what manner did you arrive here?"

"In a small automobile. It is standing behind the cathedral now. Antoine
is an excellent driver. But, Oh, Mr. Scott, it has been a strange and
lonely ride! Once we thought we were going to be captured. As we passed
through a forest Antoine was quite sure that he caught a gleam of German
lances far away, but much too near for assurance, and he drove the motor
forward at a great rate."

"And then you arrived in Chastel?"

"Yes, Mr. Scott, then we came to Chastel."

"But you did not see what you expected to see."

She shivered and the brilliant color left her face for a moment.

"No, Mr. Scott, I did not find what I thought would be here. Philip had
not come, but that did not alarm me so much, and I knew that for awhile
the snow had made the flight of aeroplanes impossible. No, it was not
the absence of Philip that filled me with terror. Surely when he sent
for me he did not anticipate such fighting as must have occurred here so
recently."

"He would never have drawn you into danger."

"I know it, and that is why I am so puzzled and so full of apprehension.
The sight of Chastel appalls me and it has had its influence upon
Antoine and Suzanne, strong as they are. We saw ruins, Mr. Scott, the
terrible path of battle, and no human being until you came."

"I had the same feeling myself, nor did I see life either until I met
Antoine, Miss Julie, if I may call you so instead of Miss Lannes?"

"Yes, of course, Mr. Scott. But what does it mean? Why haven't the
people come back?"

They were still talking in English, and Suzanne's customary look had
returned to her face in all its grimness, but they went on, unmindful of
her.

"I confess, Miss Julie, I don't understand it," replied John. "The
fighting here seems to have occurred within the last two or three days.
It is behind our lines and I did not hear of it, but so much has happens
of which we do not hear, and there has been so much shifting of the
lines in recent days that a battle could easily have occurred at Chastel
without my knowledge. And the shock of cannon fire with the enormous
guns now used is so tremendous that the fleeing people may not have
recovered from it yet. Doubtless they will return tomorrow or the next
day."

"I hope so, Mr. Scott. A ruined town with nobody in it oppresses
terribly."

A sudden thought stabbed at John's heart. It was possible that the
people of Chastel did not return because they were fear