p>“But you must have had some engagement -together for the evening. Now if -you separate on my account your evening -will be spoiled. So please don’t trouble -to take me all the way to the pension; just -find my omnibus and——”</p> - -<p>Both young men laughed. The idea of -leaving a girl alone in such an extremity -was of course an absurdity.</p> - -<p>“Oh, come along, Henri, Miss Davis will -be able to endure your society for a few -moments as long as I was braced to endure -it all evening.” Lieutenant Hume added: -“Besides, it may help your education to -talk to an American girl. Castaigne does -not know a thing except military tactics;<span class="pagenum">[30]</span> -he is rather a duffer,” the English officer -continued half proudly and half with a -pretense of contempt. It was not difficult -to discover that there was a good deal of -affection existing between the two young -officers of the Allied armies.</p> - -<p>Nona wondered how they happened to -know each other so intimately.</p> - -<p>“By the way, Lieutenant Hume,” she -asked, when they had finally reached the -desired square and stood waiting their turn -on the overcrowded omnibus. “How in -the world do you chance to be in Paris -instead of at the front? The last time I -heard of you, you were in the midst of -desperate fighting.”</p> - -<p>The young man answered so quietly -that no one except his two companions -could hear. “I am in Paris on a private -mission for the British Government. I -am not at liberty to say anything more.”</p> - -<p>Nona flushed, a little confused at having -appeared to be curious when she had only -meant to be friendly. But immediately -Lieutenant Hume inquired:</p> - -<p>“May I ask the same question of you?<span class="pagenum">[31]</span> -How do you chance to be in Paris? Did -you come here after the Sacred Heart Hospital -was closed? I knew that one side of -it had been struck by a shell and partly -destroyed.”</p> - -<p>Nona nodded. “Yes, but let us not talk -of that now, if you don’t mind. We had to -move the wounded soldiers, the supplies -and everything in a tremendous hurry. -So we are resting now for a short time and -afterwards mean to go into southern France -to help with the hospital work there. But -hasn’t tonight’s celebration been too wonderful? -It is the very first victory I have -ever helped to celebrate and it has made -me very happy.”</p> - -<p>“Then you are not entirely neutral, as -you Americans are supposed to be?” Lieutenant -Hume queried, waiting with more -interest than was natural for his companion’s -reply. “I thought Red Cross -doctors and nurses were expected to have -no feeling about the war.”</p> - -<p>Nona hesitated. “Of course, that is true -so far as our nursing goes,” she replied. -“Naturally I would nurse any soldier without<span class="pagenum">[32]</span> -its making the least difference what his -nationality might be. But when it comes -to a question of my own personal feeling, -well, that is a different matter.”</p> - -<p>Nona’s answer was a little incoherent; -nevertheless, her companion seemed to find -it satisfactory.</p> - -<p>On arriving at the pension Eugenia herself -opened the door. The concierge had -previously admitted the girl and her two -escorts to the ground floor.</p> - -<p>The apartment where the four girls and -Dick Thornton were at present boarding -occupied the third floor of an old house -that had once belonged to an ancient -French family and had afterwards been -converted into an apartment building. Such -houses are common in Paris. The atmosphere -of this one was gloomy and imposing -and the hallway very dark.</p> - -<p>At first Eugenia only saw Nona outside -or she might have been more amiable. -However, she had been so frightened for -the past hour that she was thoroughly -angry, an effect fright often has upon -people.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[33]</span></p> - -<p>“Nona, what does this mean?” she demanded, -speaking like an outraged school-marm. -“You have given us one of the -worst hours any one of us has ever spent. -Why did you not come along with the rest -of us? Of course, no one wished to leave; -it was quite as much of a sacrifice for us -as for you. Now Mildred and Barbara -and Dick have had to go back to look for -you and to inform the police of your disappearance. -I have waited here, hoping for -a message from them or you.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know. I am dreadfully sorry,” -Nona replied more apologetically than she -actually felt. Naturally regretting the -trouble she had given, yet she did not enjoy -being scolded before entire strangers.</p> - -<p>“Eugenia,” she protested, changing the -tone of her voice in an effort to stem the -tide of her friend’s resentment, “I was so -fortunate as to meet Lieutenant Hume on -the street. You may recall he was Colonel -Dalton’s companion when he visited the -Sacred Heart Hospital. He and his friend -have been good enough to bring me home. -I should like to have you meet them.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[34]</span></p> - -<p>Certainly Eugenia was somewhat nonplussed -on discovering that there had been -an audience to overhear her reproaches. -Still she was no less offended. However, -she could not exactly make up her mind to -refuse to be introduced to Nona’s acquaintances, -who had undoubtedly been kind.</p> - -<p>The result was that she was stiffer and -colder than ever before as she stalked -ahead into the pension drawing room, -leaving the younger girl and the two men -to follow her.</p> - -<p>Moreover, Eugenia undoubtedly looked -plain, partly as the result of her severe -mood and partly of her fatigue and anxiety. -She had removed her street suit and was -wearing a gray frock that might have been -cut out by the village carpenter, so free was -it from any possible grace or prettiness. -The dress had been intended to be useful -and undoubtedly had been, for Eugenia -must have been wearing it for the past five -years.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia really believed that she was -fairly gracious to the two young officers. -She shook hands with both of them and<span class="pagenum">[35]</span> -asked them to be seated. She even thanked -them for escorting the scapegrace home, yet -all in a manner that suggested ice trying -to thaw on an impossibly cold day.</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Hume paid but little attention -to her, being frankly too much interested -in Nona Davis to do more than be -polite to Miss Peabody, whom he regarded -strictly in the light of a chaperon.</p> - -<p>But to Captain Castaigne Eugenia was -at once a puzzle and an amusement. In -his life he had never seen any one in the -least like her.</p> - -<p>The young French officer belonged to an -old and aristocratic French family. Had -France remained a monarchy instead of -becoming a republic, he would have held -a distinguished title. He was not a native -of Paris, for he had been brought up in the -country with his mother upon their impoverished -estate. Later, as she considered -a soldier’s life the only one possible -for her son, he had attended a military -school for officers. So it was true that he -knew but little of women. However, those -he had met previously had been his mother’s<span class="pagenum">[36]</span> -friends and their daughters. They were -women with charming, gracious manners, -of unusual culture and refinement. Moreover, -they had always been extremely kind -to him. Now this remarkable young -American woman paid no more attention -to him than if he had been a wooden figure, -and perhaps not so much. Her appearance -and manner recalled an officer whom -he had once had as a teacher. His colonel -had been just such a tall, stern person, who -having given his orders expected them to -be obeyed without demur. So the young -French officer was torn between his desire -to laugh, which of course his perfect -manners made impossible, and his desire -to offer this Miss Peabody a military -salute.</p> - -<p>She spoke the most extraordinary French -he had ever heard in his life. Her grammar -was possibly correct, but such another -accent had never been listened to on sea or -land. Captain Castaigne was not familiar -with Americans, so how could he know -that Eugenia spoke French with a Boston -intonation?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[37]</span></p> - -<p>Ten, fifteen minutes elapsed, while conversation -between Eugenia and the French -officer became more and more impossible. -Nevertheless his friend failed to regard -Captain Castaigne’s imploring glances.</p> - -<p>At last the English officer realized that -their call was becoming unduly long under -the circumstances. Yet before saying farewell -he managed a few moments of confidential -conversation with Nona.</p> - -<p>“You will persuade your friends to come -to the Review tomorrow? I shall call for -you more than an hour ahead of time. -President Poincaré himself is to present -decorations to a dozen soldiers. I say it -would be rotten for you to miss it.”</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly Nona agreed with him. -“You are awfully kind. I accept for us -all with pleasure and shall look forward -then to tomorrow,” she returned. “Thank -you again for tonight, and good-by.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Cross of the Legion of Honor</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">That night just before falling asleep -Nona Davis had an unexpected -flash of thought. It was odd that -Lieutenant Hume, who had been a friend -in need, should turn out to be such a well-educated -and attractive fellow. Moreover, -how did it happen that he was a -British officer? Now and then for some -especial act of valor, or for some especial -ability, a man was raised from the ranks. -Yet Nona did not believe either of these -things to have happened in Lieutenant -Hume’s case.</p> - -<p>What was the answer to the puzzle? -He was the son of a gardener and she herself -had seen his mother Susan, a comfortable -old lady with twinkling brown -eyes, red cheeks, a large bosom and a round -waist to match. Surely it was difficult to -conceive of <em>her</em> as the mother of such a son!<span class="pagenum">[39]</span> -And especially in England where it was so -difficult to rise above one’s environment.</p> - -<p>Although tired and sleepy, Nona devoted -another ten minutes to her riddle. Then -all at once the answer appeared plain -enough. Lieutenant Hume had doubtless -been brought up as the foster brother of a -boy of nobler birth and greater riches than -he himself possessed. Then, doubtless, -seeing his unusual abilities, he had been -given unusual opportunities. Nona had -read English novels in which just such -interesting situations occurred, so she felt -rather pleased with her own discernment. -However, if it were possible to introduce -the subject without being rude, she intended -to make sure of her impression by questioning -Lieutenant Hume. One might so -easily begin by discussing English literature, -a subject certainly broad enough in -itself. Then one could mention a particular -book, where a foster brother played a -conspicuous part. But while trying to -recall a story with just the exact situation -she required, Nona went to sleep.</p> - -<p>She and Barbara shared the same room.<span class="pagenum">[40]</span> -But fortunately no one of her other friends -had been so severe as Eugenia. However, -after the departure of the two young men, -realizing that she had been tiresome, Nona -had been sufficiently contrite to appease -even Eugenia.</p> - -<p>The next morning at <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">déjeuner</i> Dick Thornton -declared that Nona’s adventure had -really resulted in good fortune for all of -them. More than most things he had -desired to attend the review of the fresh -troops about to leave Paris for the firing -line. Moreover, it would be uncommonly -interesting to see the presentation of the -decorations by the French President. And -if Nona had not chanced to meet Lieutenant -Hume and his friend, neither of -these opportunities would have been theirs. -Dick had no chance of securing the special -invitations and tickets necessary for seats -in the reviewing stand. Privately Dick -had intended escaping from the four girls -to witness the scene alone. But now as -Lieutenant Hume had invited all of them -it would be unnecessary to make this confession.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[41]</span></p> - -<p>The review was to take place on a level -stretch of country just outside Paris between -St. Cloud and the Bois.</p> - -<p>Having in some magical fashion secured -two antiquated taxicabs, Lieutenant Hume -arrived next day at the pension. He and -Nona and Eugenia started off in one of -them, with Barbara, Mildred and Dick in -the other.</p> - -<p>During the ride into the country Lieutenant -Hume talked the greater part of the -time about his friend, Captain Castaigne, -whom Nona and Eugenia had met the evening -before. The two men had only known -each other since the outbreak of the war, -yet a devoted friendship had developed -between them.</p> - -<p>Indeed, Nona smiled to herself over -Lieutenant Hume’s enthusiasm; it was so -unlike an Englishman to reveal such deep -feeling. But for the time being Captain -Henri Castaigne was one of the idols of -Paris. The day’s newspapers were full of -the gallant deed that had won him the -right to the military order France holds -most dear, “The Cross of the Legion of -Honor.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[42]</span></p> - -<p>Nevertheless, during the early part of -the conversation Eugenia scarcely listened. -She was too busily and happily engaged in -watching the sights about her. Paris was -having a curious effect upon the New England -girl, one that she did not exactly understand. -She was both shocked and fascinated -by it.</p> - -<p>In the first place, she had not anticipated -liking Paris. She had only consented -to make the trip because they were -in need of rest and the other girls had -chosen Paris. Everything she had ever -heard or read concerning Paris had made -her feel prejudiced against the city. Moreover, -it was totally unlike Eastport, Massachusetts, -where Eugenia had been born and -bred and where she had received most of -her ideas of life.</p> - -<p>Yet there was no denying that there was -something about Paris that took hold even -of Eugenia Peabody’s repressed imagination.</p> - -<p>It was a brilliant autumn afternoon. -The taxicab rattled along the Champs -Elysées, under the marvelous Arc de Triomphe<span class="pagenum">[43]</span> -and then turned into the wooded -spaces of the Bois.</p> - -<p>Every now and then Eugenia found a -lump rising in her throat and her heart -beating curiously fast. It was all so beautiful, -both in art and nature. Surely it was -impossible to believe that there could be -an enemy mad enough to destroy a city -that could never be restored to its former -loveliness.</p> - -<p>Perchance the war had purified Paris, -taking away its uglier side in the healing -influence of patriotism. For even Eugenia’s -New England eyes and conscience could -find but little to criticize. Naturally many -of the costumes worn by the young women -she considered reprehensible. The colors -were too bright, the skirts were too short. -French women were really too stylish for -her severer tastes. For there was little -black to be seen. This was a gala afternoon, -so whatever one’s personal sorrow, -today Paris honored the living.</p> - -<p>Before Eugenia consented to listen Lieutenant -Hume had arrived in the middle of -his story, and then she listened only half-heartedly.<span class="pagenum">[44]</span> -She was interested chiefly because -the young Captain she had met the -evening before was so far from one’s idea -of a hero. He was more like a figure of a -manikin dressed to represent an officer and -set up in a shop window. His features -were too perfect, he was too graceful, too -debonair! But in truth Eugenia’s idea of -a soldier must still have been represented -by the type of man who, shouldering a -musket and still in his farmer’s clothes, -marched out to meet the enemy at Bunker -Hill.</p> - -<p>Some day Eugenia would learn that it -takes all manner of men and women to -make a world. And that there are worthwhile -people and things that do not come -from Boston.</p> - -<p>“He was in the face of the enemy’s fire -when a shell exploded under his horse,” -Lieutenant Hume explained. “He and the -horse were shot twenty feet in the air. -When they came down to earth again there -was an immense hole in the ground beneath -them and both man and horse were plunged -into it. Rather like having one’s grave -dug ahead of time, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[45]</span></p> - -<p>Nona nodded, leaning across from her -seat in the cab with her golden brown eyes -darkening with excitement and her hands -clasped tight together in her lap.</p> - -<p>Eugenia kept her eyes upon her even -while giving her attention to the narrative. -Personally she considered Nona unusually -pretty and attractive and the idea worried -her now and then. For there were to be no -romances if she could prevent them while -the four American Red Cross girls were in -Europe. If they wished such undesirable -possessions as husbands they must wait and -marry their own countrymen.</p> - -<p>“But Captain Castaigne was not hurt? -So he still managed to carry the messages -to his General?” Nona demanded. She -was much interested in getting the details -of the story before seeing its hero again.</p> - -<p>Robert Hume was talking quietly. Nevertheless -it was self-evident that he was only -pretending to his casual tone.</p> - -<p>“Of course Captain Castaigne was injured. -There would have been no reason -why any notice should have been taken of -him if he had only done his ordinary duty.<span class="pagenum">[46]</span> -Fact is, when he crawled out he was covered -with blood and nearly dead. The horse -was killed outright and Henri almost so. -Nevertheless he managed to run on foot -under heavy fire to headquarters with his -message. No one knows how he accomplished -it and he knows least of all. He -simply is the kind of fellow who does the -thing he starts out to do. We Anglo-Saxons -don’t always understand the iron -purpose under the charm and good looks -these French fellows have. But fortunately -we don’t often use cavalrymen now for -carrying despatches. Motor cars do the -work better when there is no telephone -connection.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and I’m truly glad,” Nona murmured -softly. She was thinking of how -many gallant young cavalry officers both -in France and England those first terrible -months of the war had cut down, before the -lessons of the new warfare had been learned.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia had now awakened to a -slight interest in the conversation.</p> - -<p>“Your young friend looks fit enough -now,” she remarked dryly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[47]</span></p> - -<p>The English officer was not pleased with -Eugenia’s tone. “Nevertheless, Captain -Castaigne has been dangerously ill in a hospital -for many months, although he is returning -to his regiment tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>After this speech there was no further -opportunity for conversation. The two -cabs had driven through the Bois and were -now in sight of the field where the review -was to be held.</p> - -<p>Drawn up at the left were two new regiments -about to depart for the front. Most -of the soldiers were boys of nineteen who -would have finished their terms of military -service in the following year, but because -of necessity were answering France’s call -today. They were wearing the new French -uniform of gray, which is made for real -service, and not the old-fashioned one with -the dark-blue coat and crimson trousers. -These too often formed conspicuous targets -for the enemy’s guns.</p> - -<p>Across from the recruits stood another line -of about fifty men. They were old men -with gray hair. If their shoulders were -still erect and their heads up it was not<span class="pagenum">[48]</span> -because this was now their familiar carriage. -It was because this great day had -inspired them. For they were the old -soldiers who had been gallant fighters in -1870, when France had fought her other -war with Germany. Now they were too old -to be sent to the firing line. Nevertheless, -each one of them was privately armed and -ready to defend his beloved Paris to the -last gasp should the enemy again come to -possess it.</p> - -<p>Between the two lines and on horseback -were President Poincaré, France’s new war -minister and half a dozen other members of -the Cabinet.</p> - -<p>Then standing in a small group separated -from the others were the soldiers who were -about to be decorated for especial bravery.</p> - -<p>While Lieutenant Hume was struggling -to find places for his guests, Nona was -vainly endeavoring to discover the young -French officer whom she had met so unexpectedly -the evening before. She was -anxious to point him out to Mildred and -Dick and Barbara.</p> - -<p>But after they were seated it was Eugenia<span class="pagenum">[49]</span> -who found him first. Captain Castaigne -was wearing an ordinary service uniform -with no other decorations besides the emblems -of his rank.</p> - -<p>Then a few moments later President -Poincaré and his staff dismounted.</p> - -<p>The four American girls were distinctly -disappointed by the French President’s -appearance. He is a small, stout man with -a beard, very middle class and uninteresting -looking. Yet he has managed to hold -France together in times of peace and of -war.</p> - -<p>This was indeed a great day for Paris. -Rarely are medals for bravery bestowed -upon the soldiers save near the scene of -battle by the officers in command. Yet -there was little noise and shouting among -the crowd as there had been the evening -before. They were unusually silent, the -women and girls not trying now to keep -back the tears.</p> - -<p>Sixty-four buglers sounded a salute. -Then President Poincaré marched forward -and shook hands with every soldier in the -group of twelve. Eleven of them were to<span class="pagenum">[50]</span> -receive the new French decoration which is -known as the “Croix de Guerre.” This is -a medal formed of two crossed swords and -having a profile of a figure representing -the French Republic in the center. But -Captain Castaigne alone was to be honored -with the Cross of the Legion of Honor.</p> - -<p>First President Poincaré pinned the -medal on the breast of a boy sentry. He -had stood at the mouth of a trench as the -Germans approached, and though wounded -in half a dozen places had continued to fire -until his companions had been warned of -the attack.</p> - -<p>Then one after the other each soldier received -his country’s thanks and the recognition -of his especial bravery until at -length President Poincaré came to young -Captain Castaigne.</p> - -<p>One does not know exactly what it was -in the young man’s appearance that touched -the older man. Perhaps when you learn -to know more of his character you will be -better able to understand. For after the -President had bestowed the higher decoration -upon the young captain, he leaned -over and kissed him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[51]</span></p> - -<p>Eugenia Peabody had an excellent view -of the entire proceeding. Though her lips -curled sarcastically, strangely enough her -eyes felt absurdly misty. She much disliked -this French custom of the men kissing -each other, for Eugenia believed very -little in kissing between either men or -women. Nevertheless, she did feel disturbed -by the whole performance, and -hoped that her friends were too much engaged -to pay attention to her. Above all -things Eugenia desired that Barbara Meade -should not observe her weakness. She -knew Barbara would never grow weary -hereafter of referring to the amazement of -Eugenia’s giving way to tears in public -and without any possible excuse.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later the review began with -a blare of trumpets. Then gravely the -new regiments passed before the President -and his officers. Afterwards they -marched away until a cloud of dust hid them -and there was nothing for the spectators -to do but return to their own homes.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the young French Captain -managed to make his way to his English<span class="pagenum">[52]</span> -friend. He appeared as indifferent and as -debonair as he had the evening before. -One could never have guessed that he had -just received the greatest honor of his life, -and an honor given to but few men.</p> - -<p>Reference to his decoration he pretended -not to be able to understand, although -Mildred, Barbara and Dick tried to compliment -him with their best school French.</p> - -<p>But beyond inclining her head frostily, -Eugenia made no attempt at a further -acquaintance with the young soldier.</p> - -<p>However, several times when he believed -no one was observing him, Captain Castaigne -stole a furtive glance at Eugenia.</p> - -<p>She was somewhat better looking than -she had been the evening before, yet she -was by no means a beauty. Moreover, -she was still a puzzle.</p> - -<p>Then the boy—for after all he was only -twenty-three—swallowed a laugh. At last -he had found a real place for Eugenia. No -wonder he had thought of his former -colonel. Recently he had learned that a -regiment of women in Paris were in training -as soldiers. He could readily behold -Eugenia in command.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[53]</span></p> - -<p>The other three American girls were -charming and he was glad to have met -them. But Eugenia he trusted he might -never see again. He was glad to be returning -to the firing line next day. Let heaven -preserve him from further acquaintance -with such an unattractive person!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>On the Roof</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">One week longer the American Red -Cross girls remained in Paris. They -were only tourists for these brief, -passing days. Yet all the while they were -waiting for orders. After having nursed -the British soldiers for a number of months, -when the Sacred Heart Hospital was no -longer in existence, they had concluded -to offer their services to France.</p> - -<p>Therefore, like soldiers, they also were -ready upon short notice to start for the -front. But in the meantime there was -Paris to be investigated, where the October -days were like jewels. One saw all that it -was humanly possible to see of pictures -and people and parks and then came home -to dream of the statues in the Luxembourg, -or of Venus in her shaded corner in the -Louvre, or else of the figure of Victory midway -up the Louvre’s central staircase.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[55]</span></p> - -<p>To one another the girls confessed that -it was difficult to think of war so near at -hand, or of the experiences through which -they had so lately passed. Yet one saw the -streets full of soldiers and knew that a great -line of fortifications encircled Paris, such as -few cities have ever had in the world’s -history. Also, there were always guns -mounted on high towers waiting for the -coming of the Zeppelin raid.</p> - -<p>“Then one night, as luck would have it,” -Barbara insisted, “the raid came just in -the nick of time. For how could the Germans -have dreamed that we were leaving -for southern France the next morning?”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, the luggage of the Red -Cross girls was actually packed and in spite -of war times the girls had added to the -amount. Moreover, they were due to take -the ten o’clock train next day at the Gare -de Lyons. So because they were weary, a -little sorry at having to leave Paris, and -yet curious of the new adventures ahead, -the four girls retired early.</p> - -<p>In one way Paris has conspicuously -changed since the outbreak of the war.<span class="pagenum">[56]</span> -She has become an early-to-bed city and -except on special occasions her cafés are -all closed after dark.</p> - -<p>So Dick Thornton, although not leaving -with the girls the next day, found little to -amuse him on the same evening. He had -said good-night soon after dinner and then -gone for a long walk. For in truth he did -not wish to have an intimate farewell talk -with his sister or any one of her friends.</p> - -<p>The hazards of war had used Dick pretty -severely. He had not come to Europe to -act as a soldier; nevertheless, in a tragically -short time, before he had even begun to -be fairly useful, he had paid a cruel penalty. -Dick believed that he would never again -be able to use his right arm.</p> - -<p>He did not intend, however, to allow this -to make him morose or disagreeable and so -seldom spoke of it. But now and then he -used to desert his four feminine companions -and walking through the semi-darkened -streets of Paris try to work out a -solution for his future.</p> - -<p>So by chance it was Dick who gave the -alarm to the household on the night of -Paris’ long-anticipated Zeppelin raid.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[57]</span></p> - -<p>He had just come home and was standing -idly before the door waiting to awaken -the concierge who presides over the destinies -of all Parisian apartment houses. -A beautiful night, the sky was thickly -studded with stars, although there was no -moon.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Dick heard a tremendous explosion. -Naturally his first thought was a -bomb and then he smiled at himself. In -war times every noise suggested a bomb. -This noise may have been nothing but an -unusually loud automobile tire explosion. -However, Dick was not particularly convinced -by his own suggestion. He remained -quiet for another moment with all his -senses acute. The streets in his neighborhood -had been well-nigh deserted at the -moment of the shock. If it were nothing -they would still continue so. A brief -time only was necessary for finding out. -For an instant later windows were thrown -open and every variety of heads thrust -forth with eyes upturned toward the sky.</p> - -<p>Then a fire engine rattled by and afar -off a bugle call sounded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[58]</span></p> - -<p>That moment Dick pounded at the closed -door of their house, but the concierge was -already awake and let him in at once. -Then with a few bounds he cleared the -steps and stood knocking at his sister’s -bedroom door.</p> - -<p>“Something startling is happening, I -don’t know exactly what,” he announced -hurriedly. “But you girls had best get on -some clothes and come out. I am going -up on the roof. If it is a Zeppelin raid the -city officials have warned people to go down -to the cellars. I’ll let you know in half a -minute.”</p> - -<p>But in half a minute Dick did not -return. There seemed to be no danger for -the present at least, and besides he had a -masculine contempt for the length of time -it takes girls to put on their clothes, even -in times of emergency. Moreover, he kept -staring up at the heavens too entranced by -the spectacle to think of danger.</p> - -<p>Five Zeppelins were passing over Paris, -the projectiles which they dropped in -passing leaving long trails of light behind -them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[59]</span></p> - -<p>Soon after a small voice spoke at Dick’s -elbow: “It’s wonderful, isn’t it? When I -was a little girl I could never have believed -that I should see real fireworks like -these.”