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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army, by 
+Margaret Vandercook
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army
+
+Author: Margaret Vandercook
+
+Release Date: July 18, 2007 [EBook #22095]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Linda McKeown, Jacqueline Jeremy
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY
+
+[Illustration: BARBARA PRESENTED HIM WITH THE ELECTRIC LAMP.
+(_See page 150._)]
+
+
+
+
+  The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army
+
+  By
+  MARGARET VANDERCOOK
+
+  Author of "The Ranch Girls Series," "Stories
+  about Camp Fire Girls Series," etc.
+
+  Illustrated
+
+  The John C. Winston Company
+  Philadelphia
+
+  Copyright, 1916, by
+  THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+  CHAPTER                              PAGE
+
+      I. A PEASANT'S HUT IN RUSSIA        7
+
+     II. A FORMER ACQUAINTANCE           23
+
+    III. GENERAL ALEXIS                  37
+
+     IV. AN ENCOUNTER                    53
+
+      V. OUT OF THE PAST                 67
+
+     VI. THE ARREST                      80
+
+    VII. A RUSSIAN CHURCH                92
+
+   VIII. ANOTHER WARNING                104
+
+     IX. THE ATTACK                     118
+
+      X. MILDRED'S OPPORTUNITY          134
+
+     XI. A RUSSIAN RETREAT              148
+
+    XII. PETROGRAD                      158
+
+   XIII. THE NEXT STEP                  174
+
+    XIV. MILDRED'S RETURN               191
+
+     XV. THE WINTER PALACE              206
+
+    XVI. THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS         217
+
+   XVII. THE DEPARTURE                  236
+
+  XVIII. A POEM AND A CONVERSATION      247
+
+    XIX. THE REUNION                    256
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_A Peasant's Hut in Russia_
+
+
+In the last volume of the Red Cross series the four American girls spent
+six months in tragic little Belgium. There, in an American hospital in
+Brussels, devoted to the care, not of wounded soldiers, but of ill
+Belgians, three of the girls lived and worked.
+
+But Eugenia went alone to dwell in a house in the woods because the cry
+of the children in Belgium made the strongest appeal to her. The house
+was a lonely one, supposed to be haunted, yet in spite of this Eugenia
+moved in. There the money of the girl whom her friend had once believed
+"poor as a church mouse" fed and cared for her quickly acquired family.
+
+In Eugenia's haunted house were other sojourners furnishing the mystery
+of this story and endangering her liberty, almost her life. They were a
+Belgian officer and his family whom the Red Cross girl kept in hiding.
+Somehow the officer had managed to return to his own country from the
+fighting line in Belgium. After securing the papers he desired from the
+enemy, by Eugenia's aid, he was enabled to return once more to King
+Albert and the Allied armies. Thus Eugenia was left alone to bear the
+brunt of the German displeasure after the discovery of her misdeeds. She
+was imprisoned in Brussels, and became dangerously ill. Finally, because
+she was an American, Eugenia was made to leave the country, rather than
+to suffer the punishment which would have been hers had she belonged to
+another nationality.
+
+But the four American Red Cross girls also had the companionship of Dick
+Thornton during their stay in the once lovely capital of Belgium.
+
+Dick had not recovered the use of his arm, but in spite of this had come
+to Brussels to help with the work of the American Relief society.
+
+Here his once friendly relation with Barbara Meade no longer existed.
+Because of her change of attitude he apparently grew more attached to
+Nona Davis.
+
+However, at the close of the story, when Barbara is taking Eugenia back
+to southern France, she and Dick unexpectedly meet aboard a fog-bound
+ship. And in the darkness the light finally shines when Dick and Barbara
+discover at last that their feeling for each other is stronger than
+friendship.
+
+Later, near "the pool of truth" not far from the "Farmhouse with the
+Blue Front Door," Eugenia Peabody again meets Captain Henri Castaigne,
+the young French officer whom she had once nursed back to health. A
+short time afterwards he and Eugenia are married.
+
+Later the three other American Red Cross girls decide to continue their
+nursing of the wounded soldiers of the Allied armies in far-off Russia.
+
+One cold October afternoon three American girls were standing in the
+stone courtyard of a great Russian fortress near the border line of
+Poland.
+
+Situated upon a cone-shaped hill, the fort itself had been built like
+the three sides of a square, with the yard as the center. Along the
+fourth side ran a cement wall with a single iron gate.
+
+Evidently the three girls were engaged in Red Cross work, for they wore
+the familiar service uniforms. One of them had on a heavy coat and cap,
+but the other two must have just come out of doors for a few moments.
+
+Indeed, their first words revealed this fact.
+
+"I really don't feel that you should be starting upon this expedition
+alone, Nona," Mildred Thornton argued. She was a tall girl, with heavy,
+flaxen hair and quiet, steel-gray eyes. She was gazing anxiously about
+her, for Russia was a new and strange world to the three American Red
+Cross nurses, who had arrived at their present headquarters only a few
+weeks before.
+
+Nearly a year had passed since the four friends separated in Belgium.
+Then Mildred and Nona Davis had remained at their posts to care for the
+homeless Belgian children, while Barbara Meade and Eugenia Peabody
+returned to southern France.
+
+Now at the close of Mildred Thornton's speech to Nona, Barbara Meade
+frowned. She was poised on one foot as if expecting to flee at any
+moment.
+
+"I quite agree with you, Mildred," she protested. "Nona's message was
+far too mysterious and vague to consider answering. We must not forget
+that we are now in a country and among a people whom we don't understand
+in the least. Besides, I promised both Dick and Eugenia that we would be
+more careful. How I wish one or the other of them were here to advise
+us!"
+
+Shivering, Barbara, who was the youngest and smallest of the girls,
+slipped her arm through Mildred's.
+
+A few yards before them sentries were marching slowly up and down, with
+their rifles resting on their shoulders, while a double row guarded a
+single wide gate. Every now and then a common soldier passed on his way
+to the performance of some special duty. Gray and colorless, the
+afternoon had a peculiar dampness as if the wind had blown across acres
+of melting snow.
+
+Nevertheless in reply to her friends' objections Nona Davis shook her
+head.
+
+"Yes, I realize you may both be right, and yet so urgent was my message
+that I feel compelled to do what was asked of me. But don't worry about
+me, I have the letter with the directions safe in my pocket. Good-by."
+
+Then before either of the other girls could find time to argue the point
+a second time, the young southern girl had kissed each of them and
+turned away. Later they saw her give the password at the gate and the
+sentry allow her to pass out.
+
+Before her lay a stretch of sparsely settled country divided by a wide
+and much traveled road. Several miles further along a wide river crossed
+the land, but near at hand there were only small farms and meagre clumps
+of pine woods.
+
+After a few more words of disapproval, Barbara Meade shrugged her
+shoulders, and then she and Mildred re-entered the small curved doorway
+of the Russian fort. The left wing was being used as a hospital for the
+wounded, while the rest of the great fortification was crowded with
+officers and soldiers.
+
+These men were being held in reserve to await the threatened invasion of
+the oncoming German hosts. Warsaw had fallen and one by one the ancient
+Russian fortifications once deemed invincible had given way before the
+German guns. But here at Grovno, under the command of the great General
+Alexis, the Russians were to make a final stand.
+
+However, without thinking of anything save personal matters, Nona Davis
+first set out along the main traveled road. Now and then she was
+compelled to step aside to let a great ox cart go past; these carts
+were filled with provisions being brought into the fort. Occasionally a
+covered car rattled past loaded with munitions of war, or a heavy piece
+of artillery drawn on low trucks. But one would like to have seen a far
+greater quantity of supplies of all kinds being brought to the old
+fortress. It was an open secret that the supply of munitions was not
+what it should be, and yet Grovno was expected to withstand all attacks.
+
+But the young American girl was not reflecting upon the uncertainties of
+war during her walk. Neither did she feel any nervousness because of the
+newness of her surroundings, for the country in the rear of the
+fortifications was chiefly inhabited by Russian women and children and a
+few old men.
+
+Nona walked on quickly and with a speed and careless grace that covered
+the ground without apparent effort.
+
+She was looking extremely well, but above all other things Nona Davis
+appeared supremely interested. For some reason, still unknown to her,
+she had been more stirred and excited by the coming into Russia than any
+country she had yet seen. She both admired and feared the Russian
+people, with their curious combination of poetry and stupidity, of
+dullness and passion. Before returning to her own land she meant to try
+and understand them better. For somewhere she had read that the future
+art of the world was to come forth from Russia. It is the Slavic
+temperament and not the Anglo-Saxon that best expresses itself in music
+and literature.
+
+Nona's errand this afternoon was a curious and puzzling one, fraught
+with unnecessary mystery.
+
+Four days before, a Russian boy about twelve years old had appeared at
+the gate of the fortress at Grovno, bearing a note addressed to Miss
+Nona Davis. Oddly enough, although the note was written in perfect
+English, it was not signed. In spite of this it requested that the
+American girl come to a small house about a mile and a half away to see
+a former friend.
+
+But who the friend could be, not one of the three girls could imagine.
+Yet they scarcely talked of anything else. Nona had no acquaintances in
+Russia save the people she had met in connection with her work, and
+there was no one in her past whom she could possibly conceive of having
+come into Russia as a tourist at such a time.
+
+Therefore it was Mildred Thornton's and Barbara Meade's opinion that
+Nona should pay not the slightest heed to such a communication.
+Anonymous letters lead to nothing but evil. But in spite of their
+objections, here at the first possible opportunity Nona was obeying the
+behest. Probably she could not have explained why, for she was too
+sensible not to appreciate that possible discomfort and even danger
+might lie ahead of her. Perhaps as much as anything she was actuated by
+a spirit of sheer adventure.
+
+So it is little wonder that during her walk Nona's thoughts were now and
+then engaged with her own affairs. Yet after a little her attention
+wandered from the immediate future and she fell to recalling the
+history of the past years' experiences, her own and her three friends.
+
+No wonder Barbara was often lonely and homesick for Dick Thornton.
+
+She had become engaged to him on the fog-bound trip she had made with
+him in getting Eugenia safely out of Belgium. Remembering Eugenia's
+escape, Nona said a short prayer of thankfulness. After her hiding of
+the Belgian officer and his family from the German authorities, she
+would never have been allowed to leave Belgium unpunished had she not
+been an American woman. Remembering the fate of the English girl who
+had committed the same crime, Nona appreciated how much they had to be
+thankful for.
+
+And now Eugenia was married to Captain Castaigne, the young French
+officer. Curious that among the four of them who had come from the
+United States to do Red Cross work among the Allies, Eugenia should
+be the first to marry! She, a New England old maid, disapproving of
+matrimony and, above all, of international marriages!
+
+Yet the wedding had taken place in the previous spring at the little
+French "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door," where the four girls had
+spent the most cheerful months since their arrival in Europe for the
+war nursing.
+
+Only once had Nona and Mildred deserted their posts in Belgium, where
+they had continued Eugenia's work of caring for the homeless Belgian
+children. Then they had gone to attend her wedding, but had returned
+to Belgium as soon as possible.
+
+But Eugenia and Captain Castaigne had taken scarcely more time for
+their own honeymoon.
+
+Soon after the ceremony Captain Castaigne had gone to rejoin his
+regiment and three days after Eugenia had become a member of the
+staff of a French hospital near her husband's line of trenches.
+
+So it turned out that Barbara Meade was left at the Chateau d'Amélie,
+as Madame Castaigne's friend and companion. Dick Thornton boarded in
+the village near by, so that he and Barbara had a number of happy
+months together.
+
+But Dick had finally decided that he must return to America and had
+urged Barbara and his sister Mildred to return with him. Of course,
+Nona had been invited to accompany them, but no special pressure had
+been brought upon her.
+
+However, Mildred did not feel that her Red Cross work in Europe was
+finished, while Barbara refused to desert her friends.
+
+But Barbara had another reason for her decision: she desired Dick to
+be alone when he confessed their engagement to his mother and father.
+Barbara had little fear of Judge Thornton's disapproval, but felt
+reasonably convinced that Mrs. Thornton would be both disappointed
+and aggrieved. Certainly she had never hesitated to announce that
+she expected her son Dick to make a brilliant match. How could she
+then be satisfied with a western girl of no wealth or distinction?
+
+It happened that Dick Thornton also had a private reason for finally
+agreeing to Barbara's wish. His experiences in the past two years had
+given him a new point of view toward life. No longer was he willing to
+be known only as his father's son and to continue being supported by
+him. Before Dick married he intended making a position for himself, so
+as to be able to take care of his own wife.
+
+Nona also recalled that she was really responsible for their coming into
+Russia. It had seemed to her that they must make their Red Cross work
+complete by nursing in the largest of the Allied countries.
+
+However, Nona had now to cease her reflections, for she had come to a
+place in the road where she had been told to turn aside.
+
+To make sure the girl opened her note and re-read it for probably the
+tenth time. Yes, here were the three pine trees, green shadows against
+the autumn sky, and here also was the narrow path that began alongside
+of them.
+
+After another fifteen minutes' walk Nona discovered that she was
+approaching a hut of the poorest character. It was built of logs,
+with mud roughly filling up a number of cracks.
+
+Already Nona was learning to understand that the Russian poor are
+perhaps the poorest people in the world. This hut was not so
+poverty-stricken as many others she had seen; at least, there
+were two windows and a front door.
+
+Outside a hungry dog prowled about, showing not the slightest interest
+in the newcomer. Yet Nona was vaguely frightened. She stopped for a
+moment to reflect. Should she go in or not? The place looked ugly and
+depressing and she could see no signs of human beings.
+
+Yet perhaps there was illness inside the house and she had been sent for
+to give aid. If that were true she must not hesitate.
+
+As Nona lifted her hand to knock at the door, suddenly it occurred to
+her as curious that the note she had received had been written upon
+extremely fine paper and in a handwriting which revealed breeding and
+education. Yet this peasant's hut suggested neither the one nor the
+other.
+
+But Nona was more mystified than fearful since her Red Cross uniform was
+her protection, and these were not days when one dared think of
+oneself.
+
+She knocked quietly but firmly on the wooden door.
+
+The next moment the heavy bar was slipped aside. Then Nona saw a woman
+of about thirty-five, dressed in the costume of a Russian peasant,
+standing with both hands outstretched toward her.
+
+"My dear," she began in perfect English, "this is better fortune than I
+dreamed, to find you once again, and in Russia, of all countries!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_A Former Acquaintance_
+
+
+"But," Nona began, and then hesitated, feeling extraordinarily puzzled.
+The face of the woman before her was oddly familiar, although she could
+not at the instant recall where or when she had known her.
+
+Yet she remembered the deep blue-gray eyes with their perfectly penciled
+dark brows and lashes, even the rather sad expression of them. However,
+she must be mistaken, since she could have no acquaintance in Russia!
+
+However, she allowed herself to be quietly led inside the hut, where the
+door was immediately closed behind her. Then the girl followed the woman
+inside a bare chamber, furnished with only a few chairs and a rough
+table. In an upper corner hung an ikon, the Russian image of the Christ.
+The face of the Christ was painted in brilliant colors set inside a
+brass square and this square enclosed in a dark wooden frame.
+
+The ikon is to the Russian who is a Greek Catholic what the crucifix is
+to the Roman Catholic. No orthodox Russian home is ever without one.
+
+But after the first glance, Nona Davis gave no further consideration to
+her surroundings. Before her companion could speak the second time she
+had suddenly recognized her.
+
+"Why, Lady Dorian, what has brought you to Russia? You are the last
+person I expected to see! Since our meeting on board the 'Philadelphia'
+and your stay at the Sacred Heart Hospital I have so often wondered what
+had become of you, and if you were well and happy. You promised to write
+me."
+
+"Then you have not forgotten me?" Before saying anything more the older
+woman found a chair for her guest and another for herself.
+
+"No, I have not written you, but I have thought of you many times and
+have followed your history more closely than you dream," she returned
+quietly, yet with evident earnestness. "I have been well and I suppose
+as happy as most people. How can any human being be anything but
+wretched during this tragic war? If only we might have peace!"
+
+Lady Dorian's face became white and drawn and Nona felt that she had
+aged a great deal since their first meeting, and indeed since the months
+they had spent as fellow workers for the British soldiers at the Sacred
+Heart Hospital. Nevertheless she still felt strangely attracted toward
+her companion, although mingled with the attraction was a new and
+uncomfortable feeling of distrust.
+
+Lady Dorian had come to the hospital cleared of the charge made against
+her on board the "Philadelphia" of being a spy. Yet she had never given
+any explanation of her history. Then had followed her surprising meeting
+with the British officer, Colonel Dalton, and their betrayal of a former
+acquaintanceship. Although the older woman had promised to explain their
+connection later, she had only said that they had once known each other
+rather intimately in London. But as they were friends no longer, she
+preferred not speaking of him again.
+
+All this passed swiftly through Nona's mind while the older woman was
+speaking. But the girl devoutly hoped that her face did not betray
+her thoughts. For here was the most surprising situation of all! Lady
+Dorian had seemed to be a woman of wealth at the beginning of their
+acquaintance and certainly had given a large sum of money to the
+Sacred Heart Hospital. Now to find her dressed as a peasant and
+living in a peasant's hut in Russia!
+
+Her skirt was of some cheap black material and her bodice of velveteen,
+laced with black cords over a white cotton waist. She also wore a
+Russian peasant's apron of brighter colors.
+
+Yet Nona recognized the older woman's beauty and distinction in spite of
+her costume, even while her present circumstances and her eccentricities
+antagonized her visitor.
+
+The woman was sitting with her level brows drawn together looking
+closely at the younger girl.
+
+"I am sorry you don't seem to feel your former faith in me, Nona," she
+began unexpectedly. "Not that I blame you, for I do not know myself
+whether it is wise for me to have intruded into your life again. I would
+not have done so if there had not been a reason more important than you
+can appreciate."
+
+For a moment the girl's attention had been wandering, engaged by the
+oddness of her surroundings, but now she tried to conceal her growing
+discomfort. Lady Dorian was appearing more mysterious than ever! If she
+desired to renew their acquaintance because they had formerly liked each
+other, that was a sufficient reason for her summons. It was scarcely
+worth while to try to produce other motives.
+
+But Lady Dorian had gotten up and now stood facing her.
+
+"What I am going to tell you is extraordinary, Nona, although life is
+too full of strange happenings to make us wonder at anything. In the
+first place, will you please cease to call me _Lady Dorian_, for that is
+not my name. Nor is it remarkable for you to discover me living in
+Russia, because I am a Russian by birth. I have not always made my home
+in my own country, but that makes no difference, since my love and
+sympathy have always been with my own people. Here I am only known as
+'Sonya.' But I do not wish to speak of myself, but of you. I have a
+strong reason for my interest in you, Nona, for although you may find it
+hard to believe, I once knew your mother."
+
+"Knew my mother?" The young American girl scarcely understood what was
+being said. She was so many thousands of miles both in fact and in
+thought from her own home and her own history. She could not believe
+that her companion was telling the truth. In any case she was merely
+mistaking her for some one else.
+
+So Nona shook her head gravely. "I am sorry, but I don't think that
+possible," she explained. "My mother was a southern woman, who lived
+very quietly in an old-fashioned city. I can't see how your lives could
+ever have touched."
+
+Until this instant Nona had remained seated with her former friend
+standing before her.
+
+She did not realize how much she showed her resentment at this use of
+her mother's name. Now she made an effort to rise from her chair.
+
+"I am very happy to have seen you again," she protested in the formal
+manner which Barbara Meade sometimes admired and at other times
+resented.
+
+But her companion was not influenced and indeed paid no attention to the
+younger girl's hauteur. She merely put a restraining hand on her
+shoulder, adding,
+
+"It is not worth while for us to argue that point until you hear what I
+have to say. The fact is, I know more of your mother, Nona, than you do
+yourself. For one thing, your mother was also a Russian. She was older
+than I, but we were together at one time in the United States. She went
+to visit in New Orleans and there met your father and married. I knew
+she had a daughter by your name, but curiously when I first met you on
+board the steamer your name conveyed nothing to me. Perhaps the last
+thing I expected was to find the daughter of your father, General Robert
+Davis, serving as a Red Cross nurse. He was a conservative of the old
+school, and I supposed would never have allowed you to leave home. But
+after we came together again and I met you for the second time at the
+Sacred Heart Hospital, I began to think of what association I had with
+your name. Soon I remembered and then I endeavored to discover your
+history. There was a chance that the name had no connection with the
+girl I sought. But it was simple enough to make the discovery."
+
+"Simple enough to make the discovery!" Stupidly Nona Davis repeated the
+words aloud, because they puzzled her. Then it occurred to her that the
+woman before her was so associated with mysteries that a family problem
+must be comparatively simple. Doubtless she had been able to discover
+more of Nona's mother's history than she herself had ever found out.
+
+But Nona was by no means pleased with the thought of an association
+between her own people and Lady Dorian, who had just frankly confessed
+that this name had been an assumed one.
+
+Nor did she wish to go into the subject of her family connection with so
+uncomfortable a stranger. First she wished to have time to think the
+situation over and to try to make it clearer to her own mind. Then she
+wished to discuss it with Mildred and Barbara.
+
+The girl glanced at the old-fashioned watch belonging to her father,
+which she always wore. In the back it held her mother's picture, but not
+for worlds would she have revealed this fact at the moment.
+
+Curious that she should feel this extreme distrust of her companion,
+when she had been her ardent defender in their earlier acquaintance! But
+then she had never expected to be drawn into any intimacy with her.
+
+Besides, Russia was an incomprehensible country. The class distinctions
+which had so impressed her in England were as nothing to the differences
+in rank here.
+
+Russia, in truth, seemed a land of princes and paupers! To a girl of
+Nona Davis' ideas and training, to find herself associated with the
+lower orders of Russian society was distinctly disagreeable. She had
+lived so long on the tradition of family that social position seemed of
+first importance.
+
+Now her former acquaintance was living in a peasant's house and was
+dressed like a peasant woman. Some strange change must have taken place
+in her life to reduce her to such a position, when previously she had
+given the impression of wealth and distinction.
+
+Nona got up hurriedly, drawing her coat about her. Later perhaps she
+might be willing to hear what the other woman wished to confide, but not
+today.
+
+Yet Nona felt that she did not wish to look into her companion's eyes.
+She must try not to think of her any longer as Lady Dorian, though
+"Sonya" was an exquisite Russian name, it certainly gave no clue to her
+identity.
+
+However, she could not fail to see that the other woman's expression
+revealed surprise and sorrow at her attitude, but was without
+resentment. It was as if she had grown accustomed to distrust and
+coldness.
+
+"I am sorry you don't wish me to speak of your mother, Nona. It is true
+I can give you no explanation of the change in my surroundings, but the
+present need not affect the past. I know that your father has kept your
+mother's story a secret from you. Yet there is nothing in it of which
+you may not be proud, that is, if you have the nature which I have hoped
+to find in you."
+
+Embarrassed and yet determined not to listen any further, Nona continued
+obstinately walking toward the door, with Sonya quietly following her.
+
+"Will you wait a moment, please?" the older woman asked. "I have two
+friends here in the house with me, whom I would like you to meet. When
+you talk me over with Mildred and Barbara to find out their opinion of
+me and of what I have tried to tell you, you can explain to them that I
+am not alone. I realize that I have always been a mystifying
+acquaintance and I'm sorry, but it is not possible to tell you my
+history at present. Some day I may be able to explain."
+
+Sonya's tone was half grave and half gay. Moreover, her blue eyes with
+their curiously dark brows and lashes watched the younger girl with an
+almost wistful affection.
+
+The situation was more than puzzling. Yet, although she grew more
+anxious each minute to be away, Nona could only agree to her companion's
+request.
+
+For a moment she was left alone in the crude, bare room. It was
+cheerless and cold and she grew even more uncomfortable. Surely, Russia
+was the strangest land in the world. How could her history as a young
+American girl have any connection with it? Why had she so insisted upon
+continuing her Red Cross nursing in Russia, when without her urging the
+other Red Cross girls would have been content to remain where they were?
+
+The next moment a very old woman and a man came into the room with
+Sonya. There was no doubting they were both peasants. With them it was
+not merely a matter of rough clothes. They were both heavily built,
+with stupid, sad faces and they mumbled something in broken English when
+they were introduced to Nona, eyeing her with suspicion. It was only
+when their gaze rested upon Sonya that their faces changed. Then it was
+as though a light had shone through darkness.
+
+Sonya introduced them by name, some queer Russian name which Nona could
+not grasp.
+
+However, she was trying her best to find something civil to say in
+return, which they might be able to understand, when an unexpected noise
+interrupted them.
+
+Some one had unceremoniously opened the door in the hall and was walking
+toward them.
+
+For an instant Nona thought she saw a shade of anxiety cross the faces
+of her three companions, but the next instant it was gone.
+
+Nona could scarcely swallow a gasp of surprised admiration when, soon
+after, the door opened.
+
+A young Russian soldier entered the room. He wore the uniform of a
+Cossack: the high boots, the fur cap and tunic.
+
+To Nona Davis' American eyes the young man seemed a typical Russian of
+the better classes. He was extremely handsome, more than six feet tall,
+with dark hair and eyes and a colorless skin.
+
+He appeared surprised at Nona's presence, but explained that he was
+stationed at the Russian fort where a number of wounded were being cared
+for. He remembered having seen Nona and her two friends. They were the
+only American nurses in the vicinity, so it was not strange to have
+noticed them.
+
+Michael Orlaff was the soldier's name. Sonya spoke it with distinctness,
+but gave him no title. Yet evidently they knew each other very well.
+
+A moment later and Nona finally got away. She was late and nervous about
+returning to the fortifications alone. Yet as she hurried on she was
+thinking over the afternoon until her head ached with the mystery of it.
+Perhaps it might be wise if she could avoid meeting this particular
+group of people again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_General Alexis_
+
+
+All that day Mildred Thornton had scarcely left the bedside of her
+patient.
+
+For the Russian boy was dying, and as there was no hope for him, Mildred
+could only do her best to make him as comfortable as possible.
+
+Now he seemed half asleep, so with her hands folded in her lap the girl
+sat near him trying to rest, although unable to keep her mind as quiet
+as her hands.
+
+How strange her surroundings! Since her arrival in Europe as a Red Cross
+nurse she had lived and worked in two other countries and certainly had
+passed through remarkable experiences, yet none of them were to be
+compared with these few weeks of nursing in Russia. One might have been
+transferred to another planet instead of another land.
+
+As an ordinary American tourist, Mildred had been familiar with Europe
+for several years, having spent three summers abroad traveling with her
+parents. But this was her first vision of the East, for Russia is
+eastern, however she may count herself otherwise.
+
+The American girl now lifted her eyes from the figure of the dying boy
+and let them wander down the length of the room which sheltered them.
+
+An immense place, it held rows on rows of other cot beds with white-clad
+nurses passing about among them. When they spoke or when the patients
+spoke Mildred could rarely guess what was being said, as she knew so few
+words of Russian. Yet she had little difficulty with her nursing, for
+the ways of the ill are universal and she had already seen so much
+suffering.
+
+Now the hospital room was in half shadow, but it was never light nor
+aired as the American nurse felt it should be.
+
+The hospital quarters were only a portion of the fortress, a great room,
+like a barracks which had been hastily turned into a refuge for the
+wounded.
+
+The long stone chamber boasted only four small windows hardly larger
+than portholes and some distance from the ground. These opened with
+difficulty and were protected by heavy iron bars. But then in Russia in
+many private houses no window is ever voluntarily opened from autumn
+until Easter, as the cold is so intense and the arrangements for heating
+so crude.
+
+Today Mildred wondered if the heavy, sick-laden air was giving her
+extraordinary fancies. She kept seeing dream pictures. For as she stared
+about the cold chamber of sorrow she beheld with greater distinctness
+the image of her own rooms at home.
+
+This was the hour when the maid came to light her yellow-shaded electric
+candles; then she would put a fresh log on the fire and stir it to
+brightness, not because the added warmth was needed in their big
+steam-heated house, but because of the cheerfulness. Then would follow
+her mother's invitation to drink a cup of tea with her and Dick in the
+library, or would she prefer having it served in her own room?
+
+With this thought the girl's eyes clouded for a moment. Doubtless Dick
+and her mother would be having tea together this afternoon and Dick
+would in all probability be trying to explain why his sister was not
+with him. During her work in France and Belgium her mother and father
+had been more than kind, but with this suggestion of coming into Russia
+to continue her nursing both her parents had protested.
+
+It is true that they had not actually demanded her presence at home, for
+she would not have disobeyed a command. But undoubtedly they had urged
+her homecoming.
+
+Her father longed for her because of the rare affection between them and
+the fact that he dreaded the conditions and experiences that might await
+her and her friends in Russia. For these same reasons her mother also
+desired her return, yet Mildred knew that there was another motive
+actuating her mother. She might be unconscious of the fact, but if her
+daughter should reappear in New York society at the present time,
+because of her war experiences she would become an object of unusual
+interest and attention.
+
+At this instant the smile that appeared at the corners of the girl's
+mouth banished the tired expression it had previously worn. One big
+thing her war experiences had done for Mildred Thornton, it had given
+her a new sense of values. Now she _knew_ the things that counted.
+She had learned to smile at her own failure as a society girl, even to
+understand and forgive her mother's chagrin at the fact.
+
+Yet Mildred was influenced in a measure to continue her work in Europe
+by these trivial points of view.
+
+Should she return home and re-enter society as her mother wished, sooner
+or later she must prove a second disappointment. For she had no social
+gifts; she could never learn to talk as her friends did. If questions
+were asked of her she could only reply with facts, not because she was
+lacking in sympathy or imagination, but because she had not the grace of
+words. So with neither beauty nor charm, how could she ever even hope to
+gratify her mother by securing the distinguished husband she so desired
+for her?
+
+But since there was a place in the world for bees as well as
+butterflies, Mildred never meant to allow herself to grow unhappy
+again. She had a real talent for nursing; her work had received only
+praise. So here in Europe, where there seemed to be the greatest need
+of her services, she meant to remain as long as possible. This, in spite
+of the alluring picture of home which would thrust itself before her
+consciousness.
+
+At this instant the boy on the bed moved and sighed and at the same
+instant the American girl forgot herself. He had opened his eyes and
+Mildred could see that he had become dimly conscious of his own
+condition and his surroundings.
+
+But this boy could never have been more than dimly conscious of most
+things in his short life, he was so stupid and could neither read nor
+write; indeed, he had a vocabulary of but a few hundred words. Peter had
+been a laborer on the estates of a Polish nobleman when the call came to
+arms. And so often in the past week while she had been caring for him
+Mildred had been reminded of some farm animal by the way the boy
+endured pain, he had been so dumb and uncomplaining.
+
+Even now he made no attempt to speak, but as she leaned over and took
+his hand Mildred realized that the boy could live but a few moments
+longer.
+
+After a little tender smoothing of his cover the girl turned away. The
+Russian peasant is always a devout Catholic, so Mildred realized that he
+would wish a priest with him at the end.
+
+She had walked only a few feet from the young soldier's bedside when an
+unaccustomed atmosphere of excitement in the ward arrested her
+attention.
+
+It would not be necessary for her to summon a priest; some one must have
+anticipated her desire. For the priest was even now approaching.
+However, he was a familiar figure, passing hourly among the wounded and
+their attendants; his presence would cause no excitement.
+
+The next instant Mildred understood the priest was not alone. He was
+accompanied by one of the most famous men in all Europe.
+
+Although she had never seen him until this instant, Mildred Thornton
+had not a moment's doubt of the man's identity. This was the Commander
+of the fortress at Grovno, General Dmitri Alexis, at the present hour
+the bulwark of many Russian hopes.
+
+For the past few weeks the Germans had been driving the Russians farther
+and farther back beyond the boundaries of Poland and near the heart of
+Russia. Here at Grovno the Russian army was expected to make a
+victorious stand. The faith of the Russian people was centered in
+General Dmitri Alexis.
+
+Unlike most Russian officers, he had always been devoted to the
+interests of the common people, although a son of one of Russia's noble
+families. But he was known to be a shy, quiet man with little to say for
+himself, who had risen to his present rank by sheer ability.
+
+To Mildred's eyes he seemed almost an old man; in fact, he must have
+been about fifty. His hair was iron gray, but unlike most Russians his
+eyes were a dark blue. As he wore no beard, the lines about his mouth
+were so stern as to be almost forbidding.
+
+Mildred knew that he was an intimate personal friend of the Czar and
+realized just to what extent he must feel the weight of his present
+responsibilities.
+
+Therefore she was the more surprised at his appearance in the hospital
+ward.
+
+Except for a courtly inclination of his head the great man paid no
+attention to the greetings that were offered him by the nurses and
+doctors. Walking down the center of the room he had eyes only for the
+wounded men who lined the two walls. Then his sternness relaxed and his
+smile became a curious compound of pity and regret.
+
+Mildred found herself staring without regard to good manners or
+breeding. Why should this man create such an atmosphere of trust and
+respect? She had seen other great generals in the armies of the Allies
+before today, but never one who had made such an impression.
+
+General Alexis and the priest paused by the bedside of the Russian boy
+who was Mildred's patient.
+
+There the great man's face softened until it became almost womanish in
+its sympathy. Slowly and reverently the dying boy attempted to raise his
+general's hand to his lips.
+
+General Alexis said a few words in Russian which the young soldier
+understood, but Mildred could not. For he attempted to shake his head,
+to whisper a denial, then smiling dropped his arms down by his sides.
+
+Mildred made no effort to move forward to assist him, for she did not
+feel that she had a place in the little group at this moment. She merely
+watched and waited, trying to see clearly through the mist in her eyes.
+
+The boy's broad chest, strong once as a young giant's, but now with a
+scarcely beating heart beneath it, quivered with what seemed a final
+emotion. The same instant General Alexis leaned down and pinned against
+the white cotton of his rough shirt the iron cross of all the Russias.
+Afterwards he kissed him as simply as a woman might have done.
+
+That was all! So natural and so quiet it was, Mildred Thornton herself
+was hardly aware of the significance of the little scene she had just
+witnessed.
+
+Here in a country where the gulf between the rich and the poor, the
+humble and the great was well nigh impassable, a single act of courage
+had bridged it.
+
+What act of valor Peter had performed Mildred never knew. She only knew
+that it had called from his duties one of the greatest men in Europe,
+that he might by his presence and with his own hands show homage to the
+humblest of soldiers.
+
+When the simple ceremony was over the boy lay quite still, scarcely
+noticing that his general knelt down beside his bed. For his eyes were
+almost closing.
+
+Neither did Mildred dare move or speak.
+
+Against the walls the other nurses and doctors stood quiet as wooden
+figures, while the wounded were hushed to unaccustomed silences.
+
+Then the Russian priest began to intone in words which the American
+girl could not understand, but in a voice the most wonderful she had
+ever heard. His tones were those of an organ deep and beautiful, of
+great volume but without noise.
+
+Ceasing, he lifted an ikon before the young soldier's dimming eyes, and
+pronounced what must have been a benediction.
+
+The next moment the great stillness had entered the hospital chamber and
+the Russian boy with the iron cross above his heart lay in his final
+sleep.
+
+All at once Mildred Thornton felt extraordinarily weary. Backward and
+forward she could see the big room rise and recede as though it had been
+an immense wave. The dim light was turning to darkness, when
+instinctively reaching out her hand touched the back of a chair. With
+this she steadied herself for the moment. Until now she had not known
+how tired she was from her vigil, nor how she had been moved by the
+scene she had just witnessed. After a little she would go to her own
+room and perhaps Nona or Barbara would be there. But she must wait until
+General Alexis and the priest had gone away.
+
+The next moment she realized that the great man had risen and was
+approaching toward her.
+
+Mildred looked wholly unlike a Russian woman. Her heavy flaxen hair,
+simply braided and twisted about her head, showed a few strands
+underneath her nurse's cap. Her face was almost colorless, yet her
+pallor was unlike the Russian, which is of a strange olive tone. Now and
+then in her nurse's costume Mildred Thornton became almost beautiful,
+through her air of strength and refinement and the unusual sweetness of
+her expression.
+
+The eyes that were turned toward General Alexis were a clear blue-gray,
+but there were deep circles under them, and the girl swayed a little in
+spite of her effort to stand perfectly still.
+
+For several seconds the great man regarded her in silence. Then he
+stretched forth his hand.
+
+"You are an American Red Cross nurse, I believe. May I have the honor of
+shaking your hand. I have been told that three young American women are
+here at our fortress at Grovno helping to care for our wounded. You have
+traveled many miles for a noble cause. In the name of my Emperor and his
+people may I thank you."
+
+The little speech was made in perfect English and with such simplicity
+that Mildred did not feel awed or surprised.
+
+However, she was not certain how she replied or if she replied at all.
+She only felt her cold fingers held in a hand like steel and the next
+moment the great general had gone out of the room.
+
+Immediately after Mildred found herself surrounded by a group of Russian
+nurses. The Russians are amazing linguists and several of the nurses
+could speak English. Evidently they were overwhelmed by the honor the
+American girl had just had bestowed upon her. It had almost overshadowed
+for the time the greater glory of the young soldier.
+
+An American Red Cross nurse had been individually thanked by one of the
+greatest commanders in Europe for her service and the services of her
+friends to his soldiers and his country.
+
+But there was another personal side to the situation which the Russian
+hospital staff appeared to find more amazing.
+
+General Dmitri Alexis was supposed never to speak to a woman. He was an
+old bachelor and was said to greatly despise the frivolities of Russian
+society women.
+
+Incredible as it may seem, there is gossip even inside a great fortress
+in time of war.
+
+But Mildred's Russian companions had neither time nor opportunity to
+reveal much to her at present. As soon as it was possible she begged
+that she might be allowed to go to her own room. Although she shared
+it with Nona and Barbara, neither one of them was there at the time.
+
+But instead of lying down at once Mildred wrote a few lines to her
+mother. She knew that she would be greatly pleased by the attention
+that had just been paid her. Of course Mildred realized that the
+General's thanks were not bestowed upon her as an individual, but
+as a representative of the United States, whose sympathy and
+friendliness Russia so greatly appreciated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_An Encounter_
+
+
+Barbara had been writing a letter to Dick Thornton. She was seated on
+the side of her cot bed in a tiny room high up in a tower, with only one
+small window overlooking the courtyard below.
+
+Although it was well into the twentieth century, this room was just such
+an one as might have concealed the hapless Amy Robsart in the days of
+Lord Leicester and Kenilworth Castle. But although Barbara had not to
+suffer the thought of a faithless lover, at the present moment she was
+feeling extremely sorry for herself.
+
+Russia had no charms for her as it appeared to have for Mildred Thornton
+and Nona Davis. She disliked its bleakness, its barbarity and the
+strange, moody people it contained. Of course she realized that there
+was another side to Russian life, before the present war its society was
+one of the gayest in the world. But these days, when the Germans were
+driving the Russian army backward and even further backward behind their
+own frontiers, were days for work and silence, not social amusements.
+Moreover, Barbara knew that she could never expect to have any part in
+Russian social life when her mission lay among the wounded. So far she
+had met only other Red Cross nurses, a few physicians and the soldiers
+who required her care. But really Barbara was not so foolish as to
+resent these conditions; she was merely homesick and anxious to see Dick
+Thornton, and if not Dick, then Eugenia.
+
+France had not seemed so far away from the United States and she had
+loved France and its brave, gay people. She had understood them and
+their life. Almost she had envied Eugenia her future possession of the
+old chateau and the little "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door." But
+then Eugenia had seemed to find France as strange and uncongenial as
+Barbara now considered Russia.
+
+Even after her marriage to Captain Castaigne, Eugenia had confessed to
+the younger girl how she dreaded her own inability to become a
+Frenchwoman. She still feared that she would never be equal to the
+things Captain Castaigne had a right to expect of her, once the war was
+over. Eugenia had merely cared too much to be willing to give him up,
+but was too wise to expect that her problems would end with marriage.
+
+So with this thought Barbara Meade finally removed a tear from the end
+of her nose. It had trickled quite comfortably out of her eyes, but as
+her nose was somewhat retroussé, it had hesitated there.
+
+After all, an American marriage was best for an American girl! Barbara
+tried to convince herself that she should be rejoicing instead of
+lamenting. Certainly Dick was the most agreeable and to be desired
+person in the entire world. But then there was another side to this!
+Had he not been, perhaps she would not at this moment be missing him
+so terribly and at all the moments. Letters were so infrequent!
+Mrs. Thornton might positively refuse to allow her son to marry
+so insignificant a person, and Dick forget all about her!
+
+But in the midst of this last and most harrowing thought, fortunately
+Nona Davis came into the room.
+
+She looked excited, but on catching sight of her friend's face her
+expression changed.
+
+"Good heavens, Barbara!" she began. Then the next moment she walked over
+and tilted the other girl's chin with her hand.
+
+"You are just homesick, aren't you, and longing for some one who shall
+be nameless? You frightened me at first; I feared you had heard dreadful
+news. Come, get your coat and have a walk with me. We have both nearly
+two hours of freedom and I've permission to go outside the
+fortifications."
+
+The other girl shook her head and shivered.
+
+"It is too cold, Nona dear, and besides, I'm afraid. I know the Russians
+are said to be holding the line of fortifications beyond us, but then
+the Germans may break through at any time. Goodness knows, I don't see
+what you and Mildred find so fascinating in Russia! I am afraid I am not
+brave enough to have come with you."
+
+While Barbara was arguing Nona had taken her coat from its hook on the
+wall and was putting it about her friend.
+
+"Yes, I know all that, but just the same you are coming for a walk. As
+long as you are here you must keep strong enough to do your work. But
+there, I can't scold half so well as Eugenia. I suppose if Dick belonged
+to me I should be as wretched as you are without him. You are a dear to
+have stuck by Mildred and me during this Russian work. But do come, I've
+something really interesting to tell you. Perhaps you may feel a tiny
+bit less lonely afterwards."
+
+In the meantime Nona had put on her own coat and cap and the two girls
+started. They had to walk down a narrow stone corridor and then a long
+flight of winding stone steps to reach the courtyard below.
+
+To the right the soldiers were drilling. One could hear the harsh
+clatter of their heavy boots and the crash of their rifles when they
+touched the frozen earth.
+
+It had turned unexpectedly cold, and yet without a spoken word both
+girls stopped and stared about them as soon as they reached the
+outdoors.
+
+Certainly the scene formed an extraordinary setting for two young
+American girls!
+
+The sky was gray, and although it was only early autumn, there were
+occasional flurries of snow.
+
+Behind them stood a long, low line of stone and iron fortifications with
+enormous guns mounted at intervals along the walls. At one end was an
+observation tower, where one could see miles on miles of trenches
+stretching in a kind of semicircle before the fortifications. Should the
+enemy destroy the trenches the Russian soldiers could then mass behind
+the fort and afterwards, if necessary, accomplish their retreat. For a
+small force could delay the enemy through the strength of their position
+and the use of their big guns.
+
+Sheltered behind breastworks of earth, barbed wire entanglements and a
+natural protection of trees, the girls could barely discern the
+aerodrome. In this place were situated the machine shops for building
+and repairing aeroplanes, and also from here their flights and returns
+could be made.
+
+Yet in spite of these signs of active warfare, the place was curiously
+silent. Barbara felt puzzled. Only the endless tramp, tramp of the
+soldiers at drill and an occasional guttural command. The noises from
+the inside of the fort never penetrated to the outside. But then these
+Russians were a quiet people.
+
+Within a few moments the two girls showed their order to the sentry and
+were allowed to pass beyond the gate. They then started on their walk
+along the same road which Nona had traveled alone several days before.
+But actually this was the first chance the girls had for talking over
+Nona's experiences together. True, they shared the same bedroom, so that
+on her return Nona had given a brief report. But really they had been
+too tired at night to grasp the situation.
+
+Now naturally Barbara thought her companion meant to talk of her recent
+experience. Neither one of them attempted conversation at the beginning
+of their walk, for the main road was as filled with supplies of every
+kind that were being hauled to the great fort, as it had been on the day
+of Nona's solitary excursion. But indeed this was a daily occurrence.
+
+So, as soon as possible, the girls got away from the road into a lane
+that was lined with peasants' huts. This lay in an opposite direction
+from the path Nona had previously taken. She had no desire to meet her
+former acquaintance again until she had made up her mind as to her own
+attitude toward her.
+
+Neither Barbara nor Mildred had so far been able to give her any
+definite advice.
+
+Mildred really refused to consider that the older woman could have known
+Nona's mother years before in their own country. Her story was too
+incredible to be believed.
+
+Barbara had not taken this same point of view. At the present moment
+she was going over the situation in retrospection. In the first place,
+it was absurd to think that any train of circumstances could be
+impossible in such a surprising world. The woman, whom they had once
+known as Lady Dorian and whom they now were to think of by another name,
+had evidently once been a woman of wealth and culture, no matter what
+her present condition of poverty. She seemed to have traveled everywhere
+and she may of course have met Nona Davis' family. There was actually no
+reason why she should not have known them, Barbara concluded in her
+sensible western fashion. Doubtless when Nona allowed the older woman to
+explain the situation it would not be half so mysterious as it now
+appeared. The really remarkable thing was, not that the other woman
+should be familiar with Nona's mother's history, but that her own
+daughter should be so in ignorance.
+
+For her part she intended to advise Nona to listen to whatever their
+former friend wished to tell her. But just as Barbara opened her lips
+to offer this advice, her companion spoke.
+
+"Barbara, you have been in such a study you haven't asked for the piece
+of news I have to give you. Do you remember almost quarreling with me
+because I did not wish to write a note to the English fellow we once
+knew when we were in Brussels, after you discovered him in prison
+there?"
+
+Barbara nodded, her mind immediately distracted from her former train of
+thought.
+
+"Lieutenant Hume? Why, do you know what has become of him?" she
+inquired.
+
+In reply Nona took a letter out of her pocket.
+
+"I had a note from him today. You see, after your lecture I continued
+writing him in prison every now and then during the year we spent in
+Belgium. Just occasionally he was allowed to send me a few lines in
+reply. Then a long time passed and I had almost forgotten him. Now he
+writes to say that by an extraordinary freak of fortune he has been
+returned home. It seems that he became very ill, so when the Germans
+decided to agree on an exchange of prisoners, he and our little blind
+Frenchman, Monsieur Bebé, were both sent back to their own lands.
+Lieutenant Hume does not say what is the matter with him. His letter
+isn't about himself. He is really tremendously anxious to hear news of
+us. He has just learned of Eugenia's marriage to Henri Castaigne, and he
+thinks we are pretty foolhardy to have offered our services for nursing
+in Russia."
+
+Instinctively Barbara held her companion's arm in a closer grasp.
+
+"Far be it from me to disagree with him!" she murmured.
+
+For her attention had just been arrested by the noise of a horse's hoofs
+approaching. Both girls looked up to see a young Cossack soldier riding
+toward them. He sat his horse as though he were a part of it, his feet
+swinging in long stirrups and his hands barely touching the reins.
+
+Both girls felt a stirring sense of admiration. But to their surprise,
+as the horse drew near the young soldier pulled up and slid quietly to
+the ground.
+
+The next instant he came up toward Nona.
+
+"You will pardon me," he said, speaking English, although with a
+noticeable accent, "but it will not be wise for you to continue to walk
+any further along this road. It is growing late and there are stragglers
+coming in from several villages where a German raid is feared."
+
+He had taken off his pointed Cossack cap of lamb's wool and held it in
+his hand as though he had been a young American meeting a group of
+friends upon an ordinary thoroughfare.
+
+Barbara was struck by the incongruity of his appearance and his
+behavior. He looked like a half-civilized warrior of centuries ago, and
+yet his manner was the conventional one of today. However, it would not
+be wise to expect him to remain conventional under unusual conditions.
+Barbara could see that the young Russian officer was a son of the east,
+not the west. He had a peculiar Oriental pallor and long, slanting dark
+eyes, and his small black moustache scarcely concealed the thin red
+lines of his lips.
+
+Nona was frowning at him in a puzzled fashion.
+
+But the next instant she bowed with an expression of recognition.
+
+"Thank you, we will do as you suggest. It is odd to see you so soon
+again after our unexpected meeting the other afternoon. Lieutenant
+Orlaff, this is my friend, Miss Meade."
+
+Barbara inclined her head, too surprised to do more. But as the Russian
+officer continued to walk beside them with his horse following, she soon
+understood where he and Nona had met each other.
+
+"Yes, she is an old friend, Sonya Valesky. I knew her years ago and then
+she went away into other countries."
+
+The young Russian hesitated. Barbara and Nona were both watching his
+face closely, so that they could see the cloud of doubt, even of
+struggle, that swept over it.
+
+"You are strangers in my country, but you have come here to help us in
+our need," he protested, almost as if he were thinking aloud.
+
+"I would not have you doubt my friend. I cannot explain to you, and
+yet I wish to warn you. Do not be too intimate with Sonya Valesky.
+Russia is not like other countries in times of war or peace. She has
+many problems, tragedies of her own to overcome which the foreigner
+cannot understand. Forgive me if I should not have spoken."
+
+Then before either girl could fully grasp what the young man's confused
+speech could mean, he had bowed, mounted his horse and ridden off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_Out of the Past_
+
+
+But circumstances afterwards made it impossible for Nona Davis to follow
+the young Russian officer's advice.
+
+A week went by at the hospital without a decision on the girl's part
+and without another word from her former friend. Sonya Valesky she must
+remember was her Russian name. A beautiful name and somehow it seemed
+to fit the personality of the woman whom Nona at once admired and
+distrusted. For the name carried with it its own suggestion of beauty
+and of melancholy. What secret could Sonya Valesky be concealing that
+forced even her friends to warn others against her?
+
+Of course there could be no answer in her own consciousness to this
+puzzle, yet Nona kept the problem at the back of her mind during the
+following week of strenuous work. Nursing inside the bleak fortress
+at Grovno was of a more difficult character than any work the three
+American Red Cross girls had yet undertaken. The surroundings were so
+uncomfortable, the nursing supplies so limited. Worse than anything
+else, an atmosphere of almost tragic suspense hung like a palpable
+cloud over every inmate of the fort.
+
+Authentic news was difficult to obtain, yet refugees were constantly
+pouring in with stories of fresh German conquests in Poland. For it
+chanced that the months after the arrival of the three American girls in
+Russia were among the darkest in Russia's history during the great war.
+Military strategists might be able to understand why the Grand Duke
+Nicholas and his army were giving way before almost every furious German
+onslaught. They could explain that he was endeavoring to lead the enemy
+deeper and deeper into a foreign land, so as to cut them off from their
+base of supplies. Yet it was hard for the ordinary man and woman or the
+common soldier to conceive of anything except fresh danger and disaster
+in each defeat.
+
+So day after day, night after night the business of strengthening the
+line of fortifications at Grovno went on. The work was done with the
+silence and the industry of some enormous horde of ants.
+
+Shut off in the left wing of the fort with the ill and wounded soldiers,
+the Red Cross nurses had only occasional glimpses of the warlike
+preparations that were being made. Once when there was a review of the
+troops in the courtyard behind the fortifications Mildred Thornton
+summoned Nona and Barbara. She had already told them of her experience
+with the commanding officer of the fort, but she wished the other two
+girls to have a look at him. It was difficult to get a vivid impression
+of a personality from a bird's-eye view out of a small upper window. Yet
+the figure of General Alexis could never be anything but dominating.
+There was a hush of admiration from every man or woman inside the
+fortifications whenever their leader's name was mentioned. If he could
+not hold the German avalanche in check, then the world must weep for
+Russia. So Mildred became a kind of heroine among the nurses because
+she had received a few moments of the great man's praise and attention.
+
+Finally, at the end of a week Nona Davis had a second letter from Sonya
+Valesky. It was sent by a messenger, as the other had been, and Nona was
+presented with it when she first went on duty on one Saturday morning.
+
+This communication was not merely a note, however, for the envelope was
+sealed and had a bulky appearance. Yet Nona did not open it all that day
+or the morning of the next as she had a premonition that the letter was
+not an ordinary one. Either Madame Valesky was confiding her own
+history, or she was insisting upon proving to the American girl that
+she had at one time been a friend of her mother's. Really, it was this
+information that Nona both expected and feared. So as she had a
+particularly difficult case on hand she decided to wait for more
+leisure before trying to solve the mystery.
+
+The opportunity came when she was allowed two hours rest on Sunday
+afternoon.
+
+Nona was glad that both Mildred and Barbara were busy at the time,
+because she preferred to be alone. After her letter had been read and
+considered then she could decide on the degree of her confidences.
+
+But after all, Barbara's prediction came true. The story that Sonya
+Valesky had to tell of her acquaintance with Nona's mother was not half
+so strange as the fact that the mother's history had been concealed from
+her daughter.
+
+The story was unique but comparatively simple. The only curious fact was
+the accidental meeting between the Russian woman and the American girl.
+But then just such comings together of persons with a common bond of
+interest or affection is an hourly occurrence in the world. Behind such
+apparent accidents is some law of nature, a like calling unto like.
+
+The older woman explained that she had known Nona's mother many years
+ago when they were both children in Russia, although she was a number of
+years younger. There was as little as possible of Sonya Valesky's own
+history in the letter. She stated without proof or comment that her
+father had once been Russian Ambassador to the United States. Here Anna
+Orlaff, Nona's mother, had made her a visit and had then gone away south
+to New Orleans and soon afterwards married. For many years the younger
+girl had not seen her friend again. She had received letters from her,
+however, and learned that her marriage was not a success.
+
+Sonya Valesky did her best to explain the situation to Nona. But how was
+she to know how much or how little an American girl understands of life
+and conditions in Russia? Was Nona aware that there were many girls and
+young men, oftentimes members of noble families, who believed in a new
+and different Russia?
+
+Had Nona ever read of a great writer named Tolstoi, who wrote and
+preached of the real brotherhood of man? He insisted that the words of
+Christ should be interpreted literally and desired that Russia, and
+indeed the world, should have no rich and poor, no Czar and slave, but
+that all men and all women were to be truly equal. Nona's mother had
+been a follower of Tolstoi's principles; therefore, her people had sent
+her away from her own country because they feared if she continued to
+live in Russia with these ideas she might be condemned to Siberia. So
+Anna Orlaff had gladly left her own country, believing that in the
+United States she would find the spirit of true equality.
+
+Naturally her marriage had been a disappointment. At this point in Sonya
+Valesky's letter, Nona Davis began to have a faint appreciation of the
+situation. She remembered the narrow, conservative life of the old south
+and that her father had lived largely upon traditions of wealth and
+family, teaching her little else. What did it matter to him that there
+were no titles in America, no more slaves to do his bidding, when he
+continued to believe in the domination of one class over another.
+
+Dimly at first, more vividly afterwards, Nona Davis could see the
+picture of the young Russian girl, a socialist and dreamer, married into
+such an environment. How disappointed and unhappy she must have been in
+the conservative old city of Charleston, South Carolina! No wonder
+people had never mentioned her name to her daughter, and that her father
+had been so silent! A Russian socialist was little less than a criminal.
+
+Nona was seated in a hard wooden chair in a small, cell-like room many
+thousands of miles away from her own old home. Certainly something
+stronger than her own wish must have drawn her to Russia, for here she
+must learn to understand the story of her mother's life and to find her
+own place in it.
+
+At this point in the narrative Nona let her letter fall idly in her lap.
+The girl's hands were clasped tightly together, for now her imagination
+could tell her more than any words of another's.
+
+Her father had been devoted to her, but he had not been fair, neither
+had his friends nor her own. Why had they always led her to believe by
+their silences that there was something to be ashamed of in her mother's
+story? It was odd, of course, to be different from other people, but
+there was no sin in being a dreamer.
+
+Nona could see the picture of her mother in the white muslin dress and
+the blue sash there in their old drawing room in Charleston. She had
+been only a girl of about her age when she remembered her.
+
+But then what had become of her mother? Why had she gone away?
+
+Again the girl picked up her letter, for the last few sheets must
+explain.
+
+This portion was hardest of the story to understand, but Sonya Valesky
+had tried to make it clear.
+
+Nona's father had insisted that his young wife give up her views of
+life. She was to read no books, write no letters, have nothing to do
+with any human being who thought as she did. Above all, she was to make
+him a written and sacred promise that she would never reveal her ideas
+of life to her daughter. This Nona's mother had refused to do and so had
+gone away, expecting to come back some day when her husband relented.
+
+Within a year she had died. But here Sonya Valesky's letter ended, for
+she enclosed another written by Nona's mother to her friend.
+
+If Nona had needed proof of the truth of the other woman's statement she
+could find it here. The letter was yellow with age and very short. It
+merely asked that if Sonya Valesky should ever find it possible to know
+her daughter, Nona Davis, would she be her friend?
+
+Then Sonya had also enclosed another proof, if proof were needed. This
+was a small picture of Nona's mother which was exactly like the one the
+girl had found concealed in the back of her father's watch. It was the
+same watch with the same picture that she now wore always inside her
+dress.
+
+Then for nearly an hour the young American girl sat dreaming almost
+without a movement of her body.
+
+Little by little she recalled stray memories in her life which made her
+mother's history appear not so impossible as she had at first conceived.
+Always she had thought of her as foreign. She had only believed her to
+be French because she spoke French so perfectly and had married in New
+Orleans. But then she herself was beginning to learn that educated
+Russians are among the most accomplished linguists in the world. What
+else was she to find out about this strange country before her work as
+a nurse was over? Could she ever feel so entirely an American again?
+
+All at once Nona Davis jumped hastily to her feet. There were hundreds
+of questions she yearned to ask. Fortunately for her she was near the
+one person who might be able to answer them. Sonya Valesky had never
+said why she had not sought to find her friend's daughter until their
+accidental meeting on shipboard. Even then she had not recognized Nona's
+connection with the past. Was it because she was too engrossed in her
+own life and her own mysterious mission?
+
+Although she was at this instant engaged in putting on her coat and cap
+to go to her, Nona again hesitated. How little the Russian woman had
+said of herself! What was she doing here near the Russian line of
+fortifications, living like a peasant with only two old peasants in
+attendance upon her? And why should the young Russian officer have
+warned her against his own friend?
+
+"Michael Orlaff." Automatically Nona Davis repeated the name of her new
+acquaintance. "Orlaff." The name was the same as her mother's. Was there
+a chance that the young Russian lieutenant might be a possible
+connection?
+
+However, the girl recognized that she was stupid to continue to ask
+herself questions. Moreover, she had now made up her mind that she must
+not distrust Sonya Valesky unless she had a more definite cause.
+Doubtless Sonya shared the same views of life that her mother had
+cherished! But in any case it was wonderful to have found a woman who
+had been her mother's friend and who might still be hers.
+
+Nona had walked across her small room to the door, when she heard some
+one knocking.
+
+A summons had been sent for her to return to her nursing, as the two
+hours of her recreation were over. How stupid she had been! Actually
+Nona had forgotten what had called her to Russia, even the war tragedy
+that was raging about her. Of course she could not leave the hospital!
+It might be several days or more before she could hope to receive
+permission to revisit Sonya.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_The Arrest_
+
+
+Five days later Nona Davis went again to the little wooden house, where,
+to her surprise, she had previously discovered a former acquaintance.
+
+But on this occasion Sonya Valesky did not open the door.
+
+Instead it was opened by the old peasant man whom Nona had seen before.
+
+Today he looked more wretched than stupid. His little black eyes were
+red rimmed, his sallow skin more wrinkled than ever.
+
+When Nona inquired for Sonya he shook his head disconsolately and then
+motioned her toward the same room she had formerly entered.
+
+There was now a cot in the room and on this cot lay the Russian woman.
+
+At once Nona forgot herself and her desire to ask questions. She
+remembered only her profession, yes, and one other thing. She recalled
+the words that the old French peasant, François, had once spoken to her
+and to Barbara.
+
+"Have you pity only for wounded soldiers? Do girls and women never care
+to help one another? This war has made wounds deeper than any bullets
+can create."
+
+Immediately Nona had seen that Sonya Valesky was very ill. Now, no
+matter who she was, or what she had done, she must be restored to
+health. First and last Nona must put her own emotions aside, for the
+sake of her mission as a Red Cross nurse.
+
+Yet what was she to do? Her services belonged to the soldiers in the
+Russian fortress.
+
+As quietly and quickly as possible Nona gave her orders.
+
+She could not be sure, but Sonya's appearance indicated that she was
+suffering from the terrible scourge of typhus.
+
+This disease had been one of the most terrible results of the war.
+Because of a greater lack of sanitation and cleanliness the fever had
+been more widespread in Servia and in Russia than in any other
+countries.
+
+Personally Nona had never nursed a case before, yet she had heard the
+disease discussed and believed she recognized the symptoms.
+
+First she made a thorough examination of the little house. It was
+cleaner than most of the peasants' huts, so far Sonya must have
+prevailed, but still its conditions left much to be desired.
+
+Without being able to speak more than a few words of their language,
+Nona yet managed to give her directions.
+
+She was beginning to guess that the old peasant couple, who at first had
+seemed mysterious companions for the beautiful Russian woman, were
+probably old servants. If Sonya was a follower of Tolstoi as her mother
+had been, she must have refused to recognize any difference between
+them.
+
+But this was not their feeling. The American girl could see that in
+spirit old Katja and Nika were the devoted slaves of the younger woman.
+
+Sonya was not at first conscious of the seriousness of her illness.
+
+She wore a dressing gown of some rough homespun, a curious shade of
+Russian blue, the color of her own eyes. Her hair, which had turned far
+whiter in the past year, was partly concealed under a small lace cap
+such as the Russian peasant woman often wears. Then, although she did
+not seem able to talk, she knew Nona and thanked her for coming and for
+the advice she was giving the two old people.
+
+But when Nona had finished with her orders she came and sat down near
+Sonya.
+
+"I have read your letter and I have not been able to answer it until
+now. It seems like a miracle that I should have found out about my own
+mother here in a strange land. But perhaps I was meant to take care of
+you. You must promise to do what I tell you. I must go away now, but
+I'll come back in a little while."
+
+Nona was getting up when Sonya took hold of her skirt.
+
+Her face was flushed and her dark blue eyes shining.
+
+"You must not stay in this house, not for long at a time," she pleaded.
+"I cannot explain to you why not, but perhaps when I am strong again I
+can tell you enough to have you guess the rest. Now you must go."
+
+Sonya took Nona's cool hands in her hot ones and held them close for a
+moment.
+
+The next moment the American girl had gone.
+
+At the hospital inside the fortress she explained the situation, at
+least so far as it could be explained. A Russian woman, who had once
+been her friend, lay seriously ill at one of the nearby huts. Would one
+of the hospital physicians come and see her? Also would it be possible
+for her to be spared from caring for the soldiers to look after her
+woman friend?
+
+Certainly a Russian doctor would attend the case; moreover, after
+certain formalities Nona was allowed a leave of absence from the
+hospital demands.
+
+Then began an experience for the young American girl that nothing in her
+past two or more years of nursing had equaled.
+
+She was living and working in a new world, amid surroundings which she
+could not understand and of which she was afraid.
+
+The little hut was crude and lonely. The two old peasants could speak no
+English, but went about their tasks day after day mute and dolorous.
+Sonya was too ill to recognize her nurse, and Nona could not allow
+Barbara or Mildred to come near her, since her patient's illness was of
+the most contagious nature.
+
+Naturally Barbara and Mildred wholly disapproved of the risk Nona was
+running and she had not time nor strength to make them see her side of
+the situation. She had written them that Sonya Valesky had proved
+herself to have been an old friend of her mother's. For that reason and
+for several others she felt it her duty to care for her.
+
+But strangest of all Nona's experiences were the fragments of
+conversation which she heard from the lips of her ill friend.
+
+Sonya sometimes spoke of her girlhood and then again of her life in the
+United States and in England. Once or twice she even called the name of
+Captain Dalton. Nona supposed that she must be recalling her meeting
+with Captain Dalton at the Sacred Heart Hospital. Then she remembered
+that Sonya had spoken of knowing the English officer years before.
+
+But although her patient betrayed many facts of her past life to her
+nurse, never once did Sonya explain why she was living in such an
+out-of-the-way place. Neither did she give any clue to the kind of work
+that must have engaged her time and energy. Surely Sonya Valesky must
+have been upon some secret mission in the days of their first meeting on
+board the "Philadelphia!" Even then she had papers in her possession
+which she would allow no one to see.
+
+However, Sonya was too desperately ill to permit her nurse much
+opportunity for surmising. Nona would never have left her alone for a
+moment except that she knew it was her duty to keep up her own strength.
+
+Every afternoon she went for a short walk. And because no one but the
+Russian physician was allowed to enter the house, now and then the
+young Russian lieutenant would join Nona along the road. This could only
+occur when he was able to get leave, yet Nona began to hope for his
+coming. She was so depressed and lonely.
+
+Once she asked him if he had ever heard of a member of his family named
+"Anna Orlaff." Of course she gave no reason for her question. But it
+made no difference, because the young soldier could recall no such
+person.
+
+In the course of one of their talks, however, he confided to Nona that
+he was a younger brother, but that his family were members of the
+Russian nobility.
+
+Never once, however, did the young man betray any fact connected with
+Sonya Valesky's history. He explained that their families had long known
+each other and that he had always been fond of her, nothing more.
+
+So for this reason as well as others Nona found herself attracted by the
+young Russian officer. He seemed very simple, much younger than an
+American of the same age. At this time Michael Orlaff must have been
+about twenty-three. But Nona was wise enough to discover that he was not
+so simple and direct as she had first believed him. A Russian does not
+readily betray either his deeper thoughts or his deeper feelings. The
+young Russian lieutenant would not even speak of the war nor his own
+part in it. Yet Nona guessed from her own observation and from certain
+unconscious information that he was one of the favorite younger officers
+of the Russian general in command of the Grovno fortifications.
+
+So a number of weeks passed, until now and then Nona Davis almost forgot
+the war and her original reasons for being in her present strange
+position. No one brought her papers; Barbara's and Mildred's letters
+contained little war news. The truth was possibly being concealed from
+them, or else there was no way of their discovering it.
+
+So Nona was at least spared the anxiety of knowing that the victorious
+German hosts were drawing nearer and nearer the fortress of Grovno. Like
+stone houses built by children the other ancient Russian forts had
+fallen before his "Excellenz von Beseler," the victor of Antwerp, who
+was known as the German battering ram.
+
+Even when Sonya opened her eyes, after weeks of an almost fatal illness,
+and asked for news of the war, Nona was unable to tell her.
+
+Then as the days of Sonya's convalescence went by she would not let her
+talk of it. Always war is a more terrible thing to girls and women than
+it is to boys and men. But ever since their first acquaintance Nona had
+realized that the horror of it went deeper into Sonya's consciousness
+than any person she had yet seen. It must be the war that had aged her
+so in the past year.
+
+So the Russian woman and the American girl spoke of everything else.
+Sonya told of her own life and of Nona's mother when they were little
+girls. They had both been allowed to go away to college. It was in
+school that they imbibed their revolutionary ideas. No wonder that their
+families never forgave them!
+
+Sonya was dressed and sitting in her chair the day when the summons
+finally came for her arrest.
+
+It was Nona Davis in her nurse's Red Cross costume who opened the door
+for the two men in uniform. They were not dressed like soldiers, and as
+she could not understand what they said, she did not dream of their
+errand.
+
+But Sonya's peasant servants must have understood, for at the sight of
+the strangers they dropped on their knees and held out imploring hands.
+
+Sonya herself finally made things clear. The men were two police
+officers who had been sent to bring her to Petrograd. She had been in
+hiding here near Grovno for several months and had hoped to escape their
+vigilance. Evidently Sonya had been arrested by the Russian authorities.
+
+In spite of Nona's insistence that her patient was not well enough to be
+moved, Sonya agreed to go with them at once.
+
+And only at the moment of parting did she bestow any confidence upon the
+younger girl.
+
+Then she looked deep into Nona's golden brown eyes with her own
+strangely glowing blue ones, and whispered:
+
+"I have done nothing of which I am ashamed, Nona, or I should never have
+asked for your friendship. It may be that I can make the Russian people
+understand, but I do not feel sure. This war has made men blinder than
+ever. I have only tried to be a follower of the 'Prince of Peace.'"
+
+Then after she had walked away a few steps she came back again.
+
+"Go back to your United States as soon as you can, Nona," she urged.
+"Russia is no place for you or your friends."
+
+Because Nona Davis dared not trust herself to speak, Sonya afterwards
+went away without a word of faith or farewell from her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_A Russian Church_
+
+
+One afternoon, after Nona had been nursing her friend, Sonya Valesky,
+for some time, Mildred Thornton went alone into a little Russian church.
+
+The church was situated behind the line of the fortifications at Grovno.
+Many years before it had been erected, and now it did not occur to the
+Russian officers that it stood in especial peril. Yet the church had the
+golden dome of all Russian churches, glittering like a ball of fire in
+the sun. Certainly it afforded an easy target for the enemy's guns, and
+more than this would aid German aeroplanists in making observations of
+the geography of the surrounding neighborhood. But since Grovno was
+deemed invincible, apparently no one considered the possibility of the
+other side to this question.
+
+High cement walls guarded and mounted with cannon encircled the
+countryside for many miles, while running out from the fortress itself
+were numerous secret passages and cells, at present stored with
+ammunition.
+
+On this afternoon of Mildred's visit to the church she stood outside
+for a few moments looking upward. At first she was merely admiring the
+beauty of the little church. The gold of the dome seemed to be the one
+appealing spot of color in all the surrounding landscape. Then she
+opened the bronze doors and stole quietly inside.
+
+Always the church was left open for prayer, but today on entering
+Mildred Thornton found it empty.
+
+A Russian church is unlike all others except the Greek, for it is filled
+with brilliant colors. Instead of images such as the Roman Catholics
+use, the Russians have paintings dealing with the life of Christ, almost
+obscuring the ceiling and the walls. There are no pews such as we find
+in our own churches, for the Russian remains standing during his
+ceremony and kneels upon the stone floor in time of prayer. So one
+finds only a few chairs scattered about for old persons and ill ones.
+
+Mildred secured a stool and sat down in the shadow, gazing up toward the
+high altar.
+
+She was an Episcopalian, therefore the Russian church and its services
+did not seem so unusual to her as they did to Barbara Meade. Really she
+had been deeply impressed by the few services she had seen. There was no
+organ and no music save the intoning of the voices of the priests, and
+the words of the service she could not understand. Nevertheless the
+Russians were a deeply religious people and perhaps their reverence
+had influenced the American girl.
+
+This afternoon, although alone, Mildred felt strangely at peace. Indeed,
+her eyes were cast down and her hands clasped in prayer, when the noise
+of some one else entering the church disturbed her reverie.
+
+To the girl's surprise the figure was that of a man whom the next
+instant she recognized as General Alexis. He had come into the church
+without a member of his staff, so that evidently he too desired to be
+alone for prayer.
+
+What should she do? Mildred was too confused to decide immediately.
+Feeling herself an intruder, yet she did not wish to create a stir and
+draw attention to herself by hastily leaving.
+
+General Alexis had evidently not seen her, too intent upon his own
+devotions. For he had at once approached the altar and knelt reverently
+before it.
+
+Mildred kept silent, hardly conscious of her own absorption and
+forgetting her meditations in her interest in the kneeling soldier.
+
+In these days of little faith, small wonder that it struck Mildred as
+inspiring to see this man of many burdens and responsibilities at the
+foot of the altar.
+
+From a western window the afternoon sun shone down upon him, revealing
+the weary lines in the great soldier's face. He did not look stern or
+forbidding to Mildred this afternoon, only deeply careworn and
+depressed. However much his soldiers and the Russian people might
+trust in his power to bring them safely through an attack at Grovno,
+evidently there were hours when the distinguished general suffered like
+lesser people. Mildred Thornton understood enough of human nature to
+realize what General Alexis must at this moment be enduring. The fate
+of a people, of a nation, almost of half the world, in a measure rested
+in his hands. How inadequate any mortal must feel in the face of such a
+task!
+
+By and by Mildred's eyes dropped their lids. She felt that she was
+seeing too deeply into the holy of holies of the man before her. This
+would not be just to any human being, unaware of her presence. If only
+she could get away without disturbing him! Doubtless on discovering her
+General Alexis would be angered, or at any rate annoyed, perhaps he
+might even consider her behavior as characteristic American intrusion.
+
+Once Mildred started to her feet, but she did not try to move again, for
+at almost the same instant the Russian general rose from his knees.
+
+His face had become a little less careworn than at the moment of his
+entrance; his blue eyes, which were remarkable with his other Russian
+coloring, were less sombre. Since he did not appear to observe her,
+Mildred was glad for this last glance at her companion.
+
+Since their one meeting for some reason he had haunted her thoughts more
+than she could explain. This was partly due to the fact that he was so
+much talked of at the fortress and so idolized by his soldiers. He was
+said to be without fear, or any human weakness, but after today Mildred
+Thornton knew better than this.
+
+Unconsciously the girl must have moved or made a sound of some kind at
+this instant, for General Alexis, who had almost reached the door,
+turned quickly around. At the same time his right hand grasped his
+pistol.
+
+Was there a spy or an assassin lurking in his church to destroy him?
+There were many men of other lands who would gladly give their lives for
+his.
+
+But General Alexis' hand dropped to his side again, as soon as it had
+touched the metal of his pistol. To his surprise he had discovered a
+pair of blue-gray eyes staring at him earnestly, with almost wistful
+sympathy.
+
+General Alexis came back to where Mildred stood.
+
+"You were here in church with me and I did not see you," he said as
+simply and naturally as an ordinary person, "I hope I did not disturb
+you."
+
+"_Disturb me!_" Mildred stuttered a little in her surprise at his
+words. "Oh, I beg your pardon, it was I who should not have been here
+when you came. But I did not know, that is I did not dream you ever
+left the fort, while I like to steal in here during the hours I have
+for rest. I will not come again."
+
+General Alexis shook his head. "I should be very sorry. Rather than that
+this should happen I would stay away during those hours. But is there
+not room enough here and peace enough for us both?"
+
+Without replying Mildred inclined her head and began walking toward the
+door, General Alexis keeping beside her.
+
+"If you are returning to the fortress and will permit me, I should like
+to go back with you?" he asked.
+
+And again Mildred could only stammer a confused acquiescence.
+
+In the little court before the Russian church General Alexis' guard of
+soldiers was awaiting him. However, at an inclination of his head they
+fell in at once, marching at a respectful distance behind their general
+and his companion.
+
+"I remember our having a short conversation a few weeks ago," the
+Russian officer continued gravely, after they had gone on a few yards.
+Mildred had been vainly endeavoring to make up her mind whether she
+should be the one to speak. If so, what on earth should she say?
+
+She was glad to be spared having to make up her mind.
+
+"You were very kind," the girl returned. "I did not imagine you would
+know me again, but perhaps it is because I am an American."
+
+Just as if he had been a young man and an everyday one, General Alexis
+smiled, and Mildred was no longer afraid of him.
+
+"Oh, I may remember you, Miss Thornton, for other reasons. But to be
+truthful it is because you are an American that I am taking this
+opportunity to talk to you again."
+
+This time the Russian officer hesitated.
+
+"You will not mention what I am going to say to any persons except your
+two American friends," he added, not as a request, but as a command.
+
+"Miss Thornton, as soon as it is possible for convenient arrangements to
+be made for you I want you to know that I intend having you sent back to
+Petrograd. You must of course have a safe escort or I should have seen
+to the matter sooner."
+
+Ordinarily Mildred Thornton possessed unusual self-control, but the
+surprise, indeed, the shock of the speech, took her unawares.
+
+She had not dreamed that she and Barbara and Nona had been such complete
+failures in their Red Cross work. Why, after their several years of war
+experience they had felt themselves of perhaps unusual value in the
+Russian nursing. So far as she knew there had been no complaints of
+their work, only praise. But in any case how could their failures have
+reached General Dmitri Alexis' ears? It seemed incredible that he should
+ever be annoyed with such trifling concerns.
+
+"Just as you wish," Mildred answered quietly, yet with greater personal
+dignity than any one of the other American Red Cross girls could have
+summoned. "We have done our best to help with the nursing. If we have
+failed it is, of course, wisest that we should return to Petrograd.
+Afterwards we can go home to the United States."
+
+"Failed in your nursing? And it is for that reason you believe I wish to
+have you sent away from my fortress?"
+
+Actually General Alexis stopped in his walk and faced his companion,
+since Mildred was, of course, obliged to stop also.
+
+"That is folly. I know nothing of your nursing. But from your face, from
+a something, a serenity and strength that your presence suggests, I feel
+that you must understand and love your profession."
+
+General Alexis was now studying Mildred Thornton with surprising
+intentness, as though he were trying in this moment of their
+acquaintance to pierce beneath the surface of the girl before him. This
+was characteristic of the man. No human being was ever too small or too
+unimportant for his consideration. He was a strange combination: a great
+soldier and yet one of the gentlest of men.
+
+"I want you to go back to Petrograd because I fear for your safety and
+the safety of your friends should you remain much longer at Grovno," he
+continued. "It is of this fact you are not to speak. I have reason to
+know that at almost any hour in the next few days we may expect the
+German attack. Grovno will resist to the uttermost. But it may be that
+the old fortifications are not so invincible as we once thought them to
+be. A new war has brought a new world and the old order changeth."
+
+Once again Mildred saw beneath the outer surface of the man, but almost
+at once he was again the soldier.
+
+"You understand that I do not expect this. If I decide it may be wiser
+to retreat, it will only be to form a conjunction with another part of
+Grand Duke Nicholas' army. But in any case I should prefer to have you
+three American nurses away from all possible danger. The Russian nurses
+will share the fate of their own soldiers. Be prepared to leave within a
+few days. When the necessary arrangements are made you will receive
+instructions."
+
+Then before Mildred could protest, and she had scarcely the courage for
+this, they had reached the gate of the fortress.
+
+Here General Alexis bowed and waited for his guard to come up with him.
+Mildred could feel the surprise even of the sentries at the gate and the
+few soldiers who chanced to be near at their unexpected appearance.
+Truly it was amazing that the great commander should be concerned with
+the fate of three unimportant American girls, and even more amazing that
+he should actually show his consideration and friendliness to one of
+them!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_Another Warning_
+
+
+Two hours after Sonya Valesky had been taken away by the Russian police
+Nona Davis started back for the Russian fortress.
+
+Only a few moments were required to pack her own belongings, since the
+little house and everything inside it had been fumigated as soon as
+Sonya reached a state of convalescence. Nona's time had been spent in
+trying to comfort Sonya's servants, old Katja and Nika, and also in
+trying to acquire some information from them.
+
+In neither effort was she successful. Either the old man and woman knew
+nothing of Sonya's actions, or else they were too grief-stricken to
+confide their knowledge. There was also the third possibility that Sonya
+had warned them against betraying her to any human being. Whatever the
+reason, they were dumb, except for their half-broken Russian prayers and
+stories of Sonya as a little girl. If she had not long ago been fully
+aware of the fact, Nona was now assured that the two peasants had been
+former servants of the Russian woman. It was Sonya who would not
+recognize the distinctions of maid and mistress, who called herself by
+no title and would allow her servants to call her by none.
+
+Therefore it was almost night when Nona left the little hut, old Nika
+carrying her bag and plodding behind her. The girl felt that she must
+return to her two American friends to receive their aid and sympathy.
+
+Surely something could be done for Sonya, it was horrible to think of
+her being carried off to a Russian prison, concerning which one had read
+such dreadful stories. She was too ill and she seemed so utterly without
+friends or relatives. Yet Nona herself was utterly powerless, knowing no
+one with any influence in Russia. Nevertheless she felt a strange bond,
+which had come to her out of the past, between herself and Sonya
+Valesky.
+
+One person, however, might be willing to give her advice, though she
+doubted his help. In returning to the fort, Nona meant as soon as
+possible to request an interview with the young Russian officer, Michael
+Orlaff.
+
+She was not frightened during her walk through the dismal Russian
+country. Wearing her Red Cross uniform she felt a sufficient protection,
+besides old Nika's presence. But the real truth is she was too absorbed
+in considering Sonya's history and fate to be aware of anything else.
+
+She was therefore more annoyed than frightened when a figure appeared
+before her at the crossing of the road by the Three Pines. The voice
+that straightway called out to them held a quality of command that made
+Nika drop at once on his knees. Nona was not in the least frightened,
+but then she had seen the outline of the young officer's figure and the
+glistening of his sword hilt.
