Major had nothing definite against her, barring the fact that she had deserted from the labour gang, and that was not a capital offence.

But how, they asked, would she explain the fact that she had got into the convent, and the manner in which papers had been procured for her, without putting the rope round her own neck, and implicating a series of people who had helped her, including "le Curé" What about the German car which she and Jean had held up and the men they had turned adrift in the snow! Supposing one of them identified her?

"As regards how I got here," replied the girl, "I shall refuse to say anything at all, and they cannot make me."

Unfortunately, she did not know the story of her elopement with the German captain in charge of the gang, by which Jaspar had so fortuitously covered her disappearance, and which, since the officer in question had been killed, might have been difficult to disprove.

"Well, then," some one continued, "you you will have to say what happened after you reached Lille, and how you got in here. That will require a good deal of explanation!"

"I think," said "le Curé," who began to see daylight, "that we may invoke the assistance of our dear sister, Valèrie, who is beyond the reach of German reprisals. We could say that Adrienne went to her house, and as she re

quired a nurse, it would be quite natural that Valèrie, who knew nothing about her visitor beyond the fact that she was thoroughly competent, should break the regulations in order to obtain papers for her."

"But that will inculpate poor Léonie," protested Adrienne, "and you too."

"As regards Léonie, that may be true," replied "le Curé," "but not nearly so seriously as if the real facts come out. We will, of course, obtain her consent, and she will gladly agree, for it may save all those here present. I shall be suspected in any case, but the Germans will not dare to touch me for such a trifling offence, which, I can explain, was carried out in all innocence of heart on Valèrie's representations. In any case, I am an old man, and my work is nearly finished. If we do not give some plausible explanation, they will never rest until they have dragged out the whole facts, which will mean certain death for our dear Adrienne, and imprisonment for many others. Come, my children, have confidence; let us put our trust in the divine mercy of our Holy Father; and the old man fell on his knees, followed by the weeping sisters, and offered up prayers that a blessing might be granted to their feeble efforts.

That evening the last groups of the communiqué spelt out

66

Forty-two, forty-three," and Jean's party left, for the time had come. That night also the wireless instrument was dis

mantled and buried in the quiet close behind the convent, there to remain until the danger

should be overpast. It had done its work for the time being.

Two mornings later the police arrived at the convent gate to take Adrienne away, though they declined to state the charge against her. She said good-bye to the sorrowing sisters with outward calm, for now that her mission was completed, she was prepared to face the worst; and she passed through the prison doors with a firm step. Fortunately, we cannot look into the future, or the bravest would often be dismayed, and Adrienne might well have trembled had she known the full anguish of the succeeding weeks, of which the following sketch is an altogether inadequate description.

The cell, in which she was placed in solitary confinement, was small and bare, and the high grated window let in no glimpse of the outer world; nor was she permitted to see any visitors, whilst the one hour's exercise in the highwalled courtyard was all too little for a high-spirited and active girl such as Adrienne. Otherwise her gaolers were not unkind to her at first.

She wondered why she was not interrogated, but the fact was that the case rather puzzled the German police, and they were busy following up the tracks of the "Hauptmann" with whom she was supposed to have eloped, until they were

defeated by finding that he was dead.

At last Adrienne was brought out of her cell and taken before an official of the German Security Police, whom we will call "the Inspector"—a darkfaced, sinister-looking individual, who immediately began to browbeat his fair prisoner.

"Do you deny that you were sent to the labour gang at Dury under suspicion of treason?”

"I do not deny that I was sent to the gang, but certainly not for treason - unless, of course, Monsieur considers the refusal of unwelcome attentions from a German officer comes under that heading."

"I do not believe that attentions from any one would be unwelcome to you," sneered the Inspector, hoping to make her lose her temper, and mindful of the entirely untrue story of her easy conquest by the "Hauptmann.' "That won't hold water. I warn you that it will be best to speak the truth, for we have ways of extracting it which you will not like!"

"Monsieur has not seen the gentleman in question," replied the girl; "but if he will ask the officer who came to the Convent, I think he will believe my statement, whatever his opinion of my moral character may be."

"You were not so particular about Hauptmann Schmidt, eh? But perhaps he was better looking!"

Adrienne wondered who on earth this could be, and to what occasion he was referring; but she merely kept silence, suspecting a trap, and so missed a good cue; and the and the man went on

"What did you do between the time you left the gang and your arrival in Lille, and how did you get here?"

"I cannot answer," she replied firmly.

"Gott in Himmel!" he exclaimed; "what do you mean by 'you cannot answer'? Do you mean that you refuse to account for your movements?"

"If Monsieur chooses to put it that way, it is not for me to contradict him."

"You impudent slut!" he shouted; "you dare to defy you dare to defy me! You will sing a different tune presently." Then, controlling himself, he added, "However, that can wait for the moment; meantime, what were you doing at the Convent with false papers, and who got them for you?

