CHAPTER III


Jenks being attached to the A.S.C. engaged in feeding daily more than
100,000 men in the Rouen area, Peter and he travelled together. By the
latter's advice they reached the railway-station soon after 8.30, but
even so the train seemed full. There were no lights in the siding, and
none whatever on the train, so that it was only by matches that one could
tell if a compartment was full or empty, except in the case of those from
which candle-light and much noise proclaimed the former indisputably. At
last, however, somewhere up near the engine, they found a second-class
carriage, apparently unoccupied, with a big ticket marked "Reserved" upon
it. Jenks struck a match and regarded this critically. "Well, padre," he
said, "as it doesn't say for whom it is reserved, I guess it may as
well be reserved for us. So here goes." He swung up and tugged at the
door, which for some time refused to give. Then it opened suddenly, and
Second-Lieutenant Jenks, A.S.C., subsided gracefully and luridly on the
ground outside. Peter struck another match and peered in. It was then
observed that the compartment was not empty, but that a dark-haired,
lanky youth, stretched completely along one seat, was regarding them
solemnly.

"This carriage is reserved," he said.

"Yes," said Jenks cheerfully, "for us, sir. May I ask what you are doing
in it?"