Aunt Jane's Nieces in The Red Cross
"
"Let us send for him at once!" exclaimed Uncle John.
Carg scribbled on a card.
"He wouldn't leave the launch without orders, unless forced by the Germans," asserted the captain, and handed the card to von Holtz.
The young lieutenant took his cap, bowed profoundly and left the room. In ten minutes he returned, saying: "I am not so fortunate as I had thought. All our troops are on the move, headed for the Yser. There will be fighting, presently, and—I must remain here," he added despondently.
"It won't be your last chance, I'm sure," said Patsy. "Will that dreadful Colonel Grau go, too?"
"No; he is to remain. But all regiments quartered here are now marching out and to-morrow a fresh brigade will enter Ostend."
They were silent a time, until someone rapped upon the door. Von Holtz admitted a slim, good-looking young Belgian who grasped his hand and said eagerly in French:
"You sent for me?"
"Yes. You may speak English here, Monsieur Rondel." Then he presented his friend to the Americans, who approved him on sight.
Henderson came a few minutes later and listened respectfully to the plan Miss Doyle unfolded. He was to go with Monsieur Rondel to Charleroi, find Mrs. Denton, explain that her husband was very ill, and bring her back with him to Ostend. He would report promptly on his return and they would tell him what to do next.
The man accepted the mission without a word of protest. Charleroi was in central Belgium, but that did not mean many miles away and Rondel assured him they would meet with no difficulties. The trains were reserved for soldiers, but the Belgian had an automobile and a German permit to drive it. The roads were excellent.
"Now, remember," said Patsy, "the lady you are going for is Mrs. Albert Denton. She lives with her mother, or did, the last we heard of her."
"And her mother's name and address?" inquired Henderson.
"We are ignorant of either," she confessed; "but it's not a very big town and I'm sure you'll easily find her."
"I know the place well," said Rondel, "and I have friends residing there who will give me information.
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How Greed for a Trifling Thing Led a Man to Lose a Great One
Category: Chinese folktales
Read times: 204 -
There was once an honest journeyman tailor, by name Labakan, who learned his trade with an excellent master in Alexandria. It could not be said that Labakan was unhandy with the needle; on the contrary, he could make excellent work: moreover, one would have done him injustice to have called him lazy. Nevertheless, his companions knew not what to make of him, for he would often sew for hours together so rapidly that the needle would glow in his hand, and the thread smoke, and that none could equal him.
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