12 
LAND & WATER 
August 23, 1917 
information that the officer .was very brave. Il;c A^P.M. , 
modcstlv replied that there were others of whom tiio same . 
might be said. It suddenly struck him that the ladv was 
rather prettv ; he noted how her copper-coloured liair glnitcd 
with gold where it caught the sun. And undenuiDlv, wlien 
vgu came to think of it. it was rather nice of her to call hnn a 
Colonel. Perhaps, he reflected, he rather looked like one. 
If you had told the A.P.M. at this moment that he was 
subtly influenced by the lady's charm he would haye denied 
it with no less sincerity than warmth. 
Eventually he elicited the information that the oHicer 
had two " pips " on his .sleeve and a strange beast on the lapels 
of his coat— data which were sufficient to enable the A.P.M. 
to class him as a lieutenant in a certain Line regiment. Ihe 
rest was easy. Enquiries at the Base Commandant's ofhcc 
revealed the "fact that there were at the Base six junior otticers. 
:ieutenants and second lieutenants, belonging to diflerent 
battalions of th.. regiment—some of them convalescents, one 
Dl them a Base " detail," the others belonging to a draft which 
rt as being put through its paces at the Base Training Camp. 
Thv, first step was identification. Within twenty-iour 
hours messages had been sent out to the six lieutenants and 
second-lieutenants to attend at the A.P.M.'s office. He 
included the second-lieutenants in order to make the identilica- 
tion as convincing as possible, for he saw himselt giving weighty 
evidence at the " Summary " and being congratulated on 
his astuteness by the P.\f.' to the I., of C. A proposal of ^ 
his to his friend the I^.T.O. that he should allow himself 
to be included in the batch of suspects as a super, so as to 
give variety to the performance, was coldly received as 
soon as he heard there was a woman in it. For the 
hrst time, the A.P.M. felt suspicious of the R.T.O., which 
vas unreasonable. He also issued invitations to the D.A.A.G., 
the Embarkation Ofificer, the Censor, and an Intelligence man, 
but they all with one consent began to make excuses. The 
fact was the A.P.M., being very young, was rather apt to 
overdo things in his desire lor theatrical effect. He was 
nothing if not elaborate. It had struck him that as a 
scheme of mural decoration it would look rather well if he 
could distribute among his six suspects about the same 
number of staff-officers. But he had to give this up. 
At the appointed hour six officers, in a state of extreme 
ner\ous trepidation, presented themselves at the A.P.M. 'soffice. 
Each one was in a mood of gloomy introspection, searching 
his past for anything that might be construed as " conduct 
prejudicial." For in the Army the most innocent of us may 
have done something which we ought not to have done or 
left undone a thing which we ought to ha\ e done. Army 
" crime " is an elastic conception and includes many things 
not to be found in the Decalogue or the common law. That 
tempting souvenir from a crushed aeroplane which you 
neglected to hand over to your Battalion H-O., that in- 
]udicious letter in which you expressed your frank opinion 
about the Brigadier or gave the location of your unit in 
order to enable your fiancee to find you on the map, that 
photograph of a cadaverous Hun, which you took with a 
secretive pocket-kodak — all these may rise up and accuse 
you. None of them knew what scent the A.P.M. vvas on. 
And each officer eyed the others furtively, hoping that 
one of them was the man " wanted-" The atmosphere of an 
A.P.M.'s office does not conduce to charity. 
\\ hile they waited in one room the A.P.M. was glancing 
impatiently at his wrist-watch in the other and reflecting on 
the incorrigible unpunctuality of women. Meanwhile, each 
of the unfortunate six was growing more and more convinced 
that his case was hopeless and had decided to make a clean 
breast of his individual delinquency. All of them except 
one. 
At last the lady arrived. The A.P.M. noticed that she had 
dressed herself with extreme care and a sprig of azalea rose 
and fell upon her bosom as it panted in agitation. The A.P.M. 
thought the decorative eliect was intended for himself. But 
in this he was mistaken. 
" Madame," he said impressively, " I think I have suc- 
ceeded." 
And, feeling he was addressing the representative of a nation 
which likes a touch of the panache, he added with a bean 
ficslc tov.ards the door, " I will see that justice is done." The 
A.P.M. was feeling like that. 
