He shook his head sadly. 'No, nothing. The past is blank, blank. And yet I think sometimes----I say, Luscombe, I wonder who I am? I wonder----' 'And do you still persist in your mad fancies?' I blurted out after a long silence. 'Persist! Mad fancies!' he cried passionately. 'As long as my heart beats, as long as I have consciousness, I shall never cease to--to----I say, old man, get some leave and go with me.' 'Why?' I asked. 'If your mind is made up, seek her out wherever she is. I know she is at a V.A.D. Hospital not far from her home; so your way is plain. You can go to her on more equal terms now. You are a distinguished man now. In a few months you have risen from obscurity to eminence.' 'Don't talk rot. I can never meet her on equal terms.' 'Then why bother about her?' 'Because God has decreed that I shall. But you must go with me, my dear fellow. In ways I can't understand, your life is linked to mine. It was not for nothing that we met down at Plymouth Harbour; it was not without purpose that I was led to love you like a brother.' 'Well, what then?' 'You must go with me. In some way or another, your life is linked to mine, and you must go with me.' Of course I applied for leave right away, and as I had been working hard all the while Edgecumbe had been in France I was able to get it without difficulty. 'My word, have you seen this, Edgecumbe?' I cried the next afternoon, immediately we had left Salisbury Plain, where I had been stationed. 'What?' he asked. 'This in _The Times_. They've been cracking you up to the skies.' 'Oh, that,' he replied. 'Yes, I saw it this morning. I see they've made quite a sensational paragraph. I hardly recognize myself.' As I read the article a second time, I wondered at his indifference. Seldom had such a eulogy appeared in that great newspaper. Evidently the writer had taken considerable pains to get at the facts, and had presented them in glowing colours. There could be no doubt about it that from the standpoint of the Army, his future, if his life was spared, was assured. Not only was he spoken of as a man whose courage was almost unparalleled, but his abilities as a strategist, and his grasp of the broad issues of military affairs were discussed, and recognized in no sparing terms. It seemed impossible that a man who a few months before was a simple private, should now be discussed in such glowing panegyrics. Greatly elated as I was at the praise bestowed upon my friend, I little realized what it would mean to him during the next few hours. CHAPTER XXXII THE GREAT MEETING 'Can't we go down to Devonshire to-night?' cried Edgecumbe, as our train reached London. 'Impossible, my dear fellow,' I replied. 'But why not?' and I could see by the wild longing look in his eyes what he was thinking of. 'Oh, there are a dozen reasons. For one thing, she may not be able to get away from the hospital; for another--I don't think it would be wise.'