green were peeping up from the dry stubble. On the single apple tree that had been left standing in a once comfortable orchard, a few apples at the top were slowly ripening. Except for this there were few other signs of summer's fulfilment. In response to Barbara's speech Eugenia Peabody now shook her head with her usual decision. "Sorry, but I can't go with you," she answered abruptly. "I have something more important to do. Tell them at the headquarters I'll try and come another day." Then without glancing at any one, Eugenia rose and stalked away. She walked toward a small one-room cottage at some distance behind the ruined house. There she stood with her hands clasped before her. The place was utterly still[Pg 11] and deserted. Yet it was difficult to tell whether Eugenia was listening for some unusual sound, or whether she was thinking upon a subject hundreds of miles from the present scene. [Pg 11] The girls were living in a big house a few miles outside of Brussels. This was only a temporary arrangement, as they had not yet received their orders for work from the Belgian Red Cross headquarters. Barbara at this moment dug her shoe reflectively into the soft earth, in the meanwhile staring after her friend. "Do you know, girls, Eugenia Peabody has become a mystery to me lately? When we started off on our expedition to Europe together, I thought I understood her character better than either of you. Now I simply don't see through her at all!" Barbara frowned meditatively. "Here she has been an heiress all this time, much richer even than Mildred Thornton, when we believed her as poor as a church mouse! But how could any human being have suspected Eugenia of riches when she wore such dreadful clothes?" [Pg 12] [Pg 12] So plaintively did Barbara conclude her speech that her two companions laughed. Since arriving in tragic little Belgium they had not been able to laugh frequently. But being only girls they welcomed every opportunity. Nona nodded agreement with her friend's point of view. The next moment she turned from one to the other of them. Her expression had grown more serious.
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