"Pardon me, "he said, "you are very young to be alone in war-time
in such a place as this."
The sudden outbreak of a disturbance in the kitchen relieved
Mercy from any immediate necessity for answering him. She heard
the voices of the wounded men raised in feeble remonstrance, and
the harsh command of the foreign officers bidding them be silent.
The generous instincts of the woman instantly prevailed over
every personal consideration imposed on her by the position which
she had assumed. Reckless whether she betrayed herself or not as
nurse in the French ambulance, she instantly drew aside the
canvas to enter the kitchen. A German sentinel barred the way to
her, and announced, in his own language, that no strangers were
admitted. The Englishman politely interposing, asked if she had
any special object in wishing to enter the room.
"The poor Frenchmen!" she said, earnestly, her heart upbraiding
her for having forgotten them. "The poor wounded Frenchmen!"
The German surgeon advanced from the bedside, and took the matter
up before the Englishman could say a word more.
"You have nothing to do with the wounded Frenchmen," he croaked,
in the harshest notes of his voice.
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