I could see its
shadow racing before it and when it enveloped me I shivered with icy
cold. Then the storm broke--and it was a dreadful storm--blinding
flash after flash and deafening peal after peal, driving torrents of
rain. I turned in panic and tried to run for shelter, and as I did so a
man--a soldier in the uniform of a French army officer--dashed up the
steps and stood beside me on the threshold of the door. His clothes were
soaked with blood from a wound in his breast, he seemed spent and
exhausted; but his white face was set and his eyes blazed in his hollow
face. 'They shall not pass,' he said, in low, passionate tones which I
heard distinctly amid all the turmoil of the storm. Then I awakened.
Rilla, I'm frightened--the spring will not bring the Big Push we've all
been hoping for--instead it is going to bring some dreadful blow to
France. I am sure of it. The Germans will try to smash through
somewhere."
"But he told you that they would not pass," said Rilla, seriously. She
never laughed at Gertrude's dreams as the doctor did.
"I do not know if that was prophecy or desperation, Rilla, the horror of
that dream holds me yet in an icy grip. We shall need all our courage
before long."
Dr. Blythe did laugh at the breakfast table--but he never laughed at
Miss Oliver's dreams again; for that day brought news of the opening of
the Verdun offensive, and thereafter through all the beautiful weeks of
spring the Ingleside family, one and all, lived in a trance of dread.
Pages:
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259