Feb. 12th—Der Tag.—At 9 A.M. I was shaving at the toilet-table in the window recess when Dr Zinck came into the room alone, which was unusual. He walked over to where I was sitting, and the following was our brief but exciting conversation—
"You are happy now."
"Why should I be happy this morning," said I, "more than any other morning?"
"But don't you know? You are going back to England."
Then for one brief moment I believed, but yet tried to keep from showing my joy, lest perhaps the news were false.
The doctor walked up and down the room in silence, then turned to me with a worried look. "Don't say anything about what I have told you. You and C—— are going away, but I should not have told you. I did not know you had not been told." And then he left the room.
Some one announced that the van in which we used to go down to the baths had arrived in the yard, presumably to take me away. On going into the corridor to see this welcome sight I met Reddy and Irvine hurrying to hear the news, which, of course, had at once been spread throughout the Fortress. We were standing in the corridor talking, when Dr Zinck ran up. "Nix, nix," he said, with his Bavarian accent, "there will be no exchange with England, on account of the submarine blockade. A telegram has come from Berlin. You are not going away."
Hope and despair now fought confusedly; where was the truth? Colonel Lepeltier comforted me with his assurance that the doctor's last statement was a lie; that Dr Zinck had become frightened lest the Rittmeister would be angry at my having been told the good news too soon.
Certainly the van was still in the yard, the horses had been unyoked. There might be hope after all. I went as usual to room "53," lay down on the corner bed—the Club sofa—for the last time took up the book I had been reading the day before, found my place—the last chapter of 'David Copperfield.'
I had reached and nearly finished the last page, when the door was flung open and the Rittmeister entered in the well-known manner, suddenly, and with a quick look round the room, as if hoping to catch somebody up to mischief.