</p> - -<p>Without glancing around Dick naturally -recognized the voice. It always amused -him to hear Barbara talk of the days when -she was little, as she appeared so far from -anything else even now.</p> - -<p>“You had better go downstairs, little -girl, with the other girls;” he commanded. -“Yes, it is a wonderful spectacle, but this -is no place for you.”</p> - -<p>Then hearing her laugh lightly, he did -turn around. Assuredly Barbara could -not go down to the other girls, since they -were assembled on the roof with her, and -not only the girls but a third of the people -in the pension. They were all talking at -once in French fashion.</p> - -<p>Dick felt rather helpless.</p> - -<p>“I thought I told you to go to the -cellar,” he protested. But Barbara paid -not the slightest attention to him and the -other girls were out of hearing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[60]</span></p> - -<p>She was clutching his left arm excitedly.</p> - -<p>Now they could see the aeroplanes that -had come out for the defense of Paris -circling overhead and firing upon the Zeppelins -and farther off in the distance the -thunder of cannon could be heard.</p> - -<p>“Paris is being wonderfully good to us, -isn’t she?” Barbara whispered. “We keep -seeing more and more amazing things.”</p> - -<p>Dick scoffed. “I thought you pretended -to be a coward, Barbara, though it -is difficult for me to think of you as one.”</p> - -<p>And to this the girl made no answer -except, “I don’t believe any one in Paris -is seriously frightened. A raid is not the -terrible thing everybody feared, at least -not one like this.”</p> - -<p>But Dick was not so readily convinced. -There was a chance that these first air -raiders were but scouts of the great army of -German Zeppelins that London and Paris -have both been dreading since the outbreak -of the war.</p> - -<p>Moreover, Dick was not alone in this -idea. He could see now that the tops of -all the large houses and hotels in the<span class="pagenum">[61]</span> -neighborhood, as far as one could discern, -were thronged with as curious a crowd as -his own. And from the streets below -chatter and laughter and now and then cries -of terror or admiration floated upward.</p> - -<p>Of course, there were many persons in -Paris that night wiser or at least more -prudent than the four American Red Cross -girls, and there were a number of places -where proper precautions were taken. -However, no one thought of going to bed -again.</p> - -<p>By and by the three other girls joined -Barbara and Dick. But now there was -nothing more to be seen save the stars in -the sky which were too eternal to be appreciated. -So when the noise of the cannonading -had at last died away, Madame -Raffet, who had charge of the pension, -asked her guests to come down into the -drawing room for coffee.</p> - -<p>The girls were cold and dismal now that -the excitement had passed and were glad -enough of the invitation. Dick Thornton, -however, resolutely declined to join them. -He was still not in the mood for cheerful<span class="pagenum">[62]</span> -society, although he did not offer this -excuse. He merely said that he always -had wished to see the dawn steal over -Paris and here was the opportunity of a -lifetime, since the dawn must break now in -a short while.</p> - -<p>It may be that Barbara Meade guessed -something of her friend’s humor, for she -went quietly away with the other girls, not -joining her protests with theirs over Dick’s -unusual obstinacy.</p> - -<p>An hour and a half passed, perhaps -longer. Dick had found a seat on a stone -ledge between two tall chimney stacks. It -was a long, cold bench and he was growing -rather tired of his bargain. Still, there -was a grayness over things now and daylight -must soon follow. Yet he was sorry -he had not gone downstairs with the others; -it would have been an easy enough business -to have returned to his perch later and -coffee would undoubtedly have been a -boon.</p> - -<p>He was kicking his feet rather more like -a disconsolate small boy, who had been -sent upstairs to his room alone for punishment,<span class="pagenum">[63]</span> -than like a romantic youth about to -pay tribute to his Mistress Paris, when -Barbara Meade joined him for the second -time that evening.</p> - -<p>However, this time he saw her coming -and her welcome was far more enthusiastic.</p> - -<p>The girl had put on her long gray-blue -nursing coat, but wore a ridiculous little -blue silk cap pulled down over her curls. -Moreover, Dick Thornton had to rush forward -to meet her to keep her from tripping, -since she was dragging his neglected overcoat -with her and also trying to carry a -thick mug of coffee.</p> - -<p>Dick snatched at the mug none too -politely.</p> - -<p>“I say, you are a trump!” he remarked -with such fervor, however, that any girl -would have forgiven him.</p> - -<p>Then Barbara sat down beside him on -the stone ledge and after seeing that he had -put on the overcoat, watched him drink -the coffee. She even added two rolls for -his refreshment from the depth of her -pocket.</p> - -<p>“I made the coffee for you myself. I<span class="pagenum">[64]</span> -think it rather good of me,” she remarked -placidly. “The other girls are lying down. -But I had a fancy to see the dawn over -Paris myself and I thought if I brought -you a present you would not send me -away.”</p> - -<p>Dick smiled, for the dawn had broken -when Barbara came. From their tall -roof they had a marvelous view of the -city and the long line of beautiful bridges -crossing the Seine. And there, not far -away, looking as if she were built half upon -the water and half upon land, the Church -of Notre Dame.</p> - -<p>A sudden glory of red and gold bathed -its two perfect towers and the cross above. -Slipping down between the grinning gargoyles -along its sides it dipped into the -river below. In another direction Montmartre -was shimmering like a rainbow, -steeped in the colors and the glories of -romance.</p> - -<p>Barbara shivered over the strange beauty -after the excitement of the night before. -And although Dick was there and they -were good friends, she wished that one of -the girls had also been her companion. It<span class="pagenum">[65]</span> -was a time when she would have liked to -put her hand inside a friend’s just for the -sense of warm human companionship.</p> - -<p>But Dick was not at the moment looking -or thinking of her. It was hardly to be -wondered at, the girl thought with the old -grace of a smile at herself. There were so -many better things to see. Yet it gave -her the chance for a farewell study of -him. They were to part now in a short -time, for how long neither of them knew.</p> - -<p>The next instant Barbara regretted her -decision. For how wretchedly Dick Thornton -was looking! Could any one believe -that only a little over a year had passed -since their first meeting on the March night -when she had arrived so unceremoniously -at his father’s house. Certainly Dick had -been more than kind to her even then.</p> - -<p>A moment later when Dick did chance -to glance toward his companion she was -crying hard but silently.</p> - -<p>Once or twice before Dick had been surprised -at Barbara Meade’s unexpected -tears, but now he understood them at -once.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[66]</span></p> - -<p>He offered her the comfort she had -wished a little while before. Gently he -took her hand inside his left one.</p> - -<p>“I know you are thinking of me, Barbara, -and this tiresome old arm of mine. It is -tremendously kind of you,” he protested. -“But I want you to promise me not to -worry and to keep Mill from fretting if -you can. I hate you girls to go off to -work again without me, but I’ve made up -my mind to stay around Paris for a few -months. I’m rather glad to have this -chance to explain things to you. Of -course, you know that when that shell -shattered my shoulder it seemed to paralyze -my arm. Well, I have not given up -hope that something may yet be done for -it. So as soon as I can get hold of one -of the big surgeons here in Paris I want -him to have a try at me. They are fairly -busy these days with people who are of -more account, but if I hang around long -enough some one will find time to look -after me. You know I have never told, -nor let Mildred tell mother and father just -how serious things are with me. But if<span class="pagenum">[67]</span> -nothing can be done I’ve made up my -mind to go home and find out what a one-armed -man can do to be useful. He isn’t -much good over here at present. You see, -Barbara, I have not yet forgotten your -New York lectures on the duty and beauty -of usefulness.”</p> - -<p>Dick said this in a laughing voice, with -no intention of attempting the heroic, so -Barbara did her best to answer in the same -spirit.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, she had never gotten over -her sense of responsibility and might always -continue to feel it.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am sure something <em>can</em> be done,” -she answered, forcing herself to speak -bravely. “But in any case you will come -and say good-by to Mill and the rest of -us before you sail, won’t you?” she concluded.</p> - -<p>Dick nodded, but by this time they had -both gotten up and were walking across the -roof top side by side.</p> - -<p>“I say, Barbara,” Dick added shyly just -at the moment of parting, “however things -turn out, promise me you won’t take it<span class="pagenum">[68]</span> -too seriously. Somehow I can’t say things -as well as other fellows, but I’m not sorry -I came over, in spite of this plagued arm -of mine. I don’t know why exactly, but -this war business makes a man of one. -Then when one thinks of what other fellows -are having to give up—oh well, I read -a poem by an Englishman who was killed -the other day. Would you mind my -reciting the last lines to you?”</p> - -<p>Then taking the girl’s consent for granted, -Dick went on in a grave young voice that -had much of the beauty which Barbara -remembered in his song the year before.</p> - -<p>“His name was Rupert Brooke and he -wrote of the men who were going to die as -he did:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="indentquote0">“These laid the world away; poured out the red -</div><div class="indent0">Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be -</div><div class="indent0">Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene -</div><div class="indent0">That men call age; and those who would have been -</div><div class="indent0">Their sons, they gave—their immortality.” -</div></div></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Other Fields</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">The work which the American girls -were to do for the French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Croix de -Rouge</i> (Red Cross) was to be accomplished -under entirely different circumstances.</p> - -<p>They traveled southeast nearly an entire -day and toward evening were driven -through a thickly wooded country to the -edge of the Forest of Le Prêtre.</p> - -<p>An American field hospital, an exact -duplicate of those used in America, had -recently been presented to the French -Government by three Americans who desired -that their identity be kept a secret. -The hospital was made up of twenty tents; -six of them large enough to take care of -two hundred wounded men. And these -hospital tents could be put up in fifteen -minutes and taken down in six by the -American ambulance volunteers, many of<span class="pagenum">[70]</span> -them students from Columbia, Harvard, -Williams and other American universities.</p> - -<p>So it was thought fitting that the four -American Red Cross girls, who had lately -offered their services to France, should -assist in the nursing at these new hospitals. -They had been located in southern -France near the lines and just beyond the -reach of the enemy’s guns.</p> - -<p>Therefore it was self-evident that different -living arrangements would have to -be made for the nurses. So Nona, Barbara, -Mildred and even Eugenia were -unfeignedly glad when they learned that -they were to live together in a tiny French -farmhouse within short walking distance -of the field hospital. There they were to -do their own housekeeping, with the assistance -of an old man who would take charge -of the outdoor work.</p> - -<p>The farmhouse had been offered for their -use by the French countess who was the -owner of an ancient chateau about a mile -away. Indeed, the farmhouse lay within -the boundaries of her lands.</p> - -<p>When the girls first tumbled out of the<span class="pagenum">[71]</span> -carriage they were too tired to be more -than half-way curious over their new abode. -But half an hour later they were investigating -the entire place with delight.</p> - -<p>This was because they had already rested -and eaten a supper that would have served -for all the good little princesses in the fairy -stories.</p> - -<p>Naturally the girls had expected to find -their little house empty. But no sooner -had they started up the cobblestone path -to the blue front door when an old man -appeared on the threshold, bowing with -the grace of an eighteenth century courtier. -He was only François, the old French peasant -who was to be of what service he could -to them.</p> - -<p>There in the clean-scrubbed dining room -stood a round oak table set with odd pieces -of china, white and blue and gold, hundreds -of years old and more valuable than -any but a connoisseur could appreciate.</p> - -<p>François himself waited to serve supper. -The Countess, whose servant he had been -for fifty years, had sent over the food—a -pitcher of new milk, a square of golden<span class="pagenum">[72]</span> -honey, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">petit fromage</i>, which is a delicious -cream cheese that only the French can -make, and a great bowl of wild strawberries, -which ripen in autumn in southern -France. Besides this there was a big loaf -of snowy bread.</p> - -<p>Barbara straightway threw her bonnet -and coat aside. Then as she found the -first place at the table she exclaimed, “So -this is what one has to eat in France in -war times!”</p> - -<p>A few moments later Mildred took her -place at what was hereafter to be known as -the head of the table, with Eugenia just -across and Barbara and Nona on either -side. For so almost unconsciously the -little family of four girls arranged themselves. -Although it was not until later -that Mildred Thornton was to prove the -real authority in domestic matters, while -Eugenia continued to regard herself as -intellectual head of the family, with Nona -and Barbara as talented but at times tiresome -children.</p> - -<p>However, after thanks and good-byes -were said to old François, the girls started<span class="pagenum">[73]</span> -on their tour of the little house. Evidently -it had belonged to real farmer -people who must have worked some of the -land of the countess. Doubtless the men -had gone to war and the women found -employment elsewhere.</p> - -<p>The farmhouse was only one story and -a half high, with the kitchen and dining -room below, but above there were four -small bedrooms with a single window each -and sloping ceilings. But the charming -thing was that the walls were of rough -plaster painted in beautiful colors—one -rose, one blue, one yellow and the other -lavender.</p> - -<p>So the girls chose each the color she most -loved—Barbara the blue, Nona the pink, -Mildred the lavender, and Eugenia, professing -not to care, the yellow.</p> - -<p>It was just about dusk when they -finally came outdoors again for a better -view of the house itself. They had scarcely -done more than glanced at it on entering.</p> - -<p>The farmhouse was built of wood which -had once been white but was now a light -gray with the most wonderful turquoise -blue door and shutters.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[74]</span></p> - -<p>Indeed, the girls were to find out later -that the little place was known in the -neighborhood roundabout as “The House -with the Blue Front Door.”</p> - -<p>But though the house was so delightful -that the girls had almost forgotten the -sadness of their errand to the country, the -landscape was far less cheerful.</p> - -<p>A row of poplar trees, already half -stripped of their leaves, formed a windbreak -at one side of the house. Growing -close on the farther side were a dozen pine -trees, suggesting gloomy sentinels left to -guard the deserted place.</p> - -<p>There were no other houses in sight.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where the chateau is?” Barbara -asked a trifle wistfully. “I suppose -if our services are not required at the -hospital at once we might go in the morning -to call on the Countess to thank her for -her kindness.”</p> - -<p>Immediately Eugenia frowned upon the -suggestion. She was a little depressed by -the neighborhood, now that evening was -coming on, and she still found it difficult -to agree often with Barbara.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[75]</span></p> - -<p>“Of course we shall do no such thing,” -she answered curtly. “Exchanging friendly -visits with new and unknown neighbors -may be a western custom, but so far as I -have been told it is assuredly not the custom -in France. Why, there are no such -exclusive persons in the world as the old -French nobility, of which this countess is -a member. Can’t you just imagine what -she would think of the forwardness of -American girls if we should intrude upon -her in such a fashion?”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” Barbara replied in a rather crestfallen -voice as Nona put her arm across her -shoulder. Then they started into the house -together. A little later, however, she -regained a part of her spirit, which Eugenia -and the coming of night had crushed.</p> - -<p>“I wonder, Eugenia,” she inquired in the -soft tones in which she was most dangerous, -“how you have learned so much concerning -the customs of the old French nobility. -Was it because you were introduced to -Captain Castaigne the other day? I believe -Lieutenant Hume said that he really -belonged to the aristocracy, but preferred -not to use his title in Republican France.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[76]</span></p> - -<p>Eugenia flushed and was about to answer -curtly when Mildred Thornton interposed -good-naturedly:</p> - -<p>“For goodness sakes, children, don’t -quarrel on our first evening, or you may -bring us bad luck! Remember, we have -got to prove that girls can live and work -together. But I don’t want to preach. -Let’s go to bed so we can get up early in -the morning and unpack and get used to -things about the house. I have no doubt -some one from the field hospital will come -over to tell us what they wish us to do. -I am afraid I don’t know much about -housekeeping or cooking except for the -sick, but I am certainly going to try and -learn.”</p> - -<p>So the girls went in and each one lighted -a candle and retired to her own room.</p> - -<p>When she was nearly asleep, however, -Barbara was startled by a head being -thrust inside her door. Then by her -flickering light she discovered Eugenia’s -face looking uncommonly handsome with -two long braids of dark hair framing her -clear-cut features.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[77]</span></p> - -<p>“Sorry I was so cross, Barbara,” she -whispered. “You know, child, sometimes -I feel that I must have been born an old -maid.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Chateau</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">Next morning Mildred and Eugenia -went over the field hospital with -a French officer who had been sent -to receive them.</p> - -<p>Barbara and Nona, therefore, undertook -the unpacking and arranging of their belongings -and also the task of preparing -lunch, which was to be a light one. Indeed, -all the household arrangements must be of -the simplest, so that the girls might have -their strength and enthusiasm to give to -the work of nursing.</p> - -<p>But because they had gotten up soon -after daylight, Nona and Barbara found -that they had two hours of freedom which -might be spent in investigating the neighborhood. -So putting on ordinary clothes -instead of their nursing uniforms, they set -out for a walk.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” Barbara suggested, making<span class="pagenum">[79]</span> -an odd grimace, “that there is no special -harm in our walking through the estate -of the countess and possibly looking at the -chateau if we chance to be in the vicinity. -I don’t believe that we can do much strolling -about here without encroaching on her -place. From what François told us yesterday -she owns most of the countryside.”</p> - -<p>Nona laughed. “That is possibly an -exaggeration. Still, I would like to see -the old chateau immensely. In spite of -Eugenia, I agree with you that we may be -permitted to humbly gaze upon it without -attempting to speak to any one. I wonder -in which direction we ought to go to discover -it?”</p> - -<p>The girls had gone several yards now and -Barbara stopped and wheeled about.</p> - -<p>“There is a pine forest over there to the -left that is so lovely it won’t matter if it -brings us out at the end of nowhere. Only -we ought to drop bits of paper behind us -like Hop o’ My Thumb for fear of getting -lost.”</p> - -<p>“I have a fairly good bump of locality,” -the other girl answered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[80]</span></p> - -<p>Then in spite of the fact that they were -two feminine persons, neither of the girls -spoke again until they had walked at least -a mile. Having come unexpectedly upon -a shining pool of water, it was then impossible -not to utter exclamations of delight.</p> - -<p>Nona dropped down on her knees and -stared into the depth of it. “Have you -read ‘Peleas and Melisande,’ Barbara?” -she asked. “It opens in the most exquisite -fashion with Melisande gazing down into -the depth of the pool and crying over something -she has lost. One never knows -exactly what it is, but I always thought the -entire story meant a reaching after the -light. I suppose that is what war is, though -it is a cruel and horrible way of searching -for it.”</p> - -<p>Barbara nodded, although she did not -know exactly what her friend was talking -about. There was a poetic streak in Nona -Davis that no other one of the four girls -possessed. During her lonely childhood -she seemed to have read an odd assortment -of books. Of course she had not the real -information that Eugenia had, but what she<span class="pagenum">[81]</span> -knew was more fascinating, at least according -to Barbara Meade’s ideas.</p> - -<p>“Well, I hope that war may never cross -the border line into these forests,” Nona -added thoughtfully, “although I can imagine -any one who knew them could play -hide and seek with an enemy for a long -time. There is a little hut over there that -seems deserted; let’s go and see it.”</p> - -<p>As Barbara had been standing she of -course had a better view than her companion, -but Nona obediently followed her.</p> - -<p>The little hut was empty. It was merely -a tumbledown shack of logs and stones. -However, some one must have inhabited -it at one time or another, because there -were signs of a fire and a few old pots and -pans, weather beaten and rusty, that had -been left about. Moreover, there was a -moth-eaten fur rug that may have formed -a bed.</p> - -<p>Yet it was lonely and uncomfortable -looking, so the girls did not care to linger. -Besides, if they were to see the old French -chateau during the morning they must find -a place where it was more likely to be.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[82]</span></p> - -<p>Discovering a path that appeared to have -been more used than any other, they followed -it. In ten minutes after they came -to the edge of the clearing and there about -a quarter of a mile beyond was the outline -of the chateau.</p> - -<p>“I suppose it is intruding to go nearer,” -Barbara said plaintively, “but I can’t get -the least satisfaction from this bird’s-eye -view.”</p> - -<p>“No doubt of it,” Nona answered, “yet -I propose that we take the risk. These -are war times and very few servants are -left about any of the old places, so we may -escape without being seen. I feel it is our -duty, as long as Eugenia is not along, to -see all that we can before our work begins. -Then we’ll have no chance.”</p> - -<p>The chateau was in a measure a disappointment, -because after all it looked more -like an old-time fortress than a dwelling -house, and besides was dreadfully dilapidated.</p> - -<p>“But once one was accustomed to this -idea, it really became more interesting,” -Nona finally argued.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[83]</span></p> - -<p>A part of the chateau must have been -erected in the fourteenth or fifteenth century -when feudal warfare was still carried -on in France. The stone tower had loopholes -for windows with iron bars across, so -that the approach of an enemy could be -discovered and he might be attacked with -slight danger to the inmates of the castle. -This tower was in a fairly good state of -preservation, but the rest of the house, -where the living apartments were situated, -was almost a ruin. There were signs of -poverty everywhere. The servants’ quarters -were deserted, there were no stables, nothing -to suggest the prosperity that should accompany -so famous a possession as the old -chateau represented.</p> - -<p>Indeed, the two American girls were so -engaged in discussing the situation that -they were not aware of anyone approaching. -Unexpectedly they found a woman past -middle age moving slowly toward them. -She was alone save that she was accompanied -by an immense silver-gray dog, -which to Nona’s gratification she held by -a leash. For in spite of her bravery in other<span class="pagenum">[84]</span> -matters, Nona was ridiculously and unreasonably -fearful of dogs.</p> - -<p>“Gracious!” Barbara whispered, half -amused and half terror-stricken. “That -must be the mythical countess herself. -Shades of Eugenia, what shall we say or do?”</p> - -<p>But the older woman gave them little -opportunity for a decision.</p> - -<p>She was small and slender, dressed in -black, with a lace shawl over her head -coming down into a point upon her forehead. -Underneath were masses of carefully -arranged snow-white hair. The Countess’ -face was almost as white as her hair; there -was nothing that gave it color save her lips -and a pair of somber dark eyes. Her expression -was sad and aloof.</p> - -<p>She must have recognized the two girls -as Americans and known for what purpose -they had just come to the neighborhood. -Nevertheless, she passed by them without -speaking, save for a slight inclination of her -head. In spite of her kindness the evening -before, assuredly she had no desire for -further acquaintance.</p> - -<p>When she was out of hearing Barbara<span class="pagenum">[85]</span> -and Nona gazed at each other like two forward -children.</p> - -<p>Then Barbara took off the small silk cap -she was so fond of wearing.</p> - -<p>“I am taking it off to Eugenia, Nona,” -she explained. “Thank fortune, I did not -intrude my western personality upon the -great lady. I can just imagine how she -would have treated me if I had undertaken -to thank her for her kindness and what she -would have thought about American girls -in general. Eugenia put it mildly. Well, -as a greater person than I am once remarked, -‘it takes all kinds of people to make a world.’ -And methinks before this war nursing -experience is over we shall have met a good -many varieties. But let us get back to the -little blue and gray farmhouse as soon as -possible. Goodness knows, I would rather -live in it than in a tumble-down chateau! -Besides, I wish to apologize to Eugenia.”</p> - -<p>However, the girls had only started on -their return journey when some one came -hobbling along behind them.</p> - -<p>It was François and he carried a basket -on his arm.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[86]</span></p> - -<p>Nona inquired a shorter way home and -the old man explained that as he was on the -way to their house, he would like to be permitted -to accompany them. There was a -road that was only half as long as the route -they had taken.</p> - -<p>Naturally the girls were glad enough for -the old man’s escort, especially as he was -full of reminiscences of the neighborhood -which he loved dearly to impart.</p> - -<p>In his basket was another offering from -the countess. Old François explained that -if she had passed them without seeming to -notice their presence, it was not that she -intended being unkind. She was lonely -and depressed. All her kinspeople were at -the front as well as her only son, who was -the last to bear the family name. Moreover, -they had been poor before, but now that -all their farm people had gone off to the war -and there was no one left to work in the -fields, where was a single franc to come -from? Besides, were not the Germans so -near the line that if the worst took place -they would overrun the countryside and -destroy the little that was left?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[87]</span></p> - -<p>Finally the girls discovered that the old -man and his mistress were actually the only -two persons remaining in the old chateau. -When François was compelled to be away -the countess had only her great dog for -protection.</p> - -<p>The picture was a pathetic one and Nona -and Barbara felt less aggrieved by the -older woman’s coldness. One could hardly -wonder that she did not care to meet or -talk to strangers.</p> - -<p>“But aren’t you afraid to be here on this -great place alone, François?” Nona asked, -more to persuade the old man to go on -talking than because she was interested in -her question.</p> - -<p>The old peasant shook his head enigmatically. -But he was a garrulous old fellow -and immensely pleased with Nona’s ability -to speak French.</p> - -<p>“We will be in no danger,” he said, -bobbing his head and then shrugging his -old shoulders until all his bent-over body -seemed to be moving at once, “even if the -barbarians should devastate our land. If -this should happen the American girls<span class="pagenum">[88]</span> -must flee to old François for protection. -They could say what they liked about the -Red Cross insuring them from danger, he -knew a better way.” But what the way -was François would not tell, although both -girls teased and implored him to confide -in them all the way back to the “House -with the Blue Front Door.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Nicolete</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">For the following week the four girls -were too busy to think of anything -save their hospital work and their -household responsibilities.</p> - -<p>But one afternoon about four o’clock one -of their officer friends suggested that they -pay a visit to the French line of trenches -in their immediate neighborhood. Not -the firing line, but the second line trenches -where the reserve soldiers slept, ate, smoked -their cigarettes and even edited a daily -paper.</p> - -<p>For some little time there had been a lull -in the fighting, so there could be little -danger in such a tour of inspection. Yet -if there had been, the Red Cross girls would -have given it scant thought. They were -becoming so accustomed to the conditions -of war that even Barbara Meade confessed -herself a little less of a coward. Indeed,<span class="pagenum">[90]</span> -they were beginning to understand why -many soldiers take their daily existence so -calmly and cheerfully, until actually they -are bored, or homesick, or both, unless -fighting is going on or the prospects of it -near.