"A good one?" asked Maud quickly.

"Highly recommended, but homely as a rail fence," continued Patsy, as
her uncle hesitated.

"That's nothing," said Ajo lightly.

"Nothing, eh? Well, wait till you see him," she replied. "You'll never
look Doctor Gys in the face more than once, I assure you. After that,
you'll be glad to keep your eyes on his vest buttons."

"I like him immensely, though," said Beth. "He is clever, honest and
earnest. The poor man can't help his mutilations, which are the result
of many unfortunate adventures."

"Sounds like just the man we wanted," declared Ajo, and afterward he had
no reason to recall that assertion.

A week is a small time in which to equip a big ship, but money and
energy can accomplish much and the news from the seat of war was so
eventful that they felt every moment to be precious and so they worked
with feverish haste. The tide of German success had turned and their
great army, from Paris to Vitry, was now in full retreat, fighting every
inch of the way and leaving thousands of dead and wounded in its wake.

"How long will it take us to reach Calais?" they asked Captain Carg
eagerly.

"Eight or nine days," said he.