"We were hurt with Eugenia for not taking us into her confidence sooner, weren't we?" she remarked, not so much in the manner of asking a question as of making a statement.

If there had not been a rose-colored light on her face from the sunset Nona would seem to have flushed at this instant.

"I was wounded," she went on, "even though Eugenia explained that she had not meant to deceive us. She grew up very poor and when an old bachelor uncle left her a fortune she never learned how to spend her money because of her frugal New England training."

"Well, she is learning to spend it on[Pg 13] other people now," Mildred Thornton interrupted. "It seems tremendously kind for Eugenia to have brought the little French girl, Nicolete, over to Belgium with us. She really shocks Eugenia every five minutes in the day, but I suppose Gene is trying to turn the child into a Puritan. Really, she had no reason in the world for being interested in Nicolete except that she was helpful when Captain Castaigne was ill. 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."

[Pg 13]

"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!"

Barbara made this speech in hushed tones all the time looking carefully about her.

The countryside was for the time being[Pg 14] deserted, but at any moment a group of German soldiers might pass by on the way to their barracks. A well-traveled road ran along in front of the place where the Red Cross girls were seated.

[Pg 14]

About an hour before they had come out together for a walk before dinner and were now resting on their journey back to their new Belgian headquarters.

At this moment Nona Davis got up and stood facing her other two friends.

"I have something to tell you," she began, "and I expect I had best not put it off any longer. I had it in mind when I spoke of Eugenia's secrecy, for you see we have all grown so intimate that we are almost like 

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