Crossing the Place de la Concorde, we fell in with a British staff officer of my acquaintance, who was just starting to motor back to G.H.Q. from Paris leave.  He had a longer face than the people at the Invalides.

‘I don’t like it, I tell you,’ he said.  ’It’s this mist that worries me.  I went down the whole line from Arras to the Oise ten days ago.  It was beautifully sited, the cleverest thing you ever saw.  The outpost line was mostly a chain of blobs—­redoubts, you know, with machine-guns—­so arranged as to bring flanking fire to bear on the advancing enemy.  But mist would play the devil with that scheme, for the enemy would be past the place for flanking fire before we knew it. . .  Oh, I know we had good warning, and had the battle-zone manned in time, but the outpost line was meant to hold out long enough to get everything behind in apple-pie order, and I can’t see but how big chunks of it must have gone in the first rush. . . .  Mind you, we’ve banked everything on that battle-zone.  It’s damned good, but if it’s gone—­’He flung up his hands.

‘Have we good reserves?’ I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders.

‘Have we positions prepared behind the battle-zone?’

‘I didn’t notice any,’ he said dryly, and was off before I could get more out of him.

‘You look rattled, Dick,’ said Blenkiron as we walked to the hotel.

’I seem to have got the needle.  It’s silly, but I feel worse about this show than I’ve ever felt since the war started.  Look at this city here.  The papers take it easily, and the people are walking about as if nothing was happening.  Even the soldiers aren’t worried.  You may call me a fool to take it so hard, but I’ve a sense in my bones that we’re in for the bloodiest and darkest fight of our lives, and that soon Paris will be hearing the Boche guns as she did in 1914.’

’You’re a cheerful old Jeremiah.  Well, I’m glad Miss Mary’s going to be in England soon.  Seems to me she’s right and that this game of ours isn’t quite played out yet.  I’m envying you some, for there’s a place waiting for you in the fighting line.’

’You’ve got to get home and keep people’s heads straight there.  That’s the weak link in our chain and there’s a mighty lot of work before you.’

‘Maybe,’ he said abstractedly, with his eye on the top of the Vendome column.

The train that afternoon was packed with officers recalled from leave, and it took all the combined purchase of Blenkiron and myself to get a carriage reserved for our little party.  At the last moment I opened the door to admit a warm and agitated captain of the R.F.C. in whom I recognized my friend and benefactor, Archie Roylance.

‘Just when I was gettin’ nice and clean and comfy a wire comes tellin’ me to bundle back, all along of a new battle.  It’s a cruel war, Sir.’  The afflicted young man mopped his forehead, grinned cheerfully at Blenkiron, glanced critically at Peter, then caught sight of Mary and grew at once acutely conscious of his appearance.  He smoothed his hair, adjusted his tie and became desperately sedate.