Thus the talk drifted away from anything very interesting and the two officers discussed various subjects of common interest to them, while I just sat and waited for the Captain to disengage himself.... When we finally got back to our barracks, it was after four o’clock. We arranged to meet next day and I promised to do my damnedest with the Madame. So that night I went up there and found the Madame alone. She suggested that we take a long walk for our health and this we did—so long in fact that when we returned, she almost immediately declared her intention of retiring and added, “But I don’t mind if you stay and keep me company for a while.” I stayed. She went to bed and I went in and lay on the bed beside her.... Finally she dozed off, only to awaken a few minutes later with a start.... “You can just as well stay here to-night, cher enfant—if you’ll be good.” But I didn’t want to stay there, and I told her, as I kissed her good night, that “I might be good if I stayed here, but I’ll probably be better if I go home.” She laughed and made me kiss her again.... She wanted me to stay.... But Leona wasn’t going to stay with any woman unless she had to—and there was nothing to be gained by staying that night: there was no one else there except the maid.... I finally got away, but not without an argument which ended abruptly when she suddenly exclaimed that she was ashamed for making such a fool of herself over a mere boy. When she thought of that, she regained control of herself and of the situation, for she dismissed me with a laugh and kiss and told me to “let me see you again to-morrow.” So I went home and found Ben trying to read a French newspaper upside down.... He did look kinda peaked, now that the General mentioned it. Perhaps ten thousand women were too much for the bull of the boulevards after all! —7— I stayed almost all the next night at Madame’s, because she had a party on, and two of the guests passed out and had to be put to bed. One of them was a Major from Chaumont and the other a Captain who was liaison officer between the French and American commands north of Paris. There was much discussion of military affairs during the evening and there seemed to be no question about big things scheduled for the first week of September. The Allies had something big under way, and I caught the Madame paying close attention to some of the information that was being thrown about so freely. So I stayed, on the pretext of helping take care of the indisposed officers, and even went so far as to plead sleepiness myself. But nothing untoward happened, so far as I could see, although the Madame and the maid were up and around until very late and I’m quite sure that I heard the maid go into the room where the Major was sleeping, while the Madame was playing with me on the divan in the reception room. But you can’t hang anyone on suspicion. —8—