"Some secret romance, probably," he went on, smiling at the thought, but quickly changing his mood as he remembered how tragic its end was likely to be.
"I will do all I can to save him, rest assured," he went on aloud, "and if we recover him from the clutches of the enemy he shall certainly know how much he owes to you."
The vivid blush that overspread her cheeks at these words betrayed her completely.
"But, my poor child," went on the provost-marshal, in a kindly, sympathetic voice, "what are we to do with you? It was madness, surely, for you to venture here. Have you any friends? Let me see you safe back to them. Where do you live?"
Mariquita in a low voice explained that she was employed at Mother Charcoal's.
"Does she know about you?"
"Yes," acknowledged Mariquita, in a still lower, almost inaudible voice.
"She is a good old soul, and may be trusted to take care of you. Still, her canteen is no place for such as you. You shall stay with her, but only till we can send you on to one of the troopships with female nurses on board."
Having thus decided, Shervinton himself escorted Mariquita to Mother Charcoal's, and then rode on to headquarters.
He arrived there half-an-hour after Colonel Blythe, and the news he brought threw fresh light upon the disappearance of poor McKay.