Ruth of the U. S. A. [Illustration: Ruth crouched beside Gerry, and shot through the wreckage at the circling German plane] Ruth of the U. S. A. By Edwin Balmer Illustrated by Harold H. Betts CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1919 Copyright 1919, A. C. McClurg & Co. Copyright 1918, The Tribune Company Published March, 1919 Copyrighted in Great Britain W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER AN ENGLISHMAN AND AN AMERICAN CONTENTS I A Beggar and a Passport II The Wand of War III The New Rôle IV At Mrs. Corliss’ V “You’re Not Like Anyone Else” VI “We’re Fighting” VII “One of Our Own!” VIII France IX To Picardy X The Great Attack XI The Resistance XII “How Could This Happen?” XIII Byrne Arrives XIV Full Confession XV Gerry’s Problem XVI Into Germany XVII The Road to Lauengratz XVIII The Message in Cipher XIX The Underground Railway XX An Officers’ Prison XXI The Raid on the Schloss XXII “The War’s Over” ILLUSTRATIONS Ruth crouched beside Gerry, and shot through the wreckage at the circling German plane She looked away, half expecting the sound of the music, and the roses, and palms, and Gerry Hull would vanish Gerry was there at the door of her cell; another man was with him; a friend Transcriber’s Notes: 1. As printed, this book omitted words in sentences in about eight places. This edition of the book retains those sentences as printed to accurately represent the original publication. 2. Otherwise, misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. Where multiple spellings occur, majority use has been employed. 3. Italics in the original are shown bracketed by undersocres in this publication, _like this_. RUTH OF THE U. S. A. CHAPTER I: A BEGGAR AND A PASSPORT It was the day for great destinies. Germany was starving; yet German armies, stronger and better prepared than ever before, were about to annihilate the British and the French. Austria, crumbling, was secretly suing for peace; yet Austria was awaiting only the melting of snow in the mountain passes before striking for Venice and Padua. Russia was reorganizing to fight again on the side of the allies; Russia, prostrate, had become a mere reservoir of manpower for the Hohenzollerns. The U-boats were beaten; the U-boats were sweeping the seas. America had half a million men in France; America had only “symbolical battalions” parading in Paris.