Latest / Miss Pims Camouflage / 30 - Miss Pim's Camouflage by Dorothy Tennant
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- 0:00Speaker 1: Miss Pim's Camouflage by Lady Dorothy Stanley, chapter thirty. What
- 0:05Speaker 1: a perfect summer's day, said Captain Boyd, as he tucked
- 0:10Speaker 1: the rug round Miss Pimm to keep off the dust,
- 0:13Speaker 1: and then climbed in beside her. At the wheel. Three
- 0:16Speaker 1: officers sat behind and away. The car darted along a
- 0:20Speaker 1: fairly rough road screened by poplars. They met lorries coming in,
- 0:26Speaker 1: They passed lorries going out. They saw cottages and farm
- 0:30Speaker 1: houses where sentries were marching up and down. Aeroplanes were
- 0:34Speaker 1: flitting about overhead like dragonflies, sunning themselves. Then by and
- 0:40Speaker 1: by the happy cultivated land and peaceful green pastures were
- 0:45Speaker 1: left behind, and they came to the land of Nevermore.
- 0:49Speaker 1: Here chaos was king, and his kingdom was desolation. Walls
- 0:54Speaker 1: with gaping holes where windows had looked out doors opening
- 0:59Speaker 1: into nothingness, sliding glaciers, and avalanches of stone bricks and plaster,
- 1:05Speaker 1: deep holes dug by shells. Everything had become without shape
- 1:11Speaker 1: and void. This is the little town of Montserval. Beyond
- 1:15Speaker 1: is Hill sixty four, and behind that is Rochefort. It
- 1:20Speaker 1: isn't quite such a ruin. We took them rather by surprise,
- 1:24Speaker 1: and they had to run for it or be made prisoners.
- 1:27Speaker 1: They blew up a few houses and had started cutting
- 1:31Speaker 1: down the fruit trees. But as I say, we tickled
- 1:34Speaker 1: them up and they decamped. That little hill over there
- 1:38Speaker 1: was wooded, now it is just spiked with tree stumps.
- 1:42Speaker 1: Miss Pim gazed round her with a shudder. The country
- 1:46Speaker 1: seemed so permanently ruined, and yet Captain Boyd assured her
- 1:51Speaker 1: the brave people of France had already commenced to clear
- 1:55Speaker 1: the villages. Neat heaps of stone were being piled up
- 1:58Speaker 1: on one side, yawning holes were being filled up with rubbish.
- 2:03Speaker 1: Wounded trees were bound up, and in time the country
- 2:07Speaker 1: would be healed and blossom again. But the French people
- 2:11Speaker 1: would never forget, and never forgive. The scars on the
- 2:15Speaker 1: heart of the nation were ineffaceable scars. The Chateau de
- 2:20Speaker 1: Rochefort was situated in a little valley which seemed an
- 2:24Speaker 1: oasis in the surrounding wilderness. The Chateau of gray Stone
- 2:29Speaker 1: appeared rather small, but it was a perfect sixteenth century
- 2:34Speaker 1: building of exquisite proportions, with delicate torrel. It stood in
- 2:40Speaker 1: a small courtyard which was at the same time a
- 2:43Speaker 1: terrace with beautifully carved stone parapets. This terrace overlooked a
- 2:50Speaker 1: stream or moat reached by steps. There was no sign
- 2:54Speaker 1: of a flower garden, but green fields and woods gently
- 2:58Speaker 1: rose at the back the chateau. The car swept through
- 3:02Speaker 1: wrought iron gates up a short drive, and Miss Pim
- 3:06Speaker 1: was received at the entrance by a little group of frenchmen.
- 3:10Speaker 1: She was introduced to Monsieur le prethee, and Monsieur le
- 3:14Speaker 1: Maire and Monsieur Ribault the notary. They were all dressed
- 3:19Speaker 1: in very shiny black cloth and received Miss Pim in
- 3:23Speaker 1: silence with many bowels. The notary was much cheered to
- 3:28Speaker 1: find she could speak French. Yes, he said, talking very
- 3:32Speaker 1: fast and eagerly. You are right. It is a mercy
- 3:35Speaker 1: and a miracle that this gem of architecture was spared.
- 3:40Speaker 1: But for the arrival of the English, they would have
- 3:42Speaker 1: destroyed it. We have evidence that they intended to blow
- 3:46Speaker 1: it up. You will see inside how they wrecked it, Madame.
