Her vain effort to call wakened her. She found herself in a cold sweat. Did this dream have a meaning? She could not tell. So at last she dropped off into peaceful slumber.
CHAPTER XI
They Who Steal Out into the Night
And then it came—right out of a clear sky—the order that was to change the entire course of Gale’s life.
She got a slight inkling of what was coming from the little Burmese nurse, Than Shwe. Like some frightened bird Than Shwe came dancing into Gale’s room just as she was preparing for lunch.
“I have a secret,” she chanted. “Little Than Shwe has a secret. She would tell, if she dared, but she dare not.”
“Oh! A secret?” Gale was at once torn between her love for the little nurse and her desire to know the secret, especially if it happened to concern her own life.
“Tell me, Than Shwe,”—she spoke as quietly as possible—“Does your secret have anything to do with me?”
“I do not know for sure.” Than Shwe spoke slowly. “I am quite sure it does—yes—and for Isabelle and Jan too—it may be terribly important.”
“Oh! Isabelle and Jan?” Gale caught her breath. She recalled the request they had signed and had sent to the colonel several days before. She did not dare hope the request had been granted. No more did she dare press Than Shwe for a more definite answer. The little Burmese girl, she knew, had a heart of gold! A little teasing, and—
“No!” she told herself. “It would never do. A military secret is not to be toyed with.” So she asked no more questions.