"Aren't they fighting now?" asked Jones.

"Oh, yes, some of the big guns are spitting, but what is that? A few
will fall, but we have yet thousands to face the German horde."

"Let us start at once," pleaded Maud.

Maurie began to examine the big ambulance. He was spry as a cat. In ten
minutes he knew all that was under the hood, had tested the levers,
looked at the oil and gasoline supply and started the motor.

"I'll sit beside you to help in case of emergency," said Ajo, taking his
place. Dr. Gys, Dr. Kelsey and the three girls sat inside. Patsy had
implored Uncle John not to go on this preliminary expedition and he had
hesitated until the last moment; but the temptation was too strong to
resist and even as the wheels started to revolve he sprang in and closed
the door behind him.

"You are my girls," he said, "and wherever you go, I'll tag along."

Maurie drove straight into the city and to the north gate, Jones
clanging the bell as they swept along. Every vehicle gave them the right
of way and now and then a cheer greeted the glittering new Red Cross
ambulance, which bore above its radiator a tiny, fluttering American
flag.

They were not stopped at the gate, for although strict orders had been
issued to allow no one to leave Dunkirk, the officer in charge realized
the sacred mission of the Americans and merely doffed his cap in
salutation as the car flashed by.