莫里的胳膊受了枪伤，戈瑞医生细心地替他医治。在医治的过程中，莫里向大家阐述了他对战争的种种哲学性的思考。即使我们称呼政客们为鲨鱼，称呼战士们为傻瓜，那又如何呢？战争依然会继续，敌人会摧毁我们的家园，拿走我们的面包，使我们处于饥饿的状态之中……
"I never realized，"said Maud，delightedly，"what a strictly modern，professional hospital ship Uncle John has made of this，until we put it to practical use.I am sure it is better than those makeshiftsa we observed at Calais，and more comfortable than those crowded hospitals on land.Everyconvenience is at our disposal and if our patients do not recover rapidly it will be because their condition is desperate."She had just come on deck after a long and trying session in assisting Doctors Gys and Kelsey to care for the injured，a session during which Beth and Patsy had also stood nobly to their gruesomeb task.There were eleven wounded，altogether，in their care，and although some of these were in a critical condition the doctors had insisted that the nurses needed rest.
"It is Dr.Gys who deserves credit for fitting the ship，"replied Mr.Merrick，modestly，to Maud's enthusiastic comment，"and Ajo is responsible for the ship itself，which seems admirably suited to our purpose.By the way，how is Gys behaving now？Is he still shaking with fear？""No，he seems to have recovered his nerve.Isn't it a terrible afflictionc？""Cowardiced？Well，my dear，it is certainly an unusual affliction in this country and in these times.I have been amazedto—day at the courage I have witnessed.These Belgians are certainly a brave lot.""But no braver than the German we brought with us，"replied Maud thoughtfully."One would almost think he had no sensation，yet he must be suffering terribly.The doctor will amputate the remnants of his foot in an hour or so，but the man positively refuses to take an anaesthetic.""Does he speak English or French？""No；only German.But Captain Carg understands German and so he has been acting as our interpreter.""How about the Belgian we picked up on the road？""He hasn't recovered consciousness yet.He is wounded in the back and in trying to get to the rear became insensible from loss of blood.""From what I saw I wouldn't suppose any Belgian could be wounded in the back，"remarked Uncle John doubtfully.
"It was a shell，"she said，"and perhaps exploded behind him.It's a bad wound，Dr.Gys says，but if he regains strength he may recover."During this conversation Patsy Doyle was lying in her stateroom below and crying bitterly，while her cousin Beth strove to soothe her.All unused to such horrors as she had witnessed that day，the girl had managed to retain her nerve by sheer force of will until the Red Cross party had returned to the ship and extended first aid to the wounded；but the moment Dr.Gys dismissed her she broke down completely.
Beth was no more accustomed to bloodshed than her cousin，but she had anticipated such scenes as they had witnessed，inasmucha as her year of training as nurse had prepared her for them.She had also been a close student of the daily press and from her reading had gleanedb a knowledge of the terrible havocc wrought by this great war.Had Patsy not given way，perhaps Beth might have done so herself，and really it was Maud Stanton who bore the ordeal with the mostcomposure.
After a half hour on deck Maud returned to the hospital section quite refreshed，and proceeded to care for the patients.She alone assisted Gys and Kelsey to amputate the German's foot，an operation the man bore splendidly，quite unaware，however，that they had applied local anaesthetics to dull the pain.Dr.Gys was a remarkably skillful surgeon and he gave himself no rest until every one of the eleven had received such attention as his wounds demanded.Even Kelsey felt the strain by that time and as Maud expressed her intention of remaining to minister to the wants of the crippled soldiers，the two doctors went on deck for a smoke and a brief relaxation.
By this time Beth had quieted Patsy，mainly by lettingher have her cry out，and now brought her on deck to join the others and get the fresh air.So quickly had events followed one another on this fateful day that it was now only four o'clockin the afternoon.None of them had thought of luncheon，so the ship's steward now brought tea and sandwiches to those congregated on deck.
As they sat together in a group，drinking tea anddiscussing the exciting events of the day，little Maurie came sauntering toward them and removed his cap.
"Your pardon，"said he，"but—are the wounded all caredfor？""As well as we are able to care for them at present，"answered Beth."And let me thank you，Jakob Maurie—let us all thank you—for the noble work you did for us to—day.""Pah！it was nothing，"said he，shifting from one foot to another."I enjoyed it，mamselle.It was such fun to dive into the battle and pull out the wounded.It helped them，you see，and it gave us a grand excitement.Otherwise，had I not gone with you，I would be as ignorant as all in Dunkirk still are，for the poor people do not yet know what has happened at thefront.""We hardly know ourselves what has happened，"said Uncle John."We can hear the boom of guns yet，even at this distance，and we left the battle line flowing back and forth like the waves of the ocean.Have a cup of tea，Maurie？"The man hesitated.
"I do not like to disturb anyone，"he said slowly，"but if one of the young ladies is disengageda I would be grateful ifshe looks at my arm.""Your arm！"exclaimed Beth，regarding him wonderingly as he stood before her.
Maurie smiled.
"It is hardly worth mentioning，mamselle，but a bullet—""Take off your coat，"she commanded，rising from herseat to assist him.
Maurie complied.His shirt was stained with blood.Beth drew out her scissors and cut away the sleeve of his left arm.A bullet had passed directly through the flesh，but without harming bone or muscle.
"Why didn't you tell us before？"she asked reproachfully.