until hehad finished, and had shoved the cards into his pocket. When he hadextinguished the candle he started back along the trench toward thevillage, and Tish merely put her two revolvers to his back and capturedhim.
I pass over the touching reunion between Tish and her beloved nephew.He seemed profoundly affected, and moving out of the candlelight gaveway to emotion that fairly shook him. It was when he returned wiping hiseyes that he recognized the German officer. He became exceedingly graveat once.
"I trust you understand," he said to him, "that this--er--surprise partyis no reflection on your hospitality. And I am glad to point out alsothat the pinochle game is not necessarily broken up. It can continueuntil you are moved back behind the Allied lines. I may not," he added,"be able to offer you a church, because if I do say it you people havebeen wasteful as to churches. But almost any place in our trenches isentirely safe."
He then looked round the group again and said: "Don't tell me Aunt Aggiehas missed this! I couldn't bear it."
"Aggie!" I cried. "Where is Aggie?"
It was then that the painful truth dawned on us. Aggie had not enteredthe church. She was still outside, perhaps wandering alone among a crueland relentless foe. It was a terrible moment.
I can still see the white and anxious faces round the candle, and Tish'sinsistence that a search be organized at once to find her. Mr. Burtonwent out immediately, and returned soon after to say that she was notin sight, and that the retiring Germans were sending up signal rocketsand were probably going to rush the town at once.
We held a short council of war then, but there was nothing to do but toretire, having accomplished our purpose. Even Tish felt this, and saidthat it was a rule of war that the many should not suffer for the few;also that she didn't propose losing a night's sleep to rescue CharlieSands and then have him retaken again, as might happen any minute.
We put out the candle and left the church, and not a moment too soon,for a shell dropped through the roof behind us, and more followed it atonce. I was very uneasy, especially as I was quite sure that betweenexplosions I could hear Aggie's voice far away calling Tish.
We retired slowly, taking our prisoner with us, and turning round tofire toward the enemy now and then. We also called Aggie by name atintervals, but she did not appear. And when we reached the very edge ofthe town the Germans were at the opposite end of it, and we were obligedto accelerate our pace until lost in the Stygian darkness of the wood.
It was there that I felt Tish's hand on my arm.
"I'm going back," she said in a low tone. "Driveling idiot that she is,I cannot think of her hiding somewhere and sneezing herself intocaptivity. I am going back, Lizzie."
"Then I go too," I said firmly. "I guess if she's your responsibilityshe's mine too."
Well, she didn't want me any more than she wanted the measles, but thetime was coming when she could thank her lucky stars I was there.However, she said nothing, but I heard her suggesting that we separate,every man for himself, except the prisoner, and work back, to our ownside the best way we could.
With her customary thoughtfulness, however, she held a shortconversation with Mr. Burton first. I have not mentioned Captain Weber,I believe, since our first entrance into the church, but he was with us,and I had observed Mr. Burton eying him with unfriendly eyes. Indeed, Iam quite convinced that the accident of our leaving the church withoutthe captain, and finding him left behind and bolted in, was no accidentat all.
Tish merely told Mr. Burton that the prisoner was his, and that if hechose and could manage to present him to Hilda he might as well do it.
"She's welcome to him," she said.
"He's not my prisoner."
"He is now; I give him to you."
Finding him obdurate, however, she resorted to argument.
"It doesn't invalidate an engagement," she said rather brusquely, "for aman to borrow the money for an engagement ring. If it did there would befewer engagements. If you want to borrow a German prisoner for the samepurpose the principle is the same."
He seemed to be weakening.
"I'd like to do it--if only to see her face," he said slowly. "Not butwhat it's a risk. He's a good-looking devil."
In the end, however, he agreed, and the last we saw of them he wasdriving the German ahead, with a grenade in one hand and his revolver inthe other, and looking happier than he had looked for days.
Almost immediately after that I felt Tish's hand on my arm. We turnedand went back toward V----.
Military experts have been rather puzzled by our statement that theGermans did not reenter V---- that night, but remained just outside, andthat we reached the church again without so much as a how-do-you-do fromany of them. I believe the general impression is that they feared atrap. I think they are rather annoyed to learn that there was a periodof several hours during which they might safely have taken the town; infact, the irritable general who was married to the colonel's brother wasmost unpleasant about it. When everything was over he came to Paris tosee us, and he was most unpleasant.
"If you wanted to take the damned town, why didn't you say so?" heroared. "You came in with a long story about a nephew, but it's my plainconviction, madam, that you were flying for higher game than your nephewfrom the start."
Tish merely smiled coldly.
"Perhaps," she said in a cryptic manner. "But, of course, in these daysof war one must be very careful. It is difficult to tell whom to trust."
As he became very red at that she gently reminded him of his bloodpressure, but he only hammered on the table and said:
"Another thing, madam. God knows I don't begrudge you the falderalsthey've been pinning on you, but it seems to me more than a coincidencethat your celebrated strategy followed closely the lines of amemorandum, madam, that was missing from my table after your departure."
"My dear man," Tish replied urbanely, "there is a little military word Imust remind you of--salvage. As one of your own staff explained it to meone perceives an object necessary to certain operations. If on salutingthat object it fails to return the salute I believe the next step is tocapture it. Am I not right?"
But I regret to say that he merely picked up his cap and went out of oursitting room, banging the door behind him.
To return. We reached the church safely, and from that working out indifferent directions we began our unhappy search. However, as it wasstill very dark I evidently lost my sense of direction, and whilepeering into a cellar was suddenly shocked by feeling a revolver thrustagainst my back.
"You are my prisoner," said a voice. "Move and I'll fire."
It was, however, only Tish. We were both despondent by that time, andagreed to give up the search. As it happened it was well we did so, forwe had no more than reached the church and seated ourselves on thedoorstep in deep dejection when the enemy rushed the village. I confessthat my immediate impulse was flight, but Tish was of more heroic stuff.
"They are coming, Lizzie," she said. "If you wish to fly go now. I shallremain. I have too many tender memories of Aggie to desert her."
She then rose and went without haste into the church, which was sadlychanged by shell fire in the last two hours, and I followed her. By theaid of the flashlight, cautiously used, we made our way to a break inthe floor and Tish suggested that we retire to the cellar, which we did,descending on piles of rubbish. The noise in the street was terrible bythat time, but the cellar was quiet enough, save when now and then afresh portion of the roof gave way.
I was by this time exceedingly nervous, and Tish gave me a mouthful ofcordial. She herself was quite calm.
"We must give them time to quiet down," she said. "They sound quitehysterical, and it would be dangerous to be discovered just now. Perhapswe would better find a sheltered spot and get some sleep. I shall needmy wits clear in the morning."
It was fortunate for us that the French use the basements of theirchurches for burying purposes, for by crawling behind a marblesarcophagus we found a sort of cave made by the debris. Owing to thatprotect
ion the grenades the enemy threw into the cellar did no harmwhatever, save to waken Tish from a sound sleep.
"Drat them anyhow!" she said. "I was just dreaming that Mr. Ostermaierhad declined a raise in his salary."
"Tish," I said, "suppose they find Aggie?"
She yawned and turned over.
"Aggie's got more brains than you think she has," was her comment. "Shehates dying about as much as most people. My own private opinion is andhas been that she went back to our lines hours ago."
"Tish!" I exclaimed. "Then why----"
"I just want to try a little experiment," she said drowsily, and wasimmediately asleep.
At last I slept myself, and