Margaret Vandercook

“ Nona's cheeks were a deep rose and her golden brown eyes were almost black from emotion.
Barbara thought she looked charming. But Dick smiled upon the excited girl rather condescendingly.
"Do come and sit down, please, Nona. I know it is your southern blood that makes you long to fight. But this isn't the time for it. After all, I am a man and I haven't been able to rescue Eugenia. Of course, you would be a more effective man than I can ever hope to be. But today let us try to face the situation quietly. It is the only way we can hope to accomplish anything." ”

“ Mildred Thornton was the only one of the three girls ever allowed to enter Eugenia's room at the prison. However, Nona and Barbara hovered about the neighborhood like restless ghosts. Indeed, they now appeared as deeply attached to each other as in the early days of their acquaintance.
Nor was Dick Thornton much less anxious. He had always liked and admired Eugenia. Although he disapproved her action in regard to Colonel Carton, it was not possible wholly to object to it. One had to have a sneaking sense of appreciation for a girl or man who would risk so much for an entire stranger. ”

“ Captain Castaigne had gotten up and stood looking down upon Eugenia.
"I return to my regiment tomorrow. You must tell me today."
In reply the girl let her hands fall gently into her lap and gazed directly into the handsome, clear-cut face above her own.
"Why should I try to deceive you? It would be only sheer pretence. You are the only man I have ever cared for or ever shall. But I'll never marry you under any possible circumstances. I am too old and too unattractive and too—oh, a hundred other things." ”

“ The boy Jan was so instinctively a gentleman that, although he was not ten years old, he immediately upon Barbara's arrival slipped behind the two friends. For his happiness' sake he wished to keep his eyes fastened upon his Gene, but he must not be close enough to overhear conversation that would not be intended for him.
Eugenia took Barbara's face between her beautiful, firm hands and gazed at her closely. Although in the first instant she saw that the girl wore the same look of the past few weeks, she said nothing. Only she put her arm about her as they walked toward the house. ”

“ But, Bab, I want you to promise me on your honor that you will not mention your suspicion to any one—not to Nona, or Mildred, or Dick Thornton. I am trying in a fashion to help some one who is in deep trouble. As you have guessed, she is a woman, and that was her little boy, Jan, whom you saw standing by me when you arrived. But if questions are asked of you, Barbara, you know absolutely nothing of this. I prefer to manage my own affairs. ”

“ Cross nurses to whom you gave some flowers that you and the other soldiers had made grow in the mouth of your trench? Then afterwards we both watched Nicolete dance and you threw her a spray of mignonette?"
"Yes, yes," the boy answered, clutching now at Barbara's skirt as if she were a real link with his own beloved land. "It is the good God who has sent you here to help me. You will write my mother and say things are well with me. It will be time enough for her to hear the truth if I ever go home." ”

“ She kept murmuring little broken French phrases of endearment which she had learned from her year's work in France, all the time patting the boy's shoulder.
He was a splendidly built young fellow with a broad chest and strong young arms. Even his injury and the confinement had not broken his physical strength. This made the thought of his affliction even harder to bear, to think that so much fine vigor must be lost from the world's work.
"I don't believe it is true that you are going to be blind forever," Barbara whispered, as soon as she could find her voice. ”

“ It was the noise of the imprisoned soldiers being marched back to their jail. The tread was slow and dead, without animation or life. It was as if the men had been engaged in tasks in which they had little concern and were being returned to a place they hated.
Barbara stood close to the edge of the road along which the men must pass. She was naturally not thinking of herself. So it had not occurred to her that the soldiers might be surprised by her unexpected appearance. ”

“ I might at least be willing to do the poor fellow a kindness when he is in hard luck. But you see, he does not belong to a very good family in England. Though he behaves like a gentleman, after all he is only a gardener's son."
It was not Barbara who interrupted this time, but Mildred Thornton.
"That is nonsense, Nona," she protested. "I have heard you say something of that kind two or three times. Anyone who has traveled in the least knows that no gardener's son in England is educated as Lieutenant Hume is, nor has such perfectly self-possessed manners. ”

“ And because whenever men have gone into battle, women have borne the real burden of the fray,
And because since the beginning of time, man when he is hurt or maimed turns to her and finds, in her tenderness, the consolation and comfort which she alone can give.
Thus she of the Red Cross stands today, as woman has stood always, the most courageous and the most merciful figure in all history.
She is the Valor of the World." * * * * * *
The fourth volume in the American Red Cross Girls series will be called "The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army." ”

