e Vote.
Now to-night you shall take me to the theatre--or rather I'll take
_you_. I've thought it all out beforehand, and Bertie Adams has
secured the seats. It's _The Chocolate Soldier_ at the Adelphi, the
only war piece they had ready; there are two stalls for us and
Bertie and his wife are going to the Dress Circle. My Cook's ticket
is taken for Brussels and I leave to-morrow by the Ostende route."

"To-morrow" was the 12th of August, and Dora was not yet in being to
interpose every possible obstacle in the way of the civilian
traveller. Down to the Battle of the Marne in September, 1914, very
little difficulty was made about crossing the Channel, especially
off the main Dover-Calais route.

So in the radiant noon of that August day Vivie looked her last on
the brown-white promontories, cliffs and grey castle of Dover,
scarcely troubling about any anticipations one way or the other, and
certainly having no prevision she would not recross the Channel for
four years and four months, and not see Dover again for five or six
years.

British war vessels were off the port and inside it. But there was
not much excitement or crowding on the Ostende steamer or any of
those sensational precautions against being torpedoed or mined,
which soon afterwards oppressed the spirits of cross-Channel
passengers. Vessels arriving from Belgium were full of passengers of
the superior refugee class, American and British tourists, or
wealthy people who though they preferred living abroad had begun to
think that the Continent just now was not very healthy and England
the securest refuge for those who wished to be comfortable.

Vivie being a good sailor and economical by nature, never thought of
securing a cabin for the four or five hours' sea-journey. She sat on
the upper deck with her scanty luggage round her. A nice-looking
young man who had a cabin the door of which he locked, was walking
up and down on the level deck and scrutinizing her discreetly. And
when at last they worked their way backwards into Ostende--the
harbour was full of vessels, chiefly mine-dredgers and torpedo
boats--she noticed the obsequiousness of the steamer people and how
he left the ship before any one else.

She followed soon afterwards, having little encumbrances in the way
of luggage; but she observed that he just showed a glimpse of some
paper and was allowed to walk straight through the Douane with
unexamined luggage, and so, on to the Brussels train.