</p> - -<p>Trenches, you probably know, are not -arranged in parallel lines, the one exactly -behind the other like long pieces of ribbon. -They often form a series of intricate underground -passages, some of them crossing -and recrossing each other, so that in one -battle front in France where there were one -hundred and forty miles of trenches there -were only twelve miles directly facing the -enemy.</p> - -<p>Naturally the Red Cross girls could only -see a very small section of trench life during -one afternoon’s visit.</p> - -<p>“But the briefness of the excursion was -the chief thing to recommend it,” Barbara -Meade insisted afterwards, although interested -at the time.</p> - -<p>Following their soldier guide, the girls -walked through a deep, wide tunnel with a -wooden paving at the bottom, such as one -used to see in old-time village streets.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[91]</span></p> - -<p>Inside the light was dim and gray, -broken by shafts of sunlight filtering down -through flimsy roofs of straw and branches -of trees, placed above the openings to -conceal the French trenches from the -German air scouts.</p> - -<p>Eugenia and Nona kept together at first -with Barbara and Mildred close behind -them. Every few feet of the way, however, -one or all four of them would stop for conversation -with the French soldiers.</p> - -<p>Among the men there were several who -had made pathetic efforts to turn their -mole-like quarters into semblances of homes. -One young fellow had actually swung a -faded photograph of his mother upon a -wooden peg which he had hammered into -the earth. So “Ma Mère” had become the -mascot of his trench. Because of her -presence, the other soldier declared, not one -German shell had fallen into their ditch.</p> - -<p>Moreover, many good Catholics had -iron or wooden crosses suspended above the -small heap of possessions each soldier was -allowed to keep in his trench. These were -his knapsack and rifle, sometimes a few<span class="pagenum">[92]</span> -papers and magazines, perhaps a writing -pad and pencil and a small roll of first-aid -appliances presented by the French Red -Cross Society.</p> - -<p>Of necessity a soldier’s existence inside -a trench must be a quiet one. Many of -them are compelled to turn night into day, -so they sleep while the light shines and stay -on guard at night when there is always -greater danger of attack. However, as it -was late afternoon when the Red Cross -girls made their tour of inspection, it was -about the time the soldiers enjoyed their -recreation. Only the sentries appeared to -be doing active duty. Many of the other -men were smoking or joking with one -another, some of them were even drinking -afternoon tea after the fashion they had -acquired from the English Tommies.</p> - -<p>As the four American girls, preceded by -their guide, approached, walking along -through the center of the trench as if they -were on a city street, first the soldiers -stared at them with surprise and then with -pleasure. It was an odd sight to see a -petticoat in such a place!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[93]</span></p> - -<p>Naturally the soldiers wished to shake -hands with their guests, to ask questions -about their wounded comrades, and in -many cases to tell them how they had conquered -the difficulties in their underground -existence.</p> - -<p>Yet how differently the four girls were -affected by the experience! Barbara Meade -felt extraordinarily depressed. Even if -the soldiers did make the best of things, she -could not help thinking that many of them -were just young boys who ought to have -been whistling and working in the sunshine, -or else studying or playing upon college -grounds.</p> - -<p>Mildred also found it difficult to behave -as cheerfully as she would have liked. -However, Nona and Eugenia were really -too entertained by what they saw and -heard to reflect upon anything save the -wonder of the scene about them.</p> - -<p>The American girls were at present -nursing in that portion of France where -the trench system has been known to the -outside world as “The Labyrinth,” so -intricate and maze-line are its passageways.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[94]</span></p> - -<p>But it was almost at the end of their -journey when Barbara Meade made a -discovery that in some odd fashion made a -stronger appeal to her than any of the -wonders they had seen. Their trip had -of course been made through one of the -rear trenches at some distance from the -German line. Now they had come to the -last ditch they were to be allowed to enter. -It was less deep than the others and sloped -gradually to the earth above. Moreover, -the light now shone more distinctly, so that -just at first the girls were a little blinded -after the darkness. It was always perpetual -twilight in the deeper trenches until night -fell.</p> - -<p>Barbara stood for a moment with her -eyelids fluttering and a curiously intense -expression on her face. Then she reached -out her hand and touched Mildred Thornton, -who chanced at the instant to be nearest -her.</p> - -<p>“I can’t understand,” she whispered. -Then without finishing her sentence she -wrinkled up her small nose in an absurd -fashion, sniffing the heavy underground -air.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[95]</span></p> - -<p>“I suppose our trip has gone to my -head,” she murmured, “but do you know I -thought I just smelt a delicious odor of -flowers. Do you suppose it is because the -air here is different?”</p> - -<p>Eugenia also sniffed. “Flowers!” she -repeated indignantly, overhearing the remark. -“Really, Barbara, I don’t see how -you can manage to be foolish so many -times.” Nevertheless, she slipped her arm -inside the younger girl’s, noticing that she -looked pale and tired.</p> - -<p>At this time the officer who had been -acting as their escort moved on ahead with -Nona and Mildred following him.</p> - -<p>A second later and Eugenia also stopped, -arching her thin nostrils.</p> - -<p>For there standing just in front of Barbara -was an unexpected figure. He was a -boy of about nineteen. But instead of -having the dark hair and eyes of most -young Frenchmen, he was blond, with pale -gold hair, blue eyes and the faintest down -of a future moustache. Moreover, he held a -bunch of old-fashioned flowers in his hand, -which he was thrusting toward the two -strange young women.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[96]</span></p> - -<p>“There, I did know what I was talking -about, after all!” Barbara ejaculated -faintly to her companion. However, -Eugenia had a habit of paying no attention -to one when she chanced to be in the -wrong.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” she remarked graciously -to the young soldier as she accepted his -flowers, for Eugenia could be gracious when -she chose. “But do tell how you managed -to find a bouquet at such a time and -place?”</p> - -<p>She was speaking her best school French, -but in spite of her peculiar accent the -soldier somehow managed to understand.</p> - -<p>“Out of my <em>own</em> garden,” he replied, -with a faint lifting of the blond mustache.</p> - -<p>The young soldier looked like a grown-up -baby, Barbara thought, with his fair curly -hair, his pink cheeks and his china-blue -eyes.</p> - -<p>“You see there are long hours here in -the trenches when we men have so little -to do, one suffers the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">grand ennui</i>,” he -explained to Eugenia. “So my friends -and I have made a garden. If you have a<span class="pagenum">[97]</span> -minute more to spare will you come and -see?”</p> - -<p>Obediently the two girls followed until -the soldier led them to the opening in the -trench that led up to the outside world. -Already Nona and Mildred and the young -officer had disappeared.</p> - -<p>But there like a sunken garden about -four feet below the earth were two beds of -bright old-fashioned flowers and small -stunted evergreens. The gardeners had -left a pathway of earth in the center of the -trench, just as one might in any ordinary -garden.</p> - -<p>Barbara rubbed her eyes. She was -pretending to be overcome with surprise, -but in reality felt the tears coming. For -some reason she could not explain it struck -her as terribly pathetic that the soldiers, -hiding in these trenches for such tragic -work, should spend their spare hours making -the dark world beautiful.</p> - -<p>Eugenia was bent upon understanding -the situation.</p> - -<p>“Did you actually plant seeds here in -such a place and under such conditions<span class="pagenum">[98]</span> -and make them grow?” she demanded. -“Whatever made you think they would -blossom?”</p> - -<p>The French soldier smiled. He seemed -rather to enjoy the questioning, since it -showed the proper interest and admiration -for his work.</p> - -<p>“I brought back the first plant from our -garden when I had been at home on sick -leave,” he explained proudly. “Then without -thinking or expecting the flower to -live, I thrust my plant into the earth where -there was a little sunlight. Then the -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pauvre petite</i> grew and flourished and so I -wrote home for others. Later my comrades -grew interested. They brought water -for my plants and saved their tobacco -ashes to put around them. Then they -too asked that more plants be sent them. -Some we found by the wayside in our -walks through the woods. We have been -lucky because no German shell has dared -destroy our garden.”</p> - -<p>The young fellow looked so pleased that -even Eugenia, who was far less sentimental -than Barbara, felt touched. It<span class="pagenum">[99]</span> -might be ridiculous to spend one’s time -tending a garden when there was so much -more important work to be done, but -then the French are an artistic and a -sentimental people. One had read of the -soldiers in the trenches planting gardens in -their spare hours without really believing -it until now.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia was impatient to be gone. -The other three girls expected to return -home immediately, but she wished first to -pay a short visit to the field hospital back -of the trenches to inquire about one of her -patients.</p> - -<p>However, when once they were safe -upon the face of the earth again, both -girls uttered exclamations of surprise. But -neither of them showed the least desire to -move away. For there just ahead of them -was a stretch of level green country with -about fifty soldiers forming a circle within -it. They were not lounging or talking, but -were alert and interested. They were -watching something or someone who must -be in the center of the circle.</p> - -<p>Barbara and Eugenia discovered that<span class="pagenum">[100]</span> -Nona and Mildred had joined the group. -They were equally absorbed. Indeed, -when the two girls joined them, Barbara -had to stand on tiptoe to find out what -was going on. Neither of her friends paid -the slightest attention to her. Indeed, it -was only through the kindness of a soldier -who moved aside to make room for her and -Eugenia that they were able to see what -was taking place.</p> - -<p>There in the middle of the green space -was such an entrancing figure that Barbara -fairly gasped with surprise and pleasure. -Eugenia frowned with a mixture of disapproval -and interest.</p> - -<p>A girl of about fifteen or sixteen was -dancing for the entertainment of the soldiers. -She was slender, with straight black -hair, loose to her shoulders. On her head -was a scarlet cap and she wore a thin -blouse and a short skirt the color of her -cap. As she whirled about in her dance -now and then she would snatch the cap -from her head. Then the girls could see -that she seemed to bend and sway almost -without effort. Her eyes were large and<span class="pagenum">[101]</span> -dark and her lips a bright red, yet in spite -of the exercise of the dance her cheeks -remained pale.</p> - -<p>“She is like a poppy dancing in the wind, -isn’t she, Eugenia?” Barbara whispered -admiringly.</p> - -<p>Eugenia looked severe. “I must say I -cannot approve of such an exhibition,” she -commented.</p> - -<p>For once Barbara agreed. “I don’t -<em>approve</em> either, but the girl is entrancing. -I wonder who she is and what her name -can be? The soldiers behave as if she had -danced for them before.”</p> - -<p>At this moment Barbara heard a voice -at her elbow and turning discovered the -young Frenchman who had presented them -the bunch of flowers.</p> - -<p>His pink cheeks were pinker than ever -and his eyes bluer. Once again Barbara -decided that he was a glorified, grown-up -baby. He held a little spray of mignonette -in his hand which he tossed toward the -little dancer.</p> - -<p>“She is Nicolete,” he whispered excitedly. -“At least that is what I have chosen<span class="pagenum">[102]</span> -to call her. No one knows who she is or -where she comes from, only that she dances -for us here nearly every afternoon at this -hour.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Who Goes There?</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">Eugenia stayed later at the hospital -than she expected. The patient -she had left a few hours before -was not so well and wished her to be with -him. So she sat holding the boy’s hand -and talking to him gently until he had -fallen asleep. It was curious that Eugenia, -who was always so stern with well persons, -was wonderfully sympathetic with her patients. -She was firm, of course, but only -when she felt it necessary for their good. -For Eugenia was not a “butterfly” nurse, -the name that has been applied to the -fashionable society women who have been -caring for the wounded as much for their -own entertainment as the soldiers’ good.</p> - -<p>So somehow, in spite of her American -French, the boy she had been tending preferred -her to remain by him rather than his -own countrywoman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[104]</span></p> - -<p>She was very tired when she slipped -away. She had come to the field hospital -at eight o’clock in the morning, worked -until four, then spent two hours in the -trenches and afterwards another two hours -at nursing again. For it was after eight -o’clock when she started for home.</p> - -<p>Naturally no one appreciated that Eugenia -was returning alone. Of course, in -war times the Red Cross nurses had grown -accustomed to caring for themselves as -well as other persons. Nevertheless, this -evening the circumstances were unusual. -Eugenia was a stranger in a strange land. -She had only recently come to this portion -of France, was unfamiliar with the country, -which was filled with regiments of soldiers. -Moreover, the night was uncomfortably -dark. Had the doctors or attendants at -the field hospital known of her departure, -one of them would have insisted upon -accompanying her.</p> - -<p>However, no one is sensible when tired. -So for some reason, although a little nervous -at the prospect ahead of her, Eugenia -got away without being seen. She was<span class="pagenum">[105]</span> -determined to give no trouble. Of course, -if she had been Barbara, or Nona, or Mildred -she would have considered it fool-hardy, -almost wicked, to have attempted -walking a mile in the darkness alone. But -with Eugenia Peabody the case was different. -No one had ever thought of looking -after her in her life, and surely no one would -begin now.</p> - -<p>The first part of her trip home was along -a path through the open fields. As Eugenia -hurried on toward their little adopted home -she began wondering if the girls had missed -her at supper time. This was the pleasantest -hour in all their day. Then possibly -because she was weary she decided that -they had probably been glad to be relieved -of her presence. For no one of the American -Red Cross girls really cared much for -her. Of this Eugenia was convinced. -Nona and Mildred both tried to be kind -and Barbara behaved as well as she could, -except on occasions when she felt especially -antagonistic.</p> - -<p>Once or twice Eugenia stumbled, not -because there were difficulties in her way<span class="pagenum">[106]</span> -but because she was thinking so deeply. -What could be the trouble with her nature? -As she was in a mood of severe truthfulness -with herself she realized that no one -had ever loved her a great deal in her entire -life.</p> - -<p>Left an orphan when she was a few years -old, she could not recall her mother or -father. Of course, her Aunt Rebecca, who -had brought her up, had been reasonably -fond of her. But Eugenia was convinced -that she had never been an attractive child.</p> - -<p>Yet why, tonight of all nights, should she -fall to thinking of herself? And why in this -darkness and in a foreign land should she -have such a clear vision of the little girl in -the old New England town?</p> - -<p>One thing she recalled most distinctly: -she must have always looked old. Strangers -used to discuss her and people used -always to expect more from her than from -the other children of the same age. Moreover, -she had always been painfully shy -and this shyness had colored her whole life.</p> - -<p>As a child she simply had to pretend to -feel superior and to be serious-minded,<span class="pagenum">[107]</span> -because she did not know how to play and -laugh like the others did. Since she had -been grown up, and for the same reason, -she had gone on behaving in the same way.</p> - -<p>Often here in Europe with the other Red -Cross girls she had wished to be as gay and -nonsensical as they were. Yet she never -knew how to relax into a frivolous mood.</p> - -<p>Once the tears actually started into -Eugenia’s dark eyes. She realized that -now and then she had even been jealous -of her three companions. Nona and Barbara -were so pretty and charming and -Mildred had qualities finer than these two -possessions. Besides, the three girls made -her feel so dreadfully old. This is never -an agreeable sensation after twenty, however -much the teens may aspire to appear -elderly. Then Eugenia managed to smile -at herself, although it was a kind of twisted -smile. It occurred to her to wonder if she -had failed to like Barbara Meade because -it was Barbara who had first suggested -that she must be a great deal older than the -rest of them.</p> - -<p>Deliberately Eugenia now began to walk<span class="pagenum">[108]</span> -slowly. She did not wish to arrive at home -in her present mood. Having passed -through the fields, she was now on her way -through the lane that led through an open -woods directly to the “House with the -Blue Front Door.” Dozens of times Eugenia -had made this trip in the daytime, -but a country road has a very different -appearance at night. Moreover, the trees -made the lane seem far darker than the -path through the open fields.</p> - -<p>It was stupid not to have brought her -electric flashlight! However, nothing had -so far disturbed Eugenia’s progress. Not -one wayfarer or soldier out upon leave had -she encountered, although the neighborhood -was thickly populated with men and -women living on the outskirts of the entrenchments.</p> - -<p>Eugenia hoped that if she should meet -a passerby he might be a soldier. There -were but few of them who would not respect -her uniform. However, she was -beginning to forget her previous nervousness, -for this lane was not a frequently -traveled one. It merely led past their<span class="pagenum">[109]</span> -little house into the heavier woods beyond, -where Barbara and Nona had told of their -discovery of the deserted hut and the pool -of Melisande.</p> - -<p>There was no moon and Eugenia was -making little noise. She had a fashion of -being able to get about almost soundlessly, -a characteristic she had cultivated in -the sick room until she could move almost -as quietly as an Indian.</p> - -<p>Then suddenly she began to feel more -sensible and cheerful. Home was no longer -far away and even if no one loved her very -devotedly, at least the girls would have -saved supper for her. Food would go a -long way toward dispelling her blues.</p> - -<p>Unconsciously Eugenia was moving more -rapidly. She had almost broken into a run -before she became aware of footsteps behind -her. Then, although pausing for -about half a second to find out, she could -not decide whether one or half a dozen -persons were following her.</p> - -<p>It was most unreasonable of Eugenia. -She had no cause for thinking that the -presence of other persons traveling the same<span class="pagenum">[110]</span> -lane meant they were in pursuit of her. -But have you ever given way to an attack -of melancholy? Then you know that -invariably it leaves your nerves unstrung -and ready for a collapse.</p> - -<p>Certainly Eugenia did not consider herself -beautiful or attractive, yet even in the -midst of her self-depreciation she had not -thought to bewail her own lack of judgment. -Nevertheless, almost at once after hearing -the steps she started to run. This was, of -course, the most ridiculous thing she could -have done. A moment’s thought and she -must have appreciated the fact. These -were war times and the suggestion that one -wished to escape a pursuer was in itself a -sign of guilt.</p> - -<p>Immediately Eugenia increased her speed, -at the same instant the persons or things -behind her gave chase. The next moment -a voice rang out. Something it -said in French which held a tone of authority. -However, Eugenia paid it not the -slightest attention. Only a quarter of a -mile beyond lay “The House with the -Blue Front Door,” so her one idea now was -to reach it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[111]</span></p> - -<p>“Barbara! Barbara!” Eugenia called -faintly, though just why she should have -endeavored to summon the smallest and -apparently the most timid of the Red Cross -girls, far be it from Eugenia to understand -either then or afterwards. Fright sometimes -makes one do extraordinary things.</p> - -<p>But imagine the stately Eugenia running -through the night with her nurse’s coat -forming a kind of sail behind her, her bonnet -in her hand and her heavy hair unbound -and falling down her neck, crying out to -Barbara for protection.</p> - -<p>But Barbara herself could not have run -faster, for now Eugenia had real cause for -fear. A great something was pounding -nearer and nearer her. The sound it made -was scarcely human. Then again a voice -shouted a few words sharply in French. -In her terror Eugenia could not comprehend -their meaning. Nevertheless, she -must have hesitated for an instant, for -immediately after something struck her on -either shoulder. Falling, she was thus -unable to see what had happened, but remained -mute with the horror. The tremendous<span class="pagenum">[112]</span> -thing still hovered over her so -that she dared not speak or move.</p> - -<p>Naturally an eternity seemed to have -passed over Eugenia. However, it was only -another moment before a light flashed in her -face.</p> - -<p>“Sacre cœur!” she heard a voice exclaim. -“Une femme!”</p> - -<p>Then the great creature that had pinned -her down moved away and Eugenia felt a -hand upon her arm.</p> - -<p>“I beg a thousand pardons,” a voice said -in English. “You will never be able to -forgive me. But why did you not halt -when I called out to you? I am a French -officer and feared you were a runaway -soldier or a thief. They come now and -then to our camp. But that I should allow -you to be struck down by my dog! Monsieur -le Duc, I am most bitterly ashamed -of you. You at least should have known -better.”</p> - -<p>This last remark was addressed to the -dog, in order to gain time and to help -cover the young French officer’s chagrin -and confusion. With his light he had of<span class="pagenum">[113]</span> -course discovered that Eugenia was wearing -a nurse’s uniform, which made his act -the more unpardonable. Nevertheless, as -he apologized he was struggling to help -her to arise.</p> - -<p>By this time Eugenia was more or less -herself again and moreover was exceedingly -angry. She was frightened and hurt -by her experience, but more, her dignity -was upset as it had never been before.</p> - -<p>Eugenia disdained the French officer’s -assistance. Quickly as possible she got up -on her feet, though still unable to speak -because of a queer contraction in her throat -and odd shaking of her knees. One glance -she deigned to give at the great beast that -had so frightened her. She could only see -the outline of an immense dog, that appeared -as apologetic as the man since his -master’s rebuke. But Eugenia would not -look at the young officer. However, it -would have done little good, for she could -not have seen him with any distinctness -in the darkness.</p> - -<p>Yet Eugenia would have been both -amazed and annoyed if she had dreamed of<span class="pagenum">[114]</span> -how clearly the offender could see her. He -had managed to turn his flashlight upon -her in such a way that he had a perfect -vision of her without being seen.</p> - -<p>Curiously Eugenia was looking unusually -handsome. Her cheeks were brilliantly -flushed and her dark eyes glowing with a -mixture of emotions. Moreover, she had -beautiful hair when it was unbound, although -few people realized it after she had -twisted it into a tight rope to adorn her -head.</p> - -<p>“I presume your mistake was unintentional,” -she remarked in an icy voice, “but -please in future be more careful of the -victims of your mistakes.”</p> - -<p>Surely Eugenia had forgotten that she -was speaking to an officer in the French -army, for her tone was that of a severe elder -addressing an erring child. She did not -at present know the officer’s rank, age nor -condition of life. But one is by no means -sure that any possible consideration would -have influenced Eugenia in her present -mood.</p> - -<p>“No, I prefer to find my way home<span class="pagenum">[115]</span> -alone,” she continued in answer to her companion’s -humble request to accompany -her.</p> - -<p>So Eugenia walked on with her head -very high for the rest of the journey, pretending -not to know that the officer and his -dog were keeping at a respectful distance -in order to afford her a safe escort.</p> - -<p>This was scarcely necessary “after the -pot was in the fire,” Eugenia thought, -recalling an old New England expression. -She was no longer frightened now that she -could see the light in their own little French -farmhouse.</p> - -<p>Yet to the surprise and consternation of -the three American Red Cross girls, Eugenia -burst into tears the moment Barbara -had opened the blue front door.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>A Conversation</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">Eugenia sat in an old oak chair in -the farmhouse dining room while -Barbara swept and dusted.</p> - -<p>It was the morning after her experience -in the woods and actually she had confessed -to a headache and had decided not to -go to the field hospital for her daily nursing.</p> - -<p>At present the four American girls were -on day duty and remained at the hospital -from nine in the morning until four in the -afternoon, their places being taken by other -nurses at that hour. But each girl had one -day of rest and by chance this happened -to be Barbara’s.</p> - -<p>Eugenia had been asleep when Nona and -Mildred went away to work and only in -the last half hour had crept downstairs. -All her life every now and then she had -been subject to wretched headaches which -left her speechless and exhausted. But<span class="pagenum">[117]</span> -so far since coming abroad her three girl -companions had not been aware of them.</p> - -<p>Now every now and then while Barbara -worked she glanced toward Eugenia. It -was difficult to recognize the severe and -energetic Miss Peabody in this white-faced, -quiet girl. For Eugenia had never since -the beginning of their acquaintance looked -so young. For one thing, she was wearing -a beautiful violet cashmere kimono Mildred -had presented her during their stay in -Paris. She had never worn it until now. -At least the gift had not come directly -from Mildred or Eugenia would never have -accepted it. But Mrs. Thornton had written -from New York asking that Mildred’s -new friends receive some little gifts from -her, and Mildred had chosen four kimonos. -They were too pretty for nursing use, so -the other girls had been enjoying theirs in -the evenings alone at home.</p> - -<p>Eugenia had never consented to relax -even to that extent when work was over -and there was no possibility of company. -Now, however, her costume was not of her -own choosing, for after Barbara had taken<span class="pagenum">[118]</span> -a cup of coffee to her room and persuaded -her into drinking it, she had dressed her -in the new kimono without asking permission. -Also she had brushed and plaited -Eugenia’s heavy hair into two long braids.</p> - -<p>“Funny for a New England old maid to -be able to look like an Italian Madonna -simply because her hair is down and her -head aches,” Barbara thought to herself -after one of her quick glances at Eugenia.</p> - -<p>She made rather a fetching picture herself, -but Barbara was at present entirely -unconscious. Simply because it happened -to be the most useful costume she owned -for the purpose, she was clad in a French -peasant’s smock of dark-blue linen, and -wore a little white cap at a rakish angle -on top of her brown curls. Her hair was -now sufficiently long to twist into a small -knot at the nape of her neck, where delicate -tendrils were apt to creep forth like the -new growth on a vine.</p> - -<p>Finally Eugenia, opening her eyes and -catching sight of Barbara, at this moment -on tip toes in her effort to dust the tall -mantel-shelf, said unexpectedly:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[119]</span></p> - -<p>“You are very pretty, Barbara dear, and -just the kind of a little woman that men are -apt to care for. I wonder if you ever think -of marrying, or do you mean to go on nursing -all your life? Now and then I have -thought that Dick——”</p> - -<p>But her sentence was interrupted by -Barbara’s dropping the candlestick which -she was dusting and then turning to stare -at her companion.</p> - -<p>“Why, Eugenia, I thought you were -asleep,” she began reproachfully. Then -showing the dimple which she so resented, -she added slyly, “But what on earth made -you speak on such a subject? I never -dreamed that you ever had a thought of -such a thing in your life.”</p> - -<p>Barbara bit her lips. No wonder Eugenia -considered her a goose, for certainly she -seemed possessed of the fatal gift of saying -the wrong thing.</p> - -<p>Eugenia was no longer pale. Indeed, a -wave of hot color had turned her entire -face crimson.</p> - -<p>“Am I so unattractive as all that?” she -asked slowly, forgetting her headache for<span class="pagenum">[120]</span> -the instant and feeling a return of the mood -that had troubled her the evening before, -until the excitement of her adventure had -driven it from her mind.</p> - -<p>“Do you know, Barbara, I was trying to -decide just last night what was the matter -with me. Now I know you don’t like me, -but I think you are fair. Tell me why you -suppose I have never even thought of love -and marriage and the kind of happiness -other girls expect. I’m not so very old, -after all! But you are right in one idea. -I never, never have dreamed of it for -myself. For one thing, no one has ever -been in love with me even the least little -bit in all my life!”</p> - -<p>In spite of the tactlessness of Barbara’s -speech actually Eugenia was speaking without -the least temper, when ordinarily she -was given to showing anger with her companion -under the slightest provocation.