“ Goodness knows, I have been with myself, though I never confessed the truth to any one, not even to Barbara Meade, until this second. I haven't any right in the world to like Dick except as a friend. He has always been only ordinarily nice and polite to me. I really never thought of him seriously until after we left Paris. Then when I found out he was writing to Nona and never to me, I was terribly hurt. I had believed we were better friends than he and Nona. ”

“ You girls bring me over whatever covers you can spare and ask Nicolete to bring all the food she can get hold of."
"But you don't mean to stay here alone with these children in this perfectly forsaken place," Barbara expostulated, dimly conscious that Eugenia was becoming more of a puzzle than ever. Do old maids now and then represent the real mother spirit? "I'll stay with you, Eugenia," she added faintly, not altogether enjoying the prospect.
But the older girl shook her head. "You have your own work to do, Bab. Only one of us can be spared. ”

“ Eugenia said finally. "I don't mean in connection with Nona. I never dreamed of her entering into the situation. Dick is a splendid fellow, but after all he has only one arm. Besides, I don't think Judge Thornton is really wealthy. They spend a great deal of money. I know from all I have heard that Judge Thornton makes a great deal, but that Mrs. Thornton is very extravagant and very ambitious."
Barbara got up. "Let's go to bed, Gene dear. Of course, nothing you can say will make any difference. But I promise to turn over a new leaf. Away with all human weakness!" ”

“ True, Nona had managed to run out the evening before to one of Brussels' millinery shops, where she purchased a small black turban. Before the coming of the German military hosts to Belgium, Brussels was regarded as the small sister of Paris in matters of fashion. Since then, of course, the city had but little heart for frivolity.
However, Nona felt fairly well satisfied with her purchase. Moreover, she was pleased to discern that Dick Thornton's eyes rested upon it with immediate satisfaction. It is true that a man more often observes a woman's hat than any part of her costume. ”

“ No one believed such nonsense, of course, since intelligent persons do not believe in ghosts. But the house was too far from the village, and was in too bad a state of repair to be a desirable residence. Indeed, there were dozens of reasons why, after its owners moved, no one else cared to rent it.
Moreover, the house had also escaped the interest of the German invaders of the land. So why in the world should it be of so great interest to Eugenia that she was making this lonely pilgrimage, without taking any one of the three Red Cross girls into her confidence? ”

“ Certainly it is not usual for a devoted sister to wish her only brother to marry. But then, Mildred Thornton was an exceptional girl. Selfishness had never been one of her characteristics, and, moreover, she was deeply devoted to Nona. Besides this, she felt that the best possible thing that could happen to Dick was to marry an attractive girl. For ever since the loss of the use of his arm Mildred had feared that he might become morose and unhappy. Indeed, he had seemed both of these things during their stay in Paris. ”

“ Therefore, each girl and boy had been decorated with an ivy leaf, as if it were a badge of honor. Moreover, Dick also wore a leaf in his buttonhole.
"Louise" soon brought the tea, which Dick drank with satisfaction. Barbara tried to pretend that she enjoyed hers, but it was extremely difficult. Not that she was angry with Eugenia, for her discomfort went deeper than that. The fact is she was frightened for her.
Some one more important than "Louise" was being guarded by Eugenia. Who on earth the man or woman could be, Barbara could not even hazard a guess. ”

“ Barbara and Nona were in deep sympathy with the Belgians. Barbara because she was always enlisted on the side of the weak against the strong. Nona, possibly because as a South Carolina girl, she belonged to a country that had once been overrun by greater numbers. But Mildred Thornton and Eugenia insisted that they intended to preserve neutral attitudes. They were Red Cross nurses, not soldiers, and there is always another side to every story. ”

“ Half an hour later, when they had finished Christmas dinner, Dick Thornton drew a magazine from his pocket, which had on its cover the sign of the Red Cross.
"Here is a poem some one in America has written called 'She of the Red Cross.' Will you listen while I read it to you? To me the poem, of course, means Barbara and to Captain Castaigne, Eugenia."
"She fulfills the dramatic destiny of woman,
Because she stands valiant, in the presence of pestilence,
And faces woe unafraid,
And binds up the wounds made by the wars of men. ”

“ Both the girl and boy were chattering rapidly, and both of them seemed happier than Barbara had lately seen them.
"The truth is all French people are homesick outside of their beloved France," Barbara thought to herself. "So it must be a consolation to have a fellow countryman for a companion."
But Monsieur Bebé was tremendously pleased to hear Barbara's voice. He asked her to take his hand and lead him back to his chair in the garden before the once deserted house. There, as a small chair chanced to be beside his, Barbara sat down. Then Nicolete and Eugenia went away to prepare tea. ”

