CHAPTER III A Secret Mission

On the same afternoon of Dick Thornton's coming into Belgium Eugenia started out alone on her unexplained errand. She left her recently acquired family in charge of the little French girl, Nicolete.

Nicolete seemed happier with the children than she had been since her removal from France. Indeed, the three American girls had sometimes wondered over her unfriendliness toward them and her unusual quiet. At their first meeting she had appeared such a gay, gypsy-like person.

But Eugenia did not walk to her engagement. By making a tremendous effort she had managed to hire an old horse and buggy. Then, after she felt sure the other three Red Cross girls had departed on the road toward Brussels, she set out. Inside the wagon¹ she carefully hid out of sight her[Pg 36] bag of Red Cross supplies, although she did not wear her nurse's uniform.

Earlier in the day Barbara had brought down her suitcase, so that she could appear in an ordinary street dress.

Driving along the road Eugenia hoped to suggest that she was only off on an ordinary errand which could not interest any one who chanced to observe her.

She was looking rather plain and tired and was unusually nervous, but this it would have been difficult to guess from her quiet manner.

The country through which she passed was one of queer contrasts. There were many houses that had been destroyed by fire, but others that had not even been touched. In these places people were evidently making an effort to lead an ordinary, everyday existence. But they were all listless and discouraged. Eugenia thought that the children must have forgotten how to play in this last year, when their land had suffered such sorrow.

She wished that she might gather them all together in one great circle that should[Pg 37] extend all over Belgium and set them to laughing and playing once more.

However, Eugenia soon left the populated part of the neighborhood. She and her old horse wound their way along a stream and then came to a gate. There was no house in sight from the gate, but just as if she had been there before, Eugenia got down and opened it. Then she tied her horse behind a clump² of trees inside the woods and with her bag of nursing supplies in her hand crept along on foot up a narrow path. Every once and a while she would stop and glance cautiously about her. But no one was in sight to be interested in her proceedings³. Moreover, where could she be going? She seemed to have some end in view, and yet there was no place or person in the vicinity. Any one familiar with the neighborhood could have explained that Eugenia must be bent⁴ upon an utterly⁵ ridiculous errand. There was an old house about half a mile farther along, but it had been deserted⁶ long before the Germans had ever set foot on conquered Belgium.

A tragedy had occurred in the house[Pg 38] ten or fifteen years before, and ever afterwards the place had been supposed to be haunted.

No one believed such nonsense, of course, since intelligent persons do not believe in ghosts. But the house was too far from the village, and was in too bad a state of repair to be a desirable residence. Indeed, there were dozens of reasons why, after its owners moved, no one else cared to rent it.

Moreover, the house had also escaped the interest of the German invaders⁷ of the land. So why in the world should it be of so great interest to Eugenia that she was making this lonely pilgrimage, without taking any one of the three Red Cross girls into her confidence?

The house was of brick and a large one. Every outside shutter⁸ was closed in front and the vines had so grown over them that they were half covered. There was a porch also in front, but the boards of the steps had long since rotted away.

At first only a large toad⁹ appeared to greet Eugenia. He eyed her distrustfully[Pg 39] for a second, his round eyes bulging¹⁰ and his body rigid¹¹ with suspicion. Then he hopped¹² behind his stone fortress¹³, which chanced to be a large stone at the end of the path before the house.

However, Eugenia did not see him. Neither did she attempt to go up the rickety steps. How absurd it would have been anyhow to have battered¹⁴ at the door of a mansion¹⁵ that had been uninhabited for years!

Instead she marched deliberately¹⁶ around the house and knocked at a door at the side.

A few seconds after, this door was opened by a woman of middle age.

She looked very worn and unhappy, but her face brightened at the sight of her guest.

"I was so afraid you wouldn't, couldn't get here," she said. "I suppose you know you are taking a risk."

Eugenia nodded in her usual matter of fact fashion.

"I promised your friend I would do my best," she returned. "Will you please[Pg 40] take me up to the room. You must make up your mind to get more air into this house. I don't think you need fear you will be suspected, if you managed to arrive here without being detected."

"I am afraid," the older woman answered. She was leading the way up a pair of back stairs that were in almost total darkness.

"You see, I know I have been accused of sending information to my husband who is supposed to be at the front with the Belgian army. I was about to be arrested and tried by a military court. I should have been sent to prison and I could not be separated from my family at such a time!"

The last few words were whispered. Because at this moment the woman's hand had touched a door knob which she was gently turning. The next she and Eugenia were entering a large room at the back of the apparently¹⁷ deserted house.

A window had been opened and an attempt made to clean this room. On the bed, with a single scanty¹⁸ cover over[Pg 41] them, two persons were lying. One of them was a young boy and the other a man.

Both of them were extremely ill. Eugenia realized this at a glance, but paid little attention to the man at first. For she suddenly had a complete understanding of Madame Carton's last words.

