[BOOK III]
FIRST BRUSH WITH THE ENEMY
[CHAPTER I]
ROMANCE AND CLADGATE
I
"You ought to have told me about it before, dear," said Victoria. "You knew how simply thrilled I'd be."
Millie and Victoria were sitting in low chairs near the band. In front of them was the sea walk along whose grassy surface people passed and repassed—beyond the grass a glittering, sparkling sea of blue and gold: above their heads a sky of stainless colour. In rows to right and left of them serried ranks of deck-chairs were packed together and every chair contained a more-or-less human being. The band could be heard now rising above the chatter, now falling out of sight altogether as though the bandsmen were plunged two or three times a minute into a deep pit, there to cool and reflect a little before swinging up again.