est Christmas I've ever had," declared Miss Raynard. "I'm
feeling positively done up. There was something on every afternoon and
evening last week, and then Julie sits on my bed till daybreak, more or
less, and smokes cigarettes. We've a bottle of benedictine, too, and it
always goes to her head. The other night she did a Salome dance on the
strength of it."

"It was really fine," said Julie. "You ought to have seen me."

"Till the towel slipped off: not then, I hope," said Tommy dryly.

"I don't suppose he'd have minded--would you, Peter?"

"Not a bit," said Peter cheerfully--"on the contrary."

"I don't know if you two are aware that you are positively indecent,"
said Tommy. "Let's change the subject. What's your news, Captain Graham?"

Peter smiled in the dark to himself. "Well," he said, "not much, but I'm
hoping for leave soon. I've pushed in for it, and our Adjutant told me
this morning he thought it would go through."

"Lucky man! I've got to wait three months. But yours ought to be about
now, Julie."

"I think it ought," said Julie shortly. Then: "What about the menu-cards,
Peter? Would you like me to help you choose them?"

"Would you?" said he eagerly. "To-morrow?"

"I'm on duty at five o'clock, but I can get off for an hour in the
afternoon. Could you come, Tommy?"

"No. Sorry; but I must write letters. I haven't written one for ages."

"Nor have I," said Julie, "but I don't mean to. I hate letters. Well,
what about it, Peter?"

"I should think we had better try that stationer's in the Rue Thiers," he
said. "If that won't do, the Nouvelles Galleries might. What do you
think?"

"Let's try the Galleries first. We could meet there. Say at three, eh? I
want to get some baby-ribbon, too."

Tommy sighed audibly. "She's off again," she said.

"Thank God, here's the hospital! Good-night, Captain Graham. You mustn't
cross the Rubicon to-night."

"You oughtn't to swear before him," said Julie in mock severity. "And
what in the world is the Rubicon?"

"Materially, to-night, it's the railway-line between his camp and the
hospital," said Tommy Raynard. "What else it is I'll leave him to
decide."

She held out her hand, and Peter saw a quizzical look on her face. He
turned rather hopelessly to Julie. "I say," he said, "didn't you _know_
it was my afternoon at the hospital?"

"Yes," said Julie, "and I knew you didn't come. At least, I couldn't see
you in any of the wards."

"Oh," he exclaimed, "I