fles.

"And it might be as well," she added, "to take Miss Aggie with you. She
is wet through, and will undoubtedly before long have a return of her
hay fever, which with her has no season. A sneeze at a critical time
might easily ruin us."

Aggie, however, absolutely refused to return, and said that by holding
her nostrils closed and her mouth open she could, if she felt the
paroxysm coming on, sneeze almost noiselessly. She said also that
though not related to her by blood Charlie Sands was as dear as her own,
and that if turned back she would go to V---- alone and, if captured, at
least suffer imprisonment with him.

Tish was quite touched, I could see, and on the two men departing to
attempt the salvage of the required weapons she assisted me in wringing
out Aggie's clothing and in making her as comfortable as possible.

We waited for some time, eating chocolate to restore our strength, and
attempting to comfort Mr. Burton, who was very surly.

"It has been my trouble all my life," he observed bitterly, "not to
leave well enough alone. I hadn't any hope of the success of this
expedition before, but now I know you'll pull it off. You'll get Sands
and you'll get Weber and send him back--to--well, you understand. It's
just my luck. I'm not complaining, but if I'm killed and he isn't I'm
going to haunt that Y hut and make it darned unpleasant for both of
them."

Tish reproved him for debasing the future life to such purposes, but he
was firm.

"If you think I'm going to stand round and be walked through and sat on,
and all the indignities that ghosts must suffer, without getting back,"
he said gloomily, "you can think again, Miss Tish!"

When the two men returned Tish gave them a brief talking-to.

"First of all," she said, "there must be no mistake as to who is in
command of this expedition. If we succeed it will be by finesse rather
than force, and that is distinctly a feminine quality. Second, there is
to be no unnecessary fighting. We are here to secure my nephew, not the
German Army."

The man we had bumped off the step of the ambulance, whose name proved
to be Jim, said at once that that last sentence had relieved his mind
greatly. A few prisoners wouldn't put them out seriously, but the Allies
were feeding more than they could afford already.

"But a few won't matter," he added. "Say, a dozen or so. They won't kick
on that."

* * * * *

I have never learned where Ti