"Well, my young Yankee," he said, "I see that you've come around. You've raised an interesting question in my mind. Since a cavalry horse wasn't able to break it, is the American skull thicker than the skulls of other people?"
"A lot of you Europeans don't seem to think we're civilized."
"But when you fight for us we do. Isn't that so, Mademoiselle Lannes?"
"I think it is."
"War is a curious thing. While it drives people apart it also brings them together. We learn in battle, and its aftermath, that we're very much alike. And now, my young Yankee, I'll be here again in two hours to change that bandage for the last time. I'll be through with you then, and in another day you can go forward to meet the German shells."
"I prefer to run against a horse's knee," said John with spirit.
Surgeon Lucien Delorme laughed heartily.
"I'm confirmed in my opinion that you won't need me after another change of bandages," he said. "We've a couple of hundred thousand cases much worse than yours to tend, and Mademoiselle Lannes will look after you today. She has watched over you, I understand, because you're a friend of her brother, the great flying man, Philip Lannes."
"Yes," said John, "that's it, of course."
Julie herself said nothing.