a nightmare."

"Paris is lost--France is lost--the war is lost," gasped Rilla, amid
the utter ruins of hope and confidence and belief.

"Oh God--Oh God," moaned Gertrude Oliver, walking about the room and
wringing her hands, "Oh--God!"

Nothing else--no other words--nothing but that age old plea--the old,
old cry of supreme agony and appeal, from the human heart whose every
human staff has failed it.

"Is God dead?" asked a startled little voice from the doorway of the
living-room. Jims stood there, flushed from sleep, his big brown eyes
filled with dread, "Oh Willa--oh, Willa, is God dead?"

Miss Oliver stopped walking and exclaiming, and stared at Jims, in
whose eyes tears of fright were beginning to gather. Rilla ran to his
comforting, while Susan bounded up from the chair upon which she had
dropped.

"No," she said briskly, with a sudden return of her real self. "No, God
isn't dead--nor Lloyd George either. We were forgetting that, Mrs. Dr.
dear. Don't cry, little Kitchener. Bad as things are, they might be
worse. The British line may be broken but the British navy is not. Let
us tie to that. I will take a brace and get up a bite to eat, for
strength we must have."

They made a pretence of eating Susan's "bite," but it was only a
pretence. Nobody at Ingleside ever forgot that black afternoon.
Gertrude Oliver walked the floor--they all walked the floor; except
Susan, who got out her grey war sock.

"Mrs. Dr. dear, I must knit on Sunday at last. I have never dreamed of
doing it before for, say what might be said, I have considered it was a
violation of the third commandment. But whether it is or whether it is
not I must knit today or I shall go mad."

"Knit if you can, Susan," said Mrs. Blythe restlessly. "I would knit if
I could--but I cannot--I cannot."

"If we could only get fuller information," moaned Rilla. "There might
be something to encourage us--if we knew all."

"We know that the Germans are shelling Paris," said Miss Oliver
bitterly. "In that case they must have smashed through everywhere and
be at the very gates. No, we have lost--let us face the fact as other
peoples in the past have had to face it. Other nations, with right on
their side, have given their best and bravest--and gone down to defeat
in spite of it. Ours is 'but one more To baffled millions who have gone
before.'"

"I won't give up like that," cried Rilla, her pale face suddenly
flushing. "I won't despair. We are not conquer