</p> - -<p>In consequence Barbara felt entirely disgusted -with herself, and what was worse—ridiculously -tongue-tied.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I did not mean anything like that,” -she stammered. “That is—at least—why,<span class="pagenum">[121]</span> -of course you are as nice as anyone when -you let yourself be, Eugenia. But you do -seem cold, as if you considered other people -not exactly worth your attention. And—and——”</p> - -<p>Not feeling that she was making out a -very good case for herself, Barbara put her -duster down and came and sat on a wooden -stool near the older girl.</p> - -<p>“I am an idiot, Eugenia,” she insisted -scornfully. “No wonder Dick Thornton -always declares I have never grown up. -Besides, I don’t believe you have never -had any one in love with you, not even a -young girl-and-boy affair. No girl ever -lives to be as old as you are without——”</p> - -<p>Again Barbara stopped short, biting her -lips.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia only shook her head and -laughed. “I am the exception that proves -the rule. Besides, my dear, you came from -the west and not New England, and you -weren’t, as people have so often said of -me, ‘born an old maid.’ But never mind, -I won’t ask any more embarrassing questions.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[122]</span></p> - -<p>Eugenia tried to speak lightly, half -amused and half hurt by the expression of -chagrin on Barbara Meade’s face.</p> - -<p>“By the way,” she added, in an effort -to change the subject, “how is Dick -Thornton? I have been meaning to ask -you what you have heard from him.”</p> - -<p>This time the younger girl flushed, but -so slightly that Eugenia did not appear -to notice it.</p> - -<p>“I have heard nothing at all,” she returned -honestly. “But I don’t suppose -Dick is better, as Mildred and Nona have -both had letters and say there was nothing -important in them.”</p> - -<p>Suddenly Barbara took Eugenia’s hand.</p> - -<p>“You have more experience than the -rest of us,” she began with unusual humility. -“I wonder if you think Dick has a chance -of ever using his arm again?”</p> - -<p>The other girl hesitated. Certainly she -had no right to believe that Barbara felt -more than the natural interest in Dick -that they all had for Mildred’s brother and -their own friend. And, as Barbara had -just suggested, Eugenia was not supposed<span class="pagenum">[123]</span> -even to think on romantic subjects. Nevertheless, -her voice was unusually gentle as -she replied:</p> - -<p>“I don’t really know one thing in the -world about it, Barbara, but Dick is young -and has lots of determination and most -certainly I have not given up hope.”</p> - -<p>Eugenia had another twinge of pain in -her temples at this second and so closed -her eyes. Although hearing a knock at -their back door, she did not open them -even when Barbara left the room.</p> - -<p>A moment later, hearing a strange sound, -she was surprised by a sudden sense of -terror, almost of suffocation. Yet surely -she must be in a kind of nightmare brought -on by her illness, since the sound suggested -the footsteps which had pursued her the -night before and brought on the same -unreasoning fear.</p> - -<p>Clutching the sides of her chair, Eugenia -stared ahead of her.</p> - -<p>There in the doorway, leading from the -kitchen into the principal room of the farmhouse, -stood an immense dog. It was odd -the manner in which he surveyed Eugenia.<span class="pagenum">[124]</span> -There was suspicion, distrust and withal -an air of apology in his manner.</p> - -<p>The dog was a magnificent creature, a -great Dane, silver-gray in color with a -heavy silver collar about its throat, engraved -with what appeared to be a coat of -arms.</p> - -<p>Ordinarily Eugenia had a strong affection -for animals, so it was absurd of her to be -so nervous because of her experience the -evening before. Nevertheless, she felt -again that she could neither speak nor -move.</p> - -<p>Yet at this moment Barbara danced in, -pushing aside the big dog as fearlessly and -unceremoniously as if he had been a -Persian kitten. She held a number of -letters in her hands and a big bunch of -autumn leaves. Behind her, with the -eternal basket on his arm, hobbled old -François, the French servant from the -home of the owner of their farmhouse.</p> - -<p>He looked like a little old brown gnome -with his crooked legs, his stooping shoulders -and brown peaked cap almost the color of -his skin.</p> - -<p>“François is better than a fairy godmother—he<span class="pagenum">[125]</span> -is a fairy godfather!” Barbara -exclaimed delightedly. “He has brought -us letters and good news of all kinds this -morning. You are sure to feel better when -you hear, Eugenia. But how did you -happen to bring Duke over with you, -François? I thought he was supposed to -stay at home and take care of his mistress -when you were compelled to leave her -alone.”</p> - -<p>Eugenia listened with only mild attention. -Evidently this dog belonged to the -countess upon whose estate they were -living. He could scarcely be the creature -that had behaved so unceremoniously with -her the night before.</p> - -<p>But François’ little black eyes were -twinkling. “Monsieur le Duc is able to -be with me because Madame is <em>not</em> alone -today,” he explained proudly.</p> - -<p>Eugenia frowned. “What a pompous, -ridiculous name to bestow upon a dog, no -matter how splendid he happened to be! -But wasn’t there something familiar in his -title? Surely it was the same name that -the young French officer had used to his -dog the night before!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER X<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Chateau d’Amélie</i></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">“My dear Eugenia, you might as -well confess that you are desperately -interested. If you -say anything else we won’t believe you,” -Barbara declared positively.</p> - -<p>Three days afterward, between four and -five in the afternoon, the four American -Red Cross girls were leaving the little -French farmhouse together, and evidently -with some definite intention. Nevertheless, -the journey could have nothing to do with -their nursing, since the faces and the -costumes of three of the girls suggested a -gala occasion. Eugenia, however, having -entirely recovered her health and poise, -had returned to her former manner and -character. Yet she too was wearing her -best dress, recently purchased in Paris, -and was looking sternly handsome.</p> - -<p>“Then I might as well not answer you at<span class="pagenum">[127]</span> -all, Barbara, since you have made up your -mind already what I should reply,” she -answered curtly. Without intending to be -ungracious she stalked off in front of the -little procession.</p> - -<p>The other two girls laughed, but Barbara, -making a little grimace, ran on until she -was able to catch up with Eugenia. She -was beginning to think now and then that -the older girl’s manner was more severe -than her emotions. Now she gave her arm -a little shake.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so superior, Miss Peabody from -Boston! You must make your confession -along with the rest of us. So tell me the -honest truth—‘hope I may-die-if-I-don’t’ -kind—aren’t you terribly pleased that the -Countess, whose guests we have been for -some time, has condescended to be willing -to meet us and has asked us to have coffee -with her this afternoon at her chateau?”</p> - -<p>Still Eugenia demurred. “Oh, I presume -it will be a novel experience. Nevertheless, -I don’t think we show proper pride in -accepting an invitation before the Countess -has called upon us. It isn’t the way we do<span class="pagenum">[128]</span> -such things at home. If it comes to a -question of family, of course I am an -American, but the Peabodys of Boston——”</p> - -<p>Barbara’s laughter rang out deliciously. -She was in the gayest possible humor and -suggested a little woodland creature in her -brown cloth suit and hat with a single -scarlet wing. What had become of the -serious-minded young American woman -devoting her life to the care of the wounded?</p> - -<p>“But it isn’t a question of family, -Eugenia, or how should I dare live and -breathe in the same world with you, any -more than with a French countess?” she -protested. “But please remember that we -have accepted a great deal more from this -same Countess than a simple invitation to -spend an hour with her. We are living in -<em>her</em> house, we have been eating a goodly -portion of her food. Oh, I know this is -because we are in France to nurse the -soldiers she adores! Still, I can’t see that -this cancels our obligations. Besides, she -is a much older woman and——”</p> - -<p>Eugenia put her one disengaged hand up -to her ear.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[129]</span></p> - -<p>“I surrender, Barbara, in all meekness! -But really, it is not necessary to produce -so many arguments for doing a thing you are -simply crazy to do. You merely wish to -gratify your curiosity. You know, I don’t -believe that we should be engaging in -frivolous pursuits like paying visits upon -strangers, when we are here in Europe for -such serious purposes. Still, I don’t suppose -that an occasional break really interferes -with our work.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” Barbara finished with -emphasis. Then she skipped along beside -her taller companion like a small girl -endeavoring to keep up with a large one. -“Besides, Eugenia, think of how wonderful -the news is! The Germans are actually -retiring of their own accord! There hasn’t -been any fighting in our neighborhood for -over a week now. No wonder the Countess -Amélie feels like having guests at last. -François says that she has not been so -cheerful since the war began. I don’t know -how you feel, Eugenia, but Mildred and -Nona and I think it a wonderful experience -to see the inside of an old French home<span class="pagenum">[130]</span> -which was in existence long before the -French Revolutionary days. It seems that -this Countess has never even gone to Paris, -nor visited anyone except her old family -friends who are also members of the nobility. -She won’t even acknowledge that -France is today a great Republic. She -still tries to live like the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">grande dames</i> of -the days before the Revolution.”</p> - -<p>Eugenia fairly sniffed. Also she held -her shoulders straighter and her head -higher.</p> - -<p>“Then she must be a very absurd old -woman and I am more than ever sure that -I shall not like her. The idea of not realizing -that a republic is the only just form of -government in the world! I wouldn’t -be anything except an American——”</p> - -<p>Once more Barbara smiled, patting the -older girl’s arm soothingly.</p> - -<p>“Of course you wouldn’t, my dear, and -neither would any of the rest of us, except -perhaps Nona. She is really an old-time -aristocrat, although she would rather perish -than think so. But just the same I don’t -see why one should not be interested in<span class="pagenum">[131]</span> -contrasts in this life! What could be -greater than the gulf between this old -French aristocrat and us?”</p> - -<p>“What indeed?” answered Eugenia, more -wisely than she then knew.</p> - -<p>For at this moment the interest which the -four girls had been feeling in their new -hostess temporarily died away.</p> - -<p>According to Nona’s and Barbara’s suggestion, -and in spite of the distance, they -were approaching the chateau through the -woods, which the two girls had visited the -day after their arrival in this portion of -southern France.</p> - -<p>November had come, but the autumn -was so far deliciously warm. Difficult it -was to imagine a world at war on this afternoon -and in this particular forest! For, -by some freak of fortune, this woodland had -so far escaped the ravages of the German -shells. Over it and around it they had -ploughed their devastating way. But until -now the birds prepared their winter nests -here undisturbed in the tall trees, and the -pool of Melisande remained unbroken save -by its own ripples.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[132]</span></p> - -<p>Again the girls walked more quietly along -the path under the trees than in the open -country. They were thinking perhaps of -different things, while their eyes were -absorbed in the loveliness about them. -For after months of nursing, sometimes -amid horrors and suffering one could not -afterwards discuss, it was healing to both -soul and body to inhale the sweetness of the -earth and air.</p> - -<p>Southern France was unlike the land -lying to the north and close to the Belgian -frontier, where the Red Cross girls had for -some months past been nursing the British -soldiers. That was an orchard and a vineyard -country, this a land of forest and of -golden grain fields. Many of the trees -were pine and cedar, yet there were occasional -maples and elms, and here and there -a chestnut.</p> - -<p>A small branch of scarlet and yellow -leaves dropped near Eugenia’s feet. It was -a far call to her New England home, yet -somehow the color and the atmosphere of -the woods awakened home memories. Unconsciously -Eugenia stopped and thrust the<span class="pagenum">[133]</span> -bunch of leaves inside her belt. Against -the blue of her costume they shone like -flame, making her eyes and hair show darker -by contrast and bringing a brighter tone -to her clear but pale skin.</p> - -<p>Noticing the attractive effect of the -careless decoration, the three other girls -were far too wise to mention the fact to -Eugenia, or assuredly the leaves would again -have been trampled under foot.</p> - -<p>However, they had other interests more -engrossing to absorb them.</p> - -<p>Barbara and Nona led a short detour for -a sight of the old hut that had interested -them on their previous walk. But Mildred -and Eugenia were both a little scornful of -the story that this was a hermit’s hut, -uninhabited for a number of years. This -afternoon it was so self-evident that some -one was now living in it that Eugenia -hurried the others away. No one could -be seen at the moment, but there was a pile -of fresh ashes in front of the house, a stack -of freshly gathered wood and chips by -the tumbled-down door, and a scarlet cap -caught in the top of a tall bush.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[134]</span></p> - -<p>Moreover, because it was growing late -and their invitation was for five o’clock, -Eugenia could not be persuaded to linger -by the tiny lake which Nona had christened -by the poetic title of the “Pool of Melisande.” -The pool one might visit on -another afternoon, but perhaps there might -never come a like opportunity from the -Countess.</p> - -<p>Indeed, as the four girls finally approached -the ancient stone house never -would they have confessed to one another -how nervous they were feeling over the -next hour. Nona Davis was perhaps least -self-conscious. Life in the southern part -of the United States among a few conservative -old families is not unlike that of the -almost forgotten nobility of old France.</p> - -<p>The path to the Chateau d’Amélie, -whose title came down from the first -countess of the name, was as overgrown -with weeds as any deserted farmhouse. -Yet who would look down at their feet -when trees more than a hundred years old -stood guard along the avenue leading to -the ancient portico? And in crossing a<span class="pagenum">[135]</span> -rickety bridge could one think of the loose -planks, knowing that the muddy water that -flowed under it was once the moat that -surrounded the feudal palace?</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Barbara had to stifle a -laugh when at length François opened the -iron-bound wooden door admitting them -to the chateau. For instead of his peasant’s -blouse and peaked cap, this afternoon -François wore a livery which must have -been handed down to him by a majordomo -at least twice his size. His small, bent-over -form was almost lost in the large trousers, -while the tails of the long coat with its -tarnished gold lace hung down past his -knees.</p> - -<p>Moreover, François’ manner was equally -changed. Gone was the friendly light in -his little dark eyes, the protecting, almost -patronizing manner which he had grown -accustomed to using in his devoted service -to the American Red Cross girls. This -old Frenchman had his nation’s gift of -feeling the part he was called upon by fate -to play. Today old François felt himself -a servant of the days of the great Louis<span class="pagenum">[136]</span> -XIV. Apparently he had never seen his -lady’s guests before.</p> - -<p>Hobbling along, François conducted the -visitors toward the drawing room through -a cold, gray stone hall. There was no -furniture to be seen except two tall, carved -chairs and an enormous shield, hanging -suspended from the wall.</p> - -<p>Inside the drawing room, however, there -was a kind of shabby splendor, very interesting -to the four American girls, no one of -whom had seen anything like it.</p> - -<p>On the floor was a great rug of tapestry -showing nymphs and dolphins carrying -wreaths of fruit and flowers woven into the -design. The blue and rose and brown of the -colors had so faded that they were lovelier -than any artist’s palette could have painted -them.</p> - -<p>The four girls sat down in chairs covered -with tapestry of the same kind, which they -guessed must be almost priceless in value. -But there were only a few other articles of -furniture in the room—a beautiful old -cabinet, a mahogany table inlaid with brass, -a Louis XIV sofa, while on the walls were<span class="pagenum">[137]</span> -not more than half a dozen pictures by -French masters. Nevertheless, the room -was complete in beauty and elegance. So -the American girls did not dream that once -it had been crowded with rare treasures, -sold one by one to meet the family necessities.</p> - -<p>However, there were only a few minutes -in which the guests could make a study of -their surroundings. Very soon their hostess -entered with old François bowing before -her as if she had been an empress. She was -accompanied by a young man in the uniform -of a French officer.</p> - -<p>The Countess Amélie wore a dress of -black silk and on her head a cap of lace with -the Marie Antoinette point in front. Her -hair was exquisitely white and her eyes -dark. In spite of the natural coldness and -hauteur of her expression she was evidently -trying to appear friendly.</p> - -<p>Her four guests bowed gravely as she -shook hands with them, welcoming them to -her home. However, it must be confessed -that Eugenia’s bow was even more stiff -than her hostess’s.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[138]</span></p> - -<p>Also Eugenia frowned, while the other -three girls smiled. For the young officer, -whom the Countess Amélie afterwards -introduced as her son, was Captain Henri -Castaigne, whom they had met through -Lieutenant Hume in Paris, and upon whom -they had seen bestowed the Cross of the -Legion of Honor.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XI<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Prejudice Deepens</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">“Then you knew we were here?” -Nona questioned half shyly.</p> - -<p>Nona and Barbara were seated -on a wide window seat with Captain Castaigne -beside them. A little further on -Eugenia, in a carved, high-back chair, was -watching the group but taking little part in -the conversation. Mildred and the Countess -Amélie were on the opposite side of the -great room, still having their coffee and -chatting amiably, though in not an animated -fashion. For the Countess would -have scorned to speak any language but -her beloved French, and while Mildred’s -French was good it was not very rapid. -Nevertheless, her manners were undeniably -sweet and unaffected and the Countess -plainly approved of her more than any one -of the other girls.</p> - -<p>Captain Castaigne smiled at Nona.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[140]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, I had my suspicions,” he answered, -with the faintest gleam of amusement -in his dark eyes. “Moreover, I -received a letter from Lieutenant Hume -telling me that four American Red Cross -girls had disappeared from Paris and were -nursing somewhere in southern France.” -The young officer bowed his head with a -pretense of penitence. “Also I must confess -that I have asked a few questions of -old François. You see, I have only recently -been transferred to a regiment near -my own home, else I should have prayed -for the privilege of calling upon you. But -not having seen any one of you until this -afternoon, I could not be sure my surmise -was correct.”</p> - -<p>In her throne-like chair Eugenia’s shoulders -assumed a straighter pose, while her -face turned unexpectedly scarlet.</p> - -<p>“Are you entirely convinced you have -seen <em>no one</em> of us since our meeting in -Paris?” she inquired so suddenly and in -such a peculiar tone, even for Eugenia, that -Nona and Barbara turned to glance toward -her in surprise.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[141]</span></p> - -<p>Not having spoken in the past ten minutes, -her eyes were now fixed upon the -young French officer with an expression -which Barbara Meade at least recognized. -It plainly expressed disapproval.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, there was no reason why -Captain Castaigne should instantly become -embarrassed. Up to this time he -had been a delightful host, gracious and -gay. Certainly his manners were not like -those of an American or an Englishman, -but Nona and Barbara instinctively understood -that his fashion of paying pretty -compliments and his somewhat devoted air -as he talked to one, were simply characteristics -of a foreigner.</p> - -<p>Now, however, he blushed and stammered -like a school-boy. With Eugenia’s -gaze upon him he crimsoned and cast down -his eyes.</p> - -<p>“If I <em>have</em> seen one of you before I am -sure I have not recognized you,” he returned -with unnecessary humility. “I -have been at work with my soldiers most of -the time since receiving my new command. -I only return to the chateau occasionally -to see my mother.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[142]</span></p> - -<p>Eugenia’s nostrils arched slightly in a -way she had when angry.</p> - -<p>“Do you usually pay these visits in the -daytime or in the evening?” she questioned, -with what seemed to the other two girls -rather too much curiosity. For these were -war times when one was not supposed to -ask questions that were not absolutely -necessary.</p> - -<p>Still the young officer showed no resentment.</p> - -<p>“I have no regular hour, Mademoiselle. -Whenever I can be spared I desire to be -with my mother. There are only the two -of us and we have been much separated. -First there were the years devoted to my -training as a soldier and since has come the -cruel fortune of war.”</p> - -<p>From the opposite side of the room the -Countess Amélie must at this moment -have guessed that her son was speaking of -her. She looked toward him with such a -combination of pride and devotion that it -was almost touching. Her whole face -softened.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia did not observe her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[143]</span></p> - -<p>“I am not so sure we have not met each -other in this neighborhood quite recently,” -she continued with extraordinary coldness. -Nona and Barbara became more and more -surprised. For although Eugenia was not -cordial with strangers, she was usually -civil. Vainly they were searching their -minds for some remark with which to turn -the current of the conversation when Eugenia -went on:</p> - -<p>“I was on my way home to our little -farmhouse the other evening, after nursing -at the field hospital until quite late. I met -some one, an officer, I think. It was then -too dark for me to see his face, but I have -been wondering ever since——”</p> - -<p>At this moment Eugenia’s speech was -interrupted, but not by one of her companions. -For the heavy door of the drawing -room was pushed slowly open and a -great dog walked majestically into the -room.</p> - -<p>He paused for an instant to gaze at his -mistress. Then receiving her silent permission, -he started a pilgrimage about the -room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[144]</span></p> - -<p>Nona shrank behind the smaller Barbara, -for in spite of her usual bravery she -had a nervous fear of dogs. However, this -great Dane was not to be feared by guests -inside his own domain. As he padded -from one visitor to the other it was plain -that he was greeting each one of them in -turn. Mildred came first and was allowed -to lay her hand on his head, then Nona and -Barbara. Afterwards the dog moved toward -Eugenia. Within a few feet of her -he paused, his ears and tail visibly drooping, -and turned imploring eyes upon his -young master.</p> - -<p>Whatever the signal that passed between -them, the next moment the splendid creature -sank down at Eugenia’s feet, burying -his head between his forepaws. His whole -attitude indicated a prayer for pardon.</p> - -<p>Immediately after Captain Castaigne got -up and walked over toward Eugenia. He -stood silent for half a moment, evidently -hoping that she might relax from her -severity.</p> - -<p>Never in his life had he met such an -extraordinary and difficult young woman!<span class="pagenum">[145]</span> -As he had been under the same impression -five minutes after their introduction in -Paris, why should Fate be so unkind as to -cause them to see each other again? And -then to place him in such an awkward position -as he now found himself!</p> - -<p>“I owe you ten thousand pardons, Mademoiselle. -Ah, more than that, for I consider -my own act unpardonable!” he exclaimed. -“Until you spoke I had been hoping -that I might be mistaken, and that it -was <em>not</em> you whom I caused to suffer the -other evening.”</p> - -<p>The young Frenchman cast his eyes imploringly -toward Eugenia, clasping his -hands together in a dramatic fashion.</p> - -<p>If only Eugenia had been able to smile -at this moment, how much simpler the future -would have been! But remember, -Eugenia had a Puritan conscience, and a -Puritan conscience often exacts its pound of -flesh in payment for sins from other people -as well as from itself. Moreover, Eugenia -disliked Captain Castaigne’s manners and -appearance intensely. To her he appeared -theatrical and insincere. A simple, straightforward<span class="pagenum">[146]</span> -American apology she believed -she would have accepted at once. But this -young aristocrat with his too perfect features -and physique must suffer for his offense. -No doubt the other girls would -have forgiven him. He looked like the type -of man most women would deal gently -with, so Eugenia felt it would undoubtedly -be good for him to be snubbed by her.</p> - -<p>As she now stared severely at the young -Frenchman in answer to his pleading, she -looked like all the Pilgrim fathers’ portraits -that hang on old New England family -walls melted together into one face. Of -course, he did not understand her in the -least. Lieutenant Hume had explained -that the Miss Peabody he had met in Paris -was an old maid from Boston. But this -conveyed nothing to Captain Castaigne’s -mind. Old maids in France were not in the -least like this young woman and he had a -very vague idea of where Boston was and of -what the city could be like. However, he -did know that he had offended against a -Frenchman’s and an officer’s code of manners -and was therefore willing to make any -possible apology.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[147]</span></p> - -<p>“You will understand that not only did -I not know you: I did not realize that you -were a woman or I should never have sent -my dog to interrupt you. Why, why did -you not halt when I called out to you? If -only you had given one little sign, made -the least sound! I thought I should have -fainted when I beheld a figure upon the -ground and in the uniform of a Red Cross -nurse, the uniform I respect most in all the -world.”</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt of Captain Castaigne’s -sincerity at this moment. Nona -and Barbara, who were listening with intense -interest to his plea, were deeply -moved by the tribute he thus paid the Red -Cross work. But if Eugenia felt this she -did not reveal it.</p> - -<p>“I prefer not to discuss the accident,” -she returned, rising from her chair and preparing -to leave. “Certainly I realize that -you would not have desired to injure me -personally had you known I was a Red -Cross nurse. But I cannot see that you -are justified in sending that great beast of -a dog to attack wayfarers, simply because -you do not chance to know who they are.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p> - -<p>Barbara and Nona had also gotten up -intending to withdraw with their friend. -Actually at this moment Barbara had the -temerity to giggle, although no one but Nona -was aware of it. It was so absurd to hear -Eugenia lecturing a French officer with -regard to his duties and privileges. It was -even funnier to see the spirit in which he -accepted his snubbing!</p> - -<p>“But, Mademoiselle,” he continued, -shrugging his slender shoulders, decorated -with the gold braid of his rank, “surely you -must appreciate that in these war times we -have many dangerous visitors to our entrenchments. -One cannot permit a wanderer -to remain at large who refuses to give -an account of himself? Besides, my dog -would have injured no one. He had his -orders merely to hold the prisoner until I -could reach him.”</p> - -<p>Captain Castaigne laid his boyish hand -on the head of the great dog, who at once -rose up clumsily and stood beside him. -“Some day, Mademoiselle, I shall pray -that my dog and I may do you a service to -atone for our mistake. To many a wounded<span class="pagenum">[149]</span> -soldier Le Duc has brought aid on the -battlefield. In any case the offense was -mine, while his only that of obedience to a -stupid master. Say at least that you forgive -my dog?”</p> - -<p>The young officer spoke so winningly -that even Eugenia was compelled to relent -slightly. However, she still retained an -uncomfortable vision of herself, face downward -upon the ground with this young -Captain Castaigne holding the light above -her and gazing down on her prostrate form.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, she accepted the large paw -that Duke stretched forth to her. As the -eyes of Eugenia and the dog met, the ghost -of an understanding passed between them.</p> - -<p>The next instant, after saying farewell to -their hostess, she departed, the other three -Red Cross girls following her.</p> - -<p>“What a very objectionable young woman,” -the Countess Amélie remarked to -her son in French, when speaking of their -guests a short time afterwards. The young -officer did not inquire which one of the four -girls she meant.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XII<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Not Peace But War</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">Later that same evening the girls -were seated in their living room at -the farmhouse. It was almost bed -time, so heavy curtains had been drawn -across their small windows, shutting out all -possible vision of the outside world.</p> - -<p>But wearing their four new kimonos the -girls were grouped in characteristic attitudes -about a small fireplace on the right side of -the room.