“She’s watching to see that your guard doesn’t come out. All right, I’m going; but you’ll see me soon again.”
“Good-night—God bless you.” The young captain reached quickly through the bars and took Lucy’s hands in a warm clasp. “You don’t know what it’s meant to talk English again—and with a friend.”
Lucy sprang down from her foothold in the wall, and, with one swift glance about her through the darkness, picked up her cape and stole around the corner of the building. Elizabeth was still standing by the shadow of the wall, but as Lucy came up she reached out and caught her arm, leading the way swiftly down the narrow street.
“Oh, Miss Lucy,” she exclaimed, “I thought you never come! I have prayed for you every moment you were gone! The soldiers stay there, but I feel so afraid they change the guard, and I have no time to get to you!”
“I’m sorry. I know I stayed too long—but I found him!” Now that her disappointment was not so sharp, Lucy was glad that at least she had accomplished half her mission. “I’ll tell you all about it, Elizabeth. Where are we going—to the hospital?”
“No, indeed, Miss Lucy. I take you to my room, and there we can sleep a little while. By four o’clock we will back to the hospital go. So you will get there as soon as the others.”
“All right,” said Lucy faintly. “I don’t know whether I’m sleepy or not, but I think we started out to find Bob about a week ago.”
CHAPTER VIII
A LITTLE FRENCH HEROINE
“Lucy, will you do something for me?” asked Miss Pearse, as they mounted the hospital steps early in the morning, two days later. “Miss Willis and Brêlet are going to the German supply depot after some things we need. I wish you would go with them and see if you can’t bring back more soap and matches. We want them terribly, and we always have to wait for them at a separate door from the food depot. It’s impossible to spare any one else from here,” she added, turning toward Lucy a decidedly reproachful look, “or I’d keep you working in the hospital. Goodness knows what you’ll do, once I let you out.”