It was a good, strong face—a patient face—and it bore the marks of much suffering, endured in silence and alone.
He rose and took off his cap.
"You've been very good to me, miss. I wish I could be of some use to you."
"Run away from Lord Kitchener!" she said, laughing. "I would be very sorry indeed if you fell by the hand of one of my brothers."
He looked at her sympathetically.
"How many brothers have you in the field?"
"God only knows," she answered sadly. "There were two left when last we heard of them. The third has been made a prisoner."
The soldier took his leave and Hansie lost herself in reverie.
And when at last she roused herself, she wrote with rapid pen:
"Two Tommies have been in our garden, catching butterflies——" We know the rest.