"We may not live through it. Even my orders do not send me to do this thing; they merely permit it. Are you contented to go with me?"
She nodded, the shadow of a smile on her lips.
"Very well. You play the carillon?"
"Yes."
"You can play 'La Brabançonne'?"
"Yes."
"On the bells?"
"Yes."
He rose, went around the table, carrying his chair with him, and seated himself beside her. She inclined her pale, pretty head; he placed his lips close to her ear, speaking very slowly and distinctly, explaining his plan in every minute detail.
While he was still speaking in a whisper,[pg 231] the street outside filled with the trample of arriving cavalry. The Spahis were leaving the environs of Sainte Lesse; chasseurs à cheval followed from still farther afield, escorting ambulances from the Nivelle hospitals now being abandoned.