He was trying her own game, anxious, she could see, to account for her presence in this place.
Burning with eagerness to offer a few words of hope or comfort to the brave young officer, who brought Bob’s face so vividly before her, as well as to satisfy his own curiosity in her behalf, Lucy turned expectantly for the next question. But the German captain, with the gesture of a man who feels that he is wasting his time, rose noisily from his seat at the table. He gave a keen, unfriendly look at his prisoner, as though he would like to have compelled his confidence, but perhaps his keenness told him that not all the German army could accomplish that. The four juniors had sprung to their feet beside him, and he waved a hand toward Lucy, saying shortly:
“That will do, Fräulein.”
Lucy turned for one farewell glance at her ally, left in the enemy’s hands. His face lighted up for a second also, as though her sympathy had not been wasted. With relief, too, she guessed that she was quite free to leave. Then she was in the sunny street again, and patient Brêlet, greeting her with a look of thankful joy, limped forward eagerly, saying:
“Mon Dieu, Mademoiselle! I don’t know what I thought waiting here! I would have gone for help, but where is help, when the Boches are on top?” He wiped his hot face, shouldering the baskets once more, while Lucy hurried him on, explaining in her difficult French:
“It’s all right, Brêlet. They only wished me to speak German.” She breathed a deep sigh of relief, looking up toward the blue sky and the soft green leaves of the poplar grove before them. “I’ll tell you about it, Brêlet, but first let’s hurry to get the eggs from old Mère Breton. That’s her cottage, isn’t it, beyond the trees?”
The long afternoon was almost over when Lucy’s tired feet once more climbed the steps of the hospital. Her arms ached with the weight of her basket of eggs and vegetables, and her head, too, with the heat of the sun and the throb of anxious thoughts. With a blank depression stealing over her, she made her way among the crowd of never-resting workers and found herself at last by her father’s room. Miss Pearse was just coming out, and at sight of Lucy her face wakened to a glad relief as she exclaimed, “Oh, thank Heaven, you’re back! I couldn’t think what had happened, you were gone so long. Were you all right?”
“Yes, I’ll tell you about it later,” said Lucy briefly. “How is Father?”
“He has been awake all the afternoon and asking for you. He doesn’t know yet that the Germans have the town. In another day it won’t hurt him to hear it—he’s getting well so fast. Don’t let him guess it to-night, though, Lucy. He thinks you are going back to England to-morrow. He has fallen asleep just now, but go in and sit by him. He’ll wake again before long.”
Lucy nodded, looking at the young nurse’s tired face. “What an awful day you’ve had, Miss Pearse! Oh, I’m going to help more to-morrow.”