"
"The American Ambulance wasn't over there to fight, you know,"
explained Courtney.
"What did you get the cross for if you weren't fighting?" demanded
young Cale.
"For doing what a whole lot of other fellows did,--simply going
out and getting a wounded man or two in No-Man's Land. We didn't
think much about it at the time."
"Was it very dangerous?" asked Rosabel.
"I suppose it was,--more or less so," replied Thane indifferently.
He even yawned. "I'd rather talk about Alix the Third, if it's all
the same to you. Is she light or dark?"
"She's a brunette," said Rosabel shortly. "All except her eyes.
They're blue. How long were you up at the front, Mr. Thane?"
"Oh, quite a while,--several months, in fact. At first we were in
a place where there wasn't much fighting. Just before the first
big Verdun drive we were transferred to that sector, and then we
saw a lot of action."
"Some battle, wasn't it?" exclaimed young Cale, a thrill in his
voice.
"Certainly was," said Courtney. "We used to work forty-eight hours
at a stretch, taking 'em back by the thousands."
"How near did the shells ever come to you?"
"Oh, sometimes as close as twenty or thirty feet. I remember one
that dropped in the road about fifty feet ahead of my car, and
before I could stop we ran plunk into the hole it made and upset.
I suppose the Windom estate must be a pretty big one, isn't it,
Mr.
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