+
+"I am Nona Davis, an American Red Cross nurse on my way back to the
+fortress, Lieutenant Orlaff," the girl explained. "I am glad to have met
+you, as perhaps you will tell me what I must do when I reach the gate."
+
+The Russian officer saluted as though Nona had been a superior officer.
+
+"I was on my way at the present moment to Sonya Valesky's home to
+inquire for her. This is the first hour of freedom I have been able to
+command all day. But tell me what brings you back to the fortress at
+this time? Has Sonya grown worse or is she better?"
+
+Here was her opportunity. Nona felt that fate must have sent it to her
+by a special dispensation. Now there need be no delay in her confidence.
+
+Lieutenant Orlaff came of a noble family, he must have powerful
+connections, if he could only be persuaded to use them in Sonya's
+behalf. Certainly he had appeared to be her friend, although
+disapproving of her behavior and views of life.
+
+As sympathetically and as quickly as possible Nona told of the coming
+of the Russian police. Then she laid great stress on the fact that Sonya
+was too ill to have been taken away at such a time. Yet she had gone
+without resistance, making no plea for herself and asking for no aid.
+What must _they_ do? The situation was unendurable.
+
+Intentionally Nona used the pronoun "they," including Lieutenant Orlaff
+with herself in their interest in Sonya. Yet except for his first
+muttered exclamation the Russian officer had made no comment.
+
+In the darkness Nona gazed at him resentfully. The Russians were a cruel
+people, sometimes all fire and then again all ice. She would like to
+have told him what an American man would have attempted for a friend,
+who was a woman and in such a tragic position, no matter what her crime
+or mistake. But Nona was sure by this time that Sonya Valesky had
+committed no crime. She had come to know her too well, her exquisite
+gentleness, so oddly combined with a blind determination that took no
+thought of self. Besides she recalled her friend's final words, "a
+follower of the Prince of Peace." Surely there were but few such
+followers in the European world today!
+
+Awaiting his answer, Nona continued to look at her companion. The young
+Russian might have stood for the figure of "Mars," the young god of war,
+as he strode along beside her. He was six feet in height, splendidly
+made, and tonight in the semi-darkness his face showed hard and unmoved.
+
+"I am grieved but not surprised at what you tell me," he returned the
+next moment. "Not a hundred, but a thousand times I have warned Sonya
+that she must give up her mad ideas. There was sufficient danger in them
+when the world was at peace. Now in time of war to preach that men are
+brothers, that there should be no such thing as patriotism, that all men
+are kin, no matter what their country, there never was such folly. It is
+hard to feel pity or patience."
+
+"Then you will do nothing to help?" Nona inquired, trying to hide the
+anger she felt. "Of course I understand that from your point of view
+and from the view of nearly all the world Sonya Valesky is hopelessly
+wrong. But I can't see why she should be punished because she has a
+higher ideal than other people?"
+
+If Nona had only thought for a moment she would have realized that the
+world has always thus rewarded its visionaries.
+
+"But Sonya is not content to think in this way alone. She has spent her
+life in trying to persuade other persons to her view, and has many
+followers. Once she was a very rich woman and traveled in many lands
+preaching her universal brotherhood," the young officer ended his speech
+with a characteristic shrug of his shoulders, which is the Oriental
+fashion of announcing that fate is stronger than one's will.
+
+"To have continued advocating such a doctrine in a time of war was worse
+than madness. I have done what I could, I have even risked my own honor
+and safety in remaining Sonya's friend. Now retribution has come," he
+concluded, as though the subject was not to be resumed.
+
+And Nona did not reply at once. So the young Russian officer and the
+American girl walked on toward the fortress through darkness that was
+each moment growing more dense. There were no lights save the stars,
+since the fortress was only dimly lighted in the interior; outside
+lights would too plainly have exposed their position to the enemy.
+
+"What then do you think will become of Sonya? What punishment will she
+have to suffer?" Nona inquired when she felt that she had gotten her
+voice under control.
+
+"Siberia," Lieutenant Orlaff returned briefly. Then feeling that his
+companion desired him to say more, he went on:
+
+"In many cases a man or woman who has done what Sonya Valesky has would
+be hung as a traitor. She has been preaching peace, which means she has
+been urging men not to fight. That is treason to Russia. But I believe
+that Sonya will be lightly dealt with because she comes of a family that
+once served the Czar and his father. Besides, Sonya is a woman and a
+beautiful one and it would not do to make a martyr of her."
+
+"Then you think Siberia a light punishment?" Nona questioned, no longer
+trying to keep the bitterness out of her tones. "Well, surely you accept
+a friend's misfortune easily! I have not your philosophy. I do not think
+I can do much, as I have no friends in Russia and no money, but as soon
+as I receive permission I shall go to Petrograd to be of whatever
+service I can."
+
+Lieutenant Orlaff stared at the girl beside him. It was impossible to
+see anything but the outline of her face, yet he could observe its
+pallor and the sheen of her hair under the nurse's cap. Besides, he felt
+the contempt she had not allowed herself to express, for the Russian is
+singularly proud and sensitive.
+
+"I repeat that I am very sorry," the young officer added. "You are wrong
+in thinking I take Sonya Valesky's fate lightly. Her family and mine, as
+I once told you, have been friends for many years. After the death of
+her parents my father was for a little time her guardian until she came
+of age. I will do what I can; I will write letters to her relatives and
+to people who were once her friends. But I warn you to expect nothing.
+Long ago they became weary of her wild theories and have had nothing to
+do with her for years."
+
+"Then all the more reason why I should do what I can. Even if I
+accomplish nothing, at least Sonya will have the comfort of knowing that
+a friend is near her during her trial," the girl said aloud, although
+really not addressing her companion.
+
+During the latter part of his speech she had been thinking very rapidly.
+First of all, she must ask for a leave of absence from her Red Cross
+nursing and explain that it was necessary for her to return to Petrograd
+for a time. But where was she to obtain the money for her expenses? She
+had nothing of her own except the few roubles which she was paid for her
+work and which she had forfeited when she undertook to care for Sonya
+Valesky. In all probability when Mildred Thornton knew her mission she
+could borrow the money from her. But then this would mean a delay so
+long that she might be of no service to Sonya. For Mildred kept only a
+small amount of extra money with her and would be compelled to write her
+father for any large sum. Weeks would pass before Judge Thornton could
+receive his daughter's request and then there would be more time
+required for the transmission of the check.
+
+However, besides Mildred there was Eugenia who could be appealed to for
+aid. There was no doubt of Eugenia's assistance, once she learned Sonya
+Valesky's story and realized why she had seemed a suspicious character
+to all of them in the days of their meeting on board the "Philadelphia."
+But Eugenia was away off somewhere in France nursing in a Red Cross
+hospital near her husband's line of trenches. It would also take time to
+reach Eugenia. Nevertheless she was the best person to whom to make a
+request.
+
+"But what connection have you with Sonya Valesky? Why should you not be
+willing to leave her to her fate?" Lieutenant Orlaff had to ask the
+second time before Nona heard him. "You have done what you could in
+nursing her through a dangerous illness; friendship could expect nothing
+more. Besides, you are an American girl and can have only a slight
+acquaintance with Sonya."
+
+Again Nona Davis did not reply immediately. How much or how little
+should she take the Russian officer into her confidence? However, it
+did not seem to her of much importance then.
+
+"You are mistaken. I am not simply an American girl," Nona explained
+quietly. "My father was an American, but my mother was a Russian. She
+and Sonya Valesky knew each other as girls, although my mother was the
+older. There is a stronger tie between us than you imagine. And I have
+reason to believe that my mother once thought as Sonya does about many
+things."
+
+"Your mother, impossible!" Michael Orlaff exclaimed, with more
+consternation and regret in his voice than was reasonable. "But you,
+surely you cherish no such ideas?"
+
+The American girl shook her head, although she seemed to be pondering
+over her companion's question before replying.
+
+"No," she returned at last. "I have no such ideas and I believe never
+will have them. Even though my mother was a Russian, I am an American in
+all my feelings and instincts and training. Russia fascinates me, but it
+frightens me at the same time. Besides, it is not necessary in our
+country that we should teach peace and equality, because it is in those
+two principles that the American people most believe. If Sonya is
+released I mean to try and take her back to the United States with me to
+remain until the war is over."
+
+"But Sonya will not be released, I have tried to make you understand,"
+Lieutenant Orlaff added doggedly. "What is one woman more or less in
+times like these? Go to Petrograd if you will, Miss Davis. I have told
+you it is not wise for you and your friends to remain at Grovno. But
+when you reach Petrograd have nothing to do with Sonya Valesky. I have
+known you only a short time, yet I am your friend and I warn you.
+Cannot you see that I care very much what becomes of you? You are a
+guest in my country; you have come to do us a service. It would be a
+poor return if trouble overtook you."
+
+Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff with old Nika hobbling behind them had by
+this time about reached the entrance to the fortress. Nona was truly
+grateful. She was very tired and depressed from the day's experiences.
+Moreover, she did not understand the manner or the words of the young
+officer beside her. At one moment he seemed extraordinarily hard and at
+the next unnecessarily concerned. Nothing could happen to her in
+Petrograd of a serious character, but in any case her experiences could
+not interest Lieutenant Orlaff.
+
+As soon as possible Nona said good-by to him. Later, in recalling their
+conversation, she often thought of a phrase he used: "What is one woman
+more or less in times like these?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+_The Attack_
+
+
+There was a great deal more for the three American Red Cross girls to
+confide to one another than they could find time for, soon after Nona
+Davis' return to the fortress.
+
+But two evenings later it chanced that the three girls were all on day
+duty and therefore had the same evening and night free.
+
+In the left wing of the fortress, near the hospital quarters, was the
+single, small bedroom which the three American nurses shared. Once
+before Nona had discovered Barbara Meade rereading one of Dick
+Thornton's letters and giving way to the blues in their small, cold
+chamber. This evening she made the discovery a second time.
+
+It chanced that Barbara had gotten away from her nursing first and
+hurried off to the only privacy that was possible under the
+circumstances. Because she was looking forward to a long and serious
+conversation with her two friends she made ready to meet the situation
+as comfortably as possible. This means that Barbara slipped out of her
+nursing uniform and into the pretty kimono that Mildred had presented
+her with long ago in Paris. Then, while she waited for the others, she
+read Dick's and Eugenia's latest letters once again.
+
+At last Dick had arrived in New York City and was writing from the
+lovely home Barbara remembered so well. He had only been there a little
+while when this letter had been written, but already Dick had confided
+the news of his engagement to his mother and father.
+
+Barbara could read between the lines in a characteristic feminine
+fashion. Dick declared that his father was delighted to hear of his
+happiness and that he had not forgotten that they probably owed their
+son's life to the girl to whom he was now engaged.
+
+But Judge Thornton agreed with his son--a man should be able to support
+his wife before he married. Therefore he meant to do all that he could
+to get Dick started in the right way, so that he might go ahead as
+quickly as possible.
+
+Dick did not seem to feel that it would take very long to accomplish
+this delectable result, but to Barbara, away off in Russia, a land she
+both disliked and feared, the situation looked pretty indefinite.
+
+Moreover, Dick had said nothing about the way in which his mother had
+received the news of a prospective daughter-in-law. This was not an
+oversight on Dick's part; Barbara understood him too well to be deceived
+into any such impression. He and his mother were too intimate and
+devoted for him not to care intensely about her attitude toward the girl
+he wished to marry. Never could he have forgotten to mention his
+mother's position! No, it was merely what she had always expected. Mrs.
+Thornton thoroughly disapproved of her son's engagement and Dick would
+not wound the girl he loved by writing her this fact. Later there was a
+chance that his mother might be persuaded to change her mind. But in any
+case it would be easier to explain by word of mouth than coldly to set
+down the present situation.
+
+Moreover, if Barbara had required further proof, she would have had it
+in the fact that Mrs. Thornton had not written her a single line to say
+either that she was glad or sorry that the daughter of her husband's old
+friend had become engaged to her only son. If she had spoken of the
+matter to Mildred, Mildred had never referred to it, proving again that
+any comment from Mrs. Thornton must have been unfavorable.
+
+While she made these reflections following the rereading of her fiancé's
+letter, Barbara was lying on her cot-bed with an army blanket drawn
+close up under her chin. Now she buried her curly head deeper in her
+pillow and turned from Dick's to Eugenia's letter.
+
+It was difficult to think of Eugenia Peabody as Madame Castaigne, indeed
+as the Countess Castaigne, only neither she nor her husband would ever
+be induced to use their titles. The old Countess might always remain in
+safe possession of hers.
+
+Barbara wondered if Eugenia was happier than she was. Then she felt
+ashamed of herself. Eugenia's husband was every instant in danger of
+losing his life, while Dick had only returned to the United States,
+where he was now safe in his own home. Yet Eugenia's letter made no
+complaints. She mentioned having seen Captain Castaigne once in the past
+month, when he had received a leave of absence of twenty-four hours and
+had hurried to her.
+
+No, Eugenia's letter was chiefly devoted, as all her previous letters
+had been, to her interest and concern in the three American Red Cross
+girls. She wished them to return immediately to France and to the old
+chateau, where the Countess Castaigne would be only too happy to shelter
+them. Later, if they wished, they could find other Red Cross work to do
+in France. But Russia was not a country where the girls should have
+gone at this time, and certainly not without her to look after them.
+Moreover, the news from the Russian lines grew more and more alarming.
+Everywhere the Germans seemed to be conquering. It was disheartening
+after the Russian triumphs at the beginning of the war. The letter
+closed with a final plea: would Barbara do her best to persuade Nona and
+Mildred that they should as soon as possible come back to France. There
+would be no cowardice or desertion of duty in leaving Russia at present,
+only discretion and good sense.
+
+And upon this point of view Barbara was reflecting when Nona found her.
+
+Personally Barbara agreed with Eugenia and wished that Nona and Mildred
+would join her in withdrawing from Russia whenever they could best be
+spared. But she could not decide whether she ought to thrust her point
+of view upon her friends since she was uncertain whether her judgment or
+her desire most swayed her.
+
+France would be so much nearer New York and therefore Dick's letters
+could be so much more frequent. Then there was the Countess Castaigne,
+to whom she could pour out all her heartburnings. Moreover, there was
+the chance of every now and then seeing her beloved Eugenia.
+
+But Barbara also remembered that she had always been the least brave and
+determined of the four American nurses ever since their arrival in
+Europe. Should she reveal herself in the selfsame light again?
+
+At this instant Nona snuggled under the blanket beside the younger girl.
+
+The Russian winter was fast approaching and frequently it was bitterly
+cold. Besides, there were no chairs in the Red Cross girls' bedroom,
+only the three beds and some stools, so it was simpler to lie down than
+be seated.
+
+"I have a long story to tell you, Bab, and I want your advice, only I
+think we had best wait for Mildred, so you may not have to hear
+everything twice," Nona began.
+
+"You mean about Sonya Valesky?" Barbara queried. Of course Nona had told
+her two friends of Sonya's arrest, but had not been able to go into the
+details of the story, nor had she mentioned her own intentions. Very
+possibly both the girls would disapprove, as Lieutenant Orlaff had done,
+of her becoming more closely involved with Sonya Valesky's history.
+
+Fortunately Mildred appeared at the door without further delay.
+
+But when she entered the room, both of her companions could see that she
+also had something of importance upon her mind which she wished to
+discuss at once.
+
+Instead of lying down, Mildred immediately seated herself upon the edge
+of her cot, facing her friends. Then she drew her own blanket up around
+her shoulders.
+
+"Girls," she began, "I don't usually do the talking, but I want both of
+you to listen to me for a few moments tonight. I have been trying to
+speak of this for several days, and if I don't tell you now the order
+may come when you are wholly unprepared. We are to be sent back to
+Petrograd as soon as a safe escort can be found for us."
+
+"Sent back to Petrograd! Thank fate for even so much!" Barbara
+whispered under the cover. "Petrograd might be the beginning of a return
+journey to France."
+
+Then she drew her chin up, endeavoring to appear deeply wounded.
+
+"Do you mean, Mildred, that our services as Red Cross nurses are not
+considered valuable?" she demanded. "Why, only today one of the Russian
+surgeons declared that it was difficult to decide which one of us did
+the best work. Of course, I think Mildred at present deserves the prize,
+Nona has been off duty so long in taking care of Sonya Valesky."
+
+Mildred Thornton glanced from one girl's face to the other. In spite of
+Barbara's effort to conceal her pleasure, it was evident that she was
+secretly rejoicing. But Mildred understood Barbara's position; it was
+natural that she should feel as she did under the circumstances. Then
+Barbara had never put forth any claims to being a martyr.
+
+What really surprised Mildred Thornton was Nona Davis' expression of
+relief, almost of pleasure, at her news.
+
+Why, Nona had been more enthusiastic than any one of them over the Red
+Cross nursing in Russia! She it was who had originally planned their
+coming into Russia and had been most deeply interested since their
+arrival.
+
+"But why are we to be sent back to Petrograd?" Nona also demanded,
+frowning a little in her effort to grasp the situation. "What reason
+was given; have we failed in any duty or service since our arrival at
+Grovno?" Nona went on, sitting up, while two spots of color appeared
+in her cheeks. "Please, Mildred, don't be mysterious. Tell us where
+you received your information and why we are to be sent away so
+ignominiously?"
+
+Mildred Thornton shook her head in quiet reproach. She was not so
+impatient nor so unreasonable as the other two girls.
+
+"I am waiting to tell you," she returned. "The other afternoon I was
+sitting alone in the little Russian church when General Dmitri Alexis
+came in. On leaving he chanced to discover me and asked me to walk with
+him for a few moments. You know I told you I had met him the day he came
+into my hospital ward to decorate the dying soldier?" Mildred added.
+
+This time her companions only nodded, not wishing to interrupt.
+
+"Well, it was General Alexis himself who said that he wished us to go
+back to Petrograd. It was not that he felt the fortress at Grovno would
+not be able to hold out against the German attacks, but that a soldier
+should be prepared for any emergency. In case Grovno should fall, or
+General Alexis decide it wiser to retreat and join another portion of
+Grand Duke Nicholas' army, he does not wish us at Grovno. He says that
+the Russian Red Cross nurses have the right to remain with their own
+soldiers, but that we are Americans and with us the circumstances are
+different. He does not intend that harm shall befall us. So I am afraid
+we have no choice in the matter. As soon as the order comes from General
+Alexis we must be ready to leave at once. One can scarcely dare disobey
+the commander in chief," Mildred concluded, with regret in her tones.
+
+"Certainly not," Barbara added with emphasis.
+
+Then for another moment Nona Davis continued gazing thoughtfully at
+Mildred.
+
+"I suppose I ought to tell you, Mildred, you and Barbara both, that I am
+not sorry we are to go to Petrograd; indeed, I am truly glad. Because I
+had intended to try to get permission to return there alone. You know I
+told you of Sonya's arrest, but I did not tell you that I intend to do
+all that I possibly can to befriend her. She seems to have no one who
+cares what becomes of her so far as I can find out, except her two old
+servants, Katja and Nika. I may not be able to do much, but I have
+written Eugenia, asking her to lend me some money and to forward it to
+the American Ambassador at Petrograd as soon as possible. I would like
+to leave almost at once. You see, I don't know what has become of Sonya,
+nor when her trial may take place."
+
+"And for my part I hope you may never know," Barbara protested, sitting
+up with her cheeks suddenly crimson and her hair much tousled.
+
+"See here, girls, I know neither of you think much of my advice, and
+very probably you don't consider me especially brave. I'm not disputing
+the last point. But I am more sensible than either of you and I can see
+both sides of a situation better. Mildred is an idealist, and Nona, you
+are a dreamer. You think you are not, but I expect you have more of your
+mother's blood in you than you realize. I am desperately sorry for Sonya
+Valesky. I think she is an exquisite and much-wronged woman with the
+courage and devotion necessary to a martyr. But I don't see that you are
+particularly fitted to follow her example, Nona. That is all that would
+happen if you attempt to mix yourself up with Sonya Valesky's political
+fortunes in Petrograd. You have no important friends and could do
+absolutely nothing for her, but you might manage to get yourself and us,
+because we care for you, into a great deal of hot water."
+
+Mildred began to undress.
+
+"I think Bab is right, Nona, though I understand just how you feel. It
+does seem too cruel to desert a friend in a time of such extremity. When
+we get to Petrograd perhaps we can talk Sonya Valesky's case over with
+our Ambassador and he may help us with his advice. Let's get to sleep
+now; we can judge more wisely in the morning."
+
+It was too cold for a leisurely disrobing, so in a very short time the
+three girls were ready for the night. Soon after they were asleep.
+
+For many hours, lasting all through the darkness, the fortress at Grovno
+appeared wrapped in a profound silence. This in spite of the presence of
+many thousands of men without and within its gates. Now and then there
+may have been the faint noise of a sentry changing his watch, or a scout
+arriving with a report for headquarters.
+
+It was just at dawn when the German attack began. But the Russian
+general had been warned and was awaiting it.
+
+Never in all the grim history of war was there ever a more sudden or
+more terrific cannonading.
+
+The three American girls were at first stunned by the unexpected noises
+of the explosions. Shell after shell shrieked over the walls of the
+fortress, cannon after cannon repeated an unceasing bombardment.
+
+Neither were the Russian guns slow in replying. Except for the location
+of the sounds it was impossible to tell which were the Russian cannon
+and which those of the enemy.
+
+For some time no one of the three American girls attempted to speak. It
+would have been impossible to have heard one another. But by and by
+Barbara crawled out of her cot and put her arm about Mildred Thornton.
+
+"I am frightened, Mildred. I wish your General's order had come sooner
+and we were safely away from Grovno. I think perhaps because of Dick I
+don't want anything dreadful to happen. I want to be happy."
+
+There was a sob in Barbara's voice which Mildred heard, if not with her
+ears, at least with her heart.
+
+"It is going to be all right, little sister," she returned. "I can't
+explain exactly why, but I have perfect faith in General Alexis."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_Mildred's Opportunity_
+
+
+For five days and nights the firing continued almost without cessation.
+
+In a measure the occupants of the Russian fortress grew accustomed to
+the noises, unless one explosion seemed a little more terrific than the
+others.
+
+Actually the Red Cross nurses went about their work inside the hospital
+wing of the fort as though the Germans were not attacking.
+
+There was one fact, however, that could not be overlooked: more and more
+wounded were constantly being brought in, until not only the cots but
+most of the floor space of the wards were covered with stricken
+soldiers.
+
+There was no definite news. No one could say whether the Germans had
+been seriously depleted by the Russian gun fire, or whether the Grovno
+fort would be able to continue its resistance. A few of the outer
+defenses had already fallen. The Russian soldiers in the trenches behind
+the first line of barricades had sought safety inside the fortress. But
+these signs meant nothing of moment, and no one dared ask questions of
+the Russian officers, who alone might know the purpose of their
+commander.
+
+Then on the morning of the seventh day, at dawn, Mildred Thornton, who
+chanced to be gazing out of a small window which overlooked the
+courtyard of the fort, made a discovery.
+
+She had not been asleep all night, as there was so much work to be done,
+but on the way to her room had stopped for a single breath of fresh air,
+after the fever and confusion of the hospital.
+
+What she saw were enormous cannon being lifted on low motor trucks and
+these trucks being driven as swiftly as possible outside the Grovno gate
+and along the Russian highway. There were a few soldiers accompanying
+them.
+
+Almost with the flash of an intuition the idea came to Mildred: General
+Alexis was contemplating a retreat. He must have decided that, alone and
+with only a limited number of regiments at his command, he would be
+unable to hold out against the enemy for an unlimited time. Therefore it
+might be wiser to draw them further into Russia and away from their own
+supplies. General Alexis could join Grand Duke Nicholas beyond the Styr
+River and there be better prepared to meet the invaders. Mildred knew
+that the country on the other side of the river covered miles of swamps.
+If the bridges over the river were destroyed, the Germans would find
+great difficulty in pursuit.
+
+Therefore the cannon and other heavy guns, with whatever munitions could
+be spared, were first to be taken to places of safety. Later on General
+Alexis would probably give orders for a more general retreat. But when
+Grovno fell the Germans would find none of the spoils of war left behind
+for the victors.
+
+All this Mildred thought out slowly and carefully as she stood for a few
+moments beside the tiny window. Then she went into her room, changed
+her uniform for a fresher one and returned to her work. Not a word of
+her idea did she breathe to any one. She had no foundation for her
+impression, and at first it was an impression, nothing more. Yet Barbara
+or Nona might have been frightened by the suggestion.
+
+However, as the dawn passed and the hours of the day followed, other
+persons beside Mildred Thornton began dimly to appreciate the possible
+conditions. More and more of the munitions of war were hauled away, and
+surely this did not look as if the fight were to be persisted in at
+Grovno.
+
+Finally, just before twilight the order came that the wounded, with
+their nurses and surgeons, were to be moved at nightfall. Whatever
+preparations were necessary must be made at once.
+
+Silently small groups of soldiers were already being marched away.
+
+Oh, of course the old guns of the famous fortress continued to belch
+forth destruction, and there was no lessening of the front ranks of
+soldiers, who were directly attacking the enemy. General Alexis was
+merely drawing off the men whom he did not actually need for defense.
+Grovno could be protected by a comparatively small number of soldiers
+without the enemy appreciating any depreciation in their numbers. For
+all the firing was done behind a barricade of walls. So far the Germans
+were about a mile away. There would be no hand-to-hand combats until the
+fortress was finally demolished.
+
+Even under such dangerous conditions the American Red Cross girls were
+relieved to hear that they were to be sent from Grovno. They were also
+told that they were not to follow the army. As soon as they reached a
+railroad, the wounded and their nurses were to be removed to Petrograd.
+There they would find hospitals ready for their accommodation.
+
+So it was to be Petrograd after all! The three girls were not seriously
+frightened; indeed, they were less so than at the time of the French
+retreat. It was so evident that General Alexis was providing for the
+safety of the wounded before the danger time. They would find all the
+roads open to them now, while the Germans were being held on the farther
+side of the ancient stone walls.
+
+Just after dusk the hospital staff and their patients were ready for
+departure. Parties of ten, consisting of seven wounded soldiers, two
+nurses and a physician, gathered quietly in the stone courtyard enclosed
+by the wings of the fortress. They were then placed in low carts, drawn
+by gaunt horses and driven by a Russian moujik, wearing a long blouse,
+high boots and a cap with the peculiar Russian peak.
+
+There were no such facilities for transportation in Russia as the
+American Red Cross girls had found in France. The motor cars and
+ambulances owned by the Russian army were few in number and inadequate
+to their needs. These could only be employed in cases where swiftness
+was a pressing necessity.
+
+The three American girls were standing together just outside a stone
+doorway leading into the yard and awaiting orders. As a matter of
+course they wore their Red Cross uniforms: the long circular cape and
+the small close-fitting bonnet. But Barbara had also put on nearly
+everything else she possessed. They would be traveling all night under
+extremely uncomfortable conditions and through a bitterly cold country.
+In fact, Barbara looked rather like a little "Mother Bunch" with her
+squirrel fur coat on top of her sweater and her cape over them both, and
+carrying her army blanket.
+
+Mildred was also prepared for the cold with a heavy coat under her
+uniform cape. Unfortunately, Nona owned nothing to make her more
+comfortable, except that Mildred had insisted upon lending her her
+sweater. But both girls had their blankets over their arms and small
+bags in their hands. There would be no room for other luggage.
+
+"We are going to have a wonderful night, I think," Barbara murmured. "Of
+course it will be hard and we may have to suffer discomfort and see
+others suffering far worse things. But a retreat through this strange
+country, with its odd inhabitants, as unlike as if they belonged in
+different planets, will be an experience none of us will ever wish to
+forget."
+
+It was curious that Barbara should almost whisper her little speech, as
+if her voice could be heard above the uproar of the cannonading. Yet in
+the pauses between the firing lasting a few moments the silence seemed
+almost unearthly.
+
+At present there was just such a silence, so that the American girls
+could even hear the creaking of the old wagon wheels as the ambulance
+carts rolled out of the fortress yard. Now and then there was a faint
+groan from a wounded man that could not be repressed. The wagons had no
+springs, but were made as comfortable as possible by layers of hay
+covering the wagon floors.
+
+Almost the moment that Barbara's speech was finished, some one suddenly
+stepped out of the door, near which the three girls were standing.
+Looking up they discovered a colonel in the Russian army, on the
+personal staff of General Alexis. No one of the three girls knew the
+officer's name; his rank they recognized from the uniform he wore.
+Moreover, they had observed him always accompanying the Russian
+commander as one of his chief aides.
+
+His appearance in the courtyard at this moment was surprising, but in
+all probability he wished to issue a direct order concerning the plan of
+retreat.
+
+Yet the officer did not at once move forward to where groups of soldiers
+were also making preparations to be on the march. Instead he stood for a
+few moments just outside the door, gazing searchingly about him.
+
+No one of the Red Cross girls spoke. They were too awed by the gravity
+of the situation to make trivial remarks. Moreover, the big Russian
+officer was an impressive figure. It was more interesting to watch him
+until they were summoned to take their places in the wagons that were
+now leaving the fortress at intervals of about ten minutes apart.
+
+By chance Mildred Thornton made a movement and immediately the Russian
+colonel directed his glance toward her. He stared at her for a moment in
+silence and then, stepping forward, touched her upon the arm.
+
+"I should like to speak to you a moment alone, nurse," he announced in
+low tones, although Barbara and Nona both heard this part of his speech.
+
+Instantly Mildred complied, and the girl and man moved a few feet away,
+where they could talk without being overheard.
+
+Under the circumstances neither Barbara nor Nona had the temerity to
+follow them. But this did not mean that they were not both
+extraordinarily curious. At least they strained their ears as much as
+possible in order to try and catch a stray word spoken either by Mildred
+or her companion. But they heard nothing except the low murmur of the
+two voices, the officer asking questions and Mildred making replies.
+
+"What on earth do you suppose he can be saying to Mill?" Barbara
+finally whispered.
+
+Nona only shook her head. Any guessing would be a pure waste of energy,
+since Mildred would return in a few moments to explain.
+
+She did come back almost immediately, but with her first words her
+friends realized that something unusual had occurred. Ordinarily Mildred
+was calm and self possessed. Now her voice shook and indeed she seemed
+to be shivering either from cold or excitement.
+
+"I can't go with you to Petrograd, girls," she said quietly enough,
+however. "Listen, please, so I can make matters plain to you, for you
+may be ordered to leave at any moment. Barbara, I want you to write my
+father and mother and try and make them see I had no choice in this
+decision. But you must not speak of the circumstances to any one else.
+It would be dangerous for me and for us all if you betray this
+confidence. The officer who talked with me just then is Colonel
+Feodorovitch. He is very near General Alexis and tells me that General
+Alexis has been wounded. The wound is not considered serious and he
+refuses to give up his command or to leave the fort until the final
+moment for retreat. Neither must his soldiers learn of what has taken
+place. His own surgeon is with him now and will remain with him. But
+there is a chance that they will also require a nurse. Colonel
+Feodorovitch came to find one before we all got away. By accident he
+saw me first and requested me to remain behind. I could not refuse."
+
+"Mildred!" Nona and Barbara exclaimed in unison, with no attempt to
+conceal their dismay, almost their horror.
+
+"But you can't accept, Mildred," Barbara expostulated. "If you do I
+shall not leave you. Why, what would your mother and father and Dick
+think of my deserting you at such a time? Besides, don't you remember
+that General Alexis himself wanted us safe in Petrograd before the
+retreat. He would be bitterly opposed to your being chosen to remain
+behind. Didn't you speak of this to Colonel Feodorovitch?"
+
+"I couldn't, Barbara," Mildred insisted. "It would have been such a
+long story and Colonel Feodorovitch knows about as much English as I
+do Russian. It would only have looked as though I were shirking a most
+important duty. General Alexis will not recall ever having thought or
+spoken to me, at a time when the Russian army, perhaps the whole Russian
+nation, is dependent on his failure or success. If I can do even the
+least thing to help him at such a crisis, why, how could I refuse?
+Please try and see this as I do, Barbara, you and Nona. There may be
+nothing for me to do. General Alexis' wound is not serious or he could
+not retain his command. I must leave you now; I am wanted at once. I'll
+join you in Petrograd as soon as it is humanly possible."
+
+But Barbara had clutched Mildred's coat.
+
+"You shall not stay alone. I am almost your sister and I won't allow
+it."
+
+Quietly Mildred unclasped the younger girl's hand.
+
+"For my own sake I would give a great deal to have you stay, Bab, but we
+have no choice. Remember, we are under discipline like soldiers. We must
+do as we are commanded."
+
+With this Mildred returned inside the fortress.
+
+At the same instant Nona Davis and Barbara Meade heard their names being
+called. At once they moved forward and were assisted inside the wagon,
+which soon after passed out of the gate and moved creakingly along the
+main road in the direction of the Styr River.
+
+They were to cross one of its bridges, as the main army was now doing.
+The last of the regiments at Grovno would see that the bridges were
+destroyed before the German soldiers could come up to them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_A Russian Retreat_
+
+
+For many hours the ambulance wagon in which Nona and Barbara were riding
+jogged on, forming one of a procession of similar wagons.
+
+The girls grew cold and cramped. Now and then they tried to move in
+order to make their patients more comfortable or at least to give water
+to the wounded men. But the wagons were so crowded that the slightest
+stirring was well nigh impossible.
+
+Nevertheless, as Barbara Meade had predicted, the long night was one
+neither she nor Nona would ever be willing to forget.
+
+At first they rode along, passing the wooden huts of the peasants that
+once had lined both sides of the main road leading to the middle bridge
+across the river Styr. But many of these shacks had suffered from the
+stray shells of the Germans, which, having passed beyond the fortress,
+had brought desolation to the country side. These little wooden houses
+in many places were mere heaps of burnt-out ashes. Others were half
+burned, or else collapsed, as if they had been houses built by children,
+who had afterwards kicked them down.
+
+Everywhere, from the little homes that were unhurt, as well as from the
+ruined ones, the peasants were fleeing. With the passing of the first
+Russian regiment _away_ from Grovno they had guessed what must
+inevitably follow.
+
+There were bent-over old women and men carrying packs on their backs
+like beasts of burden, and in truth the Russian peasant has been nothing
+more for many centuries. The children, who ran along beside them, were
+incredibly thin and dirty and hungry.
+
+One member of each little group would carry a lighted pine torch,
+pointing the way with fitful shadows. But wherever it was possible they
+followed in the wake of the wagons.
+
+At first the night was dark and the American girls could hear their
+driver muttering strange Russian imprecations as his horses stumbled
+and felt their way along. Finally Barbara presented him with the
+electric lamp, which had been Dick Thornton's farewell present to her on
+the day of her sailing from New York City. She had used it many times
+since then, but never for a queerer purpose.
+
+However, before they reached the river the moon had risen and both Nona
+and Barbara were grateful for the added light. Yet the scene they next
+witnessed was lighted by many camp fires.
+
+The Russian infantry, who had been first to begin the retreat from
+Grovno, had camped on this side the river for a few hours rest.
+
+A confused murmur of sounds arose. In little knots before the fires men
+squatted on their knees in Oriental fashion, waiting for the copper pots
+to boil. For at all hours of the day and night the Russian drinks tea,
+now more than ever, since by command of the Czar the soldier is
+forbidden to touch alcohol.
+
+The girls could observe that the men had curiously unlike faces. It was
+difficult to understand how they could all be Russians. Never before had
+they seen so many of the soldiers at one time. Some of them had flat
+faces and high cheek bones, with eyes like the Chinese.
+
+It was very strange! Yet Nona whispered that they must remember some of
+these Russian soldiers had come from Asia, from beyond the Caspian Sea.
+Perhaps their ancestors had been members of the great Mongolian horde
+that had once invaded Europe under Genghis Khan.
+
+In their interest Nona and Barbara began discussing the possible history
+of these soldiers aloud. By and by, one of the wounded men, who chanced
+to be a Russian university graduate, smiled to himself over the interest
+and excitement of the two American nurses. He had been suffering
+intensely from the jolting and was glad for anything that would distract
+his mind from his suffering.
+
+"The soldiers you are discussing are called 'Turcomen,'" he remarked
+aloud.
+
+Nona and Barbara were startled by the voice out of the darkness, but
+they murmured confused thanks.
+
+"Perhaps we had best not discuss our surroundings so openly," Nona
+suggested, and Barbara agreed with a silent motion of her head.
+
+By this time they had reached the central bridge. It was built of steel
+and stretched like a long line of silver across the dark river.
+
+Over the bridge, like enormous over-burdened ants, the American girls
+could see other ambulance wagons moving slowly on. For the horses had
+become weary of their heavy loads and yet were to have no rest of any
+length until daylight.
+
+On the farther side of the river there were other small encampments. But
+by and by Barbara Meade fell asleep with her head pressed against Nona's
+shoulder.
+
+Occasionally Nona drowsed, but not often. She was torn between two
+worries. What would become of Mildred Thornton, left behind with
+strangers in a besieged fortress that might fall at any hour? Surely her
+situation was more fraught with danger than any in which the Red Cross
+girls had found themselves since their arrival in Europe.
+
+Nona wished that she had taken sides with Barbara more decisively and
+refused to leave Grovno unless Mildred accompanied them.
+
+But Mildred had disappeared so quickly. Then the order had come for
+their departure almost at the same instant. There had been so little
+time to protest or even to think what was best. Certainly Mildred
+herself should have refused to accept such a dangerous responsibility.
+But at the same moment that Nona condemned her friend, she realized that
+she would have done exactly the same thing in her place. In coming to
+assist with the Red Cross nursing they had promised to put the thought
+of duty first. Mildred could not shirk the most important task that had
+yet been asked of her.
+
+Perhaps no harm would befall her. Certainly Nona appreciated that
+everything possible would be done to insure Mildred's safety. Her life
+and honor would be the first charge of the soldiers surrounding her.
+Moreover, General Alexis would certainly leave the fortress before there
+was a chance of his being taken prisoner. He was too valuable a
+commander to have his services lost and the Germans would regard him as
+too important a capture.
+
+So Nona's attention wandered from Mildred to her other friend, Sonya
+Valesky. What had become of Sonya and how was she ever to find her in
+the great and unknown city of Petrograd? If she only had a friend to
+consult, but she had even been compelled to leave Grovno without seeing
+Lieutenant Orlaff again. He had promised to write a few letters in
+Sonya's behalf, although assured that they would do no good.
+
+Yet in some way Nona was determined to discover the Russian woman.
+Perhaps the Czar himself might be brought to pardon Sonya if he heard
+that she would leave for the United States and never return to Russia
+again. Then Nona smiled and sighed at the same time over her own
+simplicity. The Czar was at the head of his troops, with the fate of
+his crown and his country at stake. "What did one woman more or less
+count in times like these?"
+
+Before daylight Nona must have also slept, because she was finally
+awakened by the stopping of their ambulance wagon.
+
+When she opened her eyes she was surprised to see a rose flush in the
+sky and to hear the slow puffing of an engine.
+
+The wagons had arrived at a small railroad station, connecting with the
+main road leading into Petrograd.
+
+Word of the approach of the ambulances must have been sent ahead, for a
+train of more than a dozen coaches was even now in waiting.
+
+As quickly as possible Nona and Barbara crawled out of their wagon,
+stamping their feet on the frozen ground and waving their arms in order
+to start their circulation. Then they began to assist in transferring
+the wounded soldiers from the wagons to the cars. The men were
+wonderfully patient and plucky, for they must have suffered tortures.
+They had first to be lifted on to an ambulance cot and then transferred
+to another cot inside the train. A few of the soldiers fainted and for
+them Nona and Barbara were relieved. At least they were spared the added
+pain.
+
+Yet by and by, when the long line of cars started for Petrograd, the
+occupants of the coaches were amazingly cheerful. Tea and bread had been
+served all of the travelers and cigarettes given to the men.
+
+Some of the soldiers sang, others told jokes, those who were most
+dangerously ill only lay still and smiled. They were on their way to
+Petrograd! This meant home and friends to some of them. To others it
+meant only the name of their greatest city and the palace of their Czar.
+But to all of them Petrograd promised comfort and quiet, away from the
+horrible, deafening noises of exploding bullets and shells.
+
+Naturally Nona and Barbara were affected by the greater cheerfulness
+about them.
+
+"If only Mildred were with us, how relieved I would be. Really, I don't
+know how we are to bear the suspense of not knowing what has become of
+her," Barbara said not once, but a dozen times in the course of the day.
+
+But night brought them into the famous Russian capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_Petrograd_
+
+
+On their arrival Barbara and Nona went with the wounded soldiers to a
+Red Cross hospital in Petrograd.
+
+There, to her consternation, a few days later Nona Davis became ill. The
+illness was only an attack of malarial fever, which Nona had been
+subject to ever since her childhood; nevertheless, the disease had never
+chosen a more unpropitious time for its reappearance.
+
+For a few days she seemed dangerously ill, then her convalescence left
+her weak and exhausted. She was totally unfit for work and only a burden
+instead of an aid to the hospital staff.
+
+Poor Barbara had a busy, unhappy time of it. She did her best to look
+after Nona in spare moments from her regular nursing, and she also tried
+not to lose courage when no word came from Mildred. Neither from
+newspapers nor inquiries in all possible directions could she even learn
+whether Grovno had fallen.
+
+She was unable to read the newspapers for herself and so was compelled
+to wait until one of the other nurses could find time to laboriously
+translate the information into English.
+
+Evidently at the present time the Russian papers did not desire the
+Russian people to learn the fate of the fortress and its commander. For
+all news on the subject was carefully withheld.
+
+Under the strain Barbara might have broken down herself except for a
+piece of good fortune that at length came to Nona and to her.
+
+An American woman, married to a Russian, the Countess Sergius, learning
+of the presence of the two American Red Cross nurses in the Russian
+hospital, called at once to see if she could do anything for their
+comfort. Discovering Nona ill and Barbara on the verge of a breakdown,
+the American woman insisted that the girls be her guests. They were not
+able to be of special assistance at the hospital under the present
+circumstances, while a week or so of rest and change might do wonders
+for them both.
+
+In answer to Nona's protest that she was not well enough to be an
+agreeable visitor and could not bear the ordeal of meeting strangers,
+the older woman announced that the girls could live as quietly as they
+liked. She would let them have a private apartment in her house and they
+need see no one except the servants who would look after them.
+
+As the American Countess was undoubtedly extremely wealthy and most
+anxious to be of service, Barbara and Nona gratefully accepted her
+invitation. So about ten days after their arrival in Petrograd they were
+living in one of the handsomest houses along the famous Nevski Prospect.
+This is the Fifth Avenue of Petrograd, a wide avenue three miles in
+length. Nothing is small in Russia or in the Russian people.
+
+The girls were delightfully comfortable. One-half the third floor of the
+great house had been given up to them, consisting of two bedrooms, a
+bath, and a sitting room where their meals were served.
+
+Indeed, the girls soon discovered that although the Countess meant to be
+hospitable and kind, she was sincerely glad that they wished to be left
+alone. She was an extremely busy woman, one of the important hostesses
+of Petrograd in times of peace. But now, like most society women in the
+allied countries, she was devoting all her energies to relief work.
+There were charity bazaars and concerts and Russian ballet performances,
+for the benefit of the soldiers, that must be managed day and night.
+
+After three days of luxury and idleness Nona Davis felt strong again.
+
+Perhaps more than the other Red Cross girls she deserved credit for her
+devotion to her nursing. For Nona had the southern temperament which
+loves beauty and ease, and there were times in her life when she had
+deliberately to shut her eyes to these enticements.
+
+But now, with the thought of Sonya Valesky ever on her mind, she could
+not allow herself to relax an hour longer than necessary.
+
+Contrary to Barbara Meade's judgment, Nona decided to ask the advice of
+their hostess as to how she should begin the search for her Russian
+friend.
+
+Instantly the American woman became less cordial. But when Nona had told
+as much of the other woman's story as she dared, the Countess frankly
+discussed the situation with her.
+
+If Nona would be guided by an older woman she would give up the quest
+for Sonya Valesky. Certainly Sonya's fate was an unhappy one, but she
+was wholly responsible for it herself. If she had been content to take
+life as she found it she would now have been occupying a brilliant
+position.
+
+The Countess evidently had no use for reformers or persons who break
+away from recognized conditions. She confessed to Nona that her own
+position in Russian society had been difficult to attain. Not for worlds
+would she be suspected of having anything to do with a Socialist, or an
+Anarchist, or whatever dreadful character Nona's friend might be! The
+Countess was perfectly polite, but Nona thoroughly understood that if
+she insisted upon discovering the unfortunate Sonya, her presence as a
+guest in the Countess' home would no longer be desired.
+
+Since there was nothing else to do, Nona decided that she must wait
+until help came from some unexpected direction. She had no idea of
+giving up the search for Sonya. But in the meantime she could enjoy
+a brief rest and see Petrograd.
+
+In the winter time Petrograd is the most beautifully quiet city in the
+world. And now in war times it was scarcely less so, for the ground was
+covered with many inches of snow. There was a muffled sound even to the
+tread of the soldiers' feet, marching through the frozen streets.
+Neither was there a single wagon or carriage to be heard, since
+everybody went about in sleighs and everything was hauled in the same
+way. But now, because all the best horses were at the front, one often
+saw great oxen drawing sledges through the once gay and fashionable
+city.
+
+The Countess Sergius had retained only a single pair of horses for her
+own use and that of her big household, nevertheless, she now and then
+loaned her sleigh for an afternoon to her two American girl guests.
+
+Sight-seeing was the only amusement which kept Nona and Barbara from a
+morbid dwelling on their worries. Barbara had written to Judge and Mrs.
+Thornton in the way that Mildred had directed. But she could not feel
+that either of Mildred's parents would feel any the less wretched and
+uneasy because their daughter believed that she was only "doing her
+duty." Since the original letter Barbara had never been able to write
+them again. What could she say, except that no word of any kind had
+since been received from Mildred? There would be small consolation in
+this news, and of course Barbara wrote Dick every few days.
+
+One afternoon Barbara and Nona left the Countess' house at about three
+o'clock and drove down the entire length of the Nevski Prospect toward
+the Winter Palace of the Czar.
+
+There were scudding gray clouds overhead and a light snow falling.
+
+No one could have failed to be interested. The Russian streets are
+ordinarily paved with sharp-edged stones, but the ice made them smooth
+as glass. Over the windows of the shops the girls could see painted
+pictures of what the shopkeepers had to sell inside. This is common in
+Russia, since so many of her poorer people are unable to read.
+
+Most of the buildings in Petrograd are of stucco, and indeed, except for
+her churches and a few other buildings, the Russian capital resembles a
+poor imitation of Paris. Peter the Great, who constructed the city upon
+the swamp lands surrounding the river Neva, was determined to force
+Russia into the western world instead of the east. For this reason he
+brought all his artists from France and Italy, so that he might model
+his new city upon their older ones.
+
+The Winter Palace itself the girls discovered to be a Renaissance
+building, with one side facing the river and the other a broad square.
+Their sleigh stopped by the tall monolith column commemorating Alexander
+the First, which stands almost directly in front of the Palace. Leading
+from the Palace to the Hermitage, once the palace of the great
+Catherine, is a covered archway.
+
+The Hermitage is one of the greatest art museums in the world and
+contains one of the finest collections of paintings in Europe. Although
+the two Red Cross girls had now been in Petrograd several weeks, neither
+of them had yet been inside the famous gallery.
+
+"Suppose we go in now and see the pictures," Barbara proposed. "We might
+as well take advantage of our opportunities, even if we are miserable,"
+she added with the characteristic wrinkling of her small nose. "Besides,
+I'm frozen, and you must be more so, Nona. How I have adored my squirrel
+coat and cap ever since we came to this arctic zone! Thank fortune, our
+Countess has loaned you some furs, Nona! Do you know, I really am not so
+surprised that your mother was a Russian noble woman. You look like my
+idea of a Russian princess, with your pale gold hair showing against
+that brown fur. Who knows, maybe you'll turn into a Russian princess
+some day! But shall I tell our driver to stop?"
+
+Nona Davis shook her head, smiling and yet rather pathetic, in spite of
+her lovely appearance in borrowed finery.
+
+"I don't want to be a Russian princess, Bab, or a Russian anything, I am
+afraid, in spite of my heritage. I think it a good deal nicer to be
+engaged to an American like Dick Thornton. If you don't mind, let's
+don't try to see the pictures today. I am tired and we ought to be fresh
+for such an experience. If you are cold, suppose we go back into the
+center of the town and walk about for a while. Then we can send the
+sleigh home to the Countess. I don't feel that we should keep it for
+our use the entire afternoon, and if we stop to look at the pictures it
+would take the rest of the day. There are some queer side streets that
+join the Nevski Prospect I should like to see."
+
+The Countess Sergius lived about two miles away from the Winter Palace.
+When the girls were within a quarter of a mile of the house where they
+were guests, they finally got out of the sleigh. Their driver was an old
+man with a long beard and not the character of servant the American
+Countess would have employed under ordinary conditions. But her former
+young men servants were in the army, and like other wealthy families in
+Russia at this time, she was glad to employ any one possible.
+
+However, Nona undertook to make the man understand that they would not
+need his services again that afternoon. She had more of a gift for
+languages than the western girl and her knowledge of French was always
+useful. So after a little hesitation, the big sleigh at last drove away.
+And actually for the first time since their arrival in Petrograd Nona
+and Barbara found themselves alone in the Russian streets.
+
+There could be no danger of getting lost, for they had only to come to
+this central thoroughfare and the Countess' house lay straight ahead.
+
+So the two girls turned into the side street that lay nearest them.
+
+After a five minutes walk they found themselves in another world.
+
+On the Nevski Prospect they were in Europe; here they were in Asia.
+
+It was curious, but even the smells were different. These were Asiatic
+odors, if the girls had only known, queer smells of musk and attar of
+roses and other less pleasant things.
+
+The Russian women and children were crowding the narrow streets, while
+inside the little shops the wares were displayed on big tables. In the
+summer time these goods were sold on open stalls in the streets.
+
+"Let us go into one of the shops and buy a few trinkets," Barbara
+suggested. "I would like to own one of those embroidered Russian
+aprons."
+
+Then she stopped, her attention caught, as Nona's had been, by a sudden
+rustling in the air above them. A moment later a flock of gray and white
+pigeons was crowding about their feet. These also were the pigeons that
+haunt the thoroughfares of the east.
+
+Personally Nona Davis would have preferred remaining outside in the
+fresh air. She was cold, but she objected to the squalid atmosphere of
+the interior of so many Russian houses. However, she could not refuse to
+agree to every request Barbara made of her all that afternoon.
+
+A moment later and she was almost as interested as the younger girl in
+making purchases.
+
+There were odd pieces of beautiful, gayly colored embroideries that,
+according to American ideas, appeared incredibly cheap. Then there were
+bits of Russian brass, that seemed to interest Barbara particularly, as
+it is probable that she had a sudden rush of the housekeeper's ardor.
+Here were interesting things that might be purchased for her own and
+Dick's apartment in New York almost for nothing!
+
+Whatever the cause, Nona, after fifteen or twenty minutes, found her
+own pleasure cooling. Moreover, she had very little money to spend on
+frivolities, and so found a stool in a corner and sat down to wait for
+Barbara and to watch the crowd.
+
+There were numbers of people in the shop, although few of them seemed
+to be making purchases. Now and then a big soldier, crowned by his
+peaked fur cap, would stalk proudly in to purchase a trinket, possibly
+for the girl of his heart. The Russians are ardent lovers, and as the
+soldier was only at home on a short leave, he had to make the best of
+his opportunity.
+
+Most of the women who were not wearing furs had heavy shawls drawn over
+their heads and shoulders. Nona could not see their faces very well,
+and only received flitting impressions of dark eyes and large, heavy
+features, with almost always the curiously pale and yet sallow skin
+peculiar to the Russian peasant. It is only among the better classes
+that one finds other types.
+
+Suddenly Nona gave a cry of alarm, which she quickly hushed. To her
+surprise some one had quietly come up back of her and laid a hand on
+her shoulder. It was one of these same peasant women, wearing a heavy,
+dark shawl.
+
+She was trying to say something which Nona could not at once
+understand. Yet it was plain enough that the woman was imploring
+her to make no disturbance that would attract attention.
+
+The next moment Nona had recognized the woman. It was old Katja, Sonya
+Valesky's servant, whom she had left with Nika in her little hut.
+
+What had brought the old woman to Petrograd? In reality Nona knew
+without asking the question. It was Katja's devotion to Sonya.
+
+The old woman was speaking a queer jumble of languages, Russian and the
+few words of English she had learned while the American girl was living
+in the same house.
+
+What Nona finally learned was, that Katja was imploring her to meet her
+somewhere the next day, where they could talk without being observed.
+
+Nona knew of no place except the one that was always open to rich and
+poor alike in Russia. And she had to think quickly. Yet the churches had
+always been their refuge ever since the arrival of the four Red Cross
+girls in Europe.
+
+At the same moment Nona could only recall the most celebrated Russian
+church in Petrograd. She must lose no time, for even Barbara must not
+learn of her mission, and Barbara might turn and come back to join her
+at any moment.
+
+"In the Cathedral of St. Isaac, toward the left and in the rear of the
+church at three o'clock tomorrow," Nona murmured. And Katja must have
+understood, for she went away at once.
+
+It was just as well, because at almost the same moment Barbara returned
+to join Nona, her arms full of queer-shaped packages, and looking
+happier than she had since their arrival in the Russian city.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_The Next Step_
+
+
+The following afternoon it seemed to Nona Davis that all Petrograd was
+a-glitter with onion-shaped domes. The Russian priests explained that
+these domes were really shaped like folded rosebuds, symbolizing the
+church on earth that was to blossom in heaven. But to see them in this
+fashion required a Russian imagination.
+
+However, the effect was very beautiful, and Nona was glad to have her
+attention diverted, as she started out to find the Cathedral of St.
+Isaac. Some of the domes were of blue, set with stars to represent the
+canopy of the sky. But Nona knew that the central dome of St. Isaac's
+was an enormous copper ball covered with gold and that its radiance
+could be seen at a great distance.
+
+She had had great difficulty in fulfilling her engagement with Katja.
+At first she had tried to deceive Barbara in regard to her intention,
+being fully determined to continue her search for Sonya until she had
+discovered her; nevertheless, it did not seem worth while to trouble
+Barbara while she had no actual information to go upon. But Barbara
+would not be deceived.
+
+Nona suggested that she wished to walk for several hours and feared the
+younger girl might become fatigued. In reply Barbara assured her that
+there was nothing she herself so much desired as exercise, and as for
+growing tired, Nona would the sooner be worn out, since she was the one
+who had been ill.
+
+Afterwards, while there were other excuses for her departure which Nona
+struggled to invent, all were equally useless. From the first Barbara
+had guessed her plan. Although she had seen nothing and knew nothing of
+Nona's meeting with Katja the day before, she had immediately guessed
+that Nona's desire for a solitary excursion was in some way connected
+with her effort to find Sonya Valesky. And this effort the younger girl
+continued to oppose.
+
+So Nona had finally departed, leaving Barbara in tears over her
+obstinacy and foolhardiness. She was very unhappy, but what else was
+possible for her to do? Had Barbara been in the same need that Sonya
+now was, surely no one could have persuaded her to turn her back upon
+Barbara.
+
+Katja was waiting and fortunately there were but a few other persons in
+the Cathedral at the same hour.
+
+As quickly and as intelligently as she knew how, the old woman explained
+that Sonya was in a civil prison in Petrograd and was to be tried for
+treason within another week. Katja had not seen her child, but had
+received a few lines in reply to a dozen letters which a friend had
+written for her. Katja herself could neither read nor write.
+
+Although Nona could speak only a few words of Russian, she had learned
+to read a little of the language with difficulty. Now she managed to
+translate her friend's ideas, if not her exact words.
+
+Sonya did not wish Katja to try to see her nor to attempt to appear at
+the prison at the hour of her trial. Nothing could be done for her
+release and Katja would only be made the more miserable. Neither was
+Katja to let Nona know anything of her whereabouts until after sentence
+was passed. Then if Katja could find the American girl she was to say
+farewell for Sonya Valesky. She was also to thank Nona for her kindness
+and add that the acquaintance with her friend's daughter had brought
+Sonya much happiness.
+
+Standing with the crumpled sheet of paper in her hand, written by the
+woman who so soon expected to say farewell to the things that make life
+worth living, Nona Davis felt her own cheeks flush and her eyes fill
+with tears. How little had she really deserved the Russian woman's
+affection, for how much she had distrusted her!
+
+Well, Nona again determined to do all that was possible now to prove her
+allegiance.
+
+As soon as she could get away from Katja, Nona secured a sleigh and
+drove at once to the house of the American Ambassador. Because her card
+represented her as an American Red Cross nurse she felt assured that she
+would be treated with every courtesy.
+
+This was perfectly true, although obliged to wait half an hour; finally
+one of the secretaries of the Ambassador invited the American girl into
+a small office. She could not, of course, see the Ambassador without a
+special engagement, but the secretary would be pleased to do whatever
+was possible.
+
+Nona was both pleased and relieved. The secretary proved to be a
+southerner, a young fellow from Georgia, who could not have been more
+than twenty-five years old. Certainly it was far easier to tell the
+story of Sonya Valesky to him than to an older man or to one whose
+time was more valuable.
+
+Nevertheless, when she had finished, although there was no doubt of
+the secretary's attention and interest, Nona found him equally as
+discouraging as everybody else had been concerning Sonya Valesky's
+fate and any part which she might have hoped to play in it. There
+could be little doubt that Sonya would be condemned to Siberia. She
+was a political prisoner and would not be tried by a military court.
+Her offense was spoken of as sedition, or as an infringement of the
+"Defense of the Realm" act. For Sonya had been endeavoring to induce
+the Russian soldiers to join her peace societies rather than to fight
+for their country.
+
+The young American secretary did his best to make the situation plain to
+Nona Davis. In England or France, under the same circumstances, Sonya
+Valesky might have escaped with only a short term of imprisonment or a
+fine. But this would not be true in Russia. Besides, it appeared that
+Sonya was an old offender and that her socialist ideas were well known.
+It would be impossible for the American Ambassador or any member of his
+staff to make the smallest effort in Sonya's behalf. Such an effort
+would represent an act of discourtesy on the part of the United States
+Government, as if she were attempting to interfere with Russia's
+treatment of her own subjects.
+
+There was one thing only which the young secretary could undertake in
+Nona's cause. He would make an effort to have her allowed to visit her
+friend. If Sonya's trial was not to take place for a week, it was just
+possible that the American girl might be permitted to see her.
+
+So Nona was compelled to go away with only this small consolation.
+
+However, before leaving she secured the address of an American family
+in Petrograd who might be willing to take her as a boarder. For Nona
+realized that with her present plan she could not longer remain as a
+guest in the Countess' house.
+
+Then Barbara had again to be reckoned with. It was early dusk when Nona
+Davis finally reached their apartment in the splendid Russian house.
+Barbara had just finished tea, but the tea things had not been sent
+away.
+
+Because Nona was evidently so tired and discouraged the younger girl
+comforted her with tea and cakes before beginning to ask questions.
+Afterwards Barbara insisted upon being told the entire account of the
+afternoon's experiences. Nona must begin with her meeting with Katja,
+her interview in the Cathedral, then her visit to the house of the
+United States Ambassador and finally the description of the place where
+she had engaged board before returning to her temporary home.
+
+Although Barbara was ordinarily much given to conversation and frequent
+interruptions of other people's anecdotes, she listened without comment
+until the other girl had finished.
+
+"We are both too tired to pack up our few possessions tonight, Nona,"
+she answered in conclusion; "but we can attend to them in the morning
+and then say good-by to the Countess."
+
+Nona was lying upon a divan with her yellow head sunk among a number of
+brown cushions, but she got half way up at Barbara's words.
+
+"But I don't expect _you_ to leave here, Barbara dear, to go with
+me," she protested. "I didn't engage board for anyone else. The house
+where I am to stay is shabby and not especially comfortable. I wouldn't
+have you leave this lovely home for worlds! I am sorry, you may be a
+little lonely without me. But I am hoping we may hear from Mildred at
+almost any hour and then I'm sure the Countess would be only too happy
+to have her take my place here. I expect Mildred will be a distinguished
+character after having been chosen to nurse the great General Alexis."
+
+"Don't talk nonsense," Barbara protested, in answer to the first part of
+her friend's speech. "Of course, I am not going to let you wander off
+and live in a strange family by yourself." Then Barbara sighed.
+
+She was sitting on a small stool beside Nona's couch, resting her chin
+on her hand and looking very childish and homesick.
+
+"Of course, I know you have to do whatever you can for Sonya Valesky,
+Nona," she agreed unexpectedly. "In your position I hope I would have
+the courage to behave in the same way. I have only made a fuss about
+things because I was worried for you, but I have always known you would
+not pay any attention to me. Nobody ever does."
+
+Although Nona laughed and attempted to argue this point, Barbara
+remained unconvinced.
+
+"Oh, well, possibly Dick or Eugenia can sometimes be persuaded into
+doing what I ask, but never you or Mildred," she concluded, and then
+sighed again. "If we could hear just a single word from Mildred!"
+
+The next day the two girls moved to their new lodgings. Their hostess
+was gracious enough, but made no protest when Nona explained that she
+expected to be permitted to visit the Russian prisoner within the next
+few days.
+
+The order to see Sonya came sooner than Nona expected. Indeed, the two
+girls had only been in their new quarters for about thirty-six hours
+when the young secretary from the embassy called upon them. With him he
+brought the permit from the Russian government.
+
+Nona was to be allowed to visit the prison near the Troitska bridge on
+the following day and to spend ten minutes with her friend. She must
+understand that a guard would listen to whatever conversation was held.
+Also she must take with her nothing of any kind to present to Sonya
+Valesky. Their interview would be closely watched.
+
+Naturally Barbara Meade insisted upon accompanying Nona. She knew, of
+course, that she would not be allowed to see the prisoner, nor had she
+the least wish to see her. But she could wait in some antechamber until
+the ten minutes passed and then bring Nona safely back to their lodging
+place. For certainly the experience ahead of her friend would be a
+painful one, and although Nona did her best to conceal her nervousness
+from the younger girl, Barbara again was not deluded.
+
+When the two girls set out for the prison the next afternoon it would
+have been difficult to decide which one most dreaded the ordeal. But in
+truth the ordeal was in a way a mutual one. While she waited, doubtless
+Barbara's imagination would paint as tragic a scene as Nona might be
+obliged to go through with.
+
+It seemed to Nona Davis, after leaving Barbara, that she walked down a
+mile or more of corridor. The corridor might have been an underground
+sewer, so dark and unwholesome were its sights and smells. It led past
+dozens of small iron doors with locks and chains fastened on the
+outside.
+
+Finally Nona's guard paused before one of these doors and then opened
+it. Inside was an iron grating with bars placed at intervals of about
+six inches apart. The room it barricaded was six feet square and
+contained a bed and stool. There was one small window overhead, not much
+larger than a single pane of glass in an average old-fashioned window.
+
+But the light from the window fell directly upon the head of the woman
+who was seated beneath it.
+
+Sonya Valesky had not been told that she was to receive a visitor. So
+perhaps Nona did appear like a sudden vision of a Fra Angelico angel,
+standing unexpectedly in the dark corridor with her hair as golden as a
+shaft of sunlight.
+
+Sonya only stared at the girl without speaking. But Nona saw that her
+friend's dark hair, which had been a little streaked with gray at their
+first meeting more than two years before, was now almost pure white.
+However, Sonya did not look particularly ill or unhappy; her blue eyes
+were still serene. Whatever faith in life she may have lost, she had not
+lost faith in the cause for which she must suffer.
+
+"Don't you know me, Sonya?" Nona asked almost timidly, as if she were
+talking to a stranger.
+
+Then the Russian woman came forward with all her former dignity and
+grace. She was wearing a black dress of some rough material, but it
+seemed to Nona Davis that she had never seen a more beautiful woman.
+Sonya was like a white lily found growing in some underground dungeon.
+
+She put her hands through the bars and took hold of Nona's cold ones.
+
+"This is wonderfully kind of you, Nona?" she said with the simplicity
+of manner that had always distinguished her. "I have wanted to know what
+had become of you and your friends. Somehow information sifts even
+inside a prison in war times, and I have learned that General Alexis
+gave up trying to hold Grovno. You are on your way back home, I trust."
+
+Nona could scarcely reply. It seemed so strange that Sonya could be
+talking in such an everyday fashion, as if her visit were being made
+under ordinary circumstances. Not a word did she say of her own sorrow
+or the tragedy that lay ahead of her.
+
+Nona could only fight back the tears. "We are returning to France as
+soon as Mildred Thornton joins us in Petrograd," she answered, and then
+explained that Mildred had stayed behind at Grovno.
+
+"But isn't there anything I can do for you, Sonya?" Nona added. "I shall
+certainly not leave Petrograd until after your trial, and then if you
+are released you must come away with me."
+
+The older woman only shook her head.
+
+"I shall not be released, Nona, so don't make yourself unhappy with
+false hopes. This is not my first offense against the government of
+Russia. I have never believed in the things in which they believe, not
+since I was a little girl. I suppose I am a troublesome character. But
+after all, in going to Siberia I am only following the footsteps of
+greater men and women than I can hope to resemble."
+
+Sonya let go Nona's hands and stepped back into her little room. From
+under her pillow she drew a small folded paper.
+
+"In going to Siberia I forfeit all my estates, Nona," Sonya Valesky
+explained when she came back. "But I have a small amount of money in
+the United States, as well as in my own country. Perhaps the government
+may be willing to allow me to dispose of my property, although of course
+I can't tell. But I have made a will and had it witnessed here in the
+prison. If it is possible I want you to have half of the little I have
+left and Katja and Nika the rest. There would be no chance to leave it
+to the cause of peace in these days."
+
+Nona received the little paper.
+
+"You won't be in Siberia all your life, Sonya, that I won't believe,"
+she protested. "Some day when this war is over the Czar will pardon you.
+Please remember that I shall never forget you and never stop trying to
+do what I can for your release. If I am allowed to have it, I will take
+care of your money until you are able to come to me."
+
+Hearing a guttural noise behind her, Nona Davis now turned around. Her
+guard was signaling that the time allotted for her visit was over.
+
+She was not able to kiss the older woman good-by, only to hold both her
+hands close for another moment and then to go away with her eyes so
+blinded with tears that she could not see. Yet she never forgot the
+picture that Sonya Valesky made when she had a final glance at her.
+
+Four days later a few lines appeared in the Russian daily papers,
+stating that Sonya Valesky, a woman of noble birth, but at present a
+Russian nihilist, had been condemned to penal servitude in Siberia for
+life. She had been proved guilty of treason to the Imperial Government.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+_Mildred's Return_
+
+
+On the same afternoon that Nona and Barbara read the news of Sonya
+Valesky's sentence, Mildred Thornton came to Petrograd.
+
+Her return was characteristic of Mildred.
+
+It was a little past twilight and Nona and Barbara were in their shabby
+sitting room; they now shared the same bedroom in the new lodgings. Nona
+had been crying, and in order to try and make her forget, Barbara was
+reading aloud. She had received a package of books and magazines from
+Dick Thornton earlier in the day, but this was her first chance to look
+them over.
+
+Although endeavoring to listen, in reality Nona's attention was only
+pretence. Her thoughts were with the Russian woman whose life had been
+so strangely associated with her own. It seemed to Nona that she had
+not realized how much she cared for Sonya Valesky until these last few
+weeks. She had become like an exquisite older sister whom she might
+possibly have had as a companion and friend. Never had Nona been more
+conscious of her own loneliness. It is true that she had been more or
+less lonely all her life, but this she had taken as a matter of course.
+Now in these last few hours she had suddenly been overwhelmed by the
+thought.
+
+Apparently their work as Red Cross nurses in Europe was nearly over.
+At least, when Mildred finally joined them, the three girls intended
+returning to France to spend a little time with Madame Castaigne and
+Eugenia. Then Barbara and Mildred would doubtless go back to their
+homes in the United States. Barbara would be married in a short time
+and Mildred would not wish to remain longer away from her mother and
+father. But Nona had no home and no people to whom she might return.
+
+The girl was glad at this moment that there were no lights in their
+sitting room save the two candles which were directly behind Barbara's
+book. She did not wish the younger girl to guess the extent of her
+depression.
+
+Yet it was Nona who first heard the knock at their sitting room door.
+Quickly as possible she got up and walked forward to open it, not even
+attempting to smooth her hair or to wipe the traces of tears from her
+face. Barbara did not glance from the page of her book, both girls were
+so convinced that it was only the woman who usually brought them their
+dinner at this hour.
+
+When Nona opened the door, Mildred took her by both shoulders and
+quietly kissed her.
+
+"Mildred!" It was Nona's exclamation that finally aroused Barbara Meade.
+But even then, although Barbara rose to her feet, dropping her book on
+the floor, she did not move forward. She let Mildred come and put her
+arms around her and kiss her on both cheeks. Then Mildred stood still in
+the center of the room and smiled at her two friends.
+
+"Won't either one of you say she is glad to see me?" she asked, with a
+mixture of gayety and wistfulness.
+
+By this time Barbara and Nona were both embracing the newcomer at once,
+and at the same time attempting to remove her wraps. Under her nursing
+coat Mildred was wearing a long sable coat, suitable for a princess, but
+neither of the girls noticed it in the excitement of her arrival.
+
+"Where did you come from? Oh, Mildred, what have you been doing all this
+time? I have nearly died of anxiety." Barbara protested. "Surely you
+could have gotten us some word, if only to say you were alive."
+
+Mildred shook her head. "I couldn't, dear. I have come back to you the
+very first moment it was possible. But it is a long story. I can't tell
+you all at once. May I sit down?"
+
+At last Nona and Barbara had the grace to observe that Mildred looked
+white and tired.
+
+"I arrived in Petrograd about half an hour ago with General Alexis and
+his staff and the Russian maid who has been with us ever since we were
+left behind at Grovno," she explained, when her friends had thrust her
+unceremoniously into their only comfortable chair.
+
+"I told General Alexis that I must find you at once, so we drove to the
+United States Embassy and they gave us your address. Then they left me
+here. I am dreadfully hungry; can't we have something to eat before I
+finish my story?"
+
+"Certainly not," Barbara insisted, "or not until you have answered two
+or three more questions. For I am much more apt to die of curiosity than
+you are to perish of starvation. How long did you remain at Grovno, and
+did the Germans ever capture you? I suppose your general didn't die, if
+he escorted you to our humble door. But if he wasn't desperately ill,
+why did he have you stay so long in a position of such danger?" And
+Barbara ceased to ask more questions simply because her breath had given
+out.
+
+At the same instant Nona signaled a warning glance. Mildred was almost
+fainting with exhaustion. In these last few weeks she must have passed
+through difficult experiences and naturally she could not tell them
+everything at once.
+
+"Please go downstairs and ask that dinner be sent up, Barbara," Nona
+demanded. "And get soup or milk or something special; if not I'll make
+some beef tea for Mildred on the alcohol lamp. Mildred, suppose you put
+on my wrapper and lie down until after you have eaten, then we can talk
+as long as you have strength for."
+
+And the girls did talk until nearly midnight in spite of Mildred's
+fatigue. She was perfectly well, only tired, she insisted, and greatly
+excited at seeing Nona and Barbara again.
+
+She had passed through events in these past few weeks such as few women
+have ever known. But of course Mildred related what had taken place in a
+simple, almost matter of fact fashion. She was so little given to
+heroics, or to thinking of herself as a conspicuous personage.
+
+"Yes, they had stayed on at Grovno until almost the hour when the
+Germans entered the old fortress. General Alexis had been wounded,
+but had not considered his wound serious and would not desert his
+post until he had finally accomplished his purpose. For the last
+hour virtually only six persons had kept the German army from
+entering the fortifications: General Alexis, Colonel Feodorovitch,
+two lieutenants and two private soldiers, although the Russian
+physician, who had remained with his commander, had turned soldier
+toward the last."
+
+"But you don't mean that you continued inside the fort to the very end?"
+Barbara demanded almost angrily. "I suppose you were forgotten."
+
+"I think I was at the last," Mildred returned. "You see, at first when
+General Alexis discovered that I was the Red Cross nurse who had been
+chosen to stay behind, he was angry and insisted that I leave at once.
+But by the time he learned of my presence, it was too late to find me an
+escort. Besides, the doctor did not wish me to go. There was a Russian
+woman, a kind of servant, who was also with us, and did the cooking, I
+believe, if we ever ate. Anyhow, she stayed with me and looked after me
+when she could, so that I was never actually alone."
+
+"But Mildred," Nona asked, guessing at many details that her friend did
+not mention, "how did you finally get away at last? And have you come
+directly here from Grovno? Surely the fort did not hold out all these
+weeks."
+
+"No, we have been away from Grovno nearly two weeks, I can't remember
+the exact passage of time very well," Mildred explained, lifting her
+hands to let down the long braids of her heavy flaxen hair, and allowing
+the hairpins to drop girl fashion, carelessly into her lap. She was
+wearing Nona's kimono, and it is always easier to talk confidentially
+with one's hair down, if one happens to have the mass that Mildred had.
+The very weight of it was oppressive when she was tired.
+
+"Yes, it was terribly interesting toward the last," she went on,
+"although I don't believe even then we were in great danger. General
+Alexis is too wise to have permitted that. Everything was in readiness;
+all the plans were made days beforehand for our getting away. The
+different regiments of private soldiers with their officers continued
+to march away from Grovno, and so much ammunition was moved that I think
+almost no stores of any value were left. Then the moment finally came
+for our own retreat."
+
+To Barbara's intense irritation, Mildred actually paused for an instant
+at this point in her story. But she continued almost immediately.
+
+"There was an underground passage outside the fort, leading all the way
+to the river. The seven of us at last left the fort together. By this
+time General Alexis had almost to be carried, the pain from his wound
+had grown so intense. Then every once in a while, as we went on, one of
+the soldiers would place a bomb in such a position that it would explode
+after we had gone. In this way the underground passage was wrecked, so
+there never was any possibility of the Germans being able to follow us.
+When we reached the bridge over the river two motor cars were waiting
+for us. Colonel Feodorovitch, one of the lieutenants and the two private
+soldiers stayed to see that the last bridge over the Styr was blown up.
+The other five, General Alexis, his physician, and one officer and we
+two women started west in an effort to join the retreating regiments,
+who were to come up with a portion of the Grand Duke's army."
+
+"Goodness, Mildred Thornton, what an experience you have been through!"
+Nona ejaculated. "Yet you talk as quietly as if it were almost an
+ordinary occurrence!"
+
+Mildred shook her head. "It is not because I feel it an ordinary
+experience, Nona, but because so much has happened I am overpowered by
+the bigness of it. Really, when we got safely away from the fort, the
+battle, or at least my share in it, was only about to begin. We had gone
+a few miles into the country, when General Alexis became desperately
+ill. Unless he could have immediate attention his physician said there
+was no possible hope for his life."
+
+Barbara had by this time slipped out of her chair and was sitting on the
+floor with her hands clasped over her knees, looking all eyes, and
+rocking herself slowly back and forward as a relief for her excitement.
+
+"But you brought your general back with you, Mildred Thornton, or you
+said you did. How on earth did you manage about him?" she interrupted.
+
+"That is just what I am going to tell you, because that explains where I
+have been and why I have not been able to let you hear from me. Our
+Russian doctor ordered our motor car stopped and we entered a Russian
+house some distance from any main road. We purposely chose a house that
+had been deserted, and there we have been for two weeks, struggling to
+save the life of General Alexis. Of course, his wound had been more
+serious than he would admit. The wonder is that he is still alive!"
+
+"But he has recovered?" Barbara inquired with her usual unsatisfied
+curiosity. "Goodness, Mill, what a heroine you will be, to have nursed
+one of the most famous generals in the Allied armies and to have
+restored him to health. Won't your mother be charmed!"
+
+Naturally Mildred smiled. The thought of her mother's pleasure in her
+distinction _had_ occurred to her several times in the last two weeks.
+
+"Oh, of course I am glad to have had the honor, Bab, because I too think
+General Alexis a great man. He is perhaps the simplest man I have ever
+known, except my father, and I like him very much. Only he has not
+recovered and I have not restored him to health. If General Alexis had
+recovered he would never have come to Petrograd, he would have rejoined
+his troops. But he was well enough to be moved and Petrograd seemed the
+safest place for him at present. Besides, I believe he wished to have an
+audience with the Czar."
+
+Barbara again rocked back and forth. "You say 'Czar,' Mill, just as if
+you were speaking of an everyday person. Really, I believe you are the
+best bred girl I ever saw. Position, wealth, no distinctions seem to
+excite you. You just take people for exactly what they are," Barbara
+murmured, in reality speaking to herself.
+
+But Nona overheard her. "You are quite right, Bab," she agreed. "Mildred
+does not know it, but she has taught me many a lesson on that subject
+since we came to Europe. It would be a nicer world if everybody thought
+and acted as Mildred does. But what has become of your general, Mill?
+Are you to go on nursing him or to see him again?"
+
+"No, to the first question, Nona dear, and yes, to the second. Now I am
+so tired I simply must go to bed. I told the doctor and General Alexis
+that since he was better, I wanted to come to you. Besides, I was sure
+that here in Petrograd there would be so many cleverer nurses than I can
+ever hope to be. And I didn't want to stay at the Winter Palace with you
+girls here."
+
+"You mean," Nona asked quietly, "that you were invited to be a guest at
+the Czar's own palace and you declined?"
+
+Mildred clasped her hands behind her head. "Oh, I thought I told you.
+General Alexis is to be at the Winter Palace while he is in Petrograd.
+He is very close to the Czar, I believe. As his nurse, of course I was
+asked to stay there with him; he is to have his physician and his aides
+as well as his servants in attendance. There was nothing personal in my
+being permitted inside the Palace. Some other nurse will take my place."
+
+"But the point is, Mildred Thornton, that you refused to stay under the
+same roof with the Czar of all the Russias. Never so long as you live
+will your mother forgive you."
+
+The other girl flushed and laughed. "I hadn't thought of that, Bab dear.
+Please don't tell on me. But we are to be under the same roof with the
+Czar some day for a few moments, all of us. General Alexis said that he
+wished to have us presented to the Czar and Czarina, if it were possible
+to arrange. He seems to feel grateful to me for the little I was able to
+do. But please, Bab, don't say that I refused to continue to nurse
+General Alexis. I only asked that they get some one to take my place,
+who would be wiser."
+
+"Did General Alexis agree to a new nurse for that reason, Mildred?"
+Barbara demanded in her driest manner.
+
+But Mildred was too tired for further conversation.
+
+"Oh, he was kind enough to say that I needed a rest more than he
+required my services. Am I to have a bed or the cot in this sitting
+room?"
+
+"You may have them _all_, Mildred Thornton!" Barbara returned, getting
+up on her feet and then bowing until her forehead almost touched the
+floor.
+
+"Any human being who is going to allow me to enter the presence of the
+Czar and Czarina, has got to be treated like royalty for the rest of her
+life."
+
+Nevertheless, Barbara kissed Mildred good night. Mildred whispered,
+"Don't be a goose," and then at last was permitted to retire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+_The Winter Palace_
+
+
+The next day Nona found opportunity for confiding to Mildred the fate of
+Sonya Valesky. She found Mildred more deeply concerned than Barbara had
+been. This was true because Mildred had a different nature; it was
+easier for her to understand a temperament that would sacrifice
+everything to its dream, than for the more practical and sensible
+Barbara. Moreover, Barbara was so much in love these days that she
+found it difficult to give a great deal of thought to other people.
+She struggled against the tendency, but it is ever the vice of lovers.
+
+Finally, on Thursday, Mildred Thornton received a note from General
+Alexis inviting her and her two friends to come that afternoon at four
+o'clock to the Winter Palace. And although the three girls were
+Americans, they understood that such an invitation was not in reality
+an invitation, but a command. For the Czar and Czarina had announced
+that they would be pleased to meet the three American Red Cross nurses.
+
+The meeting was to be informal, as these were war times and there were
+no court levees. Indeed, the Czar was only staying for a brief time at
+his palace before going to take command of his own troops. Owing to the
+frequent Russian defeats in the past few months, the Czar had concluded
+that he must command his men in person in order to give them greater
+courage and steadfastness. The munitions of war, of which they had been
+sadly in need for several months, were now pouring in from Japan and the
+United States.
