r
accent, "I wish it might be possible that perhaps I could have that last
piece of toast, eh?"

"Billy, go out of the room," said Mrs. Dashwood severely, but
Mademoiselle Ottilie threw an impulsive arm round the young monkey's
neck, and looked appealingly at his mother.

"Oh, no, please not, madame. He is so young," she interposed.

"Well," said Captain Bob, rising, "I think it's the weather that has
given you the hump, old chap. Still raining," and he glanced at the
windows. "What do you say to a game of billiards? I'll play you three
hundred up if you like."

"With all my heart," replied Van Drissel, getting up with a limp and
opening the door for Mrs. Dashwood, and the two officers went into the
billiard-room, whence they were no more seen for a couple of hours.

"Hard luck," said Bob Dashwood at last, as the Belgian missed an easy
shot. "And you've left them for me, too. I'm afraid your leg is worrying
you."

"Oh, that is nothing," replied his companion with a wry smile, as he
limped towards the scoring board. "You only want five to win."

"And there they are," said Bob apologetically, as the white ball
followed the red into a pocket. "But, you know, you're playing a very
good game."

"It is nice of you to say so," replied the Belgian. "Unhappily, I have
so much time for practice these days," and he lit a cigarette. "There is
not much news in the papers this morning."

"The calm before the storm, my boy," smiled the captain with a twinkle
of his grey eyes. "There will be some big news directly. By Jove! you
ought to see the munitions they're piling up behind us. It is
incredible! The worst of it is, our sector simply swarms with spies, and
the beggars get to know everything almost as soon as we know it
ourselves; in fact, sometimes before.

"They're very slick," the captain went on. "As a matter of fact, Germans
often come over into our lines in British uniforms, and they are so
thundering clever that you can't tell the difference. Why, not long ago,
I yarned for half an hour with a major of the R.E., as I thought--didn't
tell him much, luckily, but we hadn't parted five minutes when he was
'wanted,' and there was no end of a hunt, but he managed to get clear,
and a genuine English major was within an ace of being shot in mistake
for him if he hadn't been recognised by one of the staff in time."

"Ah, there you are," said Van Drissel. "When do you think Sir Douglas
Haig will make a move?"

"Almost d