omfort in these
rumours, but Mrs. Otway heard the news with very mixed feelings. It
seemed to her scarcely fair that a Russian army should come, as it were,
on the sly, to attack the Germans in France--and she did not like to
feel that England would for ever and for aye have to be grateful to
Russia for having sent an army to her help.

* * * * *

It was the morning of the 18th of August--exactly a fortnight, that is,
since England's declaration of war on Germany. Coming down to breakfast,
Mrs. Otway suddenly realised what a very, very long fortnight this had
been--the longest fortnight in her life as a grown-up woman. She felt
what she very seldom was, depressed, and as she went into the
dining-room she was sorry to see that there was a sullen look on old
Anna's face.

"Good morning!" she said genially in German. And in reply the old
servant, after a muttered "Good morning, gracious lady," went on, in a
tone of suppressed anger, "Did you not tell me that the English were not
going to fight my people? That it was all a mistake?"

Mrs. Otway looked surprised. "Yes, I feel sure that no soldiers are
going abroad," she said quietly. "The Dean says that our Army is to be
kept at home, to defend our shores, Anna."

She spoke rather coldly; there was a growing impression in Witanbury
that the Germans might try to invade England, and behave here as they
were behaving in Belgium. Though Mrs. Otway and Rose tried to believe
that the horrible stories of burning and murder then taking place in
Flanders were exaggerated, still some of them were very circumstantial
and, in fact, obviously true.

Languidly, for there never seemed any real news nowadays, she opened
wide her newspaper. And then her heart gave a leap! Printed right across
the page, in huge black letters, ran the words:

"BRITISH EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN FRANCE."

And underneath, in smaller type:

"LANDED AT BOULOGNE WITHOUT A SINGLE CASUALTY."

Then Major Guthrie had been right and the Dean wrong? And this was why
Anna had spoken as she had done just now, in that rather rude and
injured tone?

Later in the morning, when she met the Dean, he showed himself, as might
have been expected, very frank and genial about the matter.

"I have to admit that I was wrong," he observed; "quite wrong. I
certainly thought it impossible that any British troops could cross the
Channel till a decisive fleet action had been fought. And,