t depresses me."

Then Bianca's manner and expression changed.

Standing in the yard before the castle were a group of their friends
waiting to receive them.

Dr. Clark had arrived in Coblenz a number of hours before his wife and
had already taken command of the new Red Cross hospital for American
soldiers. He and his wife had not seen each other in nearly a month, as
they had made the journey to the Rhine with different portions of the
army.

With Dr. Clark were other members of his Red Cross staff and several
representatives of the German Red Cross, who were to turn over certain
supplies.

Unexpectedly a private soldier formed one of the group, who must have
received permission from his superior officer to share in the welcome to
his friends.

The young man was Carlo Navara.

Bianca extended her hand like a child for Carlo to assist her out of the
car.

"I was never so glad to see you before," she announced. "I don't care
what the other Red Cross girls may say, but I have found the journey to
the Rhine since we left Luxemburg extremely tiresome."

CHAPTER XII

_New Year's Eve in Coblenz_

THERE was no great difficulty in establishing the American Red Cross
hospital at Coblenz. Dr. Clark had a large and efficient staff who were
accustomed to working with him and naturally the demands were not so
severe as in time of war.

Indeed Dr. Clark had no idea of asking the same degree of energy and
devotion which the last six months of fighting had required of every
human being in any way engaged in the great struggle in Europe. A
reasonable amount of work and of discipline was as necessary for the
hospital staff as for the soldiers and officers of the American Army of
Occupation engaged in their new duty of policing the Rhine. Yet whenever
it was possible opportunity was given for freedom and pleasure.

There were but few of the expected difficulties between the Americans
and the Germans which the people of both nations had feared. A certain
friction of course and suspicion and gossip about secret plots, but no
open quarreling or dissension.

The new Red Cross hospital occupied an old castle which had formerly
been used as a German hospital, although the last German wounded had
been removed before the arrival of the American army.

The castle itself stood on a hill with a drop of a hundred feet to the
bank of the Rhine, a path led down the hill to the river's edge.
Crowning the summit were two old