“Ilse Westgard. And yours?”
“Palla Dumont.”
“English? No?”
“American.”
“Ah! One of our dear Americans! Well, then, you shall tell your countrymen that you have seen many women of many lands fighting rifle in hand, so that the boche shall not strangle freedom in Russia. Will you tell them, Palla?”
“If I ever return.”
“You shall return. I, also, shall go to America. I shall seek for you there, pretty comrade. We shall become friends. Already I love you very dearly.”
She kissed Palla Dumont on both cheeks, holding her hands tightly.
“Tell me,” she said, “why you are in Russia, and where you are now journeying?”
Palla looked at her steadily: “I am the American companion to the Grand Duchess Marie; and I am journeying to the village where the Imperial family is detained, because she has obtained permission for me to rejoin her.”