Nona Davis delivered Colonel Dalton’s message to the superintendent of
the Sacred Heart Hospital. However, after second thought Colonel Dalton
also sent a letter explaining the circumstances more fully and asking
for a private meeting in order that a thorough investigation be made.
A woman of about forty with a large experience of life, Miss Grey,
though deeply disturbed by the British officer’s suspicion, did not
allow herself to go to pieces over it. She knew that they were living
in the heat and turmoil of the most terrible war in history, where
every day thousands of men and women were willing to give their lives
to afford the slightest aid to their country. Everywhere there had been
stories of spies and oftentimes many of them were the last persons to
be suspected. It was dreadful to learn that a spy had crept within the
shelter of the Sacred Heart Hospital, and yet there was no reason why
one place should be spared more than another.
So very quietly Miss Grey set to work to study possibilities for
herself, in order that she might be able later to assist Colonel
Dalton in his effort to unearth the guilty person. She knew the name
and something of the past history of every individual on her hospital
staff, including both the outside and inside servants. This, owing to
the conditions of war, she had considered a part of her duty. Indeed,
she kept a small book in which their names, previous addresses and
occupations were carefully registered and the Red Cross nurses had also
presented their nursing certificates with a brief outline of their
circumstances.
So without discussing the situation with any one else seriously, Miss
Grey studied the contents of this little volume, intending to hand it
to Colonel Dalton as soon as they met.
Without the least sense of prejudice she found herself most interested
in the latest arrivals at the hospital. Of course, there was as yet no
reason, so far as she knew, why one person should be suspected beyond
another. The spy may have been in their midst many months waiting the
opportunity for betrayal. Nevertheless, as the discovery of treachery
was so recent, it was natural for her to guess that the evildoer was a
comparatively new member of their staff.
The newcomers chanced to be the eight new nurses, four of them American
and four British, who had begun work about two months before, and Lady
Dorian, who was the last arrival.
Just as Nona had felt a sudden chill at the thought of Lady Dorian’s
painful experience and her evident wish not to talk of herself, so Miss
Grey frowned and flushed when she came upon her name in the hospital
biography.
Had the authorities been wise in accepting Lady Dorian’s presence among
them and the very generous gifts she had made so soon after her trial
in London? It was true that nothing had then been proven against
her and so very probably she had naught to do with the attempted
destruction of the ship upon which she had chanced to be a passenger.
However, it might have been the better part of valor to have regarded
Lady Dorian with possible scepticism, more especially as so little was
known of her previous history.
Yet with no facts at her disposal Miss Grey took the only wise course,
she reserved judgment.
Thirty-six hours later, just after dusk, Colonel Dalton, accompanied
by the lieutenant who was one of his aides, rode up to the Sacred
Heart Hospital. He went straight into the business office of the
superintendent, where he spent half an hour with Miss Grey, Mrs. Payne
and other persons in positions of trust.
At the close of that time a command was issued, asking the surgeons,
nurses and servants in relays of eight or ten to come into the office
in order that Colonel Dalton might question them. No one, of course,
except Nona Davis, had any conception of why a British officer should
be devoting his valuable time to interviewing the members of a hospital
staff for any purpose whatsoever.
But by chance Eugenia, Mildred, Barbara and Nona, Lady Mathers, Alexina
McIntyre and Lady Dorian made one of the latest groups. It was not by
chance, however, that Nona went first to Lady Dorian’s tiny room at
the top of the tallest tower and asked that they might go downstairs
together.
To the girl’s horror Lady Dorian absolutely refused to accompany her.
She was sitting by a window with only a lighted taper in the room,
apparently nervous and unhappy.
“Please present my respects to Commander Dalton,” she said, “and say
that as I am not well it will be impossible for me to see him.” Lady
Dorian spoke so quietly, as if there were no question of her wish not
being respected, that Nona was frightened.
“But you _must_ come, please,” the younger girl urged. “I am afraid you
don’t realize how important it is that all of us be present. Don’t you
appreciate that whatever reason Colonel Dalton may have for talking
with us, it would not look well for any one of us to refuse to be
interviewed?”
But Nona’s arguments and persuasions proved of no avail. Finally she
had to go down to the office with the others, leaving Lady Dorian in
her own room.
Nevertheless Nona did not dare repeat aloud the message her friend had
given her. She only whispered its substance confusedly in Miss Grey’s
ear and the next moment the superintendent left the room.
No one of the four American Red Cross girls nor any one else present
ever forgot the next quarter of an hour.