" Bon Dicii ! He is in there, he ? " she said staring at the 
closed door and clasping her hands in agitation. 
" I have every reason to think so, madame," said the 
A.P.M. majestically. 
'■ And wiiat will happen to him, monsieur le capitainc." 
" He will be cashiered, dismissed, fired, de^omme, brise ! " 
said the A.P.M. destructively. And he overdid it. 
" .\h, it is impossible. Non ! non ! I cannot." 
This was a contretemps the A.P.M. had not looked for. 
That the lady would at the last moment refuse to identify 
La Quatrieme ; Annee 
!li 
By Emile Cammaerts 
Voici que tes soeurs sont parties. 
Descendant pas a pas le large escalier dor, 
Et que Ic son dc leur voix affaiblie 
S'cteint au fond des corridors.' 
La premiere, I'oeil brillant, nous apporta le glaive 
Et, la poitrinCTtue, poussa le cri d'aiarme. 
Elle nous 6ln-Ht Ics'j'eux et dissipa nos rcvcs 
Et nous la iuivirnea dans le sang, dans les larmcs. 
I-a deuxieme pieusement nous tendit la couronnc. 
La couronne d'epines de ceux qui luttent et pcincnt 
Pour qu'a force de foi la verite rayonne 
Et fleurisse de roses les ronces incertaincs. 
La troisieme, en souriant, nous offrit une palme 
Et, d'un vol lar^e et siir, guida dans I'ouragan 
Nos espoirs ciiancelants vers le havrc dc calme 
Ou, les deux bras tendus, la Victoire nous attend. 
Mais toi, Etran'gere, que nous apportes-tu? 
Que nous diront tes yeux, que nous dira ta voix ? 
Vers quels nouveaux destins, vcis quels cieux inconnus 
Entraineras-tu nos pas ? 
— ^Je vous apporte la balance 
Oil se pesent les vertus et les crimes. 
J'attendrai pour partir que votre Sainte Alliance 
Ait chatie les bourreaux et venge leurs victimcs. 
fAU rights reserved.] 
the culprit had never entered into his calculations. He 
reasoned with her, cajoled, upbraicied, even threatened, and 
talked mistily of compounding a felony. This was a mistake. 
A woman may be inveigled, but she cannot be forced, and 
the more the A.P.M. stormed the more did she refuse. He saw 
a second " stunt " escaping him, and he grew bitter. He 
thought of all the stati' officers and others whom he bad 
invited to the reception, and he saw himself the derisive object 
of many pleasantries. 
" ^'ery well, madame," he said at last, " there is nothing 
to do but show you out." 
Now what followed may have been design — the A.P.M. 
of course, has convinced himself that he designed it — or it 
mav have been accident. My own opinion is that the A.P.M. 
in his discomfiture forgot which was the door leading to the 
street and which w as the door giving access to the suspects. 
Be that as it may, it was the latter door he opened. 
The lady stepped into the room and saw six officers. She 
drew back with a cry, stared at. them, and then' rushing 
forward, as if urged by an irresistible impulse, she threw 
her arms round the neck of one of them and cried ; "Oh ! 
cheri why did you do it ? " 
* * * ' * 
' The A.P.M. looks forward to being mentioned in despatches. 
But he has ceased to generalise about women. He says 
you never know what they will do next. And he thinks he 
has been the first man to find this out. 
•A publication, new in every way, -Rccallei to Life, under 
the editorship of Lord Charnwood, is produced by Messrs. 
.Iphn Bale, Daniels.son, Ltd., 83-91, Great Titchtield Street, 
Oxford Street, London, at 2s. net. It deals with the pros- 
pects for the future of disabled sailors and soldiers, to whom, 
■ with the right kind of assistance, possibilities of hope and 
of usefulness are still open, so long as the new methods pro- 
vided for their care and re-education are adequately sup- 
ported. It is not a begging circular, but a record of good 
work well done, and nobody can peruse its pages and see 
what is being done for the welfare of these men. who have 
given the best of their lives for their country, without some 
desire to aid on the work. It is, without question, a national 
duty, and the business of all from whorn the war has not 
taken such toll as these men have paid. We commend this 
periodical without reservation ; it is of special interest to all 
who are attracted by the recent great advance in medical 
bkill and science. May it help a work the urgent inipurtance 
of which cannot be over-estimated. 