The boy was such an exquisite¹⁹ little fellow of about ten years old. He had straight golden hair and gray eyes with darker lashes²⁰. There was the same high-bred, delicate look that one remembers in the picture of "The Two Little Princes in the Tower."

Through a peculiar²¹ source Eugenia had already learned a portion of Madame Carton's story. She was a Belgian woman whose home was one of the handsomest in the city of Brussels. But after the city had been forced to surrender to the Germans, Madame Carton had refused to give up her home unless the authorities expelled her by force. This for some reason they had appeared unwilling²² to do. However, a short time after the German[Pg 42] occupancy of Brussels, reports accusing Madame Carton of treason and rebellion began to be circulated. It was said that she was sending secret information to her husband, who was a colonel in the Belgian army and on the personal staff of King Albert. Finally Madame Carton learned that her arrest was only a matter of a few hours. Then it was that she had managed to escape to this deserted house with her family. So far it looked as if her whereabouts had remained undiscovered.

One hour after Eugenia's arrival she and Madame Carton were once more at the foot of the stairs. They had opened the side door to let in a tiny streak²³ of light and air.

"But, Madame Carton, I don't think it is possible," Eugenia announced with her usual directness. "I am willing to do whatever I can to help nurse your little boy and the other patient, but I can come to you very seldom without being discovered. You see, I may be ordered to nurse in any part of Belgium and I must[Pg 43] do what I am told. Is there any one here to assist you?"

Madame Carton nodded. She had once been a very beautiful woman with the gray eyes and fair hair of her son. But the last year of witnessing the desolation of her people and her country had whitened her hair and made many lines in her face.

"Yes, I have an old family servant with me. I should never have been able to make the journey without her help. She and my little girl, who is six years old, are in hiding in another room in the attic²⁴ of this house. Years ago when I was a child I used to come here to play with friends who then owned this place. I suppose that is why I thought of our hiding here when the crisis came," Madame Carton explained quietly. "Now if I return to Brussels perhaps Paul may be cared for. But you know what else would happen. It would be inevitable²⁵! Even if I were not shot I must go to prison. Can't you help me? Can't you think of some way to save us all?"

[Pg 44]

The older woman took hold of Eugenia's hands and clung to them despairingly.

"I know I am asking what looks like an impossible thing of you, and you a complete stranger! Yet you look so strong and fine," Madame Carton's voice broke, but Eugenia's touch was reassuring²⁶.

"If only a doctor could come to us, perhaps with your advice I might manage the nursing myself," she continued.

Eugenia shook her head.

"When Dr. Le Page asked me to see you and gave me the directions, he said it was only because he dared not visit you himself," Eugenia explained kindly²⁷, but with her usual avoidance of anything but the truth. "He insists that, although he is an American, he is suspected of feeling too much sympathy for the Belgians. After warning you to escape he was questioned and believes he is still being watched. That is why he confided²⁸ you to me, asking me to do the little I can to aid you. So if he should attempt to reach you out here, it would mean his arrest as well as yours. I am sorry," the girl ended.

[Pg 45]

Her words were simple enough in the face of so great a calamity²⁹. Yet there was no mistaking their sympathy.

Madame Carton appeared to surrender her judgment³⁰ and her problem to Eugenia for solution.

"Tell me, Miss Peabody, what do you think I should do?" she asked. "It is not worth while for me to say that I care little what becomes of me. Shall I return to Brussels and give us all up to the authorities?"

Eugenia did not answer immediately. When she spoke³¹ again she offered no explanation of her own meaning.

"Please wait a while, Madame Carton, if possible, until I can see you again?" she asked. "In case you are not discovered before then I may have a plan to suggest that will help you. But I cannot be sure. Good-by and a good courage."

Then Eugenia marched deliberately back to the place where her old horse was in waiting. She then drove unmolested to the tiny house that was sheltering Nicolete and the three stray children.

[Pg 46]

But on her way she was repeating to herself a phrase she had learned years before as a girl at the High School:

"Quorum³² omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae," said C?sar nearly twenty centuries ago. "The bravest of all these are the Belgians."

Eugenia thought the same thing today and for the same reason C?sar did. "Because they are nearest to the Germans, who dwell across the Rhine, with whom they do continually wage war."

1 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

2 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

3 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

4 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

5 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

6 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

8 shutter   

n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置

参考例句：

• The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
• The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。

9 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

10 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

11 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

12 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

13 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

14 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

15 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

16 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

17 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

18 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

19 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

20 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

22 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

23 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

24 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

25 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

26 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

27 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

28 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

30 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

31 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

32 quorum   

n.法定人数

参考例句：

• The meeting is adjourned since there is no quorum.因为没有法定人数会议休会。
• Three members shall constitute a quorum.三名成员可组成法定人数。