- 3:50Speaker 1: It is unbelievable, I do assure you. When I came
- 3:54Speaker 1: in here immediately after the miserable wretches had fled, the
- 3:58Speaker 1: place looked as though it had been inhabited by powerful
- 4:01Speaker 1: and degenerate maniacs. I hid every room photographed, but no
- 4:07Speaker 1: photograph could convey the horror of the real scene, the filth,
- 4:12Speaker 1: the stench, the destruction, and out there in front on
- 4:16Speaker 1: the terrace, all those bodies, Madame, Madame, and the notary
- 4:22Speaker 1: threw up his hands and turned away. The little procession
- 4:25Speaker 1: entered the hall, and the praefe, before opening one of
- 4:30Speaker 1: the tall folding doors of a room, said, all the
- 4:34Speaker 1: rooms have been cleaned and some order restored. You will
- 4:38Speaker 1: not therefore see this house in the condition in which
- 4:41Speaker 1: it was left. But still, Madame, you will see what
- 4:45Speaker 1: it really means when you read General Wismann and his
- 4:49Speaker 1: staff occupied the Chateau de Rochefort. Miss Pym now entered
- 4:53Speaker 1: a stately old French salon, dignified even in its ruin.
- 4:58Speaker 1: The boisseree rinted gray, still paneled the walls, but it
- 5:03Speaker 1: was split and slashed and perforated with bullet holes. The
- 5:08Speaker 1: delicate carvings which inframed charming paintings of cupids and shepherdesses
- 5:14Speaker 1: over doors and windows were hacked off, and the pictures
- 5:18Speaker 1: hung down in ribbons. Every table, chair and sofa had
- 5:22Speaker 1: been deliberately hacked to pieces. The wreckage had been collected
- 5:27Speaker 1: and stacked in a corner of the room by the
- 5:29Speaker 1: French authorities after the photographer had taken a picture of
- 5:34Speaker 1: the rooms as they were found. Every mirror in the
- 5:37Speaker 1: house was starred by pistol shots. In the children's room,
- 5:42Speaker 1: the pretty cradle with muslin curtains had been torn to bits,
- 5:47Speaker 1: giving an impression that a herd of mad gorillas had
- 5:50Speaker 1: disported themselves there. Miss Pim saw the wreckage of a
- 5:55Speaker 1: doll's house. Six china dolls lay near the nursery fireplace.
- 6:00Speaker 1: Each doll had been decapitated by a tap on the fender,
- 6:04Speaker 1: and the six little china heads lay like marbles beside
- 6:08Speaker 1: the six little bodies. Miss Pim knelt down and gathered
- 6:12Speaker 1: them up, almost reverentially. The baby house had been treated
- 6:16Speaker 1: like the chateau. The tiny chairs and tables, the little
- 6:20Speaker 1: cups and dishes had been ground to bits under the
- 6:24Speaker 1: German's heel. The image of the Virgin over the children's
- 6:28Speaker 1: beds was in many pieces. Miss Pym stood in the
- 6:32Speaker 1: middle of the room and looked round sorrowfully. This pleasant
- 6:37Speaker 1: nest of the little ones had been desecrated and torn
- 6:40Speaker 1: to pieces in just the same way as had the
- 6:43Speaker 1: other apartments, and the nestlings murdered with their parents down
- 6:48Speaker 1: there on the terrace. If Madame will step here, she
- 6:52Speaker 1: can read for herself what one of the demons wrote
- 6:55Speaker 1: upon the wall, said the mare, and Miss Pim read
- 6:59Speaker 1: the following verse, written in German over the pale, pink
- 7:03Speaker 1: and white rose pattern of the wall paper. When father
- 7:07Speaker 1: comes home, comes home from the war, he'll bring me
- 7:11Speaker 1: an englishman's head, and will put it on high and
- 7:14Speaker 1: leave it to dry, and rejoice that the Englishman's dead.
