The statement startled Ruth, but she hid her emotion, asking:
“Not alone—surely? You do not mean that that old woman drives the countess’ car?”
“Oh, no, Mademoiselle. The countess has no car. This was the strange car you and I saw on the road that day—the one that was stalled in the rut. You remember the tall capitaine—and the little one?”
The shock of the French girl’s statement was almost too much for Ruth’s self-control. Her voice sounded husky in her own ears when she asked:
“Tell me, Henriette! Are you sure? The old woman was riding away with those two men?”
“But yes, Mademoiselle. And they drive fast, fast!” and she pointed east, away from the hospital, and away from the road which led to Lyse.
CHAPTER XXIV—A PARTIAL EXPOSURE
It was when Ruth was going off duty for the day that the matron sent for her to come to the office before going to her own cell, as the tiny immaculate little rooms were called in which the Red Cross workers slept.
Obeying the summons, Ruth crossed the wide entrance hall and saw in the court a high-powered, open touring car in which sat two military-appearing men, although neither was in uniform. In the matron’s room was another—a tall, dark young man, who arose from his chair the instant the girl entered the room.
“Monsieur Lafrane, Mademoiselle Fielding,” said the matron nervously. “Monsieur Lafrane is connected, he tells me, with the Department of Justice.”