"That was an uproarous incident. It's sad you should have heard of it. I love my Russian General story. '_Vos yeux me rendent fou_.'" She laughed again. _Vos yeux_--she had eyes like a hare's, flush with her head and very bright with a superficial and expressionless brightness. What a formidable woman. I felt sorry for the Russian General. "'_Sans coeur et sans entrallies_,'" she went on, quoting the poor devil's words. "Such a delightful motto, don't you think? Like '_Sans peur et sans reproche_.' But let me think; what have I been doing since then?" Thoughtfully she bit into the crust of her bread with long, sharp, white teeth. "Two mixed grills," I said parenthetically to the waiter. "But of course," exclaimed Miss Penny suddenly. "I haven't seen you since my German trip. All sorts of adventures. My appendicitis; my nun." "Your nun?" "My marvellous nun. I must tell you all about her." "Do." Miss Penny's anecdotes were always curious. I looked forward to an entertaining luncheon. "You knew I'd been in Germany this autumn?" "Well, I didn't, as a matter of fact. But still--" "I was just wandering round." Miss Penny described a circle in the air with her gaudily jewelled hand. She always twinkled with massive and improbable jewellery. "Wandering round, living on three pounds a week, partly amusing myself, partly collecting material for a few little articles. 'What it Feels Like to be a Conquered Nation'--sob-stuff for the Liberal press, you know--and 'How the Hun is Trying to Wriggle out of the Indemnity,' for the other fellows. One has to make the best of all possible worlds, don't you find? But we mustn't talk shop. Well, I was wandering round, and very pleasant I found it. Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig. Then down to Munich and all over the place. One fine day I got to Grauburg. You know Grauburg? It's one of those picture-book German towns with a castle on a hill, hanging beer-gardens, a Gothic church, an old university, a river, a pretty bridge, and forests all round. Charming. But I hadn't much opportunity to appreciate the beauties of the place. The day after I arrived there--bang!--I went down with appendicitis--screaming, I may add." "But how appalling!" "They whisked me off to hospital, and cut me open before you could say knife. Excellent surgeon, highly efficient Sisters of Charity to nurse me--I couldn't have been in better hands. But it was a bore being tied there by the leg for four weeks--a great bore. Still, the thing had its compensations. There was my nun, for example. Ah, here's the food, thank Heaven!" The mixed grill proved to be excellent. Miss Penny's description of the pun came to me in scraps and snatches. A round, pink, pretty face in a winged coif; blue eyes and regular features; teeth altogether too perfect--false, in fact; but the general effect extremely pleasing. A youthful Teutonic twenty eight.