Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1915-03-19
CHAPTER XxlI-Continued.

valuable 10 our cause were GdIlOW anu
Miss Galland," Lanstron remarked ten
tatively. He waited for a reply. 1t
was apparent that he was laying
foundation before he went any fur
Their
Certainly" said the vice-chief
"And 9ou!" put in another officer,
which brought a chorus of assent.
mo, not I-only these two!" Ian
stron replied. COR, l, too, If you pre-
fer. 1t little matters. The thing is
that | am under promise to both,
which l shall respect. He organized
and labored for the same purpose that
she played the spy. When we sent
the troops forward in a counter-attack
and pursuit to clear our soil OF the
Grays; when l stopped them at the
frontier-both were according to Par
tow's plan. He had plan and
dream, this wonderful old man who
made us all seem primary pupils In
the art Of war"
Could it be that terrible Partow,
stroke of whose pencil had made the
Galland house an inferno? Marta
wondered as Lanstron read his mes
sage-the message out of the real
heart of the man, throbbing with the
power of his great brain. His plan
was to hold the Grays to stalemate;
to force them to desist after they had
battered their battalions to pieces
against the Brown Qualifications. His
dream was the thing that had hap
pened-that an opportunity would
come to pursue a broken machine in
a bold stroke of the offensive.
81 would want to be a hero of our
people for only one aim, to be able
to stop our army at the frontier" he
had written. Then they might drive
me forth heaped with obloquy, If they
chose. l should like to see the Grays
demoralized, beaten, ready to sue for
peace, the better to prove my point
that we should ask only for what is
ours and that our strength was only
for the purpose Of holding what is
ours. Then we should lay up no leg
acy Of revenge in their hearts. They
could never have cause to attack
again. Civilization would have ad-
vanced another step"
Lanstron continued to read to the
amazed staff, for Partow's message
had looked far into the future Then
there was a P. S., written after the
hoH hDoJlr1 n tho nunoinc ne n
day that Marta had gone from tea on
the veranda with Westerling to the
telephone, in the impulse of her new
purpose.
81 begin to believe in that dream, y
no wrote. II begin to believe that the
chance for the offensive will come
now that my colleague, Miss Galland
IN the name of peace has turned prac
ttcal. There is nothing like mixing a
httle practice in your dreams while
the world is still well this side Of
Utopia, as the head on my old behe
moth of body we'll knows. She haG
the right idea with her school. The
oath so completely expressed my
1deas-the result of all my thinking
that | had a twinge of literary jeal
Ousy. My boy, if you do reach the
frontier, in pursuit Of a broken army
and you do not keep faith with my
dream and with her ideals, then 70,
will get a lesson that will last you for
ever at the foot of the Gray range
But do not think so badly as that O
you or of my judgment of men,"
"Lanny! Lanny!"
The dignity of a staff council coult
not restrain Marta. Her emotion mus
have action. She sprang to his sid,
and seized his hand, her exultatiol
mixed with penitence over the wa,
she had wronged him and Partow
Their self-contained purpose had beef
the same as hers and they had worket
with a soldiers fortitude, while sh
had worked with whims and impulses
She bent over him with gratitude AM
praise and plea for forgiveness il
her eyes, submerging the thing whicl
he sought in them. He flushed boy
ishly in happy embarrassment, inca
pable OF words for an instant: ant
silently the staff looked on.
And agree with Partow," Lanstro,
went on, that we cannot take tn
range. The Grays still have number
equal to ours. 1t is they, now, VIII
will be singing God with us!' wit
their backs against the wall Wit
PartoW's goes my own appeal to tn
army and the nation; and shall kee
faith with Partow, with Miss GallanC
and with my own ideas, If the govern
ment orders the army to advance b
resigning as chief of staff--my wor
finished"
Westerling and his aide and vale
lnquiring their way as strangers, foun
the new STAFF headquarters Of tn
Grays established in an army buildin|
where BouChard had been assigned {
trivial duties, back of the Gray rang,
AS their former chief entered roor
In the disorder of maps and packinI
cases, the staff-oflicers rose from thei
work IN stand al gnluta Iiko atono L.,