- 7:19Speaker 1: When father comes home, comes home from the war, He'll
- 7:22Speaker 1: bring me a Frenchman's paw, and will put it on
- 7:26Speaker 1: high and leave it to dry, and rejoice that the
- 7:29Speaker 1: Frenchman's no more, et cetera. I don't think I can
- 7:33Speaker 1: bear to see anything more, said Miss Pim, with the
- 7:36Speaker 1: tears running down her cheeks. Ah, Madame, think of what
- 7:41Speaker 1: the people of Roquefort felt when they entered the chateau
- 7:45Speaker 1: after the brigands had left. Madame la Comtesse, who had
- 7:49Speaker 1: been the providence of the little village for so many years,
- 7:53Speaker 1: and the young Comtesse who came here not eight years ago,
- 7:57Speaker 1: a happy bride and the conte himself and his two
- 8:01Speaker 1: babes all murdered. The brutes had first entered the cellars
- 8:06Speaker 1: under the terrace, and after becoming mad drunk, had poured
- 8:11Speaker 1: into the chateau with this result. Below, in the Salamanchai,
- 8:16Speaker 1: Miss Pym was introduced to the wife of Monsieur le Maire,
- 8:20Speaker 1: a stout peasant woman in black cashmere, and the wife
- 8:24Speaker 1: of the notary, a thin, nervous little woman, also in black,
- 8:29Speaker 1: and a rather pretty young woman who had taught the
- 8:32Speaker 1: children of the village for three years in the underground
- 8:36Speaker 1: cellar of a miller. On the dining room table, the
- 8:39Speaker 1: only piece of furniture intact. Some postcards were for sale,
- 8:44Speaker 1: photographs of the rooms as they were found, and of
- 8:48Speaker 1: the poor bodies on the terrace, Photographs of the ribeled
- 8:52Speaker 1: verses on the nursery wall, and the German verses found
- 8:56Speaker 1: in an officer's pocket book. Deutschland, Deutschland. Over all we
- 9:02Speaker 1: lived to see proud England fall. Prussian feet shall trample
- 9:07Speaker 1: down Britain's might and Britain's crown, Our all highest Kaiser
- 9:13Speaker 1: Lord snatching up the German sword, shall by the power
- 9:18Speaker 1: of his thrust, make Britain's people bite the dust, and
- 9:23Speaker 1: all these streams of blood shall run to win our
- 9:27Speaker 1: place under the sun. We'll never cease to burn and
- 9:31Speaker 1: slay until at last we see the day Deutschland, Deutschland.
- 9:37Speaker 1: Over all we lived to see proud England fall. The
- 9:43Speaker 1: notary now begged Miss Pimm to describe what she had
- 9:46Speaker 1: seen in the hamper opened by her on the way
- 9:49Speaker 1: to Achan. She described the contents and repeated all she
- 9:53Speaker 1: could remember of the letter, and was able to give
- 9:56Speaker 1: the writer's name and address in Charlottenburg. After this, some
- 10:01Speaker 1: sweet wine was handed round in glasses, and Miss Pim
- 10:05Speaker 1: turned to Captain Boyd, hoping they would now be able
- 10:08Speaker 1: to motor back to headquarters. But Monsieur le Maire rose
- 10:13Speaker 1: and with some ceremony, informed Miss Pim and the officers
- 10:17Speaker 1: that dejahnet had been prepared for them at the house
- 10:20Speaker 1: of the notary. The dejahnay was a joint affair of
- 10:24Speaker 1: the leading people of the village, given at the notary's
- 10:27Speaker 1: house because he had the largest salamanche. Captain Boyd was restive,
- 10:33Speaker 1: like most English officers, at the prospect of a meal
- 10:36Speaker 1: amongst strangers, his knowledge of French was slight, and he
- 10:41Speaker 1: was quite incapable of carrying on a sustained conversation. Miss
- 10:46Speaker 1: Pim saw that he was going to refuse, so she
- 10:49Speaker 1: hastened to assure the rather punctilious Mare that she accepted
- 10:53Speaker 1: gladly for herself and Saint Monsieur. All the village turned
- 10:58Speaker 1: out to stare at the wonderful English going to Dejanet
- 11:02Speaker 1: at the notaries. The meal was excellent, cooked to perfection,
- 11:07Speaker 1: and bottles of wine buried at the approach of the
- 11:10Speaker 1: Germans were now produced, and the health of Miss Pim
- 11:14Speaker 1: and the British army was drunk with fervor. Miss Pim
- 11:18Speaker 1: was introduced to a number of old frenchmen and women,
- 11:22Speaker 1: who came in solemnly and sat down round the room,
- 11:26Speaker 1: watching them as they ate, but taking no part. At
- 11:29Speaker 1: the festive board. The notary's wife, Madame Rebeau, told Miss
- 11:35Speaker 1: Pim that an englishwoman at Valenciennes had saved many girls
- 11:40Speaker 1: carried off by the Germans into the worst kind of slavery.
