though she may soon get over it she will never be quite the same as she
was before. If one wasn't so weighed down with work, and had so many
serious matters to think of, she would be an interesting study. I never
quite understood what on earth she is in Paris for by herself at such a
time as this. But there is something that will give me other matters to
think of."

The something was an ambulance wagon which, a minute later, drew up in
front of the hospital, and from that moment there was, indeed, no time
for doctor or nurses to give a thought to anything save the wounded men
who continued to pour in until fully half the 200 beds were occupied.
All these men belonged to Vinoy's division. Dr. Swinburne would take no
more. There was already more work to do than he could get through before
next morning, and none of the wounded who came in later from beyond the
Marne were received there, but were distributed among the other
hospitals and ambulances, at all of which preparations on a very large
scale had been made.

By morning the most pressing part of the work had been done. The wounded
had been made as far as possible comfortable. Some of the bullets had
been extracted, some of the most urgent amputations made. A fresh batch
of nurses arrived to take the places of the white-faced women who had
nobly and steadily-borne their part in the trying work of the night.

"I thank you all, ladies," the doctor said, as they gathered outside the
tents before going away. "Your assistance has been invaluable; no
trained nurses could have shown more nerve and pluck than you have done.
I have just learned that it is not likely that there will be a renewal
of the fighting to-day, and you can therefore go home with the
conviction that you can take your twenty-four hours off duty without
fear that there will be any pressure in your absence. I am going to lie
down myself for three hours. Even a surgeon has nerves, and I must keep
mine steady. There are several operations that must be performed this
afternoon and some bullets to hunt up. I beg you all to force yourselves
to take something as soon as you get to your homes, and then to go to
bed and sleep as long as you can."

It did not seem to Mary Brander when she started that she would be able
to walk home, but the keen air revived her and she kept on until she
entered Madame Michaud's flat.

"Mon Dieu, my child, how white you look," the French lady exclaimed, as
the girl entered the ro