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, after a warm afternoon, a -November rain had fallen, bringing with -it cold and dampness. So, although a fire -in France is regarded as a great luxury, the -American girls felt compelled to have one. -It was not of the generous kind to which -they were accustomed at home, but was -built of carefully hoarded sticks and pine -cones old François had brought them from -time to time as valuable gifts. Therefore,<span class="pagenum">[151]</span> -the girls were huddled closer to the fire and -to one another than under ordinary circumstances.</p> - -<p>Just at present, however, there was no -talking going on, which was most unusual, -since Nona and Barbara were especially -addicted to this feminine habit, while -neither Eugenia nor Mildred were extraordinarily -silent. However, at the moment -both Mildred and Nona were writing letters, -while Barbara was reading a queer, old-fashioned -book she had discovered stored -away in the attic of their little farmhouse. -It was, of course, written in French, and she -was supposed to be improving her vocabulary. -But the French was so peculiar that -now and then she was forced to stop to -consult a dictionary.</p> - -<p>Eugenia was also reading, although her -literature was of a more serious character. -She was studying a series of reports the Red -Cross societies of Europe had recently -issued. The papers offered important information -and advice to the Red Cross -nurses, and Eugenia was too deeply interested -in her profession to neglect any chance -for improvement.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[152]</span></p> - -<p>She and Mildred were at a small table by -the fire with the lamp between them, while -Nona and Barbara were mounted upon sofa -cushions, which they had placed on the -bare floor.</p> - -<p>By and by Barbara glanced up at the -alarm clock on the mantelpiece. It was -standing side by side with a tall French -clock of silver gilt that must once have been -a bridal offering. However, the French -clock had these long years been silent, while -tonight the plebeian American timepiece -ticked resolutely on.</p> - -<p>Seeing the hour, Barbara yawned, closed -her book and then, clasping her hands over -her knees, began rocking slowly back and -forth.</p> - -<p>No one at first paid the least attention -to her.</p> - -<p>“It is nearly bed time,” she announced -finally, “and I do wish everybody would -stop what they are doing and let us talk for -a while. Somehow tonight I feel as if we -were four girls away at a foreign boarding -school, instead of four young women intent -upon caring for the wounded. How wonderful<span class="pagenum">[153]</span> -if by chance we were nearing the end -of this impossible war!”</p> - -<p>After this there was another instant’s -silence, though each girl was keenly aware -of Barbara’s last speech. Nona looked up -toward the little wooden crucifix, belonging -to the owners of the farmhouse, which had -been left in its honored place upon the wall. -Her lips said nothing, but the appeal of her -spirit went deeper than words. Mildred’s -eyes suddenly blurred with tears. She had -been writing to her father, whom she -adored, and all at once the time seemed -endless since their farewell. But Eugenia -merely put down her papers and sat watching -the younger girl on the floor.</p> - -<p>Except for the fall of the rain the night -was very still. There was no thunder -and lightning and no wind.</p> - -<p>Perhaps it was because of what she had -just been reading, or the discomfort of her -visit earlier in the afternoon, but Eugenia -was feeling curiously unstrung. Somehow -Barbara’s innocent remark disturbed her.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think there is any chance of the -war’s being over for many a long day,<span class="pagenum">[154]</span> -Barbara,” she returned curtly. “Just because -we have been having a lull in the -fighting lately you must not feel that work -is over. That is, not unless you want to -go home. I often think that best for all -of you three young girls. If you can feel -like a boarding school miss, Bab, certainly -you are an infant. But it is good of you to -include me among the pupils in view of -what you really think about my age.”</p> - -<p>Barbara laughed, although a little surprised -and touched by a portion of the -other girl’s speech. For had not Eugenia -called her Bab and laid her strong, fine hand -on her hair? Barbara rather liked the feeling -of Eugenia’s fingers. They were firm -and yet gentle tonight. Always Barbara -knew that they were singularly handsome -hands, and more than that, they were -hands revealing unusual ability. They -were not small, but slender and long, with -beautiful almond-shaped nails and a curious, -vibrant quality at the finger tips.</p> - -<p>Barbara took one of them in her own and -studied it curiously.</p> - -<p>“You have wonderful nursing hands,<span class="pagenum">[155]</span> -Eugenia. One feels as if they could take -away pain and almost bring people back to -life. Of course, I know you are right about -the war. It isn’t over just because of the -heavenly quiet we have been having lately -in this neighborhood. But do let us be -frivolous while we can. Mildred, you have -finished your letter, haven’t you? Nona, -when will you ever be through? To whom -on earth are you writing that you can have -so much to say? Whoever he or she is I -wish could see you. You look like a Fra -Angelico angel in that flowing blue robe -tonight.”</p> - -<p>Just long enough to blow a kiss Nona -looked up. “Oh, I am writing to Dick -Thornton,” she explained casually. “I had -a letter from him the other day asking me -to tell him just what we were doing. He -said Mildred would never tell him half -enough.”</p> - -<p>A strange little lump mysteriously caught -in Barbara’s throat. Dick had not yet -written her and she had thought they were -as intimate friends as he and Nona. Then -the smile that was characteristic of her<span class="pagenum">[156]</span> -ability to see things truthfully hovered -around her lips. After all, did she really -desire Dick Thornton to behold Nona -tonight? Never had she seen her looking -prettier! She had on a blue crêpe wrapper -the color of the Italian sky, her pale yellow -hair was unbound and hanging in a single -long curl down her back. Moreover, the -fire had flushed her cheeks and made her -dark eyes shine.</p> - -<p>Then noticing that Eugenia’s eyes were -studying her gravely, Barbara shook her -head and laughed.</p> - -<p>“I have a perfectly delicious piece of -gossip to confide, if you will all listen. If -you don’t I’m going to bed this minute.”</p> - -<p>Nona sealed her letter.</p> - -<p>“What on earth are you talking about, -Barbara?” she demanded. “How can you -have heard any more gossip than the rest -of us? You can’t have found a lost will or -a lost romance in that old book you dug -out of the attic.”</p> - -<p>Having at last gained the desired attention -of her audience, the youngest of the -four Red Cross girls was not disposed to -hurry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[157]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, no, not exactly,” she hedged. -“And yet I have been amusing myself -fitting the two stories together. Remember -the young girl we saw dancing for the soldiers -the other afternoon?”</p> - -<p>“Goodness, yes,” Eugenia replied. “But -what a surprising person you are, Barbara. -She is about the last person in the world -I would have guessed you had in mind. -What on earth made you think of her -again?”</p> - -<p>Holding up three fingers, Barbara counted -them out slowly. “One, two, three things -made me think of her. Now listen to me -attentively, for ‘hereby hangs a tale.’ -And perhaps if we exercise enough imagination -we can turn it into the oldest romance -of the Troubadours, those poets of old -Provence whose names stand high in the -records of song and story. Remember the -tale of ‘Aucassin and Nicolete’ is over -seven hundred years old! We may have -to make a few changes to fit it into modern -times.”</p> - -<p>Mildred Thornton made no effort to -stifle her yawn.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, goodness gracious, do go on and -get to your story or I shall retire to bed. -At least I remember that the blond young -soldier told you the little dancing girl’s -name was Nicolete. It was odd for you to -come across the poem so unexpectedly tonight. -I read it long ago in my literature -class at school. But where, please, is -‘Aucassin,’ the hero of your tale, and where, -for that matter, is Nicolete? You told me -that she was supposed to disappear after -her dance and no one knew what had become -of her,” Mildred protested.</p> - -<p>Barbara turned appealingly to Eugenia. -“Do make Mildred hush and not take the -fine flavor from my romance,” she begged. -“The young soldier may not have known -where the young dancing girl lives, but I -do. Indeed, we all passed her home this -afternoon. Didn’t you see a little scarlet -cap on the bayberry bush outside the old -hut in the woods? Well, Nicolete has been -living there recently, with an old grandmother, -or an old woman of some kind. -She is the adopted daughter of some mysterious -person, I am told. You recall that<span class="pagenum">[159]</span> -Nicolete was a slave girl owned by a viscount?”</p> - -<p>Eugenia got up slowly out of her chair.</p> - -<p>“I don’t mean to be rude, child, but -really I have to attend to some things before -I go to bed and your story seems rather -far fetched. Tell us who Nicolete’s adoring -lover is and wait until tomorrow for the -rest.”</p> - -<p>Barbara shrugged her shoulders petulantly.</p> - -<p>“Of all the disagreeable audiences this -is the worst!” she asserted. “I thought -maybe you might be interested in something -except horrors. The story is that this -little gypsy girl is really very much in love -with Captain Castaigne, whom we saw this -afternoon. That is, she may not be exactly -in love with him, but the soldiers think she -is. His mother is terribly angry, because, -of course, they belong to one of the oldest -families in France while she is ‘Poor Little -Miss Nobody of Nowhere.’ Then another -romantic point is that the little blond -soldier who gave us the flowers is enamored -of Nicolete. Monsieur Bebé is what<span class="pagenum">[160]</span> -the other soldiers call him, so I wasn’t so -far wrong in thinking he looked like a -baby.”</p> - -<p>Barbara did not observe that Eugenia was -frowning majestically and that Mildred -Thornton looked rather bored.</p> - -<p>Nona, however, was smiling good-humoredly.</p> - -<p>“Hurry up and finish, Barbara. Is Captain -Castaigne pining away for the fair -Nicolete, refusing to be a knight or to bear -arms for his country? I thought he was -supposed to be an extraordinary young officer,” -Nona questioned.</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly Barbara was crestfallen.</p> - -<p>“I suppose that is the weakest part of -the story,” she confessed. “I don’t know -whether Captain Castaigne cares for this -particular Nicolete in the least. He does -not care for anything but his beloved country, -I believe. But if you won’t be interested -in my romance, please listen to the -first part of my poem,” Barbara begged, -picking up her discarded book. “There is -a translation here of the first verse:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[161]</span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="indentquote0">“Who would list in right good verse -</div><div class="indent0">Tale of grief full sad to hear, -</div><div class="indent0">Of two children young and fair, -</div><div class="indent0">Nicolete and Aucassin; -</div><div class="indent0">Of the woes he had to bear -</div><div class="indent0">And the doughty deeds to dare -</div><div class="indent0">For his love with face so clear? -</div><div class="indent0">Sweet the song, the fable rare, -</div><div class="indent0">Courtly and well served the fare; -</div><div class="indent0">No man is so full of care, -</div><div class="indent0">None so wretched, none so bare, -</div><div class="indent0">So o’erdriven by despair -</div><div class="indent0">But the hearing will repair, -</div><div class="indent0">Give him jollity to spare, -</div><div class="indent0">So rich the tale.” -</div></div></div></div> - -<p>As she finished the verse Eugenia reached -down and taking hold of Barbara lifted her -to her feet.</p> - -<p>“You are perfectly absurd with your -little love tale, dear, and I don’t see the -least point in it. Still, it has been nice and -restful to have had a quiet evening like this. -Perhaps it is better for us to forget the -tragedies about us now and then. Besides, -I expect I need more education in romance. -But go upstairs to bed, all of you at once. -I’ll close up the house for the night.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[162]</span></p> - -<p>Eugenia shooed the three girls away as if -they had been chickens and she a guardian -hen. But after they left her she did not -start upon her task at once. Instead she -stood with her hands clasped looking down -into the fire.</p> - -<p>Outside the rain must have ceased for she -no longer heard the noise of it. Indeed, -the world seemed strangely quiet to ears -accustomed to the cannonading she had -heard so often in the past months.</p> - -<p>But she was not thinking of this at the -present moment, but of her visit to the -chateau earlier in the afternoon. The call -had not been an agreeable one, for she had -never felt more ill at ease. However, -Eugenia made up her mind that she would -never accept an invitation there again. -She might then escape meeting either the -Countess or her son. And with this thought -in mind she stopped to put out the last -flickering flames of the fire.</p> - -<p>There she remained crouched in the same -position for five minutes, while upstairs in -their bedrooms the other three American -Red Cross girls were almost equally inanimate.<span class="pagenum">[163]</span> -For after the quiet of the night their -ears and hearts were suddenly stunned by a -burst of terrific artillery firing. It was as if -all the heavy guns of all the armies in -Europe were concentrated upon this particular -quarter in France.</p> - -<p>By and by Eugenia rose up wearily with -her face whiter and older than it had been -for some time.</p> - -<p>“I am afraid the Germans have not -retreated of their own accord,” she said, -unconsciously speaking aloud. “We may -have some hard days ahead of us. But if -they do manage to force the French line of -trenches and reach us, I shall not care so -much if only the other girls can get away. -It will not so much matter with a woman -as old as I am, and I shall be glad to be -useful.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Danger</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">All night the bombardment continued. -Now and then the girls slept, -but more often they lay awake, -wondering just where the fighting could be -taking place and if the field hospital could -be in danger.</p> - -<p>But at daylight the noise grew less and -three of the girls fell into deeper slumber -than they had known since saying good-night -to one another.</p> - -<p>But Eugenia did not wish to sleep again. -Very quietly she got up and went about -their little house hiding away their stores of -provisions. Then she locked up odd windows -and doors that might by chance be -forgotten. Afterwards she investigated her -own bag of nursing supplies and saw that -everything that might be needed for emergency -work was there.</p> - -<p>Although it was still between five and<span class="pagenum">[165]</span> -six o’clock, Eugenia next made things ready -for breakfast and then went upstairs and -waked the other girls. Well she knew that -their services would be needed earlier than -usual that morning! The night’s fighting -meant many more wounded, who would be -brought to them for succor as soon as -possible.</p> - -<p>Therefore, once they were up and dressed, -the girls naturally wished to be off to their -work at once. Yet against their wills Eugenia -insisted that they eat unusually large -breakfasts. She even packed a basket of -food for them to take to the hospital, -although their noonday meal was always -given them there.</p> - -<p>However, nothing was said at breakfast -about her proceedings, but later Barbara -followed Eugenia about their little house, -regarding her suspiciously.</p> - -<p>Desultory firing was still going on; occasionally -one could hear the cracking of a -score of rifles or the shriek of a bursting shell. -But this had become a common experience -in the past nine months to the American -Red Cross girls and would hardly explain<span class="pagenum">[166]</span> -Eugenia’s unusually serious view of the -situation.</p> - -<p>Finally Barbara managed to corner the -older girl in the kitchen, where she laid her -hand quietly on her arm.</p> - -<p>“Tell me, Eugenia, please, have you any -special reason for believing that the fighting -is to be more serious in this neighborhood -than any we have yet seen? Have the -soldiers or officers told you to expect unusual -trouble? Tell me the truth. I would -rather know, and I think I can promise -not to be such a coward as I was when our -war nursing started.”</p> - -<p>For a moment Eugenia hesitated. Her -face was serious but not severe this morning -and the two expressions were very -unlike.</p> - -<p>“I am going to tell you exactly the -truth, Barbara, when I say that no one has -given me information of any kind. I have -only heard, just as you have, that after -months of fighting in this locality the -Germans evacuated their trenches and -moved back of the line of their own accord. -But the truth is, I have been feeling horribly<span class="pagenum">[167]</span> -uneasy ever since I became aware of -the impression this had made on the French -army near here. I have always feared it -was a piece of clever strategy on the part -of the Germans to gain time and perhaps -to bring up more guns. And all last night, -while the cannonading was going on, after -weeks of comparative quiet, I became more -and more convinced of my idea. Of course, -it may be absurd, but just the same I have -the feeling that we ought to be prepared -for perhaps the most strenuous times of -our lives.”</p> - -<p>Suddenly Eugenia placed her hands on -either side Barbara’s cheeks, which had -grown round and rosy as a child’s again, -with the weeks of outdoor life and the -easier work.</p> - -<p>“I want you to promise me something, -Barbara; promise for yourself and if you -can to use your influence with the other -girls. If by chance the enemy should conquer -this part of France and our field hospital -be forced to move further back, you -will go back with them. But if anything -should happen to make this impossible, go<span class="pagenum">[168]</span> -to the Countess Amélie and remain with -her. She is a stranger, but she is an older -woman and I’d feel ever so much happier -to have you under her protection.”</p> - -<p>Trying her best to show no signs of uneasiness -at Eugenia’s speech, nevertheless -Barbara Meade’s face unconsciously whitened -and her blue eyes grew dark.</p> - -<p>“That is a rather impossible promise,” -she returned, smiling, although her voice -was not quite steady. “Of course, I am -not convinced that you are right in your -fears in the first place, but if you should -be, why are you asking me to influence -the other girls to leave this neighborhood? -You have a great deal more influence that -I have. Do you mean that you don’t -intend to go with us?”</p> - -<p>At this the older girl walked across the -room and stood for a moment by the one -window which looked out upon the woods. -If she had wished to reply at once it would -have been impossible. For at this instant -a tremendous shell exploded at no great -distance away, shaking the little house and -making a noise that was almost deafening.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[169]</span></p> - -<p>Yet neither girl mentioned the occurrence -to the other.</p> - -<p>When it was over Eugenia turned quietly -around.</p> - -<p>“I expect to remain here if I find I can be -more useful. But after all, I may be talking -like a foolish old crow croaking over -misfortunes that never come. Goodness -knows, the French have repelled numbers of -attacks before! Even if the Germans have -reinforcements they will probably drive -them back. I only wanted us to be prepared -to meet the worst. But I’m dreadfully -sorry if I have frightened you unnecessarily, -so perhaps it will be best not to -speak of my foolishness to the other girls. -Now let’s hurry and be off.”</p> - -<p>But Barbara would not be hurried, -neither would she be silenced.</p> - -<p>She sat down for a moment on the top of -a high wooden stool, her feet swinging in -the air, looking like a little girl of fourteen, -in spite of the fact that she wore her nurse’s -cap and uniform.</p> - -<p>“I think you forget that we are Red -Cross nurses,” Barbara argued thoughtfully,<span class="pagenum">[170]</span> -talking not so much to her companion -as to herself. “So even if the Germans -do take the trenches in this vicinity -and occupy the French country, we shall -be perfectly safe. Our Red Cross badges -are our protection.”</p> - -<p>The older girl put her arm across the -younger one’s shoulder, not affectionately, -but protectingly.</p> - -<p>“More than probably you are right, -Barbara. But somehow I’d feel happier -not to have you girls too near here. Many -of the houses may be burned and the German -soldiers excited by their triumph. It -would be the same in any conquered country, -I have no doubt. I do not mean that -I think the German soldiers more brutal -than other men under like conditions. But -remember, we have been living in an enemy’s -country and nursing their soldiers and -even if ninety-nine of the soldiers were considerate, -one might be rough and unkind. -Of course, I can’t make you promise to do -what I ask against your will, but if the -danger comes will you remember what I -have said and try and be prudent?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[171]</span></p> - -<p>And Barbara nodded as she got off her -stool.</p> - -<p>“I won’t say anything to the others, but -I am going to put the Red Cross flag on our -little house before we leave,” she answered, -speaking in the most matter-of-fact tone. -“It can’t do any possible harm and I think -might have been a good idea all along to -advertise us to our neighbors. Dear little -‘House with the Blue Front Door,’ I hope -we may not leave you in many months! -Somehow I have grown deeply attached -to you!”</p> - -<p>A little while afterwards the four girls -started for the field hospital, which was -situated about a mile on this side of the -last row of the French trenches.</p> - -<p>Although they had been up for some -time, it was not more than half-past six -when they set out. The air was still and -heavy with smoke. It would have been -difficult to decide whether the noise of the -distant guns or the ominous lull in the firing -was more trying to the nerves.</p> - -<p>But the girls did not discuss the situation -as they walked along. Indeed, they<span class="pagenum">[172]</span> -did not talk at all, but plodded quietly -ahead, intent on the work before them and -saving all their strength until then.</p> - -<p>A short distance from the field hospital -they were met by two of the hospital assistants. -One of them joined Eugenia, the -other kept in the group with the other three -girls. They were two American college -boys.</p> - -<p>“Things are pretty lively around here, -Miss Peabody. I suppose you have been -hearing the racket all night. The news is -that the Germans have captured thirty -yards of the first line of the French trenches, -but of course we are expecting the Frenchies -to get them back again. Still, it might -have been wiser if you had stayed in your -own place today. Your house is a little -farther back.”</p> - -<p>Eugenia smiled in a friendly fashion at -her companion. She was surprisingly popular -with the staff at the field hospital, -although ordinarily having little to say to -them except upon matters concerning her -nursing. But the young fellow who had -walked out to meet them was a Harvard<span class="pagenum">[173]</span> -University boy who had come to France to -assist with the field hospital work. He was -one of fourteen or fifteen young fellows who -were able to take down or set up one of the -new field hospitals, consisting of some -twenty tents, in about half an hour.</p> - -<p>Naturally as he and Eugenia hailed from -the Bay State, there was that bond between -them.</p> - -<p>“Have they been bringing in many -wounded this morning?” Eugenia asked as -quietly as if she had been discussing an -ordinary topic.</p> - -<p>Her companion nodded. “It has been -pretty bad,” he returned, trying to speak -with an affectation of carelessness. The -fact is he had intended studying to be a -surgeon after graduating at college and of -course should not be upset by a few wounded -men. But it wasn’t very jolly to see a lot -of fellows suffering and not to be able to -help them.</p> - -<p>“Then I expect we had best hurry,” -Eugenia answered. Afterwards neither of -them spoke again. Yet the young man -looked at Eugenia admiringly. Perhaps -she was not as much of a beauty as two of<span class="pagenum">[174]</span> -the other American Red Cross girls. Nevertheless, -she wasn’t bad looking in her -way, and certainly a man would like to -have her take care of him if he happened to -be bowled over. You could always count -on her being right there when the time -came, and knowing exactly what to do. -One couldn’t help admiring efficiency in -this world wherever one saw it.</p> - -<p>Certainly the American boy had been -right in his statement. Conditions at the -field hospital were pretty bad when the -four girls arrived there.</p> - -<p>All the beds in the tents were filled with -the wounded. Yet every five or ten minutes -another injured soldier requiring immediate -care would be borne to the hospital -by his companions until long lines of them -were stretched out upon the grass. Moreover, -one knew that there were perhaps -hundreds of others lying hurt in the trenches -to whom no relief could be given until the -fighting ceased.</p> - -<p>Now there seemed little prospect that a -lull could come until the night. Then perhaps -the bombarding would not be so continuous.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[175]</span></p> - -<p>However, the Germans must have previously -located the weak points in the -enemy’s defences since the cannonading -had begun the night before.</p> - -<p>Three or four hours passed and no one -appeared to think there could be danger at -the field hospital. Perhaps they were too -busy to think at all. Besides, the firing -seemed to be directed upon the trenches, -so that only an occasional shell, failing to -hit its mark, shrieked over them or burst -at a distance too far away to cause alarm.</p> - -<p>But it must have been about noon, though -no one knew the exact hour, when suddenly -news came that the French had been forced -to retreat from the front trenches to the -second line. Then immediately after the -Germans directed a number of their large -guns, not upon the trenches, but upon the -little town of Le Prêtre, which lay behind -the field hospital, the forest and the chateau -of the Countess Amélie.</p> - -<p>Nor did the shells and shrapnel continue -to pass over the hospital. Indeed, they -sometimes seemed to be the actual target of -the great guns, though this was of course -not true.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[176]</span></p> - -<p>One of the white tents was torn to pieces -and a doctor and two nurses hurt.</p> - -<p>Barbara had just come out of this tent -on an errand for the surgeon. After the -explosion she found herself standing but a -few yards from the débris, with Nona Davis -running toward her.</p> - -<p>“The field hospital is to be moved, Barbara -dear, and they wish all of us to go -along with them. Eugenia and Mildred -cannot leave, but you and I are to go back -to our little house and pack up the things -we actually must have. Everything and -everybody connected with the hospital -must be on the move in the next half hour. -There is a chance that the French may -retreat beyond the village, so as to force -the enemy out of their trenches into the -open fields. Come, we must run for it. -I don’t see how we shall ever manage to -get to our home and back in such a short -time. But we can help to bring up the -rear.”</p> - -<p>Nona slipped her arm through Barbara’s -and the two girls started back for “The -House with the Blue Front Door.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Parting of the Ways</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">The two girls reached the farmhouse -in a shorter time than they had -believed possible and at once rushed -upstairs to their rooms. There they dragged -out their suit-cases, and Mildred’s and -Eugenia’s as well, and began packing them -with the clothes they felt to be absolutely -necessary for their work.</p> - -<p>They knew the wounded must first be -removed from the field hospital, with only -the nurse and doctors who would have -charge of them. But there would also be -other motor cars to transport the additional -nurses, physicians and hospital assistants. -Moreover, since all the tents and -the supplies must afterwards be gotten -away this would surely require a fair amount -of time. So in case they were late and -missed the first of the departing cars, they -would certainly be stored away in one of -the later ones.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[178]</span></p> - -<p>“I do wish we had asked Eugenia and -Mildred to wait until we returned to the -hospital before they leave,” Barbara called -from beneath the bed in Mildred’s room, -where she was dragging out a pair of shoes.</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t have made any difference -if we had asked,” Nona answered. “Mildred -is to go in one of the first motor ambulances -with the wounded, as she has -charge of two critically ill soldiers. And -of course Eugenia will do whatever she -thinks wisest. Certainly she won’t wait -for us if she thinks it best to go first.”</p> - -<p>“I am not so sure of that,” Barbara -replied, and then there was a silence lasting -for several moments.</p> - -<p>Afterwards Barbara and Nona wondered -why they were not more frightened during -this half hour. The fact is that they had -not yet appreciated the seriousness of the -French retreat, nor the great task of moving -the field hospital beyond the present -danger line.</p> - -<p>Moreover, they were too busy to think -clearly on any subject, and a time of action -is seldom a time of fear.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[179]</span></p> - -<p>Except for the two girls moving hastily -about, the little farmhouse was delightfully -quiet and peaceful after the dreadful morning -at the hospital. Once the thought -flashed through Barbara Meade’s mind: -“If only they might stay here in the little -‘House with the Blue Front Door’ and -take their chances with <a id="Ref_179"></a>the enemy!” They -would be under the protection of the Red -Cross. However, as they had received -their orders from an authority higher than -Eugenia’s, like soldiers they must do as they -were commanded, without considering their -personal inclinations.</p> - -<p>So Barbara, having finished Mildred’s -packing, took her suit-case downstairs by -the front door. She then went up for Eugenia’s, -which Nona had by this time completed. -It was heavier than the other and -she staggered a little and had to stop to -recover her breath after she had placed it -alongside Mildred’s.