+
+Of course, in the excitement and nervousness due to such an important
+and unexpected occasion, the three Red Cross girls had the same problem
+to settle that attacks all women at critical moments:
+
+"What on earth should they wear to the presentation?"
+
+Fortunately, under the circumstances there was but one answer to this
+question. They were invited to the Palace as Red Cross nurses, they must
+therefore wear their Red Cross uniforms. Since the three girls had
+almost nothing else left in their wardrobes, this was just as well.
+Constant moving from place to place, with little opportunity for
+transportation, had reduced their luggage to the most limited amounts.
+
+Yet assuredly they were as handsome and far more dignified on the
+afternoon of their appearance at the Winter Palace in the costumes of
+American Red Cross nurses, than if they had been appareled in the court
+trains and feathers of more gala occasions.
+
+Mildred always looked especially well in her uniform. She was less
+pretty than the other two girls. But for this very reason her dignity
+and the sense of serenity that her personality suggested showed to best
+advantage in the simple toilette of white with the Red Cross insignia on
+the arm. However, over her uniform Mildred wore the magnificent sable
+coat in which she had appeared at her friends' lodgings in Petrograd.
+
+This afternoon, in spite of her excitement over what lay ahead of them,
+Barbara did not allow the coat to pass unnoticed a second time.
+
+"For goodness' sake, Mildred, where did you get that magnificent
+garment?" she demanded, just as they were about to go downstairs to get
+into their sleigh. "You owned a very nice coat when we left you behind
+in Grovno, but some fairy wand must have changed it. This is the most
+wonderful sable I ever saw."
+
+Mildred flushed and then laid her cheek against the beautiful, soft
+brown warmth of her furs. "It is time you and Nona were speaking of
+my grandeur," she declared. "You see, in getting away from the fort
+at the last I stupidly left my own furs behind; indeed, I don't know
+what became of them. General Alexis noticed that I was cold almost
+immediately. Somehow, after he began to get stronger, he managed to
+have this coat brought to the country house where we were staying.
+Then just before we started to Petrograd he presented it to me. Of
+course, I did not feel that I ought to accept it and insisted I
+could not. But General Alexis said that he had received so much
+kindness from me, he thought it very ungenerous of me to make him
+altogether my debtor. I didn't know what to do. Do you think it
+wrong to accept it, Bab? Somehow I did not know how to continue
+to refuse."
+
+As Barbara was just going into her bedroom at this moment, she made
+no reply. Nona was more reassuring.
+
+"Of course it was all right, Mildred, or at least I suppose it was if
+General Alexis insisted, and you had done a great deal for him."
+
+Then Nona followed Barbara. Barbara was standing perfectly still in the
+center of the room and apparently thinking with all the concentration
+possible.
+
+"I wonder if this General Alexis is more fond of Mildred than he would
+be of any nurse who might have cared for him?" Barbara murmured. Then
+she shook her head. "That was an absurd suggestion on my part and
+Mildred would not like it. I am sorry," she said.
+
+At the door of the Winter Palace, after the girls had passed beyond the
+servants and the detectives who watch every human being permitted to
+approach their Imperial Majesties, the three American girls were ushered
+into a reception room. Except for the fact that there were more
+paintings on the walls, the room resembled other similar chambers now
+left on exhibition at Versailles or the Louvre in Paris.
+
+However, the girls had little time for investigation, for almost at once
+General Alexis entered the room to greet them. He was accompanied by a
+lieutenant who was his aide. To Nona Davis' surprise, the young man
+proved to be Lieutenant Michael Orlaff, whom she had not seen since the
+afternoon when she had walked to the fortress with him and confided the
+news of Sonya Valesky's arrest.
+
+After a few moments of general conversation a man servant, wearing an
+elaborate uniform, announced that General Alexis and his guests might
+walk into the Czar's private sitting room.
+
+Naturally this was a very unusual proceeding, but war times had changed
+the manners of courts as well as other places. Moreover, General Alexis
+was a personal friend of the Czar's, so far as a Czar may ever have a
+friend. In any case, he was one of his most trusted generals. This
+reception to the American Red Cross girls was entirely due to the fact
+that General Alexis had declared Mildred Thornton's courage and devotion
+had saved his life. But of this she was not yet aware.
+
+The Czar and Czarina were not decorating gilded thrones as one sees them
+in portraits or paints them in one's own imagination. Indeed, they were
+seated in chairs, but rose as any other host and hostess might when
+their guests came into the room. They were not alone, however, for
+beside the guards stationed outside their door, two of them kept always
+within a short distance of the Czar himself.
+
+The Czarina was a beautiful woman, tall and dark, but looking infinitely
+sad. The girls could not but remember having heard how frequently she
+suffered from a melancholia so severe that it was almost akin to an
+unbalanced mind.
+
+She now murmured a few words to the three girls and then reseated
+herself. Barbara hoped profoundly that the distinguished audience
+would soon be over. Of course, this meeting of the Czar and Czarina was
+perhaps the most extraordinary honor that had yet been paid to any
+American Red Cross nurses in Europe. But like other honors, it carried
+its discomfort. For Barbara had not the faintest idea what she should do
+or say, when she should stand up and when sit down. She had never
+imagined herself a large person before, but now she felt so awkward that
+she might have been a giant. Yet really there was but one thing for her
+to do: she must merely keep still and watch what was taking place.
+
+Actually the Czar, Nicholas II, was talking pleasantly with Mildred
+Thornton, and Mildred was answering with her usual quiet dignity.
+
+The Czar looked older than Barbara would have supposed from his
+pictures. But then the war may have aged him. His close-cropped brown
+beard with the tiny point was turning gray. And he had large, full and,
+Barbara thought, not particularly intelligent eyes.
+
+At this moment he moved toward a small table and picked up what appeared
+like a medal.
+
+Barbara eyed it curiously. She could not hear what the Czar was saying.
+But she saw Mildred turn suddenly white and appear to protest. Then the
+two men, General Alexis and the Czar, actually smiled at her. The next
+moment the Czar pinned a cross on Mildred's white dress.
+
+Without realizing what she was doing, Barbara pressed closer until she
+stood in front of Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff. This time she distinctly
+heard the Czar say:
+
+"I take pleasure in presenting you, Miss Thornton, with the Cross of St.
+George, which is only awarded for special bravery. Only one other woman
+has been presented with the Cross of St. George since the outbreak of
+this war. She is Madame Kokavtseva, a colonel of the Sixth Ural Cossack
+Regiment, who has twice been wounded while leading her men. She is
+called our 'Russian Joan of Arc.' But there is a courage as great as
+leading troops to battle. This valor, it seems to me, you showed in
+remaining to the last at the ancient fortress of Grovno to care for a
+great soldier who was not even your countryman. In my own name and in
+the name of my country, I wish to thank you for your service to General
+Alexis."
+
+Then Barbara observed Mildred flush a beautiful, warm crimson, and
+stammer something in response. Almost immediately after they were again
+standing outside in the big antechamber.
+
+Afterwards General Alexis and Lieutenant Orlaff and several of the
+palace servants showed the three girls over certain portions of the
+palace that could be exhibited to visitors. On the desk in the hall was
+an ikon, carefully preserved under glass, which was said to have been
+painted by St. Luke.
+
+However, in spite of their honors, as soon as possible the three girls
+were glad to return to their lodgings. Yet Mildred promised that they
+would allow General Alexis to send his sleigh to them the following day.
+The great general looked haggard and worn, but appeared to be quickly
+recovering his strength. Indeed, Barbara afterwards assured Mildred that
+she considered him extremely good looking and not half so old as she had
+supposed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+_The Unexpected Happens_
+
+
+One afternoon a short time after the visit to the Winter Palace, General
+Alexis and Lieutenant Orlaff came to the girls' lodgings to have a drive
+in the sleigh with them.
+
+It was a cold, brilliant afternoon, and they were to undertake a more
+interesting excursion than usual. Nevertheless, Barbara Meade refused to
+go.
+
+There were letters which she must write, she pleaded. However, this was
+not Barbara's real reason: that fact she kept in her own head. Both
+Mildred and Nona she assisted to get ready, insisting that they both
+dress as warmly as possible, no matter how stuffy they might feel before
+starting.
+
+"You are both blondes and a blonde is never so homely as when she is
+cold," she added sententiously, "for her face is much more apt to get
+blue than red, except the end of her nose."
+
+Mildred had purchased a lovely fur hat to match her sable coat. And in
+spite of her poverty Nona had been unable to resist a set of black fox.
+Furs were so much cheaper in Russia than in the United States that it
+really almost seemed one's duty to buy them.
+
+When General Alexis' sleigh arrived, Barbara would not even go
+downstairs to see the others start. But she managed by pressing
+her nose against the window to observe that the arrangements for
+the drive were satisfactory.
+
+The sleigh was a beautiful one, built of mahogany, and the pair of
+horses wore real silver mountings on their harness.
+
+A driver, in the Imperial livery, sat upon the front seat with a man
+beside him, who acted as a private guard for General Alexis, although he
+wore citizen's clothes. There was far less danger of anarchy in Russia
+during war times; nevertheless, men in public positions in Russia were
+always watchful of trouble from fanatics.
+
+Therefore, General Alexis and Mildred were together in the middle seat,
+while Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff occupied the one back of them.
+
+Then the sleigh started off so quickly that it had disappeared before
+Barbara realized it. Afterwards, with feminine inconsistency, she turned
+back into their small sitting room, frowning and sighing.
+
+"I do wish I had gone along, after all. There wasn't any place for me,
+except to sit either between Mildred and General Alexis, or Nona and her
+Russian lieutenant. Then nobody would have had a good time. Still,
+perhaps I should have stuck close to Mildred; she is almost my sister.
+And though Mrs. Thornton might be pleased, Judge Thornton and Dick would
+be wretched. Russia is so far away and so cold."
+
+Then Barbara made no further explanation, even to herself, of her
+enigmatic state of mind, but fell to writing letters as she had planned.
+Some thought she devoted to what she should write Dick about his
+sister's friend, the distinguished Russian general. But whatever she
+planned sounded either too pointed or else had no point at all. So she
+merely closed her letter by explaining that the others had gone for a
+ride and that General Alexis appeared extremely grateful to Mildred for
+her care of him in his illness. She also mentioned that she personally
+liked the distinguished soldier very much and that he was not nearly so
+foreign as one might expect.
+
+This was not a sensible statement, for General Alexis could scarcely
+have been more of a Russian than he was. A foreigner, of course, simply
+is an individual who belongs to another country than one's own.
+Presumably an American is equally a foreigner to a European. What
+Barbara actually meant was that General Alexis was not unlike the men to
+whom she had been accustomed in the United States. He had the courtesy
+and quiet dignity of the most distinguished of her own countrymen. There
+was nothing particularly oriental about him or his attitude to women.
+The truth is that Barbara did not appreciate the fact that General
+Alexis was too cosmopolitan to show many of the peculiarities of his
+race. He had seen too much of the world and studied and thought too
+deeply. Besides, he was a man of real gentleness and simplicity.
+
+As Mildred rode beside him, she too was wondering why she felt so at
+ease with so great a person. Why, at home, in New York society, she had
+always been awkward and tongue-tied with the most ordinary young man
+worthy of no thought. Now she was telling General Alexis the entire
+story of Sonya Valesky as she might have told it to her own father. And
+she felt equally sure of his sympathy and understanding. General Alexis
+would, of course, have no political sympathy with Sonya's ideas. He was
+a soldier devoted to his Czar and his country, while in his opinion
+Sonya could only be regarded as mistaken and dangerous. But Mildred
+knew that he would be sorry for Sonya, the woman, and sorry for them
+as her friends.
+
+So she described their original meeting on board the "Philadelphia," and
+the suspicion, then wrongfully directed against Sonya, who was at that
+time using the name of Lady Dorian. Afterwards she told of Sonya's
+appearance at the Sacred Heart Hospital and her work there. Last of all,
+of their unexpected coming together in Russia and of the peculiar bond
+between Nona Davis and the Russian woman.
+
+At the beginning of her conversation with General Alexis, Mildred had no
+idea in mind, except to tell the story that had been weighing heavily
+upon her since Nona's confidence. Ever since she had seen the picture of
+Sonya, as Nona had last seen her, the beautiful woman with her too-soon
+white hair and the haunting beauty of her tragic blue eyes. She, a woman
+of rare refinement and not yet forty, to spend the rest of her life
+working among the convicts in Siberia. It was as if she were buried
+alive!
+
+Suddenly it occurred to Mildred that she might ask the advice of General
+Alexis. She did not believe it possible that anything could be done for
+Sonya Valesky now, after her sentence had been passed. But still it
+would be well to feel they had tried all that was possible.
+
+"You don't think, General, that there is anything that could be done
+to have Sonya Valesky pardoned, do you?" she inquired, with unconscious
+wistfulness. "You see, my friend, Nona Davis, wants so much to take
+Madame Valesky back to the United States with her. Then neither she
+nor her ideas would be of any more danger to Russia. Nona says Madame
+Valesky is much broken by her illness and confinement. She had a
+terrible attack of fever only a short time before. Probably she
+won't live very long, if she is taken to Siberia."
+
+Then, to hide her tears from her companion, Mildred turned her head
+aside. General Alexis seemed to be staring at her very steadfastly. But
+fortunately the beauty of the landscape surrounding them gave her an
+excuse for the movement.
+
+They had crossed the Nicholas bridge and were driving out among the
+parks and estates that cover the small islands, set like jewels among
+the white fastness of the river Neva. Here and there the river was
+solid ice, in other places the thin ice was decorated with a light
+coating of snow.
+
+The handsome private homes of Petrograd are situated in these island
+suburbs. Beautiful trees and lawns come down to the water's edge. But
+today they too were snow sprinkled and most of the homes were closed.
+
+Mildred attempted to pretend that her attention had been attracted by
+one of these houses, built like a glorified Swiss chalet.
+
+But General Alexis continued to gaze at the side of her cheek and
+Mildred was painfully conscious that the tears might at any moment
+slide out of her eyes.
+
+"You care very much about this woman, this Sonya Valesky, Miss
+Thornton?" General Alexis inquired. "You say that she is a friend
+of yours and that it will bring you great distress if she must suffer
+the penalty of her mistakes? I do not wish you to leave Russia in
+unhappiness."
+
+Mildred slowly shook her head. Had she been almost any other girl, she
+would have seen nothing to deny in her companion's last speech. But
+Mildred had the spirit of entire truthfulness that belongs to only a
+few natures.
+
+"No, I cannot say that Madame Valesky is exactly _my_ friend," she
+answered slowly. "I do not know her very well, but I think I should care
+for her a great deal if we could know each other better. Perhaps she was
+altogether wrong; anyhow, I do not think she should have attempted to
+persuade the Russians not to fight for their country at a time like
+this. Yet when one has seen the horrible, the almost useless suffering
+that I have seen in these few years I have been acting as a Red Cross
+nurse, well, one can hardly condemn a human being who believes in peace.
+Still, Madame Valesky is in reality more Nona's friend than mine."
+
+Pausing abruptly, Mildred again turned her face to look at the soldier
+beside her. She had been tactless as usual in thus expressing her
+feelings about peace to a man who was a great warrior. But General
+Alexis did not appear angry. Indeed, there was no disagreement in the
+expression of his eyes, it was almost as if he too felt as Mildred did.
+Besides, his next words were:
+
+"I too appreciate what you feel, Miss Thornton, and I too am sorry for
+this Sonya Valesky. War is a great, a terrible evil, and there was never
+a time when the world so realized it as it does now. It is my hourly
+prayer that, after this vast bloodshed, war shall vanish from the face
+of the earth. But this will not happen if we give up the fight while we
+are in the thick of it. So Madame Valesky was wrong, so wrong that I
+might think she deserved her fate, if I did not feel her more mistaken
+than wicked."
+
+General Alexis paused and his face grew suddenly lined and thoughtful,
+as Mildred had seen it in those days at Grovno. Of what he was thinking
+the girl did not dream, but neither would she wish to have intruded upon
+his train of thought.
+
+So she sat quite still with her hands folded under the heavy fur rug and
+her gray-blue eyes fastened on the snow-covered landscape. Mildred had
+grown handsomer since her coming to Europe. She would never be
+beautiful in the ordinary acceptance of the term. But she was the type
+of girl who becomes handsomer as she grows older, when character which
+makes the real beauty of a woman's face had a chance to reveal itself.
+Already a great deal of her awkwardness and angularity had disappeared
+with the self-confidence, or rather more the self-forgetfulness which
+her work had given her. Her eyes had a deeper, less unsatisfied
+expression and her always handsome mouth more humor. For her own
+experiences and the friendship with the three other American Red Cross
+nurses had taught her to see many things in truer proportion.
+
+"Miss Thornton," Mildred's attention was again aroused by her companion,
+"I want to tell you something, but I want you to promise me you will not
+have too much hope in consequence. I have been thinking of this Sonya
+Valesky. I believe I can remember her father, or if not her father
+himself, at least I knew him by reputation. He did not share his
+daughter's views, but was the faithful servant of the present Czar's
+father. Moreover, the Czar is my friend, so I mean to tell him the story
+of Sonya Valesky and see if he will pardon her. She must, of course,
+leave Russia, perhaps never to return."
+
+General Alexis had been in a measure thinking aloud. But now Mildred's
+sudden exclamation of happiness made his eyes soften into a look of
+kindliness that again reminded the girl of her father.
+
+"But, my child, you must not hope too much," he remonstrated. "The Czar
+may not feel as I do about your friend. After your service to me there
+is little you could desire which I would not wish to give you."
+
+One would never have thought of General Alexis as a great soldier at
+this moment. The heavy lines of his face had gone. There was no
+sternness about his mouth. His eyes, which were so surprisingly blue
+because of his other dark coloring, gazed at Mildred's until for an
+instant she dropped the lids over her own, feeling embarrassed without
+exactly knowing why.
+
+The next moment she looked directly at the man, whom she felt sure was
+her friend, in spite of the differences in their ages, their rank and
+their countries.
+
+"General Alexis, I am going to ask you to do me a favor--no, I don't
+mean about Sonya this time. I shall be more grateful than I can even try
+to say for that kindness. But this is something which does not concern
+anyone except just you and me. Will you never in the future speak or
+think of the service which you are good enough to say I have rendered
+you." Actually, Mildred was now twisting her hands together in the old
+nervous fashion which she thought she had overcome. "It is difficult for
+me to say things," she went on, "but I want you to know that the
+greatest honor I shall ever have in my life was the privilege of nursing
+you. If I did help make you well, why I am so happy and proud the favor
+is on my side and not yours." And Mildred ended with a slight gasp,
+feeling her cheeks burning in spite of the cold, so unaccustomed was
+she to making long speeches or to revealing her emotions.
+
+"Miss Thornton," General Alexis returned. Then instead of finishing his
+sentence he leaned over and touched his coachman.
+
+"Stop the sleigh for a moment. We are growing cold. It will be better
+for us to walk for ten or fifteen minutes and then come back to the
+sleigh." Again he spoke to Mildred.
+
+"You will come with me for a little?" he asked. "It will be wiser for
+you not to grow stiff with sitting still." Afterwards he said something
+to Lieutenant Orlaff, to which he and Nona agreed.
+
+Five minutes later Mildred was walking across the snow toward the river,
+with her hand resting on General Alexis' arm. She was colder than she
+had imagined and it was difficult to walk over the icy and unfamiliar
+ground.
+
+But suddenly she stopped and gave an exclamation of surprise and delight
+which was almost one of awe.
+
+She and General Alexis were alone. Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff had walked
+off in an opposite direction. But Mildred now beheld the sun setting
+upon the Russian capital. Beneath, the world was pure white, and above,
+the sky a glory of orange and purple and rose. Between the two,
+suspended like giant fairy balls, were the great domes of Petrograd's
+many churches.
+
+"I shall never, never forget that picture so long as I live. It will
+stay with me as my vision of Petrograd long after I have gone home to my
+own country," Mildred said simply. Then she stopped in her walk and held
+out her hand. "Thank you for this afternoon."
+
+General Alexis did not release the girl's hand. Instead he lifted it to
+his lips and kissed it, although the hand was covered with a heavy
+glove.
+
+Then he smiled at Mildred almost boyishly. "I want to say something to
+you, Miss Thornton, which I suppose a woman does not really mind
+hearing, no matter to what country she belongs or what her answer may
+be. In these weeks I have known you I have come to care for you very
+deeply. I am old enough perhaps to be your father. I have said this to
+myself a hundred times and that it ought to make my feeling impossible.
+It has not. Naturally I understand that my age may make it impossible
+for you to return my affection, but it has not made the difference with
+me. I love you, Mildred. I have known many women, but have never met one
+so fine and sweet as you. It is the custom of your country when a man
+cares for a woman to tell her so, is it not, or perhaps I should have
+written first to your father?"
+
+General Alexis' manner was so naïve, almost as if he had been a boy
+instead of one of the most distinguished men in Europe. Mildred could
+almost have smiled if she had not been so overwhelmed by his speech.
+
+Was General Alexis actually saying that he was in love with her? No one
+had ever proposed to her in her life and she had never expected that any
+one would care sufficiently. But that the words should come from the man
+whom she felt to be a genius and a hero! No wonder Mildred was
+speechless for a moment.
+
+"General Alexis, I have never dreamed of anything like this. I only
+hoped at the most that you were my friend," she answered a little later.
+"Really, I don't know--I can't say how I feel. I appreciate the honor,
+but Russia is so far away, and my father----"
+
+"Yes, I know," General Alexis interrupted. "Do you not suppose I have
+thought over all those things? Until this war is past I shall not even
+ask you to become my wife. My life belongs to my country and I would not
+have you alone here in a foreign land. All I ask is that I may write you
+and some day in happier times may I come to see my American friend?"
+
+Mildred could only nod and let General Alexis keep tight hold of her
+hand, while a sense of the warmth and sweetness of the affection of a
+big nature slowly enveloped her.
+
+Then, as they walked back to the sleigh in silence and continued in
+silence almost all the way back to the lodgings, Mildred could only keep
+thinking how much her father would like General Alexis. Once she smiled,
+because her next thought was how immensely pleased and impressed her
+mother would be. It seemed impossible that the plain and unattractive
+Mildred could have captured so distinguished an admirer.
+
+Late that night, as she lay awake, Nona Davis' voice suddenly broke the
+stillness. The two girls were in the single bedroom, Barbara occupying a
+lounge in the sitting room.
+
+"There is something I want to tell you, Mildred. The strangest thing
+happened to me this afternoon. Lieutenant Orlaff proposed to me. Why, I
+scarcely know him at all, but he says that is not necessary when a
+foreigner meets an American girl," Nona confided.
+
+"You--why, Nona!" Mildred faltered, too surprised for the moment to
+answer intelligently, because her friend's speech so oddly fitted into
+her own thoughts. "Did you accept him?"
+
+It was dark in the room, and yet Mildred could see that Nona had risen
+half way up in bed.
+
+"My gracious, no!" she ejaculated. "In the first place, I don't care
+for him at all, and in the second, I just want to get hold of my dear
+Sonya and return home to the United States. If your general does have
+her pardoned I shall say prayers for him every night of my life. Funny,
+but I believe I am afraid of Russia, even though I am half Russian.
+Still, my mother did prefer to come to America to live. I simply
+couldn't bear living in Russia always, could you, Mildred?" Nona ended,
+as she again dropped back on her pillow.
+
+But Mildred only answered, "I don't know," which was not in the least
+conclusive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+_The Departure_
+
+
+Four days later the three American girls left Petrograd. This was sooner
+than they had expected to leave, but a desirable opportunity arose for
+them to get safely across the continent and into France.
+
+The journey was a long and tiresome one, as they had to cross the
+northern countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway until finally they were
+able to reach Holland, and thence journey to England and France. But it
+was not possible to make the trip in any other way, since all of
+southern Europe was engaged in active fighting.
+
+However, the Red Cross girls did not travel alone. Sonya Valesky went
+with them. At General Alexis' request the Czar had pardoned her, but she
+was an exile from Russia forever, never to return at any future time.
+
+Fortunately for the imprisoned woman, her reprieve had come before her
+sentence had time to be carried out. She was brought directly from the
+prison, where Nona had once visited her, to the lodgings where the
+American girls were making ready to depart.
+
+If Sonya regretted the terms of her pardon, she showed no signs of
+sorrow. But she was strangely quiet then and during the long, cold trip
+across the continent. In a measure she seemed to have been crushed by
+the weeks of solitary confinement in the Russian jail with the prospect
+of Siberia ever before her. Often she would sit for hours with her hands
+crossed in her lap and her eyes staring out the window, without seeming
+to see anything in the landscape. One could scarcely imagine her as a
+woman who had devoted her life to traveling from one land to another,
+trying to persuade men and women to believe in universal peace.
+
+Yet she was sincerely grateful and appreciative of any attention of
+affection from the three American girls who were her companions. And
+after a short time Barbara and Mildred were almost as completely under
+the spell of this grave woman's charm, as Nona had grown to be.
+Moreover, the girls felt that she had not yet recovered from her
+illness, because of the hardships following it. After a few weeks or
+months in the beloved "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door" perhaps she
+would become more cheerful.
+
+For it was toward the chateau country of France that the three American
+girls were again traveling. The little house where they had once lived
+for a winter had been Captain Castaigne's wedding gift to Eugenia. Since
+Eugenia was away nursing in a hospital she had offered her home to her
+friends. Madame Castaigne had also insisted that they come to her at the
+chateau; nevertheless, the girls had chosen the farmhouse.
+
+The Countess was no longer young, and still had no servants save old
+François. The work of entertaining four guests, and one of them a
+stranger, would have put too great a tax upon her. Moreover, Eugenia
+would undoubtedly come back for a while to be with her friends and
+would naturally stay with her mother-in-law. The girls also hoped that
+Captain Castaigne might be spared for a short leave of absence. However,
+in order that the Countess Amélie should not be wounded, or feel that
+the girls no longer cared to be with her, Barbara had written to say
+that she would stay at the chateau whenever the Countess wished her
+society.
+
+Certainly the trip from Russia into France during war times was a
+difficult one. The girls believed that they could not have made it,
+except that now and then they stopped for a day or more to rest. On
+these days Barbara and Nona used to spend at least a few hours in
+sightseeing, no matter what their fatigue. Now and then Mildred would go
+with them, but never Sonya. Occasionally Nona would urge her, saying
+that the exercise and change of atmosphere would be good for her. But
+Sonya used always to plead fatigue or a lack of interest. Finally she
+confessed frankly that she had seen most of these cities and countries
+before, and in some of them was fairly well known. Therefore it might
+be safer and happier for all of them if she remained quietly in whatever
+hotel they happened to be staying.
+
+Yet Sonya appeared almost as anxious as her three companions to reach
+France and the "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door." This, of course,
+was because the three girls had talked of it so continuously and the
+longed for meeting with Eugenia again. For somehow, although the
+farmhouse was in a war-stained country, its name suggested quiet and a
+brooding peace.
+
+Nevertheless, several times, after mentioning Eugenia's name, Nona had
+observed Sonya's face flush and the expression of her eyes become almost
+apologetic. At first she was unable to understand this and then she
+remembered.
+
+In the early days Eugenia had not liked their friendship with the woman
+who was then calling herself Lady Dorian. Indeed, in Eugenia fashion she
+had frankly stated this fact to the older woman. Now how much less might
+she care for their intimacy with the exiled Russian. Yet Sonya was
+going as an uninvited guest to Eugenia's home.
+
+There had been no time to ask permission. It was true Barbara had
+written the entire story to Eugenia as soon as Sonya Valesky was
+released from prison. But one could not tell whether the letter would
+reach France as soon as the four travelers.
+
+Nona felt that she would have given a great deal to have assured Sonya
+of Eugenia's welcome, but she was nervous over the situation herself.
+
+Of course, Eugenia would be kind to the exiled woman and offer her
+hospitality and care. But Eugenia had rigid views of life and was not
+given to concealing them. It was more than possible that she might let
+Sonya know of her disapproval. Moreover, she might object to Nona's own
+championship of Sonya and to her purpose to return with her to the
+United States and there make their future home together.
+
+Of course, no views of Eugenia's would interfere with this intention of
+Nona's. But the younger girl would be sorry of Eugenia's disapproval,
+since she too had learned to have the greatest affection and admiration
+for the oldest of the four American Red Cross girls. However, there was
+nothing to do except to wait and meet the situation when the time came.
+
+Actually it was a month between the day of leaving Petrograd and the day
+when the four travelers arrived in southern France in the neighborhood
+of the Chateau d'Amélie. But this was because the girls and Sonya had
+spent some little time in London before attempting to cross the channel.
+
+London was a delightful experience for the three American Red Cross
+girls. In some fashion the story of their varied service to the Allied
+cause had reached the London newspapers. For several days there were
+columns devoted to their praise. Later, invitations poured in upon them
+from every direction. Mildred was most conspicuous, since the story of
+her presentation by the Czar with the Cross of St. George was copied
+from the Russian newspapers into the English, and must have ultimately
+reached the United States press.
+
+But the girls were not thinking of themselves or their work. They
+simply gave themselves up to the pleasure of meeting delightful English
+people and being entertained by them. Sonya would not go about with
+them, but appeared stronger and more content, so there was no point in
+worrying over her.
+
+One of the English women, who was again gracious to the three American
+girls, was the Countess of Sussex, at whose home they had spent a
+week-end on their first arrival in England several years before. Once
+more she invited them to her country home, but this time it was
+impossible for the girls to accept her invitation. However, Nona
+recalled her meeting in the old rose garden near the gardener's cottage
+with Lieutenant Robert Hume. She also thought of Lieutenant Hume's last
+letter telling her that he had been sent back to England as an exchanged
+prisoner because of his health. But when Nona inquired for the young
+English lieutenant, the Countess' expression checked further curiosity.
+
+Suddenly she appeared very unhappy and distressed.
+
+"Robert is not in England," she said hastily. "He has been sent away to
+try to recover, but we do not dare hope too much."
+
+At the moment Nona did not feel that she had the courage to ask where
+the young man had gone nor from what he was trying to recover.
+
+Actually it was one afternoon in late February, when the three Red Cross
+girls and Sonya came at last to the village of Le Pretre, near the
+forest of the same name.
+
+There they found old François awaiting them in a carriage that must have
+belonged to the Second Empire. It was toward twilight and on a February
+afternoon, yet after the cold of the northern countries where the girls
+had been for the past winter, the atmosphere had the appeal of spring.
+It was not warm, yet there was a gentleness in the air and a suggestion
+of green on the bare branches of the trees.
+
+François drove them in state to the little "Farmhouse with the Blue
+Front Door." But this afternoon the door was standing open and on the
+threshold was Madame, the Countess, with both white hands extended in
+welcome.
+
+She wore the same black dress and the same point of lace over her white
+hair. And by her side stood Monsieur Le Duc, more solemn and splendid
+than ever and as gravely welcoming of his guests as the Countess
+herself.
+
+Madame explained that Eugenia had been unable to leave the hospital to
+be at home to greet her friends, but hoped to see them in a few days. In
+the meantime they were to feel more than welcome in the farmhouse and in
+the old chateau, when they cared to come to her there.
+
+Then the Countess said good-by and allowed François to take her home.
+She knew that her guests were weary and her courtesy was too perfect to
+permit herself the privilege of a longer conversation, no matter how
+much she might be yearning for companionship.
+
+The little house itself was warm and light with welcome. There was a
+fire in the living room and the four beds upstairs smelled of lavender
+and roses.
+
+The girls took their old rooms, except that Sonya was allotted the
+bedroom that had once been Eugenia's.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+_A Poem and a Conversation_
+
+
+Not the next day, but the one following, Barbara and Mildred walked over
+to the old chateau together.
+
+Nona did not go with them, as Sonya did not appear to be well and she
+did not wish to leave her. So she sent a message of explanation to the
+Countess Amélie, saying that she hoped to be able to call upon her very
+soon.
+
+It chanced that Sonya did not know of Nona's decision. She was lying
+down when the girls went away and believed she had the little house to
+herself. Really she was not ill, only tired and perhaps happier than she
+had been in a long time. It is true that she had confessed herself
+defeated and that there was no longer any illusion in her own mind.
+Perhaps so long as she lived, war and not peace would flourish upon the
+earth. But the world learns its lessons in strange and dreadful ways
+and perchance peace might be born in the end from the horror and waste
+of bloodshed.
+
+By and by, when she felt more rested, Sonya got up and went down into
+the old dining room of the farmhouse, which the girls had made into
+their living room. There was a possibility that the fire might be dying
+out and it would be wise to replenish it.
+
+To her surprise Sonya discovered Nona curled up in a chair by the
+window, reading.
+
+The older woman no longer wore black; it had become too depressing in a
+continent where more than half of the women were in mourning. She had on
+a simple frock of a curious Russian blue, made almost like a monk's
+cowl, with a heavy blue cord knotted about her waist.
+
+Nona stared at her friend for a moment in silence. It was curious that
+whatever costume Sonya Valesky wore seemed to have been created for her.
+Nona recalled the beauty of her clothes in their first meeting on
+shipboard, yet they held no greater distinction than this simple dress.
+Well, perhaps personality is the strongest force in the world and Sonya
+Valesky's distinction, whatever her mistakes, lay in this.
+
+She now walked across the room and put a few of François' precious pine
+logs on the fire.
+
+At this Nona stirred. "Don't trouble to do that, Sonya; I meant to in
+another minute. I thought you were ill upstairs."
+
+Sonya shook her head. "I am not in the least ill and you are please to
+stop worrying about me, Nona. I thought you had gone with your friends
+to the chateau. What has kept you at home?"
+
+The younger girl answered vaguely, not caring to confess her real
+motive, since her companion would have been distressed by it.
+
+"If you are all right, Sonya, suppose you stay down here in the living
+room with me. I have just found a wonderful poem in an American magazine
+which I meant to save to read to you. Somehow I think it may comfort
+you. For it shows that there is a big design in this old universe, which
+works itself out somehow, in spite of all the tragedies and failures of
+human beings."
+
+In a big chair in the half shadow Sonya sat down, folding her hands
+together loosely in her lap. It was a fashion which had come to be
+almost a habit with her recently. Curious that it should express a kind
+of resignation!
+
+Nona began reading at once. "The poem is called 'At the Last' and is by
+George Sterling, a Californian, I believe.
+
+  "Now steel-hoofed War is loosened on the world,
+  With rapine and destruction, as the smoke
+  From ashen farm and city soils the sky.
+  Earth reeks. The camp is where the vineyard was.
+  The flocks are gone. The rains are on the hearth,
+  And trampled Europe knows the winter near.
+  Orchards go down. Home and cathedral fall
+  In ruin, and the blackened provinces
+  Reach on to drear horizons. Soon the snow
+  Shall cover all, and soon be stained with red,
+  A quagmire and a shambles, and ere long
+  Shall cold and hunger dice for helpless lives.
+  So man gone mad, despoils the gentle earth
+  And wages war on beauty and on good.
+
+  "And yet I know how brief the reign shall be
+  Of Desolation. But a little while,
+  And time shall heal the desecrated lands,
+  The quenchless fire of life shall take its own,
+  The waters of renewal spring again.
+  Quiet shall come, a flood of verdure clothe
+  The fields misused. The vine and tree once more
+  Shall bloom beside the trench, and humble roofs
+  Cover again the cradle and the bed.
+  Yea! Life shall have her way with us, until
+  The past is dim with legend, and the days
+  That now in nightmare brood upon the world
+  Shall fold themselves in purples of romance,
+  The peace shall come, so sure as ripples end
+  And crystalline tranquillity returns
+  Above a pebble cast into a pool."
+
+When Nona had finished neither she nor her companion made any comment
+for a moment.
+
+Yet when the girl looked across at the older woman for her opinion, she
+discovered that Sonya's cheeks had flushed and that her eyes were
+shining.
+
+"Thank you, Nona; I shall not forget that," she then said, repeating to
+herself, "'The peace shall come, so sure as ripples end.' I suppose the
+trouble is we have not faith and patience enough to believe that love
+and peace must triumph before God's plan can be worked out."
+
+Then Sonya got up. "Come, Nona," she suggested. "Don't you think it
+would be more agreeable to take a walk. It is really a lovely afternoon
+and I've some things I wish to talk to you about. Besides, I want to see
+the woods you girls have told me of."
+
+It was delicious outdoors and Nona and Sonya both forgot their serious
+mood of a little while before. One could not be always serious even in
+war times in so lovely a land as southern France. No wonder the French
+nation is gay; it is their method of showing their gratitude for the
+country that gave them birth.
+
+Finally the woman and girl reached the pool in the woods which Nona had
+once named "the pool of Melisande," and Eugenia had afterwards called
+"the pool of truth." However, since in Maeterlinck's play Melisande was
+seeking the light in the depth of the water, perhaps after all the two
+titles had almost a similar meaning.
+
+Anyhow, by the pool Sonya chose to make a confession.
+
+"Do you remember, Nona, once long ago, or perhaps it just seems a long
+time to me, you and I met a Colonel Dalton, an officer in the British
+army whom I had known before. I think I promised then to tell you of my
+previous acquaintance with him. I had almost forgotten."
+
+Nona slipped her arm through her companion's.
+
+"Don't tell me if you had rather not. We will both have a great deal to
+learn of each other when we go back to the United States to live
+together."
+
+Sonya smiled. "There is no use waiting. I have never even told you,
+Nona, whether or not I am married. You see, I am often called Madame
+Valesky in Russia, but that is only a courtesy title. I have never
+married. The fact is, I once lived in England for some time and was
+engaged to Colonel Dalton. I think we cared a good deal for each other,
+but he was a soldier and we did not approve of each other's views of
+life. So by and by our engagement was broken off, which was probably the
+best thing for us both."
+
+"Has Colonel Dalton ever married?" Nona inquired inconsequentially.
+
+Her companion shook her head. "Really, I don't know. Suppose we walk on
+now to the hut where your little French girl Nicolete once lived."
+
+When the two friends reached the hut, Nona Davis exclaimed in amazement:
+
+"What on earth has happened? Why, our hut isn't a hut any longer; it is
+a charming little house with some one living in it. I am going to knock
+and see who it can be. French people are so courteous, I am sure they
+won't mind telling me."
+
+Nona knocked and the next moment the door was opened by a young French
+woman. For an instant they stared at each other, then kissed in a
+bewilderingly friendly fashion.
+
+"Why, Nicolete, I can't believe my own eyes!" Nona protested. "What are
+you doing back here in your own little house, only it is so changed that
+I would scarcely have recognized it."
+
+Nicolete's dark eyes shone and the vivid color flooded her face.
+
+"I am married," she explained. "You remember Monsieur Renay, whom
+Mademoiselle Barbara named 'Monsieur Bebé?' Well," Nicolete laughed
+bewitchingly, "he is my husband."
+
+"And is he----" Nona asked and hesitated.
+
+Nicolete shook her head. "He can tell the light from the darkness, and
+now and then can see me moving in the shadow. Some day, the doctors say,
+his sight may be fully restored. He has seen the best specialists.
+Madame Eugenié sent us both to Paris. She it was who made us a home here
+in the woods out of the old hut, so that my husband might have the fresh
+air and grow strong to aid his recovery."
+
+"Madame Eugenié," it was a pretty title and one that Eugenia would
+probably always have in this French country, which had so long known the
+old Countess as Madame Castaigne.
+
+When Barbara and Mildred returned from the chateau Nona sincerely hoped
+they would bring news of Eugenia's arrival, since she was growing more
+than anxious to see her again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+_The Reunion_
+
+
+In truth, Barbara and Mildred were having a delightful afternoon at the
+Chateau d'Amélie.
+
+When they arrived, solemnly François invited them into the old French
+drawing room they so well remembered.
+
+But here, instead of the slender, tiny figure of the old Countess
+appearing to greet them, a tall, dark young woman came forward, whose
+hair was wound about her head like a coronet.
+
+"Eugenia!" Barbara exclaimed, and straightway shed several tears, while
+Eugenia and Mildred laughed at her.
+
+Then the three girls went over and sat down on the same Louis XIV sofa
+that two of them had once occupied with young Captain Castaigne, on
+their first visit to the chateau.
+
+This time Eugenia took the place of honor in the center, while each
+hand clasped one of her companions.
+
+"Henri and I arrived just an hour ago," she explained. "He found he
+could get a three days leave to come with me. Of course, I wished to
+rush off to the farmhouse before I even got my traveling things off. But
+since I am a much managed woman these days, I was made to wait until you
+came here. I have been expecting you every minute. Now tell me about
+Nona and Madame Valesky."
+
+This time it was Barbara who laughed. The idea of Eugenia's being
+managed instead of managing other people was amusing. Besides, it was
+unlike her to talk so fast and ask so many questions without giving one
+time to reply.
+
+So Barbara only held closer to her friend's hand and looked at her,
+leaving Mildred the opportunity for answering.
+
+It was still early in the afternoon and the sunshine flooded the
+beautiful drawing room. It was strange to see how at home Eugenia seemed
+to look and feel in it, when a little more than a year before she and
+the old room had been so antagonistic.
+
+Eugenia had changed. In the first place, she wore this afternoon a
+lovely costume of violet crepe, trimmed in old gold brocade. It was a
+costume that must have been specially designed for Eugenia, so perfectly
+did it suit her rather stately beauty and dark, clear coloring. This
+turned out to be true, since Eugenia a short time before had discovered
+a little French dressmaker, whom the war had rendered penniless, and
+given her work to do.
+
+Now, even while Mildred was talking of Nona and Sonya, the drawing room
+door opened and Captain Castaigne and his mother came in.
+
+Monsieur Le Duc accompanied them, but promptly deserted his former
+master and mistress and padded over to Eugenia, placing his great silver
+head on her lap and gazing at her with adoration.
+
+Captain Castaigne and his mother followed to greet their guests. In his
+hand the young officer carried a number of letters which he gave at once
+to Barbara and Mildred.
+
+"These just arrived at the chateau for you; they are American letters
+and so I am sure you will be pleased."
+
+Mildred's were from her mother and father and Barbara had received three
+from Dick in this same mail, and another which looked as if it might be
+the long-expected letter from Mrs. Thornton.
+
+After ten minutes of conversation, it was Captain Castaigne who proposed
+that their guests might be allowed to read their letters without waiting
+to return home. It was not difficult to guess at their impatience, since
+it must have been a long time since they had heard from home.
+
+Then he and Eugenia crossed over to the other side of the room and stood
+by the fireplace. Le Duc went with them and Eugenia kept one hand on the
+dog's head.
+
+Now and then she smiled over something Captain Castaigne said to her,
+then again she looked at him with the anxious gravity that was a part of
+Eugenia's character. The war had made the young French officer older,
+love and marriage had apparently taken ten years from Eugenia's age.
+Plainly a beautiful understanding existed between the husband and wife,
+in spite of the differences in their natures, which would survive to the
+end.
+
+For when Captain Castaigne suddenly lifted his wife's hand and kissed
+it, it was like Eugenia to blush and whisper a protest, at which the
+young officer only laughed.
+
+Over by the window Barbara and Mildred were really too busy with their
+letters to notice what was taking place. Madame Castaigne had gone out
+of the room for the instant to speak to François.
+
+Of course, Barbara had read Dick's letters first. She could only read
+them hastily, for Dick had written to say that he had a fine position
+with a big real estate office in New York City, and enough salary for
+two persons to live upon, in a tiny apartment on the west side. Barbara
+was to come home at once, else Dick would probably lose his job by
+deserting to fetch her. Also the letter from Mrs. Thornton was cheering.
+Whatever it may have been, something had occurred to change that lady's
+state of mind. Perhaps it was her anxiety about Mildred in the days
+when she knew nothing of her daughter's fate except that Mildred had
+stayed behind at Grovno until the hour of the final surrender of the
+Russian fort.
+
+For Mrs. Thornton had written to Barbara to say that she would be most
+happy to welcome her as Dick's wife, and the dearest wish of her heart
+was to have her two daughters safe at home in New York City as soon as
+they were able to return.
+
+Mildred's letters were much of the same character, and the two girls had
+only barely finished them when François appeared bearing coffee and
+cakes.
+
+Then the little party talked on until nearly dusk.
+
+At last, when Barbara and Mildred felt compelled to leave, Eugenia
+proposed that she and Captain Castaigne walk over to the farmhouse with
+them. She did not feel that she could wait for another day before seeing
+Nona.
+
+Nona and Sonya had just been in a few moments and taken off their wraps
+when the others arrived. And Nona need have felt no nervousness over
+Eugenia's attitude toward Sonya. Many things had happened to broaden
+Eugenia's point of view since her arrival in Europe to act as a Red
+Cross nurse. Besides, few persons could fail to feel anything but
+sympathy and admiration for the beautiful Russian woman, whose life had
+come so near closing in tragedy.
+
+There was not a great deal of food at the farmhouse, nevertheless
+Eugenia and Captain Castaigne remained to dinner.
+
+Barbara and Mildred retired to act as cooks, while Eugenia and Sonya
+fell to talking together, and Nona and Captain Castaigne.
+
+In the course of their talk Nona remembered to inquire for Lieutenant
+Hume, who was Captain Castaigne's friend. At last she might be able to
+hear real news of the young British officer.
+
+By good fortune Captain Castaigne had received a letter written by him
+in the same post that had brought Barbara's and Mildred's letters.
+
+"Lieutenant Hume had gone to the United States and was living at the
+present time in Florida. He had appeared to have contracted a fatal
+illness during his imprisonment, but his letter had said he was feeling
+ever so much better.
+
+"I can't say how glad I am," Captain Castaigne continued. "There was
+never a braver fellow in the world than Robert Hume. And besides, if he
+should happen to die just now, it would be particularly hard on his
+family. You see, Hume's older brother, the one with the title, has just
+been killed in the Dardanelles. Robert Hume is Lord Hume now, I believe,
+and the English think more of titles than we do in Republican France,"
+the French officer concluded.
+
+"But I thought," Nona commented stupidly, "that Lieutenant Hume was a
+gardener's son and had been educated by friends who were interested in
+him."
+
+Then Nona stopped, because Captain Castaigne was half smiling and half
+frowning over her information. Moreover, Nona suddenly remembered that
+what she was saying was founded partly on information and the rest on
+her own fancy.
+
+"Lieutenant Hume told me he was the gardener's son," she protested, "or
+at least he called the gardener's wife 'Mother Susan.'"
+
+Eugenia had suddenly spoken her husband's name and Captain Castaigne had
+gotten up to go over to her.
+
+However, he stopped long enough to expostulate. "That was an
+extraordinary idea of yours, Miss Davis. Hume was only talking of his
+old nurse. His mother died when he was a baby and she brought him up. I
+have heard him speak of 'Mother Susan' myself. The Countess you visited
+in Surrey is a cousin of Hume's, I think, and the old nurse and her
+husband live there. Hume was having Mother Susan nurse him when you met,
+I expect. Hope you two may see each other some day in the United States
+and laugh over that impression of yours, Miss Davis," Captain Castaigne
+concluded, as he walked over to his wife's side.
+
+At midnight Captain Castaigne and Eugenia went back to the chateau,
+walking hand-in-hand like children through the woods. There was no
+fighting these days in this particular portion of southern France and in
+the peace of the night one could almost forget that the world was at
+war.
+
+"You will miss your friends when they return to their own country,
+Eugenia," Captain Castaigne suggested.
+
+Eugenia nodded. "Yes, they will be gone, I believe, in another month.
+But we will go over ourselves some day, Henri, and perhaps you may learn
+to care for my country as I do for yours."
+
+"Yes, and think of the service I shall owe her for the work the American
+Red Cross has done for France!" the young officer concluded, and in the
+darkness lifted his cap for a moment.
+
+"Whatever Lafayette did for you in the cause of freedom, your land has
+now fully repaid."
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+  BOOKS BY MARGARET VANDERCOOK
+
+  THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES
+
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AT RAINBOW LODGE
+  THE RANCH GIRLS' POT OF GOLD
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AT BOARDING SCHOOL
+  THE RANCH GIRLS IN EUROPE
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AT HOME AGAIN
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AND THEIR GREAT ADVENTURE
+
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS SERIES
+
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN THE BRITISH TRENCHES
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN BELGIUM
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE ITALIAN ARMY
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES
+
+  STORIES ABOUT CAMP FIRE GIRLS
+
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT SUNRISE HILL
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AMID THE SNOWS
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ACROSS THE SEA
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS' CAREERS
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN AFTER YEARS
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE DESERT
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT THE END OF THE TRAIL
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Cross Girls with the Russian
+Army, by Margaret Vandercook
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ***
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army, by 
+Margaret Vandercook
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army
+
+Author: Margaret Vandercook
+
+Release Date: July 18, 2007 [EBook #22095]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Linda McKeown, Jacqueline Jeremy
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+<h1>THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH<br />
+THE RUSSIAN ARMY</h1>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" class="jpg1" width="500" height="611" alt="Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/inside1.jpg" class="jpg2" width="600" height="449" alt="Inside front cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+
+<img src="images/frontis.jpg" class="jpg3" width="400" height="635" alt="Barbara Presented Him with the Electric Lamp." title="(See page 150.)" />
+<span class="caption">Barbara Presented Him with the Electric Lamp.<br />
+(<a href="#page150"><em>See page 150</em></a>.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="box">
+<p class="title"><big>The Red Cross Girls</big><br />
+<big>with the Russian Army</big><br />
+<br />
+<small>By</small><br />
+
+MARGARET VANDERCOOK
+<br />
+<span style="line-height: 1em;"><small>Author of &#8220;The Ranch Girls Series,&#8221; &#8220;Stories</small></span><br />
+<span style="line-height: 1em;"><small>about Camp Fire Girls Series,&#8221; etc.</small></span><br />
+<br />
+<big>Illustrated</big><br />
+<br />
+The John C. Winston Company<br />
+<small>Philadelphia</small><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+<p class="copy">
+<small>Copyright, 1916, by</small><br />
+<span class="smcap"><small>The John C. Winston Co.</small></span>
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="space"><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<table summary="table of contents">
+<colgroup span="3">
+<col width="10px"></col>
+<col width="350px"></col>
+<col width="15px"></col>
+</colgroup>
+<tr>
+<th class="tda"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></th>
+<th class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Page</span></th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">I.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Peasant&#8217;s Hut in Russia</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#russia">7</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">II.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Former Acquaintance</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#acquaint">23</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">III.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">General Alexis</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#alexis">37</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">IV.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">An Encounter</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#encount">53</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">V.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Out of the Past</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#past">67</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">VI.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Arrest</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#arrest">80</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">VII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Russian Church</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#church">92</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">VIII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Another Warning</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#warn">104</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">IX.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Attack</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#attack">118</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">X.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Mildred&#8217;s Opportunity</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#opportun">134</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XI.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Russian Retreat</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#retreat">148</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Petrograd</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#petro">158</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XIII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Next Step</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#step">174</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XIV.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">Mildred&#8217;s Return</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#return">191</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XV.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Winter Palace</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#palace">206</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XVI.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Unexpected Happens</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#happens">217</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XVII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Departure</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#depart">236</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XVIII.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">A Poem and a Conversation</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#convers">247</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tda">XIX.</td>
+<td class="tdb"><span class="smcap">The Reunion</span></td>
+<td class="tdc"><a href="#reunion">256</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<hr  />
+
+<p class="center"><big>THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH<br />
+THE RUSSIAN ARMY</big></p>
+
+<hr class="hr2" />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span><a name="russia" id="russia"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3> <em>A Peasant&#8217;s Hut in Russia</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">IN the last volume of the Red Cross series the four American girls spent
+six months in tragic little Belgium. There, in an American hospital in
+Brussels, devoted to the care, not of wounded soldiers, but of ill
+Belgians, three of the girls lived and worked.</p>
+
+<p>But Eugenia went alone to dwell in a house in the woods because the cry
+of the children in Belgium made the strongest appeal to her. The house
+was a lonely one, supposed to be haunted, yet in spite of this Eugenia
+moved in. There the money of the girl whom her friend had once believed
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>&#8220;poor as a church mouse&#8221; fed and cared for her quickly acquired family.</p>
+
+<p>In Eugenia&#8217;s haunted house were other sojourners furnishing the mystery
+of this story and endangering her liberty, almost her life. They were a
+Belgian officer and his family whom the Red Cross girl kept in hiding.
+Somehow the officer had managed to return to his own country from the
+fighting line in Belgium. After securing the papers he desired from the
+enemy, by Eugenia&#8217;s aid, he was enabled to return once more to King
+Albert and the Allied armies. Thus Eugenia was left alone to bear the
+brunt of the German displeasure after the discovery of her misdeeds. She
+was imprisoned in Brussels, and became dangerously ill. Finally, because
+she was an American, Eugenia was made to leave the country, rather than
+to suffer the punishment which would have been hers had she belonged to
+another nationality.</p>
+
+<p>But the four American Red Cross girls also had the companionship of Dick
+Thornton<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> during their stay in the once lovely capital of Belgium.</p>
+
+<p>Dick had not recovered the use of his arm, but in spite of this had come
+to Brussels to help with the work of the American Relief society.</p>
+
+<p>Here his once friendly relation with Barbara Meade no longer existed.
+Because of her change of attitude he apparently grew more attached to
+Nona Davis.</p>
+
+<p>However, at the close of the story, when Barbara is taking Eugenia back
+to southern France, she and Dick unexpectedly meet aboard a fog-bound
+ship. And in the darkness the light finally shines when Dick and Barbara
+discover at last that their feeling for each other is stronger than
+friendship.</p>
+
+<p>Later, near &#8220;the pool of truth&#8221; not far from the &#8220;Farmhouse with the
+Blue Front Door,&#8221; Eugenia Peabody again meets Captain Henri Castaigne,
+the young French officer whom she had once nursed back to health. A
+short time afterwards he and Eugenia are married.</p>
+
+<p>Later the three other American Red<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> Cross girls decide to continue their
+nursing of the wounded soldiers of the Allied armies in far-off Russia.</p>
+
+<p>One cold October afternoon three American girls were standing in the
+stone courtyard of a great Russian fortress near the border line of
+Poland.</p>
+
+<p>Situated upon a cone-shaped hill, the fort itself had been built like
+the three sides of a square, with the yard as the center. Along the
+fourth side ran a cement wall with a single iron gate.</p>
+
+<p>Evidently the three girls were engaged in Red Cross work, for they wore
+the familiar service uniforms. One of them had on a heavy coat and cap,
+but the other two must have just come out of doors for a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, their first words revealed this fact.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I really don&#8217;t feel that you should be starting upon this expedition
+alone, Nona,&#8221; Mildred Thornton argued. She was a tall girl, with heavy,
+flaxen hair and quiet, steel-gray eyes. She was gazing anxiously about
+her, for Russia was a new and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>strange world to the three American Red
+Cross nurses, who had arrived at their present headquarters only a few
+weeks before.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a year had passed since the four friends separated in Belgium.
+Then Mildred and Nona Davis had remained at their posts to care for the
+homeless Belgian children, while Barbara Meade and Eugenia Peabody
+returned to southern France.</p>
+
+<p>Now at the close of Mildred Thornton&#8217;s speech to Nona, Barbara Meade
+frowned. She was poised on one foot as if expecting to flee at any
+moment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I quite agree with you, Mildred,&#8221; she protested. &#8220;Nona&#8217;s message was
+far too mysterious and vague to consider answering. We must not forget
+that we are now in a country and among a people whom we don&#8217;t understand
+in the least. Besides, I promised both Dick and Eugenia that we would be
+more careful. How I wish one or the other of them were here to advise
+us!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Shivering, Barbara, who was the youngest and smallest of the girls,
+slipped her arm through Mildred&#8217;s.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>A few yards before them sentries were marching slowly up and down, with
+their rifles resting on their shoulders, while a double row guarded a
+single wide gate. Every now and then a common soldier passed on his way
+to the performance of some special duty. Gray and colorless, the
+afternoon had a peculiar dampness as if the wind had blown across acres
+of melting snow.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless in reply to her friends&#8217; objections Nona Davis shook her
+head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I realize you may both be right, and yet so urgent was my message
+that I feel compelled to do what was asked of me. But don&#8217;t worry about
+me, I have the letter with the directions safe in my pocket. Good-by.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then before either of the other girls could find time to argue the point
+a second time, the young southern girl had kissed each of them and
+turned away. Later they saw her give the password at the gate and the
+sentry allow her to pass out.</p>
+
+<p>Before her lay a stretch of sparsely <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>settled country divided by a wide
+and much traveled road. Several miles further along a wide river crossed
+the land, but near at hand there were only small farms and meagre clumps
+of pine woods.</p>
+
+<p>After a few more words of disapproval, Barbara Meade shrugged her
+shoulders, and then she and Mildred re-entered the small curved doorway
+of the Russian fort. The left wing was being used as a hospital for the
+wounded, while the rest of the great fortification was crowded with
+officers and soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>These men were being held in reserve to await the threatened invasion of
+the oncoming German hosts. Warsaw had fallen and one by one the ancient
+Russian fortifications once deemed invincible had given way before the
+German guns. But here at Grovno, under the command of the great General
+Alexis, the Russians were to make a final stand.</p>
+
+<p>However, without thinking of anything save personal matters, Nona Davis
+first set out along the main traveled road. Now and then she was
+compelled to step aside <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>to let a great ox cart go past; these carts
+were filled with provisions being brought into the fort. Occasionally a
+covered car rattled past loaded with munitions of war, or a heavy piece
+of artillery drawn on low trucks. But one would like to have seen a far
+greater quantity of supplies of all kinds being brought to the old
+fortress. It was an open secret that the supply of munitions was not
+what it should be, and yet Grovno was expected to withstand all attacks.</p>
+
+<p>But the young American girl was not reflecting upon the uncertainties of
+war during her walk. Neither did she feel any nervousness because of the
+newness of her surroundings, for the country in the rear of the
+fortifications was chiefly inhabited by Russian women and children and a
+few old men.</p>
+
+<p>Nona walked on quickly and with a speed and careless grace that covered
+the ground without apparent effort.</p>
+
+<p>She was looking extremely well, but above all other things Nona Davis
+appeared supremely interested. For some reason, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>still unknown to her,
+she had been more stirred and excited by the coming into Russia than any
+country she had yet seen. She both admired and feared the Russian
+people, with their curious combination of poetry and stupidity, of
+dullness and passion. Before returning to her own land she meant to try
+and understand them better. For somewhere she had read that the future
+art of the world was to come forth from Russia. It is the Slavic
+temperament and not the Anglo-Saxon that best expresses itself in music
+and literature.</p>
+
+<p>Nona&#8217;s errand this afternoon was a curious and puzzling one, fraught
+with unnecessary mystery.</p>
+
+<p>Four days before, a Russian boy about twelve years old had appeared at
+the gate of the fortress at Grovno, bearing a note addressed to Miss
+Nona Davis. Oddly enough, although the note was written in perfect
+English, it was not signed. In spite of this it requested that the
+American girl come to a small house about a mile and a half away to see
+a former friend.</p>
+
+<p>But who the friend could be, not one <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>of the three girls could imagine.
+Yet they scarcely talked of anything else. Nona had no acquaintances in
+Russia save the people she had met in connection with her work, and
+there was no one in her past whom she could possibly conceive of having
+come into Russia as a tourist at such a time.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore it was Mildred Thornton&#8217;s and Barbara Meade&#8217;s opinion that
+Nona should pay not the slightest heed to such a communication.
+Anonymous letters lead to nothing but evil. But in spite of their
+objections, here at the first possible opportunity Nona was obeying the
+behest. Probably she could not have explained why, for she was too
+sensible not to appreciate that possible discomfort and even danger
+might lie ahead of her. Perhaps as much as anything she was actuated by
+a spirit of sheer adventure.</p>
+
+<p>So it is little wonder that during her walk Nona&#8217;s thoughts were now and
+then engaged with her own affairs. Yet after a little her attention
+wandered from the immediate future and she fell to recalling the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>history of the past years&#8217; experiences, her own and her three friends.</p>
+
+<p>No wonder Barbara was often lonely and homesick for Dick Thornton.</p>
+
+<p>She had become engaged to him on the fog-bound trip she had made with
+him in getting Eugenia safely out of Belgium. Remembering Eugenia&#8217;s
+escape, Nona said a short prayer of thankfulness. After her hiding of
+the Belgian officer and his family from the German authorities, she
+would never have been allowed to leave Belgium unpunished had she not
+been an American woman. Remembering the fate of the English girl who
+had committed the same crime, Nona appreciated how much they had to be
+thankful for.</p>
+
+<p>And now Eugenia was married to Captain Castaigne, the young French
+officer. Curious that among the four of them who had come from the
+United States to do Red Cross work among the Allies, Eugenia should
+be the first to marry! She, a New England old maid, disapproving of
+matrimony and, above all, of international marriages!</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>Yet the wedding had taken place in the previous spring at the little
+French &#8220;Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door,&#8221; where the four girls had
+spent the most cheerful months since their arrival in Europe for the
+war nursing.</p>
+
+<p>Only once had Nona and Mildred deserted their posts in Belgium, where
+they had continued Eugenia&#8217;s work of caring for the homeless Belgian
+children. Then they had gone to attend her wedding, but had returned
+to Belgium as soon as possible.</p>
+
+<p>But Eugenia and Captain Castaigne had taken scarcely more time for
+their own honeymoon.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the ceremony Captain Castaigne had gone to rejoin his
+regiment and three days after Eugenia had become a member of the
+staff of a French hospital near her husband&#8217;s line of trenches.</p>
+
+<p>So it turned out that Barbara Meade was left at the Chateau d&#8217;Am&#233;lie,
+as Madame Castaigne&#8217;s friend and companion. Dick Thornton boarded in
+the village near by, so that he and Barbara had a number of happy
+months together.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>But Dick had finally decided that he must return to America and had
+urged Barbara and his sister Mildred to return with him. Of course,
+Nona had been invited to accompany them, but no special pressure had
+been brought upon her.</p>
+
+<p>However, Mildred did not feel that her Red Cross work in Europe was
+finished, while Barbara refused to desert her friends.</p>
+
+<p>But Barbara had another reason for her decision: she desired Dick to
+be alone when he confessed their engagement to his mother and father.
+Barbara had little fear of Judge Thornton&#8217;s disapproval, but felt
+reasonably convinced that Mrs. Thornton would be both disappointed
+and aggrieved. Certainly she had never hesitated to announce that
+she expected her son Dick to make a brilliant match. How could she
+then be satisfied with a western girl of no wealth or distinction?</p>
+
+<p>It happened that Dick Thornton also had a private reason for finally
+agreeing to Barbara&#8217;s wish. His experiences in the past two years had
+given him a new <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>point of view toward life. No longer was he willing to
+be known only as his father&#8217;s son and to continue being supported by
+him. Before Dick married he intended making a position for himself, so
+as to be able to take care of his own wife.</p>
+
+<p>Nona also recalled that she was really responsible for their coming into
+Russia. It had seemed to her that they must make their Red Cross work
+complete by nursing in the largest of the Allied countries.</p>
+
+<p>However, Nona had now to cease her reflections, for she had come to a
+place in the road where she had been told to turn aside.</p>
+
+<p>To make sure the girl opened her note and re-read it for probably the
+tenth time. Yes, here were the three pine trees, green shadows against
+the autumn sky, and here also was the narrow path that began alongside
+of them.</p>
+
+<p>After another fifteen minutes&#8217; walk Nona discovered that she was
+approaching a hut of the poorest character. It was built of logs,
+with mud roughly filling up a number of cracks.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>Already Nona was learning to understand that the Russian poor are
+perhaps the poorest people in the world. This hut was not so
+poverty-stricken as many others she had seen; at least, there
+were two windows and a front door.</p>
+
+<p>Outside a hungry dog prowled about, showing not the slightest interest
+in the newcomer. Yet Nona was vaguely frightened. She stopped for a
+moment to reflect. Should she go in or not? The place looked ugly and
+depressing and she could see no signs of human beings.</p>
+
+<p>Yet perhaps there was illness inside the house and she had been sent for
+to give aid. If that were true she must not hesitate.</p>
+
+<p>As Nona lifted her hand to knock at the door, suddenly it occurred to
+her as curious that the note she had received had been written upon
+extremely fine paper and in a handwriting which revealed breeding and
+education. Yet this peasant&#8217;s hut suggested neither the one nor the
+other.</p>
+
+<p>But Nona was more mystified than fearful since her Red Cross uniform was
+her <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>protection, and these were not days when one dared think of
+oneself.</p>
+
+<p>She knocked quietly but firmly on the wooden door.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment the heavy bar was slipped aside. Then Nona saw a woman
+of about thirty-five, dressed in the costume of a Russian peasant,
+standing with both hands outstretched toward her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My dear,&#8221; she began in perfect English, &#8220;this is better fortune than I
+dreamed, to find you once again, and in Russia, of all countries!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span><a name="acquaint" id="acquaint"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3> <em>A Former Acquaintance</em></h3>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 3.5em;">
+<img src="images/quote.png" width="8" height="7" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="cap1">BUT,&#8221; Nona began, and then hesitated, feeling extraordinarily puzzled.
+The face of the woman before her was oddly familiar, although she could
+not at the instant recall where or when she had known her.</p>
+
+<p>Yet she remembered the deep blue-gray eyes with their perfectly penciled
+dark brows and lashes, even the rather sad expression of them. However,
+she must be mistaken, since she could have no acquaintance in Russia!</p>
+
+<p>However, she allowed herself to be quietly led inside the hut, where the
+door was immediately closed behind her. Then the girl followed the woman
+inside a bare chamber, furnished with only a few chairs and a rough
+table. In an upper corner hung an ikon, the Russian image of the Christ.
+The face of the Christ was painted <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>in brilliant colors set inside a
+brass square and this square enclosed in a dark wooden frame.</p>
+
+<p>The ikon is to the Russian who is a Greek Catholic what the crucifix is
+to the Roman Catholic. No orthodox Russian home is ever without one.</p>
+
+<p>But after the first glance, Nona Davis gave no further consideration to
+her surroundings. Before her companion could speak the second time she
+had suddenly recognized her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, Lady Dorian, what has brought you to Russia? You are the last
+person I expected to see! Since our meeting on board the &#8216;Philadelphia&#8217;
+and your stay at the Sacred Heart Hospital I have so often wondered what
+had become of you, and if you were well and happy. You promised to write
+me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then you have not forgotten me?&#8221; Before saying anything more the older
+woman found a chair for her guest and another for herself.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I have not written you, but I have thought of you many times and
+have followed <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>your history more closely than you dream,&#8221; she returned
+quietly, yet with evident earnestness. &#8220;I have been well and I suppose
+as happy as most people. How can any human being be anything but
+wretched during this tragic war? If only we might have peace!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Lady Dorian&#8217;s face became white and drawn and Nona felt that she had
+aged a great deal since their first meeting, and indeed since the months
+they had spent as fellow workers for the British soldiers at the Sacred
+Heart Hospital. Nevertheless she still felt strangely attracted toward
+her companion, although mingled with the attraction was a new and
+uncomfortable feeling of distrust.</p>
+
+<p>Lady Dorian had come to the hospital cleared of the charge made against
+her on board the &#8220;Philadelphia&#8221; of being a spy. Yet she had never given
+any explanation of her history. Then had followed her surprising meeting
+with the British officer, Colonel Dalton, and their betrayal of a former
+acquaintanceship. Although the older woman had promised to explain their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>connection later, she had only said that they had once known each other
+rather intimately in London. But as they were friends no longer, she
+preferred not speaking of him again.</p>
+
+<p>All this passed swiftly through Nona&#8217;s mind while the older woman was
+speaking. But the girl devoutly hoped that her face did not betray
+her thoughts. For here was the most surprising situation of all! Lady
+Dorian had seemed to be a woman of wealth at the beginning of their
+acquaintance and certainly had given a large sum of money to the
+Sacred Heart Hospital. Now to find her dressed as a peasant and
+living in a peasant&#8217;s hut in Russia!</p>
+
+<p>Her skirt was of some cheap black material and her bodice of velveteen,
+laced with black cords over a white cotton waist. She also wore a
+Russian peasant&#8217;s apron of brighter colors.</p>
+
+<p>Yet Nona recognized the older woman&#8217;s beauty and distinction in spite of
+her costume, even while her present circumstances and her eccentricities
+antagonized her visitor.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>The woman was sitting with her level brows drawn together looking
+closely at the younger girl.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am sorry you don&#8217;t seem to feel your former faith in me, Nona,&#8221; she
+began unexpectedly. &#8220;Not that I blame you, for I do not know myself
+whether it is wise for me to have intruded into your life again. I would
+not have done so if there had not been a reason more important than you
+can appreciate.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>For a moment the girl&#8217;s attention had been wandering, engaged by the
+oddness of her surroundings, but now she tried to conceal her growing
+discomfort. Lady Dorian was appearing more mysterious than ever! If she
+desired to renew their acquaintance because they had formerly liked each
+other, that was a sufficient reason for her summons. It was scarcely
+worth while to try to produce other motives.</p>
+
+<p>But Lady Dorian had gotten up and now stood facing her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What I am going to tell you is extraordinary, Nona, although life is
+too full of strange happenings to make us wonder at <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>anything. In the
+first place, will you please cease to call me <em>Lady Dorian</em>, for that is
+not my name. Nor is it remarkable for you to discover me living in
+Russia, because I am a Russian by birth. I have not always made my home
+in my own country, but that makes no difference, since my love and
+sympathy have always been with my own people. Here I am only known as<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">&#8216;Sonya.&#8217; But I do not wish to speak of myself, but of you. I have a</span><br />
+strong reason for my interest in you, Nona, for although you may find it
+hard to believe, I once knew your mother.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Knew my mother?&#8221; The young American girl scarcely understood what was
+being said. She was so many thousands of miles both in fact and in
+thought from her own home and her own history. She could not believe
+that her companion was telling the truth. In any case she was merely
+mistaking her for some one else.</p>
+
+<p>So Nona shook her head gravely. &#8220;I am sorry, but I don&#8217;t think that
+possible,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;My mother was a southern woman, who lived
+very quietly in an <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>old-fashioned city. I can&#8217;t see how your lives could
+ever have touched.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Until this instant Nona had remained seated with her former friend
+standing before her.</p>
+
+<p>She did not realize how much she showed her resentment at this use of
+her mother&#8217;s name. Now she made an effort to rise from her chair.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am very happy to have seen you again,&#8221; she protested in the formal
+manner which Barbara Meade sometimes admired and at other times
+resented.</p>
+
+<p>But her companion was not influenced and indeed paid no attention to the
+younger girl&#8217;s hauteur. She merely put a restraining hand on her
+shoulder, adding,</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is not worth while for us to argue that point until you hear what I
+have to say. The fact is, I know more of your mother, Nona, than you do
+yourself. For one thing, your mother was also a Russian. She was older
+than I, but we were together at one time in the United States. She went
+to visit in New Orleans and there met your father and married. I knew
+she <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>had a daughter by your name, but curiously when I first met you on
+board the steamer your name conveyed nothing to me. Perhaps the last
+thing I expected was to find the daughter of your father, General Robert
+Davis, serving as a Red Cross nurse. He was a conservative of the old
+school, and I supposed would never have allowed you to leave home. But
+after we came together again and I met you for the second time at the
+Sacred Heart Hospital, I began to think of what association I had with
+your name. Soon I remembered and then I endeavored to discover your
+history. There was a chance that the name had no connection with the
+girl I sought. But it was simple enough to make the discovery.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Simple enough to make the discovery!&#8221; Stupidly Nona Davis repeated the
+words aloud, because they puzzled her. Then it occurred to her that the
+woman before her was so associated with mysteries that a family problem
+must be comparatively simple. Doubtless she had been able to discover
+more of Nona&#8217;s mother&#8217;s history than she herself had ever found out.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>But Nona was by no means pleased with the thought of an association
+between her own people and Lady Dorian, who had just frankly confessed
+that this name had been an assumed one.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did she wish to go into the subject of her family connection with so
+uncomfortable a stranger. First she wished to have time to think the
+situation over and to try to make it clearer to her own mind. Then she
+wished to discuss it with Mildred and Barbara.</p>
+
+<p>The girl glanced at the old-fashioned watch belonging to her father,
+which she always wore. In the back it held her mother&#8217;s picture, but not
+for worlds would she have revealed this fact at the moment.</p>
+
+<p>Curious that she should feel this extreme distrust of her companion,
+when she had been her ardent defender in their earlier acquaintance! But
+then she had never expected to be drawn into any intimacy with her.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, Russia was an incomprehensible country. The class distinctions
+which had so impressed her in England were as nothing to the differences
+in rank here.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>Russia, in truth, seemed a land of princes and paupers! To a girl of
+Nona Davis&#8217; ideas and training, to find herself associated with the
+lower orders of Russian society was distinctly disagreeable. She had
+lived so long on the tradition of family that social position seemed of
+first importance.</p>
+
+<p>Now her former acquaintance was living in a peasant&#8217;s house and was
+dressed like a peasant woman. Some strange change must have taken place
+in her life to reduce her to such a position, when previously she had
+given the impression of wealth and distinction.</p>
+
+<p>Nona got up hurriedly, drawing her coat about her. Later perhaps she
+might be willing to hear what the other woman wished to confide, but not
+today.</p>
+
+<p>Yet Nona felt that she did not wish to look into her companion&#8217;s eyes.
+She must try not to think of her any longer as Lady Dorian, though
+&#8220;Sonya&#8221; was an exquisite Russian name, it certainly gave no clue to her
+identity.</p>
+
+<p>However, she could not fail to see that the other woman&#8217;s expression
+revealed <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>surprise and sorrow at her attitude, but was without
+resentment. It was as if she had grown accustomed to distrust and
+coldness.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am sorry you don&#8217;t wish me to speak of your mother, Nona. It is true
+I can give you no explanation of the change in my surroundings, but the
+present need not affect the past. I know that your father has kept your
+mother&#8217;s story a secret from you. Yet there is nothing in it of which
+you may not be proud, that is, if you have the nature which I have hoped
+to find in you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Embarrassed and yet determined not to listen any further, Nona continued
+obstinately walking toward the door, with Sonya quietly following her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Will you wait a moment, please?&#8221; the older woman asked. &#8220;I have two
+friends here in the house with me, whom I would like you to meet. When
+you talk me over with Mildred and Barbara to find out their opinion of
+me and of what I have tried to tell you, you can explain to them that I
+am not alone. I realize that I have always been a mystifying
+acquaintance and I&#8217;m sorry, but it is not <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>possible to tell you my
+history at present. Some day I may be able to explain.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Sonya&#8217;s tone was half grave and half gay. Moreover, her blue eyes with
+their curiously dark brows and lashes watched the younger girl with an
+almost wistful affection.</p>
+
+<p>The situation was more than puzzling. Yet, although she grew more
+anxious each minute to be away, Nona could only agree to her companion&#8217;s
+request.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment she was left alone in the crude, bare room. It was
+cheerless and cold and she grew even more uncomfortable. Surely, Russia
+was the strangest land in the world. How could her history as a young
+American girl have any connection with it? Why had she so insisted upon
+continuing her Red Cross nursing in Russia, when without her urging the
+other Red Cross girls would have been content to remain where they were?</p>
+
+<p>The next moment a very old woman and a man came into the room with
+Sonya. There was no doubting they were both peasants. With them it was
+not merely a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>matter of rough clothes. They were both heavily built,
+with stupid, sad faces and they mumbled something in broken English when
+they were introduced to Nona, eyeing her with suspicion. It was only
+when their gaze rested upon Sonya that their faces changed. Then it was
+as though a light had shone through darkness.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya introduced them by name, some queer Russian name which Nona could
+not grasp.</p>
+
+<p>However, she was trying her best to find something civil to say in
+return, which they might be able to understand, when an unexpected noise
+interrupted them.</p>
+
+<p>Some one had unceremoniously opened the door in the hall and was walking
+toward them.</p>
+
+<p>For an instant Nona thought she saw a shade of anxiety cross the faces
+of her three companions, but the next instant it was gone.</p>
+
+<p>Nona could scarcely swallow a gasp of surprised admiration when, soon
+after, the door opened.</p>
+
+<p>A young Russian soldier entered the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>room. He wore the uniform of a
+Cossack: the high boots, the fur cap and tunic.</p>
+
+<p>To Nona Davis&#8217; American eyes the young man seemed a typical Russian of
+the better classes. He was extremely handsome, more than six feet tall,
+with dark hair and eyes and a colorless skin.</p>
+
+<p>He appeared surprised at Nona&#8217;s presence, but explained that he was
+stationed at the Russian fort where a number of wounded were being cared
+for. He remembered having seen Nona and her two friends. They were the
+only American nurses in the vicinity, so it was not strange to have
+noticed them.</p>
+
+<p>Michael Orlaff was the soldier&#8217;s name. Sonya spoke it with distinctness,
+but gave him no title. Yet evidently they knew each other very well.</p>
+
+<p>A moment later and Nona finally got away. She was late and nervous about
+returning to the fortifications alone. Yet as she hurried on she was
+thinking over the afternoon until her head ached with the mystery of it.
+Perhaps it might be wise if she could avoid meeting this particular
+group of people again.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span><a name="alexis" id="alexis"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<h3><em>General Alexis</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">ALL that day Mildred Thornton had scarcely left the bedside of her
+patient.</p>
+
+<p>For the Russian boy was dying, and as there was no hope for him, Mildred
+could only do her best to make him as comfortable as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Now he seemed half asleep, so with her hands folded in her lap the girl
+sat near him trying to rest, although unable to keep her mind as quiet
+as her hands.</p>
+
+<p>How strange her surroundings! Since her arrival in Europe as a Red Cross
+nurse she had lived and worked in two other countries and certainly had
+passed through remarkable experiences, yet none of them were to be
+compared with these few weeks of nursing in Russia. One might have been
+transferred to another planet instead of another land.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>As an ordinary American tourist, Mildred had been familiar with Europe
+for several years, having spent three summers abroad traveling with her
+parents. But this was her first vision of the East, for Russia is
+eastern, however she may count herself otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>The American girl now lifted her eyes from the figure of the dying boy
+and let them wander down the length of the room which sheltered them.</p>
+
+<p>An immense place, it held rows on rows of other cot beds with white-clad
+nurses passing about among them. When they spoke or when the patients
+spoke Mildred could rarely guess what was being said, as she knew so few
+words of Russian. Yet she had little difficulty with her nursing, for
+the ways of the ill are universal and she had already seen so much
+suffering.</p>
+
+<p>Now the hospital room was in half shadow, but it was never light nor
+aired as the American nurse felt it should be.</p>
+
+<p>The hospital quarters were only a portion of the fortress, a great room,
+like a barracks which had been hastily turned into a refuge for the
+wounded.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>The long stone chamber boasted only four small windows hardly larger
+than portholes and some distance from the ground. These opened with
+difficulty and were protected by heavy iron bars. But then in Russia in
+many private houses no window is ever voluntarily opened from autumn
+until Easter, as the cold is so intense and the arrangements for heating
+so crude.</p>
+
+<p>Today Mildred wondered if the heavy, sick-laden air was giving her
+extraordinary fancies. She kept seeing dream pictures. For as she stared
+about the cold chamber of sorrow she beheld with greater distinctness
+the image of her own rooms at home.</p>
+
+<p>This was the hour when the maid came to light her yellow-shaded electric
+candles; then she would put a fresh log on the fire and stir it to
+brightness, not because the added warmth was needed in their big
+steam-heated house, but because of the cheerfulness. Then would follow
+her mother&#8217;s invitation to drink a cup of tea with her and Dick in the
+library, or would she prefer having it served in her own room?</p>
+
+<p>With this thought the girl&#8217;s eyes clouded <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>for a moment. Doubtless Dick
+and her mother would be having tea together this afternoon and Dick
+would in all probability be trying to explain why his sister was not
+with him. During her work in France and Belgium her mother and father
+had been more than kind, but with this suggestion of coming into Russia
+to continue her nursing both her parents had protested.</p>
+
+<p>It is true that they had not actually demanded her presence at home, for
+she would not have disobeyed a command. But undoubtedly they had urged
+her homecoming.</p>
+
+<p>Her father longed for her because of the rare affection between them and
+the fact that he dreaded the conditions and experiences that might await
+her and her friends in Russia. For these same reasons her mother also
+desired her return, yet Mildred knew that there was another motive
+actuating her mother. She might be unconscious of the fact, but if her
+daughter should reappear in New York society at the present time,
+because of her war experiences she would become an object of unusual
+interest and attention.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>At this instant the smile that appeared at the corners of the girl&#8217;s
+mouth banished the tired expression it had previously worn. One big
+thing her war experiences had done for Mildred Thornton, it had given
+her a new sense of values. Now she  <em>knew</em> the things that counted.
