the spirit of the
people and the army, and--" He threw a happy smile toward Marta.

"Perhaps it ought to be Galland Day rather than Lanstron Day," remarked
the vice-chief. "The crowds at the capital when they know her part might
cheer her more frenziedly than you, general."

"No, no--please, no!" Marta was hectic in alarm and protest.

"Your secret is ours! It's in the family!" the vice-chief hastened to
assure her. Where could a secret be safe if not in the keeping of an
army staff?

"That was almost like teasing!" she exclaimed with a laugh of relief.

"We're all in pretty good humor," remarked the vice-chief. He seemed to
have a pleasant taste in his mouth that would last him for life.

Then Marta saw their faces grow businesslike and keen, as they gathered
around the table, with Lanstron at the head. They were oblivious of her
presence, immured in a man's world of war.

"Your orders were obeyed. We have not passed a single white post yet!"
said the vice-chief impatiently. "As the Grays never expected to take
the defensive, their fortresses are inferior. Every hour we wait means
more time for them to fortify, more time to recover from their
demoralization. Our dirigibles having command of the air--we had a
wireless from one reporting all clear half-way to the Gray capital--why,
we shall know their concentrations while they are ignorant of ours. It's
the nation's great opportunity to gain enough provinces to even the
balance of population with the Grays. With the unremitting offensive,
blow on blow, using the spirit of our men to drive in mass attacks at
the right points, the Gray range is ours!"

Marta scanned the faces of the staff for some sign of dissent only to
find nothing but the ardor of victory calling for more victory, which
reflected the feeling of the coursing crowds in the capital. Though
Lanny wished to stop the war, he was only a chip on the crest of a wave.
Public opinion, which had made him an idol, would discard him as soon as
he ceased to be a hero in the likeness of its desires. She saw him aloof
as the others, in preoccupation, bent over the map outlining the plan of
attack that they had worked out while awaiting their chief's return from
the charge. He was taking a paper from his pocket and looking from one
to another of his colleagues studiously; and she was conscious of that
determination in his smile which she had first seen when he rose from
the wreck of his plane.

"This is from Pa