The Commander’s voice was deep with emotion as turning back to the young Lord he said: “That was Dave. He’s back safe. He’s over at Ramsey Farm. They’re just having their biscuits, marmalade and coffee. Want you to join them.” The young Lord stood up. He tried to speak but failed. With a bow and a salute he left the room. Three minutes later his big car was burning up the road leading to Ramsey Farm. _Chapter_ XXI The Lark Defends His Home Town It was truly a jolly party that sat down to breakfast in the Hideout that morning. Dave had been dead. Now he was alive again. Who could help being happy? It seemed good to be together again, to laugh over recent adventures and to talk in serious tones of the future. “There really isn’t so much to tell,” Dave insisted, when they pressed him for his story. “I had luck, that was all.” He told of his landing, the sinking of his plane, his discovery of the Nazi’s float and his work at setting it adrift. “After that,” he added, “it was just a matter of time and a little more luck. I fell asleep. Of course, I woke up now and then. Who wouldn’t? All I heard was the whistle of the wind and the rush of waves so I dozed off again. “After midnight the sea settled down a bit. Just at dawn my crazy craft bumped on a sandy beach. Of course I was up and out in a hurry. “And there!” He laughed. “Leave it to the Home Guard! There on the beach, armed with heavy old-fashioned rifles all pointed straight at me, were three old men. And you could tell by the look on their faces that they’d just as soon shoot me as not.” “What did you do?” Cherry whispered. “Do? Why! I let them take me prisoner. What else could I do? There I was on a float marked with the Nazi cross and wearing a Nazi swastika on my shirt. “I threw them a line and, when a big wave broke on shore, they hauled me in. “Then I invited them to take breakfast with me. I had bacon in tins, biscuits in a box and a jar of marmalade, also coffee. It was a grand feed. And did those old men eat? They’d been on watch since sun-down.” “And after that?” Cherry whispered. “Then I showed them my water-soaked uniform, my American passport in a waterproof pocket and my identification tag.” “And then they wanted to shoot you more than ever.” Brand laughed. “No—no, they didn’t.” Dave leaned back in his chair. “They were regular old sports. Took it all as a huge joke. Had a good laugh over it. “Then,” he added, “I traded them my float for a ride home in a dilapidated old car. And here I am.” “That float will make them a nice outpost station all winter.” Alice sighed with content. She wanted everyone to be comfortable and happy. “I’m going to America,” Cherry said. “The doctor advised it for my voice. He says it’s nerves. “There’s a boatload of children going. I’m to take Peggy and Tillie.” “Oh—o,” Dave breathed softly. “That will be swell.” And so it would, he thought, for Cherry.