Fortunately Aggie announced luncheon just then.
Every incident of that luncheon is fixed clearly in my mind, because of what came after it. We had indeed penetrated close to the Front, as was shown by the number of shells which fell in it while we ate. The dirt from one, in fact, quite spoiled the floating island, and we were compelled to open a can of peaches to replace it. It was while we were drinking our after-dinner coffee that Tish voiced the philosophy which upheld her.
“When my hour comes it will come,” she said calmly. “Viewed from that standpoint the attempts of the enemy to disturb us become amusing—nothing more.”
“Exactly,” said Mr. Burton, skimming some dust from the last explosion out of his coffee cup. “Amusing is the word. Funny, I call it. Funny as a crutch. Why, look who’s here!”
There was a young officer riding up the valley rapidly. I remember Tish taking a look at him and then saying quickly: “Lizzie, go and close the floor of the ambulance. Don’t run. I’ll explain later.”
Well, the officer rode up and jumped off his horse and saluted.
“Some of our fellows said you were trapped here, Miss Carberry,” he said. “I didn’t believe it at first. It’s a bad place. We’ll have to get you out somehow.”
“I’m not anxious to get out.”
“But,” he said, and stared at all of us—“you are—— Do you know that our trenches are just beyond this hill?”
“I wish you’d tell the Germans that; they seem to think they are in this valley.”