cool in their behaviour. The concierge, of
whom one usually expects servility, proved surly, the waiter calmly
insolent. The delay seemed interminable, so Kitty and I sat down and
wrote letters, but we found it was of no use to post them, as none
were going out of the country; so we put them in our handbags. Then
Lyra and I went off in a taxi to the garage to inquire for the car,
and found it just ready. As the luggage was being stacked on, two
American girls came to ask us how we were going to get out of the
country. Lyra offered to take them with us, but they refused because
they had not packed up!

At last we were off once more--thankful to be moving, and for some
time we were able to enjoy the pretty pastoral scenery, and the
charming little houses with black timbering set in their red brick.
Our new car was a poor substitute for the Benz,--which had returned to
Berlin for war duty,--and our handsome boy had given place to a
stolid son of the soil with one green and one blue eye, a kindly soul,
who radiated confidence. Outside Schloss Lippe he stopped to shift one
of the trunks. Up sauntered an official and asked for his papers,
which he produced. Then once more we headed in the direction of
Minden.

"_Halt._" A cordon of soldiers with bayonets across the road put an
end to all appreciation of scenery. The "Halt" was very decisive, as
well it might be on such an occasion, and we were surrounded by
boys--fair-haired, smiling boys, with whom we laughed and talked as
much as our limited vocabularies permitted. The chauffeur's pass was
produced, and proved satisfactory. If all "Halts" were going to be
such friendly affairs, we felt we were in for a merry day. We waived
adieus to our youthful soldiers, but within a few hundred yards came
another "Halt," and then another, and another. The fifth time we
realized hand-waving and friendly salutations were not going to get
us very far. Our trunks were to be examined. Our friendly chauffeur
pleaded for us, but he was squashed. "This is war time. Examination
must be made and no risks taken."

"Yes, but these are children. They only want to get out of the
country."

Now, when a woman has said good-by to the popular age of thirty-five,
she thinks kindly of a man who includes her amongst the "children," so
never shall I forget the chauffeur with bi-coloured eyes! The young
man with normal vision would take no risks, and we soon all joined in
the game. We pressed our keys up