hed, but
she had married since her brother's departure for Europe, and for this
reason he did not feel as if she belonged to him in the old fashion of
the past.

At the moment he was looking at his mother's photograph and thinking of
their happy times together when he was a boy. In spite of his present
youthful appearance Major James Hersey regarded himself as extremely
elderly, what with the experiences of the past years of war in France
and his own personal loss, and the fact that he was approaching
twenty-five.

Then from thinking of his mother, Jimmie, whose title never concerned
him save when he was commanding his men, suddenly bethought himself of
the young Countess Charlotta. It was odd how often he recalled a mental
picture of her, when they had met but once. He had seen her again,
however, on the morning when she had left the hospital at Luxemburg.
Then he had watched from a window the carriage which drove her away.

Somehow the young Countess Charlotta in spite of her different
surroundings, had struck him as being as lonely as he was.

Then Major Jimmie smiled, realizing that he was growing sentimental. Yet
the girl's story had been a romantic one and she had confided in him so
frankly. After all, one does enjoy being sorry for oneself now and then!

The young officer at this instant was disturbed in his meditations by
hearing a little sound beside him.

Glancing around he beheld Gretchen, the youngest daughter of the German
house. This was the first time since his arrival in her home that he had
ever seen the small girl without Freia, her two years older and wiser
sister.

Plainly enough by her expression Gretchen showed that she resented this
misfortune. There were tears in her large light eyes and her little
button of a nose was noticeably pink.

"What is it, baby?" the young officer demanded, his sympathy immediately
aroused and glad also to be diverted from his own train of thought.

"It is that Freia has been allowed to go to play this afternoon with the
lady from the Red Cross and the little French girl and that I must stay
at home," the little girl lamented, speaking in German that her listener
could readily understand. Major Hersey had studied German at school as a
boy and during the last few weeks of residence in Germany had been
surprised by recalling more of his German vocabulary than he had dreamed
of knowing.

"Freia would like to bring Fraulein Jamisen home with her only she will
n