The room was empty. Hazelden was not there. Zaidos' heart dropped.
Had he died?

Helen answered the question in his face. She came to meet Zaidos. Her
eyes shone, her cheeks were the loveliest pink. Her step was light.

"Well?" said Zaidos.

"More than well!" said Helen. "Oh, John, it is wonderful! Wonderful!
And you brought me my happiness! I am to be transferred to the field
hospital tomorrow, where I can nurse him myself. He will live; he
_must_ live! We could not talk, but he knew me. And I know everything
is all right!"

"Certainly it's all right!" said Zaidos. "Didn't I tell you so? I
knew just how it would be," and the hero of a single ballroom looked as
wise as only a fellow could who had been dead-crazy over a girl all one
evening.

"What are you going to do about things?" asked Zaidos. "Go on being
engaged?"

"Indeed I'm not!" said Helen as she bathed the soldier's head. "Not at
all! Just as soon as he can hold my hand, we will be married by the
chaplain. I'll never, never risk another misunderstanding!"

"See that you don't!" said Zaidos quite gruffly.

CHAPTER IX

VISIONS

While Zaidos, aided by Velo, continued his heart-rending task among the
dead and wounded on that bloody field, now applying the tourniquet to
some emptying artery, now administering, drop by drop, the stimulant
needed to hold life in some poor fellow, hurrying back with others on
their stretcher, or giving way to the fearless and pitiful priests who
moved among the dying--while all these things happened, it would be
well to pause and reflect on the wise preparation which had made it
possible for Zaidos to do well his allotted task.

As a Boy Scout, and in the extra work of school, he had taken a keen
interest in the Red Cross work. Zaidos was the sort of a fellow who
takes a keen pleasure in doing things well. He stood well in his
classes always, not for the benefit of school marks, but because he
thought that if he studied at all, he might as well be thorough about
it and try to get at what the "book Johnny," as the boys called the
textbook writers, really was driving at. It was the same with
athletics. He had jumped higher and run faster than anyone else in
school, not so much because he was quick and light and agile, but
because, having found out that he could run and jump and put up a good
boost for the team at other sports, he practiced every spare moment he
could find. Zaidos was always try