k quite ordinary people. Not one of them has a
terrible or a brutal face. They look just like our men--in
fact rather less soldierly than our men; the sort of chaps you
might see walking along a street in Witanbury any day. One of
them looked so rosy and sunburnt, so _English_, that we
mentioned it to the interpreter. He translated it to the man,
and I couldn't help being amused to see that he looked rather
sick at being told he looked like an Englishman. Another man,
who I'm bound to say did not look English at all, had actually
lived sixteen years in London, and he talked in quite a
Cockney way."

Anna read on:

"I have at last got into a very comfortable billet. As a
matter of fact it's a pill factory belonging to an eccentric
old man called Puteau. All over the house, inside and out, he
has had painted two huge P's, signifying _Pilules Puteau_. For
a long time no use was made of the building, as it was thought
too good a mark. But for some reason or other the Boches have
left it alone. Be that as it may, one of our fellows
discovered a very easy way of reaching it from the back, and
now no one could tell the place is occupied, in fact packed,
with our fellows. The best point about it is that there is a
huge sink, as large as a bath. You can imagine what a
comfort----"

And then the letter broke off. Rose had only left that part of it she
thought would interest her old nurse. The beginning and the end were not
there.

Anna looked at the sheets of closely-written paper in front of her
consideringly. There was not a word about food or kit--not a word, that
is, which by any stretch of the imagination could be of any use to a man
like Mr. Head in his business. On the other hand, there was not a word
in the letter which Miss Rose could dislike any one reading. The old
woman was shrewd enough to know that. She would like Mr. Head to see
that letter, for it would prove to him that her ladies did receive
letters from officers. And the next one might after all contain
something useful.

She looked up at the kitchen clock. It was now four o'clock. And then a
sudden thought made up good old Anna's mind for her.

Miss Rose had said she did not want any meat for her supper; but she
was fond of macaroni cheese. Anna would never have thought of making
that dish with any cheese but Parmesan, and she had no Parmesan