an, Barbara, and roughed it with him and been
shelled and shot at with him, there seems to be a bond of
sympathy between you and him for ever after. And he was a brave
man, Barbara, cruel and unscrupulous, I admit, but there was no
fear in him, and I can't help admiring courage. I seem to think
of him as two men--the man I soldiered with and the heartless
brute who watched while that beast Bellward..."

He broke off as a spasm of pain crossed the girl's face. "I shall
remember the one and forget the other," he concluded simply.

"Tell me," said the girl suddenly, "who was Strangwise?"

"After he was arrested and just before they were going to take
him off," Desmond said, "he asked to be allowed to say a word
privately to the Chief. We were all sent away and he told the
Chief his real name. He thought he was going to be hanged, you
see, and while he never shrank from any crime in the fulfilment
of his mission, he was terrified of a shameful death. He begged
the Chief to see that his real name was not revealed for the
disgrace that his execution would bring upon his family.
Curiously Prussian attitude of mind, isn't it?"

"And what did the Chief say?"

"I don't know; but he was mighty short with him, I expect."

"And what was Strangwise's real name?"

"When he told us that Nur-el-Din was his wife, I knew at once who
he was. His name is Hans von Schornbeek. He was in the Prussian
Foot Guards, was turned out for some reason or other and went to
America where, after a pretty rough time, he was taken on by the
German secret service organization. He was working for them when
he met Nur-el-Din. They were married out there and, realizing the
possibilities of using her as a decoy in the secret service, he
sent her to Brussels where the Huns were very busy getting ready
for war. He treated her abominably; but the girl was fond of him
in her way and even when she was in fear of her life from this
man she never revealed to me the fact that he was Hans von
Schornbeek and her husband."

Barbara sat musing for a while, her eyes on the restless sea.

"How strange it is," she said, "to think that they are all
dispersed now... and the transports are sailing securely to
France. Two were killed at the Mill House, Behrend committed
suicide in prison, Bellward died in hospital, Mrs. Malplaquet has
disappeared, and now Strangwise has gone. There only remains..."

She cast a quick glance at Desmond but he was gazing seaward at
the