A pounding came at the front door. A captain entered, throwing his long cape over his shoulder.
"We have no ammunition," he said—"the men have nothing. I've just come from the Colonel."
The Captain was excited, the Commandant silent.
"Shall we evacuate?" Hilda pressed her question with him.
"I cannot answer for you," the Captain said. "If the enemy attack, there's nothing to hold them. They'll come through. If they come, they'll take you women prisoners or kill you. You'll have to make your choice now. There will be no choice then."
"Furnes isn't so prosperous, you know," said Hilda, "even if we did run back there."
Only the day before, Furnes had received a long-distance bombardment that had killed thirty persons and wounded one hundred.
At a word from the Commandant, the orderly left the room. The women heard him drive their ambulance out from shelter, crank up the engine, and run it for five minutes to get it thoroughly heated. Then he turned the engine off, and put a blanket over the radiator, tucking it well in to preserve the heat.
"Let's put what we need into the car," suggested Mrs. Bracher.