Eu, Abbeville, Montreuil, Bologne, Marquise, and Calais, getting to
Dunkerque a little after four, just in time to smell the smoke of a
couple of bombs dropped by an aeroplane across the street from the
office of the Prime Minister, upon whom I called.

We began running into big bunches of troops at Abbeville--English,
French and Belgian. I saw some of the Indian troops doing sentry duty
and looking cold and uncomfortable, and did not blame them, for it was
raw and cheerless. The Rolls-Royce is a beauty and sailed along all day
like a gondola.

The Prime Minister had set up his office in the Mayor's room at the
Hotel de Ville, which I found in an uproar because of the bombs. The
Prime Minister was said to be at Headquarters, at Furnes, across the
Belgian frontier, and I was urged to go there to see him. We made
twenty-one kilometers there, in time to find that little town in a great
state of excitement, because three big shells had come from nobody knew
where, and burst by the railroad station.

But the Prime Minister was not there, and it was dark, so we gathered up
a guide and set off for la Panne, where the King and Queen are living.
Neither of them was there; nobody but a gendarme on duty. The King was
off with the troops and the Queen was looking after the wounded, who
have overflowed all the hospitals. In the past week--just this one
engagement--the Belgians have suffered 12,000 casualties.

The road from Furnes to la Panne and back lay close behind the lines, so
that we could hear the steady roar of the fighting and see the bursting
shells, particularly those from the British ships, which made a
tremendous flash and roar.

We came on back to town, being stopped every minute by French outposts,
and got to this hostelry at seven-thirty. While I was cleaning up, the
Prime Minister came in and claimed me for dinner. He had his secretary,
Count Lichtervelde, A.B., who is here looking after the wounded, and a
couple of officers. And _then_ we talked until the hands dropped off the
clock and I was nearly dead for sleep. Then I took A.B. home to her
hospital, through the streets darkened for the benefit of Count
Zeppelin, and _now_ I _am_ ready for my rest.

I have plans for to-morrow, but shall see what happens to them when I
see the Prime Minister in the morning.

* * * * *

_October 29th._--Still at Dunkerque.

Another busy and interesting day, and if all go