She was, I remember, sitting on
a rock directing Mr. Burton, who was changing a tire.

"A raid?" she said. "What sort of a raid?"

"To capture Germans, Tish."

"A lot of chance he'll have!" she said with a sniff. "What does he know
about raids? And you'd think to hear you talk, Lizzie, that pulling
Germans out of a trench was as easy as letting a dog out after a
neighbor's cat. It's like Pershing and all the rest of them," she added
bitterly, "to take a left-handed newspaper man, who can't shut his right
eye to shoot with the left, and start him off alone to take the whole
German Army."

"He wouldn't go alone," said Mr. Burton.

"Certainly not!" Tish retorted. "I know him, and you don't, Mr. Burton.
He'll not go alone. Of course not! He'll pick out a lot of men who play
good bridge, or went to college with him, or belong to his fraternity,
or can sing, or some such reason, and----"

Here to my great surprise she flung down one of our two last remaining
teacups and retired precipitately into the ruins. Not for us to witness
her majestic grief. Rachel--or was it Naomi?--mourning for her children.

However, in a short time she reappeared and stated that she was sick of
fooling round on back roads, and that we would now go directly to the
Front.

"We'll never pull it off," Mr. Burton said to me in an undertone.

"She has never failed, Mr. Burton," I reminded him gravely.

Before we started Mr. Burton saw Hilda, but he came back looking morose
and savage. He came directly to me.

"Look me over," he said. "Do I look queer or anything?"

"Not at all," I replied.

"Look again. I don't seem to be dying on my feet, do I? Anything wan
about me? I don't totter with feebleness, do I?"

"You look as strong as a horse," I said somewhat acidly.

"Then I wish to thunder you'd tell me," he stormed, "why that
girl--that--well, you know who I mean--why the deuce she should first
giggle all over the place when she sees me, and then baby me like an
idiot child? 'Here's a chair,' she'd say, and 'Do be careful of
yourself'; and when I recovered from that enough to stand up like a man
and ask for a cup of coffee she said I ought to take soup; it was
strengthening!"

Fortunately Tish gave the signal to start just then, and we moved out.
Hilda was standing in her doorway when we passed, and I thought she
looked rather forlorn. She blew kisses to us, but Mr. Burton only
saluted stiffly and looked away. I have often considered