</p> - -<p>Therefore, she chanced to be standing -just beside the front door when the first -knocking on the outside began. Nona had -drawn a great, old-fashioned bolt across<span class="pagenum">[180]</span> -the door after entering, chiefly with the -idea that they should not be disturbed at -their tasks.</p> - -<p>Barbara did not open the door at once.</p> - -<p>This knocking was not of an ordinary -kind, such as one would expect from a -visitor. It was very insistent, never stopping -for a second; it was indeed, a kind of -hurried tattoo.</p> - -<p>“Who is there?” Barbara demanded. -But before any one else could reply Nona -called from upstairs.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t open the door, Barbara, -at least not until we are about to start. -There isn’t an instant to waste in talking -to any one.”</p> - -<p>In consequence Barbara turned away, but -immediately after she recognized the voice -of old François.</p> - -<p>“Open, open!” he shouted, first in French -and then in English, having acquired a few -words from his four American girl friends.</p> - -<p>Then Barbara drew back the latch and -François tumbled in.</p> - -<p>The old fellow’s brown face was ashen -and the pupils of his little black eyes were -dilated with fear.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[181]</span></p> - -<p>He had evidently been running until he -was almost out of breath.</p> - -<p>“The French are retreating, all our army -at once: They are tramping, tramping -through the fields and the woods. Madame -the Countess says you are to come to the -chateau immediately. Soon the Germans -will be here and then——”</p> - -<p>The old French peasant flung out his -withered hands and rolled his eyes upward. -Words failed to express his pent-up emotions.</p> - -<p>But Barbara shook her head quietly.</p> - -<p>“You are very kind, François. Tell the -Countess Amélie we are most grateful for -her thought of us. But we are going to the -rear with the field hospital staff and in any -case we should be safe as Red Cross nurses. -Go back to her now, for she needs you more -than we do. This must be a terrible experience -for her.”</p> - -<p>Old François straightened his crooked -back against the front door, which he had -most carefully closed after entering.</p> - -<p>“But you must come and at once, Mademoiselle. -For the Countess is ill, perhaps<span class="pagenum">[182]</span> -dying from the shock of the news we have -just received,” he insisted. “Her son’s, -Captain Henri’s, regiment has been destroyed. -Some of the men have been taken -prisoners, the others killed or wounded. -And we have had no word from our young -captain since the fighting began.”</p> - -<p>The old servant’s face worked with emotion -and his eyes filled with tears.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am so sorry,” Barbara murmured -pitifully, and then realizing the inadequacy -of words at such a time, turned to Nona, -who had at this instant come downstairs, -carrying her own and Barbara’s bags.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do, Nona?” Barbara -demanded. “We should have started back -to the field hospital before this. And yet -if we go now and leave the Countess ill with -no one to look after her, it seems too cruel! -Suppose I go with François and you return -to the hospital and explain what has delayed -me. Tell Eugenia where I am. -Somehow I feel that perhaps the Countess -Amélie needs my care more than the soldiers -do today. There are so many other nurses -to look after them, while she is old and -alone.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[183]</span></p> - -<p>Nona’s dark eyes looked troubled, nevertheless -she shook her head.</p> - -<p>“I don’t agree with you, Barbara. We -ought to be at our posts. We have promised -our services to the soldiers; besides, -I could not let you go alone to the Countess. -Don’t you know that when the German -soldiers overrun this countryside the chateau -will be one of the first places to be -seized? It is the most important house in -the neighborhood and the German officers -are sure to take up their headquarters -there.” Nona held out her hand to François.</p> - -<p>“I too am sorrier than I can say, but we -can’t do what you ask of us,” she declared, -“we must go back to our work. Please -try and make the Countess Amélie understand. -Now good-by, François, and may -we meet again in happier times. You must -move away from the door and let us be off, -for we are dreadfully late already from -talking to you.”</p> - -<p>But old François did not stir.</p> - -<p>“You have lived in Madame’s house, -you have eaten of her food, and yet when<span class="pagenum">[184]</span> -she may be dying you will not serve her. -Because you wear on your arm the badge of -the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Croix de Rouge</i>, does it mean that you -care only for soldiers? Because Madame -is a woman and an old one, you feel no interest -in her! Truly if she dies this war -will have killed her, for one does not die -only from wounds of the flesh.”</p> - -<p>Barbara’s blue eyes had slowly filled with -tears during the old peasant’s speech. But -now a resolute line formed about the corners -of her pretty mouth that only showed -there occasionally.</p> - -<p>“I am going to the Countess, Nona,” -she remarked quietly. “You must do whatever -your conscience prompts you to do. -Mine tells me that we have accepted a great -deal from the Countess and now she needs -me more than any one else. If the hospital -staff consider me a deserter, I cannot help -it. Besides, I almost promised Eugenia -that I would go to the Countess Amélie -if the Germans conquered this part of the -countryside. It was for another reason -I promised, but tell her, please, and she -will understand. Good-by; I’ll join you<span class="pagenum">[185]</span> -as soon as possible. Don’t worry about -me.”</p> - -<p>Barbara stooped and picked up her bag.</p> - -<p>“I’ll find my way to the chateau alone. -Fortunately, I know the way,” she added. -“François, you must go with Miss Davis, -so as to carry the other suit-cases. Then -you’ll come back to Madame as quickly as -possible.”</p> - -<p>Taking a watch out of her pocket, Nona -now glanced at it.</p> - -<p>“I am coming with you, Barbara. Already -we are nearly an hour behind the -time when the field hospital expected to be -on its way. If I return now I shall either -find that everybody and everything has departed, -or else it will merely be an additional -trouble to dispose of me at the last. A -day’s loss of <em>my</em> services cannot make such -a great difference. So we can first find out -how greatly the Countess Amélie needs us, -and then tomorrow, one or both of us must -somehow manage to rejoin the army. The -French retreat may not be so universal as -we fear.”</p> - -<p>By this time the blue front door had been<span class="pagenum">[186]</span> -flung open by François, so that outside the -girls could hear the tramping of many feet. -But the feet were moving with a rhythmical -swing that proved the French soldiers were -at least retreating in good order. So far -there had been no rout by the enemy.</p> - -<p>Now François was in the greatest hurry of -the three. He had taken Barbara’s bag -out of her hand and now laid hold of Nona’s. -Then he set off, trotting so rapidly down the -path, in spite of his age and crooked legs, -that the two girls could scarcely keep up -with him. Afterwards he led their way -into the woods, skirting along by the edge -of the trees and keeping safely out of -sight of the soldiers, although numbers of -them were marching through the same -woods on the farther side.</p> - -<p>It was by this time early in the afternoon, -but the girls found the chateau undisturbed. -Indeed, the autumn sun shone -down upon it with the same tranquillity -as though the world had been at peace -instead of war. Across the neglected lawn -a peacock stalked as majestically and disdainfully -as if the old gardens had been<span class="pagenum">[187]</span> -filled with the belles and beaus in the silks -and satins of a more picturesque age.</p> - -<p>However, the two American girls were -living in a too tragically workaday world. -They had no thought and no time for -beauty, since a shorter and more compelling -word urged them on.</p> - -<p>The lower part of the old chateau was -deserted, and as neither Nona nor Barbara -knew the way upstairs, François preceded -them. He opened first the door of the -Countess Amélie’s room, but found it -empty. Without hesitating, he then turned -and walked quickly down a narrow corridor -to another room at almost the opposite -end of the house. Knocking at this door -and receiving no answer, he crept in softly, -beckoning to the two girls to follow him.</p> - -<p>But this room was so vast that neither -Nona nor Barbara immediately discovered -its occupant. Evidently it was a man’s -room and must have covered the entire -southern end of the chateau. Yet it was -almost bare of furniture of a conventional -kind. On the walls old muskets hung and -bayonets of a bygone generation. The floor<span class="pagenum">[188]</span> -was of stone, uncarpeted, and there were -only two chairs, a tall chest of drawers and a -single iron bed in the apartment. If the -young Captain Castaigne was a dandy, as -Eugenia considered him, certainly there was -nothing about his room to suggest it!</p> - -<p>But Barbara was first to reach the bed, -because she first saw that the Countess -Amélie had thrown herself upon it. She -may have fainted earlier in the day and -thus alarmed François, but at present she -showed no signs of serious illness. Her face -was drawn with suffering, nevertheless she -attempted to rise and speak to her guests -as soon as Barbara approached. The -Countess Amélie belonged to the ancient -aristocracy of France whose women went -to the guillotine with smiles upon their -faces. It was a part of their pride of class -not to betray their deeper emotions.</p> - -<p>Yet Barbara found the small hand held -out to her extremely cold, and it was with -an effort that the older woman found herself -able to stand.</p> - -<p>“I am more than glad you have been -able to reach the chateau, Miss Meade,”<span class="pagenum">[189]</span> -she began. “Doubtless you know as well -as I do that our French army is in retreat -and that the German army may occupy this -neighborhood at any hour. But where are -your other two friends? I promised my -son that in case of danger I would send for -you. He could not contemplate the thought -of your being alone if the barbarians overwhelmed -us.”</p> - -<p>The Countess spoke quietly enough, yet -there was bitter antagonism in her voice. -One could hardly expect a French woman to -feel otherwise at an hour like this. Remember -also that this was a portion of -France near the border of Alsace-Lorraine, -which the Germans took as a part of their -booty at the close of the Franco-Prussian -war.</p> - -<p>The French people had not recovered -from the bitterness of that defeat when the -great war began.</p> - -<p>Barbara was looking somewhat nonplussed -at finding that the Countess was -not in need of her services as a nurse, so she -allowed Nona to join her and make the -first reply.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[190]</span></p> - -<p>“We were under the impression that you -were ill and needed us, or we should not -have come,” Nona answered. “The field -hospital has been moved and we intended -leaving with them, so we should have been -as safe as possible. Our friends, Miss -Thornton and Miss Peabody, have gone on -with the staff. Still, we appreciate your -wishing to protect us,” she ended gently.</p> - -<p>In reality, both Nona and Barbara were -deeply chagrined at the position in which -they now found themselves. Yet there was -no doubt that the older woman had meant -to be kind. Besides, nothing could be -gained by making a protest now.</p> - -<p>Both girls accompanied the Countess -Amélie out of the room.</p> - -<p>“I am alone here, except for François,” -she explained. “If the Germans come this -way, doubtless my chateau will be one of -the first places which they will require for -their own use. Therefore, it is necessary -that we be ready to leave at once. You -need not be frightened; François, will go -with us, and there is a secret passage leading -away from the chateau, through which<span class="pagenum">[191]</span> -we can make our escape without danger. -I am going to ask you to help me pack a -small store of provisions, as I think we will -be happier with work to occupy our hands.”</p> - -<p>Not a word of her anguish over her son’s -uncertain fate, nor a protest at being forced -in her old age to turn her back upon the -home of her ancestors! Surely this was -aristocracy of the spirit as well as of class, -Nona and Barbara both thought to themselves, -although neither said a word to the -other upon the subject.</p> - -<p>That afternoon, between five and six -o’clock, François brought word that the -German army had captured the last line of -French trenches and would soon overflow -into the countryside.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later the Countess Amélie, -Nona, Barbara and François, voluntarily -deserting the chateau, started upon an uncertain -journey to overtake the retreating -French army.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XV<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Other Two Girls</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">Just as Nona and Barbara had anticipated, -Mildred Thornton rode away -with her two patients in one of the -first motor ambulances that hurriedly withdrew -from the field hospital to remove the -wounded from the scene of danger. But -by another strange mischance Eugenia was -left behind.</p> - -<p>She had, of course, continued to assist -with the hospital work so long as there was -anything for her to do. However, she had -previously insisted that she be allowed to -depart in one of the last of the motor vans. -For the truth is she was unwilling to desert -the neighborhood until Nona and Barbara, -having returned from the farmhouse, were -able to go along with her.</p> - -<p>So during the last quarter of an hour, -when only the tents were left to be piled -upon the last trucks, Eugenia, having no -more duties to perform, wandered a short<span class="pagenum">[193]</span> -distance away. She only went about an -eighth of a mile along the path that led in -the direction of the farmhouse and there -sat down under a tree to wait for the other -two girls and to watch for a prearranged -signal.</p> - -<p>Until she began to rest Eugenia really -had no idea of how tired she was. She -had been up and at work since five o’clock -that morning under conditions that would -have exhausted the strongest person in the -world.</p> - -<p>Now there were deafening noises reverberating -all about her, while over her head -hung a heavy pall of smoke, sometimes -darkening the atmosphere, but now and -then lifting enough to permit a shaft of -light from the November sun to shine -through.</p> - -<p>At present the firing suggested that the -fighting was still at some distance away, -nevertheless the girl realized that the battle -must be drawing nearer and nearer, for -already a portion of the retreating French -army had passed within sight of the disbanded -hospital.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[194]</span></p> - -<p>Eugenia was not conscious of being as -greatly depressed by the French defeat as -the other three American Red Cross girls -had been. Her chief thought was the -appalling increase of the wounded that this -day’s battle must have caused. At this -moment there must be hundreds, perhaps -thousands of boys and men lying wounded -and dying in the fields and trenches with -no one to bring them aid.</p> - -<p>“If only one could do <em>more</em> to help!” the -girl murmured, clasping her hands wearily -together in her lap, but at the same time -keeping her eyes fixed upon the path ahead.</p> - -<p>“Why in the world don’t those children -come on?” she next asked impatiently. -“Certainly they should not have been -trusted to undertake our packing. I don’t -doubt they are putting our new Paris -clothes into the bags!”</p> - -<p>As she made this speech, believing that -she heard some one approaching, Eugenia -half rose. Then the next instant she was up -and standing with her back braced against -the tree, upon which she had been previously -resting. For bounding toward her,<span class="pagenum">[195]</span> -with his tongue hanging out and his head -lolling from side to side, was the dog belonging -to Captain Henri Castaigne.</p> - -<p>After her past experience it was impossible -for Eugenia not to feel nervous, for -the silver-gray brute was of enormous size -and strength. Yet when the dog reached -her side, for the second time he crouched -down at Eugenia’s feet. This time, however, -instead of hanging <em>down</em> his head, he -turned his gray-brown eyes upward upon the -girl’s with such a depth of entreaty that, -without knowing why, she was moved.</p> - -<p>“It is all right, Duke, I forgive you all -the past, even if I have not forgiven your -master!” she exclaimed, speaking in a -friendly tone, although scorning to use the -dog’s French name. “But do run home -now to your mistress. For this, I trust, is -a final farewell between us, as we shall -probably never meet again.”</p> - -<p>Even though she spoke thus lightly, -Eugenia was conscious that there might -be a possible tragedy in the fact that Duke -could not return to his master. Perhaps -Captain Castaigne was even now among -the missing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p> - -<p>However, the great Dane gave no sign -of having heard Eugenia’s command, but -instead gave her another look of profound -appeal. When she showed no indication -of having understood his meaning, he got -up and caught her dress firmly between -his teeth. Then not ungently but authoritatively -he began dragging her along with -him.</p> - -<p>For the first moment Eugenia was too -surprised to make any special resistance. -The next she called out angrily to the dog -to let go; and then, finding he had no idea -of obeying her, tore her coat from between -his clenched teeth.</p> - -<p>Duke’s answer was to gaze at her reproachfully -and then to gather a larger -portion of her clothing in his mouth and -start off faster the second time, with the -girl obliged to follow.</p> - -<p>Naturally Eugenia was angry. This -objectionable dog appeared designed by -fate to be a nuisance to her. Yet she was -unable to make up her mind what to do. -She could tear herself away again with -another disastrous result to her clothing;<span class="pagenum">[197]</span> -besides, the dog would doubtless seize hold -on her again. And to struggle with the -enormous creature could only bring misfortune -upon herself, since there was no -doubt of Duke’s determination.</p> - -<p>So for twenty yards or more Eugenia -moved along without further protest, then -she concluded to call and summon some one -to her assistance. No one chanced to be in -sight, but there were, of course, several of -the hospital workers not far away, so that -in case Duke turned dangerous a shot -would quickly put an end to him.</p> - -<p>With this thought in mind Eugenia again -looked at the dog. He was such a magnificent -creature it would be a tragedy to -kill him. Besides, was she not so sick at -heart at all the unnecessary waste of death -that she would not voluntarily destroy the -tiniest spark of life?</p> - -<p>Something of this feeling must have at -this instant communicated itself to Duke’s -intelligence, for suddenly and of his own -accord he released Eugenia’s dress. But -instead of leaving her he walked on a few -steps further, stopped, turned around again<span class="pagenum">[198]</span> -and made a second appeal and then went -slowly on a few feet more.</p> - -<p>Afterwards Eugenia decided that she -must have been abnormally dull at this -time. But then her attention had been so -concentrated upon the hope of Barbara’s -and Nona’s immediate return. For it was -not until Duke had made his third demand -that his purpose finally occurred to her. -Of course, he wished her to go with him to -find some lost place or person.</p> - -<p>Eugenia never considered the possible -distance that she might be expected to -travel, for all at once she seemed curiously -under the domination of the dog’s desire. -For she straightway put her hand reassuringly -upon Duke’s collar.</p> - -<p>“It is all right, old fellow, I understand -at last and will come along with you,” she -said aloud.</p> - -<p>Then in a perfectly matter-of-fact fashion -Eugenia moved along by the dog’s side. -Soon after she knew that he was leading her -in the direction of the French trenches -which were directly within the firing line. -However, it did not strike her that she was<span class="pagenum">[199]</span> -facing any greater peril than she and the -field hospital staff had been enduring all -day. For one grows accustomed to war’s -horrors as well as to most other things.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Eugenia flinched many -times as the dog led the way, walking now -and then beside men’s bodies that did not -stir either at their approach or after their -passing. Yet Red Cross nurses must learn -a certain amount of stoicism to be of real -value in their work.</p> - -<p>Once or twice Eugenia wondered if she -could possibly manage to finish the task -Duke required of her in time to leave with -the last of the field hospital staff, yet it -was odd how secondary this idea became.</p> - -<p>Some other guiding force had taken possession -of her at the time, for the purpose -in hand seemed the one thing supremely -worth while.</p> - -<p>Only through one’s imagination can the -picture of a battlefield be really seen, for -even when the eyes behold it, the spirit -must act as its interpreter.</p> - -<p>For nearly a year Eugenia had been nursing -the soldiers in this worst of all possible<span class="pagenum">[200]</span> -wars, yet it was not until this afternoon -that she had ever visited a battleground -while the fighting was going on.</p> - -<p>But fortunately the field to which Duke -brought her was no longer a center of the -firing. The field lay just behind a trench -which but a few hours before had been a -target for German artillery. However, -the trench had already been captured, so -that many of the soldiers who lay dead upon -the ground had been killed during their -effort to retreat.</p> - -<p>Therefore the accident that occurred was -not one which could have been reasonably -expected.</p> - -<p>With his great head bowed Duke was -treading slowly, as if he realized the ugliness -of the human tragedy surrounding -them. Neither was Eugenia thinking of -herself; nevertheless, a moment later and -she lay stretched upon the battleground, -as still and unconscious as any of the -recumbent figures by whom she had so -lately passed.</p> - -<p>There for hours Duke stood sentinel -beside her, yet not knowing whether he<span class="pagenum">[201]</span> -should go or remain. For while love compelled -him in one direction, his sense of -honor constrained him to stay by the companion -who had fallen by his side.</p> - -<p>Did Duke realize his own responsibility -in the catastrophe, that his honor prevailed?</p> - -<p>The entire afternoon passed and finally -evening came and yet Eugenia did not stir. -She looked an incongruous figure on the -field of the dead. For although she wore -her nursing cloak it had floated open as she -fell, revealing her woman’s uniform with -the cross of crimson upon her arm.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVI<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Discovery</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">But between eight and nine o’clock -on that same evening Eugenia -opened her eyes. She was unable to -think clearly at first and stared in amazement -at the canopy of blue sky above her -head. What had become of the familiar -ceiling of her room at the farmhouse?</p> - -<p>But then her head was aching dully so -that it made her more uncomfortable to -try to think at all. She did not even wish -to call for the other girls, because Barbara -would probably come to her in a little while. -She remembered that Barbara had been -especially kind when she had just such -another absurd headache a short time -before.</p> - -<p>Closing her eyes again, Eugenia rested. -But something warm and soft seemed to -be moving about near her face, breathing -over her in a curious, enveloping fashion<span class="pagenum">[203]</span> -impossible from a human being. It was -like a damp cloud.</p> - -<p>Putting out her hand, Eugenia touched -Duke’s moist nose, and then almost instantly -returned to a knowledge of the -situation.</p> - -<p>She recalled in detail the events of the -past afternoon, but could find no explanation -for her own presence here upon the -ground among the wounded. For she was -not suffering sufficient pain to suggest that -she had been shot by a stray rifle ball from -the enemy’s lines. Moreover, Eugenia -found that she could move both her arms -and legs without difficulty. They were -stiff, but that may have been due either to -fatigue or to her position upon the earth. -However, the ache in her head continued -so that Eugenia put up her fingers to her -temple. There was a curious something -clotted on her hair at the left side, which -she at once knew to be blood.</p> - -<p>Then she understood what had happened. -A piece of shell from an exploding bomb -must have struck and stunned her into -unconsciousness. However, it must have<span class="pagenum">[204]</span> -come from such a distance that it had -spent its force, for she was not seriously -injured. Already the slight scalp wound -had closed and was no longer bleeding.</p> - -<p>Eugenia rose up slowly to a sitting position, -realizing fully the gravity of her situation. -Yet she would not allow herself to -reflect upon its horrors. She must decide -what she should best do. Would it be -wiser to stay where she was for the rest of -the night or try to seek assistance? Yet -what had taken place in the countryside -during the afternoon while she lay in a -stupor? Were the French or the Germans -in possession of the neighborhood?</p> - -<p>However, Eugenia was not to be allowed -to reach her decision alone. For no sooner -had she gotten up than Duke once more -began pulling at her dress, very softly at -first, as one who has respect for an invalid, -but no less insistently.</p> - -<p>A dog’s devotion and a dog’s persistence -are two qualities worthy of human admiration -and wonder.</p> - -<p>At this moment Eugenia felt both. She -laid her hand quietly and affectionately on -Duke’s head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[205]</span></p> - -<p>“I can’t go with you again. I am too -used up, Duke, to help you find your -friend. You would simply have another -victim on your hands. But you need stay -with <em>me</em> no longer. I shall wait here for -you until daylight.”</p> - -<p>But though Eugenia waved her hand in -token of dismissal and farewell, the dog -did not leave her, although he seemed to -appreciate the fact that she was unable to -accompany him. For he gave up his hold -on her and merely sat down reflectively -by her side, as if he too were trying to decide -what course it was wise to pursue.</p> - -<p>It was plain that Duke was wretchedly -unhappy. If he could not show his grief -in a human fashion, he had his own especial -methods. When Eugenia put her arm -about his body she could feel the anguished -beating of his heart.</p> - -<p>“I wonder who it can be, Duke, that -you wish to find so ardently?” the girl -questioned. “Surely some one whom you -love very deeply! I am sorry to be so -useless and it is dreadful to think of your -friend’s long waiting for your return, so<span class="pagenum">[206]</span> -you must go, Duke, even if I cannot go -with you. Then if you are no longer -needed, come back to me.”</p> - -<p>Eugenia made this long speech aloud in a -pleading tone, nevertheless she again discovered -that it was easier to say what this -great dog should do than to force him to -obey one’s will.</p> - -<p>Yet while Eugenia was reflecting upon -this fact she had her moment of inspiration. -She knew that in many parts of the army -dogs had been trained for searching out -the wounded. Only a short time before -in the papers distributed by the French -Red Cross Society she had read that these -dogs were sent forth with long ropes tied -about their necks, so that when possible the -wounded were thus dragged to places of -aid.</p> - -<p>Eugenia had no rope, but one often -wonders why women are accused of being -without inventive talents. So far it is -true that only a few of their inventions -have been of world value; to find them -one must seek among the homes. This -American girl at once slipped off her long<span class="pagenum">[207]</span> -cloth nursing coat. It was of strong, well-woven -material, yet she managed within a -few moments to tear it into strips and then -to knot the strips firmly together.</p> - -<p>Then she tied the long cord about Duke’s -neck. One could not tell whether the dog -would understand his mission, or whether -the rope would be of service when Duke -reached his goal. Yet in every uncertainty -in life one must simply attempt the thing -that seems most intelligent. And Eugenia -felt convinced that Duke would bring his -friend back to her. Then she could decide -on what should be done next.</p> - -<p>Duke did seem to understand, for as soon -as Eugenia had finished her task and commanded -him to be gone, he trotted obediently -off until his great shadow was lost -in the distance.</p> - -<p>Then the girl lay down again. She had -natural self-control and her nursing had -taught her even more. She must sleep if -possible and in any case not let herself -dwell on her own presence here within the -field of the dead.</p> - -<p>When Eugenia closed her eyes the moon<span class="pagenum">[208]</span> -had not risen and the night was fairly dark. -Half an hour later, when she reopened -them, a full moon had flooded the field -with light. She could see Duke approaching -at some yards away. He was moving -slowly and it was difficult at first to find -out the reason. Eugenia rose quickly to -her feet. Yes, it was evident now: he <em>was</em> -drawing someone along behind him.</p> - -<p>The girl walked forward to meet the dog -and his burden. Then, although she had -been growing daily more accustomed to -war and its inevitable sorrows, she stopped -and drew in her breath sharply. The next -instant Eugenia had forgotten everything -but that she was a Red Cross nurse whose -purpose was to do whatever she could to -relieve suffering.</p> - -<p>The figure that the dog dragged along on -the ground had the face turned downward. -But when she lifted the body up Eugenia -was not surprised to recognize in the white, -still features, the face of young Captain -Henri Castaigne. All along she had thought -it probable that Duke could feel no such -intense devotion for any one save his master.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[209]</span></p> - -<p>After the dog’s return the young officer -had somehow managed to tie the long strip -of cloth about his own body. He must -have realized that he would lose consciousness -on his journey to find succor, for he -had been cruelly wounded in both legs.</p> - -<p>Never before had Eugenia felt more painfully -helpless. There were so many things -which should be done for the young soldier -at once and she was so unable to do any -one of them.