We shook hands
on it, and those who saw us must have thought that I was buying
fish. I, who have no money--and he, who had no fish."
CHAPTER XXX. THE FULFILMENT.
And I have laboured somewhat in my time
And not been paid profusely.
When Desiree came down the next morning, she found Barlasch talking
to himself and laughing as he prepared his breakfast.
He met her with a gay salutation, and seemed unable to control his
hilarity.
"It is," he explained, "because to-night we shall be under fire. We
shall be in danger. It makes me afraid, and I laugh. I cannot help
it. When I am afraid, I laugh."
He bustled about the room, and Desiree saw that he had already
opened his secret store beneath the floor, to take from it such
delicacies as remained.
"You slept?" he asked sharply. "Yes, I can see you did. That is
good, for to-night we shall be awake. And now you must eat."
For Barlasch was a materialist. He had fought death in one form or
another all his life, and he knew that those who eat and sleep are
better equipped for the battle than those who cherish high ideals or
think great thoughts.
"It is a good thing," he said, looking at her, "that you are so
slim. In a military coat--if you put on that short dress in which
you skate, and your high boots--you will look like a soldier. It is
a good thing that it is winter, for you can wear the hood of your
military coat over your head, as they all do out in the trenches to
keep their ears from falling.
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