+She had learned to smile at her own failure as a society girl, even to
+understand and forgive her mother&#8217;s chagrin at the fact.</p>
+
+<p>Yet Mildred was influenced in a measure to continue her work in Europe
+by these trivial points of view.</p>
+
+<p>Should she return home and re-enter society as her mother wished, sooner
+or later she must prove a second disappointment. For she had no social
+gifts; she could never learn to talk as her friends did. If questions
+were asked of her she could only reply with facts, not because she was
+lacking in sympathy or imagination, but because she had not the grace of
+words. So with neither beauty nor charm, how could she ever even hope to
+gratify her mother by securing the distinguished husband she so desired
+for her?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>But since there was a place in the world for bees as well as
+butterflies, Mildred never meant to allow herself to grow unhappy
+again. She had a real talent for nursing; her work had received only
+praise. So here in Europe, where there seemed to be the greatest need
+of her services, she meant to remain as long as possible. This, in spite
+of the alluring picture of home which would thrust itself before her
+consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>At this instant the boy on the bed moved and sighed and at the same
+instant the American girl forgot herself. He had opened his eyes and
+Mildred could see that he had become dimly conscious of his own
+condition and his surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>But this boy could never have been more than dimly conscious of most
+things in his short life, he was so stupid and could neither read nor
+write; indeed, he had a vocabulary of but a few hundred words. Peter had
+been a laborer on the estates of a Polish nobleman when the call came to
+arms. And so often in the past week while she had been caring for him
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>Mildred had been reminded of some farm animal by the way the boy
+endured pain, he had been so dumb and uncomplaining.</p>
+
+<p>Even now he made no attempt to speak, but as she leaned over and took
+his hand Mildred realized that the boy could live but a few moments
+longer.</p>
+
+<p>After a little tender smoothing of his cover the girl turned away. The
+Russian peasant is always a devout Catholic, so Mildred realized that he
+would wish a priest with him at the end.</p>
+
+<p>She had walked only a few feet from the young soldier&#8217;s bedside when an
+unaccustomed atmosphere of excitement in the ward arrested her
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>It would not be necessary for her to summon a priest; some one must have
+anticipated her desire. For the priest was even now approaching.
+However, he was a familiar figure, passing hourly among the wounded and
+their attendants; his presence would cause no excitement.</p>
+
+<p>The next instant Mildred understood the priest was not alone. He was
+accompanied by one of the most famous men in all Europe.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>Although she had never seen him until this instant, Mildred Thornton
+had not a moment&#8217;s doubt of the man&#8217;s identity. This was the Commander
+of the fortress at Grovno, General Dmitri Alexis, at the present hour
+the bulwark of many Russian hopes.</p>
+
+<p>For the past few weeks the Germans had been driving the Russians farther
+and farther back beyond the boundaries of Poland and near the heart of
+Russia. Here at Grovno the Russian army was expected to make a
+victorious stand. The faith of the Russian people was centered in
+General Dmitri Alexis.</p>
+
+<p>Unlike most Russian officers, he had always been devoted to the
+interests of the common people, although a son of one of Russia&#8217;s noble
+families. But he was known to be a shy, quiet man with little to say for
+himself, who had risen to his present rank by sheer ability.</p>
+
+<p>To Mildred&#8217;s eyes he seemed almost an old man; in fact, he must have
+been about fifty. His hair was iron gray, but unlike most Russians his
+eyes were a dark blue. As <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>he wore no beard, the lines about his mouth
+were so stern as to be almost forbidding.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred knew that he was an intimate personal friend of the Czar and
+realized just to what extent he must feel the weight of his present
+responsibilities.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore she was the more surprised at his appearance in the hospital
+ward.</p>
+
+<p>Except for a courtly inclination of his head the great man paid no
+attention to the greetings that were offered him by the nurses and
+doctors. Walking down the center of the room he had eyes only for the
+wounded men who lined the two walls. Then his sternness relaxed and his
+smile became a curious compound of pity and regret.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred found herself staring without regard to good manners or
+breeding. Why should this man create such an atmosphere of trust and
+respect? She had seen other great generals in the armies of the Allies
+before today, but never one who had made such an impression.</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis and the priest <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>paused by the bedside of the Russian boy
+who was Mildred&#8217;s patient.</p>
+
+<p>There the great man&#8217;s face softened until it became almost womanish in
+its sympathy. Slowly and reverently the dying boy attempted to raise his
+general&#8217;s hand to his lips.</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis said a few words in Russian which the young soldier
+understood, but Mildred could not. For he attempted to shake his head,
+to whisper a denial, then smiling dropped his arms down by his sides.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred made no effort to move forward to assist him, for she did not
+feel that she had a place in the little group at this moment. She merely
+watched and waited, trying to see clearly through the mist in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The boy&#8217;s broad chest, strong once as a young giant&#8217;s, but now with a
+scarcely beating heart beneath it, quivered with what seemed a final
+emotion. The same instant General Alexis leaned down and pinned against
+the white cotton of his rough shirt the iron cross of all the Russias.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>Afterwards he kissed him as simply as a woman might have done.</p>
+
+<p>That was all! So natural and so quiet it was, Mildred Thornton herself
+was hardly aware of the significance of the little scene she had just
+witnessed.</p>
+
+<p>Here in a country where the gulf between the rich and the poor, the
+humble and the great was well nigh impassable, a single act of courage
+had bridged it.</p>
+
+<p>What act of valor Peter had performed Mildred never knew. She only knew
+that it had called from his duties one of the greatest men in Europe,
+that he might by his presence and with his own hands show homage to the
+humblest of soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>When the simple ceremony was over the boy lay quite still, scarcely
+noticing that his general knelt down beside his bed. For his eyes were
+almost closing.</p>
+
+<p>Neither did Mildred dare move or speak.</p>
+
+<p>Against the walls the other nurses and doctors stood quiet as wooden
+figures, while the wounded were hushed to unaccustomed silences.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Russian priest began to intone <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>in words which the American
+girl could not understand, but in a voice the most wonderful she had
+ever heard. His tones were those of an organ deep and beautiful, of
+great volume but without noise.</p>
+
+<p>Ceasing, he lifted an ikon before the young soldier&#8217;s dimming eyes, and
+pronounced what must have been a benediction.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment the great stillness had entered the hospital chamber and
+the Russian boy with the iron cross above his heart lay in his final
+sleep.</p>
+
+<p>All at once Mildred Thornton felt extraordinarily weary. Backward and
+forward she could see the big room rise and recede as though it had been
+an immense wave. The dim light was turning to darkness, when
+instinctively reaching out her hand touched the back of a chair. With
+this she steadied herself for the moment. Until now she had not known
+how tired she was from her vigil, nor how she had been moved by the
+scene she had just witnessed. After a little she would go to her own
+room and perhaps Nona or Barbara would be there. But she must wait until
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>General Alexis and the priest had gone away.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment she realized that the great man had risen and was
+approaching toward her.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred looked wholly unlike a Russian woman. Her heavy flaxen hair,
+simply braided and twisted about her head, showed a few strands
+underneath her nurse&#8217;s cap. Her face was almost colorless, yet her
+pallor was unlike the Russian, which is of a strange olive tone. Now and
+then in her nurse&#8217;s costume Mildred Thornton became almost beautiful,
+through her air of strength and refinement and the unusual sweetness of
+her expression.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes that were turned toward General Alexis were a clear blue-gray,
+but there were deep circles under them, and the girl swayed a little in
+spite of her effort to stand perfectly still.</p>
+
+<p>For several seconds the great man regarded her in silence. Then he
+stretched forth his hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are an American Red Cross nurse, I believe. May I have the honor of
+shaking <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>your hand. I have been told that three young American women are
+here at our fortress at Grovno helping to care for our wounded. You have
+traveled many miles for a noble cause. In the name of my Emperor and his
+people may I thank you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The little speech was made in perfect English and with such simplicity
+that Mildred did not feel awed or surprised.</p>
+
+<p>However, she was not certain how she replied or if she replied at all.
+She only felt her cold fingers held in a hand like steel and the next
+moment the great general had gone out of the room.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately after Mildred found herself surrounded by a group of Russian
+nurses. The Russians are amazing linguists and several of the nurses
+could speak English. Evidently they were overwhelmed by the honor the
+American girl had just had bestowed upon her. It had almost overshadowed
+for the time the greater glory of the young soldier.</p>
+
+<p>An American Red Cross nurse had been individually thanked by one of the
+greatest <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>commanders in Europe for her service and the services of her
+friends to his soldiers and his country.</p>
+
+<p>But there was another personal side to the situation which the Russian
+hospital staff appeared to find more amazing.</p>
+
+<p>General Dmitri Alexis was supposed never to speak to a woman. He was an
+old bachelor and was said to greatly despise the frivolities of Russian
+society women.</p>
+
+<p>Incredible as it may seem, there is gossip even inside a great fortress
+in time of war.</p>
+
+<p>But Mildred&#8217;s Russian companions had neither time nor opportunity to
+reveal much to her at present. As soon as it was possible she begged
+that she might be allowed to go to her own room. Although she shared
+it with Nona and Barbara, neither one of them was there at the time.</p>
+
+<p>But instead of lying down at once Mildred wrote a few lines to her
+mother. She knew that she would be greatly pleased by the attention
+that had just been paid her. Of course Mildred realized that the
+General&#8217;s thanks were not bestowed upon <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>her as an individual, but
+as a representative of the United States, whose sympathy and
+friendliness Russia so greatly appreciated.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span><a name="encount" id="encount"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<h3><em>An Encounter</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">BARBARA had been writing a letter to Dick Thornton. She was seated on
+the side of her cot bed in a tiny room high up in a tower, with only one
+small window overlooking the courtyard below.</p>
+
+<p>Although it was well into the twentieth century, this room was just such
+an one as might have concealed the hapless Amy Robsart in the days of
+Lord Leicester and Kenilworth Castle. But although Barbara had not to
+suffer the thought of a faithless lover, at the present moment she was
+feeling extremely sorry for herself.</p>
+
+<p>Russia had no charms for her as it appeared to have for Mildred Thornton
+and Nona Davis. She disliked its bleakness, its barbarity and the
+strange, moody people it contained. Of course she realized that there
+was another side to Russian life, before the present war its society was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>one of the gayest in the world. But these days, when the Germans were
+driving the Russian army backward and even further backward behind their
+own frontiers, were days for work and silence, not social amusements.
+Moreover, Barbara knew that she could never expect to have any part in
+Russian social life when her mission lay among the wounded. So far she
+had met only other Red Cross nurses, a few physicians and the soldiers
+who required her care. But really Barbara was not so foolish as to
+resent these conditions; she was merely homesick and anxious to see Dick
+Thornton, and if not Dick, then Eugenia.</p>
+
+<p>France had not seemed so far away from the United States and she had
+loved France and its brave, gay people. She had understood them and
+their life. Almost she had envied Eugenia her future possession of the
+old chateau and the little &#8220;Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door.&#8221; But
+then Eugenia had seemed to find France as strange and uncongenial as
+Barbara now considered Russia.</p>
+
+<p>Even after her marriage to Captain <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>Castaigne, Eugenia had confessed to
+the younger girl how she dreaded her own inability to become a
+Frenchwoman. She still feared that she would never be equal to the
+things Captain Castaigne had a right to expect of her, once the war was
+over. Eugenia had merely cared too much to be willing to give him up,
+but was too wise to expect that her problems would end with marriage.</p>
+
+<p>So with this thought Barbara Meade finally removed a tear from the end
+of her nose. It had trickled quite comfortably out of her eyes, but as
+her nose was somewhat retrouss&#233;, it had hesitated there.</p>
+
+<p>After all, an American marriage was best for an American girl! Barbara
+tried to convince herself that she should be rejoicing instead of
+lamenting. Certainly Dick was the most agreeable and to be desired
+person in the entire world. But then there was another side to this!
+Had he not been, perhaps she would not at this moment be missing him
+so terribly and at all the moments. Letters were so infrequent!
+Mrs. Thornton might posi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>tively refuse to allow her son to marry
+so insignificant a person, and Dick forget all about her!</p>
+
+<p>But in the midst of this last and most harrowing thought, fortunately
+Nona Davis came into the room.</p>
+
+<p>She looked excited, but on catching sight of her friend&#8217;s face her
+expression changed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Good heavens, Barbara!&#8221; she began. Then the next moment she walked over
+and tilted the other girl&#8217;s chin with her hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are just homesick, aren&#8217;t you, and longing for some one who shall
+be nameless? You frightened me at first; I feared you had heard dreadful
+news. Come, get your coat and have a walk with me. We have both nearly
+two hours of freedom and I&#8217;ve permission to go outside the
+fortifications.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The other girl shook her head and shivered.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is too cold, Nona dear, and besides, I&#8217;m afraid. I know the Russians
+are said to be holding the line of fortifications <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>beyond us, but then
+the Germans may break through at any time. Goodness knows, I don&#8217;t see
+what you and Mildred find so fascinating in Russia! I am afraid I am not
+brave enough to have come with you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>While Barbara was arguing Nona had taken her coat from its hook on the
+wall and was putting it about her friend.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know all that, but just the same you are coming for a walk. As
+long as you are here you must keep strong enough to do your work. But
+there, I can&#8217;t scold half so well as Eugenia. I suppose if Dick belonged
+to me I should be as wretched as you are without him. You are a dear to
+have stuck by Mildred and me during this Russian work. But do come, I&#8217;ve
+something really interesting to tell you. Perhaps you may feel a tiny
+bit less lonely afterwards.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Nona had put on her own coat and cap and the two girls
+started. They had to walk down a narrow stone corridor and then a long
+flight of winding stone steps to reach the courtyard below.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>To the right the soldiers were drilling. One could hear the harsh
+clatter of their heavy boots and the crash of their rifles when they
+touched the frozen earth.</p>
+
+<p>It had turned unexpectedly cold, and yet without a spoken word both
+girls stopped and stared about them as soon as they reached the
+outdoors.</p>
+
+<p>Certainly the scene formed an extraordinary setting for two young
+American girls!</p>
+
+<p>The sky was gray, and although it was only early autumn, there were
+occasional flurries of snow.</p>
+
+<p>Behind them stood a long, low line of stone and iron fortifications with
+enormous guns mounted at intervals along the walls. At one end was an
+observation tower, where one could see miles on miles of trenches
+stretching in a kind of semicircle before the fortifications. Should the
+enemy destroy the trenches the Russian soldiers could then mass behind
+the fort and afterwards, if necessary, accomplish their retreat. For a
+small force could delay the enemy through the strength of their position
+and the use of their big guns.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>Sheltered behind breastworks of earth, barbed wire entanglements and a
+natural protection of trees, the girls could barely discern the
+aerodrome. In this place were situated the machine shops for building
+and repairing aeroplanes, and also from here their flights and returns
+could be made.</p>
+
+<p>Yet in spite of these signs of active warfare, the place was curiously
+silent. Barbara felt puzzled. Only the endless tramp, tramp of the
+soldiers at drill and an occasional guttural command. The noises from
+the inside of the fort never penetrated to the outside. But then these
+Russians were a quiet people.</p>
+
+<p>Within a few moments the two girls showed their order to the sentry and
+were allowed to pass beyond the gate. They then started on their walk
+along the same road which Nona had traveled alone several days before.
+But actually this was the first chance the girls had for talking over
+Nona&#8217;s experiences together. True, they shared the same bedroom, so that
+on her return Nona had given a brief report. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>But really they had been
+too tired at night to grasp the situation.</p>
+
+<p>Now naturally Barbara thought her companion meant to talk of her recent
+experience. Neither one of them attempted conversation at the beginning
+of their walk, for the main road was as filled with supplies of every
+kind that were being hauled to the great fort, as it had been on the day
+of Nona&#8217;s solitary excursion. But indeed this was a daily occurrence.</p>
+
+<p>So, as soon as possible, the girls got away from the road into a lane
+that was lined with peasants&#8217; huts. This lay in an opposite direction
+from the path Nona had previously taken. She had no desire to meet her
+former acquaintance again until she had made up her mind as to her own
+attitude toward her.</p>
+
+<p>Neither Barbara nor Mildred had so far been able to give her any
+definite advice.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred really refused to consider that the older woman could have known
+Nona&#8217;s mother years before in their own country. Her story was too
+incredible to be believed.</p>
+
+<p>Barbara had not taken this same point <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>of view. At the present moment
+she was going over the situation in retrospection. In the first place,
+it was absurd to think that any train of circumstances could be
+impossible in such a surprising world. The woman, whom they had once
+known as Lady Dorian and whom they now were to think of by another name,
+had evidently once been a woman of wealth and culture, no matter what
+her present condition of poverty. She seemed to have traveled everywhere
+and she may of course have met Nona Davis&#8217; family. There was actually no
+reason why she should not have known them, Barbara concluded in her
+sensible western fashion. Doubtless when Nona allowed the older woman to
+explain the situation it would not be half so mysterious as it now
+appeared. The really remarkable thing was, not that the other woman
+should be familiar with Nona&#8217;s mother&#8217;s history, but that her own
+daughter should be so in ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>For her part she intended to advise Nona to listen to whatever their
+former friend wished to tell her. But just as Barbara <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>opened her lips
+to offer this advice, her companion spoke.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Barbara, you have been in such a study you haven&#8217;t asked for the piece
+of news I have to give you. Do you remember almost quarreling with me
+because I did not wish to write a note to the English fellow we once
+knew when we were in Brussels, after you discovered him in prison
+there?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Barbara nodded, her mind immediately distracted from her former train of
+thought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Lieutenant Hume? Why, do you know what has become of him?&#8221; she
+inquired.</p>
+
+<p>In reply Nona took a letter out of her pocket.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I had a note from him today. You see, after your lecture I continued
+writing him in prison every now and then during the year we spent in
+Belgium. Just occasionally he was allowed to send me a few lines in
+reply. Then a long time passed and I had almost forgotten him. Now he
+writes to say that by an extraordinary freak of fortune he has been
+returned home. It seems that he became very ill, so when the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>Germans
+decided to agree on an exchange of prisoners, he and our little blind
+Frenchman, Monsieur Beb&#233;, were both sent back to their own lands.
+Lieutenant Hume does not say what is the matter with him. His letter
+isn&#8217;t about himself. He is really tremendously anxious to hear news of
+us. He has just learned of Eugenia&#8217;s marriage to Henri Castaigne, and he
+thinks we are pretty foolhardy to have offered our services for nursing
+in Russia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Instinctively Barbara held her companion&#8217;s arm in a closer grasp.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Far be it from me to disagree with him!&#8221; she murmured.</p>
+
+<p>For her attention had just been arrested by the noise of a horse&#8217;s hoofs
+approaching. Both girls looked up to see a young Cossack soldier riding
+toward them. He sat his horse as though he were a part of it, his feet
+swinging in long stirrups and his hands barely touching the reins.</p>
+
+<p>Both girls felt a stirring sense of admiration. But to their surprise,
+as the horse drew near the young soldier pulled up and slid quietly to
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>The next instant he came up toward Nona.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You will pardon me,&#8221; he said, speaking English, although with a
+noticeable accent, &#8220;but it will not be wise for you to continue to walk
+any further along this road. It is growing late and there are stragglers
+coming in from several villages where a German raid is feared.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He had taken off his pointed Cossack cap of lamb&#8217;s wool and held it in
+his hand as though he had been a young American meeting a group of
+friends upon an ordinary thoroughfare.</p>
+
+<p>Barbara was struck by the incongruity of his appearance and his
+behavior. He looked like a half-civilized warrior of centuries ago, and
+yet his manner was the conventional one of today. However, it would not
+be wise to expect him to remain conventional under unusual conditions.
+Barbara could see that the young Russian officer was a son of the east,
+not the west. He had a peculiar Oriental pallor and long, slanting dark
+eyes, and his small black moustache scarcely concealed the thin red
+lines of his lips.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>Nona was frowning at him in a puzzled fashion.</p>
+
+<p>But the next instant she bowed with an expression of recognition.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Thank you, we will do as you suggest. It is odd to see you so soon
+again after our unexpected meeting the other afternoon. Lieutenant
+Orlaff, this is my friend, Miss Meade.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Barbara inclined her head, too surprised to do more. But as the Russian
+officer continued to walk beside them with his horse following, she soon
+understood where he and Nona had met each other.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, she is an old friend, Sonya Valesky. I knew her years ago and then
+she went away into other countries.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The young Russian hesitated. Barbara and Nona were both watching his
+face closely, so that they could see the cloud of doubt, even of
+struggle, that swept over it.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are strangers in my country, but you have come here to help us in
+our need,&#8221; he protested, almost as if he were thinking aloud.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I would not have you doubt my friend. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>I cannot explain to you, and
+yet I wish to warn you. Do not be too intimate with Sonya Valesky.
+Russia is not like other countries in times of war or peace. She has
+many problems, tragedies of her own to overcome which the foreigner
+cannot understand. Forgive me if I should not have spoken.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then before either girl could fully grasp what the young man&#8217;s confused
+speech could mean, he had bowed, mounted his horse and ridden off.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span><a name="past" id="past"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3><em>Out of the Past</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">BUT circumstances afterwards made it impossible for Nona Davis to follow
+the young Russian officer&#8217;s advice.</p>
+
+<p>A week went by at the hospital without a decision on the girl&#8217;s part
+and without another word from her former friend. Sonya Valesky she must
+remember was her Russian name. A beautiful name and somehow it seemed
+to fit the personality of the woman whom Nona at once admired and
+distrusted. For the name carried with it its own suggestion of beauty
+and of melancholy. What secret could Sonya Valesky be concealing that
+forced even her friends to warn others against her?</p>
+
+<p>Of course there could be no answer in her own consciousness to this
+puzzle, yet Nona kept the problem at the back of her mind during the
+following week of strenuous work. Nursing inside the bleak fortress
+at <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>Grovno was of a more difficult character than any work the three
+American Red Cross girls had yet undertaken. The surroundings were so
+uncomfortable, the nursing supplies so limited. Worse than anything
+else, an atmosphere of almost tragic suspense hung like a palpable
+cloud over every inmate of the fort.</p>
+
+<p>Authentic news was difficult to obtain, yet refugees were constantly
+pouring in with stories of fresh German conquests in Poland. For it
+chanced that the months after the arrival of the three American girls in
+Russia were among the darkest in Russia&#8217;s history during the great war.
+Military strategists might be able to understand why the Grand Duke
+Nicholas and his army were giving way before almost every furious German
+onslaught. They could explain that he was endeavoring to lead the enemy
+deeper and deeper into a foreign land, so as to cut them off from their
+base of supplies. Yet it was hard for the ordinary man and woman or the
+common soldier to conceive of anything except fresh danger and disaster
+in each defeat.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>So day after day, night after night the business of strengthening the
+line of fortifications at Grovno went on. The work was done with the
+silence and the industry of some enormous horde of ants.</p>
+
+<p>Shut off in the left wing of the fort with the ill and wounded soldiers,
+the Red Cross nurses had only occasional glimpses of the warlike
+preparations that were being made. Once when there was a review of the
+troops in the courtyard behind the fortifications Mildred Thornton
+summoned Nona and Barbara. She had already told them of her experience
+with the commanding officer of the fort, but she wished the other two
+girls to have a look at him. It was difficult to get a vivid impression
+of a personality from a bird&#8217;s-eye view out of a small upper window. Yet
+the figure of General Alexis could never be anything but dominating.
+There was a hush of admiration from every man or woman inside the
+fortifications whenever their leader&#8217;s name was mentioned. If he could
+not hold the German avalanche in check, then the world must weep for
+Russia. So Mildred became a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>kind of heroine among the nurses because
+she had received a few moments of the great man&#8217;s praise and attention.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, at the end of a week Nona Davis had a second letter from Sonya
+Valesky. It was sent by a messenger, as the other had been, and Nona was
+presented with it when she first went on duty on one Saturday morning.</p>
+
+<p>This communication was not merely a note, however, for the envelope was
+sealed and had a bulky appearance. Yet Nona did not open it all that day
+or the morning of the next as she had a premonition that the letter was
+not an ordinary one. Either Madame Valesky was confiding her own
+history, or she was insisting upon proving to the American girl that
+she had at one time been a friend of her mother&#8217;s. Really, it was this
+information that Nona both expected and feared. So as she had a
+particularly difficult case on hand she decided to wait for more
+leisure before trying to solve the mystery.</p>
+
+<p>The opportunity came when she was allowed two hours rest on Sunday
+afternoon.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>Nona was glad that both Mildred and Barbara were busy at the time,
+because she preferred to be alone. After her letter had been read and
+considered then she could decide on the degree of her confidences.</p>
+
+<p>But after all, Barbara&#8217;s prediction came true. The story that Sonya
+Valesky had to tell of her acquaintance with Nona&#8217;s mother was not half
+so strange as the fact that the mother&#8217;s history had been concealed from
+her daughter.</p>
+
+<p>The story was unique but comparatively simple. The only curious fact was
+the accidental meeting between the Russian woman and the American girl.
+But then just such comings together of persons with a common bond of
+interest or affection is an hourly occurrence in the world. Behind such
+apparent accidents is some law of nature, a like calling unto like.</p>
+
+<p>The older woman explained that she had known Nona&#8217;s mother many years
+ago when they were both children in Russia, although she was a number of
+years younger. There was as little as possible of Sonya <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>Valesky&#8217;s own
+history in the letter. She stated without proof or comment that her
+father had once been Russian Ambassador to the United States. Here Anna
+Orlaff, Nona&#8217;s mother, had made her a visit and had then gone away south
+to New Orleans and soon afterwards married. For many years the younger
+girl had not seen her friend again. She had received letters from her,
+however, and learned that her marriage was not a success.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya Valesky did her best to explain the situation to Nona. But how was
+she to know how much or how little an American girl understands of life
+and conditions in Russia? Was Nona aware that there were many girls and
+young men, oftentimes members of noble families, who believed in a new
+and different Russia?</p>
+
+<p>Had Nona ever read of a great writer named Tolstoi, who wrote and
+preached of the real brotherhood of man? He insisted that the words of
+Christ should be interpreted literally and desired that Russia, and
+indeed the world, should have no rich and poor, no Czar and slave, but
+that all <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>men and all women were to be truly equal. Nona&#8217;s mother had
+been a follower of Tolstoi&#8217;s principles; therefore, her people had sent
+her away from her own country because they feared if she continued to
+live in Russia with these ideas she might be condemned to Siberia. So
+Anna Orlaff had gladly left her own country, believing that in the
+United States she would find the spirit of true equality.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally her marriage had been a disappointment. At this point in Sonya
+Valesky&#8217;s letter, Nona Davis began to have a faint appreciation of the
+situation. She remembered the narrow, conservative life of the old south
+and that her father had lived largely upon traditions of wealth and
+family, teaching her little else. What did it matter to him that there
+were no titles in America, no more slaves to do his bidding, when he
+continued to believe in the domination of one class over another.</p>
+
+<p>Dimly at first, more vividly afterwards, Nona Davis could see the
+picture of the young Russian girl, a socialist and dreamer, married into
+such an environment. How <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>disappointed and unhappy she must have been in
+the conservative old city of Charleston, South Carolina! No wonder
+people had never mentioned her name to her daughter, and that her father
+had been so silent! A Russian socialist was little less than a criminal.</p>
+
+<p>Nona was seated in a hard wooden chair in a small, cell-like room many
+thousands of miles away from her own old home. Certainly something
+stronger than her own wish must have drawn her to Russia, for here she
+must learn to understand the story of her mother&#8217;s life and to find her
+own place in it.</p>
+
+<p>At this point in the narrative Nona let her letter fall idly in her lap.
+The girl&#8217;s hands were clasped tightly together, for now her imagination
+could tell her more than any words of another&#8217;s.</p>
+
+<p>Her father had been devoted to her, but he had not been fair, neither
+had his friends nor her own. Why had they always led her to believe by
+their silences that there was something to be ashamed of in her mother&#8217;s
+story? It was odd, of course, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>to be different from other people, but
+there was no sin in being a dreamer.</p>
+
+<p>Nona could see the picture of her mother in the white muslin dress and
+the blue sash there in their old drawing room in Charleston. She had
+been only a girl of about her age when she remembered her.</p>
+
+<p>But then what had become of her mother? Why had she gone away?</p>
+
+<p>Again the girl picked up her letter, for the last few sheets must
+explain.</p>
+
+<p>This portion was hardest of the story to understand, but Sonya Valesky
+had tried to make it clear.</p>
+
+<p>Nona&#8217;s father had insisted that his young wife give up her views of
+life. She was to read no books, write no letters, have nothing to do
+with any human being who thought as she did. Above all, she was to make
+him a written and sacred promise that she would never reveal her ideas
+of life to her daughter. This Nona&#8217;s mother had refused to do and so had
+gone away, expecting to come back some day when her husband relented.</p>
+
+<p>Within a year she had died. But here <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>Sonya Valesky&#8217;s letter ended, for
+she enclosed another written by Nona&#8217;s mother to her friend.</p>
+
+<p>If Nona had needed proof of the truth of the other woman&#8217;s statement she
+could find it here. The letter was yellow with age and very short. It
+merely asked that if Sonya Valesky should ever find it possible to know
+her daughter, Nona Davis, would she be her friend?</p>
+
+<p>Then Sonya had also enclosed another proof, if proof were needed. This
+was a small picture of Nona&#8217;s mother which was exactly like the one the
+girl had found concealed in the back of her father&#8217;s watch. It was the
+same watch with the same picture that she now wore always inside her
+dress.</p>
+
+<p>Then for nearly an hour the young American girl sat dreaming almost
+without a movement of her body.</p>
+
+<p>Little by little she recalled stray memories in her life which made her
+mother&#8217;s history appear not so impossible as she had at first conceived.
+Always she had thought of her as foreign. She had only believed <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>her to
+be French because she spoke French so perfectly and had married in New
+Orleans. But then she herself was beginning to learn that educated
+Russians are among the most accomplished linguists in the world. What
+else was she to find out about this strange country before her work as
+a nurse was over? Could she ever feel so entirely an American again?</p>
+
+<p>All at once Nona Davis jumped hastily to her feet. There were hundreds
+of questions she yearned to ask. Fortunately for her she was near the
+one person who might be able to answer them. Sonya Valesky had never
+said why she had not sought to find her friend&#8217;s daughter until their
+accidental meeting on shipboard. Even then she had not recognized Nona&#8217;s
+connection with the past. Was it because she was too engrossed in her
+own life and her own mysterious mission?</p>
+
+<p>Although she was at this instant engaged in putting on her coat and cap
+to go to her, Nona again hesitated. How little the Russian woman had
+said of herself! What was she doing here near the Russian line <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>of
+fortifications, living like a peasant with only two old peasants in
+attendance upon her? And why should the young Russian officer have
+warned her against his own friend?</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Michael Orlaff.&#8221; Automatically Nona Davis repeated the name of her new
+acquaintance. &#8220;Orlaff.&#8221; The name was the same as her mother&#8217;s. Was there
+a chance that the young Russian lieutenant might be a possible
+connection?</p>
+
+<p>However, the girl recognized that she was stupid to continue to ask
+herself questions. Moreover, she had now made up her mind that she must
+not distrust Sonya Valesky unless she had a more definite cause.
+Doubtless Sonya shared the same views of life that her mother had
+cherished! But in any case it was wonderful to have found a woman who
+had been her mother&#8217;s friend and who might still be hers.</p>
+
+<p>Nona had walked across her small room to the door, when she heard some
+one knocking.</p>
+
+<p>A summons had been sent for her to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>return to her nursing, as the two
+hours of her recreation were over. How stupid she had been! Actually
+Nona had forgotten what had called her to Russia, even the war tragedy
+that was raging about her. Of course she could not leave the hospital!
+It might be several days or more before she could hope to receive
+permission to revisit Sonya.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span><a name="arrest" id="arrest"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Arrest</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">FIVE days later Nona Davis went again to the little wooden house, where,
+to her surprise, she had previously discovered a former acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>But on this occasion Sonya Valesky did not open the door.</p>
+
+<p>Instead it was opened by the old peasant man whom Nona had seen before.</p>
+
+<p>Today he looked more wretched than stupid. His little black eyes were
+red rimmed, his sallow skin more wrinkled than ever.</p>
+
+<p>When Nona inquired for Sonya he shook his head disconsolately and then
+motioned her toward the same room she had formerly entered.</p>
+
+<p>There was now a cot in the room and on this cot lay the Russian woman.</p>
+
+<p>At once Nona forgot herself and her desire to ask questions. She
+remembered <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>only her profession, yes, and one other thing. She recalled
+the words that the old French peasant, Fran&#184;ois, had once spoken to her
+and to Barbara.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Have you pity only for wounded soldiers? Do girls and women never care
+to help one another? This war has made wounds deeper than any bullets
+can create.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Immediately Nona had seen that Sonya Valesky was very ill. Now, no
+matter who she was, or what she had done, she must be restored to
+health. First and last Nona must put her own emotions aside, for the
+sake of her mission as a Red Cross nurse.</p>
+
+<p>Yet what was she to do? Her services belonged to the soldiers in the
+Russian fortress.</p>
+
+<p>As quietly and quickly as possible Nona gave her orders.</p>
+
+<p>She could not be sure, but Sonya&#8217;s appearance indicated that she was
+suffering from the terrible scourge of typhus.</p>
+
+<p>This disease had been one of the most terrible results of the war.
+Because of a greater lack of sanitation and cleanliness <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>the fever had
+been more widespread in Servia and in Russia than in any other
+countries.</p>
+
+<p>Personally Nona had never nursed a case before, yet she had heard the
+disease discussed and believed she recognized the symptoms.</p>
+
+<p>First she made a thorough examination of the little house. It was
+cleaner than most of the peasants&#8217; huts, so far Sonya must have
+prevailed, but still its conditions left much to be desired.</p>
+
+<p>Without being able to speak more than a few words of their language,
+Nona yet managed to give her directions.</p>
+
+<p>She was beginning to guess that the old peasant couple, who at first had
+seemed mysterious companions for the beautiful Russian woman, were
+probably old servants. If Sonya was a follower of Tolstoi as her mother
+had been, she must have refused to recognize any difference between
+them.</p>
+
+<p>But this was not their feeling. The American girl could see that in
+spirit old Katja and Nika were the devoted slaves of the younger woman.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>Sonya was not at first conscious of the seriousness of her illness.</p>
+
+<p>She wore a dressing gown of some rough homespun, a curious shade of
+Russian blue, the color of her own eyes. Her hair, which had turned far
+whiter in the past year, was partly concealed under a small lace cap
+such as the Russian peasant woman often wears. Then, although she did
+not seem able to talk, she knew Nona and thanked her for coming and for
+the advice she was giving the two old people.</p>
+
+<p>But when Nona had finished with her orders she came and sat down near
+Sonya.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have read your letter and I have not been able to answer it until
+now. It seems like a miracle that I should have found out about my own
+mother here in a strange land. But perhaps I was meant to take care of
+you. You must promise to do what I tell you. I must go away now, but
+I&#8217;ll come back in a little while.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona was getting up when Sonya took hold of her skirt.</p>
+
+<p>Her face was flushed and her dark blue eyes shining.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>&#8220;You must not stay in this house, not for long at a time,&#8221; she pleaded.
+&#8220;I cannot explain to you why not, but perhaps when I am strong again I
+can tell you enough to have you guess the rest. Now you must go.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Sonya took Nona&#8217;s cool hands in her hot ones and held them close for a
+moment.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment the American girl had gone.</p>
+
+<p>At the hospital inside the fortress she explained the situation, at
+least so far as it could be explained. A Russian woman, who had once
+been her friend, lay seriously ill at one of the nearby huts. Would one
+of the hospital physicians come and see her? Also would it be possible
+for her to be spared from caring for the soldiers to look after her
+woman friend?</p>
+
+<p>Certainly a Russian doctor would attend the case; moreover, after
+certain formalities Nona was allowed a leave of absence from the
+hospital demands.</p>
+
+<p>Then began an experience for the young American girl that nothing in her
+past two or more years of nursing had equaled.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>She was living and working in a new world, amid surroundings which she
+could not understand and of which she was afraid.</p>
+
+<p>The little hut was crude and lonely. The two old peasants could speak no
+English, but went about their tasks day after day mute and dolorous.
+Sonya was too ill to recognize her nurse, and Nona could not allow
+Barbara or Mildred to come near her, since her patient&#8217;s illness was of
+the most contagious nature.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally Barbara and Mildred wholly disapproved of the risk Nona was
+running and she had not time nor strength to make them see her side of
+the situation. She had written them that Sonya Valesky had proved
+herself to have been an old friend of her mother&#8217;s. For that reason and
+for several others she felt it her duty to care for her.</p>
+
+<p>But strangest of all Nona&#8217;s experiences were the fragments of
+conversation which she heard from the lips of her ill friend.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya sometimes spoke of her girlhood and then again of her life in the
+United <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>States and in England. Once or twice she even called the name of
+Captain Dalton. Nona supposed that she must be recalling her meeting
+with Captain Dalton at the Sacred Heart Hospital. Then she remembered
+that Sonya had spoken of knowing the English officer years before.</p>
+
+<p>But although her patient betrayed many facts of her past life to her
+nurse, never once did Sonya explain why she was living in such an
+out-of-the-way place. Neither did she give any clue to the kind of work
+that must have engaged her time and energy. Surely Sonya Valesky must
+have been upon some secret mission in the days of their first meeting on
+board the &#8220;Philadelphia!&#8221; Even then she had papers in her possession
+which she would allow no one to see.</p>
+
+<p>However, Sonya was too desperately ill to permit her nurse much
+opportunity for surmising. Nona would never have left her alone for a
+moment except that she knew it was her duty to keep up her own strength.</p>
+
+<p>Every afternoon she went for a short walk. And because no one but the
+Russian <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>physician was allowed to enter the house, now and then the
+young Russian lieutenant would join Nona along the road. This could only
+occur when he was able to get leave, yet Nona began to hope for his
+coming. She was so depressed and lonely.</p>
+
+<p>Once she asked him if he had ever heard of a member of his family named
+&#8220;Anna Orlaff.&#8221; Of course she gave no reason for her question. But it
+made no difference, because the young soldier could recall no such
+person.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of one of their talks, however, he confided to Nona that
+he was a younger brother, but that his family were members of the
+Russian nobility.</p>
+
+<p>Never once, however, did the young man betray any fact connected with
+Sonya Valesky&#8217;s history. He explained that their families had long known
+each other and that he had always been fond of her, nothing more.</p>
+
+<p>So for this reason as well as others Nona found herself attracted by the
+young Russian officer. He seemed very simple, much younger than an
+American of the same age. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>At this time Michael Orlaff must have been
+about twenty-three. But Nona was wise enough to discover that he was not
+so simple and direct as she had first believed him. A Russian does not
+readily betray either his deeper thoughts or his deeper feelings. The
+young Russian lieutenant would not even speak of the war nor his own
+part in it. Yet Nona guessed from her own observation and from certain
+unconscious information that he was one of the favorite younger officers
+of the Russian general in command of the Grovno fortifications.</p>
+
+<p>So a number of weeks passed, until now and then Nona Davis almost forgot
+the war and her original reasons for being in her present strange
+position. No one brought her papers; Barbara&#8217;s and Mildred&#8217;s letters
+contained little war news. The truth was possibly being concealed from
+them, or else there was no way of their discovering it.</p>
+
+<p>So Nona was at least spared the anxiety of knowing that the victorious
+German hosts were drawing nearer and nearer the fortress of Grovno. Like
+stone houses <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>built by children the other ancient Russian forts had
+fallen before his &#8220;Excellenz von Beseler,&#8221; the victor of Antwerp, who
+was known as the German battering ram.</p>
+
+<p>Even when Sonya opened her eyes, after weeks of an almost fatal illness,
+and asked for news of the war, Nona was unable to tell her.</p>
+
+<p>Then as the days of Sonya&#8217;s convalescence went by she would not let her
+talk of it. Always war is a more terrible thing to girls and women than
+it is to boys and men. But ever since their first acquaintance Nona had
+realized that the horror of it went deeper into Sonya&#8217;s consciousness
+than any person she had yet seen. It must be the war that had aged her
+so in the past year.</p>
+
+<p>So the Russian woman and the American girl spoke of everything else.
+Sonya told of her own life and of Nona&#8217;s mother when they were little
+girls. They had both been allowed to go away to college. It was in
+school that they imbibed their revolutionary ideas. No wonder that their
+families never forgave them!</p>
+
+<p>Sonya was dressed and sitting in her chair <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>the day when the summons
+finally came for her arrest.</p>
+
+<p>It was Nona Davis in her nurse&#8217;s Red Cross costume who opened the door
+for the two men in uniform. They were not dressed like soldiers, and as
+she could not understand what they said, she did not dream of their
+errand.</p>
+
+<p>But Sonya&#8217;s peasant servants must have understood, for at the sight of
+the strangers they dropped on their knees and held out imploring hands.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya herself finally made things clear. The men were two police
+officers who had been sent to bring her to Petrograd. She had been in
+hiding here near Grovno for several months and had hoped to escape their
+vigilance. Evidently Sonya had been arrested by the Russian authorities.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of Nona&#8217;s insistence that her patient was not well enough to be
+moved, Sonya agreed to go with them at once.</p>
+
+<p>And only at the moment of parting did she bestow any confidence upon the
+younger girl.</p>
+
+<p>Then she looked deep into Nona&#8217;s golden <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>brown eyes with her own
+strangely glowing blue ones, and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have done nothing of which I am ashamed, Nona, or I should never have
+asked for your friendship. It may be that I can make the Russian people
+understand, but I do not feel sure. This war has made men blinder than
+ever. I have only tried to be a follower of the &#8216;Prince of Peace.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then after she had walked away a few steps she came back again.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Go back to your United States as soon as you can, Nona,&#8221; she urged.
+&#8220;Russia is no place for you or your friends.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Because Nona Davis dared not trust herself to speak, Sonya afterwards
+went away without a word of faith or farewell from her.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span><a name="church" id="church"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<h3><em>A Russian Church</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">ONE afternoon, after Nona had been nursing her friend, Sonya Valesky,
+for some time, Mildred Thornton went alone into a little Russian church.</p>
+
+<p>The church was situated behind the line of the fortifications at Grovno.
+Many years before it had been erected, and now it did not occur to the
+Russian officers that it stood in especial peril. Yet the church had the
+golden dome of all Russian churches, glittering like a ball of fire in
+the sun. Certainly it afforded an easy target for the enemy&#8217;s guns, and
+more than this would aid German aeroplanists in making observations of
+the geography of the surrounding neighborhood. But since Grovno was
+deemed invincible, apparently no one considered the possibility of the
+other side to this question.</p>
+
+<p>High cement walls guarded and mounted <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>with cannon encircled the
+countryside for many miles, while running out from the fortress itself
+were numerous secret passages and cells, at present stored with
+ammunition.</p>
+
+<p>On this afternoon of Mildred&#8217;s visit to the church she stood outside
+for a few moments looking upward. At first she was merely admiring the
+beauty of the little church. The gold of the dome seemed to be the one
+appealing spot of color in all the surrounding landscape. Then she
+opened the bronze doors and stole quietly inside.</p>
+
+<p>Always the church was left open for prayer, but today on entering
+Mildred Thornton found it empty.</p>
+
+<p>A Russian church is unlike all others except the Greek, for it is filled
+with brilliant colors. Instead of images such as the Roman Catholics
+use, the Russians have paintings dealing with the life of Christ, almost
+obscuring the ceiling and the walls. There are no pews such as we find
+in our own churches, for the Russian remains standing during his
+ceremony and kneels upon the stone floor in time of prayer. So <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>one
+finds only a few chairs scattered about for old persons and ill ones.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred secured a stool and sat down in the shadow, gazing up toward the
+high altar.</p>
+
+<p>She was an Episcopalian, therefore the Russian church and its services
+did not seem so unusual to her as they did to Barbara Meade. Really she
+had been deeply impressed by the few services she had seen. There was no
+organ and no music save the intoning of the voices of the priests, and
+the words of the service she could not understand. Nevertheless the
+Russians were a deeply religious people and perhaps their reverence
+had influenced the American girl.</p>
+
+<p>This afternoon, although alone, Mildred felt strangely at peace. Indeed,
+her eyes were cast down and her hands clasped in prayer, when the noise
+of some one else entering the church disturbed her reverie.</p>
+
+<p>To the girl&#8217;s surprise the figure was that of a man whom the next
+instant she recognized as General Alexis. He had come into the church
+without a member of his staff, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>so that evidently he too desired to be
+alone for prayer.</p>
+
+<p>What should she do? Mildred was too confused to decide immediately.
+Feeling herself an intruder, yet she did not wish to create a stir and
+draw attention to herself by hastily leaving.</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis had evidently not seen her, too intent upon his own
+devotions. For he had at once approached the altar and knelt reverently
+before it.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred kept silent, hardly conscious of her own absorption and
+forgetting her meditations in her interest in the kneeling soldier.</p>
+
+<p>In these days of little faith, small wonder that it struck Mildred as
+inspiring to see this man of many burdens and responsibilities at the
+foot of the altar.</p>
+
+<p>From a western window the afternoon sun shone down upon him, revealing
+the weary lines in the great soldier&#8217;s face. He did not look stern or
+forbidding to Mildred this afternoon, only deeply careworn and
+depressed. However much his soldiers and the Russian people might
+trust in his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>power to bring them safely through an attack at Grovno,
+evidently there were hours when the distinguished general suffered like
+lesser people. Mildred Thornton understood enough of human nature to
+realize what General Alexis must at this moment be enduring. The fate
+of a people, of a nation, almost of half the world, in a measure rested
+in his hands. How inadequate any mortal must feel in the face of such a
+task!</p>
+
+<p>By and by Mildred&#8217;s eyes dropped their lids. She felt that she was
+seeing too deeply into the holy of holies of the man before her. This
+would not be just to any human being, unaware of her presence. If only
+she could get away without disturbing him! Doubtless on discovering her
+General Alexis would be angered, or at any rate annoyed, perhaps he
+might even consider her behavior as characteristic American intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>Once Mildred started to her feet, but she did not try to move again, for
+at almost the same instant the Russian general rose from his knees.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>His face had become a little less careworn than at the moment of his
+entrance; his blue eyes, which were remarkable with his other Russian
+coloring, were less sombre. Since he did not appear to observe her,
+Mildred was glad for this last glance at her companion.</p>
+
+<p>Since their one meeting for some reason he had haunted her thoughts more
+than she could explain. This was partly due to the fact that he was so
+much talked of at the fortress and so idolized by his soldiers. He was
+said to be without fear, or any human weakness, but after today Mildred
+Thornton knew better than this.</p>
+
+<p>Unconsciously the girl must have moved or made a sound of some kind at
+this instant, for General Alexis, who had almost reached the door,
+turned quickly around. At the same time his right hand grasped his
+pistol.</p>
+
+<p>Was there a spy or an assassin lurking in his church to destroy him?
+There were many men of other lands who would gladly give their lives for
+his.</p>
+
+<p>But General Alexis&#8217; hand dropped to his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>side again, as soon as it had
+touched the metal of his pistol. To his surprise he had discovered a
+pair of blue-gray eyes staring at him earnestly, with almost wistful
+sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis came back to where Mildred stood.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You were here in church with me and I did not see you,&#8221; he said as
+simply and naturally as an ordinary person, &#8220;I hope I did not disturb
+you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<em>Disturb me!</em>&#8221; Mildred stuttered a little in her surprise at his
+words. &#8220;Oh, I beg your pardon, it was I who should not have been here
+when you came. But I did not know, that is I did not dream you ever
+left the fort, while I like to steal in here during the hours I have
+for rest. I will not come again.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis shook his head. &#8220;I should be very sorry. Rather than that
+this should happen I would stay away during those hours. But is there
+not room enough here and peace enough for us both?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Without replying Mildred inclined her head and began walking toward the
+door, General Alexis keeping beside her.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>&#8220;If you are returning to the fortress and will permit me, I should like
+to go back with you?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+
+<p>And again Mildred could only stammer a confused acquiescence.</p>
+
+<p>In the little court before the Russian church General Alexis&#8217; guard of
+soldiers was awaiting him. However, at an inclination of his head they
+fell in at once, marching at a respectful distance behind their general
+and his companion.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I remember our having a short conversation a few weeks ago,&#8221; the
+Russian officer continued gravely, after they had gone on a few yards.
+Mildred had been vainly endeavoring to make up her mind whether she
+should be the one to speak. If so, what on earth should she say?</p>
+
+<p>She was glad to be spared having to make up her mind.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You were very kind,&#8221; the girl returned. &#8220;I did not imagine you would
+know me again, but perhaps it is because I am an American.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Just as if he had been a young man and an everyday one, General Alexis
+smiled, and Mildred was no longer afraid of him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>&#8220;Oh, I may remember you, Miss Thornton, for other reasons. But to be
+truthful it is because you are an American that I am taking this
+opportunity to talk to you again.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This time the Russian officer hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You will not mention what I am going to say to any persons except your
+two American friends,&#8221; he added, not as a request, but as a command.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Miss Thornton, as soon as it is possible for convenient arrangements to
+be made for you I want you to know that I intend having you sent back to
+Petrograd. You must of course have a safe escort or I should have seen
+to the matter sooner.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Ordinarily Mildred Thornton possessed unusual self-control, but the
+surprise, indeed, the shock of the speech, took her unawares.</p>
+
+<p>She had not dreamed that she and Barbara and Nona had been such complete
+failures in their Red Cross work. Why, after their several years of war
+experience they had felt themselves of perhaps unusual value in the
+Russian nursing. So <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>far as she knew there had been no complaints of
+their work, only praise. But in any case how could their failures have
+reached General Dmitri Alexis&#8217; ears? It seemed incredible that he should
+ever be annoyed with such trifling concerns.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Just as you wish,&#8221; Mildred answered quietly, yet with greater personal
+dignity than any one of the other American Red Cross girls could have
+summoned. &#8220;We have done our best to help with the nursing. If we have
+failed it is, of course, wisest that we should return to Petrograd.
+Afterwards we can go home to the United States.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Failed in your nursing? And it is for that reason you believe I wish to
+have you sent away from my fortress?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Actually General Alexis stopped in his walk and faced his companion,
+since Mildred was, of course, obliged to stop also.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That is folly. I know nothing of your nursing. But from your face, from
+a something, a serenity and strength that your presence suggests, I feel
+that you must understand and love your profession.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>General Alexis was now studying Mildred Thornton with surprising
+intentness, as though he were trying in this moment of their
+acquaintance to pierce beneath the surface of the girl before him. This
+was characteristic of the man. No human being was ever too small or too
+unimportant for his consideration. He was a strange combination: a great
+soldier and yet one of the gentlest of men.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I want you to go back to Petrograd because I fear for your safety and
+the safety of your friends should you remain much longer at Grovno,&#8221; he
+continued. &#8220;It is of this fact you are not to speak. I have reason to
+know that at almost any hour in the next few days we may expect the
+German attack. Grovno will resist to the uttermost. But it may be that
+the old fortifications are not so invincible as we once thought them to
+be. A new war has brought a new world and the old order changeth.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Once again Mildred saw beneath the outer surface of the man, but almost
+at once he was again the soldier.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>&#8220;You understand that I do not expect this. If I decide it may be wiser
+to retreat, it will only be to form a conjunction with another part of
+Grand Duke Nicholas&#8217; army. But in any case I should prefer to have you
+three American nurses away from all possible danger. The Russian nurses
+will share the fate of their own soldiers. Be prepared to leave within a
+few days. When the necessary arrangements are made you will receive
+instructions.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then before Mildred could protest, and she had scarcely the courage for
+this, they had reached the gate of the fortress.</p>
+
+<p>Here General Alexis bowed and waited for his guard to come up with him.
+Mildred could feel the surprise even of the sentries at the gate and the
+few soldiers who chanced to be near at their unexpected appearance.
+Truly it was amazing that the great commander should be concerned with
+the fate of three unimportant American girls, and even more amazing that
+he should actually show his consideration and friendliness to one of
+them!</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span><a name="warn" id="warn"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<h3><em>Another Warning</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">TWO hours after Sonya Valesky had been taken away by the Russian police
+Nona Davis started back for the Russian fortress.</p>
+
+<p>Only a few moments were required to pack her own belongings, since the
+little house and everything inside it had been fumigated as soon as
+Sonya reached a state of convalescence. Nona&#8217;s time had been spent in
+trying to comfort Sonya&#8217;s servants, old Katja and Nika, and also in
+trying to acquire some information from them.</p>
+
+<p>In neither effort was she successful. Either the old man and woman knew
+nothing of Sonya&#8217;s actions, or else they were too grief-stricken to
+confide their knowledge. There was also the third possibility that Sonya
+had warned them against betraying her to any human being. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>Whatever the
+reason, they were dumb, except for their half-broken Russian prayers and
+stories of Sonya as a little girl. If she had not long ago been fully
+aware of the fact, Nona was now assured that the two peasants had been
+former servants of the Russian woman. It was Sonya who would not
+recognize the distinctions of maid and mistress, who called herself by
+no title and would allow her servants to call her by none.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore it was almost night when Nona left the little hut, old Nika
+carrying her bag and plodding behind her. The girl felt that she must
+return to her two American friends to receive their aid and sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>Surely something could be done for Sonya, it was horrible to think of
+her being carried off to a Russian prison, concerning which one had read
+such dreadful stories. She was too ill and she seemed so utterly without
+friends or relatives. Yet Nona herself was utterly powerless, knowing no
+one with any influence in Russia. Nevertheless she felt a strange bond,
+which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>had come to her out of the past, between herself and Sonya
+Valesky.</p>
+
+<p>One person, however, might be willing to give her advice, though she
+doubted his help. In returning to the fort, Nona meant as soon as
+possible to request an interview with the young Russian officer, Michael
+Orlaff.</p>
+
+<p>She was not frightened during her walk through the dismal Russian
+country. Wearing her Red Cross uniform she felt a sufficient protection,
+besides old Nika&#8217;s presence. But the real truth is she was too absorbed
+in considering Sonya&#8217;s history and fate to be aware of anything else.</p>
+
+<p>She was therefore more annoyed than frightened when a figure appeared
+before her at the crossing of the road by the Three Pines. The voice
+that straightway called out to them held a quality of command that made
+Nika drop at once on his knees. Nona was not in the least frightened,
+but then she had seen the outline of the young officer&#8217;s figure and the
+glistening of his sword hilt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>&#8220;I am Nona Davis, an American Red Cross nurse on my way back to the
+fortress, Lieutenant Orlaff,&#8221; the girl explained. &#8220;I am glad to have met
+you, as perhaps you will tell me what I must do when I reach the gate.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Russian officer saluted as though Nona had been a superior officer.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I was on my way at the present moment to Sonya Valesky&#8217;s home to
+inquire for her. This is the first hour of freedom I have been able to
+command all day. But tell me what brings you back to the fortress at
+this time? Has Sonya grown worse or is she better?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Here was her opportunity. Nona felt that fate must have sent it to her
+by a special dispensation. Now there need be no delay in her confidence.</p>
+
+<p>Lieutenant Orlaff came of a noble family, he must have powerful
+connections, if he could only be persuaded to use them in Sonya&#8217;s
+behalf. Certainly he had appeared to be her friend, although
+disapproving of her behavior and views of life.</p>
+
+<p>As sympathetically and as quickly as <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>possible Nona told of the coming
+of the Russian police. Then she laid great stress on the fact that Sonya
+was too ill to have been taken away at such a time. Yet she had gone
+without resistance, making no plea for herself and asking for no aid.
+What must <em>they</em> do? The situation was unendurable.</p>
+
+<p>Intentionally Nona used the pronoun &#8220;they,&#8221; including Lieutenant Orlaff
+with herself in their interest in Sonya. Yet except for his first
+muttered exclamation the Russian officer had made no comment.</p>
+
+<p>In the darkness Nona gazed at him resentfully. The Russians were a cruel
+people, sometimes all fire and then again all ice. She would like to
+have told him what an American man would have attempted for a friend,
+who was a woman and in such a tragic position, no matter what her crime
+or mistake. But Nona was sure by this time that Sonya Valesky had
+committed no crime. She had come to know her too well, her exquisite
+gentleness, so oddly combined with a blind determination that took no
+thought of self. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>Besides she recalled her friend&#8217;s final words, &#8220;a
+follower of the Prince of Peace.&#8221; Surely there were but few such
+followers in the European world today!</p>
+
+<p>Awaiting his answer, Nona continued to look at her companion. The young
+Russian might have stood for the figure of &#8220;Mars,&#8221; the young god of war,
+as he strode along beside her. He was six feet in height, splendidly
+made, and tonight in the semi-darkness his face showed hard and unmoved.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am grieved but not surprised at what you tell me,&#8221; he returned the
+next moment. &#8220;Not a hundred, but a thousand times I have warned Sonya
+that she must give up her mad ideas. There was sufficient danger in them
+when the world was at peace. Now in time of war to preach that men are
+brothers, that there should be no such thing as patriotism, that all men
+are kin, no matter what their country, there never was such folly. It is
+hard to feel pity or patience.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then you will do nothing to help?&#8221; Nona inquired, trying to hide the
+anger <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>she felt. &#8220;Of course I understand that from your point of view
+and from the view of nearly all the world Sonya Valesky is hopelessly
+wrong. But I can&#8217;t see why she should be punished because she has a
+higher ideal than other people?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>If Nona had only thought for a moment she would have realized that the
+world has always thus rewarded its visionaries.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Sonya is not content to think in this way alone. She has spent her
+life in trying to persuade other persons to her view, and has many
+followers. Once she was a very rich woman and traveled in many lands
+preaching her universal brotherhood,&#8221; the young officer ended his speech
+with a characteristic shrug of his shoulders, which is the Oriental
+fashion of announcing that fate is stronger than one&#8217;s will.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;To have continued advocating such a doctrine in a time of war was worse
+than madness. I have done what I could, I have even risked my own honor
+and safety in remaining Sonya&#8217;s friend. Now retribution has come,&#8221; he
+concluded, as though the subject was not to be resumed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>And Nona did not reply at once. So the young Russian officer and the
+American girl walked on toward the fortress through darkness that was
+each moment growing more dense. There were no lights save the stars,
+since the fortress was only dimly lighted in the interior; outside
+lights would too plainly have exposed their position to the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What then do you think will become of Sonya? What punishment will she
+have to suffer?&#8221; Nona inquired when she felt that she had gotten her
+voice under control.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Siberia,&#8221; Lieutenant Orlaff returned briefly. Then feeling that his
+companion desired him to say more, he went on:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In many cases a man or woman who has done what Sonya Valesky has would
+be hung as a traitor. She has been preaching peace, which means she has
+been urging men not to fight. That is treason to Russia. But I believe
+that Sonya will be lightly dealt with because she comes of a family that
+once served the Czar and his father. Besides, Sonya is a woman and a
+beautiful <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>one and it would not do to make a martyr of her.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then you think Siberia a light punishment?&#8221; Nona questioned, no longer
+trying to keep the bitterness out of her tones. &#8220;Well, surely you accept
+a friend&#8217;s misfortune easily! I have not your philosophy. I do not think
+I can do much, as I have no friends in Russia and no money, but as soon
+as I receive permission I shall go to Petrograd to be of whatever
+service I can.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Lieutenant Orlaff stared at the girl beside him. It was impossible to
+see anything but the outline of her face, yet he could observe its
+pallor and the sheen of her hair under the nurse&#8217;s cap. Besides, he felt
+the contempt she had not allowed herself to express, for the Russian is
+singularly proud and sensitive.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I repeat that I am very sorry,&#8221; the young officer added. &#8220;You are wrong
+in thinking I take Sonya Valesky&#8217;s fate lightly. Her family and mine, as
+I once told you, have been friends for many years. After the death of
+her parents my father was for a little time her guardian until she <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>came
+of age. I will do what I can; I will write letters to her relatives and
+to people who were once her friends. But I warn you to expect nothing.
+Long ago they became weary of her wild theories and have had nothing to
+do with her for years.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then all the more reason why I should do what I can. Even if I
+accomplish nothing, at least Sonya will have the comfort of knowing that
+a friend is near her during her trial,&#8221; the girl said aloud, although
+really not addressing her companion.</p>
+
+<p>During the latter part of his speech she had been thinking very rapidly.
+First of all, she must ask for a leave of absence from her Red Cross
+nursing and explain that it was necessary for her to return to Petrograd
+for a time. But where was she to obtain the money for her expenses? She
+had nothing of her own except the few roubles which she was paid for her
+work and which she had forfeited when she undertook to care for Sonya
+Valesky. In all probability when Mildred Thornton knew her mission she
+could borrow the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>money from her. But then this would mean a delay so
+long that she might be of no service to Sonya. For Mildred kept only a
+small amount of extra money with her and would be compelled to write her
+father for any large sum. Weeks would pass before Judge Thornton could
+receive his daughter&#8217;s request and then there would be more time
+required for the transmission of the check.</p>
+
+<p>However, besides Mildred there was Eugenia who could be appealed to for
+aid. There was no doubt of Eugenia&#8217;s assistance, once she learned Sonya
+Valesky&#8217;s story and realized why she had seemed a suspicious character
+to all of them in the days of their meeting on board the &#8220;Philadelphia.&#8221;
+But Eugenia was away off somewhere in France nursing in a Red Cross
+hospital near her husband&#8217;s line of trenches. It would also take time to
+reach Eugenia. Nevertheless she was the best person to whom to make a
+request.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But what connection have you with Sonya Valesky? Why should you not be
+willing to leave her to her fate?&#8221; Lieutenant <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>Orlaff had to ask the
+second time before Nona heard him. &#8220;You have done what you could in
+nursing her through a dangerous illness; friendship could expect nothing
+more. Besides, you are an American girl and can have only a slight
+acquaintance with Sonya.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Again Nona Davis did not reply immediately. How much or how little
+should she take the Russian officer into her confidence? However, it
+did not seem to her of much importance then.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are mistaken. I am not simply an American girl,&#8221; Nona explained
+quietly. &#8220;My father was an American, but my mother was a Russian. She
+and Sonya Valesky knew each other as girls, although my mother was the
+older. There is a stronger tie between us than you imagine. And I have
+reason to believe that my mother once thought as Sonya does about many
+things.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Your mother, impossible!&#8221; Michael Orlaff exclaimed, with more
+consternation and regret in his voice than was reasonable. &#8220;But you,
+surely you cherish no such ideas?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>The American girl shook her head, although she seemed to be pondering
+over her companion&#8217;s question before replying.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; she returned at last. &#8220;I have no such ideas and I believe never
+will have them. Even though my mother was a Russian, I am an American in
+all my feelings and instincts and training. Russia fascinates me, but it
+frightens me at the same time. Besides, it is not necessary in our
+country that we should teach peace and equality, because it is in those
+two principles that the American people most believe. If Sonya is
+released I mean to try and take her back to the United States with me to
+remain until the war is over.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Sonya will not be released, I have tried to make you understand,&#8221;
+Lieutenant Orlaff added doggedly. &#8220;What is one woman more or less in
+times like these? Go to Petrograd if you will, Miss Davis. I have told
+you it is not wise for you and your friends to remain at Grovno. But
+when you reach Petrograd have nothing to do with Sonya Valesky. I have
+known you only a short time, yet I am <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>your friend and I warn you.
+Cannot you see that I care very much what becomes of you? You are a
+guest in my country; you have come to do us a service. It would be a
+poor return if trouble overtook you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff with old Nika hobbling behind them had by
+this time about reached the entrance to the fortress. Nona was truly
+grateful. She was very tired and depressed from the day&#8217;s experiences.
+Moreover, she did not understand the manner or the words of the young
+officer beside her. At one moment he seemed extraordinarily hard and at
+the next unnecessarily concerned. Nothing could happen to her in
+Petrograd of a serious character, but in any case her experiences could
+not interest Lieutenant Orlaff.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as possible Nona said good-by to him. Later, in recalling their
+conversation, she often thought of a phrase he used: &#8220;What is one woman
+more or less in times like these?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span><a name="attack" id="attack"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Attack</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">THERE was a great deal more for the three American Red Cross girls to
+confide to one another than they could find time for, soon after Nona
+Davis&#8217; return to the fortress.</p>
+
+<p>But two evenings later it chanced that the three girls were all on day
+duty and therefore had the same evening and night free.</p>
+
+<p>In the left wing of the fortress, near the hospital quarters, was the
+single, small bedroom which the three American nurses shared. Once
+before Nona had discovered Barbara Meade rereading one of Dick
+Thornton&#8217;s letters and giving way to the blues in their small, cold
+chamber. This evening she made the discovery a second time.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced that Barbara had gotten away from her nursing first and
+hurried <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>off to the only privacy that was possible under the
+circumstances. Because she was looking forward to a long and serious
+conversation with her two friends she made ready to meet the situation
+as comfortably as possible. This means that Barbara slipped out of her
+nursing uniform and into the pretty kimono that Mildred had presented
+her with long ago in Paris. Then, while she waited for the others, she
+read Dick&#8217;s and Eugenia&#8217;s latest letters once again.</p>
+
+<p>At last Dick had arrived in New York City and was writing from the
+lovely home Barbara remembered so well. He had only been there a little
+while when this letter had been written, but already Dick had confided
+the news of his engagement to his mother and father.</p>
+
+<p>Barbara could read between the lines in a characteristic feminine
+fashion. Dick declared that his father was delighted to hear of his
+happiness and that he had not forgotten that they probably owed their
+son&#8217;s life to the girl to whom he was now engaged.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>But Judge Thornton agreed with his son&#8212;a man should be able to support
+his wife before he married. Therefore he meant to do all that he could
+to get Dick started in the right way, so that he might go ahead as
+quickly as possible.</p>
+
+<p>Dick did not seem to feel that it would take very long to accomplish
+this delectable result, but to Barbara, away off in Russia, a land she
+both disliked and feared, the situation looked pretty indefinite.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, Dick had said nothing about the way in which his mother had
+received the news of a prospective daughter-in-law. This was not an
+oversight on Dick&#8217;s part; Barbara understood him too well to be deceived
+into any such impression. He and his mother were too intimate and
+devoted for him not to care intensely about her attitude toward the girl
+he wished to marry. Never could he have forgotten to mention his
+mother&#8217;s position! No, it was merely what she had always expected. Mrs.
+Thornton thoroughly disapproved of her son&#8217;s engagement and Dick would
+not wound the girl he loved by writing her <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>this fact. Later there was a
+chance that his mother might be persuaded to change her mind. But in any
+case it would be easier to explain by word of mouth than coldly to set
+down the present situation.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, if Barbara had required further proof, she would have had it
+in the fact that Mrs. Thornton had not written her a single line to say
+either that she was glad or sorry that the daughter of her husband&#8217;s old
+friend had become engaged to her only son. If she had spoken of the
+matter to Mildred, Mildred had never referred to it, proving again that
+any comment from Mrs. Thornton must have been unfavorable.</p>
+
+<p>While she made these reflections following the rereading of her fianc&#233;&#8217;s
+letter, Barbara was lying on her cot-bed with an army blanket drawn
+close up under her chin. Now she buried her curly head deeper in her
+pillow and turned from Dick&#8217;s to Eugenia&#8217;s letter.</p>
+
+<p>It was difficult to think of Eugenia Peabody as Madame Castaigne, indeed
+as the Countess Castaigne, only neither <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>she nor her husband would ever
+be induced to use their titles. The old Countess might always remain in
+safe possession of hers.</p>
+
+<p>Barbara wondered if Eugenia was happier than she was. Then she felt
+ashamed of herself. Eugenia&#8217;s husband was every instant in danger of
+losing his life, while Dick had only returned to the United States,
+where he was now safe in his own home. Yet Eugenia&#8217;s letter made no
+complaints. She mentioned having seen Captain Castaigne once in the past
+month, when he had received a leave of absence of twenty-four hours and
+had hurried to her.</p>
+
+<p>No, Eugenia&#8217;s letter was chiefly devoted, as all her previous letters
+had been, to her interest and concern in the three American Red Cross
+girls. She wished them to return immediately to France and to the old
+chateau, where the Countess Castaigne would be only too happy to shelter
+them. Later, if they wished, they could find other Red Cross work to do
+in France. But Russia was not a country where the girls <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>should have
+gone at this time, and certainly not without her to look after them.
+Moreover, the news from the Russian lines grew more and more alarming.
+Everywhere the Germans seemed to be conquering. It was disheartening
+after the Russian triumphs at the beginning of the war. The letter
+closed with a final plea: would Barbara do her best to persuade Nona and
+Mildred that they should as soon as possible come back to France. There
+would be no cowardice or desertion of duty in leaving Russia at present,
+only discretion and good sense.</p>
+
+<p>And upon this point of view Barbara was reflecting when Nona found her.</p>
+
+<p>Personally Barbara agreed with Eugenia and wished that Nona and Mildred
+would join her in withdrawing from Russia whenever they could best be
+spared. But she could not decide whether she ought to thrust her point
+of view upon her friends since she was uncertain whether her judgment or
+her desire most swayed her.</p>
+
+<p>France would be so much nearer New York and therefore Dick&#8217;s letters
+could <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>be so much more frequent. Then there was the Countess Castaigne,
+to whom she could pour out all her heartburnings. Moreover, there was
+the chance of every now and then seeing her beloved Eugenia.</p>
+
+<p>But Barbara also remembered that she had always been the least brave and
+determined of the four American nurses ever since their arrival in
+Europe. Should she reveal herself in the selfsame light again?</p>
+
+<p>At this instant Nona snuggled under the blanket beside the younger girl.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian winter was fast approaching and frequently it was bitterly
+cold. Besides, there were no chairs in the Red Cross girls&#8217; bedroom,
+only the three beds and some stools, so it was simpler to lie down than
+be seated.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have a long story to tell you, Bab, and I want your advice, only I
+think we had best wait for Mildred, so you may not have to hear
+everything twice,&#8221; Nona began.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You mean about Sonya Valesky?&#8221; Barbara queried. Of course Nona had told
+her two friends of Sonya&#8217;s arrest, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>but had not been able to go into the
+details of the story, nor had she mentioned her own intentions. Very
+possibly both the girls would disapprove, as Lieutenant Orlaff had done,
+of her becoming more closely involved with Sonya Valesky&#8217;s history.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately Mildred appeared at the door without further delay.</p>
+
+<p>But when she entered the room, both of her companions could see that she
+also had something of importance upon her mind which she wished to
+discuss at once.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of lying down, Mildred immediately seated herself upon the edge
+of her cot, facing her friends. Then she drew her own blanket up around
+her shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Girls,&#8221; she began, &#8220;I don&#8217;t usually do the talking, but I want both of
+you to listen to me for a few moments tonight. I have been trying to
+speak of this for several days, and if I don&#8217;t tell you now the order
+may come when you are wholly unprepared. We are to be sent back to
+Petrograd as soon as a safe escort can be found for us.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>&#8220;Sent back to Petrograd! Thank fate for even so much!&#8221; Barbara
+whispered under the cover. &#8220;Petrograd might be the beginning of a return
+journey to France.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then she drew her chin up, endeavoring to appear deeply wounded.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you mean, Mildred, that our services as Red Cross nurses are not
+considered valuable?&#8221; she demanded. &#8220;Why, only today one of the Russian
+surgeons declared that it was difficult to decide which one of us did
+the best work. Of course, I think Mildred at present deserves the prize,
+Nona has been off duty so long in taking care of Sonya Valesky.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred Thornton glanced from one girl&#8217;s face to the other. In spite of
+Barbara&#8217;s effort to conceal her pleasure, it was evident that she was
+secretly rejoicing. But Mildred understood Barbara&#8217;s position; it was
+natural that she should feel as she did under the circumstances. Then
+Barbara had never put forth any claims to being a martyr.</p>
+
+<p>What really surprised Mildred Thornton <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>was Nona Davis&#8217; expression of
+relief, almost of pleasure, at her news.</p>
+
+<p>Why, Nona had been more enthusiastic than any one of them over the Red
+Cross nursing in Russia! She it was who had originally planned their
+coming into Russia and had been most deeply interested since their
+arrival.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But why are we to be sent back to Petrograd?&#8221; Nona also demanded,
+frowning a little in her effort to grasp the situation. &#8220;What reason
+was given; have we failed in any duty or service since our arrival at
+Grovno?&#8221; Nona went on, sitting up, while two spots of color appeared
+in her cheeks. &#8220;Please, Mildred, don&#8217;t be mysterious. Tell us where
+you received your information and why we are to be sent away so
+ignominiously?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred Thornton shook her head in quiet reproach. She was not so
+impatient nor so unreasonable as the other two girls.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am waiting to tell you,&#8221; she returned. &#8220;The other afternoon I was
+sitting alone in the little Russian church when General Dmitri Alexis
+came in. On leaving he <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>chanced to discover me and asked me to walk with
+him for a few moments. You know I told you I had met him the day he came
+into my hospital ward to decorate the dying soldier?&#8221; Mildred added.</p>
+
+<p>This time her companions only nodded, not wishing to interrupt.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, it was General Alexis himself who said that he wished us to go
+back to Petrograd. It was not that he felt the fortress at Grovno would
+not be able to hold out against the German attacks, but that a soldier
+should be prepared for any emergency. In case Grovno should fall, or
+General Alexis decide it wiser to retreat and join another portion of
+Grand Duke Nicholas&#8217; army, he does not wish us at Grovno. He says that
+the Russian Red Cross nurses have the right to remain with their own
+soldiers, but that we are Americans and with us the circumstances are
+different. He does not intend that harm shall befall us. So I am afraid
+we have no choice in the matter. As soon as the order comes from General
+Alexis we must be ready to leave at once. One can scarcely <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>dare disobey
+the commander in chief,&#8221; Mildred concluded, with regret in her tones.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Certainly not,&#8221; Barbara added with emphasis.</p>
+
+<p>Then for another moment Nona Davis continued gazing thoughtfully at
+Mildred.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I suppose I ought to tell you, Mildred, you and Barbara both, that I am
+not sorry we are to go to Petrograd; indeed, I am truly glad. Because I
+had intended to try to get permission to return there alone. You know I
+told you of Sonya&#8217;s arrest, but I did not tell you that I intend to do
+all that I possibly can to befriend her. She seems to have no one who
+cares what becomes of her so far as I can find out, except her two old
+servants, Katja and Nika. I may not be able to do much, but I have
+written Eugenia, asking her to lend me some money and to forward it to
+the American Ambassador at Petrograd as soon as possible. I would like
+to leave almost at once. You see, I don&#8217;t know what has become of Sonya,
+nor when her trial may take place.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And for my part I hope you may never <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>know,&#8221; Barbara protested, sitting
+up with her cheeks suddenly crimson and her hair much tousled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;See here, girls, I know neither of you think much of my advice, and
+very probably you don&#8217;t consider me especially brave. I&#8217;m not disputing
+the last point. But I am more sensible than either of you and I can see
+both sides of a situation better. Mildred is an idealist, and Nona, you
+are a dreamer. You think you are not, but I expect you have more of your
+mother&#8217;s blood in you than you realize. I am desperately sorry for Sonya
+Valesky. I think she is an exquisite and much-wronged woman with the
+courage and devotion necessary to a martyr. But I don&#8217;t see that you are
+particularly fitted to follow her example, Nona. That is all that would
+happen if you attempt to mix yourself up with Sonya Valesky&#8217;s political
+fortunes in Petrograd. You have no important friends and could do
+absolutely nothing for her, but you might manage to get yourself and us,
+because we care for you, into a great deal of hot water.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>Mildred began to undress.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I think Bab is right, Nona, though I understand just how you feel. It
+does seem too cruel to desert a friend in a time of such extremity. When
+we get to Petrograd perhaps we can talk Sonya Valesky&#8217;s case over with
+our Ambassador and he may help us with his advice. Let&#8217;s get to sleep
+now; we can judge more wisely in the morning.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was too cold for a leisurely disrobing, so in a very short time the
+three girls were ready for the night. Soon after they were asleep.</p>
+
+<p>For many hours, lasting all through the darkness, the fortress at Grovno
+appeared wrapped in a profound silence. This in spite of the presence of
+many thousands of men without and within its gates. Now and then there
+may have been the faint noise of a sentry changing his watch, or a scout
+arriving with a report for headquarters.</p>
+
+<p>It was just at dawn when the German attack began. But the Russian
+general had been warned and was awaiting it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>Never in all the grim history of war was there ever a more sudden or
+more terrific cannonading.</p>
+
+<p>The three American girls were at first stunned by the unexpected noises
+of the explosions. Shell after shell shrieked over the walls of the
+fortress, cannon after cannon repeated an unceasing bombardment.</p>
+
+<p>Neither were the Russian guns slow in replying. Except for the location
+of the sounds it was impossible to tell which were the Russian cannon
+and which those of the enemy.</p>
+
+<p>For some time no one of the three American girls attempted to speak. It
+would have been impossible to have heard one another. But by and by
+Barbara crawled out of her cot and put her arm about Mildred Thornton.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am frightened, Mildred. I wish your General&#8217;s order had come sooner
+and we were safely away from Grovno. I think perhaps because of Dick I
+don&#8217;t want anything dreadful to happen. I want to be happy.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There was a sob in Barbara&#8217;s voice <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>which Mildred heard, if not with her
+ears, at least with her heart.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is going to be all right, little sister,&#8221; she returned. &#8220;I can&#8217;t
+explain exactly why, but I have perfect faith in General Alexis.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span><a name="opportun" id="opportun"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3><em>Mildred&#8217;s Opportunity</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">FOR five days and nights the firing continued almost without cessation.</p>
+
+<p>In a measure the occupants of the Russian fortress grew accustomed to
+the noises, unless one explosion seemed a little more terrific than the
+others.</p>
+
+<p>Actually the Red Cross nurses went about their work inside the hospital
+wing of the fort as though the Germans were not attacking.</p>
+
+<p>There was one fact, however, that could not be overlooked: more and more
+wounded were constantly being brought in, until not only the cots but
+most of the floor space of the wards were covered with stricken
+soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>There was no definite news. No one could say whether the Germans had
+been seriously depleted by the Russian gun fire, or whether the Grovno
+fort would <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>be able to continue its resistance. A few of the outer
+defenses had already fallen. The Russian soldiers in the trenches behind
+the first line of barricades had sought safety inside the fortress. But
+these signs meant nothing of moment, and no one dared ask questions of
+the Russian officers, who alone might know the purpose of their
+commander.</p>
+
+<p>Then on the morning of the seventh day, at dawn, Mildred Thornton, who
+chanced to be gazing out of a small window which overlooked the
+courtyard of the fort, made a discovery.</p>
+
+<p>She had not been asleep all night, as there was so much work to be done,
+but on the way to her room had stopped for a single breath of fresh air,
+after the fever and confusion of the hospital.</p>
+
+<p>What she saw were enormous cannon being lifted on low motor trucks and
+these trucks being driven as swiftly as possible outside the Grovno gate
+and along the Russian highway. There were a few soldiers accompanying
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Almost with the flash of an intuition <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>the idea came to Mildred: General
+Alexis was contemplating a retreat. He must have decided that, alone and
+with only a limited number of regiments at his command, he would be
+unable to hold out against the enemy for an unlimited time. Therefore it
+might be wiser to draw them further into Russia and away from their own
+supplies. General Alexis could join Grand Duke Nicholas beyond the Styr
+River and there be better prepared to meet the invaders. Mildred knew
+that the country on the other side of the river covered miles of swamps.
