163

XV. The Secret Link 173

XVI. The Beetle 189

XVII. The Mission 203

XVIII. Gone 223

XIX. What Happened at Dawn 228

XX. The Beauty Doctor 242

XXI. The Eleventh Hour 254

XXII. The Heart of Max 263

XXIII. "Where the Strange Roads Go Down" 278

XXIV. The Mad Music 285

XXV. Corporal St. George, Deserter 294

XXVI. Sanda's Wedding Night 302

XXVII. The Only Friend 317

XXVIII. Sanda Speaks 332

XXIX. Out of the Dream, a Plan 346

XXX. The Play of Cross Purposes 351

XXXI. The Gift 368

A Soldier of the Legion

CHAPTER I

THE TELEGRAM

It was the great ball of the season at Fort Ellsworth. For a special
reason it had begun unusually late; but, though the eighth dance was on,
the great event of the evening had not happened yet. Until that should
happen, the rest, charming though it might be, was a mere curtain-raiser
to keep men amused before the first act of the play.

The band of the --th was playing the "Merry Widow" waltz, still a
favourite at the fort, and only one of the officers was not dancing. All
the others--young, middle-aged, and even elderly--were gliding more or
less gracefully, more or less happily, over the waxed floor of the big,
white-walled, flag-draped hall where Fort Ellsworth had its concerts,
theatricals, small hops, and big balls. Encircled by their uniformed
arms were the wives and sisters of brother officers, ladies whom they
saw every day, or girls from the adjacent town of Omallaha, whom they
could see nearly every day if they took the trouble. Some of the girls
were pretty and pleasant. They all danced well, and wore their newest
frocks from Chicago, New York, and even, in certain brilliant cases,
from Paris. Bu