"Leave the controls alone," said Stewart, scowling at the driver. "Give me room ..." She caught the handle with her injured hand, and with a gasp, swung the Rochet into throbbing life.
There was a murmur of voices down the shed, and each man with a slight movement returned to the work he had been doing; the polishers polished, the cleaners swept, and a little c.h.i.n.k of metal on metal filled the garage. The women were accepted.
The day had vanished. Cars, yard and garage sank out of sight. Out in the streets the lamps woke one by one, and from the town came shouts and the stamp of feet marching. It was Sat.u.r.day night and a torchlight procession of soldier and civilians wound down the street. The band pa.s.sed first, and after it men carried fire-glares fastened upon sticks.
The garage gates turned to rods and bars of gold till the light left them, and the glare upon the house-fronts opposite travelled slowly down the street.
f.a.n.n.y slipped out of the yard and crept along behind the flares like a shadow on the pavement. At the street corner she pa.s.sed out on to the bridge over the Moselle, and leant against the stonework to watch the plumes of fire as they glittered up the riverside upon the tow-path. The lights vanished, leaving the darkness so intense that she could only feel her way over the bridge by holding to the stonework with her hand.
A sentry challenged her and when she had pa.s.sed him she had arrived at the door of her German lodging.
Climbing the stairs a slow breeze of excitement filled out the sails of her spirit. "My silk stockings ... my gold links, and my benzene bottle!" she murmured happily. Now that of all her life she had the slenderest toilet to make--three hours was the time she had set aside for it!
CHAPTER III
JULIEN
Earth has her usual delights--which can be met with six days out of the seven. But here and there upon grey earth there exist, like the flying of sunlight, celestial pleasures also--and one of these is the heaven of success. When, puffed-up and glorious, the successful creature struts like a peac.o.c.k, gilded in a pa.s.sing radiance. And in a radiance, in a magic illumination, the newcomers danced in the drawing-room of the Commandant Dormans, and tasted that which cannot be found when sought, nor held when tasted.
Old tapestries of tropical foliage hung around the walls, dusk upon one wall, dawn upon another. Trees climbed from floor to ceiling laden with lime-coloured flowers, with birds instead of fruits upon the branches.
When at a touch the yellow dust flew out under the lamplight it seemed to the mazy eye of the dancer that the trees sent up a mist of pollen and song.
In this happy summer, f.a.n.n.y, turning her vain ear to spoken flattery, her vain eye to mute, danced like a golden gnat in fine weather.
The Commandant Dormans spoke to her. If he was not young he had a quick voice that was not old. He said: "We welcome you. We have been waiting for you. We are glad you have come."
Faces surrounded her which to her fresh eyes were not easy to read.
Names which she had heard last night became young and old men to her --skins red and pale and dark-white--eyes blue and olive and black--gay, audacious and mocking features. She was dazzled, she did not hurry to understand. One could not choose, one floated free of preference, all men were strangers.
"One day I shall know what they are, how they live, how they think." But she did not want that day to come.
The Commandant Dormans said: "You do not regret Bar-le-Duc?"
"No, no, no."
"I hear you are all voracious for work. I hear that if you do not drive from morning to night we cannot hope to keep you with us!"
Denis said to her: "Be careful of him! He believes there is no end to the human strength."
She replied joyously: "There is no end to our strength!"
When she had eyes to see, to watch, to choose, she found that there was in the room a man who was graceful and young, whose eyes were a peculiar shape, who laughed all the time gently as he danced. He never looked at her, never came near her. This young man was indifferent to her, he was indifferent to her ... Soon he became a trouble and a pleasure to her.
With whom was he dancing now ... and now? Who was it that amused him?
His eyes and his hair were bright ... but there were many around her whose eyes and hair were as bright. Before she had seen that young man laugh her pleasure had been more complete.
While she was talking to Denis a voice said to her: "Won"t you dance with me?"
Looking up she saw who it was. His mouth smiled, his eyes were clever and gay.
The moment she danced with him she began to grow proud, she began to find herself. Someone whispered to her: "The section must leave at such and such an hour...."
She thought in a flash: "For me the section is dissolved ... I am I, and the others are the others!"
The evening wore on. The musicians flagged and took up their courage again. It was late when Stewart, touching f.a.n.n.y"s arm, showed her that they were almost the only two women in the room.
"Where are the others?"
"In the hall, putting on their coats. We are all going."
"Aren"t they in a hurry?"
"They have had orders, which were brought up just now, for runs early to-morrow morning. But you and I have nothing, and Denis has asked us ... if you are quick you can slip away ... to have supper with him at Moitriers."
"Well?"
"We can. The others go home in two cars which have been sent for us. No one will know that we are not in the other car. I"m so hungry."
"So am I, starving. Very well."
They joined the others, put on their coats, hunted ostentatiously for their gloves, then slipped ahead down the dark stairway into the square below. Denis joined them.
"Splendid. I have my car round that corner. It will be only a matter of half an hour, but if you are both as hungry as I you will welcome it.
Everything was finished upstairs, every crumb and cake. We must get a fourth. Who shall I get?"
"Any one whom you would like to bring," said Stewart. "I don"t think I have mastered the names yet. I really don"t mind."
"And you, mademoiselle?"
"Nor I either," said f.a.n.n.y, sniffing at the frosty air, at the fresh night.
"Whom you like!"
"Then I won"t be a moment. I"ll bring whom I can."
"Monsieur!"... as he reached the corner. He turned back.
"There is an artillery captain ... in a black uniform with silver."
"An artillery captain ..." he paused enquiringly.
"In black and silver. There was no other in the room."
"Oh, yes, there were two in black and silver!"
"Tall, with ..."