+If the bridges over the river were destroyed, the Germans would find
+great difficulty in pursuit.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore the cannon and other heavy guns, with whatever munitions could
+be spared, were first to be taken to places of safety. Later on General
+Alexis would probably give orders for a more general retreat. But when
+Grovno fell the Germans would find none of the spoils of war left behind
+for the victors.</p>
+
+<p>All this Mildred thought out slowly and carefully as she stood for a few
+moments <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>beside the tiny window. Then she went into her room, changed
+her uniform for a fresher one and returned to her work. Not a word of
+her idea did she breathe to any one. She had no foundation for her
+impression, and at first it was an impression, nothing more. Yet Barbara
+or Nona might have been frightened by the suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>However, as the dawn passed and the hours of the day followed, other
+persons beside Mildred Thornton began dimly to appreciate the possible
+conditions. More and more of the munitions of war were hauled away, and
+surely this did not look as if the fight were to be persisted in at
+Grovno.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, just before twilight the order came that the wounded, with
+their nurses and surgeons, were to be moved at nightfall. Whatever
+preparations were necessary must be made at once.</p>
+
+<p>Silently small groups of soldiers were already being marched away.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, of course the old guns of the famous fortress continued to belch
+forth destruction, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>and there was no lessening of the front ranks of
+soldiers, who were directly attacking the enemy. General Alexis was
+merely drawing off the men whom he did not actually need for defense.
+Grovno could be protected by a comparatively small number of soldiers
+without the enemy appreciating any depreciation in their numbers. For
+all the firing was done behind a barricade of walls. So far the Germans
+were about a mile away. There would be no hand-to-hand combats until the
+fortress was finally demolished.</p>
+
+<p>Even under such dangerous conditions the American Red Cross girls were
+relieved to hear that they were to be sent from Grovno. They were also
+told that they were not to follow the army. As soon as they reached a
+railroad, the wounded and their nurses were to be removed to Petrograd.
+There they would find hospitals ready for their accommodation.</p>
+
+<p>So it was to be Petrograd after all! The three girls were not seriously
+frightened; indeed, they were less so than at the time of the French
+retreat. It was so evident <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>that General Alexis was providing for the
+safety of the wounded before the danger time. They would find all the
+roads open to them now, while the Germans were being held on the farther
+side of the ancient stone walls.</p>
+
+<p>Just after dusk the hospital staff and their patients were ready for
+departure. Parties of ten, consisting of seven wounded soldiers, two
+nurses and a physician, gathered quietly in the stone courtyard enclosed
+by the wings of the fortress. They were then placed in low carts, drawn
+by gaunt horses and driven by a Russian moujik, wearing a long blouse,
+high boots and a cap with the peculiar Russian peak.</p>
+
+<p>There were no such facilities for transportation in Russia as the
+American Red Cross girls had found in France. The motor cars and
+ambulances owned by the Russian army were few in number and inadequate
+to their needs. These could only be employed in cases where swiftness
+was a pressing necessity.</p>
+
+<p>The three American girls were standing together just outside a stone
+doorway <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>leading into the yard and awaiting orders. As a matter of
+course they wore their Red Cross uniforms: the long circular cape and
+the small close-fitting bonnet. But Barbara had also put on nearly
+everything else she possessed. They would be traveling all night under
+extremely uncomfortable conditions and through a bitterly cold country.
+In fact, Barbara looked rather like a little &#8220;Mother Bunch&#8221; with her
+squirrel fur coat on top of her sweater and her cape over them both, and
+carrying her army blanket.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred was also prepared for the cold with a heavy coat under her
+uniform cape. Unfortunately, Nona owned nothing to make her more
+comfortable, except that Mildred had insisted upon lending her her
+sweater. But both girls had their blankets over their arms and small
+bags in their hands. There would be no room for other luggage.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We are going to have a wonderful night, I think,&#8221; Barbara murmured. &#8220;Of
+course it will be hard and we may have to suffer discomfort and see
+others suffering <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>far worse things. But a retreat through this strange
+country, with its odd inhabitants, as unlike as if they belonged in
+different planets, will be an experience none of us will ever wish to
+forget.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was curious that Barbara should almost whisper her little speech, as
+if her voice could be heard above the uproar of the cannonading. Yet in
+the pauses between the firing lasting a few moments the silence seemed
+almost unearthly.</p>
+
+<p>At present there was just such a silence, so that the American girls
+could even hear the creaking of the old wagon wheels as the ambulance
+carts rolled out of the fortress yard. Now and then there was a faint
+groan from a wounded man that could not be repressed. The wagons had no
+springs, but were made as comfortable as possible by layers of hay
+covering the wagon floors.</p>
+
+<p>Almost the moment that Barbara&#8217;s speech was finished, some one suddenly
+stepped out of the door, near which the three girls were standing.
+Looking up they discovered a colonel in the Russian army, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>on the
+personal staff of General Alexis. No one of the three girls knew the
+officer&#8217;s name; his rank they recognized from the uniform he wore.
+Moreover, they had observed him always accompanying the Russian
+commander as one of his chief aides.</p>
+
+<p>His appearance in the courtyard at this moment was surprising, but in
+all probability he wished to issue a direct order concerning the plan of
+retreat.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the officer did not at once move forward to where groups of soldiers
+were also making preparations to be on the march. Instead he stood for a
+few moments just outside the door, gazing searchingly about him.</p>
+
+<p>No one of the Red Cross girls spoke. They were too awed by the gravity
+of the situation to make trivial remarks. Moreover, the big Russian
+officer was an impressive figure. It was more interesting to watch him
+until they were summoned to take their places in the wagons that were
+now leaving the fortress at intervals of about ten minutes apart.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>By chance Mildred Thornton made a movement and immediately the Russian
+colonel directed his glance toward her. He stared at her for a moment in
+silence and then, stepping forward, touched her upon the arm.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I should like to speak to you a moment alone, nurse,&#8221; he announced in
+low tones, although Barbara and Nona both heard this part of his speech.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly Mildred complied, and the girl and man moved a few feet away,
+where they could talk without being overheard.</p>
+
+<p>Under the circumstances neither Barbara nor Nona had the temerity to
+follow them. But this did not mean that they were not both
+extraordinarily curious. At least they strained their ears as much as
+possible in order to try and catch a stray word spoken either by Mildred
+or her companion. But they heard nothing except the low murmur of the
+two voices, the officer asking questions and Mildred making replies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>&#8220;What on earth do you suppose he can be saying to Mill?&#8221; Barbara
+finally whispered.</p>
+
+<p>Nona only shook her head. Any guessing would be a pure waste of energy,
+since Mildred would return in a few moments to explain.</p>
+
+<p>She did come back almost immediately, but with her first words her
+friends realized that something unusual had occurred. Ordinarily Mildred
+was calm and self possessed. Now her voice shook and indeed she seemed
+to be shivering either from cold or excitement.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t go with you to Petrograd, girls,&#8221; she said quietly enough,
+however. &#8220;Listen, please, so I can make matters plain to you, for you
+may be ordered to leave at any moment. Barbara, I want you to write my
+father and mother and try and make them see I had no choice in this
+decision. But you must not speak of the circumstances to any one else.
+It would be dangerous for me and for us all if you betray this
+confidence. The officer who talked with me just then is Colonel
+Feodorovitch. He is very near General Alexis <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>and tells me that General
+Alexis has been wounded. The wound is not considered serious and he
+refuses to give up his command or to leave the fort until the final
+moment for retreat. Neither must his soldiers learn of what has taken
+place. His own surgeon is with him now and will remain with him. But
+there is a chance that they will also require a nurse. Colonel
+Feodorovitch came to find one before we all got away. By accident he
+saw me first and requested me to remain behind. I could not refuse.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mildred!&#8221; Nona and Barbara exclaimed in unison, with no attempt to
+conceal their dismay, almost their horror.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But you can&#8217;t accept, Mildred,&#8221; Barbara expostulated. &#8220;If you do I
+shall not leave you. Why, what would your mother and father and Dick
+think of my deserting you at such a time? Besides, don&#8217;t you remember
+that General Alexis himself wanted us safe in Petrograd before the
+retreat. He would be bitterly opposed to your being chosen to remain
+behind. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>Didn&#8217;t you speak of this to Colonel Feodorovitch?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t, Barbara,&#8221; Mildred insisted. &#8220;It would have been such a
+long story and Colonel Feodorovitch knows about as much English as I
+do Russian. It would only have looked as though I were shirking a most
+important duty. General Alexis will not recall ever having thought or
+spoken to me, at a time when the Russian army, perhaps the whole Russian
+nation, is dependent on his failure or success. If I can do even the
+least thing to help him at such a crisis, why, how could I refuse?
+Please try and see this as I do, Barbara, you and Nona. There may be
+nothing for me to do. General Alexis&#8217; wound is not serious or he could
+not retain his command. I must leave you now; I am wanted at once. I&#8217;ll
+join you in Petrograd as soon as it is humanly possible.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But Barbara had clutched Mildred&#8217;s coat.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You shall not stay alone. I am almost your sister and I won&#8217;t allow
+it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>Quietly Mildred unclasped the younger girl&#8217;s hand.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;For my own sake I would give a great deal to have you stay, Bab, but we
+have no choice. Remember, we are under discipline like soldiers. We must
+do as we are commanded.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>With this Mildred returned inside the fortress.</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant Nona Davis and Barbara Meade heard their names being
+called. At once they moved forward and were assisted inside the wagon,
+which soon after passed out of the gate and moved creakingly along the
+main road in the direction of the Styr River.</p>
+
+<p>They were to cross one of its bridges, as the main army was now doing.
+The last of the regiments at Grovno would see that the bridges were
+destroyed before the German soldiers could come up to them.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span><a name="retreat" id="retreat"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<h3><em>A Russian Retreat</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">FOR many hours the ambulance wagon in which Nona and Barbara were riding
+jogged on, forming one of a procession of similar wagons.</p>
+
+<p>The girls grew cold and cramped. Now and then they tried to move in
+order to make their patients more comfortable or at least to give water
+to the wounded men. But the wagons were so crowded that the slightest
+stirring was well nigh impossible.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, as Barbara Meade had predicted, the long night was one
+neither she nor Nona would ever be willing to forget.</p>
+
+<p>At first they rode along, passing the wooden huts of the peasants that
+once had lined both sides of the main road leading to the middle bridge
+across the river Styr. But many of these shacks had suffered from the
+stray shells of the Germans, which, having passed beyond the fortress,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>had brought desolation to the country side. These little wooden houses
+in many places were mere heaps of burnt-out ashes. Others were half
+burned, or else collapsed, as if they had been houses built by children,
+who had afterwards kicked them down.</p>
+
+<p>Everywhere, from the little homes that were unhurt, as well as from the
+ruined ones, the peasants were fleeing. With the passing of the first
+Russian regiment <em>away</em> from Grovno they had guessed what must
+inevitably follow.</p>
+
+<p>There were bent-over old women and men carrying packs on their backs
+like beasts of burden, and in truth the Russian peasant has been nothing
+more for many centuries. The children, who ran along beside them, were
+incredibly thin and dirty and hungry.</p>
+
+<p>One member of each little group would carry a lighted pine torch,
+pointing the way with fitful shadows. But wherever it was possible they
+followed in the wake of the wagons.</p>
+
+<p>At first the night was dark and the American girls could hear their
+driver muttering <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>strange Russian imprecations as his horses stumbled
+and felt their way along. Finally <a name="page150" id="page150"></a>Barbara presented him with the
+electric lamp, which had been Dick Thornton&#8217;s farewell present to her on
+the day of her sailing from New York City. She had used it many times
+since then, but never for a queerer purpose.</p>
+
+<p>However, before they reached the river the moon had risen and both Nona
+and Barbara were grateful for the added light. Yet the scene they next
+witnessed was lighted by many camp fires.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian infantry, who had been first to begin the retreat from
+Grovno, had camped on this side the river for a few hours rest.</p>
+
+<p>A confused murmur of sounds arose. In little knots before the fires men
+squatted on their knees in Oriental fashion, waiting for the copper pots
+to boil. For at all hours of the day and night the Russian drinks tea,
+now more than ever, since by command of the Czar the soldier is
+forbidden to touch alcohol.</p>
+
+<p>The girls could observe that the men had <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>curiously unlike faces. It was
+difficult to understand how they could all be Russians. Never before had
+they seen so many of the soldiers at one time. Some of them had flat
+faces and high cheek bones, with eyes like the Chinese.</p>
+
+<p>It was very strange! Yet Nona whispered that they must remember some of
+these Russian soldiers had come from Asia, from beyond the Caspian Sea.
+Perhaps their ancestors had been members of the great Mongolian horde
+that had once invaded Europe under Genghis Khan.</p>
+
+<p>In their interest Nona and Barbara began discussing the possible history
+of these soldiers aloud. By and by, one of the wounded men, who chanced
+to be a Russian university graduate, smiled to himself over the interest
+and excitement of the two American nurses. He had been suffering
+intensely from the jolting and was glad for anything that would distract
+his mind from his suffering.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The soldiers you are discussing are called &#8216;Turcomen,&#8217;&#8221; he remarked
+aloud.</p>
+
+<p>Nona and Barbara were startled by the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>voice out of the darkness, but
+they murmured confused thanks.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps we had best not discuss our surroundings so openly,&#8221; Nona
+suggested, and Barbara agreed with a silent motion of her head.</p>
+
+<p>By this time they had reached the central bridge. It was built of steel
+and stretched like a long line of silver across the dark river.</p>
+
+<p>Over the bridge, like enormous over-burdened ants, the American girls
+could see other ambulance wagons moving slowly on. For the horses had
+become weary of their heavy loads and yet were to have no rest of any
+length until daylight.</p>
+
+<p>On the farther side of the river there were other small encampments. But
+by and by Barbara Meade fell asleep with her head pressed against Nona&#8217;s
+shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>Occasionally Nona drowsed, but not often. She was torn between two
+worries. What would become of Mildred Thornton, left behind with
+strangers in a besieged fortress that might fall at any hour? Surely her
+situation was more fraught with <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>danger than any in which the Red Cross
+girls had found themselves since their arrival in Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Nona wished that she had taken sides with Barbara more decisively and
+refused to leave Grovno unless Mildred accompanied them.</p>
+
+<p>But Mildred had disappeared so quickly. Then the order had come for
+their departure almost at the same instant. There had been so little
+time to protest or even to think what was best. Certainly Mildred
+herself should have refused to accept such a dangerous responsibility.
+But at the same moment that Nona condemned her friend, she realized that
+she would have done exactly the same thing in her place. In coming to
+assist with the Red Cross nursing they had promised to put the thought
+of duty first. Mildred could not shirk the most important task that had
+yet been asked of her.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps no harm would befall her. Certainly Nona appreciated that
+everything possible would be done to insure Mildred&#8217;s safety. Her life
+and honor would be <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>the first charge of the soldiers surrounding her.
+Moreover, General Alexis would certainly leave the fortress before there
+was a chance of his being taken prisoner. He was too valuable a
+commander to have his services lost and the Germans would regard him as
+too important a capture.</p>
+
+<p>So Nona&#8217;s attention wandered from Mildred to her other friend, Sonya
+Valesky. What had become of Sonya and how was she ever to find her in
+the great and unknown city of Petrograd? If she only had a friend to
+consult, but she had even been compelled to leave Grovno without seeing
+Lieutenant Orlaff again. He had promised to write a few letters in
+Sonya&#8217;s behalf, although assured that they would do no good.</p>
+
+<p>Yet in some way Nona was determined to discover the Russian woman.
+Perhaps the Czar himself might be brought to pardon Sonya if he heard
+that she would leave for the United States and never return to Russia
+again. Then Nona smiled and sighed at the same time over her own
+simplicity. The Czar was at the head of his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>troops, with the fate of
+his crown and his country at stake. &#8220;What did one woman more or less
+count in times like these?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Before daylight Nona must have also slept, because she was finally
+awakened by the stopping of their ambulance wagon.</p>
+
+<p>When she opened her eyes she was surprised to see a rose flush in the
+sky and to hear the slow puffing of an engine.</p>
+
+<p>The wagons had arrived at a small railroad station, connecting with the
+main road leading into Petrograd.</p>
+
+<p>Word of the approach of the ambulances must have been sent ahead, for a
+train of more than a dozen coaches was even now in waiting.</p>
+
+<p>As quickly as possible Nona and Barbara crawled out of their wagon,
+stamping their feet on the frozen ground and waving their arms in order
+to start their circulation. Then they began to assist in transferring
+the wounded soldiers from the wagons to the cars. The men were
+wonderfully patient and plucky, for they must have suffered tortures.
+They had first to be lifted on to an ambulance cot and then transferred
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>to another cot inside the train. A few of the soldiers fainted and for
+them Nona and Barbara were relieved. At least they were spared the added
+pain.</p>
+
+<p>Yet by and by, when the long line of cars started for Petrograd, the
+occupants of the coaches were amazingly cheerful. Tea and bread had been
+served all of the travelers and cigarettes given to the men.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the soldiers sang, others told jokes, those who were most
+dangerously ill only lay still and smiled. They were on their way to
+Petrograd! This meant home and friends to some of them. To others it
+meant only the name of their greatest city and the palace of their Czar.
+But to all of them Petrograd promised comfort and quiet, away from the
+horrible, deafening noises of exploding bullets and shells.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally Nona and Barbara were affected by the greater cheerfulness
+about them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If only Mildred were with us, how relieved I would be. Really, I don&#8217;t
+know how we are to bear the suspense of not <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>knowing what has become of
+her,&#8221; Barbara said not once, but a dozen times in the course of the day.</p>
+
+<p>But night brought them into the famous Russian capital.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span><a name="petro" id="petro"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<h3><em>Petrograd</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">ON their arrival Barbara and Nona went with the wounded soldiers to a
+Red Cross hospital in Petrograd.</p>
+
+<p>There, to her consternation, a few days later Nona Davis became ill. The
+illness was only an attack of malarial fever, which Nona had been
+subject to ever since her childhood; nevertheless, the disease had never
+chosen a more unpropitious time for its reappearance.</p>
+
+<p>For a few days she seemed dangerously ill, then her convalescence left
+her weak and exhausted. She was totally unfit for work and only a burden
+instead of an aid to the hospital staff.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Barbara had a busy, unhappy time of it. She did her best to look
+after Nona in spare moments from her regular nursing, and she also tried
+not to lose courage when no word came from Mildred. Neither <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>from
+newspapers nor inquiries in all possible directions could she even learn
+whether Grovno had fallen.</p>
+
+<p>She was unable to read the newspapers for herself and so was compelled
+to wait until one of the other nurses could find time to laboriously
+translate the information into English.</p>
+
+<p>Evidently at the present time the Russian papers did not desire the
+Russian people to learn the fate of the fortress and its commander. For
+all news on the subject was carefully withheld.</p>
+
+<p>Under the strain Barbara might have broken down herself except for a
+piece of good fortune that at length came to Nona and to her.</p>
+
+<p>An American woman, married to a Russian, the Countess Sergius, learning
+of the presence of the two American Red Cross nurses in the Russian
+hospital, called at once to see if she could do anything for their
+comfort. Discovering Nona ill and Barbara on the verge of a breakdown,
+the American woman insisted that the girls be her guests. They were not
+able to be <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>of special assistance at the hospital under the present
+circumstances, while a week or so of rest and change might do wonders
+for them both.</p>
+
+<p>In answer to Nona&#8217;s protest that she was not well enough to be an
+agreeable visitor and could not bear the ordeal of meeting strangers,
+the older woman announced that the girls could live as quietly as they
+liked. She would let them have a private apartment in her house and they
+need see no one except the servants who would look after them.</p>
+
+<p>As the American Countess was undoubtedly extremely wealthy and most
+anxious to be of service, Barbara and Nona gratefully accepted her
+invitation. So about ten days after their arrival in Petrograd they were
+living in one of the handsomest houses along the famous Nevski Prospect.
+This is the Fifth Avenue of Petrograd, a wide avenue three miles in
+length. Nothing is small in Russia or in the Russian people.</p>
+
+<p>The girls were delightfully comfortable. One-half the third floor of the
+great <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>house had been given up to them, consisting of two bedrooms, a
+bath, and a sitting room where their meals were served.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, the girls soon discovered that although the Countess meant to be
+hospitable and kind, she was sincerely glad that they wished to be left
+alone. She was an extremely busy woman, one of the important hostesses
+of Petrograd in times of peace. But now, like most society women in the
+allied countries, she was devoting all her energies to relief work.
+There were charity bazaars and concerts and Russian ballet performances,
+for the benefit of the soldiers, that must be managed day and night.</p>
+
+<p>After three days of luxury and idleness Nona Davis felt strong again.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps more than the other Red Cross girls she deserved credit for her
+devotion to her nursing. For Nona had the southern temperament which
+loves beauty and ease, and there were times in her life when she had
+deliberately to shut her eyes to these enticements.</p>
+
+<p>But now, with the thought of Sonya <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>Valesky ever on her mind, she could
+not allow herself to relax an hour longer than necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Contrary to Barbara Meade&#8217;s judgment, Nona decided to ask the advice of
+their hostess as to how she should begin the search for her Russian
+friend.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly the American woman became less cordial. But when Nona had told
+as much of the other woman&#8217;s story as she dared, the Countess frankly
+discussed the situation with her.</p>
+
+<p>If Nona would be guided by an older woman she would give up the quest
+for Sonya Valesky. Certainly Sonya&#8217;s fate was an unhappy one, but she
+was wholly responsible for it herself. If she had been content to take
+life as she found it she would now have been occupying a brilliant
+position.</p>
+
+<p>The Countess evidently had no use for reformers or persons who break
+away from recognized conditions. She confessed to Nona that her own
+position in Russian society had been difficult to attain. Not for worlds
+would she be suspected of having <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>anything to do with a Socialist, or an
+Anarchist, or whatever dreadful character Nona&#8217;s friend might be! The
+Countess was perfectly polite, but Nona thoroughly understood that if
+she insisted upon discovering the unfortunate Sonya, her presence as a
+guest in the Countess&#8217; home would no longer be desired.</p>
+
+<p>Since there was nothing else to do, Nona decided that she must wait
+until help came from some unexpected direction. She had no idea of
+giving up the search for Sonya. But in the meantime she could enjoy
+a brief rest and see Petrograd.</p>
+
+<p>In the winter time Petrograd is the most beautifully quiet city in the
+world. And now in war times it was scarcely less so, for the ground was
+covered with many inches of snow. There was a muffled sound even to the
+tread of the soldiers&#8217; feet, marching through the frozen streets.
+Neither was there a single wagon or carriage to be heard, since
+everybody went about in sleighs and everything was hauled in the same
+way. But now, because all the best horses were at the front, one often
+saw great oxen drawing <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>sledges through the once gay and fashionable
+city.</p>
+
+<p>The Countess Sergius had retained only a single pair of horses for her
+own use and that of her big household, nevertheless, she now and then
+loaned her sleigh for an afternoon to her two American girl guests.</p>
+
+<p>Sight-seeing was the only amusement which kept Nona and Barbara from a
+morbid dwelling on their worries. Barbara had written to Judge and Mrs.
+Thornton in the way that Mildred had directed. But she could not feel
+that either of Mildred&#8217;s parents would feel any the less wretched and
+uneasy because their daughter believed that she was only &#8220;doing her
+duty.&#8221; Since the original letter Barbara had never been able to write
+them again. What could she say, except that no word of any kind had
+since been received from Mildred? There would be small consolation in
+this news, and of course Barbara wrote Dick every few days.</p>
+
+<p>One afternoon Barbara and Nona left the Countess&#8217; house at about three
+o&#8217;clock and drove down the entire length of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>Nevski Prospect toward
+the Winter Palace of the Czar.</p>
+
+<p>There were scudding gray clouds overhead and a light snow falling.</p>
+
+<p>No one could have failed to be interested. The Russian streets are
+ordinarily paved with sharp-edged stones, but the ice made them smooth
+as glass. Over the windows of the shops the girls could see painted
+pictures of what the shopkeepers had to sell inside. This is common in
+Russia, since so many of her poorer people are unable to read.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the buildings in Petrograd are of stucco, and indeed, except for
+her churches and a few other buildings, the Russian capital resembles a
+poor imitation of Paris. Peter the Great, who constructed the city upon
+the swamp lands surrounding the river Neva, was determined to force
+Russia into the western world instead of the east. For this reason he
+brought all his artists from France and Italy, so that he might model
+his new city upon their older ones.</p>
+
+<p>The Winter Palace itself the girls discovered <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>to be a Renaissance
+building, with one side facing the river and the other a broad square.
+Their sleigh stopped by the tall monolith column commemorating Alexander
+the First, which stands almost directly in front of the Palace. Leading
+from the Palace to the Hermitage, once the palace of the great
+Catherine, is a covered archway.</p>
+
+<p>The Hermitage is one of the greatest art museums in the world and
+contains one of the finest collections of paintings in Europe. Although
+the two Red Cross girls had now been in Petrograd several weeks, neither
+of them had yet been inside the famous gallery.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Suppose we go in now and see the pictures,&#8221; Barbara proposed. &#8220;We might
+as well take advantage of our opportunities, even if we are miserable,&#8221;
+she added with the characteristic wrinkling of her small nose. &#8220;Besides,
+I&#8217;m frozen, and you must be more so, Nona. How I have adored my squirrel
+coat and cap ever since we came to this arctic zone! Thank fortune, our
+Countess has loaned you some furs, Nona! Do you know, I really am not so
+surprised that <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>your mother was a Russian noble woman. You look like my
+idea of a Russian princess, with your pale gold hair showing against
+that brown fur. Who knows, maybe you&#8217;ll turn into a Russian princess
+some day! But shall I tell our driver to stop?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona Davis shook her head, smiling and yet rather pathetic, in spite of
+her lovely appearance in borrowed finery.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to be a Russian princess, Bab, or a Russian anything, I am
+afraid, in spite of my heritage. I think it a good deal nicer to be
+engaged to an American like Dick Thornton. If you don&#8217;t mind, let&#8217;s
+don&#8217;t try to see the pictures today. I am tired and we ought to be fresh
+for such an experience. If you are cold, suppose we go back into the
+center of the town and walk about for a while. Then we can send the
+sleigh home to the Countess. I don&#8217;t feel that we should keep it for
+our use the entire afternoon, and if we stop to look at the pictures it
+would take the rest of the day. There are some queer side streets that
+join the Nevski Prospect I should like to see.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>The Countess Sergius lived about two miles away from the Winter Palace.
+When the girls were within a quarter of a mile of the house where they
+were guests, they finally got out of the sleigh. Their driver was an old
+man with a long beard and not the character of servant the American
+Countess would have employed under ordinary conditions. But her former
+young men servants were in the army, and like other wealthy families in
+Russia at this time, she was glad to employ any one possible.</p>
+
+<p>However, Nona undertook to make the man understand that they would not
+need his services again that afternoon. She had more of a gift for
+languages than the western girl and her knowledge of French was always
+useful. So after a little hesitation, the big sleigh at last drove away.
+And actually for the first time since their arrival in Petrograd Nona
+and Barbara found themselves alone in the Russian streets.</p>
+
+<p>There could be no danger of getting lost, for they had only to come to
+this central thoroughfare and the Countess&#8217; house lay straight ahead.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>So the two girls turned into the side street that lay nearest them.</p>
+
+<p>After a five minutes walk they found themselves in another world.</p>
+
+<p>On the Nevski Prospect they were in Europe; here they were in Asia.</p>
+
+<p>It was curious, but even the smells were different. These were Asiatic
+odors, if the girls had only known, queer smells of musk and attar of
+roses and other less pleasant things.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian women and children were crowding the narrow streets, while
+inside the little shops the wares were displayed on big tables. In the
+summer time these goods were sold on open stalls in the streets.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Let us go into one of the shops and buy a few trinkets,&#8221; Barbara
+suggested. &#8220;I would like to own one of those embroidered Russian
+aprons.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then she stopped, her attention caught, as Nona&#8217;s had been, by a sudden
+rustling in the air above them. A moment later a flock of gray and white
+pigeons was crowding about their feet. These also were the pigeons that
+haunt the thoroughfares of the east.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>Personally Nona Davis would have preferred remaining outside in the
+fresh air. She was cold, but she objected to the squalid atmosphere of
+the interior of so many Russian houses. However, she could not refuse to
+agree to every request Barbara made of her all that afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>A moment later and she was almost as interested as the younger girl in
+making purchases.</p>
+
+<p>There were odd pieces of beautiful, gayly colored embroideries that,
+according to American ideas, appeared incredibly cheap. Then there were
+bits of Russian brass, that seemed to interest Barbara particularly, as
+it is probable that she had a sudden rush of the housekeeper&#8217;s ardor.
+Here were interesting things that might be purchased for her own and
+Dick&#8217;s apartment in New York almost for nothing!</p>
+
+<p>Whatever the cause, Nona, after fifteen or twenty minutes, found her
+own pleasure cooling. Moreover, she had very little money to spend on
+frivolities, and so found a stool in a corner and sat down to wait for
+Barbara and to watch the crowd.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>There were numbers of people in the shop, although few of them seemed
+to be making purchases. Now and then a big soldier, crowned by his
+peaked fur cap, would stalk proudly in to purchase a trinket, possibly
+for the girl of his heart. The Russians are ardent lovers, and as the
+soldier was only at home on a short leave, he had to make the best of
+his opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the women who were not wearing furs had heavy shawls drawn over
+their heads and shoulders. Nona could not see their faces very well,
+and only received flitting impressions of dark eyes and large, heavy
+features, with almost always the curiously pale and yet sallow skin
+peculiar to the Russian peasant. It is only among the better classes
+that one finds other types.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Nona gave a cry of alarm, which she quickly hushed. To her
+surprise some one had quietly come up back of her and laid a hand on
+her shoulder. It was one of these same peasant women, wearing a heavy,
+dark shawl.</p>
+
+<p>She was trying to say something which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>Nona could not at once
+understand. Yet it was plain enough that the woman was imploring
+her to make no disturbance that would attract attention.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment Nona had recognized the woman. It was old Katja, Sonya
+Valesky&#8217;s servant, whom she had left with Nika in her little hut.</p>
+
+<p>What had brought the old woman to Petrograd? In reality Nona knew
+without asking the question. It was Katja&#8217;s devotion to Sonya.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman was speaking a queer jumble of languages, Russian and the
+few words of English she had learned while the American girl was living
+in the same house.</p>
+
+<p>What Nona finally learned was, that Katja was imploring her to meet her
+somewhere the next day, where they could talk without being observed.</p>
+
+<p>Nona knew of no place except the one that was always open to rich and
+poor alike in Russia. And she had to think quickly. Yet the churches had
+always been their refuge ever since the arrival of the four Red Cross
+girls in Europe.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>At the same moment Nona could only recall the most celebrated Russian
+church in Petrograd. She must lose no time, for even Barbara must not
+learn of her mission, and Barbara might turn and come back to join her
+at any moment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In the Cathedral of St. Isaac, toward the left and in the rear of the
+church at three o&#8217;clock tomorrow,&#8221; Nona murmured. And Katja must have
+understood, for she went away at once.</p>
+
+<p>It was just as well, because at almost the same moment Barbara returned
+to join Nona, her arms full of queer-shaped packages, and looking
+happier than she had since their arrival in the Russian city.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span><a name="step" id="step"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Next Step</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">THE following afternoon it seemed to Nona Davis that all Petrograd was
+a-glitter with onion-shaped domes. The Russian priests explained that
+these domes were really shaped like folded rosebuds, symbolizing the
+church on earth that was to blossom in heaven. But to see them in this
+fashion required a Russian imagination.</p>
+
+<p>However, the effect was very beautiful, and Nona was glad to have her
+attention diverted, as she started out to find the Cathedral of St.
+Isaac. Some of the domes were of blue, set with stars to represent the
+canopy of the sky. But Nona knew that the central dome of St. Isaac&#8217;s
+was an enormous copper ball covered with gold and that its radiance
+could be seen at a great distance.</p>
+
+<p>She had had great difficulty in fulfilling <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>her engagement with Katja.
+At first she had tried to deceive Barbara in regard to her intention,
+being fully determined to continue her search for Sonya until she had
+discovered her; nevertheless, it did not seem worth while to trouble
+Barbara while she had no actual information to go upon. But Barbara
+would not be deceived.</p>
+
+<p>Nona suggested that she wished to walk for several hours and feared the
+younger girl might become fatigued. In reply Barbara assured her that
+there was nothing she herself so much desired as exercise, and as for
+growing tired, Nona would the sooner be worn out, since she was the one
+who had been ill.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards, while there were other excuses for her departure which Nona
+struggled to invent, all were equally useless. From the first Barbara
+had guessed her plan. Although she had seen nothing and knew nothing of
+Nona&#8217;s meeting with Katja the day before, she had immediately guessed
+that Nona&#8217;s desire for a solitary excursion was in some way connected
+with her effort to find Sonya Valesky. And this effort the younger girl
+continued to oppose.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>So Nona had finally departed, leaving Barbara in tears over her
+obstinacy and foolhardiness. She was very unhappy, but what else was
+possible for her to do? Had Barbara been in the same need that Sonya
+now was, surely no one could have persuaded her to turn her back upon
+Barbara.</p>
+
+<p>Katja was waiting and fortunately there were but a few other persons in
+the Cathedral at the same hour.</p>
+
+<p>As quickly and as intelligently as she knew how, the old woman explained
+that Sonya was in a civil prison in Petrograd and was to be tried for
+treason within another week. Katja had not seen her child, but had
+received a few lines in reply to a dozen letters which a friend had
+written for her. Katja herself could neither read nor write.</p>
+
+<p>Although Nona could speak only a few words of Russian, she had learned
+to read a little of the language with difficulty. Now she managed to
+translate her friend&#8217;s ideas, if not her exact words.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya did not wish Katja to try to see <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>her nor to attempt to appear at
+the prison at the hour of her trial. Nothing could be done for her
+release and Katja would only be made the more miserable. Neither was
+Katja to let Nona know anything of her whereabouts until after sentence
+was passed. Then if Katja could find the American girl she was to say
+farewell for Sonya Valesky. She was also to thank Nona for her kindness
+and add that the acquaintance with her friend&#8217;s daughter had brought
+Sonya much happiness.</p>
+
+<p>Standing with the crumpled sheet of paper in her hand, written by the
+woman who so soon expected to say farewell to the things that make life
+worth living, Nona Davis felt her own cheeks flush and her eyes fill
+with tears. How little had she really deserved the Russian woman&#8217;s
+affection, for how much she had distrusted her!</p>
+
+<p>Well, Nona again determined to do all that was possible now to prove her
+allegiance.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as she could get away from Katja, Nona secured a sleigh and
+drove <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>at once to the house of the American Ambassador. Because her card
+represented her as an American Red Cross nurse she felt assured that she
+would be treated with every courtesy.</p>
+
+<p>This was perfectly true, although obliged to wait half an hour; finally
+one of the secretaries of the Ambassador invited the American girl into
+a small office. She could not, of course, see the Ambassador without a
+special engagement, but the secretary would be pleased to do whatever
+was possible.</p>
+
+<p>Nona was both pleased and relieved. The secretary proved to be a
+southerner, a young fellow from Georgia, who could not have been more
+than twenty-five years old. Certainly it was far easier to tell the
+story of Sonya Valesky to him than to an older man or to one whose
+time was more valuable.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, when she had finished, although there was no doubt of
+the secretary&#8217;s attention and interest, Nona found him equally as
+discouraging as everybody else had been concerning Sonya Valesky&#8217;s
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>fate and any part which she might have hoped to play in it. There
+could be little doubt that Sonya would be condemned to Siberia. She
+was a political prisoner and would not be tried by a military court.
+Her offense was spoken of as sedition, or as an infringement of the
+&#8220;Defense of the Realm&#8221; act. For Sonya had been endeavoring to induce
+the Russian soldiers to join her peace societies rather than to fight
+for their country.</p>
+
+<p>The young American secretary did his best to make the situation plain to
+Nona Davis. In England or France, under the same circumstances, Sonya
+Valesky might have escaped with only a short term of imprisonment or a
+fine. But this would not be true in Russia. Besides, it appeared that
+Sonya was an old offender and that her socialist ideas were well known.
+It would be impossible for the American Ambassador or any member of his
+staff to make the smallest effort in Sonya&#8217;s behalf. Such an effort
+would represent an act of discourtesy on the part of the United States
+Government, as if she were <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>attempting to interfere with Russia&#8217;s
+treatment of her own subjects.</p>
+
+<p>There was one thing only which the young secretary could undertake in
+Nona&#8217;s cause. He would make an effort to have her allowed to visit her
+friend. If Sonya&#8217;s trial was not to take place for a week, it was just
+possible that the American girl might be permitted to see her.</p>
+
+<p>So Nona was compelled to go away with only this small consolation.</p>
+
+<p>However, before leaving she secured the address of an American family
+in Petrograd who might be willing to take her as a boarder. For Nona
+realized that with her present plan she could not longer remain as a
+guest in the Countess&#8217; house.</p>
+
+<p>Then Barbara had again to be reckoned with. It was early dusk when Nona
+Davis finally reached their apartment in the splendid Russian house.
+Barbara had just finished tea, but the tea things had not been sent
+away.</p>
+
+<p>Because Nona was evidently so tired and discouraged the younger girl
+comforted her with tea and cakes before beginning <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>to ask questions.
+Afterwards Barbara insisted upon being told the entire account of the
+afternoon&#8217;s experiences. Nona must begin with her meeting with Katja,
+her interview in the Cathedral, then her visit to the house of the
+United States Ambassador and finally the description of the place where
+she had engaged board before returning to her temporary home.</p>
+
+<p>Although Barbara was ordinarily much given to conversation and frequent
+interruptions of other people&#8217;s anecdotes, she listened without comment
+until the other girl had finished.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We are both too tired to pack up our few possessions tonight, Nona,&#8221;
+she answered in conclusion; &#8220;but we can attend to them in the morning
+and then say good-by to the Countess.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona was lying upon a divan with her yellow head sunk among a number of
+brown cushions, but she got half way up at Barbara&#8217;s words.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But I don&#8217;t expect <em>you</em> to leave here, Barbara dear, to go with
+me,&#8221; she protested. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t engage board for anyone else. The house
+where I am to stay is shabby and not especially comfortable. I wouldn&#8217;t
+have you leave this lovely home for worlds! I am sorry, you may be a
+little lonely without me. But I am hoping we may hear from Mildred at
+almost any hour and then I&#8217;m sure the Countess would be only too happy
+to have her take my place here. I expect Mildred will be a distinguished
+character after having been chosen to nurse the great General Alexis.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t talk nonsense,&#8221; Barbara protested, in answer to the first part of
+her friend&#8217;s speech. &#8220;Of course, I am not going to let you wander off
+and live in a strange family by yourself.&#8221; Then Barbara sighed.</p>
+
+<p>She was sitting on a small stool beside Nona&#8217;s couch, resting her chin
+on her hand and looking very childish and homesick.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Of course, I know you have to do whatever you can for Sonya Valesky,
+Nona,&#8221; she agreed unexpectedly. &#8220;In your position <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>I hope I would have
+the courage to behave in the same way. I have only made a fuss about
+things because I was worried for you, but I have always known you would
+not pay any attention to me. Nobody ever does.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Although Nona laughed and attempted to argue this point, Barbara
+remained unconvinced.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, well, possibly Dick or Eugenia can sometimes be persuaded into
+doing what I ask, but never you or Mildred,&#8221; she concluded, and then
+sighed again. &#8220;If we could hear just a single word from Mildred!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The next day the two girls moved to their new lodgings. Their hostess
+was gracious enough, but made no protest when Nona explained that she
+expected to be permitted to visit the Russian prisoner within the next
+few days.</p>
+
+<p>The order to see Sonya came sooner than Nona expected. Indeed, the two
+girls had only been in their new quarters for about thirty-six hours
+when the young secretary from the embassy called upon them. With <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>him he
+brought the permit from the Russian government.</p>
+
+<p>Nona was to be allowed to visit the prison near the Troitska bridge on
+the following day and to spend ten minutes with her friend. She must
+understand that a guard would listen to whatever conversation was held.
+Also she must take with her nothing of any kind to present to Sonya
+Valesky. Their interview would be closely watched.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally Barbara Meade insisted upon accompanying Nona. She knew, of
+course, that she would not be allowed to see the prisoner, nor had she
+the least wish to see her. But she could wait in some antechamber until
+the ten minutes passed and then bring Nona safely back to their lodging
+place. For certainly the experience ahead of her friend would be a
+painful one, and although Nona did her best to conceal her nervousness
+from the younger girl, Barbara again was not deluded.</p>
+
+<p>When the two girls set out for the prison the next afternoon it would
+have been difficult to decide which one most dreaded <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>the ordeal. But in
+truth the ordeal was in a way a mutual one. While she waited, doubtless
+Barbara&#8217;s imagination would paint as tragic a scene as Nona might be
+obliged to go through with.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to Nona Davis, after leaving Barbara, that she walked down a
+mile or more of corridor. The corridor might have been an underground
+sewer, so dark and unwholesome were its sights and smells. It led past
+dozens of small iron doors with locks and chains fastened on the
+outside.</p>
+
+<p>Finally Nona&#8217;s guard paused before one of these doors and then opened
+it. Inside was an iron grating with bars placed at intervals of about
+six inches apart. The room it barricaded was six feet square and
+contained a bed and stool. There was one small window overhead, not much
+larger than a single pane of glass in an average old-fashioned window.</p>
+
+<p>But the light from the window fell directly upon the head of the woman
+who was seated beneath it.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya Valesky had not been told that she was to receive a visitor. So
+perhaps <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>Nona did appear like a sudden vision of a Fra Angelico angel,
+standing unexpectedly in the dark corridor with her hair as golden as a
+shaft of sunlight.</p>
+
+<p>Sonya only stared at the girl without speaking. But Nona saw that her
+friend&#8217;s dark hair, which had been a little streaked with gray at their
+first meeting more than two years before, was now almost pure white.
+However, Sonya did not look particularly ill or unhappy; her blue eyes
+were still serene. Whatever faith in life she may have lost, she had not
+lost faith in the cause for which she must suffer.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you know me, Sonya?&#8221; Nona asked almost timidly, as if she were
+talking to a stranger.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Russian woman came forward with all her former dignity and
+grace. She was wearing a black dress of some rough material, but it
+seemed to Nona Davis that she had never seen a more beautiful woman.
+Sonya was like a white lily found growing in some underground dungeon.</p>
+
+<p>She put her hands through the bars and took hold of Nona&#8217;s cold ones.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>&#8220;This is wonderfully kind of you, Nona?&#8221; she said with the simplicity
+of manner that had always distinguished her. &#8220;I have wanted to know what
+had become of you and your friends. Somehow information sifts even
+inside a prison in war times, and I have learned that General Alexis
+gave up trying to hold Grovno. You are on your way back home, I trust.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona could scarcely reply. It seemed so strange that Sonya could be
+talking in such an everyday fashion, as if her visit were being made
+under ordinary circumstances. Not a word did she say of her own sorrow
+or the tragedy that lay ahead of her.</p>
+
+<p>Nona could only fight back the tears. &#8220;We are returning to France as
+soon as Mildred Thornton joins us in Petrograd,&#8221; she answered, and then
+explained that Mildred had stayed behind at Grovno.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But isn&#8217;t there anything I can do for you, Sonya?&#8221; Nona added. &#8220;I shall
+certainly not leave Petrograd until after your trial, and then if you
+are released you must come away with me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>The older woman only shook her head.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I shall not be released, Nona, so don&#8217;t make yourself unhappy with
+false hopes. This is not my first offense against the government of
+Russia. I have never believed in the things in which they believe, not
+since I was a little girl. I suppose I am a troublesome character. But
+after all, in going to Siberia I am only following the footsteps of
+greater men and women than I can hope to resemble.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Sonya let go Nona&#8217;s hands and stepped back into her little room. From
+under her pillow she drew a small folded paper.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;In going to Siberia I forfeit all my estates, Nona,&#8221; Sonya Valesky
+explained when she came back. &#8220;But I have a small amount of money in
+the United States, as well as in my own country. Perhaps the government
+may be willing to allow me to dispose of my property, although of course
+I can&#8217;t tell. But I have made a will and had it witnessed here in the
+prison. If it is possible I want you to have half of the little I have
+left and Katja and Nika the rest. There would be no chance to leave it
+to the cause of peace in these days.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>Nona received the little paper.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You won&#8217;t be in Siberia all your life, Sonya, that I won&#8217;t believe,&#8221;
+she protested. &#8220;Some day when this war is over the Czar will pardon you.
+Please remember that I shall never forget you and never stop trying to
+do what I can for your release. If I am allowed to have it, I will take
+care of your money until you are able to come to me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Hearing a guttural noise behind her, Nona Davis now turned around. Her
+guard was signaling that the time allotted for her visit was over.</p>
+
+<p>She was not able to kiss the older woman good-by, only to hold both her
+hands close for another moment and then to go away with her eyes so
+blinded with tears that she could not see. Yet she never forgot the
+picture that Sonya Valesky made when she had a final glance at her.</p>
+
+<p>Four days later a few lines appeared in the Russian daily papers,
+stating that Sonya Valesky, a woman of noble birth, but at present a
+Russian nihilist, had <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>been condemned to penal servitude in Siberia for
+life. She had been proved guilty of treason to the Imperial Government.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span><a name="return" id="return"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<h3><em>Mildred&#8217;s Return</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">ON the same afternoon that Nona and Barbara read the news of Sonya
+Valesky&#8217;s sentence, Mildred Thornton came to Petrograd.</p>
+
+<p>Her return was characteristic of Mildred.</p>
+
+<p>It was a little past twilight and Nona and Barbara were in their shabby
+sitting room; they now shared the same bedroom in the new lodgings. Nona
+had been crying, and in order to try and make her forget, Barbara was
+reading aloud. She had received a package of books and magazines from
+Dick Thornton earlier in the day, but this was her first chance to look
+them over.</p>
+
+<p>Although endeavoring to listen, in reality Nona&#8217;s attention was only
+pretence. Her thoughts were with the Russian woman whose life had been
+so strangely associated with her own. It seemed to Nona that <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>she had
+not realized how much she cared for Sonya Valesky until these last few
+weeks. She had become like an exquisite older sister whom she might
+possibly have had as a companion and friend. Never had Nona been more
+conscious of her own loneliness. It is true that she had been more or
+less lonely all her life, but this she had taken as a matter of course.
+Now in these last few hours she had suddenly been overwhelmed by the
+thought.</p>
+
+<p>Apparently their work as Red Cross nurses in Europe was nearly over.
+At least, when Mildred finally joined them, the three girls intended
+returning to France to spend a little time with Madame Castaigne and
+Eugenia. Then Barbara and Mildred would doubtless go back to their
+homes in the United States. Barbara would be married in a short time
+and Mildred would not wish to remain longer away from her mother and
+father. But Nona had no home and no people to whom she might return.</p>
+
+<p>The girl was glad at this moment that there were no lights in their
+sitting room <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>save the two candles which were directly behind Barbara&#8217;s
+book. She did not wish the younger girl to guess the extent of her
+depression.</p>
+
+<p>Yet it was Nona who first heard the knock at their sitting room door.
+Quickly as possible she got up and walked forward to open it, not even
+attempting to smooth her hair or to wipe the traces of tears from her
+face. Barbara did not glance from the page of her book, both girls were
+so convinced that it was only the woman who usually brought them their
+dinner at this hour.</p>
+
+<p>When Nona opened the door, Mildred took her by both shoulders and
+quietly kissed her.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Mildred!&#8221; It was Nona&#8217;s exclamation that finally aroused Barbara Meade.
+But even then, although Barbara rose to her feet, dropping her book on
+the floor, she did not move forward. She let Mildred come and put her
+arms around her and kiss her on both cheeks. Then Mildred stood still in
+the center of the room and smiled at her two friends.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>&#8220;Won&#8217;t either one of you say she is glad to see me?&#8221; she asked, with a
+mixture of gayety and wistfulness.</p>
+
+<p>By this time Barbara and Nona were both embracing the newcomer at once,
+and at the same time attempting to remove her wraps. Under her nursing
+coat Mildred was wearing a long sable coat, suitable for a princess, but
+neither of the girls noticed it in the excitement of her arrival.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Where did you come from? Oh, Mildred, what have you been doing all this
+time? I have nearly died of anxiety.&#8221; Barbara protested. &#8220;Surely you
+could have gotten us some word, if only to say you were alive.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred shook her head. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t, dear. I have come back to you the
+very first moment it was possible. But it is a long story. I can&#8217;t tell
+you all at once. May I sit down?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>At last Nona and Barbara had the grace to observe that Mildred looked
+white and tired.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I arrived in Petrograd about half an <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>hour ago with General Alexis and
+his staff and the Russian maid who has been with us ever since we were
+left behind at Grovno,&#8221; she explained, when her friends had thrust her
+unceremoniously into their only comfortable chair.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I told General Alexis that I must find you at once, so we drove to the
+United States Embassy and they gave us your address. Then they left me
+here. I am dreadfully hungry; can&#8217;t we have something to eat before I
+finish my story?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Certainly not,&#8221; Barbara insisted, &#8220;or not until you have answered two
+or three more questions. For I am much more apt to die of curiosity than
+you are to perish of starvation. How long did you remain at Grovno, and
+did the Germans ever capture you? I suppose your general didn&#8217;t die, if
+he escorted you to our humble door. But if he wasn&#8217;t desperately ill,
+why did he have you stay so long in a position of such danger?&#8221; And
+Barbara ceased to ask more questions simply because her breath had given
+out.</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant Nona signaled a <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>warning glance. Mildred was almost
+fainting with exhaustion. In these last few weeks she must have passed
+through difficult experiences and naturally she could not tell them
+everything at once.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Please go downstairs and ask that dinner be sent up, Barbara,&#8221; Nona
+demanded. &#8220;And get soup or milk or something special; if not I&#8217;ll make
+some beef tea for Mildred on the alcohol lamp. Mildred, suppose you put
+on my wrapper and lie down until after you have eaten, then we can talk
+as long as you have strength for.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>And the girls did talk until nearly midnight in spite of Mildred&#8217;s
+fatigue. She was perfectly well, only tired, she insisted, and greatly
+excited at seeing Nona and Barbara again.</p>
+
+<p>She had passed through events in these past few weeks such as few women
+have ever known. But of course Mildred related what had taken place in a
+simple, almost matter of fact fashion. She was so little given to
+heroics, or to thinking of herself as a conspicuous personage.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>&#8220;Yes, they had stayed on at Grovno until almost the hour when the
+Germans entered the old fortress. General Alexis had been wounded,
+but had not considered his wound serious and would not desert his
+post until he had finally accomplished his purpose. For the last
+hour virtually only six persons had kept the German army from
+entering the fortifications: General Alexis, Colonel Feodorovitch,
+two lieutenants and two private soldiers, although the Russian
+physician, who had remained with his commander, had turned soldier
+toward the last.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But you don&#8217;t mean that you continued inside the fort to the very end?&#8221;
+Barbara demanded almost angrily. &#8220;I suppose you were forgotten.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I think I was at the last,&#8221; Mildred returned. &#8220;You see, at first when
+General Alexis discovered that I was the Red Cross nurse who had been
+chosen to stay behind, he was angry and insisted that I leave at once.
+But by the time he learned of my presence, it was too late to find me an
+escort. Besides, the doctor did not wish me to go. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>There was a Russian
+woman, a kind of servant, who was also with us, and did the cooking, I
+believe, if we ever ate. Anyhow, she stayed with me and looked after me
+when she could, so that I was never actually alone.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But Mildred,&#8221; Nona asked, guessing at many details that her friend did
+not mention, &#8220;how did you finally get away at last? And have you come
+directly here from Grovno? Surely the fort did not hold out all these
+weeks.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, we have been away from Grovno nearly two weeks, I can&#8217;t remember
+the exact passage of time very well,&#8221; Mildred explained, lifting her
+hands to let down the long braids of her heavy flaxen hair, and allowing
+the hairpins to drop girl fashion, carelessly into her lap. She was
+wearing Nona&#8217;s kimono, and it is always easier to talk confidentially
+with one&#8217;s hair down, if one happens to have the mass that Mildred had.
+The very weight of it was oppressive when she was tired.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, it was terribly interesting toward the last,&#8221; she went on,
+&#8220;although I don&#8217;t <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>believe even then we were in great danger. General
+Alexis is too wise to have permitted that. Everything was in readiness;
+all the plans were made days beforehand for our getting away. The
+different regiments of private soldiers with their officers continued
+to march away from Grovno, and so much ammunition was moved that I think
+almost no stores of any value were left. Then the moment finally came
+for our own retreat.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>To Barbara&#8217;s intense irritation, Mildred actually paused for an instant
+at this point in her story. But she continued almost immediately.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There was an underground passage outside the fort, leading all the way
+to the river. The seven of us at last left the fort together. By this
+time General Alexis had almost to be carried, the pain from his wound
+had grown so intense. Then every once in a while, as we went on, one of
+the soldiers would place a bomb in such a position that it would explode
+after we had gone. In this way the underground passage was wrecked, so
+there never was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>any possibility of the Germans being able to follow us.
+When we reached the bridge over the river two motor cars were waiting
+for us. Colonel Feodorovitch, one of the lieutenants and the two private
+soldiers stayed to see that the last bridge over the Styr was blown up.
+The other five, General Alexis, his physician, and one officer and we
+two women started west in an effort to join the retreating regiments,
+who were to come up with a portion of the Grand Duke&#8217;s army.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Goodness, Mildred Thornton, what an experience you have been through!&#8221;
+Nona ejaculated. &#8220;Yet you talk as quietly as if it were almost an
+ordinary occurrence!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred shook her head. &#8220;It is not because I feel it an ordinary
+experience, Nona, but because so much has happened I am overpowered by
+the bigness of it. Really, when we got safely away from the fort, the
+battle, or at least my share in it, was only about to begin. We had gone
+a few miles into the country, when General Alexis became desperately
+ill. Unless he could have immediate attention his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>physician said there
+was no possible hope for his life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Barbara had by this time slipped out of her chair and was sitting on the
+floor with her hands clasped over her knees, looking all eyes, and
+rocking herself slowly back and forward as a relief for her excitement.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But you brought your general back with you, Mildred Thornton, or you
+said you did. How on earth did you manage about him?&#8221; she interrupted.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That is just what I am going to tell you, because that explains where I
+have been and why I have not been able to let you hear from me. Our
+Russian doctor ordered our motor car stopped and we entered a Russian
+house some distance from any main road. We purposely chose a house that
+had been deserted, and there we have been for two weeks, struggling to
+save the life of General Alexis. Of course, his wound had been more
+serious than he would admit. The wonder is that he is still alive!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But he has recovered?&#8221; Barbara inquired with her usual unsatisfied
+curiosity. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>&#8220;Goodness, Mill, what a heroine you will be, to have nursed
+one of the most famous generals in the Allied armies and to have
+restored him to health. Won&#8217;t your mother be charmed!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Naturally Mildred smiled. The thought of her mother&#8217;s pleasure in her
+distinction <em>had</em> occurred to her several times in the last two weeks.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, of course I am glad to have had the honor, Bab, because I too think
+General Alexis a great man. He is perhaps the simplest man I have ever
+known, except my father, and I like him very much. Only he has not
+recovered and I have not restored him to health. If General Alexis had
+recovered he would never have come to Petrograd, he would have rejoined
+his troops. But he was well enough to be moved and Petrograd seemed the
+safest place for him at present. Besides, I believe he wished to have an
+audience with the Czar.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Barbara again rocked back and forth. &#8220;You say &#8216;Czar,&#8217; Mill, just as if
+you were speaking of an everyday person. Really, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>I believe you are the
+best bred girl I ever saw. Position, wealth, no distinctions seem to
+excite you. You just take people for exactly what they are,&#8221; Barbara
+murmured, in reality speaking to herself.</p>
+
+<p>But Nona overheard her. &#8220;You are quite right, Bab,&#8221; she agreed. &#8220;Mildred
+does not know it, but she has taught me many a lesson on that subject
+since we came to Europe. It would be a nicer world if everybody thought
+and acted as Mildred does. But what has become of your general, Mill?
+Are you to go on nursing him or to see him again?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, to the first question, Nona dear, and yes, to the second. Now I am
+so tired I simply must go to bed. I told the doctor and General Alexis
+that since he was better, I wanted to come to you. Besides, I was sure
+that here in Petrograd there would be so many cleverer nurses than I can
+ever hope to be. And I didn&#8217;t want to stay at the Winter Palace with you
+girls here.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You mean,&#8221; Nona asked quietly, &#8220;that you were invited to be a guest at
+the Czar&#8217;s own palace and you declined?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>Mildred clasped her hands behind her head. &#8220;Oh, I thought I told you.
+General Alexis is to be at the Winter Palace while he is in Petrograd.
+He is very close to the Czar, I believe. As his nurse, of course I was
+asked to stay there with him; he is to have his physician and his aides
+as well as his servants in attendance. There was nothing personal in my
+being permitted inside the Palace. Some other nurse will take my place.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But the point is, Mildred Thornton, that you refused to stay under the
+same roof with the Czar of all the Russias. Never so long as you live
+will your mother forgive you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The other girl flushed and laughed. &#8220;I hadn&#8217;t thought of that, Bab dear.
+Please don&#8217;t tell on me. But we are to be under the same roof with the
+Czar some day for a few moments, all of us. General Alexis said that he
+wished to have us presented to the Czar and Czarina, if it were possible
+to arrange. He seems to feel grateful to me for the little I was able to
+do. But please, Bab, don&#8217;t say that I refused to continue to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>nurse
+General Alexis. I only asked that they get some one to take my place,
+who would be wiser.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Did General Alexis agree to a new nurse for that reason, Mildred?&#8221;
+Barbara demanded in her driest manner.</p>
+
+<p>But Mildred was too tired for further conversation.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he was kind enough to say that I needed a rest more than he
+required my services. Am I to have a bed or the cot in this sitting
+room?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You may have them <em>all</em>, Mildred Thornton!&#8221; Barbara returned, getting
+up on her feet and then bowing until her forehead almost touched the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Any human being who is going to allow me to enter the presence of the
+Czar and Czarina, has got to be treated like royalty for the rest of her
+life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, Barbara kissed Mildred good night. Mildred whispered,
+&#8220;Don&#8217;t be a goose,&#8221; and then at last was permitted to retire.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span><a name="palace" id="palace"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Winter Palace</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">THE next day Nona found opportunity for confiding to Mildred the fate of
+Sonya Valesky. She found Mildred more deeply concerned than Barbara had
+been. This was true because Mildred had a different nature; it was
+easier for her to understand a temperament that would sacrifice
+everything to its dream, than for the more practical and sensible
+Barbara. Moreover, Barbara was so much in love these days that she
+found it difficult to give a great deal of thought to other people.
+She struggled against the tendency, but it is ever the vice of lovers.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, on Thursday, Mildred Thornton received a note from General
+Alexis inviting her and her two friends to come that afternoon at four
+o&#8217;clock to the Winter Palace. And although the three girls were
+Americans, they understood that such an <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>invitation was not in reality
+an invitation, but a command. For the Czar and Czarina had announced
+that they would be pleased to meet the three American Red Cross nurses.</p>
+
+<p>The meeting was to be informal, as these were war times and there were
+no court levees. Indeed, the Czar was only staying for a brief time at
+his palace before going to take command of his own troops. Owing to the
+frequent Russian defeats in the past few months, the Czar had concluded
+that he must command his men in person in order to give them greater
+courage and steadfastness. The munitions of war, of which they had been
+sadly in need for several months, were now pouring in from Japan and the
+United States.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, in the excitement and nervousness due to such an important
+and unexpected occasion, the three Red Cross girls had the same problem
+to settle that attacks all women at critical moments:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What on earth should they wear to the presentation?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, under the circumstances <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>there was but one answer to this
+question. They were invited to the Palace as Red Cross nurses, they must
+therefore wear their Red Cross uniforms. Since the three girls had
+almost nothing else left in their wardrobes, this was just as well.
+Constant moving from place to place, with little opportunity for
+transportation, had reduced their luggage to the most limited amounts.</p>
+
+<p>Yet assuredly they were as handsome and far more dignified on the
+afternoon of their appearance at the Winter Palace in the costumes of
+American Red Cross nurses, than if they had been appareled in the court
+trains and feathers of more gala occasions.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred always looked especially well in her uniform. She was less
+pretty than the other two girls. But for this very reason her dignity
+and the sense of serenity that her personality suggested showed to best
+advantage in the simple toilette of white with the Red Cross insignia on
+the arm. However, over her uniform Mildred wore the magnificent sable
+coat in which <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>she had appeared at her friends&#8217; lodgings in Petrograd.</p>
+
+<p>This afternoon, in spite of her excitement over what lay ahead of them,
+Barbara did not allow the coat to pass unnoticed a second time.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;For goodness&#8217; sake, Mildred, where did you get that magnificent
+garment?&#8221; she demanded, just as they were about to go downstairs to get
+into their sleigh. &#8220;You owned a very nice coat when we left you behind
+in Grovno, but some fairy wand must have changed it. This is the most
+wonderful sable I ever saw.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred flushed and then laid her cheek against the beautiful, soft
+brown warmth of her furs. &#8220;It is time you and Nona were speaking of
+my grandeur,&#8221; she declared. &#8220;You see, in getting away from the fort
+at the last I stupidly left my own furs behind; indeed, I don&#8217;t know
+what became of them. General Alexis noticed that I was cold almost
+immediately. Somehow, after he began to get stronger, he managed to
+have this coat brought to the country house where we were staying.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>Then just before we started to Petrograd he presented it to me. Of
+course, I did not feel that I ought to accept it and insisted I
+could not. But General Alexis said that he had received so much
+kindness from me, he thought it very ungenerous of me to make him
+altogether my debtor. I didn&#8217;t know what to do. Do you think it
+wrong to accept it, Bab? Somehow I did not know how to continue
+to refuse.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>As Barbara was just going into her bedroom at this moment, she made
+no reply. Nona was more reassuring.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Of course it was all right, Mildred, or at least I suppose it was if
+General Alexis insisted, and you had done a great deal for him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then Nona followed Barbara. Barbara was standing perfectly still in the
+center of the room and apparently thinking with all the concentration
+possible.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I wonder if this General Alexis is more fond of Mildred than he would
+be of any nurse who might have cared for him?&#8221; Barbara murmured. Then
+she shook her head. &#8220;That was an absurd suggestion on <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>my part and
+Mildred would not like it. I am sorry,&#8221; she said.</p>
+
+<p>At the door of the Winter Palace, after the girls had passed beyond the
+servants and the detectives who watch every human being permitted to
+approach their Imperial Majesties, the three American girls were ushered
+into a reception room. Except for the fact that there were more
+paintings on the walls, the room resembled other similar chambers now
+left on exhibition at Versailles or the Louvre in Paris.</p>
+
+<p>However, the girls had little time for investigation, for almost at once
+General Alexis entered the room to greet them. He was accompanied by a
+lieutenant who was his aide. To Nona Davis&#8217; surprise, the young man
+proved to be Lieutenant Michael Orlaff, whom she had not seen since the
+afternoon when she had walked to the fortress with him and confided the
+news of Sonya Valesky&#8217;s arrest.</p>
+
+<p>After a few moments of general conversation a man servant, wearing an
+elaborate uniform, announced that General Alexis and his guests might
+walk into the Czar&#8217;s private sitting room.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>Naturally this was a very unusual proceeding, but war times had changed
+the manners of courts as well as other places. Moreover, General Alexis
+was a personal friend of the Czar&#8217;s, so far as a Czar may ever have a
+friend. In any case, he was one of his most trusted generals. This
+reception to the American Red Cross girls was entirely due to the fact
+that General Alexis had declared Mildred Thornton&#8217;s courage and devotion
+had saved his life. But of this she was not yet aware.</p>
+
+<p>The Czar and Czarina were not decorating gilded thrones as one sees them
+in portraits or paints them in one&#8217;s own imagination. Indeed, they were
+seated in chairs, but rose as any other host and hostess might when
+their guests came into the room. They were not alone, however, for
+beside the guards stationed outside their door, two of them kept always
+within a short distance of the Czar himself.</p>
+
+<p>The Czarina was a beautiful woman, tall and dark, but looking infinitely
+sad. The girls could not but remember having heard how frequently she
+suffered from a melancholia <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>so severe that it was almost akin to an
+unbalanced mind.</p>
+
+<p>She now murmured a few words to the three girls and then reseated
+herself. Barbara hoped profoundly that the distinguished audience
+would soon be over. Of course, this meeting of the Czar and Czarina was
+perhaps the most extraordinary honor that had yet been paid to any
+American Red Cross nurses in Europe. But like other honors, it carried
+its discomfort. For Barbara had not the faintest idea what she should do
+or say, when she should stand up and when sit down. She had never
+imagined herself a large person before, but now she felt so awkward that
+she might have been a giant. Yet really there was but one thing for her
+to do: she must merely keep still and watch what was taking place.</p>
+
+<p>Actually the Czar, Nicholas II, was talking pleasantly with Mildred
+Thornton, and Mildred was answering with her usual quiet dignity.</p>
+
+<p>The Czar looked older than Barbara would have supposed from his
+pictures. But then the war may have aged him. His <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>close-cropped brown
+beard with the tiny point was turning gray. And he had large, full and,
+Barbara thought, not particularly intelligent eyes.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment he moved toward a small table and picked up what appeared
+like a medal.</p>
+
+<p>Barbara eyed it curiously. She could not hear what the Czar was saying.
+But she saw Mildred turn suddenly white and appear to protest. Then the
+two men, General Alexis and the Czar, actually smiled at her. The next
+moment the Czar pinned a cross on Mildred&#8217;s white dress.</p>
+
+<p>Without realizing what she was doing, Barbara pressed closer until she
+stood in front of Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff. This time she distinctly
+heard the Czar say:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I take pleasure in presenting you, Miss Thornton, with the Cross of St.
+George, which is only awarded for special bravery. Only one other woman
+has been presented with the Cross of St. George since the outbreak of
+this war. She is Madame Kokavtseva, a colonel of the Sixth Ural Cossack
+Regiment, who has twice been wounded <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>while leading her men. She is
+called our &#8216;Russian Joan of Arc.&#8217; But there is a courage as great as
+leading troops to battle. This valor, it seems to me, you showed in
+remaining to the last at the ancient fortress of Grovno to care for a
+great soldier who was not even your countryman. In my own name and in
+the name of my country, I wish to thank you for your service to General
+Alexis.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then Barbara observed Mildred flush a beautiful, warm crimson, and
+stammer something in response. Almost immediately after they were again
+standing outside in the big antechamber.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards General Alexis and Lieutenant Orlaff and several of the
+palace servants showed the three girls over certain portions of the
+palace that could be exhibited to visitors. On the desk in the hall was
+an ikon, carefully preserved under glass, which was said to have been
+painted by St. Luke.</p>
+
+<p>However, in spite of their honors, as soon as possible the three girls
+were glad to return to their lodgings. Yet Mildred <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>promised that they
+would allow General Alexis to send his sleigh to them the following day.
+The great general looked haggard and worn, but appeared to be quickly
+recovering his strength. Indeed, Barbara afterwards assured Mildred that
+she considered him extremely good looking and not half so old as she had
+supposed.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span><a name="happens" id="happens"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Unexpected Happens</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap1">ONE afternoon a short time after the visit to the Winter Palace, General
+Alexis and Lieutenant Orlaff came to the girls&#8217; lodgings to have a drive
+in the sleigh with them.</p>
+
+<p>It was a cold, brilliant afternoon, and they were to undertake a more
+interesting excursion than usual. Nevertheless, Barbara Meade refused to
+go.</p>
+
+<p>There were letters which she must write, she pleaded. However, this was
+not Barbara&#8217;s real reason: that fact she kept in her own head. Both
+Mildred and Nona she assisted to get ready, insisting that they both
+dress as warmly as possible, no matter how stuffy they might feel before
+starting.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You are both blondes and a blonde is never so homely as when she is
+cold,&#8221; she added sententiously, &#8220;for her face is much <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>more apt to get
+blue than red, except the end of her nose.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred had purchased a lovely fur hat to match her sable coat. And in
+spite of her poverty Nona had been unable to resist a set of black fox.
+Furs were so much cheaper in Russia than in the United States that it
+really almost seemed one&#8217;s duty to buy them.</p>
+
+<p>When General Alexis&#8217; sleigh arrived, Barbara would not even go
+downstairs to see the others start. But she managed by pressing
+her nose against the window to observe that the arrangements for
+the drive were satisfactory.</p>
+
+<p>The sleigh was a beautiful one, built of mahogany, and the pair of
+horses wore real silver mountings on their harness.</p>
+
+<p>A driver, in the Imperial livery, sat upon the front seat with a man
+beside him, who acted as a private guard for General Alexis, although he
+wore citizen&#8217;s clothes. There was far less danger of anarchy in Russia
+during war times; nevertheless, men in public positions in Russia were
+always watchful of trouble from fanatics.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>Therefore, General Alexis and Mildred were together in the middle seat,
+while Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff occupied the one back of them.</p>
+
+<p>Then the sleigh started off so quickly that it had disappeared before
+Barbara realized it. Afterwards, with feminine inconsistency, she turned
+back into their small sitting room, frowning and sighing.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I do wish I had gone along, after all. There wasn&#8217;t any place for me,
+except to sit either between Mildred and General Alexis, or Nona and her
+Russian lieutenant. Then nobody would have had a good time. Still,
+perhaps I should have stuck close to Mildred; she is almost my sister.
+And though Mrs. Thornton might be pleased, Judge Thornton and Dick would
+be wretched. Russia is so far away and so cold.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then Barbara made no further explanation, even to herself, of her
+enigmatic state of mind, but fell to writing letters as she had planned.
+Some thought she devoted to what she should write Dick about his
+sister&#8217;s friend, the distinguished Russian <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>general. But whatever she
+planned sounded either too pointed or else had no point at all. So she
+merely closed her letter by explaining that the others had gone for a
+ride and that General Alexis appeared extremely grateful to Mildred for
+her care of him in his illness. She also mentioned that she personally
+liked the distinguished soldier very much and that he was not nearly so
+foreign as one might expect.</p>
+
+<p>This was not a sensible statement, for General Alexis could scarcely
+have been more of a Russian than he was. A foreigner, of course, simply
+is an individual who belongs to another country than one&#8217;s own.
+Presumably an American is equally a foreigner to a European. What
+Barbara actually meant was that General Alexis was not unlike the men to
+whom she had been accustomed in the United States. He had the courtesy
+and quiet dignity of the most distinguished of her own countrymen. There
+was nothing particularly oriental about him or his attitude to women.
+The truth is that Barbara did not appreciate <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>the fact that General
+Alexis was too cosmopolitan to show many of the peculiarities of his
+race. He had seen too much of the world and studied and thought too
+deeply. Besides, he was a man of real gentleness and simplicity.</p>
+
+<p>As Mildred rode beside him, she too was wondering why she felt so at
+ease with so great a person. Why, at home, in New York society, she had
+always been awkward and tongue-tied with the most ordinary young man
+worthy of no thought. Now she was telling General Alexis the entire
+story of Sonya Valesky as she might have told it to her own father. And
+she felt equally sure of his sympathy and understanding. General Alexis
+would, of course, have no political sympathy with Sonya&#8217;s ideas. He was
+a soldier devoted to his Czar and his country, while in his opinion
+Sonya could only be regarded as mistaken and dangerous. But Mildred
+knew that he would be sorry for Sonya, the woman, and sorry for them
+as her friends.</p>
+
+<p>So she described their original meeting on board the &#8220;Philadelphia,&#8221; and
+the suspicion, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>then wrongfully directed against Sonya, who was at that
+time using the name of Lady Dorian. Afterwards she told of Sonya&#8217;s
+appearance at the Sacred Heart Hospital and her work there. Last of all,
+of their unexpected coming together in Russia and of the peculiar bond
+between Nona Davis and the Russian woman.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of her conversation with General Alexis, Mildred had no
+idea in mind, except to tell the story that had been weighing heavily
+upon her since Nona&#8217;s confidence. Ever since she had seen the picture of
+Sonya, as Nona had last seen her, the beautiful woman with her too-soon
+white hair and the haunting beauty of her tragic blue eyes. She, a woman
+of rare refinement and not yet forty, to spend the rest of her life
+working among the convicts in Siberia. It was as if she were buried
+alive!</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly it occurred to Mildred that she might ask the advice of General
+Alexis. She did not believe it possible that anything could be done for
+Sonya Valesky now, after her sentence had been passed. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>But still it
+would be well to feel they had tried all that was possible.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t think, General, that there is anything that could be done
+to have Sonya Valesky pardoned, do you?&#8221; she inquired, with unconscious
+wistfulness. &#8220;You see, my friend, Nona Davis, wants so much to take
+Madame Valesky back to the United States with her. Then neither she
+nor her ideas would be of any more danger to Russia. Nona says Madame
+Valesky is much broken by her illness and confinement. She had a
+terrible attack of fever only a short time before. Probably she
+won&#8217;t live very long, if she is taken to Siberia.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then, to hide her tears from her companion, Mildred turned her head
+aside. General Alexis seemed to be staring at her very steadfastly. But
+fortunately the beauty of the landscape surrounding them gave her an
+excuse for the movement.</p>
+
+<p>They had crossed the Nicholas bridge and were driving out among the
+parks and estates that cover the small islands, set like jewels among
+the white fastness of the river Neva. Here and there the river was
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>solid ice, in other places the thin ice was decorated with a light
+coating of snow.</p>
+
+<p>The handsome private homes of Petrograd are situated in these island
+suburbs. Beautiful trees and lawns come down to the water&#8217;s edge. But
+today they too were snow sprinkled and most of the homes were closed.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred attempted to pretend that her attention had been attracted by
+one of these houses, built like a glorified Swiss chalet.</p>
+
+<p>But General Alexis continued to gaze at the side of her cheek and
+Mildred was painfully conscious that the tears might at any moment
+slide out of her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You care very much about this woman, this Sonya Valesky, Miss
+Thornton?&#8221; General Alexis inquired. &#8220;You say that she is a friend
+of yours and that it will bring you great distress if she must suffer
+the penalty of her mistakes? I do not wish you to leave Russia in
+unhappiness.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred slowly shook her head. Had she been almost any other girl, she
+would have seen nothing to deny in her companion&#8217;s <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>last speech. But
+Mildred had the spirit of entire truthfulness that belongs to only a
+few natures.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No, I cannot say that Madame Valesky is exactly <em>my</em> friend,&#8221; she
+answered slowly. &#8220;I do not know her very well, but I think I should care
+for her a great deal if we could know each other better. Perhaps she was
+altogether wrong; anyhow, I do not think she should have attempted to
+persuade the Russians not to fight for their country at a time like
+this. Yet when one has seen the horrible, the almost useless suffering
+that I have seen in these few years I have been acting as a Red Cross
+nurse, well, one can hardly condemn a human being who believes in peace.
+Still, Madame Valesky is in reality more Nona&#8217;s friend than mine.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Pausing abruptly, Mildred again turned her face to look at the soldier
+beside her. She had been tactless as usual in thus expressing her
+feelings about peace to a man who was a great warrior. But General
+Alexis did not appear angry. Indeed, there was no disagreement in the
+expression <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>of his eyes, it was almost as if he too felt as Mildred did.
+Besides, his next words were:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I too appreciate what you feel, Miss Thornton, and I too am sorry for
+this Sonya Valesky. War is a great, a terrible evil, and there was never
+a time when the world so realized it as it does now. It is my hourly
+prayer that, after this vast bloodshed, war shall vanish from the face
+of the earth. But this will not happen if we give up the fight while we
+are in the thick of it. So Madame Valesky was wrong, so wrong that I
+might think she deserved her fate, if I did not feel her more mistaken
+than wicked.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis paused and his face grew suddenly lined and thoughtful,
+as Mildred had seen it in those days at Grovno. Of what he was thinking
+the girl did not dream, but neither would she wish to have intruded upon
+his train of thought.</p>
+
+<p>So she sat quite still with her hands folded under the heavy fur rug and
+her gray-blue eyes fastened on the snow-covered landscape. Mildred had
+grown handsomer <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>since her coming to Europe. She would never be
+beautiful in the ordinary acceptance of the term. But she was the type
+of girl who becomes handsomer as she grows older, when character which
+makes the real beauty of a woman&#8217;s face had a chance to reveal itself.
+Already a great deal of her awkwardness and angularity had disappeared
+with the self-confidence, or rather more the self-forgetfulness which
+her work had given her. Her eyes had a deeper, less unsatisfied
+expression and her always handsome mouth more humor. For her own
+experiences and the friendship with the three other American Red Cross
+nurses had taught her to see many things in truer proportion.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Miss Thornton,&#8221; Mildred&#8217;s attention was again aroused by her companion,
+&#8220;I want to tell you something, but I want you to promise me you will not
+have too much hope in consequence. I have been thinking of this Sonya
+Valesky. I believe I can remember her father, or if not her father
+himself, at least I knew him by reputation. He did not share his
+daughter&#8217;s views, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>but was the faithful servant of the present Czar&#8217;s
+father. Moreover, the Czar is my friend, so I mean to tell him the story
+of Sonya Valesky and see if he will pardon her. She must, of course,
+leave Russia, perhaps never to return.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis had been in a measure thinking aloud. But now Mildred&#8217;s
+sudden exclamation of happiness made his eyes soften into a look of
+kindliness that again reminded the girl of her father.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But, my child, you must not hope too much,&#8221; he remonstrated. &#8220;The Czar
+may not feel as I do about your friend. After your service to me there
+is little you could desire which I would not wish to give you.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>One would never have thought of General Alexis as a great soldier at
+this moment. The heavy lines of his face had gone. There was no
+sternness about his mouth. His eyes, which were so surprisingly blue
+because of his other dark coloring, gazed at Mildred&#8217;s until for an
+instant she dropped the lids over her own, feeling embarrassed without
+exactly knowing why.</p>
+
+<p>The next moment she looked directly at <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>the man, whom she felt sure was
+her friend, in spite of the differences in their ages, their rank and
+their countries.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;General Alexis, I am going to ask you to do me a favor&#8212;no, I don&#8217;t
+mean about Sonya this time. I shall be more grateful than I can even try
+to say for that kindness. But this is something which does not concern
+anyone except just you and me. Will you never in the future speak or
+think of the service which you are good enough to say I have rendered
+you.&#8221; Actually, Mildred was now twisting her hands together in the old
+nervous fashion which she thought she had overcome. &#8220;It is difficult for
+me to say things,&#8221; she went on, &#8220;but I want you to know that the
+greatest honor I shall ever have in my life was the privilege of nursing
+you. If I did help make you well, why I am so happy and proud the favor
+is on my side and not yours.&#8221; And Mildred ended with a slight gasp,
+feeling her cheeks burning in spite of the cold, so unaccustomed was
+she to making long speeches or to revealing her emotions.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>&#8220;Miss Thornton,&#8221; General Alexis returned. Then instead of finishing his
+sentence he leaned over and touched his coachman.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Stop the sleigh for a moment. We are growing cold. It will be better
+for us to walk for ten or fifteen minutes and then come back to the
+sleigh.&#8221; Again he spoke to Mildred.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You will come with me for a little?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;It will be wiser for
+you not to grow stiff with sitting still.&#8221; Afterwards he said something
+to Lieutenant Orlaff, to which he and Nona agreed.</p>
+
+<p>Five minutes later Mildred was walking across the snow toward the river,
+with her hand resting on General Alexis&#8217; arm. She was colder than she
+had imagined and it was difficult to walk over the icy and unfamiliar
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>But suddenly she stopped and gave an exclamation of surprise and delight
+which was almost one of awe.</p>
+
+<p>She and General Alexis were alone. Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff had walked
+off in an opposite direction. But Mildred <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>now beheld the sun setting
+upon the Russian capital. Beneath, the world was pure white, and above,
+the sky a glory of orange and purple and rose. Between the two,
+suspended like giant fairy balls, were the great domes of Petrograd&#8217;s
+many churches.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I shall never, never forget that picture so long as I live. It will
+stay with me as my vision of Petrograd long after I have gone home to my
+own country,&#8221; Mildred said simply. Then she stopped in her walk and held
+out her hand. &#8220;Thank you for this afternoon.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis did not release the girl&#8217;s hand. Instead he lifted it to
+his lips and kissed it, although the hand was covered with a heavy
+glove.</p>
+
+<p>Then he smiled at Mildred almost boyishly. &#8220;I want to say something to
+you, Miss Thornton, which I suppose a woman does not really mind
+hearing, no matter to what country she belongs or what her answer may
+be. In these weeks I have known you I have come to care for you very
+deeply. I am old enough perhaps to be your father. I have said this to
+myself <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>a hundred times and that it ought to make my feeling impossible.