- 11:44Speaker 1: Two of these girls had been taken from Rochefort, and
- 11:48Speaker 1: not many days ago these girls had got home safe.
- 11:51Speaker 1: The englishwoman had so to speak, opened the cage door
- 11:56Speaker 1: and bid them fly. Miss Pim blushed and was silent,
- 12:00Speaker 1: for she was firmly resolved not to betray herself at
- 12:04Speaker 1: this juncture. The Mayor opportunely rose glass in hand and
- 12:09Speaker 1: proposed the toast of Great Britain and her king. After that,
- 12:14Speaker 1: he made a very flowery little speech, and called on
- 12:17Speaker 1: Captain Boyd to respond. But this officer, with a malicious
- 12:22Speaker 1: glint in his eyes, assured Monsieur le Maire that Miss
- 12:26Speaker 1: Pym was the only one of their party who knew
- 12:29Speaker 1: French sufficiently well to make a speech. The salamanche, now
- 12:34Speaker 1: inconveniently packed, became vociferous. Miss Pym was cheered, and the
- 12:40Speaker 1: Mayor's wife laughed noisily and nudged Miss Pim, who felt
- 12:44Speaker 1: quite alarmed. The Captain and the other officers, immensely amused,
- 12:49Speaker 1: were just as insistent. Miss Pym felt that it would
- 12:53Speaker 1: be best to try and say something. At all events,
- 12:57Speaker 1: she might still the clamor, which put her nerves on edge.
- 13:01Speaker 1: As she stood up, silence fell, that silence so alarming
- 13:06Speaker 1: to a novice. She looked at the drawn, anxious faces
- 13:10Speaker 1: all round her, faces of people who had been forced
- 13:14Speaker 1: to live three years under the German heel, and who
- 13:17Speaker 1: had suffered every sort of deprivation and humiliation. My friends
- 13:23Speaker 1: began as pim timidly. I have seen enough in England
- 13:27Speaker 1: and in France to realize what you have suffered. There
- 13:31Speaker 1: is hardly a home in these countries which does not
- 13:34Speaker 1: burn for some beloved one. But you, who have lived
- 13:38Speaker 1: through these terrible years cut off from France under the
- 13:42Speaker 1: cruel domination of the enemy, surely you have drunk the
- 13:47Speaker 1: cup of bitterness to the dregs. Nevertheless, you kept unwavering
- 13:52Speaker 1: your faith in France and her ally England. You believed
- 13:57Speaker 1: in your deliverance, and it came to you, as it
- 14:00Speaker 1: will come to the whole of France and Belgium, as
- 14:04Speaker 1: it will come to the whole world, which was truly
- 14:07Speaker 1: threatened by the wicked, arrogant Germans. This blessed deliverance extends
- 14:13Speaker 1: to the future, which the Allies will make secure against
- 14:17Speaker 1: any recurrence of such an infamous, unprovoked war. America now
- 14:23Speaker 1: has joined us. That great hearted country is preparing to
- 14:27Speaker 1: give the flower of her manhood, not only because America
- 14:31Speaker 1: is friendly to France and sorry for France, but for
- 14:36Speaker 1: a much bigger idea. She is going to fight for
- 14:39Speaker 1: the freedom of the whole world. She gives her youth,
- 14:43Speaker 1: her wealth, her energy, her very soul to this great cause.
- 14:49Speaker 1: Whilst you were being tortured by the vile enemy, these
- 14:53Speaker 1: great plans of deliverance were maturing. We are all groaning
- 14:57Speaker 1: and travailing to that end. And the great dawn, I believe,
- 15:03Speaker 1: is at hand, and your eyes shall behold the glory
- 15:07Speaker 1: of the Lord, and your children, and your children's children
- 15:11Speaker 1: shall know a happy and abiding peace one for them
- 15:15Speaker 1: by the sons of France, by the dear courageous English
- 15:19Speaker 1: and American boys, and by the fiery, fearless Italians. Dear friends,
- 15:26Speaker 1: I am proud to see France to day. She has
- 15:29Speaker 1: never been greater, never grander, and more entirely admirable. And
- 15:35Speaker 1: we English are your brothers and sisters, henceforth and forever.
