Page:Augusta Seaman--Jacqueline of the carrier pigeons.djvu/100

76 away from her at these words so like disloyalty to the great cause, and hurried home with the news she had to tell.

As the day wore on, Vrouw Voorhaas became more and more uneasy about Gysbert, and questioned his sister so closely about his  absence that she had hard work quieting the  woman’s fears and at the same time hiding  the truth about him. She herself was beset by more definite terrors for his safety than  Vrouw Voorhaas could even guess, and  though she did not expect Gysbert before  nightfall, counted the moments with ever-increasing agitation.

Then darkness came and the two partook of their frugal supper, laying aside a generous portion for the boy. One by one the stars twinkled out. Jacqueline, sitting by the window tried to count them to distract  her thoughts. Her mind reverted again and again to the scenes of the morning, and the  pictures of the suffering she had witnessed would not fade from her consciousness. As