Colonel Dalton was intensely angry. He considered that he was not
doing the work of a soldier and only his interest in the Sacred Heart
Hospital induced him to conduct an inquiry of such a nature. However,
the traitor had to be discovered and at once.
In his hand he held the bunch of papers which Nona recognized as the
same he had in his conversation with her. Also she recognized the
lieutenant as the young officer who had previously escorted her and who
had made such an extraordinary speech at their moment of parting.
However, Colonel Dalton was only beginning his cross-examination of the
latest comers when the door of the office again opened and Miss Grey
entered accompanied by Lady Dorian.
Nona gave a little gasp of relief and dismay. For never had she seen
any one look so ill and wretched as Lady Dorian. She was plainly making
every effort to keep her face averted from the gaze of the older man,
who was sitting in a chair beside a small table.
But Nona was the more amazed when she turned to see what impression
had been made upon Colonel Dalton. Disturbed by the opening of the
door, he had glanced up. Now his face was no longer crimson from anger
and outdoor exposure, but white and drawn, and his eyes expressed
extraordinary surprise and discomfort.
For a moment his lips moved without making a sound, but the next he had
assumed his former military bearing.
“In the past few weeks letters have been mailed from this hospital,
supposedly addressed to a newspaper in New York City for publication,
but in reality exposing the secrets of the British army in this
neighborhood to our enemy,” he began. “It should not be difficult for
some one on this staff to tell me who posted these letters and where
the information they contain was obtained.” The officer then struck the
table harshly with the papers in his hand. “One of these letters got
through the post, the others are in my possession, so there will be
little chance for the informant to escape. Has any one a suggestion as
to who the man or woman may be?”
At the question had all the persons in the room been spies they could
scarcely have appeared more miserable and guilty. Moreover, for a
moment no one attempted to reply.
Presently Mildred Thornton walked over to the table.
Mildred was not handsome, yet at this moment her dignity, her
refinement and more than that, her look of intelligence which was like
her distinguished father’s, had never been more apparent.
“Will you show me the letters you speak of, Colonel Dalton?” she asked
in a low tone.
The officer appeared to hesitate, but after a careful study of the girl
he gave the letters into her hands.
Near them was a lamp on the table and Mildred stooped as she went
rapidly through the papers. Then she straightened up and her lips were
like chalk.
“I mailed the letters,” she said distinctly. “But listen to me for a
moment while I explain, then I’m ready to take whatever punishment I
deserve.”
There was a complete silence. Mildred spoke very calmly, very proudly;
nevertheless, no one of her three American friends believed her.
Mildred’s statement was so incredible, she must have lost her senses.
Instinctively Barbara started forward to protest, but both Eugenia and
Nona held on to her.
“Wait until she has spoken,” Eugenia ordered.
Colonel Dalton himself did not appear particularly convinced. A spy was
not apt to proclaim guilt with so little pressure. Yet the young woman
looked as if she had brains.
“A young man and his mother have been staying in this neighborhood
almost ever since our arrival,” Mildred began. “Brooks Curtis, the
man called himself. We met him on board the steamer coming over to
England and he told me that he was a newspaper correspondent and
meant to report the war. I don’t know anything else about him, but I
liked him, although my friends did not.” Here Mildred flushed and her
hands trembled, yet she went on bravely. “Mrs. Curtis settled in the
neighborhood in one of the peasants’ cottages and I used to see her
nearly every week and now and then her son. One day Mr. Curtis told me
he was having difficulty in mailing his letters to his New York paper
and asked me to mail them for him. Also he asked me not to mention the
fact. I was very stupid, I was worse than stupid, but of course I did
not dream of what I was really doing. Still, I feel that I deserve
imprisonment or punishment of some kind. I came to Europe to try to be
of service to the soldiers and I’ve brought them misfortune.” The girl
for the moment could say nothing more. But then everybody in the room
was equally aghast, Mildred’s explanation was so astounding and at the
same time so simple.
“Is there a way of getting hold of this young man to find out if your
story is true?” Colonel Dalton demanded.
And this time Nona and Barbara answered together. “Mrs. Curtis could be
found at the home of Mère Marie and Anton. From her one might obtain
information concerning her son.”
A moment later the two girls and the lieutenant were on their way to
the hut of Mère Marie. A little later they returned with the news that
Mrs. Curtis had disappeared the day before and the old peasant woman
had no knowledge of her whereabouts.