- 15:40Speaker 1: Miss Pim sat down, feeling much shaken by her emotions
- 15:45Speaker 1: and agitated by her fear of breaking down. The cheers
- 15:49Speaker 1: and bravoes, however, quite reassured her, and again she turned
- 15:53Speaker 1: to Captain Boyd, hoping they might slip away to the
- 15:57Speaker 1: car at the chateau. Nothing loath Captain Boyd rose and
- 16:01Speaker 1: bowing to Miss Pym, the mayor and the assembled guests said,
- 16:06Speaker 1: Madames and mossieurs, mat ponce quila, la tom poor, departere
- 16:13Speaker 1: mon chef aton mois etun soldat bou zaves podetre punctuelles.
- 16:20Speaker 1: Loud laughter and more applause greeted these brief remarks in
- 16:25Speaker 1: impossible French of the bronzed young englishmen, and a procession
- 16:30Speaker 1: was formed to escort them back to the chateau, the
- 16:33Speaker 1: whole village forming up in fours. Miss Pym walked ahead
- 16:38Speaker 1: on the arm of the Mayor, who had begirt himself
- 16:41Speaker 1: with his treacolor scarf of office, and advanced with much solemnity,
- 16:47Speaker 1: almost goose stepping. The officers walked behind Miss Pym, immensely
- 16:52Speaker 1: amused the whole proceeding. As they passed a small cottage,
- 16:57Speaker 1: a young girl darted out, followed by her, and they
- 17:01Speaker 1: threw themselves at Miss Pim's feet, lifting the hem of
- 17:04Speaker 1: her skirt and kissing it. Miss Pim, much embarrassed, stooped
- 17:09Speaker 1: to raise them. The whole procession stopped and closed round
- 17:13Speaker 1: the mare and Miss Pim. The woman could not explain
- 17:17Speaker 1: herself for sobs, but the pretty delicate girl of fifteen
- 17:22Speaker 1: explained that she had recognized in Miss Pim, her deliverer
- 17:26Speaker 1: of Valenciennes. We only got back two days ago, Anne
- 17:30Speaker 1: Marie and myself. I was standing there when you passed.
- 17:34Speaker 1: Anne Marie is in bed with swollen feet. I believe
- 17:38Speaker 1: all the girls escaped to their homes. We feared you
- 17:42Speaker 1: had been killed. Anne Marie said they would be sure
- 17:46Speaker 1: to kill you. Our mothers thought we were dead, and
- 17:49Speaker 1: their joy when they saw us was quite unbelievable. Anne
- 17:53Speaker 1: Marie's mother was also kissing Miss Pim's hands and weeping,
- 17:58Speaker 1: and many women now began to cry, and Miss Pim
- 18:02Speaker 1: was very near tears herself. The mayor saved the situation
- 18:06Speaker 1: by seizing Miss Pim's arm, shouting allan zenfont de la patrie.
- 18:12Speaker 1: The crowd re formed, all singing the Marseilles, the two
- 18:17Speaker 1: mothers joining at the top of their voices. This absurd
- 18:20Speaker 1: procession only stopped at the chateau gates. Miss Pim, now
- 18:25Speaker 1: breathless with trotting and laughing, her bonnet on one side,
- 18:30Speaker 1: her crape veil streaming behind her, was thankful to sink
- 18:34Speaker 1: down in the car, and the mayor, begging Captain Boyd
- 18:38Speaker 1: to wait a moment, dived into the chateau, reappearing with
- 18:42Speaker 1: a small parcel hastily wrapped in newspaper. Apattis soub neir
- 18:47Speaker 1: de boche, he said, putting it on Miss Pim's lap,
- 18:52Speaker 1: and then with hats off, bending low, these village worthies
- 18:56Speaker 1: bade farewell to Miss Pim and the officers. When the
- 19:00Speaker 1: curve of the road later brought them round to the
- 19:03Speaker 1: front of the chateau, Miss Pim could see the little
- 19:06Speaker 1: group on the terrace, waving their arms and their hats
- 19:10Speaker 1: and awfully strenuous morning. Miss Pim said, Captain Boyd putting
- 19:16Speaker 1: on speed. Yes, it really was, but I wouldn't have
- 19:19Speaker 1: missed it for anything. Carefully opening the parcel on her lap,
- 19:24Speaker 1: she found the six little decapitated bodies of the dolls
- 19:28Speaker 1: and the six little china heads like marbles. Even children's
- 19:33Speaker 1: toys could not escape the savagery of the Germans. These
