_NOTE BY ETIENNE_
_A break occurs in Karl von Schenk's diary at this juncture. Fortunately
the main outlines of the story are preserved owing to Zoe's long
letter, which was in a small packet inside the cover of the second
notebook. Zoe's letter will be reproduced in this book in its proper
chronological position, but in order to save the reader the trouble of
reading the book from the letter back to this point, a brief summary of
what took place is given here. The entries in his diary which follow
the words "I have endured much," are very meagre for a period which
seems to have been about a month in length. There is no further mention
of the latter stages of Karl's passage in the wrecked boat to
Zeebrugge, so it is presumed that he made that port without further
adventure. He was evidently on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and
appears to have been suffering from very severe insomnia. He had been
hunted for two days, during which he was perpetually on the verge of
destruction, and the cumulative effect of such an experience is bound
to leave its mark on the strongest man. When he got back to Zeebrugge
he must have been at the end of his tether, and whether by chance or
design it was when Karl was, as he would have said, "at a low mental
ebb" that Zoe made her last and successful attack upon his resolution
not to see her again unless she consented to marry him. It is plain
from her letter that when he left her after the stormy interview in
which he vowed never to see her again, Zoe did not lose hope. She seems
to have kept herself _au courant _with his movements, and actually to
have known when he was expected in._
_We know that she had many friends amongst the officers, and it is
probable that from one of these she was able to get information about
Karl's movements._
_Bruges was probably a hot-bed of U-boat gossip, and, not unlike the
conditions at certain other Naval ports during the war, the ladies were
often too well informed. At any rate it appears that Zoe rushed to see
Karl directly he arrived at Bruges, and found him a mental and physical
wreck, suffering from acute insomnia._
_With the impetuous vigour which evidently guided most of her actions,
she took complete charge of Karl, and, as he was due for four days'
leave, she whisked him off to the forest._
_Karl may have protested, but was probably in no state to wish to do so.
At her shooting-box in the forest Zoe achieved her desire, and the
stubborn struggle between the lovers ended in victory for the woman.
There is an entry in Karl's diary which may refer to this period; he
simply says, "Slept at last! Oh, what a joy!"_
_If this entry was written in the forest, it seemed as if Karl had been
unable to sleep until Zoe carried him off to the forest peace of her
shooting-box and surrounded him with the atmosphere of her tender
sympathy._
_There is no evidence of the light in which Karl viewed his defeat,
when, having regained his strength, he was able to take stock of the
changed situation. It is reasonable to suppose that his silence upon
this matter in the pages of his diary is evidence that he was ashamed
of what he must have considered a great act of weakness on his part._
_At all events he realized that he had crossed the Rubicon and that he
had better acquiesce in the_ fait accompli.
_He seems to have been in harbour for about six weeks, during which he
lived with Zoe, and the lovers enjoyed a brief spell of happiness
before Karl set out on his next trip._
_Karl seems to have found those six weeks very pleasant ones, though his
diary merely contains brief references, such as: "A. day in the country
with Z."; "Z. and I went to the Cavalry dance," and other trivial
entries--of his thoughts there is not a word._
_About the end of 1917 Karl's boat was repaired, and he left for the
Atlantic; and once more resumed full entries in his diary._