But during their absence Colonel Dalton and Mildred had a long talk
together, so the girl herself was able to convince him. He was very
severe, he could find little excuse for her foolishness; nevertheless,
recognizing at the end Mildred’s innocence and utter inexperience
of life, he assured her that she need fear no penalty. The British
Government, however, would seek to find the young man calling himself
Brooks Curtis, and on his arrest she would be expected to appear.
Finally Mildred was allowed to go up to her room and Barbara and
Eugenia went with her. Lady Mathers and Alexina wandered off to express
their opinions on the situation.
So by accident Nona Davis was left for a moment standing in the hall
with the young English lieutenant. She had seen him several times
lately, it was true, and yet she was annoyed at this moment to find him
smiling at her in a surprisingly friendly fashion.
From the single rose bush in front of Mère Marie’s cottage even in the
darkness he had plucked a rose. Now he extended the rose to Nona.
“Have all Americans poor memories?” he asked. “Or is it because you
wish to forget? Once upon a time there was a young man asleep in an
English garden and lifting his eyes he saw a fairy princess standing
over him with a rose in her dress as yellow as her hair.”
Nona blushed delightfully. “You mean,” she said, “that you are the
gardener’s son? Then you are well and back at your post again? I’m so
glad.”
Her companion nodded. “I am a son of Adam.”
But at this moment Colonel Dalton, Miss Grey and Lady Dorian made their
appearance and the young officer turned to salute his superior.
Miss Grey accompanied them to the door, leaving Nona and Lady Dorian
alone.
Impulsively the younger girl kissed her friend. “I am so happy,” she
whispered.
Lady Dorian walked away with her. “I understand, dear,” she returned.
“The truth is Colonel Dalton and I knew each other very intimately in
the past and I felt it might be pleasanter for us not to meet again.
Naturally I did not dream of the seriousness of his errand. Some day I
may tell you the whole story; now good night.”
Nona went on upstairs without replying and the next hour the three
girls devoted to trying to console Mildred Thornton.
It was Barbara’s conviction that they would some day meet Brooks Curtis
again. Then Mildred could repay his deceit by surrendering him to the
British authorities. But Mildred had no wish to find the young man. If
only he did no further harm to the Allies she wished that she might
never see or hear of him again.
And the girls did not hear. Several months passed by and each day found
them more and more absorbed in their Red Cross work.
Nona Davis did not mention Lady Dorian’s confidence. However, there was
little she _could_ tell. The older woman had simply explained that she
had spent several years in England, where she and Colonel Dalton had
known each other intimately.
But there was too much for the Red Cross Girls to do, they were living
too full lives themselves to give more than passing thoughts to other
persons.
When Dick Thornton had in a measure recovered he returned to London.
So the early part of the winter vanished. Now and then there came a
lull in the fighting between the armies of northern France. Afterwards
it would break out again with greater violence.
Finally the climax came.
By chance Nona and Barbara, who had again joined the ambulance corps,
first brought the news to the Sacred Heart Hospital. The order had come
from Colonel Dalton. Later it was delivered in person by Lieutenant
Hume.
The Sacred Heart Hospital must be abandoned. Having forced the British
line for several miles, the Germans were now dangerously near. If the
hospital wished to protect its wounded, to save supplies, to safeguard
its workers, their present habitation must be abandoned.
No army ever moved its encampment with greater efficiency. In between
their periods of nursing the four American girls assisted with the
packing. No one of them ever forgot the experience. Yet at the last
there was a sudden rush. The enemy was reported advancing before
another refuge could be found for the Sacred Heart staff. Wounded
soldiers had to be transported in half a dozen directions wherever a
spot could be found for them. At the time there was no place for so
many extra nurses.
It was Eugenia Peabody who finally made the suggestion to Miss Grey.
She proposed that she and her three friends should find a retreat for
themselves, and there await orders. It would relieve so much of the
Superintendent’s responsibility.
So one afternoon the four American girls were hurried away in one of
the army motors to the nearest railroad station in a zone of safety.
The next morning, in a little less than a year after their arrival in
Europe, they found themselves in a small French city.
A few days after Nona Davis suggested that they offer their services
to the French Red Cross. Having come abroad to serve the Allies, it
was natural they should wish to care for the wounded soldiers of the
different nationalities.
* * * * *
This first volume in the American Red Cross series can, of course,
only begin to tell the adventures and experiences of the four American
girls, who, forgetful of self, offered their services to the wounded
soldiers in the war. The stories of their lives and the friends they
gather around them will be continued in the next book in the series, to
be known as “The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing Line.”
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have
been corrected.
The following change was made:
p. 187: Captain changed to Colonel (that Colonel Dalton)