me to
stay behind. You said yourself everybody was wanted, and I'm in a
Service like you. Please don't be angry, Dick.'

I wasn't angry, I wasn't even extra anxious. The whole thing seemed to
have been planned by fate since the creation of the world. The game we
had been engaged in wasn't finished and it was right that we should
play it out together. With that feeling came a conviction, too, of
ultimate victory. Somehow or sometime we should get to the end of our
pilgrimage. But I remembered Mary's forebodings about the sacrifice
required. The best of us. That ruled me out, but what about her?

I caught her to my arms. 'Goodbye, my very dearest. Don't worry about
me, for mine's a soft job and I can look after my skin. But oh! take
care of yourself, for you are all the world to me.'

She kissed me gravely like a wise child.

'I am not afraid for you,' she said. 'You are going to stand in the
breach, and I know--I know you will win. Remember that there is someone
here whose heart is so full of pride of her man that it hasn't room for
fear.'

As I went out of the convent door I felt that once again I had been
given my orders.

* * * * *

It did not surprise me that, when I sought out my room on an upper
floor of the Hotel de France, I found Blenkiron in the corridor. He was
in the best of spirits.

'You can't keep me out of the show, Dick,' he said, 'so you needn't
start arguing. Why, this is the one original chance of a lifetime for
John S. Blenkiron. Our little fight at Erzerum was only a side-show,
but this is a real high-class Armageddon. I guess I'll find a way to
make myself useful.'

I had no doubt he would, and I was glad he had stayed behind. But I
felt it was hard on Peter to have the job of returning to England alone
at such a time, like useless flotsam washed up by a flood.

'You needn't worry,' said Blenkiron. 'Peter's not making England this
trip. To the best of my knowledge he has beat it out of this township
by the eastern postern. He had some talk with Sir Archibald Roylance,
and presently other gentlemen of the Royal Flying Corps appeared, and
the upshot was that Sir Archibald hitched on to Peter's grip and
departed without saying farewell. My notion is that he's gone to have a
few words with his old friends at some flying station. Or he might have
the idea of going back to England by aeroplane, and so having one last
flutter before he folds his wings. Anyh