The War-Workers

tomorrow? You remember what a rush it was l

was the unvarnished

prised if her mother had suddenly expressed an intention of appearing regularly at the Cant

nings because he thought it due to the servants to show that

morrow, eh, my dear? I missed

right; I'm not

ritably and half ashamedly, whether he could not have heard other people, had he wanted to. The overstrain from which she

house now," Sir Piers said, half maunderingly, half with a sort of bewi

wn feelings. "I go into the office on Sunday afternoons always, and a very good

aren't delivered. I don't like you to go to this place on Sund

further half of the drawing-room, where Miss Bruce sat, just heari

mal part of a great whole-but if I could only get a little sympathy. It does seem so extraordinary, when one

he old relations still existed between them. Char knew that Miss Bruce had always thought Lady Vivian's management of her only child terribly inj

he sighed. "But I have been afraid

ha

ing; he is so much deafer, so muc

it's only the beginning of the winter, B

er Miss Bruce's view receiv

ever, and Char was, as usual, spending the afternoon and e

husband and a small, immensely stout Pekinese dog, with bulging eyes and

-I shall smack 'oo if 'oo isn't quiet directly. Do you mind this little brown boy, who goes everywhere with his mammy? I

tones which might have quell

ss, who immediately gathered him on t

frighten the poor little manikin?" she inquir

said Joanna, in tones mor

asn't the sweetest little brown boy in the whole world. It! You've h

imself into a sort

se," said Major Willoughby suddenly

ly. Lap-dogs bored her very much indeed, and she turned away her eyes after t

h-you'd hardly believe it, Lady Vivian, if I were to tell you t

wished to emphasize her words. "I can't have you boring people about Puff. Lewis is a perfect

at all; not at all. But the dog is an intelligent little

of Puff's somnolent head and exclaimed shrilly at intervals that "it was too, too bad to p

uting to this catastrophe. The language of compliment had seldom been further from her li

was a recent acquisition

" Lesbia presently inqui

rham, at t

u won't mind, I know-after all, you and I were gir

thought that her secretary did not happen to be wi

Lesbia," she said dryly. "What has poor Cha

t, Joanna! Lewi

non-committal manner: "H'm, yes, yes. Hi! Puff!-good dog, sir!" th

ry, and Mrs. Willoughby replied forcibly: "My dear, nothing but flogging would ever bring her to her senses. The way she's treating you and poor dear Sir Piers! He's looking

e reply of Major Willoughby, add

, my dear, but to my mind home-ties are absolutely sacred, and more than ever before in such a time as this, when we may all be swept away by some ghastly air-ra

elling eye, but Puff was again q

bia, and neither am I. We can each stand very comfortably on our own feet, and I'

but Lewis can tell you that I'm perfectly impervious. I always say exactly what I want to

rom Puff, who hurled a shrill defiance at him from the hearth-rug, whi

tonished Sir Piers, looking all round him in search

it, and stumbled heavi

d in agonized tones to his host, "By Jove! the dog got in your way, sir, I'm afraid;" and to Puff, "Get out

ked conclusively to her Lewis that the strain of this dreadful

uldn't say it, my dear child, but that your darling mother and I were girls together, and it's simply br

and without any regard for the fact that at least three

ut I do think, dear, that your place just now is at home-at least part of eac

h that she was whi

ng tones. "I should be only too thankful if I could get my place satisfactorily filled here, but at present it's

ing a martyr of yourself!" sa

r that gave her a look of incredible

our's sleep in the morning by starting for the Dep?t earlier than usual, so as to cope with the press of business. It was her justific

ry, because the doctor said she needed change of air. She was to incur no expense, Char told her, very kindly, and even remembered to order a cab for her at the country station. Miss P

y like Miss Vivian, and that

staff after another went down with it, was obliged to plead illness and go

Delmege announced deprecatingly to her chief, who str

ere's more to be done than

fraid

with it now-or is it six

s the helpless rejoinder o

e. She abated not one jot of all that she had un

ar knew that the rest of the staff was saying much the same thing behind her back. At Plessing Miss Bruce remonstrated admirin

ing of the dark lines deepening dai

in Sir Piers, becoming dai

Char came downstairs after the usual hasty breakfast which she had in her own room: "My dear, you're not fit to go. Really you're not; you ought to

d Char hoarsely. "I ha

e night," thrust in her maid, hov

" cried Miss Bru

y aren't f

eared at the he

s all

e secretary, "do look at he

other an opportunity for seeing that her face was whit

ot influe

t would be very odd if I'd escaped, since half the o

off now than to risk a real breakdown later on,"

d with pal

Brucey. I re

!" wailed th

r shoulders. She,

sonable

ouldn't dream of giving in wh

d despair at this heroic statement. Char slipped her arm

ft Miss Bruce to make those hurried dispositions of foot-warmer, fur rug, and little bottles of sulphat

de the only one, or even the most severe, of the shock

erings, a small green bottle of highly pungent smelling sa

Questerham, Char. It will be ver

I could go. I hate the hotel, and one can'

r Hostel. Surely t

ady Vivian's face, as though in misch

staff, and it would be very unsuitable for me, as Di

na flippantly. "Well, do as you like, but if you come back he

a glance of indignation with Char's maid, but she was consciou

u come in," she said to Char, pointedly enough. "We wi

you,

pon the little agitated secret

nt pains in her head and back

er grimly whether any further members of her staff would have succumbed to the prevailing illness. She knew that only a will of iron could surmount such physica

nd her progress up the stairs was only made possible by the remnant of strength which allowed h

wail of condolence from the ge

ng, said placidly: "Good-morning. I'm sorry to

be

ss night and has a tem

ll right y

ked Grace, "but she didn't at all want t

ed her he

think my bed would prove a bed of thorns while there's so much work to do

y one of those violent, involuntary, shiv

Miss Delmege's work,

it myself, of course," was the ungrate

n a sullen heap, with a small curling column of yellow smoke at the top. A traction-engine ground and screamed and pounded its way up and down under the window

incessantly, and at about twelve o'clock a telegram marked "Priority" w

ones, please let the Commissariat Department know at once. The staff should be at the s

d rain was falling, and Ch

heard an incautiously raised voice: "She does look so ill! Of course it's

were dying. No lunch today, either, only a cup of

d her order for lunch in place of Miss Delmege, and had vent

iled s

p-train

eltered platform with the fur collar of her motoring

ver to the workers for the ti

ut in readiness, while orderlies from the hospitals put

f the waiting-room door, and sto

again on trays, stood in groups of twelve; and the final spoonfuls of sugar were being scooped from a tin b

ay and amused, and were talking and laughing as though they did not know the

Those who were sitting down stood up, trying to look at ease; little Miss Anthony, who had been manipulating the bread-cutting machine wi

ss

g forward

Miss V

dwiches have

n. That'll be two for each m

r hundred,

Miss V

ain, this time speaki

turne

, as usual, had

r the station-master came

tly now, Miss Vivia

to the waiting-room and

ables, and each worker was at her appointed stand. Char had indic

work," the station-mast

ian, pleased. She never pretended to look upon her staff as anything b

organization, which had given the majority of her staff exactly the same impression as h