+It has not. Naturally I understand that my age may make it impossible
+for you to return my affection, but it has not made the difference with
+me. I love you, Mildred. I have known many women, but have never met one
+so fine and sweet as you. It is the custom of your country when a man
+cares for a woman to tell her so, is it not, or perhaps I should have
+written first to your father?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>General Alexis&#8217; manner was so na(&#239;ve, almost as if he had been a boy
+instead of one of the most distinguished men in Europe. Mildred could
+almost have smiled if she had not been so overwhelmed by his speech.</p>
+
+<p>Was General Alexis actually saying that he was in love with her? No one
+had ever proposed to her in her life and she had never expected that any
+one would care sufficiently. But that the words should come from the man
+whom she felt to be a genius and a hero! No wonder Mildred was
+speechless for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;General Alexis, I have never dreamed of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>anything like this. I only
+hoped at the most that you were my friend,&#8221; she answered a little later.
+&#8220;Really, I don&#8217;t know&#8212;I can&#8217;t say how I feel. I appreciate the honor,
+but Russia is so far away, and my <span class="nowrap">father&#8212;&#8212;&#8221;</span></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; General Alexis interrupted. &#8220;Do you not suppose I have
+thought over all those things? Until this war is past I shall not even
+ask you to become my wife. My life belongs to my country and I would not
+have you alone here in a foreign land. All I ask is that I may write you
+and some day in happier times may I come to see my American friend?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred could only nod and let General Alexis keep tight hold of her
+hand, while a sense of the warmth and sweetness of the affection of a
+big nature slowly enveloped her.</p>
+
+<p>Then, as they walked back to the sleigh in silence and continued in
+silence almost all the way back to the lodgings, Mildred could only keep
+thinking how much her father would like General Alexis. Once she smiled,
+because her next thought was <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>how immensely pleased and impressed her
+mother would be. It seemed impossible that the plain and unattractive
+Mildred could have captured so distinguished an admirer.</p>
+
+<p>Late that night, as she lay awake, Nona Davis&#8217; voice suddenly broke the
+stillness. The two girls were in the single bedroom, Barbara occupying a
+lounge in the sitting room.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;There is something I want to tell you, Mildred. The strangest thing
+happened to me this afternoon. Lieutenant Orlaff proposed to me. Why, I
+scarcely know him at all, but he says that is not necessary when a
+foreigner meets an American girl,&#8221; Nona confided.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You&#8212;why, Nona!&#8221; Mildred faltered, too surprised for the moment to
+answer intelligently, because her friend&#8217;s speech so oddly fitted into
+her own thoughts. &#8220;Did you accept him?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was dark in the room, and yet Mildred could see that Nona had risen
+half way up in bed.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My gracious, no!&#8221; she ejaculated. &#8220;In <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>the first place, I don&#8217;t care
+for him at all, and in the second, I just want to get hold of my dear
+Sonya and return home to the United States. If your general does have
+her pardoned I shall say prayers for him every night of my life. Funny,
+but I believe I am afraid of Russia, even though I am half Russian.
+Still, my mother did prefer to come to America to live. I simply
+couldn&#8217;t bear living in Russia always, could you, Mildred?&#8221; Nona ended,
+as she again dropped back on her pillow.</p>
+
+<p>But Mildred only answered, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; which was not in the least
+conclusive.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span><a name="depart" id="depart"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Departure</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">FOUR days later the three American girls left Petrograd. This was sooner
+than they had expected to leave, but a desirable opportunity arose for
+them to get safely across the continent and into France.</p>
+
+<p>The journey was a long and tiresome one, as they had to cross the
+northern countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway until finally they were
+able to reach Holland, and thence journey to England and France. But it
+was not possible to make the trip in any other way, since all of
+southern Europe was engaged in active fighting.</p>
+
+<p>However, the Red Cross girls did not travel alone. Sonya Valesky went
+with them. At General Alexis&#8217; request the Czar had pardoned her, but she
+was an exile from Russia forever, never to return at any future time.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>Fortunately for the imprisoned woman, her reprieve had come before her
+sentence had time to be carried out. She was brought directly from the
+prison, where Nona had once visited her, to the lodgings where the
+American girls were making ready to depart.</p>
+
+<p>If Sonya regretted the terms of her pardon, she showed no signs of
+sorrow. But she was strangely quiet then and during the long, cold trip
+across the continent. In a measure she seemed to have been crushed by
+the weeks of solitary confinement in the Russian jail with the prospect
+of Siberia ever before her. Often she would sit for hours with her hands
+crossed in her lap and her eyes staring out the window, without seeming
+to see anything in the landscape. One could scarcely imagine her as a
+woman who had devoted her life to traveling from one land to another,
+trying to persuade men and women to believe in universal peace.</p>
+
+<p>Yet she was sincerely grateful and appreciative of any attention of
+affection from the three American girls who were her companions. <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>And
+after a short time Barbara and Mildred were almost as completely under
+the spell of this grave woman&#8217;s charm, as Nona had grown to be.
+Moreover, the girls felt that she had not yet recovered from her
+illness, because of the hardships following it. After a few weeks or
+months in the beloved &#8220;Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door&#8221; perhaps she
+would become more cheerful.</p>
+
+<p>For it was toward the chateau country of France that the three American
+girls were again traveling. The little house where they had once lived
+for a winter had been Captain Castaigne&#8217;s wedding gift to Eugenia. Since
+Eugenia was away nursing in a hospital she had offered her home to her
+friends. Madame Castaigne had also insisted that they come to her at the
+chateau; nevertheless, the girls had chosen the farmhouse.</p>
+
+<p>The Countess was no longer young, and still had no servants save old
+Fran&#184;ois. The work of entertaining four guests, and one of them a
+stranger, would have put too great a tax upon her. Moreover, Eugenia
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>would undoubtedly come back for a while to be with her friends and
+would naturally stay with her mother-in-law. The girls also hoped that
+Captain Castaigne might be spared for a short leave of absence. However,
+in order that the Countess Am&#233;lie should not be wounded, or feel that
+the girls no longer cared to be with her, Barbara had written to say
+that she would stay at the chateau whenever the Countess wished her
+society.</p>
+
+<p>Certainly the trip from Russia into France during war times was a
+difficult one. The girls believed that they could not have made it,
+except that now and then they stopped for a day or more to rest. On
+these days Barbara and Nona used to spend at least a few hours in
+sightseeing, no matter what their fatigue. Now and then Mildred would go
+with them, but never Sonya. Occasionally Nona would urge her, saying
+that the exercise and change of atmosphere would be good for her. But
+Sonya used always to plead fatigue or a lack of interest. Finally she
+confessed frankly that she had seen most of these cities and countries
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>before, and in some of them was fairly well known. Therefore it might
+be safer and happier for all of them if she remained quietly in whatever
+hotel they happened to be staying.</p>
+
+<p>Yet Sonya appeared almost as anxious as her three companions to reach
+France and the &#8220;Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door.&#8221; This, of course,
+was because the three girls had talked of it so continuously and the
+longed for meeting with Eugenia again. For somehow, although the
+farmhouse was in a war-stained country, its name suggested quiet and a
+brooding peace.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, several times, after mentioning Eugenia&#8217;s name, Nona had
+observed Sonya&#8217;s face flush and the expression of her eyes become almost
+apologetic. At first she was unable to understand this and then she
+remembered.</p>
+
+<p>In the early days Eugenia had not liked their friendship with the woman
+who was then calling herself Lady Dorian. Indeed, in Eugenia fashion she
+had frankly stated this fact to the older woman. Now how much less might
+she care for their intimacy <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>with the exiled Russian. Yet Sonya was
+going as an uninvited guest to Eugenia&#8217;s home.</p>
+
+<p>There had been no time to ask permission. It was true Barbara had
+written the entire story to Eugenia as soon as Sonya Valesky was
+released from prison. But one could not tell whether the letter would
+reach France as soon as the four travelers.</p>
+
+<p>Nona felt that she would have given a great deal to have assured Sonya
+of Eugenia&#8217;s welcome, but she was nervous over the situation herself.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, Eugenia would be kind to the exiled woman and offer her
+hospitality and care. But Eugenia had rigid views of life and was not
+given to concealing them. It was more than possible that she might let
+Sonya know of her disapproval. Moreover, she might object to Nona&#8217;s own
+championship of Sonya and to her purpose to return with her to the
+United States and there make their future home together.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, no views of Eugenia&#8217;s would interfere with this intention of
+Nona&#8217;s. But the younger girl would be sorry of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>Eugenia&#8217;s disapproval,
+since she too had learned to have the greatest affection and admiration
+for the oldest of the four American Red Cross girls. However, there was
+nothing to do except to wait and meet the situation when the time came.</p>
+
+<p>Actually it was a month between the day of leaving Petrograd and the day
+when the four travelers arrived in southern France in the neighborhood
+of the Chateau d&#8217;Am&#233;lie. But this was because the girls and Sonya had
+spent some little time in London before attempting to cross the channel.</p>
+
+<p>London was a delightful experience for the three American Red Cross
+girls. In some fashion the story of their varied service to the Allied
+cause had reached the London newspapers. For several days there were
+columns devoted to their praise. Later, invitations poured in upon them
+from every direction. Mildred was most conspicuous, since the story of
+her presentation by the Czar with the Cross of St. George was copied
+from the Russian newspapers into the English, and must have ultimately
+reached the United States press.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>But the girls were not thinking of themselves or their work. They
+simply gave themselves up to the pleasure of meeting delightful English
+people and being entertained by them. Sonya would not go about with
+them, but appeared stronger and more content, so there was no point in
+worrying over her.</p>
+
+<p>One of the English women, who was again gracious to the three American
+girls, was the Countess of Sussex, at whose home they had spent a
+week-end on their first arrival in England several years before. Once
+more she invited them to her country home, but this time it was
+impossible for the girls to accept her invitation. However, Nona
+recalled her meeting in the old rose garden near the gardener&#8217;s cottage
+with Lieutenant Robert Hume. She also thought of Lieutenant Hume&#8217;s last
+letter telling her that he had been sent back to England as an exchanged
+prisoner because of his health. But when Nona inquired for the young
+English lieutenant, the Countess&#8217; expression checked further curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly she appeared very unhappy and distressed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>&#8220;Robert is not in England,&#8221; she said hastily. &#8220;He has been sent away to
+try to recover, but we do not dare hope too much.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>At the moment Nona did not feel that she had the courage to ask where
+the young man had gone nor from what he was trying to recover.</p>
+
+<p>Actually it was one afternoon in late February, when the three Red Cross
+girls and Sonya came at last to the village of Le Pretre, near the
+forest of the same name.</p>
+
+<p>There they found old Fran&#184;ois awaiting them in a carriage that must have
+belonged to the Second Empire. It was toward twilight and on a February
+afternoon, yet after the cold of the northern countries where the girls
+had been for the past winter, the atmosphere had the appeal of spring.
+It was not warm, yet there was a gentleness in the air and a suggestion
+of green on the bare branches of the trees.</p>
+
+<p>Fran&#184;ois drove them in state to the little &#8220;Farmhouse with the Blue
+Front Door.&#8221; But this afternoon the door was standing open and on the
+threshold was Madame, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>the Countess, with both white hands extended in
+welcome.</p>
+
+<p>She wore the same black dress and the same point of lace over her white
+hair. And by her side stood Monsieur Le Duc, more solemn and splendid
+than ever and as gravely welcoming of his guests as the Countess
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>Madame explained that Eugenia had been unable to leave the hospital to
+be at home to greet her friends, but hoped to see them in a few days. In
+the meantime they were to feel more than welcome in the farmhouse and in
+the old chateau, when they cared to come to her there.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Countess said good-by and allowed Fran&#184;ois to take her home.
+She knew that her guests were weary and her courtesy was too perfect to
+permit herself the privilege of a longer conversation, no matter how
+much she might be yearning for companionship.</p>
+
+<p>The little house itself was warm and light with welcome. There was a
+fire in the living room and the four beds upstairs smelled of lavender
+and roses.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>The girls took their old rooms, except that Sonya was allotted the
+bedroom that had once been Eugenia&#8217;s.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span><a name="convers" id="convers"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+
+<h3><em>A Poem and a Conversation</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">NOT the next day, but the one following, Barbara and Mildred walked over
+to the old chateau together.</p>
+
+<p>Nona did not go with them, as Sonya did not appear to be well and she
+did not wish to leave her. So she sent a message of explanation to the
+Countess Am&#233;lie, saying that she hoped to be able to call upon her very
+soon.</p>
+
+<p>It chanced that Sonya did not know of Nona&#8217;s decision. She was lying
+down when the girls went away and believed she had the little house to
+herself. Really she was not ill, only tired and perhaps happier than she
+had been in a long time. It is true that she had confessed herself
+defeated and that there was no longer any illusion in her own mind.
+Perhaps so long as she lived, war and not peace would flourish upon the
+earth. But the world learns its lessons in strange <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>and dreadful ways
+and perchance peace might be born in the end from the horror and waste
+of bloodshed.</p>
+
+<p>By and by, when she felt more rested, Sonya got up and went down into
+the old dining room of the farmhouse, which the girls had made into
+their living room. There was a possibility that the fire might be dying
+out and it would be wise to replenish it.</p>
+
+<p>To her surprise Sonya discovered Nona curled up in a chair by the
+window, reading.</p>
+
+<p>The older woman no longer wore black; it had become too depressing in a
+continent where more than half of the women were in mourning. She had on
+a simple frock of a curious Russian blue, made almost like a monk&#8217;s
+cowl, with a heavy blue cord knotted about her waist.</p>
+
+<p>Nona stared at her friend for a moment in silence. It was curious that
+whatever costume Sonya Valesky wore seemed to have been created for her.
+Nona recalled the beauty of her clothes in their first meeting on
+shipboard, yet they held no greater distinction than this simple dress.
+Well, perhaps personality is the strongest force in <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>the world and Sonya
+Valesky&#8217;s distinction, whatever her mistakes, lay in this.</p>
+
+<p>She now walked across the room and put a few of Fran&#184;ois&#8217; precious pine
+logs on the fire.</p>
+
+<p>At this Nona stirred. &#8220;Don&#8217;t trouble to do that, Sonya; I meant to in
+another minute. I thought you were ill upstairs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Sonya shook her head. &#8220;I am not in the least ill and you are please to
+stop worrying about me, Nona. I thought you had gone with your friends
+to the chateau. What has kept you at home?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The younger girl answered vaguely, not caring to confess her real
+motive, since her companion would have been distressed by it.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;If you are all right, Sonya, suppose you stay down here in the living
+room with me. I have just found a wonderful poem in an American magazine
+which I meant to save to read to you. Somehow I think it may comfort
+you. For it shows that there is a big design in this old universe, which
+works itself out somehow, in spite of all the tragedies and failures of
+human beings.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>In a big chair in the half shadow Sonya sat down, folding her hands
+together loosely in her lap. It was a fashion which had come to be
+almost a habit with her recently. Curious that it should express a kind
+of resignation!</p>
+
+<p>Nona began reading at once. &#8220;The poem is called &#8216;At the Last&#8217; and is by
+George Sterling, a Californian, I believe.</p>
+
+<div class="block30">
+
+<p class="noindent">&#8220;Now steel-hoofed War is loosened on the world,<br />
+With rapine and destruction, as the smoke<br />
+From ashen farm and city soils the sky.<br />
+Earth reeks. The camp is where the vineyard was.<br />
+The flocks are gone. The rains are on the hearth,<br />
+And trampled Europe knows the winter near.<br />
+Orchards go down. Home and cathedral fall<br />
+In ruin, and the blackened provinces<br />
+Reach on to drear horizons. Soon the snow<br />
+Shall cover all, and soon be stained with red,<br />
+A quagmire and a shambles, and ere long<br />
+Shall cold and hunger dice for helpless lives.<br />
+So man gone mad, despoils the gentle earth<br />
+And wages war on beauty and on good.<br />
+<br />
+&#8220;And yet I know how brief the reign shall be<br />
+Of Desolation. But a little while,<br />
+And time shall heal the desecrated lands,<br />
+The quenchless fire of life shall take its own,<br />
+The waters of renewal spring again.<br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>Quiet shall come, a flood of verdure clothe<br />
+The fields misused. The vine and tree once more<br />
+Shall bloom beside the trench, and humble roofs<br />
+Cover again the cradle and the bed.<br />
+Yea! Life shall have her way with us, until<br />
+The past is dim with legend, and the days<br />
+That now in nightmare brood upon the world<br />
+Shall fold themselves in purples of romance,<br />
+The peace shall come, so sure as ripples end<br />
+And crystalline tranquillity returns<br />
+Above a pebble cast into a pool.&#8221;<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>When Nona had finished neither she nor her companion made any comment
+for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>Yet when the girl looked across at the older woman for her opinion, she
+discovered that Sonya&#8217;s cheeks had flushed and that her eyes were
+shining.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Thank you, Nona; I shall not forget that,&#8221; she then said, repeating to
+herself, &#8220;&#8216;The peace shall come, so sure as ripples end.&#8217; I suppose the
+trouble is we have not faith and patience enough to believe that love
+and peace must triumph before God&#8217;s plan can be worked out.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then Sonya got up. &#8220;Come, Nona,&#8221; <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>she suggested. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you think it
+would be more agreeable to take a walk. It is really a lovely afternoon
+and I&#8217;ve some things I wish to talk to you about. Besides, I want to see
+the woods you girls have told me of.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>It was delicious outdoors and Nona and Sonya both forgot their serious
+mood of a little while before. One could not be always serious even in
+war times in so lovely a land as southern France. No wonder the French
+nation is gay; it is their method of showing their gratitude for the
+country that gave them birth.</p>
+
+<p>Finally the woman and girl reached the pool in the woods which Nona had
+once named &#8220;the pool of Melisande,&#8221; and Eugenia had afterwards called
+&#8220;the pool of truth.&#8221; However, since in Maeterlinck&#8217;s play Melisande was
+seeking the light in the depth of the water, perhaps after all the two
+titles had almost a similar meaning.</p>
+
+<p>Anyhow, by the pool Sonya chose to make a confession.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you remember, Nona, once long ago, or perhaps it just seems a long
+time to me, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>you and I met a Colonel Dalton, an officer in the British
+army whom I had known before. I think I promised then to tell you of my
+previous acquaintance with him. I had almost forgotten.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona slipped her arm through her companion&#8217;s.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me if you had rather not. We will both have a great deal to
+learn of each other when we go back to the United States to live
+together.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Sonya smiled. &#8220;There is no use waiting. I have never even told you,
+Nona, whether or not I am married. You see, I am often called Madame
+Valesky in Russia, but that is only a courtesy title. I have never
+married. The fact is, I once lived in England for some time and was
+engaged to Colonel Dalton. I think we cared a good deal for each other,
+but he was a soldier and we did not approve of each other&#8217;s views of
+life. So by and by our engagement was broken off, which was probably the
+best thing for us both.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Has Colonel Dalton ever married?&#8221; Nona inquired inconsequentially.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>Her companion shook her head. &#8220;Really, I don&#8217;t know. Suppose we walk on
+now to the hut where your little French girl Nicolete once lived.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>When the two friends reached the hut, Nona Davis exclaimed in amazement:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What on earth has happened? Why, our hut isn&#8217;t a hut any longer; it is
+a charming little house with some one living in it. I am going to knock
+and see who it can be. French people are so courteous, I am sure they
+won&#8217;t mind telling me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nona knocked and the next moment the door was opened by a young French
+woman. For an instant they stared at each other, then kissed in a
+bewilderingly friendly fashion.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Why, Nicolete, I can&#8217;t believe my own eyes!&#8221; Nona protested. &#8220;What are
+you doing back here in your own little house, only it is so changed that
+I would scarcely have recognized it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Nicolete&#8217;s dark eyes shone and the vivid color flooded her face.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am married,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;You remember Monsieur Renay, whom
+Mademoiselle <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>Barbara named &#8216;Monsieur Beb&#233;?&#8217; Well,&#8221; Nicolete laughed
+bewitchingly, &#8220;he is my husband.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And is he&#8212;&#8212;&#8221; Nona asked and hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>Nicolete shook her head. &#8220;He can tell the light from the darkness, and
+now and then can see me moving in the shadow. Some day, the doctors say,
+his sight may be fully restored. He has seen the best specialists.
+Madame Eugeni&#233; sent us both to Paris. She it was who made us a home here
+in the woods out of the old hut, so that my husband might have the fresh
+air and grow strong to aid his recovery.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Madame Eugeni&#233;,&#8221; it was a pretty title and one that Eugenia would
+probably always have in this French country, which had so long known the
+old Countess as Madame Castaigne.</p>
+
+<p>When Barbara and Mildred returned from the chateau Nona sincerely hoped
+they would bring news of Eugenia&#8217;s arrival, since she was growing more
+than anxious to see her again.</p>
+
+<p class="noindent"><a href="#contents">Back to contents</a></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span><a name="reunion" id="reunion"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+
+<h3><em>The Reunion</em></h3>
+
+
+<p class="cap">IN truth, Barbara and Mildred were having a delightful afternoon at the
+Chateau d&#8217;Am&#233;lie.</p>
+
+<p>When they arrived, solemnly Fran&#184;ois invited them into the old French
+drawing room they so well remembered.</p>
+
+<p>But here, instead of the slender, tiny figure of the old Countess
+appearing to greet them, a tall, dark young woman came forward, whose
+hair was wound about her head like a coronet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Eugenia!&#8221; Barbara exclaimed, and straightway shed several tears, while
+Eugenia and Mildred laughed at her.</p>
+
+<p>Then the three girls went over and sat down on the same Louis XIV sofa
+that two of them had once occupied with young Captain Castaigne, on
+their first visit to the chateau.</p>
+
+<p>This time Eugenia took the place of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>honor in the center, while each
+hand clasped one of her companions.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Henri and I arrived just an hour ago,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;He found he
+could get a three days leave to come with me. Of course, I wished to
+rush off to the farmhouse before I even got my traveling things off. But
+since I am a much managed woman these days, I was made to wait until you
+came here. I have been expecting you every minute. Now tell me about
+Nona and Madame Valesky.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>This time it was Barbara who laughed. The idea of Eugenia&#8217;s being
+managed instead of managing other people was amusing. Besides, it was
+unlike her to talk so fast and ask so many questions without giving one
+time to reply.</p>
+
+<p>So Barbara only held closer to her friend&#8217;s hand and looked at her,
+leaving Mildred the opportunity for answering.</p>
+
+<p>It was still early in the afternoon and the sunshine flooded the
+beautiful drawing room. It was strange to see how at home Eugenia seemed
+to look and feel in it, when a little more than a year before <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span>she and
+the old room had been so antagonistic.</p>
+
+<p>Eugenia had changed. In the first place, she wore this afternoon a
+lovely costume of violet crepe, trimmed in old gold brocade. It was a
+costume that must have been specially designed for Eugenia, so perfectly
+did it suit her rather stately beauty and dark, clear coloring. This
+turned out to be true, since Eugenia a short time before had discovered
+a little French dressmaker, whom the war had rendered penniless, and
+given her work to do.</p>
+
+<p>Now, even while Mildred was talking of Nona and Sonya, the drawing room
+door opened and Captain Castaigne and his mother came in.</p>
+
+<p>Monsieur Le Duc accompanied them, but promptly deserted his former
+master and mistress and padded over to Eugenia, placing his great silver
+head on her lap and gazing at her with adoration.</p>
+
+<p>Captain Castaigne and his mother followed to greet their guests. In his
+hand the young officer carried a number of letters which he gave at once
+to Barbara and Mildred.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>&#8220;These just arrived at the chateau for you; they are American letters
+and so I am sure you will be pleased.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Mildred&#8217;s were from her mother and father and Barbara had received three
+from Dick in this same mail, and another which looked as if it might be
+the long-expected letter from Mrs. Thornton.</p>
+
+<p>After ten minutes of conversation, it was Captain Castaigne who proposed
+that their guests might be allowed to read their letters without waiting
+to return home. It was not difficult to guess at their impatience, since
+it must have been a long time since they had heard from home.</p>
+
+<p>Then he and Eugenia crossed over to the other side of the room and stood
+by the fireplace. Le Duc went with them and Eugenia kept one hand on the
+dog&#8217;s head.</p>
+
+<p>Now and then she smiled over something Captain Castaigne said to her,
+then again she looked at him with the anxious gravity that was a part of
+Eugenia&#8217;s character. The war had made the young French officer older,
+love and marriage had apparently taken ten years from Eugenia&#8217;s age.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>Plainly a beautiful understanding existed between the husband and wife,
+in spite of the differences in their natures, which would survive to the
+end.</p>
+
+<p>For when Captain Castaigne suddenly lifted his wife&#8217;s hand and kissed
+it, it was like Eugenia to blush and whisper a protest, at which the
+young officer only laughed.</p>
+
+<p>Over by the window Barbara and Mildred were really too busy with their
+letters to notice what was taking place. Madame Castaigne had gone out
+of the room for the instant to speak to Fran&#184;ois.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, Barbara had read Dick&#8217;s letters first. She could only read
+them hastily, for Dick had written to say that he had a fine position
+with a big real estate office in New York City, and enough salary for
+two persons to live upon, in a tiny apartment on the west side. Barbara
+was to come home at once, else Dick would probably lose his job by
+deserting to fetch her. Also the letter from Mrs. Thornton was cheering.
+Whatever it may have been, something had occurred to change that lady&#8217;s
+state of mind. Perhaps it was her anxiety <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>about Mildred in the days
+when she knew nothing of her daughter&#8217;s fate except that Mildred had
+stayed behind at Grovno until the hour of the final surrender of the
+Russian fort.</p>
+
+<p>For Mrs. Thornton had written to Barbara to say that she would be most
+happy to welcome her as Dick&#8217;s wife, and the dearest wish of her heart
+was to have her two daughters safe at home in New York City as soon as
+they were able to return.</p>
+
+<p>Mildred&#8217;s letters were much of the same character, and the two girls had
+only barely finished them when Fran&#184;ois appeared bearing coffee and
+cakes.</p>
+
+<p>Then the little party talked on until nearly dusk.</p>
+
+<p>At last, when Barbara and Mildred felt compelled to leave, Eugenia
+proposed that she and Captain Castaigne walk over to the farmhouse with
+them. She did not feel that she could wait for another day before seeing
+Nona.</p>
+
+<p>Nona and Sonya had just been in a few moments and taken off their wraps
+when the others arrived. And Nona need have <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>felt no nervousness over
+Eugenia&#8217;s attitude toward Sonya. Many things had happened to broaden
+Eugenia&#8217;s point of view since her arrival in Europe to act as a Red
+Cross nurse. Besides, few persons could fail to feel anything but
+sympathy and admiration for the beautiful Russian woman, whose life had
+come so near closing in tragedy.</p>
+
+<p>There was not a great deal of food at the farmhouse, nevertheless
+Eugenia and Captain Castaigne remained to dinner.</p>
+
+<p>Barbara and Mildred retired to act as cooks, while Eugenia and Sonya
+fell to talking together, and Nona and Captain Castaigne.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of their talk Nona remembered to inquire for Lieutenant
+Hume, who was Captain Castaigne&#8217;s friend. At last she might be able to
+hear real news of the young British officer.</p>
+
+<p>By good fortune Captain Castaigne had received a letter written by him
+in the same post that had brought Barbara&#8217;s and Mildred&#8217;s letters.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Lieutenant Hume had gone to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>United States and was living at the
+present time in Florida. He had appeared to have contracted a fatal
+illness during his imprisonment, but his letter had said he was feeling
+ever so much better.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t say how glad I am,&#8221; Captain Castaigne continued. &#8220;There was
+never a braver fellow in the world than Robert Hume. And besides, if he
+should happen to die just now, it would be particularly hard on his
+family. You see, Hume&#8217;s older brother, the one with the title, has just
+been killed in the Dardanelles. Robert Hume is Lord Hume now, I believe,
+and the English think more of titles than we do in Republican France,&#8221;
+the French officer concluded.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But I thought,&#8221; Nona commented stupidly, &#8220;that Lieutenant Hume was a
+gardener&#8217;s son and had been educated by friends who were interested in
+him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then Nona stopped, because Captain Castaigne was half smiling and half
+frowning over her information. Moreover, Nona suddenly remembered that
+what she was saying was founded partly on information and the rest on
+her own fancy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>&#8220;Lieutenant Hume told me he was the gardener&#8217;s son,&#8221; she protested, &#8220;or
+at least he called the gardener&#8217;s wife &#8216;Mother Susan.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Eugenia had suddenly spoken her husband&#8217;s name and Captain Castaigne had
+gotten up to go over to her.</p>
+
+<p>However, he stopped long enough to expostulate. &#8220;That was an
+extraordinary idea of yours, Miss Davis. Hume was only talking of his
+old nurse. His mother died when he was a baby and she brought him up. I
+have heard him speak of &#8216;Mother Susan&#8217; myself. The Countess you visited
+in Surrey is a cousin of Hume&#8217;s, I think, and the old nurse and her
+husband live there. Hume was having Mother Susan nurse him when you met,
+I expect. Hope you two may see each other some day in the United States
+and laugh over that impression of yours, Miss Davis,&#8221; Captain Castaigne
+concluded, as he walked over to his wife&#8217;s side.</p>
+
+<p>At midnight Captain Castaigne and Eugenia went back to the chateau,
+walking hand-in-hand like children through <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>the woods. There was no
+fighting these days in this particular portion of southern France and in
+the peace of the night one could almost forget that the world was at
+war.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;You will miss your friends when they return to their own country,
+Eugenia,&#8221; Captain Castaigne suggested.</p>
+
+<p>Eugenia nodded. &#8220;Yes, they will be gone, I believe, in another month.
+But we will go over ourselves some day, Henri, and perhaps you may learn
+to care for my country as I do for yours.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and think of the service I shall owe her for the work the American
+Red Cross has done for France!&#8221; the young officer concluded, and in the
+darkness lifted his cap for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Whatever Lafayette did for you in the cause of freedom, your land has
+now fully repaid.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">THE END</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class="block28 box2">
+
+<p class="center pad"><big>BOOKS BY MARGARET VANDERCOOK</big></p>
+
+<p class="center pad">THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES</p>
+
+<p class="smcap hang">The Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Ranch Girls&#8217; Pot of Gold</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Ranch Girls at Boarding School</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Ranch Girls in Europe</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Ranch Girls at Home Again</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Ranch Girls and their Great Adventure</p>
+
+
+<p class="center pad">THE RED CROSS GIRLS SERIES</p>
+
+<p class="smcap hang">The Red Cross Girls in the British Trenches</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Red Cross Girls on the French Firing Line</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Red Cross Girls in Belgium</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Red Cross Girls with the Italian Army</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Red Cross Girls Under the Stars and Stripes</p>
+
+<p class="center pad">STORIES ABOUT CAMP FIRE GIRLS</p>
+
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls at Sunrise Hill</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls Amid the Snows</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls in the Outside World</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls Across the Sea</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls&#8217; Careers</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls in After Years</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls in the Desert</p>
+<p class="smcap hang">The Camp Fire Girls at the End of The Trail</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/inside2.jpg" class="jpg2" width="600" height="449" alt="Inside front cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Cross Girls with the Russian
+Army, by Margaret Vandercook
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ***
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+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army, by
+Margaret Vandercook
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army
+
+Author: Margaret Vandercook
+
+Release Date: July 18, 2007 [EBook #22095]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RED CROSS GIRLS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Linda McKeown, Jacqueline Jeremy
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY
+
+[Illustration: BARBARA PRESENTED HIM WITH THE ELECTRIC LAMP.
+(_See page 150._)]
+
+
+
+
+  The Red Cross Girls with the Russian Army
+
+  By
+  MARGARET VANDERCOOK
+
+  Author of "The Ranch Girls Series," "Stories
+  about Camp Fire Girls Series," etc.
+
+  Illustrated
+
+  The John C. Winston Company
+  Philadelphia
+
+  Copyright, 1916, by
+  THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+  CHAPTER                              PAGE
+
+      I. A PEASANT'S HUT IN RUSSIA        7
+
+     II. A FORMER ACQUAINTANCE           23
+
+    III. GENERAL ALEXIS                  37
+
+     IV. AN ENCOUNTER                    53
+
+      V. OUT OF THE PAST                 67
+
+     VI. THE ARREST                      80
+
+    VII. A RUSSIAN CHURCH                92
+
+   VIII. ANOTHER WARNING                104
+
+     IX. THE ATTACK                     118
+
+      X. MILDRED'S OPPORTUNITY          134
+
+     XI. A RUSSIAN RETREAT              148
+
+    XII. PETROGRAD                      158
+
+   XIII. THE NEXT STEP                  174
+
+    XIV. MILDRED'S RETURN               191
+
+     XV. THE WINTER PALACE              206
+
+    XVI. THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS         217
+
+   XVII. THE DEPARTURE                  236
+
+  XVIII. A POEM AND A CONVERSATION      247
+
+    XIX. THE REUNION                    256
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_A Peasant's Hut in Russia_
+
+
+In the last volume of the Red Cross series the four American girls spent
+six months in tragic little Belgium. There, in an American hospital in
+Brussels, devoted to the care, not of wounded soldiers, but of ill
+Belgians, three of the girls lived and worked.
+
+But Eugenia went alone to dwell in a house in the woods because the cry
+of the children in Belgium made the strongest appeal to her. The house
+was a lonely one, supposed to be haunted, yet in spite of this Eugenia
+moved in. There the money of the girl whom her friend had once believed
+"poor as a church mouse" fed and cared for her quickly acquired family.
+
+In Eugenia's haunted house were other sojourners furnishing the mystery
+of this story and endangering her liberty, almost her life. They were a
+Belgian officer and his family whom the Red Cross girl kept in hiding.
+Somehow the officer had managed to return to his own country from the
+fighting line in Belgium. After securing the papers he desired from the
+enemy, by Eugenia's aid, he was enabled to return once more to King
+Albert and the Allied armies. Thus Eugenia was left alone to bear the
+brunt of the German displeasure after the discovery of her misdeeds. She
+was imprisoned in Brussels, and became dangerously ill. Finally, because
+she was an American, Eugenia was made to leave the country, rather than
+to suffer the punishment which would have been hers had she belonged to
+another nationality.
+
+But the four American Red Cross girls also had the companionship of Dick
+Thornton during their stay in the once lovely capital of Belgium.
+
+Dick had not recovered the use of his arm, but in spite of this had come
+to Brussels to help with the work of the American Relief society.
+
+Here his once friendly relation with Barbara Meade no longer existed.
+Because of her change of attitude he apparently grew more attached to
+Nona Davis.
+
+However, at the close of the story, when Barbara is taking Eugenia back
+to southern France, she and Dick unexpectedly meet aboard a fog-bound
+ship. And in the darkness the light finally shines when Dick and Barbara
+discover at last that their feeling for each other is stronger than
+friendship.
+
+Later, near "the pool of truth" not far from the "Farmhouse with the
+Blue Front Door," Eugenia Peabody again meets Captain Henri Castaigne,
+the young French officer whom she had once nursed back to health. A
+short time afterwards he and Eugenia are married.
+
+Later the three other American Red Cross girls decide to continue their
+nursing of the wounded soldiers of the Allied armies in far-off Russia.
+
+One cold October afternoon three American girls were standing in the
+stone courtyard of a great Russian fortress near the border line of
+Poland.
+
+Situated upon a cone-shaped hill, the fort itself had been built like
+the three sides of a square, with the yard as the center. Along the
+fourth side ran a cement wall with a single iron gate.
+
+Evidently the three girls were engaged in Red Cross work, for they wore
+the familiar service uniforms. One of them had on a heavy coat and cap,
+but the other two must have just come out of doors for a few moments.
+
+Indeed, their first words revealed this fact.
+
+"I really don't feel that you should be starting upon this expedition
+alone, Nona," Mildred Thornton argued. She was a tall girl, with heavy,
+flaxen hair and quiet, steel-gray eyes. She was gazing anxiously about
+her, for Russia was a new and strange world to the three American Red
+Cross nurses, who had arrived at their present headquarters only a few
+weeks before.
+
+Nearly a year had passed since the four friends separated in Belgium.
+Then Mildred and Nona Davis had remained at their posts to care for the
+homeless Belgian children, while Barbara Meade and Eugenia Peabody
+returned to southern France.
+
+Now at the close of Mildred Thornton's speech to Nona, Barbara Meade
+frowned. She was poised on one foot as if expecting to flee at any
+moment.
+
+"I quite agree with you, Mildred," she protested. "Nona's message was
+far too mysterious and vague to consider answering. We must not forget
+that we are now in a country and among a people whom we don't understand
+in the least. Besides, I promised both Dick and Eugenia that we would be
+more careful. How I wish one or the other of them were here to advise
+us!"
+
+Shivering, Barbara, who was the youngest and smallest of the girls,
+slipped her arm through Mildred's.
+
+A few yards before them sentries were marching slowly up and down, with
+their rifles resting on their shoulders, while a double row guarded a
+single wide gate. Every now and then a common soldier passed on his way
+to the performance of some special duty. Gray and colorless, the
+afternoon had a peculiar dampness as if the wind had blown across acres
+of melting snow.
+
+Nevertheless in reply to her friends' objections Nona Davis shook her
+head.
+
+"Yes, I realize you may both be right, and yet so urgent was my message
+that I feel compelled to do what was asked of me. But don't worry about
+me, I have the letter with the directions safe in my pocket. Good-by."
+
+Then before either of the other girls could find time to argue the point
+a second time, the young southern girl had kissed each of them and
+turned away. Later they saw her give the password at the gate and the
+sentry allow her to pass out.
+
+Before her lay a stretch of sparsely settled country divided by a wide
+and much traveled road. Several miles further along a wide river crossed
+the land, but near at hand there were only small farms and meagre clumps
+of pine woods.
+
+After a few more words of disapproval, Barbara Meade shrugged her
+shoulders, and then she and Mildred re-entered the small curved doorway
+of the Russian fort. The left wing was being used as a hospital for the
+wounded, while the rest of the great fortification was crowded with
+officers and soldiers.
+
+These men were being held in reserve to await the threatened invasion of
+the oncoming German hosts. Warsaw had fallen and one by one the ancient
+Russian fortifications once deemed invincible had given way before the
+German guns. But here at Grovno, under the command of the great General
+Alexis, the Russians were to make a final stand.
+
+However, without thinking of anything save personal matters, Nona Davis
+first set out along the main traveled road. Now and then she was
+compelled to step aside to let a great ox cart go past; these carts
+were filled with provisions being brought into the fort. Occasionally a
+covered car rattled past loaded with munitions of war, or a heavy piece
+of artillery drawn on low trucks. But one would like to have seen a far
+greater quantity of supplies of all kinds being brought to the old
+fortress. It was an open secret that the supply of munitions was not
+what it should be, and yet Grovno was expected to withstand all attacks.
+
+But the young American girl was not reflecting upon the uncertainties of
+war during her walk. Neither did she feel any nervousness because of the
+newness of her surroundings, for the country in the rear of the
+fortifications was chiefly inhabited by Russian women and children and a
+few old men.
+
+Nona walked on quickly and with a speed and careless grace that covered
+the ground without apparent effort.
+
+She was looking extremely well, but above all other things Nona Davis
+appeared supremely interested. For some reason, still unknown to her,
+she had been more stirred and excited by the coming into Russia than any
+country she had yet seen. She both admired and feared the Russian
+people, with their curious combination of poetry and stupidity, of
+dullness and passion. Before returning to her own land she meant to try
+and understand them better. For somewhere she had read that the future
+art of the world was to come forth from Russia. It is the Slavic
+temperament and not the Anglo-Saxon that best expresses itself in music
+and literature.
+
+Nona's errand this afternoon was a curious and puzzling one, fraught
+with unnecessary mystery.
+
+Four days before, a Russian boy about twelve years old had appeared at
+the gate of the fortress at Grovno, bearing a note addressed to Miss
+Nona Davis. Oddly enough, although the note was written in perfect
+English, it was not signed. In spite of this it requested that the
+American girl come to a small house about a mile and a half away to see
+a former friend.
+
+But who the friend could be, not one of the three girls could imagine.
+Yet they scarcely talked of anything else. Nona had no acquaintances in
+Russia save the people she had met in connection with her work, and
+there was no one in her past whom she could possibly conceive of having
+come into Russia as a tourist at such a time.
+
+Therefore it was Mildred Thornton's and Barbara Meade's opinion that
+Nona should pay not the slightest heed to such a communication.
+Anonymous letters lead to nothing but evil. But in spite of their
+objections, here at the first possible opportunity Nona was obeying the
+behest. Probably she could not have explained why, for she was too
+sensible not to appreciate that possible discomfort and even danger
+might lie ahead of her. Perhaps as much as anything she was actuated by
+a spirit of sheer adventure.
+
+So it is little wonder that during her walk Nona's thoughts were now and
+then engaged with her own affairs. Yet after a little her attention
+wandered from the immediate future and she fell to recalling the
+history of the past years' experiences, her own and her three friends.
+
+No wonder Barbara was often lonely and homesick for Dick Thornton.
+
+She had become engaged to him on the fog-bound trip she had made with
+him in getting Eugenia safely out of Belgium. Remembering Eugenia's
+escape, Nona said a short prayer of thankfulness. After her hiding of
+the Belgian officer and his family from the German authorities, she
+would never have been allowed to leave Belgium unpunished had she not
+been an American woman. Remembering the fate of the English girl who
+had committed the same crime, Nona appreciated how much they had to be
+thankful for.
+
+And now Eugenia was married to Captain Castaigne, the young French
+officer. Curious that among the four of them who had come from the
+United States to do Red Cross work among the Allies, Eugenia should
+be the first to marry! She, a New England old maid, disapproving of
+matrimony and, above all, of international marriages!
+
+Yet the wedding had taken place in the previous spring at the little
+French "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door," where the four girls had
+spent the most cheerful months since their arrival in Europe for the
+war nursing.
+
+Only once had Nona and Mildred deserted their posts in Belgium, where
+they had continued Eugenia's work of caring for the homeless Belgian
+children. Then they had gone to attend her wedding, but had returned
+to Belgium as soon as possible.
+
+But Eugenia and Captain Castaigne had taken scarcely more time for
+their own honeymoon.
+
+Soon after the ceremony Captain Castaigne had gone to rejoin his
+regiment and three days after Eugenia had become a member of the
+staff of a French hospital near her husband's line of trenches.
+
+So it turned out that Barbara Meade was left at the Chateau d'Amelie,
+as Madame Castaigne's friend and companion. Dick Thornton boarded in
+the village near by, so that he and Barbara had a number of happy
+months together.
+
+But Dick had finally decided that he must return to America and had
+urged Barbara and his sister Mildred to return with him. Of course,
+Nona had been invited to accompany them, but no special pressure had
+been brought upon her.
+
+However, Mildred did not feel that her Red Cross work in Europe was
+finished, while Barbara refused to desert her friends.
+
+But Barbara had another reason for her decision: she desired Dick to
+be alone when he confessed their engagement to his mother and father.
+Barbara had little fear of Judge Thornton's disapproval, but felt
+reasonably convinced that Mrs. Thornton would be both disappointed
+and aggrieved. Certainly she had never hesitated to announce that
+she expected her son Dick to make a brilliant match. How could she
+then be satisfied with a western girl of no wealth or distinction?
+
+It happened that Dick Thornton also had a private reason for finally
+agreeing to Barbara's wish. His experiences in the past two years had
+given him a new point of view toward life. No longer was he willing to
+be known only as his father's son and to continue being supported by
+him. Before Dick married he intended making a position for himself, so
+as to be able to take care of his own wife.
+
+Nona also recalled that she was really responsible for their coming into
+Russia. It had seemed to her that they must make their Red Cross work
+complete by nursing in the largest of the Allied countries.
+
+However, Nona had now to cease her reflections, for she had come to a
+place in the road where she had been told to turn aside.
+
+To make sure the girl opened her note and re-read it for probably the
+tenth time. Yes, here were the three pine trees, green shadows against
+the autumn sky, and here also was the narrow path that began alongside
+of them.
+
+After another fifteen minutes' walk Nona discovered that she was
+approaching a hut of the poorest character. It was built of logs,
+with mud roughly filling up a number of cracks.
+
+Already Nona was learning to understand that the Russian poor are
+perhaps the poorest people in the world. This hut was not so
+poverty-stricken as many others she had seen; at least, there
+were two windows and a front door.
+
+Outside a hungry dog prowled about, showing not the slightest interest
+in the newcomer. Yet Nona was vaguely frightened. She stopped for a
+moment to reflect. Should she go in or not? The place looked ugly and
+depressing and she could see no signs of human beings.
+
+Yet perhaps there was illness inside the house and she had been sent for
+to give aid. If that were true she must not hesitate.
+
+As Nona lifted her hand to knock at the door, suddenly it occurred to
+her as curious that the note she had received had been written upon
+extremely fine paper and in a handwriting which revealed breeding and
+education. Yet this peasant's hut suggested neither the one nor the
+other.
+
+But Nona was more mystified than fearful since her Red Cross uniform was
+her protection, and these were not days when one dared think of
+oneself.
+
+She knocked quietly but firmly on the wooden door.
+
+The next moment the heavy bar was slipped aside. Then Nona saw a woman
+of about thirty-five, dressed in the costume of a Russian peasant,
+standing with both hands outstretched toward her.
+
+"My dear," she began in perfect English, "this is better fortune than I
+dreamed, to find you once again, and in Russia, of all countries!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_A Former Acquaintance_
+
+
+"But," Nona began, and then hesitated, feeling extraordinarily puzzled.
+The face of the woman before her was oddly familiar, although she could
+not at the instant recall where or when she had known her.
+
+Yet she remembered the deep blue-gray eyes with their perfectly penciled
+dark brows and lashes, even the rather sad expression of them. However,
+she must be mistaken, since she could have no acquaintance in Russia!
+
+However, she allowed herself to be quietly led inside the hut, where the
+door was immediately closed behind her. Then the girl followed the woman
+inside a bare chamber, furnished with only a few chairs and a rough
+table. In an upper corner hung an ikon, the Russian image of the Christ.
+The face of the Christ was painted in brilliant colors set inside a
+brass square and this square enclosed in a dark wooden frame.
+
+The ikon is to the Russian who is a Greek Catholic what the crucifix is
+to the Roman Catholic. No orthodox Russian home is ever without one.
+
+But after the first glance, Nona Davis gave no further consideration to
+her surroundings. Before her companion could speak the second time she
+had suddenly recognized her.
+
+"Why, Lady Dorian, what has brought you to Russia? You are the last
+person I expected to see! Since our meeting on board the 'Philadelphia'
+and your stay at the Sacred Heart Hospital I have so often wondered what
+had become of you, and if you were well and happy. You promised to write
+me."
+
+"Then you have not forgotten me?" Before saying anything more the older
+woman found a chair for her guest and another for herself.
+
+"No, I have not written you, but I have thought of you many times and
+have followed your history more closely than you dream," she returned
+quietly, yet with evident earnestness. "I have been well and I suppose
+as happy as most people. How can any human being be anything but
+wretched during this tragic war? If only we might have peace!"
+
+Lady Dorian's face became white and drawn and Nona felt that she had
+aged a great deal since their first meeting, and indeed since the months
+they had spent as fellow workers for the British soldiers at the Sacred
+Heart Hospital. Nevertheless she still felt strangely attracted toward
+her companion, although mingled with the attraction was a new and
+uncomfortable feeling of distrust.
+
+Lady Dorian had come to the hospital cleared of the charge made against
+her on board the "Philadelphia" of being a spy. Yet she had never given
+any explanation of her history. Then had followed her surprising meeting
+with the British officer, Colonel Dalton, and their betrayal of a former
+acquaintanceship. Although the older woman had promised to explain their
+connection later, she had only said that they had once known each other
+rather intimately in London. But as they were friends no longer, she
+preferred not speaking of him again.
+
+All this passed swiftly through Nona's mind while the older woman was
+speaking. But the girl devoutly hoped that her face did not betray
+her thoughts. For here was the most surprising situation of all! Lady
+Dorian had seemed to be a woman of wealth at the beginning of their
+acquaintance and certainly had given a large sum of money to the
+Sacred Heart Hospital. Now to find her dressed as a peasant and
+living in a peasant's hut in Russia!
+
+Her skirt was of some cheap black material and her bodice of velveteen,
+laced with black cords over a white cotton waist. She also wore a
+Russian peasant's apron of brighter colors.
+
+Yet Nona recognized the older woman's beauty and distinction in spite of
+her costume, even while her present circumstances and her eccentricities
+antagonized her visitor.
+
+The woman was sitting with her level brows drawn together looking
+closely at the younger girl.
+
+"I am sorry you don't seem to feel your former faith in me, Nona," she
+began unexpectedly. "Not that I blame you, for I do not know myself
+whether it is wise for me to have intruded into your life again. I would
+not have done so if there had not been a reason more important than you
+can appreciate."
+
+For a moment the girl's attention had been wandering, engaged by the
+oddness of her surroundings, but now she tried to conceal her growing
+discomfort. Lady Dorian was appearing more mysterious than ever! If she
+desired to renew their acquaintance because they had formerly liked each
+other, that was a sufficient reason for her summons. It was scarcely
+worth while to try to produce other motives.
+
+But Lady Dorian had gotten up and now stood facing her.
+
+"What I am going to tell you is extraordinary, Nona, although life is
+too full of strange happenings to make us wonder at anything. In the
+first place, will you please cease to call me _Lady Dorian_, for that is
+not my name. Nor is it remarkable for you to discover me living in
+Russia, because I am a Russian by birth. I have not always made my home
+in my own country, but that makes no difference, since my love and
+sympathy have always been with my own people. Here I am only known as
+'Sonya.' But I do not wish to speak of myself, but of you. I have a
+strong reason for my interest in you, Nona, for although you may find it
+hard to believe, I once knew your mother."
+
+"Knew my mother?" The young American girl scarcely understood what was
+being said. She was so many thousands of miles both in fact and in
+thought from her own home and her own history. She could not believe
+that her companion was telling the truth. In any case she was merely
+mistaking her for some one else.
+
+So Nona shook her head gravely. "I am sorry, but I don't think that
+possible," she explained. "My mother was a southern woman, who lived
+very quietly in an old-fashioned city. I can't see how your lives could
+ever have touched."
+
+Until this instant Nona had remained seated with her former friend
+standing before her.
+
+She did not realize how much she showed her resentment at this use of
+her mother's name. Now she made an effort to rise from her chair.
+
+"I am very happy to have seen you again," she protested in the formal
+manner which Barbara Meade sometimes admired and at other times
+resented.
+
+But her companion was not influenced and indeed paid no attention to the
+younger girl's hauteur. She merely put a restraining hand on her
+shoulder, adding,
+
+"It is not worth while for us to argue that point until you hear what I
+have to say. The fact is, I know more of your mother, Nona, than you do
+yourself. For one thing, your mother was also a Russian. She was older
+than I, but we were together at one time in the United States. She went
+to visit in New Orleans and there met your father and married. I knew
+she had a daughter by your name, but curiously when I first met you on
+board the steamer your name conveyed nothing to me. Perhaps the last
+thing I expected was to find the daughter of your father, General Robert
+Davis, serving as a Red Cross nurse. He was a conservative of the old
+school, and I supposed would never have allowed you to leave home. But
+after we came together again and I met you for the second time at the
+Sacred Heart Hospital, I began to think of what association I had with
+your name. Soon I remembered and then I endeavored to discover your
+history. There was a chance that the name had no connection with the
+girl I sought. But it was simple enough to make the discovery."
+
+"Simple enough to make the discovery!" Stupidly Nona Davis repeated the
+words aloud, because they puzzled her. Then it occurred to her that the
+woman before her was so associated with mysteries that a family problem
+must be comparatively simple. Doubtless she had been able to discover
+more of Nona's mother's history than she herself had ever found out.
+
+But Nona was by no means pleased with the thought of an association
+between her own people and Lady Dorian, who had just frankly confessed
+that this name had been an assumed one.
+
+Nor did she wish to go into the subject of her family connection with so
+uncomfortable a stranger. First she wished to have time to think the
+situation over and to try to make it clearer to her own mind. Then she
+wished to discuss it with Mildred and Barbara.
+
+The girl glanced at the old-fashioned watch belonging to her father,
+which she always wore. In the back it held her mother's picture, but not
+for worlds would she have revealed this fact at the moment.
+
+Curious that she should feel this extreme distrust of her companion,
+when she had been her ardent defender in their earlier acquaintance! But
+then she had never expected to be drawn into any intimacy with her.
+
+Besides, Russia was an incomprehensible country. The class distinctions
+which had so impressed her in England were as nothing to the differences
+in rank here.
+
+Russia, in truth, seemed a land of princes and paupers! To a girl of
+Nona Davis' ideas and training, to find herself associated with the
+lower orders of Russian society was distinctly disagreeable. She had
+lived so long on the tradition of family that social position seemed of
+first importance.
+
+Now her former acquaintance was living in a peasant's house and was
+dressed like a peasant woman. Some strange change must have taken place
+in her life to reduce her to such a position, when previously she had
+given the impression of wealth and distinction.
+
+Nona got up hurriedly, drawing her coat about her. Later perhaps she
+might be willing to hear what the other woman wished to confide, but not
+today.
+
+Yet Nona felt that she did not wish to look into her companion's eyes.
+She must try not to think of her any longer as Lady Dorian, though
+"Sonya" was an exquisite Russian name, it certainly gave no clue to her
+identity.
+
+However, she could not fail to see that the other woman's expression
+revealed surprise and sorrow at her attitude, but was without
+resentment. It was as if she had grown accustomed to distrust and
+coldness.
+
+"I am sorry you don't wish me to speak of your mother, Nona. It is true
+I can give you no explanation of the change in my surroundings, but the
+present need not affect the past. I know that your father has kept your
+mother's story a secret from you. Yet there is nothing in it of which
+you may not be proud, that is, if you have the nature which I have hoped
+to find in you."
+
+Embarrassed and yet determined not to listen any further, Nona continued
+obstinately walking toward the door, with Sonya quietly following her.
+
+"Will you wait a moment, please?" the older woman asked. "I have two
+friends here in the house with me, whom I would like you to meet. When
+you talk me over with Mildred and Barbara to find out their opinion of
+me and of what I have tried to tell you, you can explain to them that I
+am not alone. I realize that I have always been a mystifying
+acquaintance and I'm sorry, but it is not possible to tell you my
+history at present. Some day I may be able to explain."
+
+Sonya's tone was half grave and half gay. Moreover, her blue eyes with
+their curiously dark brows and lashes watched the younger girl with an
+almost wistful affection.
+
+The situation was more than puzzling. Yet, although she grew more
+anxious each minute to be away, Nona could only agree to her companion's
+request.
+
+For a moment she was left alone in the crude, bare room. It was
+cheerless and cold and she grew even more uncomfortable. Surely, Russia
+was the strangest land in the world. How could her history as a young
+American girl have any connection with it? Why had she so insisted upon
+continuing her Red Cross nursing in Russia, when without her urging the
+other Red Cross girls would have been content to remain where they were?
+
+The next moment a very old woman and a man came into the room with
+Sonya. There was no doubting they were both peasants. With them it was
+not merely a matter of rough clothes. They were both heavily built,
+with stupid, sad faces and they mumbled something in broken English when
+they were introduced to Nona, eyeing her with suspicion. It was only
+when their gaze rested upon Sonya that their faces changed. Then it was
+as though a light had shone through darkness.
+
+Sonya introduced them by name, some queer Russian name which Nona could
+not grasp.
+
+However, she was trying her best to find something civil to say in
+return, which they might be able to understand, when an unexpected noise
+interrupted them.
+
+Some one had unceremoniously opened the door in the hall and was walking
+toward them.
+
+For an instant Nona thought she saw a shade of anxiety cross the faces
+of her three companions, but the next instant it was gone.
+
+Nona could scarcely swallow a gasp of surprised admiration when, soon
+after, the door opened.
+
+A young Russian soldier entered the room. He wore the uniform of a
+Cossack: the high boots, the fur cap and tunic.
+
+To Nona Davis' American eyes the young man seemed a typical Russian of
+the better classes. He was extremely handsome, more than six feet tall,
+with dark hair and eyes and a colorless skin.
+
+He appeared surprised at Nona's presence, but explained that he was
+stationed at the Russian fort where a number of wounded were being cared
+for. He remembered having seen Nona and her two friends. They were the
+only American nurses in the vicinity, so it was not strange to have
+noticed them.
+
+Michael Orlaff was the soldier's name. Sonya spoke it with distinctness,
+but gave him no title. Yet evidently they knew each other very well.
+
+A moment later and Nona finally got away. She was late and nervous about
+returning to the fortifications alone. Yet as she hurried on she was
+thinking over the afternoon until her head ached with the mystery of it.
+Perhaps it might be wise if she could avoid meeting this particular
+group of people again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_General Alexis_
+
+
+All that day Mildred Thornton had scarcely left the bedside of her
+patient.
+
+For the Russian boy was dying, and as there was no hope for him, Mildred
+could only do her best to make him as comfortable as possible.
+
+Now he seemed half asleep, so with her hands folded in her lap the girl
+sat near him trying to rest, although unable to keep her mind as quiet
+as her hands.
+
+How strange her surroundings! Since her arrival in Europe as a Red Cross
+nurse she had lived and worked in two other countries and certainly had
+passed through remarkable experiences, yet none of them were to be
+compared with these few weeks of nursing in Russia. One might have been
+transferred to another planet instead of another land.
+
+As an ordinary American tourist, Mildred had been familiar with Europe
+for several years, having spent three summers abroad traveling with her
+parents. But this was her first vision of the East, for Russia is
+eastern, however she may count herself otherwise.
+
+The American girl now lifted her eyes from the figure of the dying boy
+and let them wander down the length of the room which sheltered them.
+
+An immense place, it held rows on rows of other cot beds with white-clad
+nurses passing about among them. When they spoke or when the patients
+spoke Mildred could rarely guess what was being said, as she knew so few
+words of Russian. Yet she had little difficulty with her nursing, for
+the ways of the ill are universal and she had already seen so much
+suffering.
+
+Now the hospital room was in half shadow, but it was never light nor
+aired as the American nurse felt it should be.
+
+The hospital quarters were only a portion of the fortress, a great room,
+like a barracks which had been hastily turned into a refuge for the
+wounded.
+
+The long stone chamber boasted only four small windows hardly larger
+than portholes and some distance from the ground. These opened with
+difficulty and were protected by heavy iron bars. But then in Russia in
+many private houses no window is ever voluntarily opened from autumn
+until Easter, as the cold is so intense and the arrangements for heating
+so crude.
+
+Today Mildred wondered if the heavy, sick-laden air was giving her
+extraordinary fancies. She kept seeing dream pictures. For as she stared
+about the cold chamber of sorrow she beheld with greater distinctness
+the image of her own rooms at home.
+
+This was the hour when the maid came to light her yellow-shaded electric
+candles; then she would put a fresh log on the fire and stir it to
+brightness, not because the added warmth was needed in their big
+steam-heated house, but because of the cheerfulness. Then would follow
+her mother's invitation to drink a cup of tea with her and Dick in the
+library, or would she prefer having it served in her own room?
+
+With this thought the girl's eyes clouded for a moment. Doubtless Dick
+and her mother would be having tea together this afternoon and Dick
+would in all probability be trying to explain why his sister was not
+with him. During her work in France and Belgium her mother and father
+had been more than kind, but with this suggestion of coming into Russia
+to continue her nursing both her parents had protested.
+
+It is true that they had not actually demanded her presence at home, for
+she would not have disobeyed a command. But undoubtedly they had urged
+her homecoming.
+
+Her father longed for her because of the rare affection between them and
+the fact that he dreaded the conditions and experiences that might await
+her and her friends in Russia. For these same reasons her mother also
+desired her return, yet Mildred knew that there was another motive
+actuating her mother. She might be unconscious of the fact, but if her
+daughter should reappear in New York society at the present time,
+because of her war experiences she would become an object of unusual
+interest and attention.
+
+At this instant the smile that appeared at the corners of the girl's
+mouth banished the tired expression it had previously worn. One big
+thing her war experiences had done for Mildred Thornton, it had given
+her a new sense of values. Now she _knew_ the things that counted.
+She had learned to smile at her own failure as a society girl, even to
+understand and forgive her mother's chagrin at the fact.
+
+Yet Mildred was influenced in a measure to continue her work in Europe
+by these trivial points of view.
+
+Should she return home and re-enter society as her mother wished, sooner
+or later she must prove a second disappointment. For she had no social
+gifts; she could never learn to talk as her friends did. If questions
+were asked of her she could only reply with facts, not because she was
+lacking in sympathy or imagination, but because she had not the grace of
+words. So with neither beauty nor charm, how could she ever even hope to
+gratify her mother by securing the distinguished husband she so desired
+for her?
+
+But since there was a place in the world for bees as well as
+butterflies, Mildred never meant to allow herself to grow unhappy
+again. She had a real talent for nursing; her work had received only
+praise. So here in Europe, where there seemed to be the greatest need
+of her services, she meant to remain as long as possible. This, in spite
+of the alluring picture of home which would thrust itself before her
+consciousness.
+
+At this instant the boy on the bed moved and sighed and at the same
+instant the American girl forgot herself. He had opened his eyes and
+Mildred could see that he had become dimly conscious of his own
+condition and his surroundings.
+
+But this boy could never have been more than dimly conscious of most
+things in his short life, he was so stupid and could neither read nor
+write; indeed, he had a vocabulary of but a few hundred words. Peter had
+been a laborer on the estates of a Polish nobleman when the call came to
+arms. And so often in the past week while she had been caring for him
+Mildred had been reminded of some farm animal by the way the boy
+endured pain, he had been so dumb and uncomplaining.
+
+Even now he made no attempt to speak, but as she leaned over and took
+his hand Mildred realized that the boy could live but a few moments
+longer.
+
+After a little tender smoothing of his cover the girl turned away. The
+Russian peasant is always a devout Catholic, so Mildred realized that he
+would wish a priest with him at the end.
+
+She had walked only a few feet from the young soldier's bedside when an
+unaccustomed atmosphere of excitement in the ward arrested her
+attention.
+
+It would not be necessary for her to summon a priest; some one must have
+anticipated her desire. For the priest was even now approaching.
+However, he was a familiar figure, passing hourly among the wounded and
+their attendants; his presence would cause no excitement.
+
+The next instant Mildred understood the priest was not alone. He was
+accompanied by one of the most famous men in all Europe.
+
+Although she had never seen him until this instant, Mildred Thornton
+had not a moment's doubt of the man's identity. This was the Commander
+of the fortress at Grovno, General Dmitri Alexis, at the present hour
+the bulwark of many Russian hopes.
+
+For the past few weeks the Germans had been driving the Russians farther
+and farther back beyond the boundaries of Poland and near the heart of
+Russia. Here at Grovno the Russian army was expected to make a
+victorious stand. The faith of the Russian people was centered in
+General Dmitri Alexis.
+
+Unlike most Russian officers, he had always been devoted to the
+interests of the common people, although a son of one of Russia's noble
+families. But he was known to be a shy, quiet man with little to say for
+himself, who had risen to his present rank by sheer ability.
+
+To Mildred's eyes he seemed almost an old man; in fact, he must have
+been about fifty. His hair was iron gray, but unlike most Russians his
+eyes were a dark blue. As he wore no beard, the lines about his mouth
+were so stern as to be almost forbidding.
+
+Mildred knew that he was an intimate personal friend of the Czar and
+realized just to what extent he must feel the weight of his present
+responsibilities.
+
+Therefore she was the more surprised at his appearance in the hospital
+ward.
+
+Except for a courtly inclination of his head the great man paid no
+attention to the greetings that were offered him by the nurses and
+doctors. Walking down the center of the room he had eyes only for the
+wounded men who lined the two walls. Then his sternness relaxed and his
+smile became a curious compound of pity and regret.
+
+Mildred found herself staring without regard to good manners or
+breeding. Why should this man create such an atmosphere of trust and
+respect? She had seen other great generals in the armies of the Allies
+before today, but never one who had made such an impression.
+
+General Alexis and the priest paused by the bedside of the Russian boy
+who was Mildred's patient.
+
+There the great man's face softened until it became almost womanish in
+its sympathy. Slowly and reverently the dying boy attempted to raise his
+general's hand to his lips.
+
+General Alexis said a few words in Russian which the young soldier
+understood, but Mildred could not. For he attempted to shake his head,
+to whisper a denial, then smiling dropped his arms down by his sides.
+
+Mildred made no effort to move forward to assist him, for she did not
+feel that she had a place in the little group at this moment. She merely
+watched and waited, trying to see clearly through the mist in her eyes.
+
+The boy's broad chest, strong once as a young giant's, but now with a
+scarcely beating heart beneath it, quivered with what seemed a final
+emotion. The same instant General Alexis leaned down and pinned against
+the white cotton of his rough shirt the iron cross of all the Russias.
+Afterwards he kissed him as simply as a woman might have done.
+
+That was all! So natural and so quiet it was, Mildred Thornton herself
+was hardly aware of the significance of the little scene she had just
+witnessed.
+
+Here in a country where the gulf between the rich and the poor, the
+humble and the great was well nigh impassable, a single act of courage
+had bridged it.
+
+What act of valor Peter had performed Mildred never knew. She only knew
+that it had called from his duties one of the greatest men in Europe,
+that he might by his presence and with his own hands show homage to the
+humblest of soldiers.
+
+When the simple ceremony was over the boy lay quite still, scarcely
+noticing that his general knelt down beside his bed. For his eyes were
+almost closing.
+
+Neither did Mildred dare move or speak.
+
+Against the walls the other nurses and doctors stood quiet as wooden
+figures, while the wounded were hushed to unaccustomed silences.
+
+Then the Russian priest began to intone in words which the American
+girl could not understand, but in a voice the most wonderful she had
+ever heard. His tones were those of an organ deep and beautiful, of
+great volume but without noise.
+
+Ceasing, he lifted an ikon before the young soldier's dimming eyes, and
+pronounced what must have been a benediction.
+
+The next moment the great stillness had entered the hospital chamber and
+the Russian boy with the iron cross above his heart lay in his final
+sleep.
+
+All at once Mildred Thornton felt extraordinarily weary. Backward and
+forward she could see the big room rise and recede as though it had been
+an immense wave. The dim light was turning to darkness, when
+instinctively reaching out her hand touched the back of a chair. With
+this she steadied herself for the moment. Until now she had not known
+how tired she was from her vigil, nor how she had been moved by the
+scene she had just witnessed. After a little she would go to her own
+room and perhaps Nona or Barbara would be there. But she must wait until
+General Alexis and the priest had gone away.
+
+The next moment she realized that the great man had risen and was
+approaching toward her.
+
+Mildred looked wholly unlike a Russian woman. Her heavy flaxen hair,
+simply braided and twisted about her head, showed a few strands
+underneath her nurse's cap. Her face was almost colorless, yet her
+pallor was unlike the Russian, which is of a strange olive tone. Now and
+then in her nurse's costume Mildred Thornton became almost beautiful,
+through her air of strength and refinement and the unusual sweetness of
+her expression.
+
+The eyes that were turned toward General Alexis were a clear blue-gray,
+but there were deep circles under them, and the girl swayed a little in
+spite of her effort to stand perfectly still.
+
+For several seconds the great man regarded her in silence. Then he
+stretched forth his hand.
+
+"You are an American Red Cross nurse, I believe. May I have the honor of
+shaking your hand. I have been told that three young American women are
+here at our fortress at Grovno helping to care for our wounded. You have
+traveled many miles for a noble cause. In the name of my Emperor and his
+people may I thank you."
+
+The little speech was made in perfect English and with such simplicity
+that Mildred did not feel awed or surprised.
+
+However, she was not certain how she replied or if she replied at all.
+She only felt her cold fingers held in a hand like steel and the next
+moment the great general had gone out of the room.
+
+Immediately after Mildred found herself surrounded by a group of Russian
+nurses. The Russians are amazing linguists and several of the nurses
+could speak English. Evidently they were overwhelmed by the honor the
+American girl had just had bestowed upon her. It had almost overshadowed
+for the time the greater glory of the young soldier.
+
+An American Red Cross nurse had been individually thanked by one of the
+greatest commanders in Europe for her service and the services of her
+friends to his soldiers and his country.
+
+But there was another personal side to the situation which the Russian
+hospital staff appeared to find more amazing.
+
+General Dmitri Alexis was supposed never to speak to a woman. He was an
+old bachelor and was said to greatly despise the frivolities of Russian
+society women.
+
+Incredible as it may seem, there is gossip even inside a great fortress
+in time of war.
+
+But Mildred's Russian companions had neither time nor opportunity to
+reveal much to her at present. As soon as it was possible she begged
+that she might be allowed to go to her own room. Although she shared
+it with Nona and Barbara, neither one of them was there at the time.
+
+But instead of lying down at once Mildred wrote a few lines to her
+mother. She knew that she would be greatly pleased by the attention
+that had just been paid her. Of course Mildred realized that the
+General's thanks were not bestowed upon her as an individual, but
+as a representative of the United States, whose sympathy and
+friendliness Russia so greatly appreciated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_An Encounter_
+
+
+Barbara had been writing a letter to Dick Thornton. She was seated on
+the side of her cot bed in a tiny room high up in a tower, with only one
+small window overlooking the courtyard below.
+
+Although it was well into the twentieth century, this room was just such
+an one as might have concealed the hapless Amy Robsart in the days of
+Lord Leicester and Kenilworth Castle. But although Barbara had not to
+suffer the thought of a faithless lover, at the present moment she was
+feeling extremely sorry for herself.
+
+Russia had no charms for her as it appeared to have for Mildred Thornton
+and Nona Davis. She disliked its bleakness, its barbarity and the
+strange, moody people it contained. Of course she realized that there
+was another side to Russian life, before the present war its society was
+one of the gayest in the world. But these days, when the Germans were
+driving the Russian army backward and even further backward behind their
+own frontiers, were days for work and silence, not social amusements.
+Moreover, Barbara knew that she could never expect to have any part in
+Russian social life when her mission lay among the wounded. So far she
+had met only other Red Cross nurses, a few physicians and the soldiers
+who required her care. But really Barbara was not so foolish as to
+resent these conditions; she was merely homesick and anxious to see Dick
+Thornton, and if not Dick, then Eugenia.
+
+France had not seemed so far away from the United States and she had
+loved France and its brave, gay people. She had understood them and
+their life. Almost she had envied Eugenia her future possession of the
+old chateau and the little "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door." But
+then Eugenia had seemed to find France as strange and uncongenial as
+Barbara now considered Russia.
+
+Even after her marriage to Captain Castaigne, Eugenia had confessed to
+the younger girl how she dreaded her own inability to become a
+Frenchwoman. She still feared that she would never be equal to the
+things Captain Castaigne had a right to expect of her, once the war was
+over. Eugenia had merely cared too much to be willing to give him up,
+but was too wise to expect that her problems would end with marriage.
+
+So with this thought Barbara Meade finally removed a tear from the end
+of her nose. It had trickled quite comfortably out of her eyes, but as
+her nose was somewhat retrousse, it had hesitated there.
+
+After all, an American marriage was best for an American girl! Barbara
+tried to convince herself that she should be rejoicing instead of
+lamenting. Certainly Dick was the most agreeable and to be desired
+person in the entire world. But then there was another side to this!
+Had he not been, perhaps she would not at this moment be missing him
+so terribly and at all the moments. Letters were so infrequent!
+Mrs. Thornton might positively refuse to allow her son to marry
+so insignificant a person, and Dick forget all about her!
+
+But in the midst of this last and most harrowing thought, fortunately
+Nona Davis came into the room.
+
+She looked excited, but on catching sight of her friend's face her
+expression changed.
+
+"Good heavens, Barbara!" she began. Then the next moment she walked over
+and tilted the other girl's chin with her hand.
+
+"You are just homesick, aren't you, and longing for some one who shall
+be nameless? You frightened me at first; I feared you had heard dreadful
+news. Come, get your coat and have a walk with me. We have both nearly
+two hours of freedom and I've permission to go outside the
+fortifications."
+
+The other girl shook her head and shivered.
+
+"It is too cold, Nona dear, and besides, I'm afraid. I know the Russians
+are said to be holding the line of fortifications beyond us, but then
+the Germans may break through at any time. Goodness knows, I don't see
+what you and Mildred find so fascinating in Russia! I am afraid I am not
+brave enough to have come with you."
+
+While Barbara was arguing Nona had taken her coat from its hook on the
+wall and was putting it about her friend.
+
+"Yes, I know all that, but just the same you are coming for a walk. As
+long as you are here you must keep strong enough to do your work. But
+there, I can't scold half so well as Eugenia. I suppose if Dick belonged
+to me I should be as wretched as you are without him. You are a dear to
+have stuck by Mildred and me during this Russian work. But do come, I've
+something really interesting to tell you. Perhaps you may feel a tiny
+bit less lonely afterwards."
+
+In the meantime Nona had put on her own coat and cap and the two girls
+started. They had to walk down a narrow stone corridor and then a long
+flight of winding stone steps to reach the courtyard below.
+
+To the right the soldiers were drilling. One could hear the harsh
+clatter of their heavy boots and the crash of their rifles when they
+touched the frozen earth.
+
+It had turned unexpectedly cold, and yet without a spoken word both
+girls stopped and stared about them as soon as they reached the
+outdoors.
+
+Certainly the scene formed an extraordinary setting for two young
+American girls!
+
+The sky was gray, and although it was only early autumn, there were
+occasional flurries of snow.
+
+Behind them stood a long, low line of stone and iron fortifications with
+enormous guns mounted at intervals along the walls. At one end was an
+observation tower, where one could see miles on miles of trenches
+stretching in a kind of semicircle before the fortifications. Should the
+enemy destroy the trenches the Russian soldiers could then mass behind
+the fort and afterwards, if necessary, accomplish their retreat. For a
+small force could delay the enemy through the strength of their position
+and the use of their big guns.
+
+Sheltered behind breastworks of earth, barbed wire entanglements and a
+natural protection of trees, the girls could barely discern the
+aerodrome. In this place were situated the machine shops for building
+and repairing aeroplanes, and also from here their flights and returns
+could be made.
+
+Yet in spite of these signs of active warfare, the place was curiously
+silent. Barbara felt puzzled. Only the endless tramp, tramp of the
+soldiers at drill and an occasional guttural command. The noises from
+the inside of the fort never penetrated to the outside. But then these
+Russians were a quiet people.
+
+Within a few moments the two girls showed their order to the sentry and
+were allowed to pass beyond the gate. They then started on their walk
+along the same road which Nona had traveled alone several days before.
+But actually this was the first chance the girls had for talking over
+Nona's experiences together. True, they shared the same bedroom, so that
+on her return Nona had given a brief report. But really they had been
+too tired at night to grasp the situation.
+
+Now naturally Barbara thought her companion meant to talk of her recent
+experience. Neither one of them attempted conversation at the beginning
+of their walk, for the main road was as filled with supplies of every
+kind that were being hauled to the great fort, as it had been on the day
+of Nona's solitary excursion. But indeed this was a daily occurrence.
+
+So, as soon as possible, the girls got away from the road into a lane
+that was lined with peasants' huts. This lay in an opposite direction
+from the path Nona had previously taken. She had no desire to meet her
+former acquaintance again until she had made up her mind as to her own
+attitude toward her.
+
+Neither Barbara nor Mildred had so far been able to give her any
+definite advice.
+
+Mildred really refused to consider that the older woman could have known
+Nona's mother years before in their own country. Her story was too
+incredible to be believed.
+
+Barbara had not taken this same point of view. At the present moment
+she was going over the situation in retrospection. In the first place,
+it was absurd to think that any train of circumstances could be
+impossible in such a surprising world. The woman, whom they had once
+known as Lady Dorian and whom they now were to think of by another name,
+had evidently once been a woman of wealth and culture, no matter what
+her present condition of poverty. She seemed to have traveled everywhere
+and she may of course have met Nona Davis' family. There was actually no
+reason why she should not have known them, Barbara concluded in her
+sensible western fashion. Doubtless when Nona allowed the older woman to
+explain the situation it would not be half so mysterious as it now
+appeared. The really remarkable thing was, not that the other woman
+should be familiar with Nona's mother's history, but that her own
+daughter should be so in ignorance.
+
+For her part she intended to advise Nona to listen to whatever their
+former friend wished to tell her. But just as Barbara opened her lips
+to offer this advice, her companion spoke.
+
+"Barbara, you have been in such a study you haven't asked for the piece
+of news I have to give you. Do you remember almost quarreling with me
+because I did not wish to write a note to the English fellow we once
+knew when we were in Brussels, after you discovered him in prison
+there?"
+
+Barbara nodded, her mind immediately distracted from her former train of
+thought.
+
+"Lieutenant Hume? Why, do you know what has become of him?" she
+inquired.
+
+In reply Nona took a letter out of her pocket.
+
+"I had a note from him today. You see, after your lecture I continued
+writing him in prison every now and then during the year we spent in
+Belgium. Just occasionally he was allowed to send me a few lines in
+reply. Then a long time passed and I had almost forgotten him. Now he
+writes to say that by an extraordinary freak of fortune he has been
+returned home. It seems that he became very ill, so when the Germans
+decided to agree on an exchange of prisoners, he and our little blind
+Frenchman, Monsieur Bebe, were both sent back to their own lands.
+Lieutenant Hume does not say what is the matter with him. His letter
+isn't about himself. He is really tremendously anxious to hear news of
+us. He has just learned of Eugenia's marriage to Henri Castaigne, and he
+thinks we are pretty foolhardy to have offered our services for nursing
+in Russia."
+
+Instinctively Barbara held her companion's arm in a closer grasp.
+
+"Far be it from me to disagree with him!" she murmured.
+
+For her attention had just been arrested by the noise of a horse's hoofs
+approaching. Both girls looked up to see a young Cossack soldier riding
+toward them. He sat his horse as though he were a part of it, his feet
+swinging in long stirrups and his hands barely touching the reins.
+
+Both girls felt a stirring sense of admiration. But to their surprise,
+as the horse drew near the young soldier pulled up and slid quietly to
+the ground.
+
+The next instant he came up toward Nona.
+
+"You will pardon me," he said, speaking English, although with a
+noticeable accent, "but it will not be wise for you to continue to walk
+any further along this road. It is growing late and there are stragglers
+coming in from several villages where a German raid is feared."
+
+He had taken off his pointed Cossack cap of lamb's wool and held it in
+his hand as though he had been a young American meeting a group of
+friends upon an ordinary thoroughfare.
+
+Barbara was struck by the incongruity of his appearance and his
+behavior. He looked like a half-civilized warrior of centuries ago, and
+yet his manner was the conventional one of today. However, it would not
+be wise to expect him to remain conventional under unusual conditions.
+Barbara could see that the young Russian officer was a son of the east,
+not the west. He had a peculiar Oriental pallor and long, slanting dark
+eyes, and his small black moustache scarcely concealed the thin red
+lines of his lips.
+
+Nona was frowning at him in a puzzled fashion.
+
+But the next instant she bowed with an expression of recognition.
+
+"Thank you, we will do as you suggest. It is odd to see you so soon
+again after our unexpected meeting the other afternoon. Lieutenant
+Orlaff, this is my friend, Miss Meade."
+
+Barbara inclined her head, too surprised to do more. But as the Russian
+officer continued to walk beside them with his horse following, she soon
+understood where he and Nona had met each other.
+
+"Yes, she is an old friend, Sonya Valesky. I knew her years ago and then
+she went away into other countries."
+
+The young Russian hesitated. Barbara and Nona were both watching his
+face closely, so that they could see the cloud of doubt, even of
+struggle, that swept over it.
+
+"You are strangers in my country, but you have come here to help us in
+our need," he protested, almost as if he were thinking aloud.
+
+"I would not have you doubt my friend. I cannot explain to you, and
+yet I wish to warn you. Do not be too intimate with Sonya Valesky.
+Russia is not like other countries in times of war or peace. She has
+many problems, tragedies of her own to overcome which the foreigner
+cannot understand. Forgive me if I should not have spoken."
