ted.

'Yes. I think Maurice had a friend called Springfield.'

'I remember that,--Springfield. Springfield,--Springfield.'

For a moment there was a change in his voice, a change, too, in the
look of his eyes. At least I thought so. I could fancy I detected
anger, contempt; but perhaps it was only fancy, and it was only for a
moment.

'A tall, dark fellow. He has rather a receding forehead, black hair
streaked with grey, a thin, somewhat cadaverous-looking face, deep-set
eyes, a scar on his cheek, just below his right temple.'

He laughed again. 'By Jove, sir,' he said, 'you might be describing a
man I know. I seem to see his face as plainly as I see yours. I don't
think I like him, either, but--but--no, it has gone, gone! Have you
any suspicions about me? Have _you_ found out anything?'

'No,' I said, 'I have found out nothing. But I have a hundred
suspicions. You see, you interested me tremendously when I saw you
first, and I wondered greatly about you. I was awfully disappointed
when I could not find you.'

'Why should you want to find me?' he asked.

'Because I told some one about you, and she got tremendously
interested. She got angry with me because I had lost sight of you.'

'Who was she, sir?'

'Her name is Lorna Bolivick, and, I say,--I have something to show
you.' And I searched in my tunic until I had found the previous year's
diary in which I had written the promise.

'There,' I said, and opened the diary at May 29.

'And this girl was interested in me, was she?'

Our conversation suddenly terminated at that moment, as an urgent
message reached me that my colonel wanted to see me. A few minutes
later I learnt that little short of a calamity had befallen us; that
the Germans had broken into some trenches which had lately been taken,
and that there was imminent danger of some of our best positions
falling into their hands.

Twelve hours later, the danger was averted; but it was at a frightful
cost. It was reported to me that a battalion was largely decimated,
and the positions which we ought to have gained remained in the hands
of the enemy.

I saw that the colonel looked very perturbed; indeed his face, which
was usually ruddy and hopeful, was haggard and drawn.

'Anything serious the matter?' I asked.

'Serious!' he replied, 'it is calamitous!'

'But we've cleared them out, haven't we?'

'Cleared them out! Why, man!' and he walked to and fro like one
demented. 'The