ping against the
window on which she had turned her back. Then it dawned on him why she
was standing; he was between the door of escape and herself. He stepped
aside. As she moved eagerly forward, he caught her by the points of her
elbows and arrested her going. The wild violet eyes fluttered up to his
fearfully and fell as he towered over her.

"My very dearest!" He spoke gently in a voice from which all passion had
been purged. "Don't blame me if I simply can't understand. Though I
never become any more to you than I am now, I shall always be your
comrade, believing in you and loving you. Remember that."

When he released her she fled from him, leaving him alone in the shabby
room.

VII

When he found her, she was talking to the girl-soldier in the yard of
the inn. "But do you think that you can manage it, Prentys? It'll be
all right in the open country, but I'm not sure that I want to risk it
in the London traffic. We're merely joy-riding and, if anything happened
to the car when you weren't on military duty----"

"I don't see that we've got much choice, miss," the girl answered. "The
General's orders to me were explicit, and you know what he is: obedience
and no explanations. We've barely time to do it."

Their backs were towards the inn. Tabs strolled up and made a pretense
of inspecting the new tire.

"Anything I can do?" he asked casually.

It was Prentys who answered him. "I sprained my left wrist, sir, back
there along the road." She held it out to him painfully as proof. It was
all bound up and puffy. "It isn't very much use, sir; so I've only one
hand and I don't know whether I'll be able----"

Terry interrupted and took up the running. "I thought that the car was
ours for the day. Prentys has just told me that General Braithwaite
ordered her to pick him up at the War Office this afternoon at
three-thirty. Now that she's sprained her wrist, she'll have to drive so
carefully that there's scarcely time to do it."

Tabs couldn't help smiling at the pompous importance of little people in
this newly enfranchised world. It was only yesterday that for him also
the foibles of Generals had been sacred. Generals had been gods whose
tantrums and mental rheumatics had thrown whole armies into a fume and
fret. For him that day was ended, but it still existed for this slim
girl-soldier. He was sorry for her.

"You needn't be upset," he said kindly. "I haven't renewed my license,
but I can drive. No one's li