s
excited at the thought . . .

They did not show it by an excessive consumption of indigestible fruit,
or by bursting into unmelodious song. True, the greatest of all the
"Q" men, who had come officially from a Nissen hut near Poperinghe to
study the question of salvaged materials at the base, had waved a
friendly hand at all the ladies--beautiful and otherwise--whom they
met. But then save for salvage he was much as other men. And with
that exception they just lay back in the car and thought; while the
trees that were green rushed past them, and war was not.

Thus had they come to the sea. To-morrow once more the flat, dusty
country with the heat haze shimmering over it and every now and then
the dull drone of some bursting crump, or the vicious crack of high
explosive. Behind, the same old row of balloons; in front, the same
old holes in the ground. . . . But to-day--peace. . . .

Vane thoughtfully stirred the pale straw-coloured concoction reputed to
be tea on the table in front of him. The remark Margaret had made to
him on the beach was running through his mind--"The new Heaven and the
new Earth." Yes, but on what foundations? And would they be allowed
to anyway? Reconstruction is work for the politician--not for the
soldier. . . . Most certainly not. . . . The soldier's ignorance on
every subject in the world except fighting is complete. And even over
that he's not all he might be: he requires quite a lot of help from
lawyers, doctors, and successful grocers. . . . In fact, the only
thing he is allowed to do quite on his own is to die . . .

Vane smiled a little bitterly, and Margaret leaned across the table
towards him. "You'll get it back soon, Derek--believe me, old boy."

"That's very possible. But will the people at home? I'm jangled,
Margaret, I know it--just for the time. . . . However, don't let's
talk about me. Tell me about yourself. . . ."

The girl shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I don't know that there's
much to tell. I've never been so happy in my life as I am at
present . . ."

"In spite of all that?" He pointed out of the window to two soldiers
limping painfully by on sticks.

"Yes--in spite of all that. One gets accustomed to that--and one's
doing something. After all, Derek, you get accustomed to death and
mutilation up there in front. It doesn't affect you. . . ."

"No, not to the same extent as it did. In a way, I suppose not at all.
But you--you were so