Adrienne had decided in her own mind to answer no questions on this subject either, leaving it entirely to "le Curé to explain the matter in the way which they had arranged between them; there would

The man stormed and threatened, but was unable to extract any different reply; and at length, seeing that he was getting no further, but more than ever convinced that she was a dangerous suspect, he sent her back to her cell, remarking, "We shall meet again, and you will then sing a very different tune." But remembering the steady look in the darkblue eyes under the curling black lashes, he felt in his heart of hearts very far from confident about it.

The Germans lost no time in putting into effect their coercive measures, which, in the first instance, took the form of giving her only the absolute minimum of food necessary to support life, stopping all exercise, and bursting into her cell at all hours of the day and night to prevent her sleeping and generally shatter her nerve.

At the end of ten days of this she was so weak that she had to be supported by two men when she was next taken to be interrogated. She still gave the same answers, though her escort squeezed the arms which they were holding until she almost fainted; but eventually the inquisitors were compelled to acknowledge defeat,

From her point of view the interview was by no means unsatisfactory, in so far as it showed that they had got no fresh evidence, and did not suspect that, as Valèrie, she had posed as a German agent both at Lörrach and Antwerp. Her interrogator was, in fact, both puzzled and annoyed, for it is extremely hard to build up a case against a person who will say nothing, and the hopes which he had entertained of making a sensational coup and acquiring much personal credit did not appear to be getting any nearer fulfilment.

He had no intention, how ever, of letting any one else into this apparent good thing, which was fortunate for the prisoner, as if either Antwerp or Lörrach had actually been called in to view her, the game would have been up at once.

He decided to try and manufacture some fresh evidence which would provide the basis for a capital charge; and it was suggested to her that, as in all probability she would shortly be shot, she might like to write to her friends in Holland. She declined the offer, however, on the ground that she had no friends there, so the official himself wrote in her name to a well-known Allied Bureau, asking for some clothes and money to be sent by the bearer.

This attempt, however, miscarried, for her Rotterdam friend pointed out that she had plenty of money, and was

so incriminating as to write to them from the prison, where fortunately they knew her to be.

So the reply came back that they had never heard of her, and a second attempt produced no better result.

Then the Inspector thought of Grand'mère. A threat to send the old lady to a prison in Germany, which might well prove a fatal journey to a person of her age, might loosen the girl's tongue. Anyway, it was worth trying, and, as a result, Adrienne passed many painful hours wondering what she ought to do; for whilst she dearly loved the old lady, she could not forget all the other people who would suffer if she broke silence.

Finally she thought, "What would 'Monsieur Archaire' do in the circumstances!" and no sooner had she put the question than she knew the right answer to her problem, and again the Germans were baffled.

Ultimately they they brought Grand'mère to Lille, and after telling her that she would be sent to Germany unless Adrienne confessed, they allowed her a private interview with her granddaughter, in a cell provided with a dictaphone, by which they could overhear all that passed. The old lady was shocked to find Adrienne lying on a palliasse on the floor in a state of great exhaustion, and expressed her opinions of Huns in general with remarkable eloquence and vigour, considering her age; but otherwise the Germans overheard nothing

Thus things generally were not looking very favourable for the Inspector's chance of promotion. He had been so certain that he had made an important capture, and, on the strength of it, had subjected the prisoner to treatment which was hardly justified by the nature of the offence so far actually disclosed.

There were also powerful religious influences at work on her behalf, which caused him considerable uneasiness, for "le Curé" was making quite a disturbance about the arbitrary incarceration of one of his novices, on a charge, too, which constituted no danger to the security of the German Army. Had there been any question of of espionage, he pointed out, it would have been quite another matter; but in the circumstances they had no right to endanger her health and rob the Church of a promising recruit. He would appeal to the Cardinal, &c., &c., and, in fact, put up a very fine bluff, considering the weakness of the position.

VOL. CCIX.-NO. MCCLXVIII.

On arrival she was lodged in the central jail, and interrogations, accompanied by the usual persuasive" measures, continued much on the same lines as at Lille, but with the added mental effect due to the fact that she was out of reach of the moral support of her friends. Her only consolation was that Archer at times seemed to be strangely near, and she would wake from a happy dream, almost expecting to see him actually in her cell. Still a stage was eventually reached when life seemed to hold out no further attractions, and but for the terrible consequences which would ensue for her friends, she would gladly have confessed her share in the business, in order to put a termination to her miserable existence. She felt that they must have succeeded in unravelling the skein, and that they were really playing with her, like a cat with a mouse, in the hope that she would inculpate some on whom their suspicions had not yet fallen. For the first time the fear haunted her mind lest her resolution should prove unequal to the ever-increasing strain which was being placed upon it, and it was with a positive sense of relief that she at length received the information that she had been con

3 G