“Then I can get there almost as soon as scheduled,” said Nancy in relief. “I was worrying over being off schedule.”

“Young lady, if you ever had a good excuse for being late you have it this time,” said the major. He looked down at her a moment and smiled whimsically. “I’d say she’s made of good fighting stuff, wouldn’t you, Miss Lewis?”

“I’ll say,” agreed Miss Lewis. “She’s had a fine try-out tonight.”

Nancy’s face flushed, then she burst forth impulsively, “Oh, I hope they’ll think me good enough to send to the South Pacific.”

“That’s something we have to leave to our Uncle Samuel, young lady.”

Nancy was silent a moment, then looked up at the major shyly out of the corner of her eye. “I owe you an apology, sir.”

“How’s that?”

“For ordering you about—demanding that you cut me a splint. But how could I know you were a major?”

He broke into a hearty laugh. “Well, Miss Dale, I can’t see that an officer is due any respect when he goes around in his undershirt. You did what any nurse should have done.”

“That must be your car over there, Major,” said Miss Lewis.

“So ’tis. Let’s get our baggage and be off.”

At Major Reed’s request a young private brought Nancy’s baggage from the Pullman and packed it in the car. The major gave the local doctor last minute instructions about some of the injured, while Nancy and Captain Mary Lewis waited for him. It was the first five minutes Nancy had had since the accident to think quietly about the catastrophe.

With a sudden inner jolt she recalled the two German-speaking passengers who had sat behind her the previous afternoon. Could there possibly be any connection between their whispered conversation and this tragedy? The demand for her services during these last horrible hours had driven out all other thoughts except the use of her skill in helping the injured.

When the doctor returned to the car and started to get in, Nancy said, “Major Reed, there’s something I believe I should tell you before we leave here.”

He glanced at her, his foot lifted to the step, and said absent-mindedly, “Yes?”

“This may or may not have any connection with the wreck.”

“They’ve already found evidence that it’s the work of saboteurs,” he told her frankly.

Nancy felt the blood drain from her cheeks. What would they think of her not mentioning her suspicions sooner? She had gone too far now to remain silent. Briefly she gave an account of the German conversation behind her the previous afternoon.

“I might have thought little of it,” she hastened to add, on seeing the scowl on the major’s face, “but on boarding the train last night I noticed there were eight troop cars. Instantly I thought of what the two men behind me had said. I also noticed the blond corporal watching the entraining men. He stood at the edge of the crowd outside my coach.”

“You should have reported him as a suspect,” stated Captain Mary Lewis sharply.

Nancy flushed, and asked, “To whom should I have reported him? They would only have laughed at me. Nobody on that train knew who I was.”

“Never take a chance when it comes to anything like that,” said Major Reed. “Where large numbers of lives are involved it’s excusable to be suspicious of your own brother, rather than take any chances.”

Nancy didn’t flare up in anger or burst into tears, but looked the major squarely in the eyes. “I’m sure you’re right. Had I been at a hospital, or in camp, I would have reported my suspicions to the right authorities. Under the circumstances, sir, what would you have done?”

The major got suddenly into the car and slammed the door. “I would probably have done exactly as you did, young lady.”

Then Nancy did want to cry from sheer relief. Their car crawled off through the traffic congestion at the scene of the accident. The highway ran parallel with the track for some distance. They had an appalling view of the twisted mass of wreckage in the forward part of the train. At a group of official-looking cars, Major Reed had the driver stop. He got out to talk to two men. A few minutes later he brought them over to the car and had Nancy give a description of the two suspects she had noticed on the train.

“You are to be commended, Miss Dale,” said Mr. Nelson, the taller of the two strangers, “for at least giving the suspects a looking over.”

“I had to see what they were like after I heard them whispering in German!” exclaimed Nancy. “But when I saw one was a corporal in the army I thought perhaps I was being too suspicious.”

Mr. Nelson laughed bitterly. “We’ve picked up several spies lately, disguised in soldier’s uniforms. A man isn’t always to be trusted just because he wears our colors.”

“I suppose it would be impossible now to locate the pair,” said Nancy unhappily. “The blond could be anywhere among the thousands back there at the station, or hundreds of miles away by this time.”

The other plainclothes official said, “You underrate our Secret Service, miss. The description you’ve given is elaborate compared with some we get. We’ve sometimes caught ’em on little more than a shoestring.”

He saluted respectfully and their car rolled out to the open country, and across the red clay hills. They were all too tired for conversation, even if they had had the heart for it after such a depressing experience. Captain Lewis did not seem inclined to conversation, and Nancy was glad enough to ride in silence. She snuggled deep into her corner, and was actually asleep before they had left the wreck five miles behind.

Some time later she was startled by a gentle hand shaking her shoulder. “Here we are, my dear,” Miss Lewis was saying. Nancy opened her eyes.

She sat up with a start, wondering if there’d been another wreck. To her amazement she found they had stopped in front of a long, one-story building. Some white-uniformed nurses were coming down the steps. Across the lawn she saw another group in coveralls.

“You mean we are actually there—at camp?” she asked in amazement.

“You slept like a baby all the way,” said Captain Lewis. “That ability to relax at once will stand you in good stead when you get in the thick of things.”

Nancy was pleased. “Mother has always said if anyone would give me a pillow I could go to sleep any time, anywhere.”

“And this time you didn’t even have a pillow.” Then suddenly Captain Lewis assumed her official air. “Lieutenant Hauser will show you to your room and help you get settled. Would you like to join me at breakfast when you get cleaned up?”

“Oh yes, thanks. This brisk morning air has really whipped up my appetite.”

Not until long afterward did Nancy