</p> - -<p>Of course, she knelt and felt the action -of his pulse and heart, finding neither so -feeble as she had feared. Then Eugenia, -who was given to definite actions, made -another decision.</p> - -<p>It would be impossible to be of service -to Captain Castaigne here in an open field -with no water near, so far as she knew. -She had a little in the canteen in her pocket, -but this would only be enough for him to -drink and would certainly be insufficient -for the cleansing of his wounds. Besides, -even with the use of the small flashlight -every Red Cross nurse carries, she was -unable to discover whether the rifle balls<span class="pagenum">[210]</span> -were still imbedded in her patient’s flesh. -Certainly he must be carried to some place -where he could receive proper attention, -but in the meantime Eugenia thanked -Providence that she had with her her bag of -first aid appliances. It had been strapped -about her waist while she sat under the tree -earlier in the day, waiting to start out with -the field hospital staff. Until now she had -no thought or use for it.</p> - -<p>Eugenia used the necessary antiseptics -and then bound the wounds as carefully as -possible. But she made no effort to bring -her patient back to consciousness. For the -purpose she had in mind it would be best -that he feel and know as little as possible.</p> - -<p>Once her task accomplished Eugenia -again wound her improvised rope about -Captain Castaigne’s waist. Again she signaled -Duke to start upon a journey, but -this time she formed a member of the little -party.</p> - -<p>Her idea was to get the wounded officer -back in the neighborhood of the field hospital, -and then if she could find no aid there, -somehow to reach their own farmhouse.<span class="pagenum">[211]</span> -From there word could be sent to the -chateau.</p> - -<p>But the trip was a terrible one and took -longer hours than one could have imagined. -Now and then Eugenia would try to assist -by supporting the young officer’s body -with her own strength. But as she could -not lift him entirely this only seemed to -make the task more difficult for the devoted -Duke. Often they were obliged to stop -and then Eugenia would kneel down beside -the body to find out if the young man -was still alive.</p> - -<p>It was about dawn when they arrived -at last in the neighborhood of the former -French field hospital, where the four American -girls had been nursing. But Eugenia -found few traces of the hospital left. Everywhere -in the vicinity the ground had been -trampled under foot. The white tents had -been folded, and like the proverbial Arabian -tents, had silently stolen away. Neither -was there a single human being about.</p> - -<p>However, Eugenia had anticipated this. -But she had also steadfastly hoped that -here upon more familiar ground she might -make some useful discovery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[212]</span></p> - -<p>Ordering Duke to remain quiet beside -his burden, Eugenia started upon a pilgrimage. -She must find something to make -the trip to the farmhouse more endurable, -more possible for the young French soldier. -Yet she could not make up her mind to -desert him in order to seek for help.</p> - -<p>At first, the girl could, of course, find -nothing. But by wandering around on the -outskirts of the grounds, where the deserted -hospital had formerly stood, Eugenia -finally came across an old wheelbarrow. -It had been used for bringing vegetables to -the hospital staff, and being of no value -had been left behind.</p> - -<p>Scarcely an ideal motor ambulance for a -wounded officer. Nevertheless Eugenia -seized upon the wheelbarrow with almost as -much enthusiasm as if it had been. For at -least it had wheels and she would be able -to push it.</p> - -<p>Naturally this was a hard task, but one -should not think upon the difficulty when -a task is to be accomplished.</p> - -<p>The blue front door of the little farmhouse -was standing open when Eugenia<span class="pagenum">[213]</span> -reached home. Half lifting and half dragging -her patient, she finally succeeded in -placing him upon a small couch in their -living room.</p> - -<p>Then, being the methodical person she -was, Eugenia went directly to the kitchen, -made herself a cup of coffee and drank it. -For her strength had almost given out and -she knew not what work might lie ahead of -her.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVII<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Recognition</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">However, it was nearly noon before -Eugenia made the discovery -that the entire French army in -the vicinity had retreated, leaving all the -country nearby in the hands of the Germans. -Only then did she appreciate the -difficulty of concealing a young French -officer in her home, who would doubtless be -taken prisoner if his presence and his identity -were discovered.</p> - -<p>Her information came about in this -fashion. For two hours Eugenia worked -with her patient, washing his wounds and -even managing to extract a bullet which -had lodged near the surface. Also she -bathed his face and poured brandy between -his haggard lips until he opened his eyes, -only to close them again in utter exhaustion. -Finally, when she could do nothing -more, Eugenia walked to her front door to<span class="pagenum">[215]</span> -get some fresh air. She meant in a few -moments to go to the Chateau d’Amélie -and send old François to the nearest village -for a doctor. So far it simply had not -occurred to her that François and his mistress -might have deserted the chateau for -the same reason that had compelled the -removal of the field hospital.</p> - -<p>Outside, like a tired sentinel, Eugenia -found Duke asleep in the front yard. Then -while hesitating to wake him, even to keep -guard over his master, she became vaguely -conscious that soldiers were marching past. -The next instant she realized that their -uniforms were German and not French and -that they wore the eagle triumphant on -their shining helmets.</p> - -<p>They were passing close to the little -“House with the Blue Front Door,” so -that Eugenia wondered why no one stopped -to investigate it. Then she remembered -that Barbara had hung the Red Cross -emblem outside and that the soldiers were -treating it with extraordinary respect.</p> - -<p>Would they continue to do this after discovering -that the only person beside herself<span class="pagenum">[216]</span> -under the protection of the Red Cross flag -was an enemy’s officer?</p> - -<p>Eugenia was convinced otherwise. Captain -Castaigne would be promptly taken -prisoner so soon as she told of his whereabouts -and sent to a hospital within the -German lines. And to be moved at the -present time would probably mean the -young officer’s death.</p> - -<p>Calling Duke inside, Eugenia closed and -bolted the blue front door. Then she considered -whether she could manage to keep -the young Frenchman concealed and yet -take the proper care of him. It would be -impossible to expect the assistance of a -physician, for the nearest village would -assuredly be occupied by the Germans and -to demand a doctor must mean the betrayal -of her patient.</p> - -<p>It was possible, however, that she could -hide Captain Castaigne away for a time at -least, while she remained unmolested in the -little farmhouse, with Duke as her protector. -She would explain to the German -officer in command just what had taken -place that caused her to be left behind by<span class="pagenum">[217]</span> -the hospital staff. Then there would be -little reason for interfering with her, unless -the farmhouse should be required for the -shelter of the soldiers. But as it was small -and somewhat out of the way she hoped it -might be ignored.</p> - -<p>The chiefly important thing was to wait -quietly until the next morning and then -find out Captain Castaigne’s condition. -Eugenia meant to make as brave a fight for -his life as possible. If he recovered there -would be time enough to determine whether -he should surrender or make an effort to -escape and rejoin his command. Fortunately -there were both provisions and -medical supplies stored in the farmhouse. -Judge Thornton had sent fresh orders of -both from Paris quite recently.</p> - -<p>So for the rest of the afternoon and evening -Eugenia sat by her patient while Duke -crouched on the floor near them both. No -one disturbed them; the little house might -have been in the center of a vast desert for -any human interest it created. The day -before Eugenia had closed its outside windows -and doors, and since had opened only -the one window necessary for light and air.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[218]</span></p> - -<p>For the greater part of the night Captain -Castaigne was delirious from a high fever. -Eugenia knew that it would be almost impossible -for him to escape blood poison, -after the dirt had been ground into his -wounds from the long dragging of his body -on the earth.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, now and then the young -officer slept the sleep of utter exhaustion, -with Duke and Eugenia both slumbering -beside him whenever this opportunity came.</p> - -<p>Eugenia did not question the reason for -her care. She had not liked the young -Frenchman at their first meeting in Paris. -Certainly their second accidental meeting -in the woods had not increased her liking. -Moreover, she had been entirely out of -sympathy with him, with his mother and -with their French ideas and environment -on the afternoon of her one call.</p> - -<p>Yet none of these things counted in the -least with Eugenia. Captain Castaigne -was a French soldier, one of the men whom -she had come to Europe to nurse in case he -needed her care. Therefore he should -have the best it was in her power to offer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[219]</span></p> - -<p>Once, while in the act of giving him medicine -to relieve his fever, the young man -murmured his mother’s name and for the -instant Eugenia was moved to sympathy. -All the rest of the time her feeling was -entirely impersonal. Captain Castaigne -was merely a patient who must if possible -be kept alive and later restored to health. -If she had any feeling in the matter Eugenia -was sorry that she had ever made the young -man’s acquaintance before this night.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, at about six o’clock the -following morning, after an entire hour of -refreshing sleep, Eugenia opened her eyes -to find her patient gazing steadfastly at -her. For the time being his delirium had -passed and she realized that he recognized -her and longed to ask questions but was -still too weak and ill to speak.</p> - -<p>A half an hour afterwards, after a few -sips of clam bouillon which chanced to be -among the household stores, Captain Castaigne -said a few words.</p> - -<p>“<em>What does this mean?</em>” he asked in -painstaking English, appreciating even in -his present condition that Miss Peabody<span class="pagenum">[220]</span> -preferred the conversation to take place -in her native tongue.</p> - -<p>Eugenia thought quickly. The young -officer could not entirely grasp the situation -even if she were able to tell him the -entire story. Moreover, at present the -story was too long and too exciting for him -to hear. Also, he might feel burdened by -his obligation to her and unwilling for her -to make the sacrifices necessary for his -safety if he learned the truth now.</p> - -<p>So she gazed back at him with the quiet -serenity that made her so valuable a nurse.</p> - -<p>“You understand you have been hurt? -Well, I have been appointed to take charge -of you. You are to see no one else for a -time, not even your mother. Try to sleep -now, for you must be as quiet as possible.”</p> - -<p>When Captain Castaigne immediately -closed his eyes, Eugenia choked back a sigh -of relief. Evidently so far he had paid no -attention to his strange surroundings. It -was her presence alone that had surprised -him, and he would probably be unable to -make further inquiries for some time to -come. Possibly he would not even recognize<span class="pagenum">[221]</span> -her again. For Eugenia understood -the nature of the disease with which she -was to do battle and realized that there -might be weeks of continued delirium.</p> - -<p>For the next fourteen days Eugenia was -correct in her prognostication. But as -they were a rather dreadful two weeks for -her she would never talk of them freely -afterwards. All that time she had but faint -hope that the young soldier would live, -and except for her patient and Duke she -was completely alone.</p> - -<p>However, Eugenia managed to get the -young fellow upstairs and into Barbara’s -former blue bedroom, although he was never -conscious of the change.</p> - -<p>She was compelled to do this, or else -have her patient discovered. For she was -not to remain entirely undisturbed while -the victorious German soldiers overran the -entire neighborhood.</p> - -<p>One afternoon, three days after their installation, -when fortunately she chanced to -be working in her kitchen, a tremendous -knocking sounded upon the blue front door. -Immediately Eugenia conceived that it was<span class="pagenum">[222]</span> -some one sent to inquire why a solitary -female should remain sequestered in a -house, when supplies and houses were so -much needed for the German soldiers.</p> - -<p>A satisfactory explanation would doubtless -be difficult; nevertheless Eugenia, with -a blue check gingham apron over her nursing -one and a cup and saucer and dish towel -in her hands, opened the front door.</p> - -<p>There was something which she hoped -looked “old maidy” in this suggestion of -dishes and tea. Nothing to suggest the -concealment of a young French officer!</p> - -<p>Outside her door Eugenia encountered a -stiff German youth in an immaculate uniform, -bearing an official letter. The letter -commanded Eugenia to report to the officer -in authority in the nearest village. She -was to explain her presence in the neighborhood, -her occupation, and above all -offer proof of her nationality.</p> - -<p>Therefore, before setting out the next -morning Eugenia changed the quarters of -her patient. There could be little doubt -that some one would be sent to investigate -the interior of the little “Farmhouse with<span class="pagenum">[223]</span> -the Blue Front Door.” One could scarcely -expect to keep a soldier hidden in the only -room of any size in the house.</p> - -<p>Fortunately Barbara’s room was the -most inconspicuous of the four bedrooms. -Besides, Eugenia had a certain scheme in -mind which she hoped might help when the -critical moment arrived.</p> - -<p>Naturally Eugenia had passports and -certificates to identify herself as an American -Red Cross nurse. But she also took -with her to the colonel of the German regiment -another paper of a different character. -However, she did not mean to show -this before feeling her way very carefully. -The paper was a check for a large sum of -money on an American bank in Boston and -signed with her own name.</p> - -<p>At the improvised office of the German -colonel, Eugenia told her story as briefly as -possible. Moreover, she told the exact -truth in regard to herself in every detail up -to a certain moment. This was the moment -when she awakened to consciousness -after being struck by a German shell.</p> - -<p>There was nothing antagonistic in Eugenia’s<span class="pagenum">[224]</span> -manner with the officer. She explained -to him that the little French farmhouse -had been allotted to the use of the -four American Red Cross nurses and that -the other three girls had retreated with the -French field hospital staff. Then she asked -that she be allowed to remain in their house -until such time as she could communicate -with her friends in America. As she was -alone it would be impossible to have German -soldiers quartered upon her.</p> - -<p>At this moment Eugenia put her hand -upon the check in her pocket.</p> - -<p>Very frankly she then declared that she -realized it to be each person’s duty to assist -with the shelter and feeding of a victorious -army. But as she was unable to do either -of these things, would not the colonel accept -money instead? She trusted that he would -not be offended by her unusual suggestion, -for it appeared to her the only just and fair -thing to do under the circumstances. Finally -after further discussion and hesitation -and another careful study of her passports, -the German officer agreed to do what Eugenia -had suggested. However, he insisted,<span class="pagenum">[225]</span> -as a matter of necessary formality, that -two German soldiers be sent to her house -next day on a tour of inspection. When -they came Eugenia had the courage to -show them into the very blue bedroom -where the young French officer lay concealed. -But beforehand, and in spite of -her Puritan ancestry, she explained that this -room was her own bedchamber. Moreover, -to prove that she had nothing to -keep secret she had entirely emptied her -closet. Her own clothes, beside all those -that the other three girls had left behind, -were thrown with pretended carelessness on -top the very bed where <a id="Ref_225"></a>Captain Castaigne -lay hidden under a pile of bedclothes.</p> - -<p>The young Frenchman was in a stupor -from fever at the time, so Eugenia considered -that there could be little risk of his -either moving or speaking. However, if -risk there was, she felt compelled to take it.</p> - -<p>The German soldiers made no effort to -give this special room a thorough investigation. -They merely glanced in, and then, -like the proverbial ten thousand men of -King George’s army, marched out again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[226]</span></p> - -<p>After this Eugenia was troubled no further -by intruders from the ranks of the -Allies’ enemy. Her next visitor was of a -much more unexpected character.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Out of the Depth</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">All one night Eugenia feared that Captain -Castaigne would die.</p> - -<p>This was the fourteenth night -after the beginning of his fever and a crisis -in the disease. So for twenty-four hours -she did not have one-half hour of uninterrupted -sleep. It was not because the -young man needed her constant care, for -indeed he was never conscious of her existence. -When he called it was always to -ask for some one else, and yet it was always -Eugenia who answered. Then for a little -while at least the patient would seem to be -satisfied.</p> - -<p>But if at their first accidental meeting -in Paris the four American Red Cross girls -had considered Captain Castaigne absurdly -young for his captain’s commission, what -must they have thought of him now? To -Eugenia he appeared like a boy of sixteen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[228]</span></p> - -<p>It is true that he had a tiny dark moustache, -but except for this his face remained -smooth. Then his nurse had been compelled -to cut off all his dark hair in order to -cool his head, and his slender body had -become wasted and his eyes sunken. Indeed, -the features, which Eugenia had once -considered too perfect for a man’s, now -frequently made her think of a delicate -cameo, when he lay with his face in profile -against the pure white of his pillow.</p> - -<p>Watching him on this night, which she -feared might be his last, Eugenia felt -unusually moved.</p> - -<p>After all, he must have been a brave and -capable fellow to have received his present -rank in the French army while still so young. -Moreover, there was a possibility that Captain -Castaigne had more force of character -than she had ever given him credit for. -Had he not rebelled against his mother’s -ideas of rank and dignity, and in spite of -his devotion to her refused to keep his title -in a country which was now a republic? -Of course, Eugenia could not believe that -the young man really had the true democratic<span class="pagenum">[229]</span> -spirit in which she so thoroughly -trusted. Still there was a chance that he -might not be so futile a character as she -had first supposed.</p> - -<p>Leaning over to wipe her patient’s face -with a damp cloth, Eugenia made up her -mind to one thing. If Captain Castaigne -died she would go at once to the German -colonel in command of the French village -and confess what she had done. Of necessity -she must be punished for her falsehood -and treachery, but surely she would be permitted -to send for the Countess Amélie at -the last. The young French officer could -be of no interest to his enemies after his -death.</p> - -<p>But where the Countess could be hiding, -nor whom she could find to send for her, -Eugenia had not the faintest idea. For -these past two weeks she had been so entirely -shut away from the outside world. -Except for her one visit to the German -colonel she had never left the little “House -with the Blue Front Door” since the night -she first brought her patient into it. Nor -had Eugenia received a single line from<span class="pagenum">[230]</span> -any one of the other three Red Cross girls -to afford her the faintest idea of what could -have become of them. But she did not -worry so much as she might have done at a -time when she was less occupied. Besides, -naturally she believed that the three girls -were with the French field hospital at some -point back of the line of the French army’s -retreat.</p> - -<p>Toward dawn Eugenia knew that the -hour of greatest danger to her patient would -arrive. For it is an acknowledged scientific -fact that life is at its lowest ebb with -the rising and the setting of the sun.</p> - -<p>Therefore, just before this time Eugenia -left her patient’s bedside and went into the -room adjoining, which she used for her own -needs. There she washed her face and -hands in cold water and, letting down her -heavy hair, plaited it in two braids. She -was very tired and yet must prepare herself -to meet the coming hour with all the -strength and wisdom she could muster.</p> - -<p>Even as she made her toilet she was -aware of the feverish muttering of the -young officer. His stupor had passed<span class="pagenum">[231]</span> -several days before, but since his nurse -could not decide whether his weak restlessness -and almost incessant crying out were -not worse symptoms. Certainly they were -more trying upon her nerves.</p> - -<p>“Ma mère, ma mère,” he was repeating -his mother’s name over and over again, as -if he must see her again before his spirit -could leave his body.</p> - -<p>Eugenia slipped back and for the hundredth -time laid her hand gently on the -young fellow’s brow. Somehow he must -be quieted, comforted into thinking his -mother near him. Then if he never returned -to consciousness he would pass out -of the world’s alarms with a sense of her -presence.</p> - -<p>Do you recall that Barbara Meade had -discovered a wonderful, healing quality -in the touch of Eugenia’s hands? It is -true that a few people have this vital, -health-giving quality in their hands, which -is not true of others.</p> - -<p>Anyhow, Eugenia’s patient grew quieter, -although he still murmured a broken word -now and then. He was strangely pathetic,<span class="pagenum">[232]</span> -because, however much he might move his -arms and the upper part of his body, his -legs remained lifeless. For now and then -when he had endeavored to change his -position the pain had been so great as to -pierce through his stupor.</p> - -<p>“Mon fils, mon fils,” Eugenia whispered -several times. It was all the French she -dared permit herself to speak, and yet the -simple words “my son,” even spoken by a -New England old maid, carried their magic.</p> - -<p>Yet Eugenia was looking little like an old -maid as she leaned over the French boy—and -he was scarcely more than a boy. She -wore the violet wrapper, and as she kneeled -her long dark braids of hair lay upon the -floor. She too had grown thin and white -from her two weeks’ vigil of nursing, cooking, -taking entire charge of her patient, -herself and the little house. Nevertheless, -Eugenia’s face had for some reason -softened, perhaps because she was too -weary and too selfless in her devotion to -her patient to feel superior to any earthly -thing. At this moment her eyes were both -sad and hopeful, while her lashes looked<span class="pagenum">[233]</span> -longer and darker than usual against the -pallor of her cheeks.</p> - -<p>Finally Captain Castaigne moved away -from the soft pressure of his nurse’s hands. -As he moved with more strength than Eugenia -believed him to possess, for the next -instant she watched him even more closely.</p> - -<p>He was muttering a number of confused -phrases, now and then what sounded like -a command to his soldiers. Then all at -once he stopped and laughed a little foolishly.</p> - -<p>“Eugenia Peabody,” he pronounced the -words distinctly, although with a French -accent which made the name more attractive -than it ever had before. “Eugenié -Paybodé” was the way it sounded to its -possessor.</p> - -<p>Eugenia stared more closely. Could -Captain Castaigne know her once again? -Since the first night after his injury he never -seemed to have been aware of her identity.</p> - -<p>A further glance into his eyes showed -this was not true. There was no sign of -intelligence there, only vagueness and a -confused groping in the dark.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[234]</span></p> - -<p>“Mademoiselle Paybodé, she is what -you call in English ‘an old maid.’”</p> - -<p>Then the young officer laughed boyishly, -as if he and a friend had been discussing a -new acquaintance and found the subject -amusing.</p> - -<p>Eugenia flushed. It was absurd, but for -the moment she felt hurt and angry. Few -of us like to be the subject of a joke and -Eugenia was not gifted with much sense of -humor. But a little later she had the grace -to be ashamed of herself. However she -might dislike the young Frenchman whom -she had been nursing so faithfully, she must -remember that he had unfailing good manners. -Their one unfortunate meeting had -been due to a mistake on his part. Afterwards -he had done all that he could to -make amends. Certainly he would be the -last person to be rude to her under the -present circumstances if he had known -what he was saying! Moreover, the minute -after he continued talking at random -upon subjects which had no possible connection.</p> - -<p>Soon after, glancing at her watch, Eugenia<span class="pagenum">[235]</span> -got up and crossed the room. The -next instant she returned in order to take -her patient’s temperature. His fever was -not so high, but then his pulse and heart -seemed to be growing dangerously weaker. -Giving him the necessary stimulant, she -again stood by his bedside, watching and -waiting.</p> - -<p>Captain Castaigne was no longer talking -in his delirium. He had grown quieter and -was staring, yet with an unseeing expression, -at the ceiling overhead. At this moment -Eugenia discovered that the dawn had -come at last. A shaft of yellow light had -entered the high window and shone across -the wounded officer’s face. It gave him -such a curiously transfigured look that for -an instant Eugenia was frightened. But the -next, realizing what had occurred, she -walked across to the window and stood -looking out at the country.</p> - -<p>The morning wind blew across her face. -The dawn was a cold December one and -yet the air was grateful. A little later -Duke came and thrust his great head into -Eugenia’s hand. Until this moment he had<span class="pagenum">[236]</span> -not left his place by his master’s bedside -since twilight the day before. But now he -too seemed to feel that there was nothing -more love or vigilance could do. One must -simply wait.</p> - -<p>The landscape was particularly lovely -this morning, Eugenia thought. A white -frost lay upon the meadows and trees like a -veil, and one could not see the devastation -that the recent fighting must have brought -upon the countryside. Eugenia had the -right to feel rather like a prisoner, and yet -she was not at this time conscious of herself. -She was wondering how the Countess -Amélie could live when she learned that her -only son had fallen a victim to the enemy -who had despoiled her land and captured -her home. She was an old woman and this -would be too full a measure of sorrow.</p> - -<p>How long Eugenia stood at the window -she did not know. It could scarcely have -been more than a few moments, yet when -she turned around she was not aware of -what had influenced her. Perhaps it was -Duke’s desertion, for once more he had -marched over to his master’s side. Here,<span class="pagenum">[237]</span> -he stood sentinel with his eyes fixed on -the young captain’s face. He no longer -crouched upon the floor as he had been -doing for the past twelve hours.</p> - -<p>Straightway Eugenia experienced a sudden -rushing of warm blood to her own -cheeks and a flooding sense of happiness -and warmth.</p> - -<p>For Captain Castaigne was looking at her -gravely, yet with entire recognition.</p> - -<p>“I have come back to fight once more for -France because of you,” he whispered. -Then, in spite of his exhaustion, he tried -gallantly to lift Eugenia’s fingers to his -lips. But finding himself too weak, he -simply lay still and smiled at her.</p> - -<p>Utterly ridiculous in a self-possessed person -like Eugenia! But because she felt a -sudden overpowering inclination to burst -into tears of relief at her patient’s safety, -she frowned upon him sternly instead.</p> - -<p>“You are not to stir or speak until I return,” -she announced severely, and then -deliberately left the room. Of course, she -intended to get some simple nourishment -for the young officer at once, but this was<span class="pagenum">[238]</span> -not the important reason for her withdrawal. -Certainly Eugenia did not so far -intend to forget her dignity as a nurse as to -show emotion!</p> - -<p>At about noon on the same day Eugenia -was cheerfully working downstairs in the -little French kitchen, while Captain Castaigne -was sleeping quietly upstairs with -the door open so that she could hear his -faintest move.</p> - -<p>For the kitchen had to be seriously considered. -The supply of food necessary for -an invalid was growing dangerously low in -their larder, and for the next few weeks the -wounded soldier must have proper nutriment. -After an hour’s investigation Eugenia -decided that she must go to the village -and see what could be done. It would be -difficult to leave her patient alone, but his -life was no longer in danger. Time would -bring healing, if nothing of an unexpected -nature occurred.</p> - -<p>Then Eugenia heard a gentle tapping at -her kitchen door. It was much the same -noise that François had been accustomed to -make on his daily visits with supplies from<span class="pagenum">[239]</span> -the chateau. For a moment Eugenia hoped -that François might have come unexpectedly -to their aid. But on opening the door, -she found a wholly unexpected visitor.</p> - -<p>A young girl of about sixteen stood outside. -At first Eugenia did not recognize -her. Then she saw that she wore a torn -skirt and a little scarlet cap and that she was -singularly pretty and graceful.</p> - -<p>Like a flash a picture came before her; -it was the figure of a little girl dancing before -a group of French soldiers. What was -the name Barbara had afterwards called -her, the name of some character in an old -French romance?</p> - -<p>“Nicolete,” Eugenia said suddenly. And -drawing the girl inside the little kitchen, -she carefully closed the outside door.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XIX<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>Eugenia</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">This year in the southern portion of -France it was March, not May, that -came singing over the land. The -days were soft and serene with the warmth -and sunshine of late spring.