omobile appeared at the
door to bear off Mrs. Burton and her two companions, Miss Patricia's
attitude remained unchanged.

Mrs. Burton devoted the last five minutes before her departure to
begging Aunt Patricia to bestow her final consent and parting blessing.
Aunt Patricia steadfastly refused.

She also declined to see the automobile leave the farm. Instead, during
the final farewells, turning her back upon the assembly, she marched up
alone to her own room. Once inside, it is true she wiped away several
tears, but immediately after set herself to writing a letter to Captain
Richard Burton. And Captain Burton and Miss Patricia only were to know
what the letter contained! Fortunately Captain Burton understood Miss
Patricia and her devotion to his wife. Moreover, the extent of her
devotion was to be proven later.

The following day, perhaps because of Miss Patricia's prediction that
nothing in life runs on continuously in the same groove, an unexpected
telegram was brought out to the French farm house for Peggy Webster.

In the telegram Lieutenant Ralph Marshall of the United States Aviation
Service in France stated that, having been slightly injured by a fall,
he had secured a few day's leave of absence. Would he be permitted to
spend his leave with Mrs. Burton and the Camp Fire girls at their farm
house on the Aisne?

To Peggy Webster there appeared to be but one possible answer to this
amazing piece of good fortune, and fortunately she was able to persuade
Aunt Patricia to the same point of view. Miss Patricia did not approve
of young men, but she did approve of Peggy and understood the situation
in regard to Ralph.

Therefore the return telegram read: "Yes."

Except for brief intervals, Peggy and Ralph had seen but little of each
other since their summer together in Arizona, a summer which had been
fateful for them both. It had not occurred to Peggy that either she or
Ralph would ever change their minds with regard to their future
marriage, in spite of the fact that she was but eighteen years old and
Ralph not much older. There remained only the question of persuading
their two families to share their view.

In the last two years Ralph had been redeeming his former idleness.
Having volunteered for aviation work before the entry of the United
States into the world war, he had been able to secure a commission and
already had been in France a number of months.

CHAPTER XIV

A WARNING

It was the m