“ Then I presume Eugenia felt she might get into trouble with no one to look after her, as she would spend her time amusing the French soldiers."
"Mildred!" Barbara Meade whispered, "do be more careful. You know we promised to say nothing of Nicolete's French origin. She would never have been allowed to come into Belgium if her nationality had been known. And Eugenia is dreadfully nervous for fear the child may be suspected as a spy. No one is too young to escape suspicion these days!" ”

“ Her delicate chin was lifted a little higher than usual and because of her pallor her lips showed a deeper crimson. She was a lovely height and slender and graceful, but beyond everything else she had the air of perfect breeding.
Dick's own train of thought was diverted for a moment by a glance at her.
"After all, it is not an impossibility, Nona Davis' mother may turn out a foreign princess," he thought, and then smiled. For Dick was a typical American man and to him a mystery in one's family was ridiculous when it was not unpleasant. ”

“ The American physician had a husky sensation in his throat and his glasses became suddenly blurred. The German commandant of the prison said "A-hum, a-hum," in an unnecessarily loud tone.
There was nothing in the spectacle of [Pg 116] the girl herself being thus honored by the imprisoned men that was particularly affecting. The truth was it was not Barbara who was being saluted, but the uniform she wore, the white ground with its cross of crimson. In a world of hate and confusion and sometimes of despair the Red Cross still commands universal respect. ”

“ Barbara was coming on an errand of grave importance. Yet one might as well meet the situation as cheerfully as possible. Nothing was ever to be gained by unnecessary gloom.
It still remained a task for Dick to dress himself with one of his arms almost useless. At first it had been impossible and he had employed a man to help him. But men were needed for more strenuous labors these days than being another fellow's valet. So he had come to taking care of himself in a somewhat awkward fashion. The collar was his supreme difficulty, just as it frequently is with a man with two perfectly good arms. ”

“ The tall rounded pillars and sixteenth century stained glass represented a new world of color and beauty. Although she was not a Catholic, Barbara could not refrain from saying a short prayer in the "Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Deliverance" [Pg 60] for the safety of the Belgian people and their gallant king and queen. Barbara was too loyal an American to believe that kings and queens were any longer useful as the heads of governments. Nevertheless, as a noble man and woman, King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, commanded her admiration and sympathy. ”

“ After an hour's ride into the country, through one of Belgium's suburbs, Dick and Barbara arrived at a tumble-down shed. Eugenia had carefully described this shed as their first destination.
Not far off they found Bibo waiting for them with a rickety old wagon and an ancient horse. Money and Eugenia's determined character had secured the forlorn equipage. For it was difficult to buy any kind of horse or wagon in these war days.
However, the small driver, who was the boy Eugenia had rescued some weeks before, drove with all the pomp of the king's coachman. ”

“ But he must have said something to Eugenia, for she glanced up and then ran forward to meet her guests. The baby she dumped hastily into her discarded chair.
"But I thought I was to be your guest of honor, Gene?" Barbara protested a few moments later. "Never should I have allowed Dick to come if I had dreamed he was to put me in the shade so completely."
Eugenia laughed. Her new responsibilities did not appear to have overburdened her.
"Come and meet my family," she insisted. "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, who had so many children she didn't know what to do." ”

“ Barbara demanded argumentatively the next instant. She seemed almost angry at the older girl's silent disagreement.
This time Eugenia inclined her head.
"I have no idea of disputing Nona's beauty or charm, or Dick Thornton's either. He is a splendid American fellow. And if one of you Red Cross girls must fall in love, certainly I should prefer you to fall in love with Dick. However, at present I simply don't believe there is an affair between Dick and Nona." ”

“ Not once, but half a dozen times, each [Pg 163] child insisted upon going into the house to search for Eugenia. She could not be busy for so long a time that she could not come out to them, they protested. This had never happened before.
Jan and Bibo were particularly sulky, nevertheless Barbara continued firm. Jan had been made her especial charge. Whatever happened he must be kept away from all knowledge of what was transpiring in the big house only a few yards off.
This world is ever a double mask with the face of tragedy painted upon one side and of comedy upon the other. ”

“ Monsieur Bebé did his best to express his thanks to Barbara and he had the Frenchman's grace and choice of words. He was of course still desperately sad over his affliction, but meant if possible to meet [Pg 140] it like a man. He had been willing to die for his country, but perhaps it took more courage to go on living for her. Miss Peabody had promised that as soon as possible he should begin to learn a trade.
After a quarter of an hour's talk Barbara felt in better spirits than she had on her arrival. Perhaps this was the secret with Eugenia. ”