ry near the
Front. And Rene unquestionably held a gun. Tales of German brutalities
to women had come and were coming constantly to their ears. Mabel
Andrews had written to them for supplies, and she had added to the
chapter of horrors.

Briefly, the sense of the meeting was that Harvey had been brutal, but
that he was right. An older woman in a safe place they might continue
to support, but none of them would assume the responsibility of the
crushing out of a young girl's life.

To be quite frank, possibly Harvey's appeal would have carried less
weight had it not coincided with Sara Lee's request for more money.
Neither one alone would have brought about the catastrophe, but
altogether they made question and answer, problem and solution. Money
was scarce. Demands were heavy. None of them except Mrs. Gregory had
more than just enough. And there was this additional situation to face:
there was no end of the war in sight; it gave promise now of going on
indefinitely.

Joifre had said, "I nibble them." But to nibble a hole in the Germany
Army might take years. They had sent Sara Lee for a few months. How
about keeping her there indefinitely?

Oddly enough, it was Harvey's sister Belle who made the only protest
against the recall.

"Of course, I want her back," she said slowly. "You'd understand better
if you had to live with Harvey. I'm sorry, Mrs. Gregory, that he spoke
to you as he did, but he's nearly crazy." She eyed the assembly with
her tired shrewd eyes. "I'm no talker," she went on, "but Sara Lee has
done a big thing. We don't realize, I guess, how big it is. And I
think we'll just about kill her if we bring her home."

"Better to do that than to have her killed over there," some one said.

And in spite of Belle's protest, that remained the sense of the meeting.
It was put to the vote and decided to recall Sara Lee. She could bring
a report of conditions, and if she thought it wise an older woman could
go later, to a safer place.

Belle was very quiet that evening. After dinner she went to Harvey's
room and found him dressing to go out.

"I'm going with a crowd to the theater," he said. "First week of the
summer stock company, you know."

He tied his tie defiantly, avoiding Belle's eyes in the mirror.

"Harvey," she said, "they're going to bring Sara Lee home."

He said nothing, but his hands shook somewhat. "And I think," Belle
said, "that you will be sorry for what you have done--all the rest of
yo