ou
remember my telling you she promised to write to me if I'd answer and
let her hear what stunts the air boys were pulling off over here in the
Argonne. Let you read it if you care to, Jack."

"Very good of you, Tom," grinned the other. "But excuse me while I look
over my own letters. And say, perhaps you'll make friends with this
little girl here until I get through. I've got something to tell about
her that will give you a thrill, I reckon."

It was just like Jack to say enough to set his chum guessing, and then
leave him "up in the air" so to speak. Tom looked again at the child. He
could see that he had made no mistake when thinking she was winsome, at
first sight. He also knew that it would be impossible to make Jack talk
until he had read several times over the letter Bessie had written to
him, and it was a very fat letter.

"Come and make friends with me, little girl," Tom said. "Can you speak
English, I wonder, or will I have to try my stumbling French on you?
What is your name?"

"It is Jeanne, M'sieu!" lisped the child, sweetly, and Tom was more than
ever drawn toward her when he saw the appealing smile on her face.

"Jeanne, is it? A very pretty name too. Jeanne what?" he went on. And as
Tom always won the confidence of children by his kindly manner she drew
closer to him, and he took her little hand in his and squeezed it.

"Jeanne Anstey, M'sieu. And my sister's name, it is Helene," she told
him.

"Oh! then you have a sister, have you?" Tom continued. "Where is Helene
just now, Jeanne?"

The child's eyes immediately filled with tears. Still, with a queer
little French shrug that was almost comical in one so very young, she
said pathetically:

"Ah, M'sieu, it is the pity that I do not know. That bad man took her
away while my poor mamma lay dying, trying to hold Helene. Me, mamma hid
from the man. I sometimes wish it had been me he took on his horse with
him, instead of Helene."

Tom began to wonder what lay back of all this. He looked toward Jack, to
see that the other had paused in his reading as if to listen.

"Tell you all about it as soon as I get through this letter from my
mother, Tom," the other remarked. "Well worth waiting to hear, too, I
give you my word. One of the queerest things that ever happened to me.
I've already more than half promised Jeanne we'll try our level best to
find Helene, her twin sister, for her."

"Nice of you I'm sure," chuckled Tom; "but I want to hear what i