A Tall Ship / On Other Naval Occasions

d, blowing in across t

ught the sou

continuous rumble, very much like distant thunder, that died away and recommenced nearer and more distinct. Then the sashes of the open window tre

the coverings, the palms of her hands pressed against her ears. But imagination sped through

n in childhood only suggested stalwart men, stripped to the waist and bare-footed, working round the smoking

re could be nothin

orgetting their manhood; burnt, deaf, scalded, torn by splinters, blinded; she had see

. Miss Dacre, the principal, Margaret, and a few others who had already qualified in nursing, were retained as Red Cross sisters, and it was not long before the classrooms and dormitories were occupied by

according to his own imagination or experience. The night-sisters moved softly to and fro on the beeswaxed boards, smoothing tu

The sparrows under the eaves stirred and commenced a sleepy twittering. Margaret rose as soon as objects in her room were discern

dow, drinking in the indescribable freshness of the dawn, she despised herself. She, who had devoted her life to a Purpose, should be above the petty weak

le that she would meet a soul, and yet she dressed carefully, coiling her soft hair, with its silver threads, on the nape of her neck, fastidiously dusting riding

ngly, with hands sti

ing-gown, and beneath it her slim ankles peeped out

hat's the

hear th

life to it. "Yes. Another big engagement. We shall be busy. I was going to ride down to the cliffs to see. . . . What's the matter, Betty-can't you sleep? Come in and shu

ts of her dressing-gown. Her hair was plaited loosely in two long plaits, one of which

cup of tea. "Drink tha

and keep warm. Ha

ng for it to get light. I heard you moving, and I got up." She passed her hand over her eyes. "After the last time I kept seeing those poor things. . . . I don't mind once we start-

cup quickly and sat do

that. You mustn't thin

ten

when you haven't any-a

you. But I've got a b

nt," ended Betty

m sure your brother would like to think you were being as brave as-as he. . . ." She turned her head and stared out of the window. Was s

ten minutes while I put my riding things on? Miss Dacre said I could take her horse

ll get the horses saddled while yo

y sanctum-in scholastic days, the matron's sitting-room, a small apartment, with pretty chintz-covered furniture, and roses in bowls on

er they mounted and rode down the long avenue, bordered by fi

er until they reached the highest point of a bluff promontory that stretched

rring to life: wisps of smoke, curling from a score of chimneys, blended with the mists of early morning. Small specks that were peopl

pouring out smoke. In silence Margaret handed the glasses to her companion. On the far horizon there were faint columns of smoke north and east. Some were smudges that dissolved and f

suddenly, "did you ever

d the thirty-five years

ed such a possibility,

mote. For a moment

hand for the glasses, and f

troyer was entering the harbour; faint conf

marry him? Did y

"I thought I was doing right. . . . But I was wrong." The night had not been without its lesson. "He's out there." She nodded towards the Nort

e man you love and-and anything else in the wide world, don't be misled by other claims . . . by what

"But," she said, "if you think dut

f it's only the right to cry. . . . If you forego love, you forego even that." She gathered the rei

e downs. In the filmy blue overhead a lark sang

*

ut on either side of the hall. There was a subdued murmur of voices as every moment brought a fresh arrival. Two blue-jackets, who came up the steps carrying a hooded stretcher, stood looking about them as if for orders. The surgeons were al

ft," said Margaret. "W

d the stalwart at the head of the s

to be attended to aboard of us-we was in a Destroyer, an' picked 'im up 'angin' on to a spar. Would 'ave the doctor fix up a German prisoner wot was b

-worship of an officer. "That's right, Sister. 'E g

Margaret in her cl

ed back the hood, uncovering the face and shou

ut the busy scene, the voices of the bearers, and the shuffle of their feet across the tiled hall. With a su

stood before her as if awaiting orders. Outside the entrance

e hall and opened the door of the small room on the left of the entrance. The scent of rose

loor and came out, glancing at her white fac

. Oh, yes

ing irresolute, as if dazed, in the midst

o in life had never broken his wor