Show tn t FREDERICK ti km dttA lanny would gli ohp garden she remained leaning against Pei helagon he wagon wacon body botill till taint faint from hap waiting for him she was drawing deeper and longer breaths that were velvety with the glow of sunshine A flame the flame that louny had desired of many gentle yet tongues leaping hither and thither in glad freedom was in pos pon session of her being when his bis figure appeared out of the dar knoBs the flame swept her to her feet and to ward him though he might reject her ber he be should know that the she loved him this glad thing utter after all the shame she he had bad endured abe could confess triumphantly but she abe stopped abort under the whip of conscience where was her courage where her sense of duty what right had she ehe who ho had bad played ucb such a horrible part to think of self belt there were other sweethearts with lovers lovero alive who might be dead on the morrow it war continued the flame sank to a live coal in her secret heart another passion possessed her as she seized Lati hand in both her own lanny listen t not the sound of a s shot for the first time since the w war ir oh the blessed si silence tencel it ita s peace peace it to be pence peace As am they ascended the stepi she ohe was pouring out a flood of bro ken feverish sentences which per emitted of no interruption you kept on fighting today but you wont to morrow will ou out I 1 it I 1 who mho plead its lt the women more women than there are men in the army who want you to stop newt now I 1 can cant t you hear them cant you see nee them in the fervor of appeal before she ebo realized hla his purpose thoy they were on the veranda and at the door of the dining room where the brown staff win was gathered around the table 1 I still till rely on you to help me mar tat tall he whispered as he stood to one side aide for her to enter CHAPTER the last lait shot gallandt Oal landl r blinking RB as she bhe came out of the darkness into the bright light with ft a look lock of her dew sprinkled dark hair free and brushing her flushed cheek saw the dI division vIolon chloea of the wona drowns after their start when lan stron spoke her name all stand at the salute looking at her rather than at him the reality in the flesh of the woman who had been a comrade in service sacrificing her sensibilities for their cause appealed to them as a true likeness of their conceptions concep tlona of her lif in their ayes ayea she ehe might read tho the finest thing that can pass from mans mamps to womans comans or from man mans a to mans these were the strong men of her people W who 0 had bad driven the burglar from hw house with the sword of justice their air tribute had the stead steadfast fust loyalty who were craving to do anything in the world that she might ask whether to go on their knees to or to kill dragons dragona for her 1 I may come in she ashod who 10 it if not you la Is entitled to to tho the privilege of the staff council exclaimed the vice chief the other did not propose to let t him do all the honors each m murmured r words of welcome on hla his own account wo we are here thanks to youl ano and thanks to you our flag will float over the stray dray rangel fanget she must be tired was their next thought tow or five of them hurried to td place a chair for her the vice chief winning over hla his rivals more through the ibel exercise of the rights of rank than by any superior alacrity yon are appointed actual chief of staff and afield A field marshall marshal said tho the vlee vice chief to Lan langstron La natron stron tho the premier sam by that every honor tho the nation can bestow la Is yours the capital Is mad the crowds are crying on to the gray capital I 1 tomorrow la Is to be a public holiday and they are calling it La natron day the thing was mas so BO sudden that the speculators who do pressed our securities in tho the worlds markets have got their due ruin I 1 and we ought to get an indemnity that will pay the cost of tho the war i boated bested at onea one side bide marta could watch atch all that passed herself junob served she bhe noted a touch of color come ko io Lan strona cheeks cheeka as he mado made a little shrug of protest I 1 then she he saw their faces grow bust bud nes and keen as they inthe gathered bround the table with langstron LanB Lan tron stron at the head they were oblivious of her presence prence immured in a mans world of war your orders were obeyed we have not passed a single white post letl said ald the vice impatiently As A the tat grays never expected to take toe detom iv their fortresses fort recies are atre in gerior every hour we watt wait means store ion time tor for them to fortify more ane alm to recover from rom their de morall tion oita i dir having corn cam maid of ur the airee had bad a wireless from ano pa nV reporting orting all olar clear halfway half way tj jr 1 to tour f oka gray arar capita aby we e shall hall know concentration white while they j 4 AM ar ignorant of ours our we h the nat nations lons brent opportunity to gain enough I 1 provinces to even tho the balance of lation with the gray a with tho offensive blow on blow using the spirit of our men to drive in mass attacks fit at the right points the gray range to Is bourst cure I 1 marta scanned the faces of the for some borne sign of dissent only to find nothing but the ardor of victory call ing tor for more victory which r reflected the feeling of the coursing ere crowds in the he capital though lanny wished to stop top the war he be was only a chip on the crest creat of ft a wave public opinion which had bad made him an idol would discard him its BB soon eoon as he ceased to be a hero here in the likeness of its desires she saw him aloof as the others in preoccupation bent over the map out lining the plan of attack that they had worked out while awaiting their chiefs return from the charge lie ile was taking a paper froni from his pocket and looking from one to another of his colleagues studiously and ahe was wab conscious of that determination in bis bin smile which she had first seen when lie he rose roae from the wreck of tits bis plane this Is from a message for you and the tha nation natio nl he nn an bounced as an he spread a few thin type written pages out on the table I 1 I 1 was under promise never to reveal its contents unless our army drove the graya crays back across tho the frontier the original la in in the staff vaults I 1 havo have carried this copy m ith nio me at the