</p> - -<p>In front of the Chateau d’Amélie a peacock -walked slowly across the lawn, spreading -his tail and then arching his neck in an -effort to behold his own grandeur. Near -him two girls were walking up and down -with a young man dressed in the uniform of -a British officer. Not far away in a somewhat -neglected garden a French peasant -woman was laying a cloth on a wooden -table and setting out cups and saucers of -fine old china. It was self-evident that an -afternoon meal of some kind was in preparation -and that the two girls and young -man were waiting for it to be made ready, -and perhaps for other guests as well.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[241]</span></p> - -<p>This was all taking place in the very -neighborhood which a few months before -had been overrun by the German troops -after the retreat of the French army. But -the French had returned unto their own -again, at least in this particular vicinity -where the Chateau d’Amélie had stood for -several centuries. Six weeks after their -retreat before the superior forces of the -German enemy, the French had retaken -their deserted trenches, after driving the -enemy out of the neighborhood. More than -this, they had afterwards forced the Germans -to retire a quarter of a mile further -back beyond the borders of Alsace-Lorraine.</p> - -<p>Therefore happiness, or at least a degree -of it, reigned once more in this portion of -France, and in no place perhaps was there -a fuller share than in the Chateau d’Amélie.</p> - -<p>“What do you suppose has become of -Captain Castaigne? He promised to join -us at four o’clock,” one of the girls inquired -carelessly.</p> - -<p>Before her question could be answered a -wheeled chair appeared at one side of the<span class="pagenum">[242]</span> -garden with a young man seated in it. His -face and figure suggested a semi-invalid, -but his costume revealed extreme care and -elegance. Moreover, his expression was -radiant.</p> - -<p>“Mes amis, you are more than welcome,” -he cried, speaking a rather absurd mixture -of French and English. Then turning to -the little old man at the back of his chair he -urged him to hurry, until the chair, its driver -and rider, fairly rollicked over the uneven -lawn.</p> - -<p>There Captain Castaigne gravely shook -hands with his guests, Nona Davis and -Barbara Meade, who had just come to the -chateau from the little “Farmhouse with -the Blue Front Door.” Afterwards he -smiled at his friend Lieutenant Robert -Hume, who was at present a visitor in his -house.</p> - -<p>“Mother will be here in a moment,” he -explained. “She has asked me to beg her -adored American girl friends to wait a few -moments until she is able to be with them. -The truth is, Madame la Comtesse is at -present engaged in making <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">petit gateaux</i>—little<span class="pagenum">[243]</span> -cakes, I believe you say. She would -not trust the peasant Emma with so delicate -a commission. But where is Mademoiselle -Paybodé? Surely she has not forgotten -her promise!”</p> - -<p>Captain Castaigne’s face had suddenly -changed; he seemed to be both annoyed -and disappointed. So as usual Barbara -spoke impulsively without thinking beforehand.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Eugenia is so tiresome!” she began -with a little stamp of her foot. “Nona -and I thought all along up until the very -last minute that she was coming with us -this afternoon. Then she insisted that she -had a slight headache and had best rest and -read so it would not grow worse. The -truth is, I don’t believe she wanted to -come. Besides, she had the audacity to -announce that she thought we would have -a better time without her.”</p> - -<p>Then Barbara ceased her confession, -conscious that Nona was frowning upon -her and that it was scarcely good manners -to have spoken so freely. When would -she ever get over her dreadful western -candor?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[244]</span></p> - -<p>“I am sure Barbara is mistaken in at -least a portion of her tirade,” Nona interrupted. -“Eugenia did have a headache -or else she could not have failed to wish to -spend the afternoon with Madame Castaigne. -Really, I don’t think Eugenia is -very well, although she will not admit it. -But since we came back to the farmhouse -she has never been just the same. She -does not do half such hard nursing as she -once did and yet she is often tired and -unlike herself. I expect——” Then Nona -stopped talking and laughed, for she had -discovered Barbara smiling upon her with -wicked satisfaction. Having broken into -the conversation to stem the flood of Barbara’s -tactlessness, she had now plunged -in even deeper than her friend.</p> - -<p>There was no one, however, to save her -from the results of her stupidity, for Henri -Castaigne had flushed and looked miserably -uncomfortable as soon as she spoke.</p> - -<p>“There is small wonder that Miss Paybodé -is not so strong as she once was. -When I think of all that she went through -in those miserable weeks with me, I cannot<span class="pagenum">[245]</span> -see how she endured it. It must have -killed any one else. Then there was the -secrecy and the long concealment even -when I had sufficiently recovered to have -been made a prisoner by the enemy. Such -strength, such courage! Mon Dieu, how -shall I ever repay her?”</p> - -<p>The young French officer looked so unnecessarily -tragic that to save the situation -his three friends laughed.</p> - -<p>“Oh, goodness, you don’t have to repay -Eugenia! I am sure she really loved taking -care of you,” Barbara interposed. “Besides, -I expect she bullied you abominably. -She adores bossing people. But there is -my Countess, I know she wishes to speak -to me first, since I’m sure she likes me -best. <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Au revoir.</i>” And Barbara ran off in -the direction of the garden, where the figure -of the Countess Amélie had just appeared, -leaving her three companions to follow.</p> - -<p>Nona then walked along by one side of -Captain Castaigne’s chair, with Lieutenant -Hume on the other, while old François -pushed nobly in the rear.</p> - -<p>The French officer made no effort to hide<span class="pagenum">[246]</span> -his annoyance at Barbara’s frankness. He -was still weak and sometimes a little querulous -after his long illness.</p> - -<p>“Miss Meade does not understand, she -does not appreciate Miss Paybodé,” he -began. “Even my mother, although she is -on her knees to my friend because of her -great kindness to me, even she cannot see -all that Eugenié has been, all that she -is——”</p> - -<p>This appeared to be a conversation of -unfinished sentences, of things better left -unsaid, for Captain Castaigne now looked -as if he would give a great deal to have -kept his last remark to himself.</p> - -<p>However, Nona Davis had the exquisite -tact of many southern girls and apparently -had heard only the first part of her host’s -speech.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you must not misunderstand Barbara -and Eugenia,” she explained. “Most -of the time they disagree on every subject. -But the truth is they are really tremendously -fond of each other. Why, now that -Mildred Thornton is in Paris with her -brother Dick, I feel quite left out. Barbara<span class="pagenum">[247]</span> -used to weep for Eugenia every night -after we made our escape with your mother -and François through the passage under -the chateau. You see when we learned -that she was not with Mildred, but had -been left behind, naturally we supposed -that something dreadful had happened to -her. And of course Barbara understood -how self-sacrificing Eugenia always is and -feared she had given her life for some one -else. If you only knew how happy we all -were when we finally learned that you were -both alive and that Eugenia was caring for -you!”</p> - -<p>“But how did you hear?” Lieutenant -Hume demanded. The little party had -now almost reached the garden where the -table was spread for their entertainment, -so there was but little time for Nona’s -story.</p> - -<p>“Oh, we heard through a little French -girl, Nicolete. You see, she came to the -farmhouse one day to see Eugenia, and -after they had talked a while Eugenia discovered -that she was a friend of Captain -Castaigne’s. Then she told her that he<span class="pagenum">[248]</span> -was in hiding. After that Nicolete used -to come every day and bring supplies and -seemed devoted to Eugenia. Well, you -remember Madame told you how François -finally made his way back to this neighborhood -to try and find out what had become -of Captain Castaigne. You see the Countess -was in despair, as naturally we all -believed that Captain Castaigne had been -killed or taken prisoner, but François would -not give up. He was unkindly treated by -the Germans when he first came home, -but afterwards they allowed him to work -for them. Then of course he saw Nicolete -and she told him what had happened. So -we actually knew where Eugenia and Captain -Castaigne were before we were able -to get back here. But you can imagine -how anxious we used to feel for fear they -would be discovered and something dreadful -done to both of them!”</p> - -<p>“It is a perfectly ripping story,” Lieutenant -Hume answered convincingly. But -he added nothing more, as Madame Castaigne -at this moment came forward to -greet Nona. Actually the old French lady<span class="pagenum">[249]</span> -put both her hands on Nona’s cheeks and -kissed her daintily on the lips. For the -two young American girls had become her -devoted friends and admirers during the -weeks they spent together after their escape -from the chateau.</p> - -<p>An hour later they were still sitting talking -cheerfully together in the old French -garden. Only their host had disappeared. -Captain Castaigne had asked to be excused, -and as he was still an invalid no one thought -seriously of his departure. Presumably he -had retired to his own apartments to rest. -But the young French officer had not felt -like going indoors, although he was not -in the mood for further conversation. As -it was still early in the afternoon he had -asked François to wheel his chair down -into the woods which lay between the -chateau and the little “Farmhouse with -the Blue Front Door.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span></p> - - - - -<h2>CHAPTER XX<br /> -<span class="cheaderfont"><em>The Pool of Truth</em></span></h2> - - -<p class="dropcap">There by the pool on a log with a -book in her lap sat Eugenia. She -was not reading, however, although -her book lay open. At the sound of -Captain Castaigne’s chair approaching she -looked toward him.</p> - -<p>The young man’s expression was severe -on this occasion, not Eugenia’s.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to intrude upon you,” he -began stiffly. “Your friends told me that -you were suffering from a headache; naturally -I did not expect to find you here.”</p> - -<p>In response Eugenia smiled good-naturedly, -just as one might to a fretful -child. She had gotten up at once and now -came forward and took the young man’s -hand.</p> - -<p>“I did have a headache, Captain Castaigne. -I am too good a Puritan to have -told a complete story. But while I did not<span class="pagenum">[251]</span> -feel well enough to see and talk to a number -of persons, I did not desire to go to -bed, where Barbara was pleased to send me -by way of punishment. Besides, I knew -your mother would prefer to have the two -girls to herself. I really think she misses -them now that they can see so little of each -other. But why talk about me? You are -stronger every day, aren’t you? Can’t -you walk with your crutches if François -is near? Come, won’t you try now? I -am sure I can catch you if you are too much -for François.”</p> - -<p>Two spots of angry color appeared in -Captain Castaigne’s cheeks.</p> - -<p>“I am through with your support, Miss -Paybodé,” he returned curtly. “When -I choose to walk I prefer not to be held up -by a woman.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” Eugenia answered, and stared at -her former patient helplessly. What had -she said or done to make him so angry?</p> - -<p>But the next instant the young officer -had taken her hand and in French fashion -touched it with his lips.</p> - -<p>“Forgive me,” he said, “I am impossible.<span class="pagenum">[252]</span> -This, after I depended on you so long for -every care. If you will be so good, I think -I should like to sit there on the log where -you were sitting.”</p> - -<p>During his illness Eugenia had grown -so accustomed to these swift changes of -mood in her patient that she paid no -especial attention to this one. Instead she -helped him out of his chair and kept at his -side while he hobbled over to the log she -had just deserted.</p> - -<p>But when she stood above him looking -down upon him with pride and satisfaction -over his achievement he grew angry again.</p> - -<p>“If you cannot sit beside me I have no -idea of taking your place,” he protested.</p> - -<p>The next instant Eugenia sank meekly -down. It rather amused her to have Captain -Castaigne treat her in this fashion.</p> - -<p>Just before them was the small lake -which Nona and Barbara had discovered -the first morning after their arrival at the -farmhouse. It was shadowy now with the -coming of evening, but still the water was -coolly clear. Its beauty soothed one to -silence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[253]</span></p> - -<p>It was Eugenia who spoke first.</p> - -<p>“I am glad to have this moment here -with you, Captain Castaigne,” she began, -with a return to her former manner. “Because -I wish to tell you and have you explain -to your mother that Nona and Barbara -and I may be leaving this part of the -country in a little while. The truth is, our -services as nurses are not needed here as -they were some months ago. There is -little fighting going on and several new -French nurses came down from Paris the -other day. Besides this, Mrs. Thornton -and Judge Thornton have grown very nervous -and unhappy over Mildred, as well as -the rest of us, in the last few weeks. They -have both written to urge me to persuade -the other girls to join me and go into Belgium -to help with the relief work there. -You are almost well now, so I shall be able -to say good-by with much greater satisfaction.”</p> - -<p>This last speech Eugenia made in a -gracious tone and yet her companion received -it ungraciously. And this in spite -of the fact that his manner was usually -charming.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[254]</span></p> - -<p>“There is no time when you would not -say good-by to me with satisfaction, Miss -Paybodé,” he returned. “However, if I -am spared perhaps I may some day show -my appreciation of your great kindness. -I have written my colonel to say that I -shall be able to rejoin my command in -another week or ten days. I have wasted -much valuable time with two illnesses. -Perhaps the third may be my lucky one!” -he finished, casting his dark eyes upward -with dramatic intensity.</p> - -<p>In reply Eugenia actually patted his -knee in a comforting, motherly fashion.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be absurd. You cannot return -to your command for two or three months -at least,” she admonished.</p> - -<p>“Two or three weeks shall be the limit -to my patience,” her companion repeated, -still talking like a sulky boy.</p> - -<p>Eugenia frowned. “I shall speak to -your mother. She will never allow it.” -Again her manner was that of a New England -school teacher. Nevertheless Captain -Castaigne did not smile. Yet he -seemed to have forgotten his age and dignity<span class="pagenum">[255]</span> -as well as rank in the army, for you -see he had been a good many weeks under -Eugenia’s discipline.</p> - -<p>“The day you go to Belgium I shall -return to my post,” he muttered.</p> - -<p>Eugenia would like to have shaken him. -Had he been in the little “Farmhouse with -the Blue Front Door,” she would simply -have gotten up at this instant and left her -patient until he had learned to behave -himself. But at present the circumstances -were different, and besides she might not -have a chance to talk to him again. So -somehow he must be made to behave -sensibly.</p> - -<p>“You will do no such thing. You owe -more than that to me,” Eugenia protested -unexpectedly. A few moments before she -would not have believed that any earthly -thing could have forced her to mention, -either to Captain Castaigne or to any one -else, the sacrifices which she had made for -him. But now she had spoken deliberately -and meaning exactly what she said.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless the young French officer -did not answer immediately.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[256]</span></p> - -<p>“Eugenié,” he said finally, and the querulous, -boyish note in his voice had quite -gone, “you must listen to me. I have -been talking like a child, but I am scarcely -surprised at myself, since you have always -insisted upon treating me as scarcely more -than a child. I have borne with it because -I have been ill and you have known me -only in that condition. But, Eugenié, I -will endure it no longer.”</p> - -<p>The young man’s voice held a quietly -determined quality. He was perfectly -courteous and yet his listener understood -at this instant why he was considered one -of the most forceful as well as one of the -most popular of the younger officers in the -French service.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless Eugenia scarcely knew how -or what to reply.</p> - -<p>“I am so sorry, Captain Castaigne,” she -answered. “I have not intended to fail in -respect to you. But perhaps I have unintentionally -presumed on your long weakness -and dependence upon me.”</p> - -<p>And this from Eugenia! Moreover, her -face had flushed and she could not lift her<span class="pagenum">[257]</span> -lids because of the tears in her eyes. Yet -she was not really angry with Captain -Castaigne.</p> - -<p>The next time he spoke his voice was -once more gentle and he even managed -to smile.</p> - -<p>“You know that is not what I mean -in the least. It is absurd of you to -talk of showing proper respect to me, -Eugenié, as if I were your commanding -officer. Surely you understand that when -a man cares for a woman as I do for you, -there is but one thing possible between -them. They must love each other fully -and equally. I know you have nothing -but a kindly feeling for me, but you shall -not go away, when I may never see you -again, without hearing the truth.”</p> - -<p>Still Eugenia did not understand! Nevertheless -her face grew pale instead of flushed -and her dark eyes gazed into her companion’s -almost curiously.</p> - -<p>Yet the next moment, when Captain -Castaigne touched her hand with infinite -gentleness and respect, she drew it coldly -away from him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[258]</span></p> - -<p>“I quite understand your gratitude, Captain -Castaigne. But please appreciate the -fact that it is unnecessary for you to go this -far to express your obligation. I have -only done for you what I would have done -for any one in the world under the same -circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“I am entirely aware of that fact,” the -young officer answered curtly.</p> - -<p>Then he and Eugenia both maintained -a dignified silence for the space of sixty -seconds.</p> - -<p>By this time the girl rose up.</p> - -<p>“This is our good-by, perhaps. We -may not see each other alone again. You -must forgive me if I seem to be cold and -unfeeling. Of course, I should have cared -for any one just as I cared for you. But -I should not have been so glad to have been -given the opportunity had my patient been -any other person.” Eugenia was trying -her best to cast aside the cold and formal -manner which had made her misunderstood -all the days of her life. In her earnestness -somehow she looked younger and humbler -than usual. Indeed, she was a very fair<span class="pagenum">[259]</span> -and lovely woman standing there with her -hands clasped before her. Her eyes were -shining with the sincerity of her emotion, -while her attitude expressed a strange -mixture of dignity and appeal.</p> - -<p>“When we first met each other, Captain -Castaigne, I confess I had a wrong idea of -you. Now I feel that I could have rendered -France no greater service than to have -saved your life. Since I came abroad to -nurse in order to help the little I am able, -perhaps my coming has not been in vain. -Good-by.”</p> - -<p>She was moving away, when the young -officer reached out and took hold of her -skirt.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t go for another moment,” -he pleaded. “Of course I understand that -so noble a woman cannot love a man who -has so little to offer as I have. Why, in -spite of all our lands, my mother and I are -little more than paupers! And if I am -spared when this war is over, perhaps I -shall always be lame.”</p> - -<p>The girl was standing looking down at -the young fellow whose head was slightly<span class="pagenum">[260]</span> -bowed, when instinctively she laid her firm, -beautiful hand on his head with unconscious -sympathy and tenderness. She had -done the same thing so many times before -during his illness. But Eugenia’s hand -now trembled a little, for she was slowly -beginning to appreciate what Captain Castaigne -had been trying to say to her.</p> - -<p>Curious, for Eugenia to think first that -she had never received a proposal before -in her life, or she might have known better -how to receive it. Then her next sensation -was an odd combination of gratitude -and protest.</p> - -<p>“I have been very stupid, Captain Castaigne, -and you have been very good,” -she answered. “But even if you believe -what you have just said to me, and of -course I know that you would not deceive -me, you yourself must realize that nothing -but friendship can ever exist between us. -I am several years older than you, and I -have no delusions about my own attractions. -You are young and brilliant, but -then I need not enumerate your gifts,” the -girl added, smiling with a kind of gentle<span class="pagenum">[261]</span> -humorousness she had never possessed before. -“All this is merely gratitude you feel -toward me, and a little affection because of -my care of you. Six months from now I -shall be only a memory.”</p> - -<p>“Then you <em>do not</em> love me?” Captain -Castaigne inquired bluntly. He it was who -had now cast aside all his soft graciousness -of manner, the delicate evasions of the direct -truth, that sometimes constitute what -is known as a charming manner. It was -Eugenia who, in spite of her Puritan faith -and training, was refusing to meet the -issue fairly.</p> - -<p>She hesitated because the truth overwhelmed -her. The idea of caring for -Captain Castaigne except as a friend had -never for a single instant before occurred -to her. Of course, he had filled her life and -thoughts for many weeks, but that was -because of the peculiar situation into which -they had been forced by circumstances. -Moreover, the thought of their never meeting -again had given her a sense of loss and -emptiness. Yet Eugenia stuck by her -colors gallantly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[262]</span></p> - -<p>“That is not the important question, -Captain Castaigne, and I cannot answer -you. For always there would remain an -impossible gulf between us. There is your -position, your mother’s disappointment, -our different ways of looking at life. Why, -you would soon become dreadfully ashamed -of a New England old maid endeavoring to -turn herself into a charming young wife.”</p> - -<p>Eugenia glanced into the little pool of -water near by, shadowed by the trees. -“Nona has been calling this tiny lake -‘The Pool of Melisande,’ Captain Castaigne, -but to me it is a mirror of truth, -in which I can see myself only too plainly. -It is growing late and you must not be -out in the cold air. Please let me call -François and have him take you home.”</p> - -<p>Receiving no reply but a quiet look of -determination, Eugenia summoned the old -man. Then she assisted François to get the -young officer back into his wheeled chair -and afterwards stood watching them until -they had both disappeared.</p> - -<p>Then, as it was almost twilight, Eugenia -turned and began to walk slowly toward<span class="pagenum">[263]</span> -the little French farmhouse. She realized -that she had just deliberately turned her -back upon the fairest opportunity life -might ever offer her. Nevertheless, both -her conscience and her brain approved her -action.</p> - -<p>“There is only one thing which I might -have confided and did not,” Eugenia murmured -reflectively. “Perhaps I should -have explained that it would not matter in -the least that Henri and his mother have -no money. I have more than enough for -us all.” Then as she drew nearer home: -“Never mind, Captain Castaigne will soon -have forgotten what he has just said to me. -But perhaps it is just as well that we are -soon to go into Belgium to help with the -Red Cross work there, for I may not find -it quite so easy to forget.”</p> - -<p>When she reached home it was dark. -But as the other girls had not yet returned -from the chateau, Eugenia went upstairs -to her own room without making a light. -There she flung herself down upon the bed, -remembering gratefully that because she -had a headache, she might reasonably be<span class="pagenum">[264]</span> -allowed to spend the evening alone. Then -Barbara would have no chance to ask -questions.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The third volume in the American Girls’ -Red Cross series is to be known as “The -Red Cross Girls in Belgium.” In this story -the four girls will be at work in an even -more tragically interesting land. Here -their adventures and their romances will -continue and one of the girls at least shall -find what is at once the end and the beginning -of a girl’s career.</p> - -<p>The book will also deal with conditions -in Belgium at the present time and show -how the people of the United States have -brought aid and relief to a suffering nation.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/rearpastedown.jpg" width="600" height="457" alt="Rear paste-down." /> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="tb" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="chapter"></div><!--Page break for ePub--> - -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Note:</h2> - -<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have -been corrected.</p> - -<p>The following change was made:</p> - -<p><a href="#Ref_179">p. 179</a>: ” inserted (the enemy!” They)</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 60265-h.htm or 60265-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/2/6/60265">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/2/6/60265</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. -</p> - -<h2>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<br /> -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</h2> - -<p>To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license.</p> - -<h3>Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works</h3> - -<p>1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8.</p> - -<p>1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.</p> - -<p>1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others.</p> - -<p>1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States.</p> - -<p>1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:</p> - -<p>1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed:</p> - -<blockquote><p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United - States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost - no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use - it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with - this eBook or online - at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this - ebook.</p></blockquote> - -<p>1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.</p> - -<p>1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work.</p> - -<p>1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.</p> - -<p>1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License.</p> - -<p>1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.</p> - -<p>1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.</p> - -<p>1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that</p> - -<ul> -<li>You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation."</li> - -<li>You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works.</li> - -<li>You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work.</li> - -<li>You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.</li> -</ul> - -<p>1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.</p> - -<p>1.F.</p> - -<p>1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment.</p> - -<p>1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE.</p> - -<p>1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem.</p> - -<p>1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.</p> - -<p>1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions.</p> - -<p>1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. </p> - -<h3>Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm</h3> - -<p>Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life.</p> - -<p>Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org.</p> - -<h3>Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation</h3> - -<p>The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.</p> - -<p>The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact</p> - -<p>For additional contact information:</p> - -<p> Dr. Gregory B. Newby<br /> - Chief Executive and Director<br /> - gbnewby@pglaf.org</p> - -<h3>Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation</h3> - -<p>Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS.</p> - -<p>The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/donate">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.</p> - -<p>While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate.</p> - -<p>International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.</p> - -<p>Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate</p> - -<h3>Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works.</h3> - -<p>Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support.</p> - -<p>Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition.</p> - -<p>Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org</p> - -<p>This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.</p> - -</body> -</html> - diff --git a/old/60265-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/60265-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7ce4580..0000000 --- a/old/60265-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60265-h/images/frontispiece.jpg b/old/60265-h/images/frontispiece.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1b237c1..0000000 --- a/old/60265-h/images/frontispiece.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60265-h/images/frontpastedown.jpg b/old/60265-h/images/frontpastedown.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3d51a67..0000000 --- a/old/60265-h/images/frontpastedown.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60265-h/images/rearpastedown.jpg b/old/60265-h/images/rearpastedown.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 03308e7..0000000 --- a/old/60265-h/images/rearpastedown.jpg +++ /dev/null |