+
+Then before either girl could fully grasp what the young man's confused
+speech could mean, he had bowed, mounted his horse and ridden off.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_Out of the Past_
+
+
+But circumstances afterwards made it impossible for Nona Davis to follow
+the young Russian officer's advice.
+
+A week went by at the hospital without a decision on the girl's part
+and without another word from her former friend. Sonya Valesky she must
+remember was her Russian name. A beautiful name and somehow it seemed
+to fit the personality of the woman whom Nona at once admired and
+distrusted. For the name carried with it its own suggestion of beauty
+and of melancholy. What secret could Sonya Valesky be concealing that
+forced even her friends to warn others against her?
+
+Of course there could be no answer in her own consciousness to this
+puzzle, yet Nona kept the problem at the back of her mind during the
+following week of strenuous work. Nursing inside the bleak fortress
+at Grovno was of a more difficult character than any work the three
+American Red Cross girls had yet undertaken. The surroundings were so
+uncomfortable, the nursing supplies so limited. Worse than anything
+else, an atmosphere of almost tragic suspense hung like a palpable
+cloud over every inmate of the fort.
+
+Authentic news was difficult to obtain, yet refugees were constantly
+pouring in with stories of fresh German conquests in Poland. For it
+chanced that the months after the arrival of the three American girls in
+Russia were among the darkest in Russia's history during the great war.
+Military strategists might be able to understand why the Grand Duke
+Nicholas and his army were giving way before almost every furious German
+onslaught. They could explain that he was endeavoring to lead the enemy
+deeper and deeper into a foreign land, so as to cut them off from their
+base of supplies. Yet it was hard for the ordinary man and woman or the
+common soldier to conceive of anything except fresh danger and disaster
+in each defeat.
+
+So day after day, night after night the business of strengthening the
+line of fortifications at Grovno went on. The work was done with the
+silence and the industry of some enormous horde of ants.
+
+Shut off in the left wing of the fort with the ill and wounded soldiers,
+the Red Cross nurses had only occasional glimpses of the warlike
+preparations that were being made. Once when there was a review of the
+troops in the courtyard behind the fortifications Mildred Thornton
+summoned Nona and Barbara. She had already told them of her experience
+with the commanding officer of the fort, but she wished the other two
+girls to have a look at him. It was difficult to get a vivid impression
+of a personality from a bird's-eye view out of a small upper window. Yet
+the figure of General Alexis could never be anything but dominating.
+There was a hush of admiration from every man or woman inside the
+fortifications whenever their leader's name was mentioned. If he could
+not hold the German avalanche in check, then the world must weep for
+Russia. So Mildred became a kind of heroine among the nurses because
+she had received a few moments of the great man's praise and attention.
+
+Finally, at the end of a week Nona Davis had a second letter from Sonya
+Valesky. It was sent by a messenger, as the other had been, and Nona was
+presented with it when she first went on duty on one Saturday morning.
+
+This communication was not merely a note, however, for the envelope was
+sealed and had a bulky appearance. Yet Nona did not open it all that day
+or the morning of the next as she had a premonition that the letter was
+not an ordinary one. Either Madame Valesky was confiding her own
+history, or she was insisting upon proving to the American girl that
+she had at one time been a friend of her mother's. Really, it was this
+information that Nona both expected and feared. So as she had a
+particularly difficult case on hand she decided to wait for more
+leisure before trying to solve the mystery.
+
+The opportunity came when she was allowed two hours rest on Sunday
+afternoon.
+
+Nona was glad that both Mildred and Barbara were busy at the time,
+because she preferred to be alone. After her letter had been read and
+considered then she could decide on the degree of her confidences.
+
+But after all, Barbara's prediction came true. The story that Sonya
+Valesky had to tell of her acquaintance with Nona's mother was not half
+so strange as the fact that the mother's history had been concealed from
+her daughter.
+
+The story was unique but comparatively simple. The only curious fact was
+the accidental meeting between the Russian woman and the American girl.
+But then just such comings together of persons with a common bond of
+interest or affection is an hourly occurrence in the world. Behind such
+apparent accidents is some law of nature, a like calling unto like.
+
+The older woman explained that she had known Nona's mother many years
+ago when they were both children in Russia, although she was a number of
+years younger. There was as little as possible of Sonya Valesky's own
+history in the letter. She stated without proof or comment that her
+father had once been Russian Ambassador to the United States. Here Anna
+Orlaff, Nona's mother, had made her a visit and had then gone away south
+to New Orleans and soon afterwards married. For many years the younger
+girl had not seen her friend again. She had received letters from her,
+however, and learned that her marriage was not a success.
+
+Sonya Valesky did her best to explain the situation to Nona. But how was
+she to know how much or how little an American girl understands of life
+and conditions in Russia? Was Nona aware that there were many girls and
+young men, oftentimes members of noble families, who believed in a new
+and different Russia?
+
+Had Nona ever read of a great writer named Tolstoi, who wrote and
+preached of the real brotherhood of man? He insisted that the words of
+Christ should be interpreted literally and desired that Russia, and
+indeed the world, should have no rich and poor, no Czar and slave, but
+that all men and all women were to be truly equal. Nona's mother had
+been a follower of Tolstoi's principles; therefore, her people had sent
+her away from her own country because they feared if she continued to
+live in Russia with these ideas she might be condemned to Siberia. So
+Anna Orlaff had gladly left her own country, believing that in the
+United States she would find the spirit of true equality.
+
+Naturally her marriage had been a disappointment. At this point in Sonya
+Valesky's letter, Nona Davis began to have a faint appreciation of the
+situation. She remembered the narrow, conservative life of the old south
+and that her father had lived largely upon traditions of wealth and
+family, teaching her little else. What did it matter to him that there
+were no titles in America, no more slaves to do his bidding, when he
+continued to believe in the domination of one class over another.
+
+Dimly at first, more vividly afterwards, Nona Davis could see the
+picture of the young Russian girl, a socialist and dreamer, married into
+such an environment. How disappointed and unhappy she must have been in
+the conservative old city of Charleston, South Carolina! No wonder
+people had never mentioned her name to her daughter, and that her father
+had been so silent! A Russian socialist was little less than a criminal.
+
+Nona was seated in a hard wooden chair in a small, cell-like room many
+thousands of miles away from her own old home. Certainly something
+stronger than her own wish must have drawn her to Russia, for here she
+must learn to understand the story of her mother's life and to find her
+own place in it.
+
+At this point in the narrative Nona let her letter fall idly in her lap.
+The girl's hands were clasped tightly together, for now her imagination
+could tell her more than any words of another's.
+
+Her father had been devoted to her, but he had not been fair, neither
+had his friends nor her own. Why had they always led her to believe by
+their silences that there was something to be ashamed of in her mother's
+story? It was odd, of course, to be different from other people, but
+there was no sin in being a dreamer.
+
+Nona could see the picture of her mother in the white muslin dress and
+the blue sash there in their old drawing room in Charleston. She had
+been only a girl of about her age when she remembered her.
+
+But then what had become of her mother? Why had she gone away?
+
+Again the girl picked up her letter, for the last few sheets must
+explain.
+
+This portion was hardest of the story to understand, but Sonya Valesky
+had tried to make it clear.
+
+Nona's father had insisted that his young wife give up her views of
+life. She was to read no books, write no letters, have nothing to do
+with any human being who thought as she did. Above all, she was to make
+him a written and sacred promise that she would never reveal her ideas
+of life to her daughter. This Nona's mother had refused to do and so had
+gone away, expecting to come back some day when her husband relented.
+
+Within a year she had died. But here Sonya Valesky's letter ended, for
+she enclosed another written by Nona's mother to her friend.
+
+If Nona had needed proof of the truth of the other woman's statement she
+could find it here. The letter was yellow with age and very short. It
+merely asked that if Sonya Valesky should ever find it possible to know
+her daughter, Nona Davis, would she be her friend?
+
+Then Sonya had also enclosed another proof, if proof were needed. This
+was a small picture of Nona's mother which was exactly like the one the
+girl had found concealed in the back of her father's watch. It was the
+same watch with the same picture that she now wore always inside her
+dress.
+
+Then for nearly an hour the young American girl sat dreaming almost
+without a movement of her body.
+
+Little by little she recalled stray memories in her life which made her
+mother's history appear not so impossible as she had at first conceived.
+Always she had thought of her as foreign. She had only believed her to
+be French because she spoke French so perfectly and had married in New
+Orleans. But then she herself was beginning to learn that educated
+Russians are among the most accomplished linguists in the world. What
+else was she to find out about this strange country before her work as
+a nurse was over? Could she ever feel so entirely an American again?
+
+All at once Nona Davis jumped hastily to her feet. There were hundreds
+of questions she yearned to ask. Fortunately for her she was near the
+one person who might be able to answer them. Sonya Valesky had never
+said why she had not sought to find her friend's daughter until their
+accidental meeting on shipboard. Even then she had not recognized Nona's
+connection with the past. Was it because she was too engrossed in her
+own life and her own mysterious mission?
+
+Although she was at this instant engaged in putting on her coat and cap
+to go to her, Nona again hesitated. How little the Russian woman had
+said of herself! What was she doing here near the Russian line of
+fortifications, living like a peasant with only two old peasants in
+attendance upon her? And why should the young Russian officer have
+warned her against his own friend?
+
+"Michael Orlaff." Automatically Nona Davis repeated the name of her new
+acquaintance. "Orlaff." The name was the same as her mother's. Was there
+a chance that the young Russian lieutenant might be a possible
+connection?
+
+However, the girl recognized that she was stupid to continue to ask
+herself questions. Moreover, she had now made up her mind that she must
+not distrust Sonya Valesky unless she had a more definite cause.
+Doubtless Sonya shared the same views of life that her mother had
+cherished! But in any case it was wonderful to have found a woman who
+had been her mother's friend and who might still be hers.
+
+Nona had walked across her small room to the door, when she heard some
+one knocking.
+
+A summons had been sent for her to return to her nursing, as the two
+hours of her recreation were over. How stupid she had been! Actually
+Nona had forgotten what had called her to Russia, even the war tragedy
+that was raging about her. Of course she could not leave the hospital!
+It might be several days or more before she could hope to receive
+permission to revisit Sonya.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_The Arrest_
+
+
+Five days later Nona Davis went again to the little wooden house, where,
+to her surprise, she had previously discovered a former acquaintance.
+
+But on this occasion Sonya Valesky did not open the door.
+
+Instead it was opened by the old peasant man whom Nona had seen before.
+
+Today he looked more wretched than stupid. His little black eyes were
+red rimmed, his sallow skin more wrinkled than ever.
+
+When Nona inquired for Sonya he shook his head disconsolately and then
+motioned her toward the same room she had formerly entered.
+
+There was now a cot in the room and on this cot lay the Russian woman.
+
+At once Nona forgot herself and her desire to ask questions. She
+remembered only her profession, yes, and one other thing. She recalled
+the words that the old French peasant, Francois, had once spoken to her
+and to Barbara.
+
+"Have you pity only for wounded soldiers? Do girls and women never care
+to help one another? This war has made wounds deeper than any bullets
+can create."
+
+Immediately Nona had seen that Sonya Valesky was very ill. Now, no
+matter who she was, or what she had done, she must be restored to
+health. First and last Nona must put her own emotions aside, for the
+sake of her mission as a Red Cross nurse.
+
+Yet what was she to do? Her services belonged to the soldiers in the
+Russian fortress.
+
+As quietly and quickly as possible Nona gave her orders.
+
+She could not be sure, but Sonya's appearance indicated that she was
+suffering from the terrible scourge of typhus.
+
+This disease had been one of the most terrible results of the war.
+Because of a greater lack of sanitation and cleanliness the fever had
+been more widespread in Servia and in Russia than in any other
+countries.
+
+Personally Nona had never nursed a case before, yet she had heard the
+disease discussed and believed she recognized the symptoms.
+
+First she made a thorough examination of the little house. It was
+cleaner than most of the peasants' huts, so far Sonya must have
+prevailed, but still its conditions left much to be desired.
+
+Without being able to speak more than a few words of their language,
+Nona yet managed to give her directions.
+
+She was beginning to guess that the old peasant couple, who at first had
+seemed mysterious companions for the beautiful Russian woman, were
+probably old servants. If Sonya was a follower of Tolstoi as her mother
+had been, she must have refused to recognize any difference between
+them.
+
+But this was not their feeling. The American girl could see that in
+spirit old Katja and Nika were the devoted slaves of the younger woman.
+
+Sonya was not at first conscious of the seriousness of her illness.
+
+She wore a dressing gown of some rough homespun, a curious shade of
+Russian blue, the color of her own eyes. Her hair, which had turned far
+whiter in the past year, was partly concealed under a small lace cap
+such as the Russian peasant woman often wears. Then, although she did
+not seem able to talk, she knew Nona and thanked her for coming and for
+the advice she was giving the two old people.
+
+But when Nona had finished with her orders she came and sat down near
+Sonya.
+
+"I have read your letter and I have not been able to answer it until
+now. It seems like a miracle that I should have found out about my own
+mother here in a strange land. But perhaps I was meant to take care of
+you. You must promise to do what I tell you. I must go away now, but
+I'll come back in a little while."
+
+Nona was getting up when Sonya took hold of her skirt.
+
+Her face was flushed and her dark blue eyes shining.
+
+"You must not stay in this house, not for long at a time," she pleaded.
+"I cannot explain to you why not, but perhaps when I am strong again I
+can tell you enough to have you guess the rest. Now you must go."
+
+Sonya took Nona's cool hands in her hot ones and held them close for a
+moment.
+
+The next moment the American girl had gone.
+
+At the hospital inside the fortress she explained the situation, at
+least so far as it could be explained. A Russian woman, who had once
+been her friend, lay seriously ill at one of the nearby huts. Would one
+of the hospital physicians come and see her? Also would it be possible
+for her to be spared from caring for the soldiers to look after her
+woman friend?
+
+Certainly a Russian doctor would attend the case; moreover, after
+certain formalities Nona was allowed a leave of absence from the
+hospital demands.
+
+Then began an experience for the young American girl that nothing in her
+past two or more years of nursing had equaled.
+
+She was living and working in a new world, amid surroundings which she
+could not understand and of which she was afraid.
+
+The little hut was crude and lonely. The two old peasants could speak no
+English, but went about their tasks day after day mute and dolorous.
+Sonya was too ill to recognize her nurse, and Nona could not allow
+Barbara or Mildred to come near her, since her patient's illness was of
+the most contagious nature.
+
+Naturally Barbara and Mildred wholly disapproved of the risk Nona was
+running and she had not time nor strength to make them see her side of
+the situation. She had written them that Sonya Valesky had proved
+herself to have been an old friend of her mother's. For that reason and
+for several others she felt it her duty to care for her.
+
+But strangest of all Nona's experiences were the fragments of
+conversation which she heard from the lips of her ill friend.
+
+Sonya sometimes spoke of her girlhood and then again of her life in the
+United States and in England. Once or twice she even called the name of
+Captain Dalton. Nona supposed that she must be recalling her meeting
+with Captain Dalton at the Sacred Heart Hospital. Then she remembered
+that Sonya had spoken of knowing the English officer years before.
+
+But although her patient betrayed many facts of her past life to her
+nurse, never once did Sonya explain why she was living in such an
+out-of-the-way place. Neither did she give any clue to the kind of work
+that must have engaged her time and energy. Surely Sonya Valesky must
+have been upon some secret mission in the days of their first meeting on
+board the "Philadelphia!" Even then she had papers in her possession
+which she would allow no one to see.
+
+However, Sonya was too desperately ill to permit her nurse much
+opportunity for surmising. Nona would never have left her alone for a
+moment except that she knew it was her duty to keep up her own strength.
+
+Every afternoon she went for a short walk. And because no one but the
+Russian physician was allowed to enter the house, now and then the
+young Russian lieutenant would join Nona along the road. This could only
+occur when he was able to get leave, yet Nona began to hope for his
+coming. She was so depressed and lonely.
+
+Once she asked him if he had ever heard of a member of his family named
+"Anna Orlaff." Of course she gave no reason for her question. But it
+made no difference, because the young soldier could recall no such
+person.
+
+In the course of one of their talks, however, he confided to Nona that
+he was a younger brother, but that his family were members of the
+Russian nobility.
+
+Never once, however, did the young man betray any fact connected with
+Sonya Valesky's history. He explained that their families had long known
+each other and that he had always been fond of her, nothing more.
+
+So for this reason as well as others Nona found herself attracted by the
+young Russian officer. He seemed very simple, much younger than an
+American of the same age. At this time Michael Orlaff must have been
+about twenty-three. But Nona was wise enough to discover that he was not
+so simple and direct as she had first believed him. A Russian does not
+readily betray either his deeper thoughts or his deeper feelings. The
+young Russian lieutenant would not even speak of the war nor his own
+part in it. Yet Nona guessed from her own observation and from certain
+unconscious information that he was one of the favorite younger officers
+of the Russian general in command of the Grovno fortifications.
+
+So a number of weeks passed, until now and then Nona Davis almost forgot
+the war and her original reasons for being in her present strange
+position. No one brought her papers; Barbara's and Mildred's letters
+contained little war news. The truth was possibly being concealed from
+them, or else there was no way of their discovering it.
+
+So Nona was at least spared the anxiety of knowing that the victorious
+German hosts were drawing nearer and nearer the fortress of Grovno. Like
+stone houses built by children the other ancient Russian forts had
+fallen before his "Excellenz von Beseler," the victor of Antwerp, who
+was known as the German battering ram.
+
+Even when Sonya opened her eyes, after weeks of an almost fatal illness,
+and asked for news of the war, Nona was unable to tell her.
+
+Then as the days of Sonya's convalescence went by she would not let her
+talk of it. Always war is a more terrible thing to girls and women than
+it is to boys and men. But ever since their first acquaintance Nona had
+realized that the horror of it went deeper into Sonya's consciousness
+than any person she had yet seen. It must be the war that had aged her
+so in the past year.
+
+So the Russian woman and the American girl spoke of everything else.
+Sonya told of her own life and of Nona's mother when they were little
+girls. They had both been allowed to go away to college. It was in
+school that they imbibed their revolutionary ideas. No wonder that their
+families never forgave them!
+
+Sonya was dressed and sitting in her chair the day when the summons
+finally came for her arrest.
+
+It was Nona Davis in her nurse's Red Cross costume who opened the door
+for the two men in uniform. They were not dressed like soldiers, and as
+she could not understand what they said, she did not dream of their
+errand.
+
+But Sonya's peasant servants must have understood, for at the sight of
+the strangers they dropped on their knees and held out imploring hands.
+
+Sonya herself finally made things clear. The men were two police
+officers who had been sent to bring her to Petrograd. She had been in
+hiding here near Grovno for several months and had hoped to escape their
+vigilance. Evidently Sonya had been arrested by the Russian authorities.
+
+In spite of Nona's insistence that her patient was not well enough to be
+moved, Sonya agreed to go with them at once.
+
+And only at the moment of parting did she bestow any confidence upon the
+younger girl.
+
+Then she looked deep into Nona's golden brown eyes with her own
+strangely glowing blue ones, and whispered:
+
+"I have done nothing of which I am ashamed, Nona, or I should never have
+asked for your friendship. It may be that I can make the Russian people
+understand, but I do not feel sure. This war has made men blinder than
+ever. I have only tried to be a follower of the 'Prince of Peace.'"
+
+Then after she had walked away a few steps she came back again.
+
+"Go back to your United States as soon as you can, Nona," she urged.
+"Russia is no place for you or your friends."
+
+Because Nona Davis dared not trust herself to speak, Sonya afterwards
+went away without a word of faith or farewell from her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_A Russian Church_
+
+
+One afternoon, after Nona had been nursing her friend, Sonya Valesky,
+for some time, Mildred Thornton went alone into a little Russian church.
+
+The church was situated behind the line of the fortifications at Grovno.
+Many years before it had been erected, and now it did not occur to the
+Russian officers that it stood in especial peril. Yet the church had the
+golden dome of all Russian churches, glittering like a ball of fire in
+the sun. Certainly it afforded an easy target for the enemy's guns, and
+more than this would aid German aeroplanists in making observations of
+the geography of the surrounding neighborhood. But since Grovno was
+deemed invincible, apparently no one considered the possibility of the
+other side to this question.
+
+High cement walls guarded and mounted with cannon encircled the
+countryside for many miles, while running out from the fortress itself
+were numerous secret passages and cells, at present stored with
+ammunition.
+
+On this afternoon of Mildred's visit to the church she stood outside
+for a few moments looking upward. At first she was merely admiring the
+beauty of the little church. The gold of the dome seemed to be the one
+appealing spot of color in all the surrounding landscape. Then she
+opened the bronze doors and stole quietly inside.
+
+Always the church was left open for prayer, but today on entering
+Mildred Thornton found it empty.
+
+A Russian church is unlike all others except the Greek, for it is filled
+with brilliant colors. Instead of images such as the Roman Catholics
+use, the Russians have paintings dealing with the life of Christ, almost
+obscuring the ceiling and the walls. There are no pews such as we find
+in our own churches, for the Russian remains standing during his
+ceremony and kneels upon the stone floor in time of prayer. So one
+finds only a few chairs scattered about for old persons and ill ones.
+
+Mildred secured a stool and sat down in the shadow, gazing up toward the
+high altar.
+
+She was an Episcopalian, therefore the Russian church and its services
+did not seem so unusual to her as they did to Barbara Meade. Really she
+had been deeply impressed by the few services she had seen. There was no
+organ and no music save the intoning of the voices of the priests, and
+the words of the service she could not understand. Nevertheless the
+Russians were a deeply religious people and perhaps their reverence
+had influenced the American girl.
+
+This afternoon, although alone, Mildred felt strangely at peace. Indeed,
+her eyes were cast down and her hands clasped in prayer, when the noise
+of some one else entering the church disturbed her reverie.
+
+To the girl's surprise the figure was that of a man whom the next
+instant she recognized as General Alexis. He had come into the church
+without a member of his staff, so that evidently he too desired to be
+alone for prayer.
+
+What should she do? Mildred was too confused to decide immediately.
+Feeling herself an intruder, yet she did not wish to create a stir and
+draw attention to herself by hastily leaving.
+
+General Alexis had evidently not seen her, too intent upon his own
+devotions. For he had at once approached the altar and knelt reverently
+before it.
+
+Mildred kept silent, hardly conscious of her own absorption and
+forgetting her meditations in her interest in the kneeling soldier.
+
+In these days of little faith, small wonder that it struck Mildred as
+inspiring to see this man of many burdens and responsibilities at the
+foot of the altar.
+
+From a western window the afternoon sun shone down upon him, revealing
+the weary lines in the great soldier's face. He did not look stern or
+forbidding to Mildred this afternoon, only deeply careworn and
+depressed. However much his soldiers and the Russian people might
+trust in his power to bring them safely through an attack at Grovno,
+evidently there were hours when the distinguished general suffered like
+lesser people. Mildred Thornton understood enough of human nature to
+realize what General Alexis must at this moment be enduring. The fate
+of a people, of a nation, almost of half the world, in a measure rested
+in his hands. How inadequate any mortal must feel in the face of such a
+task!
+
+By and by Mildred's eyes dropped their lids. She felt that she was
+seeing too deeply into the holy of holies of the man before her. This
+would not be just to any human being, unaware of her presence. If only
+she could get away without disturbing him! Doubtless on discovering her
+General Alexis would be angered, or at any rate annoyed, perhaps he
+might even consider her behavior as characteristic American intrusion.
+
+Once Mildred started to her feet, but she did not try to move again, for
+at almost the same instant the Russian general rose from his knees.
+
+His face had become a little less careworn than at the moment of his
+entrance; his blue eyes, which were remarkable with his other Russian
+coloring, were less sombre. Since he did not appear to observe her,
+Mildred was glad for this last glance at her companion.
+
+Since their one meeting for some reason he had haunted her thoughts more
+than she could explain. This was partly due to the fact that he was so
+much talked of at the fortress and so idolized by his soldiers. He was
+said to be without fear, or any human weakness, but after today Mildred
+Thornton knew better than this.
+
+Unconsciously the girl must have moved or made a sound of some kind at
+this instant, for General Alexis, who had almost reached the door,
+turned quickly around. At the same time his right hand grasped his
+pistol.
+
+Was there a spy or an assassin lurking in his church to destroy him?
+There were many men of other lands who would gladly give their lives for
+his.
+
+But General Alexis' hand dropped to his side again, as soon as it had
+touched the metal of his pistol. To his surprise he had discovered a
+pair of blue-gray eyes staring at him earnestly, with almost wistful
+sympathy.
+
+General Alexis came back to where Mildred stood.
+
+"You were here in church with me and I did not see you," he said as
+simply and naturally as an ordinary person, "I hope I did not disturb
+you."
+
+"_Disturb me!_" Mildred stuttered a little in her surprise at his
+words. "Oh, I beg your pardon, it was I who should not have been here
+when you came. But I did not know, that is I did not dream you ever
+left the fort, while I like to steal in here during the hours I have
+for rest. I will not come again."
+
+General Alexis shook his head. "I should be very sorry. Rather than that
+this should happen I would stay away during those hours. But is there
+not room enough here and peace enough for us both?"
+
+Without replying Mildred inclined her head and began walking toward the
+door, General Alexis keeping beside her.
+
+"If you are returning to the fortress and will permit me, I should like
+to go back with you?" he asked.
+
+And again Mildred could only stammer a confused acquiescence.
+
+In the little court before the Russian church General Alexis' guard of
+soldiers was awaiting him. However, at an inclination of his head they
+fell in at once, marching at a respectful distance behind their general
+and his companion.
+
+"I remember our having a short conversation a few weeks ago," the
+Russian officer continued gravely, after they had gone on a few yards.
+Mildred had been vainly endeavoring to make up her mind whether she
+should be the one to speak. If so, what on earth should she say?
+
+She was glad to be spared having to make up her mind.
+
+"You were very kind," the girl returned. "I did not imagine you would
+know me again, but perhaps it is because I am an American."
+
+Just as if he had been a young man and an everyday one, General Alexis
+smiled, and Mildred was no longer afraid of him.
+
+"Oh, I may remember you, Miss Thornton, for other reasons. But to be
+truthful it is because you are an American that I am taking this
+opportunity to talk to you again."
+
+This time the Russian officer hesitated.
+
+"You will not mention what I am going to say to any persons except your
+two American friends," he added, not as a request, but as a command.
+
+"Miss Thornton, as soon as it is possible for convenient arrangements to
+be made for you I want you to know that I intend having you sent back to
+Petrograd. You must of course have a safe escort or I should have seen
+to the matter sooner."
+
+Ordinarily Mildred Thornton possessed unusual self-control, but the
+surprise, indeed, the shock of the speech, took her unawares.
+
+She had not dreamed that she and Barbara and Nona had been such complete
+failures in their Red Cross work. Why, after their several years of war
+experience they had felt themselves of perhaps unusual value in the
+Russian nursing. So far as she knew there had been no complaints of
+their work, only praise. But in any case how could their failures have
+reached General Dmitri Alexis' ears? It seemed incredible that he should
+ever be annoyed with such trifling concerns.
+
+"Just as you wish," Mildred answered quietly, yet with greater personal
+dignity than any one of the other American Red Cross girls could have
+summoned. "We have done our best to help with the nursing. If we have
+failed it is, of course, wisest that we should return to Petrograd.
+Afterwards we can go home to the United States."
+
+"Failed in your nursing? And it is for that reason you believe I wish to
+have you sent away from my fortress?"
+
+Actually General Alexis stopped in his walk and faced his companion,
+since Mildred was, of course, obliged to stop also.
+
+"That is folly. I know nothing of your nursing. But from your face, from
+a something, a serenity and strength that your presence suggests, I feel
+that you must understand and love your profession."
+
+General Alexis was now studying Mildred Thornton with surprising
+intentness, as though he were trying in this moment of their
+acquaintance to pierce beneath the surface of the girl before him. This
+was characteristic of the man. No human being was ever too small or too
+unimportant for his consideration. He was a strange combination: a great
+soldier and yet one of the gentlest of men.
+
+"I want you to go back to Petrograd because I fear for your safety and
+the safety of your friends should you remain much longer at Grovno," he
+continued. "It is of this fact you are not to speak. I have reason to
+know that at almost any hour in the next few days we may expect the
+German attack. Grovno will resist to the uttermost. But it may be that
+the old fortifications are not so invincible as we once thought them to
+be. A new war has brought a new world and the old order changeth."
+
+Once again Mildred saw beneath the outer surface of the man, but almost
+at once he was again the soldier.
+
+"You understand that I do not expect this. If I decide it may be wiser
+to retreat, it will only be to form a conjunction with another part of
+Grand Duke Nicholas' army. But in any case I should prefer to have you
+three American nurses away from all possible danger. The Russian nurses
+will share the fate of their own soldiers. Be prepared to leave within a
+few days. When the necessary arrangements are made you will receive
+instructions."
+
+Then before Mildred could protest, and she had scarcely the courage for
+this, they had reached the gate of the fortress.
+
+Here General Alexis bowed and waited for his guard to come up with him.
+Mildred could feel the surprise even of the sentries at the gate and the
+few soldiers who chanced to be near at their unexpected appearance.
+Truly it was amazing that the great commander should be concerned with
+the fate of three unimportant American girls, and even more amazing that
+he should actually show his consideration and friendliness to one of
+them!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_Another Warning_
+
+
+Two hours after Sonya Valesky had been taken away by the Russian police
+Nona Davis started back for the Russian fortress.
+
+Only a few moments were required to pack her own belongings, since the
+little house and everything inside it had been fumigated as soon as
+Sonya reached a state of convalescence. Nona's time had been spent in
+trying to comfort Sonya's servants, old Katja and Nika, and also in
+trying to acquire some information from them.
+
+In neither effort was she successful. Either the old man and woman knew
+nothing of Sonya's actions, or else they were too grief-stricken to
+confide their knowledge. There was also the third possibility that Sonya
+had warned them against betraying her to any human being. Whatever the
+reason, they were dumb, except for their half-broken Russian prayers and
+stories of Sonya as a little girl. If she had not long ago been fully
+aware of the fact, Nona was now assured that the two peasants had been
+former servants of the Russian woman. It was Sonya who would not
+recognize the distinctions of maid and mistress, who called herself by
+no title and would allow her servants to call her by none.
+
+Therefore it was almost night when Nona left the little hut, old Nika
+carrying her bag and plodding behind her. The girl felt that she must
+return to her two American friends to receive their aid and sympathy.
+
+Surely something could be done for Sonya, it was horrible to think of
+her being carried off to a Russian prison, concerning which one had read
+such dreadful stories. She was too ill and she seemed so utterly without
+friends or relatives. Yet Nona herself was utterly powerless, knowing no
+one with any influence in Russia. Nevertheless she felt a strange bond,
+which had come to her out of the past, between herself and Sonya
+Valesky.
+
+One person, however, might be willing to give her advice, though she
+doubted his help. In returning to the fort, Nona meant as soon as
+possible to request an interview with the young Russian officer, Michael
+Orlaff.
+
+She was not frightened during her walk through the dismal Russian
+country. Wearing her Red Cross uniform she felt a sufficient protection,
+besides old Nika's presence. But the real truth is she was too absorbed
+in considering Sonya's history and fate to be aware of anything else.
+
+She was therefore more annoyed than frightened when a figure appeared
+before her at the crossing of the road by the Three Pines. The voice
+that straightway called out to them held a quality of command that made
+Nika drop at once on his knees. Nona was not in the least frightened,
+but then she had seen the outline of the young officer's figure and the
+glistening of his sword hilt.
+
+"I am Nona Davis, an American Red Cross nurse on my way back to the
+fortress, Lieutenant Orlaff," the girl explained. "I am glad to have met
+you, as perhaps you will tell me what I must do when I reach the gate."
+
+The Russian officer saluted as though Nona had been a superior officer.
+
+"I was on my way at the present moment to Sonya Valesky's home to
+inquire for her. This is the first hour of freedom I have been able to
+command all day. But tell me what brings you back to the fortress at
+this time? Has Sonya grown worse or is she better?"
+
+Here was her opportunity. Nona felt that fate must have sent it to her
+by a special dispensation. Now there need be no delay in her confidence.
+
+Lieutenant Orlaff came of a noble family, he must have powerful
+connections, if he could only be persuaded to use them in Sonya's
+behalf. Certainly he had appeared to be her friend, although
+disapproving of her behavior and views of life.
+
+As sympathetically and as quickly as possible Nona told of the coming
+of the Russian police. Then she laid great stress on the fact that Sonya
+was too ill to have been taken away at such a time. Yet she had gone
+without resistance, making no plea for herself and asking for no aid.
+What must _they_ do? The situation was unendurable.
+
+Intentionally Nona used the pronoun "they," including Lieutenant Orlaff
+with herself in their interest in Sonya. Yet except for his first
+muttered exclamation the Russian officer had made no comment.
+
+In the darkness Nona gazed at him resentfully. The Russians were a cruel
+people, sometimes all fire and then again all ice. She would like to
+have told him what an American man would have attempted for a friend,
+who was a woman and in such a tragic position, no matter what her crime
+or mistake. But Nona was sure by this time that Sonya Valesky had
+committed no crime. She had come to know her too well, her exquisite
+gentleness, so oddly combined with a blind determination that took no
+thought of self. Besides she recalled her friend's final words, "a
+follower of the Prince of Peace." Surely there were but few such
+followers in the European world today!
+
+Awaiting his answer, Nona continued to look at her companion. The young
+Russian might have stood for the figure of "Mars," the young god of war,
+as he strode along beside her. He was six feet in height, splendidly
+made, and tonight in the semi-darkness his face showed hard and unmoved.
+
+"I am grieved but not surprised at what you tell me," he returned the
+next moment. "Not a hundred, but a thousand times I have warned Sonya
+that she must give up her mad ideas. There was sufficient danger in them
+when the world was at peace. Now in time of war to preach that men are
+brothers, that there should be no such thing as patriotism, that all men
+are kin, no matter what their country, there never was such folly. It is
+hard to feel pity or patience."
+
+"Then you will do nothing to help?" Nona inquired, trying to hide the
+anger she felt. "Of course I understand that from your point of view
+and from the view of nearly all the world Sonya Valesky is hopelessly
+wrong. But I can't see why she should be punished because she has a
+higher ideal than other people?"
+
+If Nona had only thought for a moment she would have realized that the
+world has always thus rewarded its visionaries.
+
+"But Sonya is not content to think in this way alone. She has spent her
+life in trying to persuade other persons to her view, and has many
+followers. Once she was a very rich woman and traveled in many lands
+preaching her universal brotherhood," the young officer ended his speech
+with a characteristic shrug of his shoulders, which is the Oriental
+fashion of announcing that fate is stronger than one's will.
+
+"To have continued advocating such a doctrine in a time of war was worse
+than madness. I have done what I could, I have even risked my own honor
+and safety in remaining Sonya's friend. Now retribution has come," he
+concluded, as though the subject was not to be resumed.
+
+And Nona did not reply at once. So the young Russian officer and the
+American girl walked on toward the fortress through darkness that was
+each moment growing more dense. There were no lights save the stars,
+since the fortress was only dimly lighted in the interior; outside
+lights would too plainly have exposed their position to the enemy.
+
+"What then do you think will become of Sonya? What punishment will she
+have to suffer?" Nona inquired when she felt that she had gotten her
+voice under control.
+
+"Siberia," Lieutenant Orlaff returned briefly. Then feeling that his
+companion desired him to say more, he went on:
+
+"In many cases a man or woman who has done what Sonya Valesky has would
+be hung as a traitor. She has been preaching peace, which means she has
+been urging men not to fight. That is treason to Russia. But I believe
+that Sonya will be lightly dealt with because she comes of a family that
+once served the Czar and his father. Besides, Sonya is a woman and a
+beautiful one and it would not do to make a martyr of her."
+
+"Then you think Siberia a light punishment?" Nona questioned, no longer
+trying to keep the bitterness out of her tones. "Well, surely you accept
+a friend's misfortune easily! I have not your philosophy. I do not think
+I can do much, as I have no friends in Russia and no money, but as soon
+as I receive permission I shall go to Petrograd to be of whatever
+service I can."
+
+Lieutenant Orlaff stared at the girl beside him. It was impossible to
+see anything but the outline of her face, yet he could observe its
+pallor and the sheen of her hair under the nurse's cap. Besides, he felt
+the contempt she had not allowed herself to express, for the Russian is
+singularly proud and sensitive.
+
+"I repeat that I am very sorry," the young officer added. "You are wrong
+in thinking I take Sonya Valesky's fate lightly. Her family and mine, as
+I once told you, have been friends for many years. After the death of
+her parents my father was for a little time her guardian until she came
+of age. I will do what I can; I will write letters to her relatives and
+to people who were once her friends. But I warn you to expect nothing.
+Long ago they became weary of her wild theories and have had nothing to
+do with her for years."
+
+"Then all the more reason why I should do what I can. Even if I
+accomplish nothing, at least Sonya will have the comfort of knowing that
+a friend is near her during her trial," the girl said aloud, although
+really not addressing her companion.
+
+During the latter part of his speech she had been thinking very rapidly.
+First of all, she must ask for a leave of absence from her Red Cross
+nursing and explain that it was necessary for her to return to Petrograd
+for a time. But where was she to obtain the money for her expenses? She
+had nothing of her own except the few roubles which she was paid for her
+work and which she had forfeited when she undertook to care for Sonya
+Valesky. In all probability when Mildred Thornton knew her mission she
+could borrow the money from her. But then this would mean a delay so
+long that she might be of no service to Sonya. For Mildred kept only a
+small amount of extra money with her and would be compelled to write her
+father for any large sum. Weeks would pass before Judge Thornton could
+receive his daughter's request and then there would be more time
+required for the transmission of the check.
+
+However, besides Mildred there was Eugenia who could be appealed to for
+aid. There was no doubt of Eugenia's assistance, once she learned Sonya
+Valesky's story and realized why she had seemed a suspicious character
+to all of them in the days of their meeting on board the "Philadelphia."
+But Eugenia was away off somewhere in France nursing in a Red Cross
+hospital near her husband's line of trenches. It would also take time to
+reach Eugenia. Nevertheless she was the best person to whom to make a
+request.
+
+"But what connection have you with Sonya Valesky? Why should you not be
+willing to leave her to her fate?" Lieutenant Orlaff had to ask the
+second time before Nona heard him. "You have done what you could in
+nursing her through a dangerous illness; friendship could expect nothing
+more. Besides, you are an American girl and can have only a slight
+acquaintance with Sonya."
+
+Again Nona Davis did not reply immediately. How much or how little
+should she take the Russian officer into her confidence? However, it
+did not seem to her of much importance then.
+
+"You are mistaken. I am not simply an American girl," Nona explained
+quietly. "My father was an American, but my mother was a Russian. She
+and Sonya Valesky knew each other as girls, although my mother was the
+older. There is a stronger tie between us than you imagine. And I have
+reason to believe that my mother once thought as Sonya does about many
+things."
+
+"Your mother, impossible!" Michael Orlaff exclaimed, with more
+consternation and regret in his voice than was reasonable. "But you,
+surely you cherish no such ideas?"
+
+The American girl shook her head, although she seemed to be pondering
+over her companion's question before replying.
+
+"No," she returned at last. "I have no such ideas and I believe never
+will have them. Even though my mother was a Russian, I am an American in
+all my feelings and instincts and training. Russia fascinates me, but it
+frightens me at the same time. Besides, it is not necessary in our
+country that we should teach peace and equality, because it is in those
+two principles that the American people most believe. If Sonya is
+released I mean to try and take her back to the United States with me to
+remain until the war is over."
+
+"But Sonya will not be released, I have tried to make you understand,"
+Lieutenant Orlaff added doggedly. "What is one woman more or less in
+times like these? Go to Petrograd if you will, Miss Davis. I have told
+you it is not wise for you and your friends to remain at Grovno. But
+when you reach Petrograd have nothing to do with Sonya Valesky. I have
+known you only a short time, yet I am your friend and I warn you.
+Cannot you see that I care very much what becomes of you? You are a
+guest in my country; you have come to do us a service. It would be a
+poor return if trouble overtook you."
+
+Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff with old Nika hobbling behind them had by
+this time about reached the entrance to the fortress. Nona was truly
+grateful. She was very tired and depressed from the day's experiences.
+Moreover, she did not understand the manner or the words of the young
+officer beside her. At one moment he seemed extraordinarily hard and at
+the next unnecessarily concerned. Nothing could happen to her in
+Petrograd of a serious character, but in any case her experiences could
+not interest Lieutenant Orlaff.
+
+As soon as possible Nona said good-by to him. Later, in recalling their
+conversation, she often thought of a phrase he used: "What is one woman
+more or less in times like these?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+_The Attack_
+
+
+There was a great deal more for the three American Red Cross girls to
+confide to one another than they could find time for, soon after Nona
+Davis' return to the fortress.
+
+But two evenings later it chanced that the three girls were all on day
+duty and therefore had the same evening and night free.
+
+In the left wing of the fortress, near the hospital quarters, was the
+single, small bedroom which the three American nurses shared. Once
+before Nona had discovered Barbara Meade rereading one of Dick
+Thornton's letters and giving way to the blues in their small, cold
+chamber. This evening she made the discovery a second time.
+
+It chanced that Barbara had gotten away from her nursing first and
+hurried off to the only privacy that was possible under the
+circumstances. Because she was looking forward to a long and serious
+conversation with her two friends she made ready to meet the situation
+as comfortably as possible. This means that Barbara slipped out of her
+nursing uniform and into the pretty kimono that Mildred had presented
+her with long ago in Paris. Then, while she waited for the others, she
+read Dick's and Eugenia's latest letters once again.
+
+At last Dick had arrived in New York City and was writing from the
+lovely home Barbara remembered so well. He had only been there a little
+while when this letter had been written, but already Dick had confided
+the news of his engagement to his mother and father.
+
+Barbara could read between the lines in a characteristic feminine
+fashion. Dick declared that his father was delighted to hear of his
+happiness and that he had not forgotten that they probably owed their
+son's life to the girl to whom he was now engaged.
+
+But Judge Thornton agreed with his son--a man should be able to support
+his wife before he married. Therefore he meant to do all that he could
+to get Dick started in the right way, so that he might go ahead as
+quickly as possible.
+
+Dick did not seem to feel that it would take very long to accomplish
+this delectable result, but to Barbara, away off in Russia, a land she
+both disliked and feared, the situation looked pretty indefinite.
+
+Moreover, Dick had said nothing about the way in which his mother had
+received the news of a prospective daughter-in-law. This was not an
+oversight on Dick's part; Barbara understood him too well to be deceived
+into any such impression. He and his mother were too intimate and
+devoted for him not to care intensely about her attitude toward the girl
+he wished to marry. Never could he have forgotten to mention his
+mother's position! No, it was merely what she had always expected. Mrs.
+Thornton thoroughly disapproved of her son's engagement and Dick would
+not wound the girl he loved by writing her this fact. Later there was a
+chance that his mother might be persuaded to change her mind. But in any
+case it would be easier to explain by word of mouth than coldly to set
+down the present situation.
+
+Moreover, if Barbara had required further proof, she would have had it
+in the fact that Mrs. Thornton had not written her a single line to say
+either that she was glad or sorry that the daughter of her husband's old
+friend had become engaged to her only son. If she had spoken of the
+matter to Mildred, Mildred had never referred to it, proving again that
+any comment from Mrs. Thornton must have been unfavorable.
+
+While she made these reflections following the rereading of her fiance's
+letter, Barbara was lying on her cot-bed with an army blanket drawn
+close up under her chin. Now she buried her curly head deeper in her
+pillow and turned from Dick's to Eugenia's letter.
+
+It was difficult to think of Eugenia Peabody as Madame Castaigne, indeed
+as the Countess Castaigne, only neither she nor her husband would ever
+be induced to use their titles. The old Countess might always remain in
+safe possession of hers.
+
+Barbara wondered if Eugenia was happier than she was. Then she felt
+ashamed of herself. Eugenia's husband was every instant in danger of
+losing his life, while Dick had only returned to the United States,
+where he was now safe in his own home. Yet Eugenia's letter made no
+complaints. She mentioned having seen Captain Castaigne once in the past
+month, when he had received a leave of absence of twenty-four hours and
+had hurried to her.
+
+No, Eugenia's letter was chiefly devoted, as all her previous letters
+had been, to her interest and concern in the three American Red Cross
+girls. She wished them to return immediately to France and to the old
+chateau, where the Countess Castaigne would be only too happy to shelter
+them. Later, if they wished, they could find other Red Cross work to do
+in France. But Russia was not a country where the girls should have
+gone at this time, and certainly not without her to look after them.
+Moreover, the news from the Russian lines grew more and more alarming.
+Everywhere the Germans seemed to be conquering. It was disheartening
+after the Russian triumphs at the beginning of the war. The letter
+closed with a final plea: would Barbara do her best to persuade Nona and
+Mildred that they should as soon as possible come back to France. There
+would be no cowardice or desertion of duty in leaving Russia at present,
+only discretion and good sense.
+
+And upon this point of view Barbara was reflecting when Nona found her.
+
+Personally Barbara agreed with Eugenia and wished that Nona and Mildred
+would join her in withdrawing from Russia whenever they could best be
+spared. But she could not decide whether she ought to thrust her point
+of view upon her friends since she was uncertain whether her judgment or
+her desire most swayed her.
+
+France would be so much nearer New York and therefore Dick's letters
+could be so much more frequent. Then there was the Countess Castaigne,
+to whom she could pour out all her heartburnings. Moreover, there was
+the chance of every now and then seeing her beloved Eugenia.
+
+But Barbara also remembered that she had always been the least brave and
+determined of the four American nurses ever since their arrival in
+Europe. Should she reveal herself in the selfsame light again?
+
+At this instant Nona snuggled under the blanket beside the younger girl.
+
+The Russian winter was fast approaching and frequently it was bitterly
+cold. Besides, there were no chairs in the Red Cross girls' bedroom,
+only the three beds and some stools, so it was simpler to lie down than
+be seated.
+
+"I have a long story to tell you, Bab, and I want your advice, only I
+think we had best wait for Mildred, so you may not have to hear
+everything twice," Nona began.
+
+"You mean about Sonya Valesky?" Barbara queried. Of course Nona had told
+her two friends of Sonya's arrest, but had not been able to go into the
+details of the story, nor had she mentioned her own intentions. Very
+possibly both the girls would disapprove, as Lieutenant Orlaff had done,
+of her becoming more closely involved with Sonya Valesky's history.
+
+Fortunately Mildred appeared at the door without further delay.
+
+But when she entered the room, both of her companions could see that she
+also had something of importance upon her mind which she wished to
+discuss at once.
+
+Instead of lying down, Mildred immediately seated herself upon the edge
+of her cot, facing her friends. Then she drew her own blanket up around
+her shoulders.
+
+"Girls," she began, "I don't usually do the talking, but I want both of
+you to listen to me for a few moments tonight. I have been trying to
+speak of this for several days, and if I don't tell you now the order
+may come when you are wholly unprepared. We are to be sent back to
+Petrograd as soon as a safe escort can be found for us."
+
+"Sent back to Petrograd! Thank fate for even so much!" Barbara
+whispered under the cover. "Petrograd might be the beginning of a return
+journey to France."
+
+Then she drew her chin up, endeavoring to appear deeply wounded.
+
+"Do you mean, Mildred, that our services as Red Cross nurses are not
+considered valuable?" she demanded. "Why, only today one of the Russian
+surgeons declared that it was difficult to decide which one of us did
+the best work. Of course, I think Mildred at present deserves the prize,
+Nona has been off duty so long in taking care of Sonya Valesky."
+
+Mildred Thornton glanced from one girl's face to the other. In spite of
+Barbara's effort to conceal her pleasure, it was evident that she was
+secretly rejoicing. But Mildred understood Barbara's position; it was
+natural that she should feel as she did under the circumstances. Then
+Barbara had never put forth any claims to being a martyr.
+
+What really surprised Mildred Thornton was Nona Davis' expression of
+relief, almost of pleasure, at her news.
+
+Why, Nona had been more enthusiastic than any one of them over the Red
+Cross nursing in Russia! She it was who had originally planned their
+coming into Russia and had been most deeply interested since their
+arrival.
+
+"But why are we to be sent back to Petrograd?" Nona also demanded,
+frowning a little in her effort to grasp the situation. "What reason
+was given; have we failed in any duty or service since our arrival at
+Grovno?" Nona went on, sitting up, while two spots of color appeared
+in her cheeks. "Please, Mildred, don't be mysterious. Tell us where
+you received your information and why we are to be sent away so
+ignominiously?"
+
+Mildred Thornton shook her head in quiet reproach. She was not so
+impatient nor so unreasonable as the other two girls.
+
+"I am waiting to tell you," she returned. "The other afternoon I was
+sitting alone in the little Russian church when General Dmitri Alexis
+came in. On leaving he chanced to discover me and asked me to walk with
+him for a few moments. You know I told you I had met him the day he came
+into my hospital ward to decorate the dying soldier?" Mildred added.
+
+This time her companions only nodded, not wishing to interrupt.
+
+"Well, it was General Alexis himself who said that he wished us to go
+back to Petrograd. It was not that he felt the fortress at Grovno would
+not be able to hold out against the German attacks, but that a soldier
+should be prepared for any emergency. In case Grovno should fall, or
+General Alexis decide it wiser to retreat and join another portion of
+Grand Duke Nicholas' army, he does not wish us at Grovno. He says that
+the Russian Red Cross nurses have the right to remain with their own
+soldiers, but that we are Americans and with us the circumstances are
+different. He does not intend that harm shall befall us. So I am afraid
+we have no choice in the matter. As soon as the order comes from General
+Alexis we must be ready to leave at once. One can scarcely dare disobey
+the commander in chief," Mildred concluded, with regret in her tones.
+
+"Certainly not," Barbara added with emphasis.
+
+Then for another moment Nona Davis continued gazing thoughtfully at
+Mildred.
+
+"I suppose I ought to tell you, Mildred, you and Barbara both, that I am
+not sorry we are to go to Petrograd; indeed, I am truly glad. Because I
+had intended to try to get permission to return there alone. You know I
+told you of Sonya's arrest, but I did not tell you that I intend to do
+all that I possibly can to befriend her. She seems to have no one who
+cares what becomes of her so far as I can find out, except her two old
+servants, Katja and Nika. I may not be able to do much, but I have
+written Eugenia, asking her to lend me some money and to forward it to
+the American Ambassador at Petrograd as soon as possible. I would like
+to leave almost at once. You see, I don't know what has become of Sonya,
+nor when her trial may take place."
+
+"And for my part I hope you may never know," Barbara protested, sitting
+up with her cheeks suddenly crimson and her hair much tousled.
+
+"See here, girls, I know neither of you think much of my advice, and
+very probably you don't consider me especially brave. I'm not disputing
+the last point. But I am more sensible than either of you and I can see
+both sides of a situation better. Mildred is an idealist, and Nona, you
+are a dreamer. You think you are not, but I expect you have more of your
+mother's blood in you than you realize. I am desperately sorry for Sonya
+Valesky. I think she is an exquisite and much-wronged woman with the
+courage and devotion necessary to a martyr. But I don't see that you are
+particularly fitted to follow her example, Nona. That is all that would
+happen if you attempt to mix yourself up with Sonya Valesky's political
+fortunes in Petrograd. You have no important friends and could do
+absolutely nothing for her, but you might manage to get yourself and us,
+because we care for you, into a great deal of hot water."
+
+Mildred began to undress.
+
+"I think Bab is right, Nona, though I understand just how you feel. It
+does seem too cruel to desert a friend in a time of such extremity. When
+we get to Petrograd perhaps we can talk Sonya Valesky's case over with
+our Ambassador and he may help us with his advice. Let's get to sleep
+now; we can judge more wisely in the morning."
+
+It was too cold for a leisurely disrobing, so in a very short time the
+three girls were ready for the night. Soon after they were asleep.
+
+For many hours, lasting all through the darkness, the fortress at Grovno
+appeared wrapped in a profound silence. This in spite of the presence of
+many thousands of men without and within its gates. Now and then there
+may have been the faint noise of a sentry changing his watch, or a scout
+arriving with a report for headquarters.
+
+It was just at dawn when the German attack began. But the Russian
+general had been warned and was awaiting it.
+
+Never in all the grim history of war was there ever a more sudden or
+more terrific cannonading.
+
+The three American girls were at first stunned by the unexpected noises
+of the explosions. Shell after shell shrieked over the walls of the
+fortress, cannon after cannon repeated an unceasing bombardment.
+
+Neither were the Russian guns slow in replying. Except for the location
+of the sounds it was impossible to tell which were the Russian cannon
+and which those of the enemy.
+
+For some time no one of the three American girls attempted to speak. It
+would have been impossible to have heard one another. But by and by
+Barbara crawled out of her cot and put her arm about Mildred Thornton.
+
+"I am frightened, Mildred. I wish your General's order had come sooner
+and we were safely away from Grovno. I think perhaps because of Dick I
+don't want anything dreadful to happen. I want to be happy."
+
+There was a sob in Barbara's voice which Mildred heard, if not with her
+ears, at least with her heart.
+
+"It is going to be all right, little sister," she returned. "I can't
+explain exactly why, but I have perfect faith in General Alexis."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_Mildred's Opportunity_
+
+
+For five days and nights the firing continued almost without cessation.
+
+In a measure the occupants of the Russian fortress grew accustomed to
+the noises, unless one explosion seemed a little more terrific than the
+others.
+
+Actually the Red Cross nurses went about their work inside the hospital
+wing of the fort as though the Germans were not attacking.
+
+There was one fact, however, that could not be overlooked: more and more
+wounded were constantly being brought in, until not only the cots but
+most of the floor space of the wards were covered with stricken
+soldiers.
+
+There was no definite news. No one could say whether the Germans had
+been seriously depleted by the Russian gun fire, or whether the Grovno
+fort would be able to continue its resistance. A few of the outer
+defenses had already fallen. The Russian soldiers in the trenches behind
+the first line of barricades had sought safety inside the fortress. But
+these signs meant nothing of moment, and no one dared ask questions of
+the Russian officers, who alone might know the purpose of their
+commander.
+
+Then on the morning of the seventh day, at dawn, Mildred Thornton, who
+chanced to be gazing out of a small window which overlooked the
+courtyard of the fort, made a discovery.
+
+She had not been asleep all night, as there was so much work to be done,
+but on the way to her room had stopped for a single breath of fresh air,
+after the fever and confusion of the hospital.
+
+What she saw were enormous cannon being lifted on low motor trucks and
+these trucks being driven as swiftly as possible outside the Grovno gate
+and along the Russian highway. There were a few soldiers accompanying
+them.
+
+Almost with the flash of an intuition the idea came to Mildred: General
+Alexis was contemplating a retreat. He must have decided that, alone and
+with only a limited number of regiments at his command, he would be
+unable to hold out against the enemy for an unlimited time. Therefore it
+might be wiser to draw them further into Russia and away from their own
+supplies. General Alexis could join Grand Duke Nicholas beyond the Styr
+River and there be better prepared to meet the invaders. Mildred knew
+that the country on the other side of the river covered miles of swamps.
+If the bridges over the river were destroyed, the Germans would find
+great difficulty in pursuit.
+
+Therefore the cannon and other heavy guns, with whatever munitions could
+be spared, were first to be taken to places of safety. Later on General
+Alexis would probably give orders for a more general retreat. But when
+Grovno fell the Germans would find none of the spoils of war left behind
+for the victors.
+
+All this Mildred thought out slowly and carefully as she stood for a few
+moments beside the tiny window. Then she went into her room, changed
+her uniform for a fresher one and returned to her work. Not a word of
+her idea did she breathe to any one. She had no foundation for her
+impression, and at first it was an impression, nothing more. Yet Barbara
+or Nona might have been frightened by the suggestion.
+
+However, as the dawn passed and the hours of the day followed, other
+persons beside Mildred Thornton began dimly to appreciate the possible
+conditions. More and more of the munitions of war were hauled away, and
+surely this did not look as if the fight were to be persisted in at
+Grovno.
+
+Finally, just before twilight the order came that the wounded, with
+their nurses and surgeons, were to be moved at nightfall. Whatever
+preparations were necessary must be made at once.
+
+Silently small groups of soldiers were already being marched away.
+
+Oh, of course the old guns of the famous fortress continued to belch
+forth destruction, and there was no lessening of the front ranks of
+soldiers, who were directly attacking the enemy. General Alexis was
+merely drawing off the men whom he did not actually need for defense.
+Grovno could be protected by a comparatively small number of soldiers
+without the enemy appreciating any depreciation in their numbers. For
+all the firing was done behind a barricade of walls. So far the Germans
+were about a mile away. There would be no hand-to-hand combats until the
+fortress was finally demolished.
+
+Even under such dangerous conditions the American Red Cross girls were
+relieved to hear that they were to be sent from Grovno. They were also
+told that they were not to follow the army. As soon as they reached a
+railroad, the wounded and their nurses were to be removed to Petrograd.
+There they would find hospitals ready for their accommodation.
+
+So it was to be Petrograd after all! The three girls were not seriously
+frightened; indeed, they were less so than at the time of the French
+retreat. It was so evident that General Alexis was providing for the
+safety of the wounded before the danger time. They would find all the
+roads open to them now, while the Germans were being held on the farther
+side of the ancient stone walls.
+
+Just after dusk the hospital staff and their patients were ready for
+departure. Parties of ten, consisting of seven wounded soldiers, two
+nurses and a physician, gathered quietly in the stone courtyard enclosed
+by the wings of the fortress. They were then placed in low carts, drawn
+by gaunt horses and driven by a Russian moujik, wearing a long blouse,
+high boots and a cap with the peculiar Russian peak.
+
+There were no such facilities for transportation in Russia as the
+American Red Cross girls had found in France. The motor cars and
+ambulances owned by the Russian army were few in number and inadequate
+to their needs. These could only be employed in cases where swiftness
+was a pressing necessity.
+
+The three American girls were standing together just outside a stone
+doorway leading into the yard and awaiting orders. As a matter of
+course they wore their Red Cross uniforms: the long circular cape and
+the small close-fitting bonnet. But Barbara had also put on nearly
+everything else she possessed. They would be traveling all night under
+extremely uncomfortable conditions and through a bitterly cold country.
+In fact, Barbara looked rather like a little "Mother Bunch" with her
+squirrel fur coat on top of her sweater and her cape over them both, and
+carrying her army blanket.
+
+Mildred was also prepared for the cold with a heavy coat under her
+uniform cape. Unfortunately, Nona owned nothing to make her more
+comfortable, except that Mildred had insisted upon lending her her
+sweater. But both girls had their blankets over their arms and small
+bags in their hands. There would be no room for other luggage.
+
+"We are going to have a wonderful night, I think," Barbara murmured. "Of
+course it will be hard and we may have to suffer discomfort and see
+others suffering far worse things. But a retreat through this strange
+country, with its odd inhabitants, as unlike as if they belonged in
+different planets, will be an experience none of us will ever wish to
+forget."
+
+It was curious that Barbara should almost whisper her little speech, as
+if her voice could be heard above the uproar of the cannonading. Yet in
+the pauses between the firing lasting a few moments the silence seemed
+almost unearthly.
+
+At present there was just such a silence, so that the American girls
+could even hear the creaking of the old wagon wheels as the ambulance
+carts rolled out of the fortress yard. Now and then there was a faint
+groan from a wounded man that could not be repressed. The wagons had no
+springs, but were made as comfortable as possible by layers of hay
+covering the wagon floors.
+
+Almost the moment that Barbara's speech was finished, some one suddenly
+stepped out of the door, near which the three girls were standing.
+Looking up they discovered a colonel in the Russian army, on the
+personal staff of General Alexis. No one of the three girls knew the
+officer's name; his rank they recognized from the uniform he wore.
+Moreover, they had observed him always accompanying the Russian
+commander as one of his chief aides.
+
+His appearance in the courtyard at this moment was surprising, but in
+all probability he wished to issue a direct order concerning the plan of
+retreat.
+
+Yet the officer did not at once move forward to where groups of soldiers
+were also making preparations to be on the march. Instead he stood for a
+few moments just outside the door, gazing searchingly about him.
+
+No one of the Red Cross girls spoke. They were too awed by the gravity
+of the situation to make trivial remarks. Moreover, the big Russian
+officer was an impressive figure. It was more interesting to watch him
+until they were summoned to take their places in the wagons that were
+now leaving the fortress at intervals of about ten minutes apart.
+
+By chance Mildred Thornton made a movement and immediately the Russian
+colonel directed his glance toward her. He stared at her for a moment in
+silence and then, stepping forward, touched her upon the arm.
+
+"I should like to speak to you a moment alone, nurse," he announced in
+low tones, although Barbara and Nona both heard this part of his speech.
+
+Instantly Mildred complied, and the girl and man moved a few feet away,
+where they could talk without being overheard.
+
+Under the circumstances neither Barbara nor Nona had the temerity to
+follow them. But this did not mean that they were not both
+extraordinarily curious. At least they strained their ears as much as
+possible in order to try and catch a stray word spoken either by Mildred
+or her companion. But they heard nothing except the low murmur of the
+two voices, the officer asking questions and Mildred making replies.
+
+"What on earth do you suppose he can be saying to Mill?" Barbara
+finally whispered.
+
+Nona only shook her head. Any guessing would be a pure waste of energy,
+since Mildred would return in a few moments to explain.
+
+She did come back almost immediately, but with her first words her
+friends realized that something unusual had occurred. Ordinarily Mildred
+was calm and self possessed. Now her voice shook and indeed she seemed
+to be shivering either from cold or excitement.
+
+"I can't go with you to Petrograd, girls," she said quietly enough,
+however. "Listen, please, so I can make matters plain to you, for you
+may be ordered to leave at any moment. Barbara, I want you to write my
+father and mother and try and make them see I had no choice in this
+decision. But you must not speak of the circumstances to any one else.
+It would be dangerous for me and for us all if you betray this
+confidence. The officer who talked with me just then is Colonel
+Feodorovitch. He is very near General Alexis and tells me that General
+Alexis has been wounded. The wound is not considered serious and he
+refuses to give up his command or to leave the fort until the final
+moment for retreat. Neither must his soldiers learn of what has taken
+place. His own surgeon is with him now and will remain with him. But
+there is a chance that they will also require a nurse. Colonel
+Feodorovitch came to find one before we all got away. By accident he
+saw me first and requested me to remain behind. I could not refuse."
+
+"Mildred!" Nona and Barbara exclaimed in unison, with no attempt to
+conceal their dismay, almost their horror.
+
+"But you can't accept, Mildred," Barbara expostulated. "If you do I
+shall not leave you. Why, what would your mother and father and Dick
+think of my deserting you at such a time? Besides, don't you remember
+that General Alexis himself wanted us safe in Petrograd before the
+retreat. He would be bitterly opposed to your being chosen to remain
+behind. Didn't you speak of this to Colonel Feodorovitch?"
+
+"I couldn't, Barbara," Mildred insisted. "It would have been such a
+long story and Colonel Feodorovitch knows about as much English as I
+do Russian. It would only have looked as though I were shirking a most
+important duty. General Alexis will not recall ever having thought or
+spoken to me, at a time when the Russian army, perhaps the whole Russian
+nation, is dependent on his failure or success. If I can do even the
+least thing to help him at such a crisis, why, how could I refuse?
+Please try and see this as I do, Barbara, you and Nona. There may be
+nothing for me to do. General Alexis' wound is not serious or he could
+not retain his command. I must leave you now; I am wanted at once. I'll
+join you in Petrograd as soon as it is humanly possible."
+
+But Barbara had clutched Mildred's coat.
+
+"You shall not stay alone. I am almost your sister and I won't allow
+it."
+
+Quietly Mildred unclasped the younger girl's hand.
+
+"For my own sake I would give a great deal to have you stay, Bab, but we
+have no choice. Remember, we are under discipline like soldiers. We must
+do as we are commanded."
+
+With this Mildred returned inside the fortress.
+
+At the same instant Nona Davis and Barbara Meade heard their names being
+called. At once they moved forward and were assisted inside the wagon,
+which soon after passed out of the gate and moved creakingly along the
+main road in the direction of the Styr River.
+
+They were to cross one of its bridges, as the main army was now doing.
+The last of the regiments at Grovno would see that the bridges were
+destroyed before the German soldiers could come up to them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_A Russian Retreat_
+
+
+For many hours the ambulance wagon in which Nona and Barbara were riding
+jogged on, forming one of a procession of similar wagons.
+
+The girls grew cold and cramped. Now and then they tried to move in
+order to make their patients more comfortable or at least to give water
+to the wounded men. But the wagons were so crowded that the slightest
+stirring was well nigh impossible.
+
+Nevertheless, as Barbara Meade had predicted, the long night was one
+neither she nor Nona would ever be willing to forget.
+
+At first they rode along, passing the wooden huts of the peasants that
+once had lined both sides of the main road leading to the middle bridge
+across the river Styr. But many of these shacks had suffered from the
+stray shells of the Germans, which, having passed beyond the fortress,
+had brought desolation to the country side. These little wooden houses
+in many places were mere heaps of burnt-out ashes. Others were half
+burned, or else collapsed, as if they had been houses built by children,
+who had afterwards kicked them down.
+
+Everywhere, from the little homes that were unhurt, as well as from the
+ruined ones, the peasants were fleeing. With the passing of the first
+Russian regiment _away_ from Grovno they had guessed what must
+inevitably follow.
+
+There were bent-over old women and men carrying packs on their backs
+like beasts of burden, and in truth the Russian peasant has been nothing
+more for many centuries. The children, who ran along beside them, were
+incredibly thin and dirty and hungry.
+
+One member of each little group would carry a lighted pine torch,
+pointing the way with fitful shadows. But wherever it was possible they
+followed in the wake of the wagons.
+
+At first the night was dark and the American girls could hear their
+driver muttering strange Russian imprecations as his horses stumbled
+and felt their way along. Finally Barbara presented him with the
+electric lamp, which had been Dick Thornton's farewell present to her on
+the day of her sailing from New York City. She had used it many times
+since then, but never for a queerer purpose.
+
+However, before they reached the river the moon had risen and both Nona
+and Barbara were grateful for the added light. Yet the scene they next
+witnessed was lighted by many camp fires.
+
+The Russian infantry, who had been first to begin the retreat from
+Grovno, had camped on this side the river for a few hours rest.
+
+A confused murmur of sounds arose. In little knots before the fires men
+squatted on their knees in Oriental fashion, waiting for the copper pots
+to boil. For at all hours of the day and night the Russian drinks tea,
+now more than ever, since by command of the Czar the soldier is
+forbidden to touch alcohol.
+
+The girls could observe that the men had curiously unlike faces. It was
+difficult to understand how they could all be Russians. Never before had
+they seen so many of the soldiers at one time. Some of them had flat
+faces and high cheek bones, with eyes like the Chinese.
+
+It was very strange! Yet Nona whispered that they must remember some of
+these Russian soldiers had come from Asia, from beyond the Caspian Sea.
+Perhaps their ancestors had been members of the great Mongolian horde
+that had once invaded Europe under Genghis Khan.
+
+In their interest Nona and Barbara began discussing the possible history
+of these soldiers aloud. By and by, one of the wounded men, who chanced
+to be a Russian university graduate, smiled to himself over the interest
+and excitement of the two American nurses. He had been suffering
+intensely from the jolting and was glad for anything that would distract
+his mind from his suffering.
+
+"The soldiers you are discussing are called 'Turcomen,'" he remarked
+aloud.
+
+Nona and Barbara were startled by the voice out of the darkness, but
+they murmured confused thanks.
+
+"Perhaps we had best not discuss our surroundings so openly," Nona
+suggested, and Barbara agreed with a silent motion of her head.
+
+By this time they had reached the central bridge. It was built of steel
+and stretched like a long line of silver across the dark river.
+
+Over the bridge, like enormous over-burdened ants, the American girls
+could see other ambulance wagons moving slowly on. For the horses had
+become weary of their heavy loads and yet were to have no rest of any
+length until daylight.
+
+On the farther side of the river there were other small encampments. But
+by and by Barbara Meade fell asleep with her head pressed against Nona's
+shoulder.
+
+Occasionally Nona drowsed, but not often. She was torn between two
+worries. What would become of Mildred Thornton, left behind with
+strangers in a besieged fortress that might fall at any hour? Surely her
+situation was more fraught with danger than any in which the Red Cross
+girls had found themselves since their arrival in Europe.
+
+Nona wished that she had taken sides with Barbara more decisively and
+refused to leave Grovno unless Mildred accompanied them.
+
+But Mildred had disappeared so quickly. Then the order had come for
+their departure almost at the same instant. There had been so little
+time to protest or even to think what was best. Certainly Mildred
+herself should have refused to accept such a dangerous responsibility.
+But at the same moment that Nona condemned her friend, she realized that
+she would have done exactly the same thing in her place. In coming to
+assist with the Red Cross nursing they had promised to put the thought
+of duty first. Mildred could not shirk the most important task that had
+yet been asked of her.
+
+Perhaps no harm would befall her. Certainly Nona appreciated that
+everything possible would be done to insure Mildred's safety. Her life
+and honor would be the first charge of the soldiers surrounding her.
+Moreover, General Alexis would certainly leave the fortress before there
+was a chance of his being taken prisoner. He was too valuable a
+commander to have his services lost and the Germans would regard him as
+too important a capture.
+
+So Nona's attention wandered from Mildred to her other friend, Sonya
+Valesky. What had become of Sonya and how was she ever to find her in
+the great and unknown city of Petrograd? If she only had a friend to
+consult, but she had even been compelled to leave Grovno without seeing
+Lieutenant Orlaff again. He had promised to write a few letters in
+Sonya's behalf, although assured that they would do no good.
+
+Yet in some way Nona was determined to discover the Russian woman.
+Perhaps the Czar himself might be brought to pardon Sonya if he heard
+that she would leave for the United States and never return to Russia
+again. Then Nona smiled and sighed at the same time over her own
+simplicity. The Czar was at the head of his troops, with the fate of
+his crown and his country at stake. "What did one woman more or less
+count in times like these?"
+
+Before daylight Nona must have also slept, because she was finally
+awakened by the stopping of their ambulance wagon.
+
+When she opened her eyes she was surprised to see a rose flush in the
+sky and to hear the slow puffing of an engine.
+
+The wagons had arrived at a small railroad station, connecting with the
+main road leading into Petrograd.
+
+Word of the approach of the ambulances must have been sent ahead, for a
+train of more than a dozen coaches was even now in waiting.
+
+As quickly as possible Nona and Barbara crawled out of their wagon,
+stamping their feet on the frozen ground and waving their arms in order
+to start their circulation. Then they began to assist in transferring
+the wounded soldiers from the wagons to the cars. The men were
+wonderfully patient and plucky, for they must have suffered tortures.
+They had first to be lifted on to an ambulance cot and then transferred
+to another cot inside the train. A few of the soldiers fainted and for
+them Nona and Barbara were relieved. At least they were spared the added
+pain.
+
+Yet by and by, when the long line of cars started for Petrograd, the
+occupants of the coaches were amazingly cheerful. Tea and bread had been
+served all of the travelers and cigarettes given to the men.
+
+Some of the soldiers sang, others told jokes, those who were most
+dangerously ill only lay still and smiled. They were on their way to
+Petrograd! This meant home and friends to some of them. To others it
+meant only the name of their greatest city and the palace of their Czar.
+But to all of them Petrograd promised comfort and quiet, away from the
+horrible, deafening noises of exploding bullets and shells.
+
+Naturally Nona and Barbara were affected by the greater cheerfulness
+about them.
+
+"If only Mildred were with us, how relieved I would be. Really, I don't
+know how we are to bear the suspense of not knowing what has become of
+her," Barbara said not once, but a dozen times in the course of the day.
+
+But night brought them into the famous Russian capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_Petrograd_
+
+
+On their arrival Barbara and Nona went with the wounded soldiers to a
+Red Cross hospital in Petrograd.
+
+There, to her consternation, a few days later Nona Davis became ill. The
+illness was only an attack of malarial fever, which Nona had been
+subject to ever since her childhood; nevertheless, the disease had never
+chosen a more unpropitious time for its reappearance.
+
+For a few days she seemed dangerously ill, then her convalescence left
+her weak and exhausted. She was totally unfit for work and only a burden
+instead of an aid to the hospital staff.
+
+Poor Barbara had a busy, unhappy time of it. She did her best to look
+after Nona in spare moments from her regular nursing, and she also tried
+not to lose courage when no word came from Mildred. Neither from
+newspapers nor inquiries in all possible directions could she even learn
+whether Grovno had fallen.
+
+She was unable to read the newspapers for herself and so was compelled
+to wait until one of the other nurses could find time to laboriously
+translate the information into English.
+
+Evidently at the present time the Russian papers did not desire the
+Russian people to learn the fate of the fortress and its commander. For
+all news on the subject was carefully withheld.
+
+Under the strain Barbara might have broken down herself except for a
+piece of good fortune that at length came to Nona and to her.
+
+An American woman, married to a Russian, the Countess Sergius, learning
+of the presence of the two American Red Cross nurses in the Russian
+hospital, called at once to see if she could do anything for their
+comfort. Discovering Nona ill and Barbara on the verge of a breakdown,
+the American woman insisted that the girls be her guests. They were not
+able to be of special assistance at the hospital under the present
+circumstances, while a week or so of rest and change might do wonders
+for them both.
+
+In answer to Nona's protest that she was not well enough to be an
+agreeable visitor and could not bear the ordeal of meeting strangers,
+the older woman announced that the girls could live as quietly as they
+liked. She would let them have a private apartment in her house and they
+need see no one except the servants who would look after them.
+
+As the American Countess was undoubtedly extremely wealthy and most
+anxious to be of service, Barbara and Nona gratefully accepted her
+invitation. So about ten days after their arrival in Petrograd they were
+living in one of the handsomest houses along the famous Nevski Prospect.
+This is the Fifth Avenue of Petrograd, a wide avenue three miles in
+length. Nothing is small in Russia or in the Russian people.
+
+The girls were delightfully comfortable. One-half the third floor of the
+great house had been given up to them, consisting of two bedrooms, a
+bath, and a sitting room where their meals were served.
+
+Indeed, the girls soon discovered that although the Countess meant to be
+hospitable and kind, she was sincerely glad that they wished to be left
+alone. She was an extremely busy woman, one of the important hostesses
+of Petrograd in times of peace. But now, like most society women in the
+allied countries, she was devoting all her energies to relief work.
+There were charity bazaars and concerts and Russian ballet performances,
+for the benefit of the soldiers, that must be managed day and night.
+
+After three days of luxury and idleness Nona Davis felt strong again.
+
+Perhaps more than the other Red Cross girls she deserved credit for her
+devotion to her nursing. For Nona had the southern temperament which
+loves beauty and ease, and there were times in her life when she had
+deliberately to shut her eyes to these enticements.
+
+But now, with the thought of Sonya Valesky ever on her mind, she could
+not allow herself to relax an hour longer than necessary.
+
+Contrary to Barbara Meade's judgment, Nona decided to ask the advice of
+their hostess as to how she should begin the search for her Russian
+friend.
+
+Instantly the American woman became less cordial. But when Nona had told
+as much of the other woman's story as she dared, the Countess frankly
+discussed the situation with her.
+
+If Nona would be guided by an older woman she would give up the quest
+for Sonya Valesky. Certainly Sonya's fate was an unhappy one, but she
+was wholly responsible for it herself. If she had been content to take
+life as she found it she would now have been occupying a brilliant
+position.
+
+The Countess evidently had no use for reformers or persons who break
+away from recognized conditions. She confessed to Nona that her own
+position in Russian society had been difficult to attain. Not for worlds
+would she be suspected of having anything to do with a Socialist, or an
+Anarchist, or whatever dreadful character Nona's friend might be! The
+Countess was perfectly polite, but Nona thoroughly understood that if
+she insisted upon discovering the unfortunate Sonya, her presence as a
+guest in the Countess' home would no longer be desired.
+
+Since there was nothing else to do, Nona decided that she must wait
+until help came from some unexpected direction. She had no idea of
+giving up the search for Sonya. But in the meantime she could enjoy
+a brief rest and see Petrograd.
+
+In the winter time Petrograd is the most beautifully quiet city in the
+world. And now in war times it was scarcely less so, for the ground was
+covered with many inches of snow. There was a muffled sound even to the
+tread of the soldiers' feet, marching through the frozen streets.
+Neither was there a single wagon or carriage to be heard, since
+everybody went about in sleighs and everything was hauled in the same
+way. But now, because all the best horses were at the front, one often
+saw great oxen drawing sledges through the once gay and fashionable
+city.
+
+The Countess Sergius had retained only a single pair of horses for her
+own use and that of her big household, nevertheless, she now and then
+loaned her sleigh for an afternoon to her two American girl guests.
+
+Sight-seeing was the only amusement which kept Nona and Barbara from a
+morbid dwelling on their worries. Barbara had written to Judge and Mrs.
+Thornton in the way that Mildred had directed. But she could not feel
+that either of Mildred's parents would feel any the less wretched and
+uneasy because their daughter believed that she was only "doing her
+duty." Since the original letter Barbara had never been able to write
+them again. What could she say, except that no word of any kind had
+since been received from Mildred? There would be small consolation in
+this news, and of course Barbara wrote Dick every few days.
+
+One afternoon Barbara and Nona left the Countess' house at about three
+o'clock and drove down the entire length of the Nevski Prospect toward
+the Winter Palace of the Czar.
+
+There were scudding gray clouds overhead and a light snow falling.
+
+No one could have failed to be interested. The Russian streets are
+ordinarily paved with sharp-edged stones, but the ice made them smooth
+as glass. Over the windows of the shops the girls could see painted
+pictures of what the shopkeepers had to sell inside. This is common in
+Russia, since so many of her poorer people are unable to read.
+
+Most of the buildings in Petrograd are of stucco, and indeed, except for
+her churches and a few other buildings, the Russian capital resembles a
+poor imitation of Paris. Peter the Great, who constructed the city upon
+the swamp lands surrounding the river Neva, was determined to force
+Russia into the western world instead of the east. For this reason he
+brought all his artists from France and Italy, so that he might model
+his new city upon their older ones.
+
+The Winter Palace itself the girls discovered to be a Renaissance
+building, with one side facing the river and the other a broad square.
+Their sleigh stopped by the tall monolith column commemorating Alexander
+the First, which stands almost directly in front of the Palace. Leading
+from the Palace to the Hermitage, once the palace of the great
+Catherine, is a covered archway.
+
+The Hermitage is one of the greatest art museums in the world and
+contains one of the finest collections of paintings in Europe. Although
+the two Red Cross girls had now been in Petrograd several weeks, neither
+of them had yet been inside the famous gallery.
+
+"Suppose we go in now and see the pictures," Barbara proposed. "We might
+as well take advantage of our opportunities, even if we are miserable,"
+she added with the characteristic wrinkling of her small nose. "Besides,
+I'm frozen, and you must be more so, Nona. How I have adored my squirrel
+coat and cap ever since we came to this arctic zone! Thank fortune, our
+Countess has loaned you some furs, Nona! Do you know, I really am not so
+surprised that your mother was a Russian noble woman. You look like my
+idea of a Russian princess, with your pale gold hair showing against
+that brown fur. Who knows, maybe you'll turn into a Russian princess
+some day! But shall I tell our driver to stop?"
+
+Nona Davis shook her head, smiling and yet rather pathetic, in spite of
+her lovely appearance in borrowed finery.
+
+"I don't want to be a Russian princess, Bab, or a Russian anything, I am
+afraid, in spite of my heritage. I think it a good deal nicer to be
+engaged to an American like Dick Thornton. If you don't mind, let's
+don't try to see the pictures today. I am tired and we ought to be fresh
+for such an experience. If you are cold, suppose we go back into the
+center of the town and walk about for a while. Then we can send the
+sleigh home to the Countess. I don't feel that we should keep it for
+our use the entire afternoon, and if we stop to look at the pictures it
+would take the rest of the day. There are some queer side streets that
+join the Nevski Prospect I should like to see."
+
+The Countess Sergius lived about two miles away from the Winter Palace.
