"A raid?" asked Warner quietly.
"I don't know. Villages are afire yonder. Have you seen anything that might be of importance to us, Monsieur?"
"Two aëroplanes. The Ausone fort fired at them with sky-guns. They went east."
"Biplanes?"
"Monoplanes, I think. I am not sure."
"Square-tipped ailerons? Could you see?"
"They were shaped exactly like kestrels."
"Ah! Taubes! Many thanks, Monsieur." He stared out across the darkness. "Yes, it's warming up out there. Well, sir, I must go. And thank you again for your kindness——" He fumbled in his dolman, produced his cardcase. "May I be permitted to present my cards to Madame de Moidrey? Thank you—if you would be so amiable——"
They retraced their steps through the house, encountering Peggy Brooks in the hallway, who received a most ceremonious bow from the youthful hussar, and who acknowledged it with an enchanting inclination of her pretty head.
Within a few feet of the front terrace, the young officer suddenly halted.