ere he thought
they showed to the best advantage, and seemed altogether in extremely
good form.

At last he became serious and assured us that what he had said was
perfectly true. The mere thought of such an event happening made me feel
quite sick and faint, it was so overwhelming.

The Colonel offered to bet me a box of chocolates the General would
embrace me, as is the custom in France on these occasions, and the
suggestion only added to my fright!

About 11 o'clock as he had said, General Ditte, the governor of the
town, was announced, and in he marched, followed by his two
aides-de-camp in full regalia, the English Base Commandant and Staff
Captain, the Colonel of the hospital, the Belgian General and his two
aides-de-camp, as well as some French naval officers and attaches. Boss,
Eva, and the Sister were the only women present. The little room seemed
full to overflowing, and I wondered if at the supreme moment I would
faint or weep or be sick, or do something similarly foolish. The General
himself was so moved, however, while he read the "citation," and so were
all the rest, that that fact alone seemed to lend me courage. He turned
half way through to one of the aides-de-camp, who fumbled about (like
the best man at a wedding for the ring!) and finally, from his last
pocket, produced the little green case containing the _Croix de Guerre_.

The supreme moment had arrived. The General's fingers trembled as he
lifted the medal from its case and walked forward to pin it on me.
Instead of wearing the usual "helpless" shirt, I had been put into some
of the afore-mentioned Paris frillies for the great occasion, and
suddenly I saw two long skewer-like prongs, like foreign medals always
have, bearing slowly down upon me! "Heavens," I thought, "I shall be
harpooned for a certainty!" Obviously the rest of the room thought so
too, and they all waited expectantly. It was a tense moment--something
had to be done and done quickly. An inspiration came to me. Just in the
nick of time I seized an unembroidered bit firmly between the finger and
thumb of both hands and held it a safe distance from me for the medal to
be fixed; the situation was saved. A sigh of relief (or was it
disappointment?) went up as the General returned to finish the citation,
and contrary to expectation he had not kissed me! He confided to someone
later I looked so white he was afraid I might faint. (It was a pity
about that box of chocolates, I felt!)