Grace Harlowe with the American Army on the Rhine

by Josephine Chase

THE Intelligence officer spent some moments in profound meditation after the departure of “Captain” Grace, but what his conclusions were did not appear, either in words or in the expression of his face. The captain ordered the package for Grace and, addressing it, left it with his orderly to be turned over to any one bearing Mrs. Gray’s order.

It was a doughboy who called for the package later in the day and who handed it to Grace on the street according to arrangement. She went home with her package concealed in a bag of groceries which she had purchased on her way.

After listening for some time and being convinced that there was no one in the adjoining rooms, Grace covered the keyhole, pinned her overseas cap on the wall, pulled down the shades and very carefully moved the bed out a few feet from the wall. She then removed the tacks down one side of the carpet at the back of the bed, and as many more from the end of the floor covering at the head of the bed. She drew the carpet back, estimated distances with her eyes and, putting the bit in its stock, began boring a hole in the floor.

The auger went through the soft pine flooring with rather too great ease and made a noise that led the girl to fear that she would arouse the household. Not only that, but, should there chance to be some one in the cellar, discovery would be certain.

“If any shavings have gone down to the cellar floor I am lost anyway,” she muttered. Applying her eye to the hole she had made in the floor Grace was relieved to find that only the point of the bit had gone through the lower side of the pine flooring. The job could not have turned out more to her satisfaction. She would have liked to make the opening wider so that she could look into the cellar, but the Overton girl was dealing, as she believed, with keen people, people who were ever on the alert, and who would not hesitate at anything to protect themselves and their interests.

“Now that I have made the hole, I must hide it,” reflected Grace.

This was easily done. A piece of cardboard was laid over the opening, the carpet replaced and the tacks pressed back into place without a sound that could have been heard a dozen feet away.

Having accomplished all this the Overton girl locked the hammer in her trunk, removed her cap from the wall and also all traces that might indicate that something unusual had been going on, after which she wrapped the auger in paper and tucked it inside of her blouse, over which she threw her cloak and walked out on her way to the canteen.

Elfreda and Marie, with the assistance of Won Lue, had arranged the stock and were nearly ready to open, though it had been decided that this should not be done until the following day for the reason that the lights would not be in place that evening.

Just before leaving the canteen for home Grace wrote a note to Captain Boucher in which she said, “The house is demolished, thank you.” This she wrapped about the handle of the bitstock, enclosing the whole in heavy wrapping paper, and gave it to Won.