Evening star., 1917-11-11


of his sword. He was tall. fully six
feet and. according to Dalroy's standard
of physical fitness. at least stone too
heavy. The personification of Metz
blonde brute" who is the German mill
tary ideal. Dalroy classed him. in the
expressive phrase of the regimental
mess, as "a good bit of a bounder." Yet
he was a patrician by birth or he could
not hold a commission In the imperial
guard. and he had been most he!pful
and painstaking that night. so perforce
one must be civil to him.
Dalroy himself. nearly as tall. was
lean and 1.-THE, hard as nails. yet In,
tellectual. a cavalry offcer VINO nao
passed through the Oxford mint.
By this time four other occupants OF
the compartment were in evidence, ana
ticket examiner came along. Da!roy
produced a number of vouchers. The
girl. who obviously spoke German,
about to explain that the crush In the
booking hall had prevented her from
obtaining a ticket.
But Dalroy interviewed Il have your
ticket" he said. announcing singular
fact in the most casual manner he could
command.
Thank you she said instantly, try
her eyes met Won Halwig's bold stare
and read therein not only ready ap-
praisement of her good looks. but a
perplexed half recognition.
Contrary to the general custom. the
vouchers bore names, which he COM
pared with list
These tickets are for Herren Fame
and Dalroy. and 1 find lady here, he
"Frauiein Evelyn Fame. my cousin"
explained Dalroy. "A mistake of the
issuing officer"
..Ach, was." broke in Won Halwig I'M
patiently. You hear. Some fool has
blundered. 1t is sufficient
At any rate. his word sufficed. Dalroy
entered the carriage, and the door was
closed and locked.
Never say I haven't done you good
turn grinned the Prussian.
pleasant journey. though it may be
in Aachen before you"
Then he colored. He had said too
much. One of the men in the COM
partment gave him a sharp glance
Britons as Aix-la-Chapelle. lay on the
road to Belgium. not to France.
Well. to our next meeting" he went
on boisterously. Run across to Paris
during the occupation"
Goodbye. And accept my very CRATE
full thanks said Dalroy, and the train
started.
II cannot tell you how much obliged
! am said a sweet voice as he settled
you now for the ticket which you sup
piled so miraculously?"
NO miracle. but a piece of rare good
luck" he said. 'One of the attaches at
our embassy arranged to travel to Eng
land tonight. or I would never have got
away. even with the support of the state
councillor. who requested Lieut. Won
last moment. Fame couldn't come
meant asking Won Halwig to send mes
senger to the embassy with the spare
ticket"
go you will forward tho money to
Mr.. Fame with my compliments" said
the girl. opening her purse
Dalroy agreed There was no other
way out Of the dificulty. incidentally.
was well supplied with gold and notes
AS they were fellow travellers by force
Of circumstances, Dalroy took card from
the pockstbook in which he was secur-
We have long Journey before us.
and may as well get to know each other
by name," he said.
The girl smiled acquiescence- She read.
Capt Arthur Dalroy. I'd Bengal Lam
oers. Junior United Service Club"
II haven't a card IN my bag" she
Irene Beresford-Miss Beresford." and
she colored prettily. II have made an
effort Of the explanation" she went on.
but I think it is stupid Of women not
to let people know at once whether they
are married or single"
TIL be equally candid" he replied
I'm not married. nor likely to be-
lis that defiance or merely self-de-
fenses"
Neither. bald fact I hold with
Kitchener that soldier should devote
himself exclusively to his profession
1T would certainly be well for many
a heartbroken woman in Europe today
II all soldi$rs shared your opinion" was
the answ<f: and Dalroy knew that his
us-a-vis had deftly guided their chatter
on to more sedate plane.
The train halted an nHcoDscinYa h1a
time at a suburban station, and again at
Charlottenburg. The four Germans in
the compartment. all Prussian officers,
commented on the delay. and one Of them
made joke of it.
1.-THE signals must be against US at
Lsge." he laughed;
boat chimed in another Then he
turned to Dalroy. and said civilly. You
are English. Your coyhtry will not be
she7''
''This is war Of diplomats" said
Dalroy. resolved to keep guard on his
tongue. IT am quite sure that no one
In England wants war"
But will England fight IL Germany
invades Belgiumr'
Surely Germany will do no such
thing. The integrity OF Belgium is
Your friend the lieutenant, then. did
not tell you that our army crossed the
frontier todayy
''Is that possibleT
Yes. It is no secret now. Didn't
you realize what he meant when he said
his regiment was going to Aachen?
But what does 1t matter? Belgium
cannot resist. She must give free pas
sage to our troops. She will protest of
course. Just to save her face"
The talk became general among the
men. At the moment there was fixed
belief in Germany that Britain would
stand aloof from the quarrel. So con-
vinced was Austria Of the British at
titude that the Viennese mob gathered
outside the English ambassadors resi-
dence that same evening and cheered
enthusiastically.
During another long wait Dalroy
took advantage Of the clamor and hustle
Of a crowded platform to say to Miss
Beresford in a low tone, Are you well
advised to proceed via Brussels? Why
not branch OF at Oberhausen and go
home by way of Flushing"
II must meet my sister In Brussels -
said the girl. She is younger than
and at school there. I am not afraid
now. They will not interfere with any
one in this train. especially woman.
But how about you? You have the
unmistakable look of a British officer"
Have r. he said. smiling. That is
Just why I am going through. 1 sup
pose"
Neither could guess the immense
Significance Of those few words. There
was q reasonable chance of escape
through Holland during the next day.
BY remaining in the Belgium bound
hou Of