Pursuit of Passy Page 24

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  I finished the letter and tossed it across to Carnac for his approval.

  There had been a long discussion about the form it should take. At first Carnac had pooh-poohed the suggestion, maintaining that a girl could not do any better than we could and anyway it was unfair to drag her into such a hazardous business. I replied that she had already been willing to help me despite the risk and that anyway if we didn't adopt a new line of approach to this problem we might just as well go back to England—if we could. He fully agreed to this in the end.

  There remained the problem of making the necessary rendezvous with Giselle (curiously enough, though I had met her for such a short time I always thought of her by her Christian name). At first I suggested the hospital but Carnac quite rightly pointed out that letters might be opened in which case we might give away not only our own hiding place but also d'Angelay and the nurse who were sheltering us. It would be difficult to venture outside the hospital to meet her, but at any rate one of us could make the attempt without compromising the other.

  Eventually, therefore, I wrote out the following letter. It was purposefully vague and non-committal and I hoped that if it did get into wrong hands it would not arouse any interest.

  Dear Mademoiselle Saint Brie,

  The friend who met you in Amiens Station remembers your effort to help and would like to meet you again if possible. Could you meet him outside l'Epicerie Herve in Rue Mailly, Laon, on 24th June, at noon? He will be waiting for you.

  Carnac read it thoughtfully.

  “Yes,” he said slowly. “I think that will do. There's only one problem to face now.”

  “What's that?”

  “How either of us are to get out of this place to meet Mlle. Saint Brie.”

  “I think I'd better go. After all, I know the girl.”

  “But how will you get there with every Boche in the town looking for you?”

  “There's three days to puzzle it out,” I said hopefully. “We'll think of a way.”