- 19:37Speaker 1: must be kept in a glass case, labeled and dated
- 19:41Speaker 1: that generations to come may realize what manner of people
- 19:44Speaker 1: they are, declared Miss Pim. On reaching the Outel de
- 19:48Speaker 1: la Post, Miss Pim found that further excitements and emotions
- 19:53Speaker 1: were in store a letter from the Commander in Chief
- 19:57Speaker 1: in which he begged Miss Pim to hold herself in
- 20:00Speaker 1: readiness on the morrow to be presented to General Castagne,
- 20:05Speaker 1: who came from the Commander in Chief of the French
- 20:08Speaker 1: Army to present Miss Pim with the quai de la
- 20:11Speaker 1: le gent d'onneur. The ceremony would take place in the
- 20:15Speaker 1: Place de la Marie at two o'clock. Sir Hugh Douglas
- 20:20Speaker 1: hoped Miss Pim would make it convenient to be at
- 20:23Speaker 1: the Mary. At a quarter to two. Miss Pim felt
- 20:27Speaker 1: quite faint at the prospect. Madame DuPont was most encouraging
- 20:32Speaker 1: and diverted Miss Pim's mind by commenting on her dress,
- 20:37Speaker 1: the bullet holes must be darned, the Flanders mud must
- 20:41Speaker 1: be washed out with petrol. Mademoiselle Pimee must appear in
- 20:46Speaker 1: commiofaux mourning and make as good an appearance as possible
- 20:51Speaker 1: under the circumstances. The next day, at a quarter to two,
- 20:55Speaker 1: Miss Pim, in renovated garments, went timidly over to the Mayor,
- 21:01Speaker 1: accompanied by Madame DuPont. In severe Sunday best the Place
- 21:06Speaker 1: de La Marie was beginning to fill all around. The
- 21:10Speaker 1: soldiers were drawn up, and the civil population was pouring
- 21:14Speaker 1: in from all the neighboring hamlets. At the Mary, Miss
- 21:18Speaker 1: Pim was greeted by the commander in chief, who looked
- 21:22Speaker 1: very cheerful and friendly, and all the staff came round
- 21:26Speaker 1: her eagerly. Allow me, miss Pim, to present to you,
- 21:30Speaker 1: General Castagne, said Sir Hugh, and Miss Pym looked up
- 21:35Speaker 1: shyly into the face of an old French general, a lean,
- 21:39Speaker 1: wrinkled face of the color of gingerbread, the darkness of
- 21:43Speaker 1: the complexion being enhanced by a large white mustache and
- 21:48Speaker 1: close cropped white hair. He bowed very low and then
- 21:52Speaker 1: jerked back, as though pulled by a string. His black
- 21:56Speaker 1: eyes searched Miss Pim's blue eyes and looked them frux,
- 22:01Speaker 1: said de croyab what mademoiselle has done. She is bien hardie,
- 22:06Speaker 1: he said, turning to Sir Hugh. Men and women, you
- 22:11Speaker 1: English are prodigious, and this is the lady who got
- 22:14Speaker 1: into Germany, interviewed the Kaiser and Hindenburg. Well, it is
- 22:19Speaker 1: all very wonderful. How you had the nerve to do
- 22:22Speaker 1: it passes me Chi fair Mont Latin. Sir Douglas then
- 22:27Speaker 1: drew the General aside, and the staff closed round Miss Tim. Now,
- 22:32Speaker 1: we really ought to hear something of this secret history.
- 22:36Speaker 1: We are the initiated. You know, how did Kaiser Bill
- 22:40Speaker 1: stand the Fright and Hindenburg? The chief says, Old, Hindenburg
- 22:44Speaker 1: spot it. You were there, and when they caught you,
- 22:48Speaker 1: you found you could not disappear. Some of the staff
- 22:51Speaker 1: here won't believe you ever did disappear. They say we
- 22:55Speaker 1: were all hypnotized by you. You couldn't hold a private
- 22:59Speaker 1: seance at a hotel this evening, All the young officers
- 23:02Speaker 1: talked at once. Miss Pim looked from one to the other, laughing.
- 23:07Speaker 1: She was saved the trouble of replying, for at this
- 23:10Speaker 1: juncture the band struck up on the place partent pour
- 23:15Speaker 1: la sierrie le Beau a jeune Dunois. Sir Hugh offered
- 23:19Speaker 1: his arm to Miss Pim and led her to the entrance. There,
- 23:23Speaker 1: on the top of the steps, she received a tremendous ovation.
