第3部分(第2/7 頁)

led　in　the　Somme。〃

〃It　was　a　ghastly　show。〃

〃Were　you　there？〃

〃No。〃

〃I've　heard　about　it；〃　she　said。　〃There's　not　really　any　war　of　that　sort　down　here。　They　sent　me　the　little　stick。　His　mother　sent　it　to　me。　They　returned　it　with　his　things。〃

〃Had　you　been　engaged　long？〃

〃Eight　years。　We　grew　up　together。〃

〃And　why　didn't　you　marry？〃

〃I　don't　know；〃　she　said。　〃I　was　a　fool　not　to。　I　could　have　given　him　that　anyway。　But　I　thought　it　would　be　bad　for　him。〃

〃I　see。〃

〃Have　you　ever　loved　any　one？〃

〃No；〃　I　said。

We　sat　down　on　a　bench　and　I　looked　at　her。

〃You　have　beautiful　hair；〃　I　said。

〃Do　you　like　it？〃

〃Very　much。〃

〃I　was　going　to　cut　it　all　off　when　he　died。〃

〃No。〃

〃I　wanted　to　do　something　for　him。　You　see　I　didn't　care　about　the　other　thing　and　he　could　have　had　it　all。　He　could　have　had　anything　he　wanted　if　I　would　have　known。　I　would　have　married　him　or　anything。　I　know　all　about　it　now。　But　then　he　wanted　to　go　to　war　and　I　didn't　know。〃

I　did　not　say　anything。

〃I　didn't　know　about　anything　then。　I　thought　it　would　be　worse　for　him。　I　thought　perhaps　he　couldn't　stand　it　and　then　of　course　he　was　killed　and　that　was　the　end　of　it。〃

〃I　don't　know。〃

〃Oh；　yes；〃　she　said。　〃That's　the　end　of　it。〃

We　looked　at　Rinaldi　talking　with　the　other　nurse。

〃What　is　her　name？〃

〃Ferguson。　Helen　Ferguson。　Your　friend　is　a　doctor；　isn't　he？〃

〃Yes。　He's　very　good。〃

〃That's　splendid。　You　rarely　find　any　one　any　good　this　close　to　the　front。　This　is　close　to　the　front；　isn't　it？〃

〃Quite。〃

〃It's　a　silly　front；〃　she　said。　〃But　it's　very　beautiful。　Are　they　going　to　have　an　offensive？〃