+When the girls were within a quarter of a mile of the house where they
+were guests, they finally got out of the sleigh. Their driver was an old
+man with a long beard and not the character of servant the American
+Countess would have employed under ordinary conditions. But her former
+young men servants were in the army, and like other wealthy families in
+Russia at this time, she was glad to employ any one possible.
+
+However, Nona undertook to make the man understand that they would not
+need his services again that afternoon. She had more of a gift for
+languages than the western girl and her knowledge of French was always
+useful. So after a little hesitation, the big sleigh at last drove away.
+And actually for the first time since their arrival in Petrograd Nona
+and Barbara found themselves alone in the Russian streets.
+
+There could be no danger of getting lost, for they had only to come to
+this central thoroughfare and the Countess' house lay straight ahead.
+
+So the two girls turned into the side street that lay nearest them.
+
+After a five minutes walk they found themselves in another world.
+
+On the Nevski Prospect they were in Europe; here they were in Asia.
+
+It was curious, but even the smells were different. These were Asiatic
+odors, if the girls had only known, queer smells of musk and attar of
+roses and other less pleasant things.
+
+The Russian women and children were crowding the narrow streets, while
+inside the little shops the wares were displayed on big tables. In the
+summer time these goods were sold on open stalls in the streets.
+
+"Let us go into one of the shops and buy a few trinkets," Barbara
+suggested. "I would like to own one of those embroidered Russian
+aprons."
+
+Then she stopped, her attention caught, as Nona's had been, by a sudden
+rustling in the air above them. A moment later a flock of gray and white
+pigeons was crowding about their feet. These also were the pigeons that
+haunt the thoroughfares of the east.
+
+Personally Nona Davis would have preferred remaining outside in the
+fresh air. She was cold, but she objected to the squalid atmosphere of
+the interior of so many Russian houses. However, she could not refuse to
+agree to every request Barbara made of her all that afternoon.
+
+A moment later and she was almost as interested as the younger girl in
+making purchases.
+
+There were odd pieces of beautiful, gayly colored embroideries that,
+according to American ideas, appeared incredibly cheap. Then there were
+bits of Russian brass, that seemed to interest Barbara particularly, as
+it is probable that she had a sudden rush of the housekeeper's ardor.
+Here were interesting things that might be purchased for her own and
+Dick's apartment in New York almost for nothing!
+
+Whatever the cause, Nona, after fifteen or twenty minutes, found her
+own pleasure cooling. Moreover, she had very little money to spend on
+frivolities, and so found a stool in a corner and sat down to wait for
+Barbara and to watch the crowd.
+
+There were numbers of people in the shop, although few of them seemed
+to be making purchases. Now and then a big soldier, crowned by his
+peaked fur cap, would stalk proudly in to purchase a trinket, possibly
+for the girl of his heart. The Russians are ardent lovers, and as the
+soldier was only at home on a short leave, he had to make the best of
+his opportunity.
+
+Most of the women who were not wearing furs had heavy shawls drawn over
+their heads and shoulders. Nona could not see their faces very well,
+and only received flitting impressions of dark eyes and large, heavy
+features, with almost always the curiously pale and yet sallow skin
+peculiar to the Russian peasant. It is only among the better classes
+that one finds other types.
+
+Suddenly Nona gave a cry of alarm, which she quickly hushed. To her
+surprise some one had quietly come up back of her and laid a hand on
+her shoulder. It was one of these same peasant women, wearing a heavy,
+dark shawl.
+
+She was trying to say something which Nona could not at once
+understand. Yet it was plain enough that the woman was imploring
+her to make no disturbance that would attract attention.
+
+The next moment Nona had recognized the woman. It was old Katja, Sonya
+Valesky's servant, whom she had left with Nika in her little hut.
+
+What had brought the old woman to Petrograd? In reality Nona knew
+without asking the question. It was Katja's devotion to Sonya.
+
+The old woman was speaking a queer jumble of languages, Russian and the
+few words of English she had learned while the American girl was living
+in the same house.
+
+What Nona finally learned was, that Katja was imploring her to meet her
+somewhere the next day, where they could talk without being observed.
+
+Nona knew of no place except the one that was always open to rich and
+poor alike in Russia. And she had to think quickly. Yet the churches had
+always been their refuge ever since the arrival of the four Red Cross
+girls in Europe.
+
+At the same moment Nona could only recall the most celebrated Russian
+church in Petrograd. She must lose no time, for even Barbara must not
+learn of her mission, and Barbara might turn and come back to join her
+at any moment.
+
+"In the Cathedral of St. Isaac, toward the left and in the rear of the
+church at three o'clock tomorrow," Nona murmured. And Katja must have
+understood, for she went away at once.
+
+It was just as well, because at almost the same moment Barbara returned
+to join Nona, her arms full of queer-shaped packages, and looking
+happier than she had since their arrival in the Russian city.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_The Next Step_
+
+
+The following afternoon it seemed to Nona Davis that all Petrograd was
+a-glitter with onion-shaped domes. The Russian priests explained that
+these domes were really shaped like folded rosebuds, symbolizing the
+church on earth that was to blossom in heaven. But to see them in this
+fashion required a Russian imagination.
+
+However, the effect was very beautiful, and Nona was glad to have her
+attention diverted, as she started out to find the Cathedral of St.
+Isaac. Some of the domes were of blue, set with stars to represent the
+canopy of the sky. But Nona knew that the central dome of St. Isaac's
+was an enormous copper ball covered with gold and that its radiance
+could be seen at a great distance.
+
+She had had great difficulty in fulfilling her engagement with Katja.
+At first she had tried to deceive Barbara in regard to her intention,
+being fully determined to continue her search for Sonya until she had
+discovered her; nevertheless, it did not seem worth while to trouble
+Barbara while she had no actual information to go upon. But Barbara
+would not be deceived.
+
+Nona suggested that she wished to walk for several hours and feared the
+younger girl might become fatigued. In reply Barbara assured her that
+there was nothing she herself so much desired as exercise, and as for
+growing tired, Nona would the sooner be worn out, since she was the one
+who had been ill.
+
+Afterwards, while there were other excuses for her departure which Nona
+struggled to invent, all were equally useless. From the first Barbara
+had guessed her plan. Although she had seen nothing and knew nothing of
+Nona's meeting with Katja the day before, she had immediately guessed
+that Nona's desire for a solitary excursion was in some way connected
+with her effort to find Sonya Valesky. And this effort the younger girl
+continued to oppose.
+
+So Nona had finally departed, leaving Barbara in tears over her
+obstinacy and foolhardiness. She was very unhappy, but what else was
+possible for her to do? Had Barbara been in the same need that Sonya
+now was, surely no one could have persuaded her to turn her back upon
+Barbara.
+
+Katja was waiting and fortunately there were but a few other persons in
+the Cathedral at the same hour.
+
+As quickly and as intelligently as she knew how, the old woman explained
+that Sonya was in a civil prison in Petrograd and was to be tried for
+treason within another week. Katja had not seen her child, but had
+received a few lines in reply to a dozen letters which a friend had
+written for her. Katja herself could neither read nor write.
+
+Although Nona could speak only a few words of Russian, she had learned
+to read a little of the language with difficulty. Now she managed to
+translate her friend's ideas, if not her exact words.
+
+Sonya did not wish Katja to try to see her nor to attempt to appear at
+the prison at the hour of her trial. Nothing could be done for her
+release and Katja would only be made the more miserable. Neither was
+Katja to let Nona know anything of her whereabouts until after sentence
+was passed. Then if Katja could find the American girl she was to say
+farewell for Sonya Valesky. She was also to thank Nona for her kindness
+and add that the acquaintance with her friend's daughter had brought
+Sonya much happiness.
+
+Standing with the crumpled sheet of paper in her hand, written by the
+woman who so soon expected to say farewell to the things that make life
+worth living, Nona Davis felt her own cheeks flush and her eyes fill
+with tears. How little had she really deserved the Russian woman's
+affection, for how much she had distrusted her!
+
+Well, Nona again determined to do all that was possible now to prove her
+allegiance.
+
+As soon as she could get away from Katja, Nona secured a sleigh and
+drove at once to the house of the American Ambassador. Because her card
+represented her as an American Red Cross nurse she felt assured that she
+would be treated with every courtesy.
+
+This was perfectly true, although obliged to wait half an hour; finally
+one of the secretaries of the Ambassador invited the American girl into
+a small office. She could not, of course, see the Ambassador without a
+special engagement, but the secretary would be pleased to do whatever
+was possible.
+
+Nona was both pleased and relieved. The secretary proved to be a
+southerner, a young fellow from Georgia, who could not have been more
+than twenty-five years old. Certainly it was far easier to tell the
+story of Sonya Valesky to him than to an older man or to one whose
+time was more valuable.
+
+Nevertheless, when she had finished, although there was no doubt of
+the secretary's attention and interest, Nona found him equally as
+discouraging as everybody else had been concerning Sonya Valesky's
+fate and any part which she might have hoped to play in it. There
+could be little doubt that Sonya would be condemned to Siberia. She
+was a political prisoner and would not be tried by a military court.
+Her offense was spoken of as sedition, or as an infringement of the
+"Defense of the Realm" act. For Sonya had been endeavoring to induce
+the Russian soldiers to join her peace societies rather than to fight
+for their country.
+
+The young American secretary did his best to make the situation plain to
+Nona Davis. In England or France, under the same circumstances, Sonya
+Valesky might have escaped with only a short term of imprisonment or a
+fine. But this would not be true in Russia. Besides, it appeared that
+Sonya was an old offender and that her socialist ideas were well known.
+It would be impossible for the American Ambassador or any member of his
+staff to make the smallest effort in Sonya's behalf. Such an effort
+would represent an act of discourtesy on the part of the United States
+Government, as if she were attempting to interfere with Russia's
+treatment of her own subjects.
+
+There was one thing only which the young secretary could undertake in
+Nona's cause. He would make an effort to have her allowed to visit her
+friend. If Sonya's trial was not to take place for a week, it was just
+possible that the American girl might be permitted to see her.
+
+So Nona was compelled to go away with only this small consolation.
+
+However, before leaving she secured the address of an American family
+in Petrograd who might be willing to take her as a boarder. For Nona
+realized that with her present plan she could not longer remain as a
+guest in the Countess' house.
+
+Then Barbara had again to be reckoned with. It was early dusk when Nona
+Davis finally reached their apartment in the splendid Russian house.
+Barbara had just finished tea, but the tea things had not been sent
+away.
+
+Because Nona was evidently so tired and discouraged the younger girl
+comforted her with tea and cakes before beginning to ask questions.
+Afterwards Barbara insisted upon being told the entire account of the
+afternoon's experiences. Nona must begin with her meeting with Katja,
+her interview in the Cathedral, then her visit to the house of the
+United States Ambassador and finally the description of the place where
+she had engaged board before returning to her temporary home.
+
+Although Barbara was ordinarily much given to conversation and frequent
+interruptions of other people's anecdotes, she listened without comment
+until the other girl had finished.
+
+"We are both too tired to pack up our few possessions tonight, Nona,"
+she answered in conclusion; "but we can attend to them in the morning
+and then say good-by to the Countess."
+
+Nona was lying upon a divan with her yellow head sunk among a number of
+brown cushions, but she got half way up at Barbara's words.
+
+"But I don't expect _you_ to leave here, Barbara dear, to go with
+me," she protested. "I didn't engage board for anyone else. The house
+where I am to stay is shabby and not especially comfortable. I wouldn't
+have you leave this lovely home for worlds! I am sorry, you may be a
+little lonely without me. But I am hoping we may hear from Mildred at
+almost any hour and then I'm sure the Countess would be only too happy
+to have her take my place here. I expect Mildred will be a distinguished
+character after having been chosen to nurse the great General Alexis."
+
+"Don't talk nonsense," Barbara protested, in answer to the first part of
+her friend's speech. "Of course, I am not going to let you wander off
+and live in a strange family by yourself." Then Barbara sighed.
+
+She was sitting on a small stool beside Nona's couch, resting her chin
+on her hand and looking very childish and homesick.
+
+"Of course, I know you have to do whatever you can for Sonya Valesky,
+Nona," she agreed unexpectedly. "In your position I hope I would have
+the courage to behave in the same way. I have only made a fuss about
+things because I was worried for you, but I have always known you would
+not pay any attention to me. Nobody ever does."
+
+Although Nona laughed and attempted to argue this point, Barbara
+remained unconvinced.
+
+"Oh, well, possibly Dick or Eugenia can sometimes be persuaded into
+doing what I ask, but never you or Mildred," she concluded, and then
+sighed again. "If we could hear just a single word from Mildred!"
+
+The next day the two girls moved to their new lodgings. Their hostess
+was gracious enough, but made no protest when Nona explained that she
+expected to be permitted to visit the Russian prisoner within the next
+few days.
+
+The order to see Sonya came sooner than Nona expected. Indeed, the two
+girls had only been in their new quarters for about thirty-six hours
+when the young secretary from the embassy called upon them. With him he
+brought the permit from the Russian government.
+
+Nona was to be allowed to visit the prison near the Troitska bridge on
+the following day and to spend ten minutes with her friend. She must
+understand that a guard would listen to whatever conversation was held.
+Also she must take with her nothing of any kind to present to Sonya
+Valesky. Their interview would be closely watched.
+
+Naturally Barbara Meade insisted upon accompanying Nona. She knew, of
+course, that she would not be allowed to see the prisoner, nor had she
+the least wish to see her. But she could wait in some antechamber until
+the ten minutes passed and then bring Nona safely back to their lodging
+place. For certainly the experience ahead of her friend would be a
+painful one, and although Nona did her best to conceal her nervousness
+from the younger girl, Barbara again was not deluded.
+
+When the two girls set out for the prison the next afternoon it would
+have been difficult to decide which one most dreaded the ordeal. But in
+truth the ordeal was in a way a mutual one. While she waited, doubtless
+Barbara's imagination would paint as tragic a scene as Nona might be
+obliged to go through with.
+
+It seemed to Nona Davis, after leaving Barbara, that she walked down a
+mile or more of corridor. The corridor might have been an underground
+sewer, so dark and unwholesome were its sights and smells. It led past
+dozens of small iron doors with locks and chains fastened on the
+outside.
+
+Finally Nona's guard paused before one of these doors and then opened
+it. Inside was an iron grating with bars placed at intervals of about
+six inches apart. The room it barricaded was six feet square and
+contained a bed and stool. There was one small window overhead, not much
+larger than a single pane of glass in an average old-fashioned window.
+
+But the light from the window fell directly upon the head of the woman
+who was seated beneath it.
+
+Sonya Valesky had not been told that she was to receive a visitor. So
+perhaps Nona did appear like a sudden vision of a Fra Angelico angel,
+standing unexpectedly in the dark corridor with her hair as golden as a
+shaft of sunlight.
+
+Sonya only stared at the girl without speaking. But Nona saw that her
+friend's dark hair, which had been a little streaked with gray at their
+first meeting more than two years before, was now almost pure white.
+However, Sonya did not look particularly ill or unhappy; her blue eyes
+were still serene. Whatever faith in life she may have lost, she had not
+lost faith in the cause for which she must suffer.
+
+"Don't you know me, Sonya?" Nona asked almost timidly, as if she were
+talking to a stranger.
+
+Then the Russian woman came forward with all her former dignity and
+grace. She was wearing a black dress of some rough material, but it
+seemed to Nona Davis that she had never seen a more beautiful woman.
+Sonya was like a white lily found growing in some underground dungeon.
+
+She put her hands through the bars and took hold of Nona's cold ones.
+
+"This is wonderfully kind of you, Nona?" she said with the simplicity
+of manner that had always distinguished her. "I have wanted to know what
+had become of you and your friends. Somehow information sifts even
+inside a prison in war times, and I have learned that General Alexis
+gave up trying to hold Grovno. You are on your way back home, I trust."
+
+Nona could scarcely reply. It seemed so strange that Sonya could be
+talking in such an everyday fashion, as if her visit were being made
+under ordinary circumstances. Not a word did she say of her own sorrow
+or the tragedy that lay ahead of her.
+
+Nona could only fight back the tears. "We are returning to France as
+soon as Mildred Thornton joins us in Petrograd," she answered, and then
+explained that Mildred had stayed behind at Grovno.
+
+"But isn't there anything I can do for you, Sonya?" Nona added. "I shall
+certainly not leave Petrograd until after your trial, and then if you
+are released you must come away with me."
+
+The older woman only shook her head.
+
+"I shall not be released, Nona, so don't make yourself unhappy with
+false hopes. This is not my first offense against the government of
+Russia. I have never believed in the things in which they believe, not
+since I was a little girl. I suppose I am a troublesome character. But
+after all, in going to Siberia I am only following the footsteps of
+greater men and women than I can hope to resemble."
+
+Sonya let go Nona's hands and stepped back into her little room. From
+under her pillow she drew a small folded paper.
+
+"In going to Siberia I forfeit all my estates, Nona," Sonya Valesky
+explained when she came back. "But I have a small amount of money in
+the United States, as well as in my own country. Perhaps the government
+may be willing to allow me to dispose of my property, although of course
+I can't tell. But I have made a will and had it witnessed here in the
+prison. If it is possible I want you to have half of the little I have
+left and Katja and Nika the rest. There would be no chance to leave it
+to the cause of peace in these days."
+
+Nona received the little paper.
+
+"You won't be in Siberia all your life, Sonya, that I won't believe,"
+she protested. "Some day when this war is over the Czar will pardon you.
+Please remember that I shall never forget you and never stop trying to
+do what I can for your release. If I am allowed to have it, I will take
+care of your money until you are able to come to me."
+
+Hearing a guttural noise behind her, Nona Davis now turned around. Her
+guard was signaling that the time allotted for her visit was over.
+
+She was not able to kiss the older woman good-by, only to hold both her
+hands close for another moment and then to go away with her eyes so
+blinded with tears that she could not see. Yet she never forgot the
+picture that Sonya Valesky made when she had a final glance at her.
+
+Four days later a few lines appeared in the Russian daily papers,
+stating that Sonya Valesky, a woman of noble birth, but at present a
+Russian nihilist, had been condemned to penal servitude in Siberia for
+life. She had been proved guilty of treason to the Imperial Government.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+_Mildred's Return_
+
+
+On the same afternoon that Nona and Barbara read the news of Sonya
+Valesky's sentence, Mildred Thornton came to Petrograd.
+
+Her return was characteristic of Mildred.
+
+It was a little past twilight and Nona and Barbara were in their shabby
+sitting room; they now shared the same bedroom in the new lodgings. Nona
+had been crying, and in order to try and make her forget, Barbara was
+reading aloud. She had received a package of books and magazines from
+Dick Thornton earlier in the day, but this was her first chance to look
+them over.
+
+Although endeavoring to listen, in reality Nona's attention was only
+pretence. Her thoughts were with the Russian woman whose life had been
+so strangely associated with her own. It seemed to Nona that she had
+not realized how much she cared for Sonya Valesky until these last few
+weeks. She had become like an exquisite older sister whom she might
+possibly have had as a companion and friend. Never had Nona been more
+conscious of her own loneliness. It is true that she had been more or
+less lonely all her life, but this she had taken as a matter of course.
+Now in these last few hours she had suddenly been overwhelmed by the
+thought.
+
+Apparently their work as Red Cross nurses in Europe was nearly over.
+At least, when Mildred finally joined them, the three girls intended
+returning to France to spend a little time with Madame Castaigne and
+Eugenia. Then Barbara and Mildred would doubtless go back to their
+homes in the United States. Barbara would be married in a short time
+and Mildred would not wish to remain longer away from her mother and
+father. But Nona had no home and no people to whom she might return.
+
+The girl was glad at this moment that there were no lights in their
+sitting room save the two candles which were directly behind Barbara's
+book. She did not wish the younger girl to guess the extent of her
+depression.
+
+Yet it was Nona who first heard the knock at their sitting room door.
+Quickly as possible she got up and walked forward to open it, not even
+attempting to smooth her hair or to wipe the traces of tears from her
+face. Barbara did not glance from the page of her book, both girls were
+so convinced that it was only the woman who usually brought them their
+dinner at this hour.
+
+When Nona opened the door, Mildred took her by both shoulders and
+quietly kissed her.
+
+"Mildred!" It was Nona's exclamation that finally aroused Barbara Meade.
+But even then, although Barbara rose to her feet, dropping her book on
+the floor, she did not move forward. She let Mildred come and put her
+arms around her and kiss her on both cheeks. Then Mildred stood still in
+the center of the room and smiled at her two friends.
+
+"Won't either one of you say she is glad to see me?" she asked, with a
+mixture of gayety and wistfulness.
+
+By this time Barbara and Nona were both embracing the newcomer at once,
+and at the same time attempting to remove her wraps. Under her nursing
+coat Mildred was wearing a long sable coat, suitable for a princess, but
+neither of the girls noticed it in the excitement of her arrival.
+
+"Where did you come from? Oh, Mildred, what have you been doing all this
+time? I have nearly died of anxiety." Barbara protested. "Surely you
+could have gotten us some word, if only to say you were alive."
+
+Mildred shook her head. "I couldn't, dear. I have come back to you the
+very first moment it was possible. But it is a long story. I can't tell
+you all at once. May I sit down?"
+
+At last Nona and Barbara had the grace to observe that Mildred looked
+white and tired.
+
+"I arrived in Petrograd about half an hour ago with General Alexis and
+his staff and the Russian maid who has been with us ever since we were
+left behind at Grovno," she explained, when her friends had thrust her
+unceremoniously into their only comfortable chair.
+
+"I told General Alexis that I must find you at once, so we drove to the
+United States Embassy and they gave us your address. Then they left me
+here. I am dreadfully hungry; can't we have something to eat before I
+finish my story?"
+
+"Certainly not," Barbara insisted, "or not until you have answered two
+or three more questions. For I am much more apt to die of curiosity than
+you are to perish of starvation. How long did you remain at Grovno, and
+did the Germans ever capture you? I suppose your general didn't die, if
+he escorted you to our humble door. But if he wasn't desperately ill,
+why did he have you stay so long in a position of such danger?" And
+Barbara ceased to ask more questions simply because her breath had given
+out.
+
+At the same instant Nona signaled a warning glance. Mildred was almost
+fainting with exhaustion. In these last few weeks she must have passed
+through difficult experiences and naturally she could not tell them
+everything at once.
+
+"Please go downstairs and ask that dinner be sent up, Barbara," Nona
+demanded. "And get soup or milk or something special; if not I'll make
+some beef tea for Mildred on the alcohol lamp. Mildred, suppose you put
+on my wrapper and lie down until after you have eaten, then we can talk
+as long as you have strength for."
+
+And the girls did talk until nearly midnight in spite of Mildred's
+fatigue. She was perfectly well, only tired, she insisted, and greatly
+excited at seeing Nona and Barbara again.
+
+She had passed through events in these past few weeks such as few women
+have ever known. But of course Mildred related what had taken place in a
+simple, almost matter of fact fashion. She was so little given to
+heroics, or to thinking of herself as a conspicuous personage.
+
+"Yes, they had stayed on at Grovno until almost the hour when the
+Germans entered the old fortress. General Alexis had been wounded,
+but had not considered his wound serious and would not desert his
+post until he had finally accomplished his purpose. For the last
+hour virtually only six persons had kept the German army from
+entering the fortifications: General Alexis, Colonel Feodorovitch,
+two lieutenants and two private soldiers, although the Russian
+physician, who had remained with his commander, had turned soldier
+toward the last."
+
+"But you don't mean that you continued inside the fort to the very end?"
+Barbara demanded almost angrily. "I suppose you were forgotten."
+
+"I think I was at the last," Mildred returned. "You see, at first when
+General Alexis discovered that I was the Red Cross nurse who had been
+chosen to stay behind, he was angry and insisted that I leave at once.
+But by the time he learned of my presence, it was too late to find me an
+escort. Besides, the doctor did not wish me to go. There was a Russian
+woman, a kind of servant, who was also with us, and did the cooking, I
+believe, if we ever ate. Anyhow, she stayed with me and looked after me
+when she could, so that I was never actually alone."
+
+"But Mildred," Nona asked, guessing at many details that her friend did
+not mention, "how did you finally get away at last? And have you come
+directly here from Grovno? Surely the fort did not hold out all these
+weeks."
+
+"No, we have been away from Grovno nearly two weeks, I can't remember
+the exact passage of time very well," Mildred explained, lifting her
+hands to let down the long braids of her heavy flaxen hair, and allowing
+the hairpins to drop girl fashion, carelessly into her lap. She was
+wearing Nona's kimono, and it is always easier to talk confidentially
+with one's hair down, if one happens to have the mass that Mildred had.
+The very weight of it was oppressive when she was tired.
+
+"Yes, it was terribly interesting toward the last," she went on,
+"although I don't believe even then we were in great danger. General
+Alexis is too wise to have permitted that. Everything was in readiness;
+all the plans were made days beforehand for our getting away. The
+different regiments of private soldiers with their officers continued
+to march away from Grovno, and so much ammunition was moved that I think
+almost no stores of any value were left. Then the moment finally came
+for our own retreat."
+
+To Barbara's intense irritation, Mildred actually paused for an instant
+at this point in her story. But she continued almost immediately.
+
+"There was an underground passage outside the fort, leading all the way
+to the river. The seven of us at last left the fort together. By this
+time General Alexis had almost to be carried, the pain from his wound
+had grown so intense. Then every once in a while, as we went on, one of
+the soldiers would place a bomb in such a position that it would explode
+after we had gone. In this way the underground passage was wrecked, so
+there never was any possibility of the Germans being able to follow us.
+When we reached the bridge over the river two motor cars were waiting
+for us. Colonel Feodorovitch, one of the lieutenants and the two private
+soldiers stayed to see that the last bridge over the Styr was blown up.
+The other five, General Alexis, his physician, and one officer and we
+two women started west in an effort to join the retreating regiments,
+who were to come up with a portion of the Grand Duke's army."
+
+"Goodness, Mildred Thornton, what an experience you have been through!"
+Nona ejaculated. "Yet you talk as quietly as if it were almost an
+ordinary occurrence!"
+
+Mildred shook her head. "It is not because I feel it an ordinary
+experience, Nona, but because so much has happened I am overpowered by
+the bigness of it. Really, when we got safely away from the fort, the
+battle, or at least my share in it, was only about to begin. We had gone
+a few miles into the country, when General Alexis became desperately
+ill. Unless he could have immediate attention his physician said there
+was no possible hope for his life."
+
+Barbara had by this time slipped out of her chair and was sitting on the
+floor with her hands clasped over her knees, looking all eyes, and
+rocking herself slowly back and forward as a relief for her excitement.
+
+"But you brought your general back with you, Mildred Thornton, or you
+said you did. How on earth did you manage about him?" she interrupted.
+
+"That is just what I am going to tell you, because that explains where I
+have been and why I have not been able to let you hear from me. Our
+Russian doctor ordered our motor car stopped and we entered a Russian
+house some distance from any main road. We purposely chose a house that
+had been deserted, and there we have been for two weeks, struggling to
+save the life of General Alexis. Of course, his wound had been more
+serious than he would admit. The wonder is that he is still alive!"
+
+"But he has recovered?" Barbara inquired with her usual unsatisfied
+curiosity. "Goodness, Mill, what a heroine you will be, to have nursed
+one of the most famous generals in the Allied armies and to have
+restored him to health. Won't your mother be charmed!"
+
+Naturally Mildred smiled. The thought of her mother's pleasure in her
+distinction _had_ occurred to her several times in the last two weeks.
+
+"Oh, of course I am glad to have had the honor, Bab, because I too think
+General Alexis a great man. He is perhaps the simplest man I have ever
+known, except my father, and I like him very much. Only he has not
+recovered and I have not restored him to health. If General Alexis had
+recovered he would never have come to Petrograd, he would have rejoined
+his troops. But he was well enough to be moved and Petrograd seemed the
+safest place for him at present. Besides, I believe he wished to have an
+audience with the Czar."
+
+Barbara again rocked back and forth. "You say 'Czar,' Mill, just as if
+you were speaking of an everyday person. Really, I believe you are the
+best bred girl I ever saw. Position, wealth, no distinctions seem to
+excite you. You just take people for exactly what they are," Barbara
+murmured, in reality speaking to herself.
+
+But Nona overheard her. "You are quite right, Bab," she agreed. "Mildred
+does not know it, but she has taught me many a lesson on that subject
+since we came to Europe. It would be a nicer world if everybody thought
+and acted as Mildred does. But what has become of your general, Mill?
+Are you to go on nursing him or to see him again?"
+
+"No, to the first question, Nona dear, and yes, to the second. Now I am
+so tired I simply must go to bed. I told the doctor and General Alexis
+that since he was better, I wanted to come to you. Besides, I was sure
+that here in Petrograd there would be so many cleverer nurses than I can
+ever hope to be. And I didn't want to stay at the Winter Palace with you
+girls here."
+
+"You mean," Nona asked quietly, "that you were invited to be a guest at
+the Czar's own palace and you declined?"
+
+Mildred clasped her hands behind her head. "Oh, I thought I told you.
+General Alexis is to be at the Winter Palace while he is in Petrograd.
+He is very close to the Czar, I believe. As his nurse, of course I was
+asked to stay there with him; he is to have his physician and his aides
+as well as his servants in attendance. There was nothing personal in my
+being permitted inside the Palace. Some other nurse will take my place."
+
+"But the point is, Mildred Thornton, that you refused to stay under the
+same roof with the Czar of all the Russias. Never so long as you live
+will your mother forgive you."
+
+The other girl flushed and laughed. "I hadn't thought of that, Bab dear.
+Please don't tell on me. But we are to be under the same roof with the
+Czar some day for a few moments, all of us. General Alexis said that he
+wished to have us presented to the Czar and Czarina, if it were possible
+to arrange. He seems to feel grateful to me for the little I was able to
+do. But please, Bab, don't say that I refused to continue to nurse
+General Alexis. I only asked that they get some one to take my place,
+who would be wiser."
+
+"Did General Alexis agree to a new nurse for that reason, Mildred?"
+Barbara demanded in her driest manner.
+
+But Mildred was too tired for further conversation.
+
+"Oh, he was kind enough to say that I needed a rest more than he
+required my services. Am I to have a bed or the cot in this sitting
+room?"
+
+"You may have them _all_, Mildred Thornton!" Barbara returned, getting
+up on her feet and then bowing until her forehead almost touched the
+floor.
+
+"Any human being who is going to allow me to enter the presence of the
+Czar and Czarina, has got to be treated like royalty for the rest of her
+life."
+
+Nevertheless, Barbara kissed Mildred good night. Mildred whispered,
+"Don't be a goose," and then at last was permitted to retire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+_The Winter Palace_
+
+
+The next day Nona found opportunity for confiding to Mildred the fate of
+Sonya Valesky. She found Mildred more deeply concerned than Barbara had
+been. This was true because Mildred had a different nature; it was
+easier for her to understand a temperament that would sacrifice
+everything to its dream, than for the more practical and sensible
+Barbara. Moreover, Barbara was so much in love these days that she
+found it difficult to give a great deal of thought to other people.
+She struggled against the tendency, but it is ever the vice of lovers.
+
+Finally, on Thursday, Mildred Thornton received a note from General
+Alexis inviting her and her two friends to come that afternoon at four
+o'clock to the Winter Palace. And although the three girls were
+Americans, they understood that such an invitation was not in reality
+an invitation, but a command. For the Czar and Czarina had announced
+that they would be pleased to meet the three American Red Cross nurses.
+
+The meeting was to be informal, as these were war times and there were
+no court levees. Indeed, the Czar was only staying for a brief time at
+his palace before going to take command of his own troops. Owing to the
+frequent Russian defeats in the past few months, the Czar had concluded
+that he must command his men in person in order to give them greater
+courage and steadfastness. The munitions of war, of which they had been
+sadly in need for several months, were now pouring in from Japan and the
+United States.
+
+Of course, in the excitement and nervousness due to such an important
+and unexpected occasion, the three Red Cross girls had the same problem
+to settle that attacks all women at critical moments:
+
+"What on earth should they wear to the presentation?"
+
+Fortunately, under the circumstances there was but one answer to this
+question. They were invited to the Palace as Red Cross nurses, they must
+therefore wear their Red Cross uniforms. Since the three girls had
+almost nothing else left in their wardrobes, this was just as well.
+Constant moving from place to place, with little opportunity for
+transportation, had reduced their luggage to the most limited amounts.
+
+Yet assuredly they were as handsome and far more dignified on the
+afternoon of their appearance at the Winter Palace in the costumes of
+American Red Cross nurses, than if they had been appareled in the court
+trains and feathers of more gala occasions.
+
+Mildred always looked especially well in her uniform. She was less
+pretty than the other two girls. But for this very reason her dignity
+and the sense of serenity that her personality suggested showed to best
+advantage in the simple toilette of white with the Red Cross insignia on
+the arm. However, over her uniform Mildred wore the magnificent sable
+coat in which she had appeared at her friends' lodgings in Petrograd.
+
+This afternoon, in spite of her excitement over what lay ahead of them,
+Barbara did not allow the coat to pass unnoticed a second time.
+
+"For goodness' sake, Mildred, where did you get that magnificent
+garment?" she demanded, just as they were about to go downstairs to get
+into their sleigh. "You owned a very nice coat when we left you behind
+in Grovno, but some fairy wand must have changed it. This is the most
+wonderful sable I ever saw."
+
+Mildred flushed and then laid her cheek against the beautiful, soft
+brown warmth of her furs. "It is time you and Nona were speaking of
+my grandeur," she declared. "You see, in getting away from the fort
+at the last I stupidly left my own furs behind; indeed, I don't know
+what became of them. General Alexis noticed that I was cold almost
+immediately. Somehow, after he began to get stronger, he managed to
+have this coat brought to the country house where we were staying.
+Then just before we started to Petrograd he presented it to me. Of
+course, I did not feel that I ought to accept it and insisted I
+could not. But General Alexis said that he had received so much
+kindness from me, he thought it very ungenerous of me to make him
+altogether my debtor. I didn't know what to do. Do you think it
+wrong to accept it, Bab? Somehow I did not know how to continue
+to refuse."
+
+As Barbara was just going into her bedroom at this moment, she made
+no reply. Nona was more reassuring.
+
+"Of course it was all right, Mildred, or at least I suppose it was if
+General Alexis insisted, and you had done a great deal for him."
+
+Then Nona followed Barbara. Barbara was standing perfectly still in the
+center of the room and apparently thinking with all the concentration
+possible.
+
+"I wonder if this General Alexis is more fond of Mildred than he would
+be of any nurse who might have cared for him?" Barbara murmured. Then
+she shook her head. "That was an absurd suggestion on my part and
+Mildred would not like it. I am sorry," she said.
+
+At the door of the Winter Palace, after the girls had passed beyond the
+servants and the detectives who watch every human being permitted to
+approach their Imperial Majesties, the three American girls were ushered
+into a reception room. Except for the fact that there were more
+paintings on the walls, the room resembled other similar chambers now
+left on exhibition at Versailles or the Louvre in Paris.
+
+However, the girls had little time for investigation, for almost at once
+General Alexis entered the room to greet them. He was accompanied by a
+lieutenant who was his aide. To Nona Davis' surprise, the young man
+proved to be Lieutenant Michael Orlaff, whom she had not seen since the
+afternoon when she had walked to the fortress with him and confided the
+news of Sonya Valesky's arrest.
+
+After a few moments of general conversation a man servant, wearing an
+elaborate uniform, announced that General Alexis and his guests might
+walk into the Czar's private sitting room.
+
+Naturally this was a very unusual proceeding, but war times had changed
+the manners of courts as well as other places. Moreover, General Alexis
+was a personal friend of the Czar's, so far as a Czar may ever have a
+friend. In any case, he was one of his most trusted generals. This
+reception to the American Red Cross girls was entirely due to the fact
+that General Alexis had declared Mildred Thornton's courage and devotion
+had saved his life. But of this she was not yet aware.
+
+The Czar and Czarina were not decorating gilded thrones as one sees them
+in portraits or paints them in one's own imagination. Indeed, they were
+seated in chairs, but rose as any other host and hostess might when
+their guests came into the room. They were not alone, however, for
+beside the guards stationed outside their door, two of them kept always
+within a short distance of the Czar himself.
+
+The Czarina was a beautiful woman, tall and dark, but looking infinitely
+sad. The girls could not but remember having heard how frequently she
+suffered from a melancholia so severe that it was almost akin to an
+unbalanced mind.
+
+She now murmured a few words to the three girls and then reseated
+herself. Barbara hoped profoundly that the distinguished audience
+would soon be over. Of course, this meeting of the Czar and Czarina was
+perhaps the most extraordinary honor that had yet been paid to any
+American Red Cross nurses in Europe. But like other honors, it carried
+its discomfort. For Barbara had not the faintest idea what she should do
+or say, when she should stand up and when sit down. She had never
+imagined herself a large person before, but now she felt so awkward that
+she might have been a giant. Yet really there was but one thing for her
+to do: she must merely keep still and watch what was taking place.
+
+Actually the Czar, Nicholas II, was talking pleasantly with Mildred
+Thornton, and Mildred was answering with her usual quiet dignity.
+
+The Czar looked older than Barbara would have supposed from his
+pictures. But then the war may have aged him. His close-cropped brown
+beard with the tiny point was turning gray. And he had large, full and,
+Barbara thought, not particularly intelligent eyes.
+
+At this moment he moved toward a small table and picked up what appeared
+like a medal.
+
+Barbara eyed it curiously. She could not hear what the Czar was saying.
+But she saw Mildred turn suddenly white and appear to protest. Then the
+two men, General Alexis and the Czar, actually smiled at her. The next
+moment the Czar pinned a cross on Mildred's white dress.
+
+Without realizing what she was doing, Barbara pressed closer until she
+stood in front of Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff. This time she distinctly
+heard the Czar say:
+
+"I take pleasure in presenting you, Miss Thornton, with the Cross of St.
+George, which is only awarded for special bravery. Only one other woman
+has been presented with the Cross of St. George since the outbreak of
+this war. She is Madame Kokavtseva, a colonel of the Sixth Ural Cossack
+Regiment, who has twice been wounded while leading her men. She is
+called our 'Russian Joan of Arc.' But there is a courage as great as
+leading troops to battle. This valor, it seems to me, you showed in
+remaining to the last at the ancient fortress of Grovno to care for a
+great soldier who was not even your countryman. In my own name and in
+the name of my country, I wish to thank you for your service to General
+Alexis."
+
+Then Barbara observed Mildred flush a beautiful, warm crimson, and
+stammer something in response. Almost immediately after they were again
+standing outside in the big antechamber.
+
+Afterwards General Alexis and Lieutenant Orlaff and several of the
+palace servants showed the three girls over certain portions of the
+palace that could be exhibited to visitors. On the desk in the hall was
+an ikon, carefully preserved under glass, which was said to have been
+painted by St. Luke.
+
+However, in spite of their honors, as soon as possible the three girls
+were glad to return to their lodgings. Yet Mildred promised that they
+would allow General Alexis to send his sleigh to them the following day.
+The great general looked haggard and worn, but appeared to be quickly
+recovering his strength. Indeed, Barbara afterwards assured Mildred that
+she considered him extremely good looking and not half so old as she had
+supposed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+_The Unexpected Happens_
+
+
+One afternoon a short time after the visit to the Winter Palace, General
+Alexis and Lieutenant Orlaff came to the girls' lodgings to have a drive
+in the sleigh with them.
+
+It was a cold, brilliant afternoon, and they were to undertake a more
+interesting excursion than usual. Nevertheless, Barbara Meade refused to
+go.
+
+There were letters which she must write, she pleaded. However, this was
+not Barbara's real reason: that fact she kept in her own head. Both
+Mildred and Nona she assisted to get ready, insisting that they both
+dress as warmly as possible, no matter how stuffy they might feel before
+starting.
+
+"You are both blondes and a blonde is never so homely as when she is
+cold," she added sententiously, "for her face is much more apt to get
+blue than red, except the end of her nose."
+
+Mildred had purchased a lovely fur hat to match her sable coat. And in
+spite of her poverty Nona had been unable to resist a set of black fox.
+Furs were so much cheaper in Russia than in the United States that it
+really almost seemed one's duty to buy them.
+
+When General Alexis' sleigh arrived, Barbara would not even go
+downstairs to see the others start. But she managed by pressing
+her nose against the window to observe that the arrangements for
+the drive were satisfactory.
+
+The sleigh was a beautiful one, built of mahogany, and the pair of
+horses wore real silver mountings on their harness.
+
+A driver, in the Imperial livery, sat upon the front seat with a man
+beside him, who acted as a private guard for General Alexis, although he
+wore citizen's clothes. There was far less danger of anarchy in Russia
+during war times; nevertheless, men in public positions in Russia were
+always watchful of trouble from fanatics.
+
+Therefore, General Alexis and Mildred were together in the middle seat,
+while Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff occupied the one back of them.
+
+Then the sleigh started off so quickly that it had disappeared before
+Barbara realized it. Afterwards, with feminine inconsistency, she turned
+back into their small sitting room, frowning and sighing.
+
+"I do wish I had gone along, after all. There wasn't any place for me,
+except to sit either between Mildred and General Alexis, or Nona and her
+Russian lieutenant. Then nobody would have had a good time. Still,
+perhaps I should have stuck close to Mildred; she is almost my sister.
+And though Mrs. Thornton might be pleased, Judge Thornton and Dick would
+be wretched. Russia is so far away and so cold."
+
+Then Barbara made no further explanation, even to herself, of her
+enigmatic state of mind, but fell to writing letters as she had planned.
+Some thought she devoted to what she should write Dick about his
+sister's friend, the distinguished Russian general. But whatever she
+planned sounded either too pointed or else had no point at all. So she
+merely closed her letter by explaining that the others had gone for a
+ride and that General Alexis appeared extremely grateful to Mildred for
+her care of him in his illness. She also mentioned that she personally
+liked the distinguished soldier very much and that he was not nearly so
+foreign as one might expect.
+
+This was not a sensible statement, for General Alexis could scarcely
+have been more of a Russian than he was. A foreigner, of course, simply
+is an individual who belongs to another country than one's own.
+Presumably an American is equally a foreigner to a European. What
+Barbara actually meant was that General Alexis was not unlike the men to
+whom she had been accustomed in the United States. He had the courtesy
+and quiet dignity of the most distinguished of her own countrymen. There
+was nothing particularly oriental about him or his attitude to women.
+The truth is that Barbara did not appreciate the fact that General
+Alexis was too cosmopolitan to show many of the peculiarities of his
+race. He had seen too much of the world and studied and thought too
+deeply. Besides, he was a man of real gentleness and simplicity.
+
+As Mildred rode beside him, she too was wondering why she felt so at
+ease with so great a person. Why, at home, in New York society, she had
+always been awkward and tongue-tied with the most ordinary young man
+worthy of no thought. Now she was telling General Alexis the entire
+story of Sonya Valesky as she might have told it to her own father. And
+she felt equally sure of his sympathy and understanding. General Alexis
+would, of course, have no political sympathy with Sonya's ideas. He was
+a soldier devoted to his Czar and his country, while in his opinion
+Sonya could only be regarded as mistaken and dangerous. But Mildred
+knew that he would be sorry for Sonya, the woman, and sorry for them
+as her friends.
+
+So she described their original meeting on board the "Philadelphia," and
+the suspicion, then wrongfully directed against Sonya, who was at that
+time using the name of Lady Dorian. Afterwards she told of Sonya's
+appearance at the Sacred Heart Hospital and her work there. Last of all,
+of their unexpected coming together in Russia and of the peculiar bond
+between Nona Davis and the Russian woman.
+
+At the beginning of her conversation with General Alexis, Mildred had no
+idea in mind, except to tell the story that had been weighing heavily
+upon her since Nona's confidence. Ever since she had seen the picture of
+Sonya, as Nona had last seen her, the beautiful woman with her too-soon
+white hair and the haunting beauty of her tragic blue eyes. She, a woman
+of rare refinement and not yet forty, to spend the rest of her life
+working among the convicts in Siberia. It was as if she were buried
+alive!
+
+Suddenly it occurred to Mildred that she might ask the advice of General
+Alexis. She did not believe it possible that anything could be done for
+Sonya Valesky now, after her sentence had been passed. But still it
+would be well to feel they had tried all that was possible.
+
+"You don't think, General, that there is anything that could be done
+to have Sonya Valesky pardoned, do you?" she inquired, with unconscious
+wistfulness. "You see, my friend, Nona Davis, wants so much to take
+Madame Valesky back to the United States with her. Then neither she
+nor her ideas would be of any more danger to Russia. Nona says Madame
+Valesky is much broken by her illness and confinement. She had a
+terrible attack of fever only a short time before. Probably she
+won't live very long, if she is taken to Siberia."
+
+Then, to hide her tears from her companion, Mildred turned her head
+aside. General Alexis seemed to be staring at her very steadfastly. But
+fortunately the beauty of the landscape surrounding them gave her an
+excuse for the movement.
+
+They had crossed the Nicholas bridge and were driving out among the
+parks and estates that cover the small islands, set like jewels among
+the white fastness of the river Neva. Here and there the river was
+solid ice, in other places the thin ice was decorated with a light
+coating of snow.
+
+The handsome private homes of Petrograd are situated in these island
+suburbs. Beautiful trees and lawns come down to the water's edge. But
+today they too were snow sprinkled and most of the homes were closed.
+
+Mildred attempted to pretend that her attention had been attracted by
+one of these houses, built like a glorified Swiss chalet.
+
+But General Alexis continued to gaze at the side of her cheek and
+Mildred was painfully conscious that the tears might at any moment
+slide out of her eyes.
+
+"You care very much about this woman, this Sonya Valesky, Miss
+Thornton?" General Alexis inquired. "You say that she is a friend
+of yours and that it will bring you great distress if she must suffer
+the penalty of her mistakes? I do not wish you to leave Russia in
+unhappiness."
+
+Mildred slowly shook her head. Had she been almost any other girl, she
+would have seen nothing to deny in her companion's last speech. But
+Mildred had the spirit of entire truthfulness that belongs to only a
+few natures.
+
+"No, I cannot say that Madame Valesky is exactly _my_ friend," she
+answered slowly. "I do not know her very well, but I think I should care
+for her a great deal if we could know each other better. Perhaps she was
+altogether wrong; anyhow, I do not think she should have attempted to
+persuade the Russians not to fight for their country at a time like
+this. Yet when one has seen the horrible, the almost useless suffering
+that I have seen in these few years I have been acting as a Red Cross
+nurse, well, one can hardly condemn a human being who believes in peace.
+Still, Madame Valesky is in reality more Nona's friend than mine."
+
+Pausing abruptly, Mildred again turned her face to look at the soldier
+beside her. She had been tactless as usual in thus expressing her
+feelings about peace to a man who was a great warrior. But General
+Alexis did not appear angry. Indeed, there was no disagreement in the
+expression of his eyes, it was almost as if he too felt as Mildred did.
+Besides, his next words were:
+
+"I too appreciate what you feel, Miss Thornton, and I too am sorry for
+this Sonya Valesky. War is a great, a terrible evil, and there was never
+a time when the world so realized it as it does now. It is my hourly
+prayer that, after this vast bloodshed, war shall vanish from the face
+of the earth. But this will not happen if we give up the fight while we
+are in the thick of it. So Madame Valesky was wrong, so wrong that I
+might think she deserved her fate, if I did not feel her more mistaken
+than wicked."
+
+General Alexis paused and his face grew suddenly lined and thoughtful,
+as Mildred had seen it in those days at Grovno. Of what he was thinking
+the girl did not dream, but neither would she wish to have intruded upon
+his train of thought.
+
+So she sat quite still with her hands folded under the heavy fur rug and
+her gray-blue eyes fastened on the snow-covered landscape. Mildred had
+grown handsomer since her coming to Europe. She would never be
+beautiful in the ordinary acceptance of the term. But she was the type
+of girl who becomes handsomer as she grows older, when character which
+makes the real beauty of a woman's face had a chance to reveal itself.
+Already a great deal of her awkwardness and angularity had disappeared
+with the self-confidence, or rather more the self-forgetfulness which
+her work had given her. Her eyes had a deeper, less unsatisfied
+expression and her always handsome mouth more humor. For her own
+experiences and the friendship with the three other American Red Cross
+nurses had taught her to see many things in truer proportion.
+
+"Miss Thornton," Mildred's attention was again aroused by her companion,
+"I want to tell you something, but I want you to promise me you will not
+have too much hope in consequence. I have been thinking of this Sonya
+Valesky. I believe I can remember her father, or if not her father
+himself, at least I knew him by reputation. He did not share his
+daughter's views, but was the faithful servant of the present Czar's
+father. Moreover, the Czar is my friend, so I mean to tell him the story
+of Sonya Valesky and see if he will pardon her. She must, of course,
+leave Russia, perhaps never to return."
+
+General Alexis had been in a measure thinking aloud. But now Mildred's
+sudden exclamation of happiness made his eyes soften into a look of
+kindliness that again reminded the girl of her father.
+
+"But, my child, you must not hope too much," he remonstrated. "The Czar
+may not feel as I do about your friend. After your service to me there
+is little you could desire which I would not wish to give you."
+
+One would never have thought of General Alexis as a great soldier at
+this moment. The heavy lines of his face had gone. There was no
+sternness about his mouth. His eyes, which were so surprisingly blue
+because of his other dark coloring, gazed at Mildred's until for an
+instant she dropped the lids over her own, feeling embarrassed without
+exactly knowing why.
+
+The next moment she looked directly at the man, whom she felt sure was
+her friend, in spite of the differences in their ages, their rank and
+their countries.
+
+"General Alexis, I am going to ask you to do me a favor--no, I don't
+mean about Sonya this time. I shall be more grateful than I can even try
+to say for that kindness. But this is something which does not concern
+anyone except just you and me. Will you never in the future speak or
+think of the service which you are good enough to say I have rendered
+you." Actually, Mildred was now twisting her hands together in the old
+nervous fashion which she thought she had overcome. "It is difficult for
+me to say things," she went on, "but I want you to know that the
+greatest honor I shall ever have in my life was the privilege of nursing
+you. If I did help make you well, why I am so happy and proud the favor
+is on my side and not yours." And Mildred ended with a slight gasp,
+feeling her cheeks burning in spite of the cold, so unaccustomed was
+she to making long speeches or to revealing her emotions.
+
+"Miss Thornton," General Alexis returned. Then instead of finishing his
+sentence he leaned over and touched his coachman.
+
+"Stop the sleigh for a moment. We are growing cold. It will be better
+for us to walk for ten or fifteen minutes and then come back to the
+sleigh." Again he spoke to Mildred.
+
+"You will come with me for a little?" he asked. "It will be wiser for
+you not to grow stiff with sitting still." Afterwards he said something
+to Lieutenant Orlaff, to which he and Nona agreed.
+
+Five minutes later Mildred was walking across the snow toward the river,
+with her hand resting on General Alexis' arm. She was colder than she
+had imagined and it was difficult to walk over the icy and unfamiliar
+ground.
+
+But suddenly she stopped and gave an exclamation of surprise and delight
+which was almost one of awe.
+
+She and General Alexis were alone. Nona and Lieutenant Orlaff had walked
+off in an opposite direction. But Mildred now beheld the sun setting
+upon the Russian capital. Beneath, the world was pure white, and above,
+the sky a glory of orange and purple and rose. Between the two,
+suspended like giant fairy balls, were the great domes of Petrograd's
+many churches.
+
+"I shall never, never forget that picture so long as I live. It will
+stay with me as my vision of Petrograd long after I have gone home to my
+own country," Mildred said simply. Then she stopped in her walk and held
+out her hand. "Thank you for this afternoon."
+
+General Alexis did not release the girl's hand. Instead he lifted it to
+his lips and kissed it, although the hand was covered with a heavy
+glove.
+
+Then he smiled at Mildred almost boyishly. "I want to say something to
+you, Miss Thornton, which I suppose a woman does not really mind
+hearing, no matter to what country she belongs or what her answer may
+be. In these weeks I have known you I have come to care for you very
+deeply. I am old enough perhaps to be your father. I have said this to
+myself a hundred times and that it ought to make my feeling impossible.
+It has not. Naturally I understand that my age may make it impossible
+for you to return my affection, but it has not made the difference with
+me. I love you, Mildred. I have known many women, but have never met one
+so fine and sweet as you. It is the custom of your country when a man
+cares for a woman to tell her so, is it not, or perhaps I should have
+written first to your father?"
+
+General Alexis' manner was so naive, almost as if he had been a boy
+instead of one of the most distinguished men in Europe. Mildred could
+almost have smiled if she had not been so overwhelmed by his speech.
+
+Was General Alexis actually saying that he was in love with her? No one
+had ever proposed to her in her life and she had never expected that any
+one would care sufficiently. But that the words should come from the man
+whom she felt to be a genius and a hero! No wonder Mildred was
+speechless for a moment.
+
+"General Alexis, I have never dreamed of anything like this. I only
+hoped at the most that you were my friend," she answered a little later.
+"Really, I don't know--I can't say how I feel. I appreciate the honor,
+but Russia is so far away, and my father----"
+
+"Yes, I know," General Alexis interrupted. "Do you not suppose I have
+thought over all those things? Until this war is past I shall not even
+ask you to become my wife. My life belongs to my country and I would not
+have you alone here in a foreign land. All I ask is that I may write you
+and some day in happier times may I come to see my American friend?"
+
+Mildred could only nod and let General Alexis keep tight hold of her
+hand, while a sense of the warmth and sweetness of the affection of a
+big nature slowly enveloped her.
+
+Then, as they walked back to the sleigh in silence and continued in
+silence almost all the way back to the lodgings, Mildred could only keep
+thinking how much her father would like General Alexis. Once she smiled,
+because her next thought was how immensely pleased and impressed her
+mother would be. It seemed impossible that the plain and unattractive
+Mildred could have captured so distinguished an admirer.
+
+Late that night, as she lay awake, Nona Davis' voice suddenly broke the
+stillness. The two girls were in the single bedroom, Barbara occupying a
+lounge in the sitting room.
+
+"There is something I want to tell you, Mildred. The strangest thing
+happened to me this afternoon. Lieutenant Orlaff proposed to me. Why, I
+scarcely know him at all, but he says that is not necessary when a
+foreigner meets an American girl," Nona confided.
+
+"You--why, Nona!" Mildred faltered, too surprised for the moment to
+answer intelligently, because her friend's speech so oddly fitted into
+her own thoughts. "Did you accept him?"
+
+It was dark in the room, and yet Mildred could see that Nona had risen
+half way up in bed.
+
+"My gracious, no!" she ejaculated. "In the first place, I don't care
+for him at all, and in the second, I just want to get hold of my dear
+Sonya and return home to the United States. If your general does have
+her pardoned I shall say prayers for him every night of my life. Funny,
+but I believe I am afraid of Russia, even though I am half Russian.
+Still, my mother did prefer to come to America to live. I simply
+couldn't bear living in Russia always, could you, Mildred?" Nona ended,
+as she again dropped back on her pillow.
+
+But Mildred only answered, "I don't know," which was not in the least
+conclusive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+_The Departure_
+
+
+Four days later the three American girls left Petrograd. This was sooner
+than they had expected to leave, but a desirable opportunity arose for
+them to get safely across the continent and into France.
+
+The journey was a long and tiresome one, as they had to cross the
+northern countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway until finally they were
+able to reach Holland, and thence journey to England and France. But it
+was not possible to make the trip in any other way, since all of
+southern Europe was engaged in active fighting.
+
+However, the Red Cross girls did not travel alone. Sonya Valesky went
+with them. At General Alexis' request the Czar had pardoned her, but she
+was an exile from Russia forever, never to return at any future time.
+
+Fortunately for the imprisoned woman, her reprieve had come before her
+sentence had time to be carried out. She was brought directly from the
+prison, where Nona had once visited her, to the lodgings where the
+American girls were making ready to depart.
+
+If Sonya regretted the terms of her pardon, she showed no signs of
+sorrow. But she was strangely quiet then and during the long, cold trip
+across the continent. In a measure she seemed to have been crushed by
+the weeks of solitary confinement in the Russian jail with the prospect
+of Siberia ever before her. Often she would sit for hours with her hands
+crossed in her lap and her eyes staring out the window, without seeming
+to see anything in the landscape. One could scarcely imagine her as a
+woman who had devoted her life to traveling from one land to another,
+trying to persuade men and women to believe in universal peace.
+
+Yet she was sincerely grateful and appreciative of any attention of
+affection from the three American girls who were her companions. And
+after a short time Barbara and Mildred were almost as completely under
+the spell of this grave woman's charm, as Nona had grown to be.
+Moreover, the girls felt that she had not yet recovered from her
+illness, because of the hardships following it. After a few weeks or
+months in the beloved "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door" perhaps she
+would become more cheerful.
+
+For it was toward the chateau country of France that the three American
+girls were again traveling. The little house where they had once lived
+for a winter had been Captain Castaigne's wedding gift to Eugenia. Since
+Eugenia was away nursing in a hospital she had offered her home to her
+friends. Madame Castaigne had also insisted that they come to her at the
+chateau; nevertheless, the girls had chosen the farmhouse.
+
+The Countess was no longer young, and still had no servants save old
+Francois. The work of entertaining four guests, and one of them a
+stranger, would have put too great a tax upon her. Moreover, Eugenia
+would undoubtedly come back for a while to be with her friends and
+would naturally stay with her mother-in-law. The girls also hoped that
+Captain Castaigne might be spared for a short leave of absence. However,
+in order that the Countess Amelie should not be wounded, or feel that
+the girls no longer cared to be with her, Barbara had written to say
+that she would stay at the chateau whenever the Countess wished her
+society.
+
+Certainly the trip from Russia into France during war times was a
+difficult one. The girls believed that they could not have made it,
+except that now and then they stopped for a day or more to rest. On
+these days Barbara and Nona used to spend at least a few hours in
+sightseeing, no matter what their fatigue. Now and then Mildred would go
+with them, but never Sonya. Occasionally Nona would urge her, saying
+that the exercise and change of atmosphere would be good for her. But
+Sonya used always to plead fatigue or a lack of interest. Finally she
+confessed frankly that she had seen most of these cities and countries
+before, and in some of them was fairly well known. Therefore it might
+be safer and happier for all of them if she remained quietly in whatever
+hotel they happened to be staying.
+
+Yet Sonya appeared almost as anxious as her three companions to reach
+France and the "Farmhouse with the Blue Front Door." This, of course,
+was because the three girls had talked of it so continuously and the
+longed for meeting with Eugenia again. For somehow, although the
+farmhouse was in a war-stained country, its name suggested quiet and a
+brooding peace.
+
+Nevertheless, several times, after mentioning Eugenia's name, Nona had
+observed Sonya's face flush and the expression of her eyes become almost
+apologetic. At first she was unable to understand this and then she
+remembered.
+
+In the early days Eugenia had not liked their friendship with the woman
+who was then calling herself Lady Dorian. Indeed, in Eugenia fashion she
+had frankly stated this fact to the older woman. Now how much less might
+she care for their intimacy with the exiled Russian. Yet Sonya was
+going as an uninvited guest to Eugenia's home.
+
+There had been no time to ask permission. It was true Barbara had
+written the entire story to Eugenia as soon as Sonya Valesky was
+released from prison. But one could not tell whether the letter would
+reach France as soon as the four travelers.
+
+Nona felt that she would have given a great deal to have assured Sonya
+of Eugenia's welcome, but she was nervous over the situation herself.
+
+Of course, Eugenia would be kind to the exiled woman and offer her
+hospitality and care. But Eugenia had rigid views of life and was not
+given to concealing them. It was more than possible that she might let
+Sonya know of her disapproval. Moreover, she might object to Nona's own
+championship of Sonya and to her purpose to return with her to the
+United States and there make their future home together.
+
+Of course, no views of Eugenia's would interfere with this intention of
+Nona's. But the younger girl would be sorry of Eugenia's disapproval,
+since she too had learned to have the greatest affection and admiration
+for the oldest of the four American Red Cross girls. However, there was
+nothing to do except to wait and meet the situation when the time came.
+
+Actually it was a month between the day of leaving Petrograd and the day
+when the four travelers arrived in southern France in the neighborhood
+of the Chateau d'Amelie. But this was because the girls and Sonya had
+spent some little time in London before attempting to cross the channel.
+
+London was a delightful experience for the three American Red Cross
+girls. In some fashion the story of their varied service to the Allied
+cause had reached the London newspapers. For several days there were
+columns devoted to their praise. Later, invitations poured in upon them
+from every direction. Mildred was most conspicuous, since the story of
+her presentation by the Czar with the Cross of St. George was copied
+from the Russian newspapers into the English, and must have ultimately
+reached the United States press.
+
+But the girls were not thinking of themselves or their work. They
+simply gave themselves up to the pleasure of meeting delightful English
+people and being entertained by them. Sonya would not go about with
+them, but appeared stronger and more content, so there was no point in
+worrying over her.
+
+One of the English women, who was again gracious to the three American
+girls, was the Countess of Sussex, at whose home they had spent a
+week-end on their first arrival in England several years before. Once
+more she invited them to her country home, but this time it was
+impossible for the girls to accept her invitation. However, Nona
+recalled her meeting in the old rose garden near the gardener's cottage
+with Lieutenant Robert Hume. She also thought of Lieutenant Hume's last
+letter telling her that he had been sent back to England as an exchanged
+prisoner because of his health. But when Nona inquired for the young
+English lieutenant, the Countess' expression checked further curiosity.
+
+Suddenly she appeared very unhappy and distressed.
+
+"Robert is not in England," she said hastily. "He has been sent away to
+try to recover, but we do not dare hope too much."
+
+At the moment Nona did not feel that she had the courage to ask where
+the young man had gone nor from what he was trying to recover.
+
+Actually it was one afternoon in late February, when the three Red Cross
+girls and Sonya came at last to the village of Le Pretre, near the
+forest of the same name.
+
+There they found old Francois awaiting them in a carriage that must have
+belonged to the Second Empire. It was toward twilight and on a February
+afternoon, yet after the cold of the northern countries where the girls
+had been for the past winter, the atmosphere had the appeal of spring.
+It was not warm, yet there was a gentleness in the air and a suggestion
+of green on the bare branches of the trees.
+
+Francois drove them in state to the little "Farmhouse with the Blue
+Front Door." But this afternoon the door was standing open and on the
+threshold was Madame, the Countess, with both white hands extended in
+welcome.
+
+She wore the same black dress and the same point of lace over her white
+hair. And by her side stood Monsieur Le Duc, more solemn and splendid
+than ever and as gravely welcoming of his guests as the Countess
+herself.
+
+Madame explained that Eugenia had been unable to leave the hospital to
+be at home to greet her friends, but hoped to see them in a few days. In
+the meantime they were to feel more than welcome in the farmhouse and in
+the old chateau, when they cared to come to her there.
+
+Then the Countess said good-by and allowed Francois to take her home.
+She knew that her guests were weary and her courtesy was too perfect to
+permit herself the privilege of a longer conversation, no matter how
+much she might be yearning for companionship.
+
+The little house itself was warm and light with welcome. There was a
+fire in the living room and the four beds upstairs smelled of lavender
+and roses.
+
+The girls took their old rooms, except that Sonya was allotted the
+bedroom that had once been Eugenia's.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+_A Poem and a Conversation_
+
+
+Not the next day, but the one following, Barbara and Mildred walked over
+to the old chateau together.
+
+Nona did not go with them, as Sonya did not appear to be well and she
+did not wish to leave her. So she sent a message of explanation to the
+Countess Amelie, saying that she hoped to be able to call upon her very
+soon.
+
+It chanced that Sonya did not know of Nona's decision. She was lying
+down when the girls went away and believed she had the little house to
+herself. Really she was not ill, only tired and perhaps happier than she
+had been in a long time. It is true that she had confessed herself
+defeated and that there was no longer any illusion in her own mind.
+Perhaps so long as she lived, war and not peace would flourish upon the
+earth. But the world learns its lessons in strange and dreadful ways
+and perchance peace might be born in the end from the horror and waste
+of bloodshed.
+
+By and by, when she felt more rested, Sonya got up and went down into
+the old dining room of the farmhouse, which the girls had made into
+their living room. There was a possibility that the fire might be dying
+out and it would be wise to replenish it.
+
+To her surprise Sonya discovered Nona curled up in a chair by the
+window, reading.
+
+The older woman no longer wore black; it had become too depressing in a
+continent where more than half of the women were in mourning. She had on
+a simple frock of a curious Russian blue, made almost like a monk's
+cowl, with a heavy blue cord knotted about her waist.
+
+Nona stared at her friend for a moment in silence. It was curious that
+whatever costume Sonya Valesky wore seemed to have been created for her.
+Nona recalled the beauty of her clothes in their first meeting on
+shipboard, yet they held no greater distinction than this simple dress.
+Well, perhaps personality is the strongest force in the world and Sonya
+Valesky's distinction, whatever her mistakes, lay in this.
+
+She now walked across the room and put a few of Francois' precious pine
+logs on the fire.
+
+At this Nona stirred. "Don't trouble to do that, Sonya; I meant to in
+another minute. I thought you were ill upstairs."
+
+Sonya shook her head. "I am not in the least ill and you are please to
+stop worrying about me, Nona. I thought you had gone with your friends
+to the chateau. What has kept you at home?"
+
+The younger girl answered vaguely, not caring to confess her real
+motive, since her companion would have been distressed by it.
+
+"If you are all right, Sonya, suppose you stay down here in the living
+room with me. I have just found a wonderful poem in an American magazine
+which I meant to save to read to you. Somehow I think it may comfort
+you. For it shows that there is a big design in this old universe, which
+works itself out somehow, in spite of all the tragedies and failures of
+human beings."
+
+In a big chair in the half shadow Sonya sat down, folding her hands
+together loosely in her lap. It was a fashion which had come to be
+almost a habit with her recently. Curious that it should express a kind
+of resignation!
+
+Nona began reading at once. "The poem is called 'At the Last' and is by
+George Sterling, a Californian, I believe.
+
+  "Now steel-hoofed War is loosened on the world,
+  With rapine and destruction, as the smoke
+  From ashen farm and city soils the sky.
+  Earth reeks. The camp is where the vineyard was.
+  The flocks are gone. The rains are on the hearth,
+  And trampled Europe knows the winter near.
+  Orchards go down. Home and cathedral fall
+  In ruin, and the blackened provinces
+  Reach on to drear horizons. Soon the snow
+  Shall cover all, and soon be stained with red,
+  A quagmire and a shambles, and ere long
+  Shall cold and hunger dice for helpless lives.
+  So man gone mad, despoils the gentle earth
+  And wages war on beauty and on good.
+
+  "And yet I know how brief the reign shall be
+  Of Desolation. But a little while,
+  And time shall heal the desecrated lands,
+  The quenchless fire of life shall take its own,
+  The waters of renewal spring again.
+  Quiet shall come, a flood of verdure clothe
+  The fields misused. The vine and tree once more
+  Shall bloom beside the trench, and humble roofs
+  Cover again the cradle and the bed.
+  Yea! Life shall have her way with us, until
+  The past is dim with legend, and the days
+  That now in nightmare brood upon the world
+  Shall fold themselves in purples of romance,
+  The peace shall come, so sure as ripples end
+  And crystalline tranquillity returns
+  Above a pebble cast into a pool."
+
+When Nona had finished neither she nor her companion made any comment
+for a moment.
+
+Yet when the girl looked across at the older woman for her opinion, she
+discovered that Sonya's cheeks had flushed and that her eyes were
+shining.
+
+"Thank you, Nona; I shall not forget that," she then said, repeating to
+herself, "'The peace shall come, so sure as ripples end.' I suppose the
+trouble is we have not faith and patience enough to believe that love
+and peace must triumph before God's plan can be worked out."
+
+Then Sonya got up. "Come, Nona," she suggested. "Don't you think it
+would be more agreeable to take a walk. It is really a lovely afternoon
+and I've some things I wish to talk to you about. Besides, I want to see
+the woods you girls have told me of."
+
+It was delicious outdoors and Nona and Sonya both forgot their serious
+mood of a little while before. One could not be always serious even in
+war times in so lovely a land as southern France. No wonder the French
+nation is gay; it is their method of showing their gratitude for the
+country that gave them birth.
+
+Finally the woman and girl reached the pool in the woods which Nona had
+once named "the pool of Melisande," and Eugenia had afterwards called
+"the pool of truth." However, since in Maeterlinck's play Melisande was
+seeking the light in the depth of the water, perhaps after all the two
+titles had almost a similar meaning.
+
+Anyhow, by the pool Sonya chose to make a confession.
+
+"Do you remember, Nona, once long ago, or perhaps it just seems a long
+time to me, you and I met a Colonel Dalton, an officer in the British
+army whom I had known before. I think I promised then to tell you of my
+previous acquaintance with him. I had almost forgotten."
+
+Nona slipped her arm through her companion's.
+
+"Don't tell me if you had rather not. We will both have a great deal to
+learn of each other when we go back to the United States to live
+together."
+
+Sonya smiled. "There is no use waiting. I have never even told you,
+Nona, whether or not I am married. You see, I am often called Madame
+Valesky in Russia, but that is only a courtesy title. I have never
+married. The fact is, I once lived in England for some time and was
+engaged to Colonel Dalton. I think we cared a good deal for each other,
+but he was a soldier and we did not approve of each other's views of
+life. So by and by our engagement was broken off, which was probably the
+best thing for us both."
+
+"Has Colonel Dalton ever married?" Nona inquired inconsequentially.
+
+Her companion shook her head. "Really, I don't know. Suppose we walk on
+now to the hut where your little French girl Nicolete once lived."
+
+When the two friends reached the hut, Nona Davis exclaimed in amazement:
+
+"What on earth has happened? Why, our hut isn't a hut any longer; it is
+a charming little house with some one living in it. I am going to knock
+and see who it can be. French people are so courteous, I am sure they
+won't mind telling me."
+
+Nona knocked and the next moment the door was opened by a young French
+woman. For an instant they stared at each other, then kissed in a
+bewilderingly friendly fashion.
+
+"Why, Nicolete, I can't believe my own eyes!" Nona protested. "What are
+you doing back here in your own little house, only it is so changed that
+I would scarcely have recognized it."
+
+Nicolete's dark eyes shone and the vivid color flooded her face.
+
+"I am married," she explained. "You remember Monsieur Renay, whom
+Mademoiselle Barbara named 'Monsieur Bebe?' Well," Nicolete laughed
+bewitchingly, "he is my husband."
+
+"And is he----" Nona asked and hesitated.
+
+Nicolete shook her head. "He can tell the light from the darkness, and
+now and then can see me moving in the shadow. Some day, the doctors say,
+his sight may be fully restored. He has seen the best specialists.
+Madame Eugenie sent us both to Paris. She it was who made us a home here
+in the woods out of the old hut, so that my husband might have the fresh
+air and grow strong to aid his recovery."
+
+"Madame Eugenie," it was a pretty title and one that Eugenia would
+probably always have in this French country, which had so long known the
+old Countess as Madame Castaigne.
+
+When Barbara and Mildred returned from the chateau Nona sincerely hoped
+they would bring news of Eugenia's arrival, since she was growing more
+than anxious to see her again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+_The Reunion_
+
+
+In truth, Barbara and Mildred were having a delightful afternoon at the
+Chateau d'Amelie.
+
+When they arrived, solemnly Francois invited them into the old French
+drawing room they so well remembered.
+
+But here, instead of the slender, tiny figure of the old Countess
+appearing to greet them, a tall, dark young woman came forward, whose
+hair was wound about her head like a coronet.
+
+"Eugenia!" Barbara exclaimed, and straightway shed several tears, while
+Eugenia and Mildred laughed at her.
+
+Then the three girls went over and sat down on the same Louis XIV sofa
+that two of them had once occupied with young Captain Castaigne, on
+their first visit to the chateau.
+
+This time Eugenia took the place of honor in the center, while each
+hand clasped one of her companions.
+
+"Henri and I arrived just an hour ago," she explained. "He found he
+could get a three days leave to come with me. Of course, I wished to
+rush off to the farmhouse before I even got my traveling things off. But
+since I am a much managed woman these days, I was made to wait until you
+came here. I have been expecting you every minute. Now tell me about
+Nona and Madame Valesky."
+
+This time it was Barbara who laughed. The idea of Eugenia's being
+managed instead of managing other people was amusing. Besides, it was
+unlike her to talk so fast and ask so many questions without giving one
+time to reply.
+
+So Barbara only held closer to her friend's hand and looked at her,
+leaving Mildred the opportunity for answering.
+
+It was still early in the afternoon and the sunshine flooded the
+beautiful drawing room. It was strange to see how at home Eugenia seemed
+to look and feel in it, when a little more than a year before she and
+the old room had been so antagonistic.
+
+Eugenia had changed. In the first place, she wore this afternoon a
+lovely costume of violet crepe, trimmed in old gold brocade. It was a
+costume that must have been specially designed for Eugenia, so perfectly
+did it suit her rather stately beauty and dark, clear coloring. This
+turned out to be true, since Eugenia a short time before had discovered
+a little French dressmaker, whom the war had rendered penniless, and
+given her work to do.
+
+Now, even while Mildred was talking of Nona and Sonya, the drawing room
+door opened and Captain Castaigne and his mother came in.
+
+Monsieur Le Duc accompanied them, but promptly deserted his former
+master and mistress and padded over to Eugenia, placing his great silver
+head on her lap and gazing at her with adoration.
+
+Captain Castaigne and his mother followed to greet their guests. In his
+hand the young officer carried a number of letters which he gave at once
+to Barbara and Mildred.
+
+"These just arrived at the chateau for you; they are American letters
+and so I am sure you will be pleased."
+
+Mildred's were from her mother and father and Barbara had received three
+from Dick in this same mail, and another which looked as if it might be
+the long-expected letter from Mrs. Thornton.
+
+After ten minutes of conversation, it was Captain Castaigne who proposed
+that their guests might be allowed to read their letters without waiting
+to return home. It was not difficult to guess at their impatience, since
+it must have been a long time since they had heard from home.
+
+Then he and Eugenia crossed over to the other side of the room and stood
+by the fireplace. Le Duc went with them and Eugenia kept one hand on the
+dog's head.
+
+Now and then she smiled over something Captain Castaigne said to her,
+then again she looked at him with the anxious gravity that was a part of
+Eugenia's character. The war had made the young French officer older,
+love and marriage had apparently taken ten years from Eugenia's age.
+Plainly a beautiful understanding existed between the husband and wife,
+in spite of the differences in their natures, which would survive to the
+end.
+
+For when Captain Castaigne suddenly lifted his wife's hand and kissed
+it, it was like Eugenia to blush and whisper a protest, at which the
+young officer only laughed.
+
+Over by the window Barbara and Mildred were really too busy with their
+letters to notice what was taking place. Madame Castaigne had gone out
+of the room for the instant to speak to Francois.
+
+Of course, Barbara had read Dick's letters first. She could only read
+them hastily, for Dick had written to say that he had a fine position
+with a big real estate office in New York City, and enough salary for
+two persons to live upon, in a tiny apartment on the west side. Barbara
+was to come home at once, else Dick would probably lose his job by
+deserting to fetch her. Also the letter from Mrs. Thornton was cheering.
+Whatever it may have been, something had occurred to change that lady's
+state of mind. Perhaps it was her anxiety about Mildred in the days
+when she knew nothing of her daughter's fate except that Mildred had
+stayed behind at Grovno until the hour of the final surrender of the
+Russian fort.
+
+For Mrs. Thornton had written to Barbara to say that she would be most
+happy to welcome her as Dick's wife, and the dearest wish of her heart
+was to have her two daughters safe at home in New York City as soon as
+they were able to return.
+
+Mildred's letters were much of the same character, and the two girls had
+only barely finished them when Francois appeared bearing coffee and
+cakes.
+
+Then the little party talked on until nearly dusk.
+
+At last, when Barbara and Mildred felt compelled to leave, Eugenia
+proposed that she and Captain Castaigne walk over to the farmhouse with
+them. She did not feel that she could wait for another day before seeing
+Nona.
+
+Nona and Sonya had just been in a few moments and taken off their wraps
+when the others arrived. And Nona need have felt no nervousness over
+Eugenia's attitude toward Sonya. Many things had happened to broaden
+Eugenia's point of view since her arrival in Europe to act as a Red
+Cross nurse. Besides, few persons could fail to feel anything but
+sympathy and admiration for the beautiful Russian woman, whose life had
+come so near closing in tragedy.
+
+There was not a great deal of food at the farmhouse, nevertheless
+Eugenia and Captain Castaigne remained to dinner.
+
+Barbara and Mildred retired to act as cooks, while Eugenia and Sonya
+fell to talking together, and Nona and Captain Castaigne.
+
+In the course of their talk Nona remembered to inquire for Lieutenant
+Hume, who was Captain Castaigne's friend. At last she might be able to
+hear real news of the young British officer.
+
+By good fortune Captain Castaigne had received a letter written by him
+in the same post that had brought Barbara's and Mildred's letters.
+
+"Lieutenant Hume had gone to the United States and was living at the
+present time in Florida. He had appeared to have contracted a fatal
+illness during his imprisonment, but his letter had said he was feeling
+ever so much better.
+
+"I can't say how glad I am," Captain Castaigne continued. "There was
+never a braver fellow in the world than Robert Hume. And besides, if he
+should happen to die just now, it would be particularly hard on his
+family. You see, Hume's older brother, the one with the title, has just
+been killed in the Dardanelles. Robert Hume is Lord Hume now, I believe,
+and the English think more of titles than we do in Republican France,"
+the French officer concluded.
+
+"But I thought," Nona commented stupidly, "that Lieutenant Hume was a
+gardener's son and had been educated by friends who were interested in
+him."
+
+Then Nona stopped, because Captain Castaigne was half smiling and half
+frowning over her information. Moreover, Nona suddenly remembered that
+what she was saying was founded partly on information and the rest on
+her own fancy.
+
+"Lieutenant Hume told me he was the gardener's son," she protested, "or
+at least he called the gardener's wife 'Mother Susan.'"
+
+Eugenia had suddenly spoken her husband's name and Captain Castaigne had
+gotten up to go over to her.
+
+However, he stopped long enough to expostulate. "That was an
+extraordinary idea of yours, Miss Davis. Hume was only talking of his
+old nurse. His mother died when he was a baby and she brought him up. I
+have heard him speak of 'Mother Susan' myself. The Countess you visited
+in Surrey is a cousin of Hume's, I think, and the old nurse and her
+husband live there. Hume was having Mother Susan nurse him when you met,
+I expect. Hope you two may see each other some day in the United States
+and laugh over that impression of yours, Miss Davis," Captain Castaigne
+concluded, as he walked over to his wife's side.
+
+At midnight Captain Castaigne and Eugenia went back to the chateau,
+walking hand-in-hand like children through the woods. There was no
+fighting these days in this particular portion of southern France and in
+the peace of the night one could almost forget that the world was at
+war.
+
+"You will miss your friends when they return to their own country,
+Eugenia," Captain Castaigne suggested.
+
+Eugenia nodded. "Yes, they will be gone, I believe, in another month.
+But we will go over ourselves some day, Henri, and perhaps you may learn
+to care for my country as I do for yours."
+
+"Yes, and think of the service I shall owe her for the work the American
+Red Cross has done for France!" the young officer concluded, and in the
+darkness lifted his cap for a moment.
+
+"Whatever Lafayette did for you in the cause of freedom, your land has
+now fully repaid."
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+  BOOKS BY MARGARET VANDERCOOK
+
+  THE RANCH GIRLS SERIES
+
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AT RAINBOW LODGE
+  THE RANCH GIRLS' POT OF GOLD
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AT BOARDING SCHOOL
+  THE RANCH GIRLS IN EUROPE
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AT HOME AGAIN
+  THE RANCH GIRLS AND THEIR GREAT ADVENTURE
+
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS SERIES
+
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN THE BRITISH TRENCHES
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS ON THE FRENCH FIRING LINE
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS IN BELGIUM
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS WITH THE ITALIAN ARMY
+  THE RED CROSS GIRLS UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES
+
+  STORIES ABOUT CAMP FIRE GIRLS
+
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT SUNRISE HILL
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AMID THE SNOWS
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS ACROSS THE SEA
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS' CAREERS
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN AFTER YEARS
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS IN THE DESERT
+  THE CAMP FIRE GIRLS AT THE END OF THE TRAIL
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red Cross Girls with the Russian
+Army, by Margaret Vandercook
+
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