- 23:27Speaker 1: The English Tommies were enthusiastic and simply let themselves go.
- 23:33Speaker 1: After Miss Pim came General Castigna's turn. They then sended
- 23:38Speaker 1: a little platform in the middle of the place, Sir
- 23:42Speaker 1: Hugh made a short soldierly speech, introducing Miss Pim as
- 23:47Speaker 1: a woman of great daring who had ventured into the
- 23:50Speaker 1: enemy's country as secured important information, thereby saving an incalculable
- 23:56Speaker 1: number of English and French lives. They had met there
- 24:00Speaker 1: on a very great occasion. To witness France doing signal
- 24:04Speaker 1: honor to an englishwoman. General Castaigne would now address them.
- 24:10Speaker 1: The French general rose with a spring and made one
- 24:14Speaker 1: of those brief exquisite speeches, the peculiar gift of the
- 24:18Speaker 1: Latin race, and then turning to Miss Pym, he said,
- 24:23Speaker 1: in a loud voice, allow me, in the name of
- 24:26Speaker 1: France to pin this cross of the Legion of Honor
- 24:30Speaker 1: over the heart of a noble and brave englishwoman. Miss Pym,
- 24:34Speaker 1: pale and cold with emotion, stood facing the old Frenchman,
- 24:39Speaker 1: who pinned the cross on her black jacket and then
- 24:42Speaker 1: gave her a resounding kiss on either cheek, on which
- 24:46Speaker 1: the Tommies threw up their caps and began singing for
- 24:50Speaker 1: He's a jolly good fellow, and the French sang boujour
- 24:54Speaker 1: de fete bell Marie, and the band played Tipperary and
- 24:59Speaker 1: aeroplanes whooped low over the place and dropped great armfuls
- 25:03Speaker 1: of roses over Miss Pym and the General. Miss Pym
- 25:07Speaker 1: picked up a beautiful La France rose and fastened it
- 25:11Speaker 1: herself in the General's tunic, whose straightway embraced her again.
- 25:16Speaker 1: And Miss Pym, redder than any rose, descended the platform
- 25:21Speaker 1: on the arm of the Commander in Chief. At the
- 25:24Speaker 1: door of the marriage she stopped and said, Sir Hugh,
- 25:28Speaker 1: now tell me when can I return to England. I
- 25:32Speaker 1: knew you were eager to return, replied Sir Hugh, so
- 25:35Speaker 1: I have fixed everything up for tomorrow morning. A hospital
- 25:39Speaker 1: ship crosses tomorrow afternoon. Being wounded, you are entitled to
- 25:43Speaker 1: go on that ship. I will have a letter ready
- 25:46Speaker 1: for you to take to Sir Robert Williamson. Carry that
- 25:49Speaker 1: letter on you in some safe place, and if I
- 25:53Speaker 1: may address you as one of my own officers, report
- 25:56Speaker 1: yourself at the War office on arrival. Goodbye until tomorrow.
- 26:01Speaker 1: The car will be ready for you at nine. Mon dieu,
- 26:05Speaker 1: what a beautiful day it has been, set mare du Pont,
- 26:08Speaker 1: carrying Miss Pim's bouquet as they made their way to
- 26:12Speaker 1: the Hotel de la post. Miss Pim, as she sank
- 26:16Speaker 1: down in the fauteur in her room, overlooking the little
- 26:20Speaker 1: kitchen garden, repeated to herself, Yes, what a beautiful, what
- 26:25Speaker 1: a wonderful day, how blessed and privileged you have been?
- 26:29Speaker 1: Heard it to Pym, and then her thoughts turned to
- 26:32Speaker 1: Koit Sik, the brave German who understood his country's needs.
- 26:37Speaker 1: Would he ever see the flaming dawn of liberty? As
- 26:41Speaker 1: she gazed out, the sun majestically descended below the horizon
- 26:46Speaker 1: in a sea of crimson and gold. Above the western
- 26:50Speaker 1: sky was aflame, and even the purpling east caught a
- 26:54Speaker 1: flush from the glory of that setting. Miss Pim sat
- 26:58Speaker 1: there in meditation until night stole up and overwhelmed the
- 27:03Speaker 1: last traces of the sun. End of Chapter thirty