ho talks of war?" cried little Mrs. Applegate, coming breezily up
to them from the depths, where she had probably been giving some very
important instructions for dinner. "I won't have the ugly word spoken on
board my ship. Why, everybody looks as if they had seen a ghost. What
have you been talking about?"

"Why, you heard, my dear," said her husband, kindly. "We were simply
discussing the possibility of----"

"Stop!" shrieked the little woman, clapping her hands to her ears. "I
won't have it! Somebody start the phonograph--do!"

Gordon laughingly obeyed and soon they were all dancing merrily as if the
great cloud of war were not hanging over all Europe. When the young folks
were tired of dancing they settled themselves comfortably on the deck,
talking, laughing, singing college songs, and otherwise enjoying
themselves.

It was not till evening, when they had bidden their hosts good-night,
after thanking them heartily for "the most glorious day they had ever
spent," that the topic of the afternoon was again referred to.

"Do you think there is really any possibility of war?" Lucile asked of
Archie, as they were nearing the hotel.

"There's no telling," he answered, seriously. "It looks rather like it
now. You and I needn't worry, anyhow; we won't get any of it. Unless," he
added, whimsically, "unless you should decide to go as a Red Cross nurse.
Then I might even desert the Red, White and Blue and volunteer my
services in the war."

And so they parted, with an almost imperceptible cloud shadowing their
gayety. Little did Archie think, when he declared so confidently that
"they wouldn't get any of it," that before the summer was over, they
would experience to some infinitesimal extent the cruel, relentless,
crushing power of that tremendous grinding machine men term--WAR!

CHAPTER XX

CROSSING THE CHANNEL

Two days later our party started for France by way of Dover. They parted
regretfully from their friends, who were obliged to remain in London a
few days longer, and it is safe to say the others, the boys at least,
were even more sorry to part from them. They had not expected any one to
see them off, and so it was a complete surprise when they found, not only
the Dickensons and Archie, but all the rest of the jolly yachting party,
waiting to say good-by to them and speed them on their way.

Our girls were showered with good wishes and pleadings from the boys not
to "forget them altogether in the ga