re's sure to be an inquiry,' he said at length, 'and
there'll be no end of a row; there ought to be, too. But what could
one do?'

'What is the trouble, then?' for the look in his eyes had made me very
anxious.

He made no reply, but I could see that his mind was busily at work.

'You remember that chap who got you out of that hole the day before
yesterday?' he asked.

'What, Edgecumbe? I should think I do!'

'I hear he is missing.'

'Edgecumbe missing? Taken prisoner, you mean?'

'I don't know. I have not heard particulars yet. I should not have
heard anything about him at all, but for the way he brought himself
into prominence over that affair. But it seems he was last seen
fighting with two Huns, so I expect he is done for. Terrible pity,
isn't it? I was going to recommend him for decoration, and--and other
things.'

In a way I could not understand, my heart grew heavy; I felt as though
I were responsible for it, and that I had failed in my duty. And I had
a sort of feverish desire to know what had become of him.

'Good night, colonel,' I said suddenly, and I hurried away into the
darkness. I felt that at all costs I must find out the truth about
Paul Edgecumbe.

CHAPTER VII

A CAUSE OF FAILURE

In spite of all my inquiries that night, I could discover nothing of a
satisfactory nature. The reports I obtained were conflicting. One man
had it that he was wounded badly, and left dying on No Man's Land;
another told me he had seen him taken prisoner by two Germans; another,
still, that he was seen to break away from them. But everything was
confused and contradictory. The truth was, that there was a great deal
of hand-to-hand fighting, and when that is the case it is ofttimes
difficult to tell what becomes of a single individual. The fact
remained, however, that he was missing, and no one knew anything
definite about him.

As a battalion officer, moreover, I had many duties to perform, and in
spite of my desires, I had to give up my inquiries about him, and
attend to my work.

The following day I was sitting in my quarters, and was on the point of
writing a letter to Lorna Bolivick, telling her what had taken place,
when my orderly informed me that a soldier wished to see me.

'He gave me this, sir,' added Jenkins, handing me a slip of paper.

No sooner did I see it than, starting to my feet, I rushed to the door,
and saw Paul Edgecumbe, pale and wan, but standing erect neverthe