mention in an arresting tone of that name of the dead chief to which alch tho the days events had given the prestige of one of the heroes of old there was grave attention 1 I think we have practically agreed that the two individuals who were ere in valuable to our cause were and miss galland V Lan langstron La natron stron remarked tentatively tat ively he waited for a reply it was apparent that he was laying a foundation before he went any fur ther certainly ll I 1 said the vice chief and youl put in another officer which brought a chorus of assent no not I 1 only these toll two lan stron etron replied or 1 I too it if you prefer it little matters the thing to is that I 1 am ain under a promise to both which I 1 shall respect lie organized and labored for the same purpose that she ohe played the spy when we sent the troops forward in a counterattack and pursuit to clear our soil of the grays when I 1 stopped them at the frontier both wort were according to par tows plan ile ho had a plan and a dream this wonderful old man who made us all seem primary pupils la in the art of war 11 could it be that terrible ft a stroke of whose hose pencil had made the gilland galland house an inferno marta wondered as aa langstron Lan stron read his mes sage sag ethe the message out of the real heart of the man throbbing with the power of his great brain ills plan was t to 0 hold bold the grays to stalemate to force them to desist after thel jhc thc had battered their bat battalions to pieces against the drown fortifications his dream was as the thing that had hop hap boned that nn an opportunity would come to pursue a broken machine in a bold stroke of the offensive 1 11 I would want to be a hoto heio of our people for only one aim to be able to stop atop our army at the front frontier lor he had bad written I 1 then they might drive me forth heaped with obloquy it they chose I 1 should like to so se tho grays crays demoralized beaten ready to sue for peace the better to prove my point that wo 0 o should ask only for what Is ours and that our strength strong th was only for the purpose of 0 holding what Is ours oure then we should lay up no legacy of revenge in their hearts they could never have cause to attack affail civilization would have advanced another step lanstrom Lan stron continued to read to the amazed staff for a 0 message had looked far into the future then there i was as a P 8 written after the war mar had begun on the evening of the day that marta had gone from tea on the veranda with to the telephone la in the impulse of her new purpose 1 I begin to believe in that dream he wrote 1 I began to bellee that the chance for the offensive will aill como come now that my colleague miss galland in the name of pence peace has tui tinned tied practical there to is nothing like mixing a little practice la in your di earns while tile the world to ie still well this side of utopia as the head bead on my old behemoth of ft a body well knows she had the right idea hei school aho oath so 0 o completely expressed my ideas the result of alamy all toy thinking that I 1 had a twinge of literary jealousy my boy it you do reach the frontier in pur pursuit alt of a broken army and you do not keep faith with my dream and with her ideals then you i win gift got get ft a lesson that will last you for ori ever at the toot of the gray range but I 1 do not think so badly as that of you or ot of my judgment of men 11 lannet I 1 the dignity of a staff council could inot I 1 1 ot restrain marta her emotion must b have ave action she bho ep ang to h hla 11 s side and seized hla his baud her exultation mixed with penitence over the WAY one ano had wronged nim him and parton their self contained purpose had been the same as an here hera and they had worked with ft a soldiers Bold lera fortitude while she had worked with whims and impulses sue ehe bent over him with gratitude and praise and a plea for forgiveness in her eyes submerging the thing which he caught in them lie he flushed boy ashly in happy embarrassment inca pablo of words for an instant and silently the staff looked on and I 1 agree with Lan La langstron natron stron went on I 1 that we cannot take the range the grays still have numbers equal to ours it la is they now who will be singing god with us V with their backs against the wall with Par towa tows goos goes my own appeal to the army and the nation and I 1 shall keep faith with with miss lalland galland and with my own ideas it if the govern ment orders the army to advance by resigning as aa chief of staff my work finished 0 slid and his aide and valet inquiring their way as strangers found the new staff headquarters odthe of the grays crays established in an army building where bouchard had been assigned to trivial duties back of the gray range As an their former chief entered a room in the disorder of maps and packing eases cases the staff officers rose from their work to stand at salute like stone im ages in respect to a field marshal rank there was no word of greeting but ut a telling silence belenco before turcas weve come TOP for spoke ills his voice had lost its parch ment crinkle and nd become natural the blue veins on his bulging temples were IL a little more pronounced his thin tea fen tures a little more pinched but othea N lao ise he was unchanged and he seemed equal to another strain as heavy art ail the ono one ho be had undergone we havo have a now government a now nen prem lei 1 lie said hie old pron premier fler A as aa killed by a shot from a arod d that ito ho was addressing from the balcony of the palm palme e after this thia the capital be came As wo got get in touch with the divisions we find the army in better shape than we me had feared it would be there la in a recovery of spirit owing to our being on our own onn soil yes replied droN drowning NnIng in their stores stares and gi asping at a straw only a as an I 1 said it if his voice rising hoarsely and catching in rage we have a new government a new premier I 1 turcas repeated with firm arm methodical politeness enesi looking from one fact to another with umi eyes lovegod them before bouchard cheros a room ready for your excellency turcas continued the orderly will ill show you the way ay now grasped the tact fact that he was no longer chief of lie ile drow drew himself up tip in a desperate attempt at dignity the staff saluted again and uncertainty uncertainly he fol followed loed tho oi derly with alth the aide and valet still in imal to be continued |