戈瑞医生的面庞令许多病人感到恐怖，于是贝丝建议他戴上面具为病人们治疗。戈瑞医生同意了，但心底的伤痛却挥之不去。三天后，莫里再次回到船上，并声称他正在躲避妻子克拉瑞特。大家感到很奇怪，于是询问他躲避的原因。狡猾的莫里找出种种借口，并辩解说他并非间谍。事情的真相到底是怎样的呢？
Although the famous battle of Nieuport had come to an end，the fighting in West Flanders was by no means over.All along the line fierce and relentlessa war waged without interruption and if neither side could claim victory，neither side suffered defeat.Day after day hundreds of combatants fell；hundreds of disabled limped to the rearb；hundreds were made prisoners.And always a stream of reinforcements came to take the places of the missing ones.Towns were occupied to—day by the Germans，to—morrow by the Allies；from Nieuport on past Dixmude and beyond Ypres the dykes had been opened and the low country was one vast lake.The only approaches from French territory were half a dozen roads built high above the water line，which rendered them capable of stubborn defence.
Dunkirk was thronged with reserves—English，Belgianand French.The Turcos and East Indians were employed by the British in this section and were as much dreadedc by the civilians as the enemy.Uncle John noticed that military discipline was not so strict in Dunkirk as at Ostend；but the Germans had but one people to control while the French town was host to many nations and races.
S t r a n g e a s i t m a y a p p e a r ，t h e w a r w a s g r o w i n g monotonous to those who were able to view it closely，perhaps because nothing important resulted from all the desperate，continuous fighting.The people were pursuing their accustomed vocations while shells burst and bullets whizzeda around them.They must manage to live，whatever the outcome of this struggle of nations might be.
Aboard the American hospital ship there was as yet no sense of monotonyb.The three girls who had conceived and carried out this remarkable philanthropyc were as busy as bees during all their waking hours and the spirit of helpful charity so strongly possessed them that all their thoughts were centered on their work.No two cases were exactly alike and it wasinteresting，to the verge of fascination，to watch the results ofvarious treatments of divers wounds and afflictions.
The girls often congratulated themselves on having secured so efficient a surgeon as Doctor Gys，who gloried in his work，and whose judgment，based on practical experience，was comprehensive and unfailing.The man's horribly contorted features had now become so familiar to the girls that they seldom noticed them—unless a cry of fear from some newly arrived and unnerved patient reminded them that the doctor was exceedingly repulsive to strangers.
No one recognized this grotesqued hideousnesse more than Doctor Gys himself.When one poor Frenchman died under the operating knife，staring with horror into the uncannyface the surgeon bent over him，Beth was almost sure the fright had hastened his end.She said to Gys that evening，when they met on deck，"Wouldn't it be wise for you to wear a mask in the operating room？"He considered the suggestion a moment，a deep flush spreading over his face；then he nodded gravely.
"It may be an excellent idea，"he agreed."Once，a couple of years ago，I proposed wearing a mask wherever I went，but my friends assured me the effect would be so marked that it would attract to me an embarrassing amount of attention.I havetrained myself to bear the repulsion involuntarily exhibited by all I meet and have taught myself to take a philosophic，if somewhat cynical，view of my facial blemishes；yet in this work I can see how a mask might be merciful to my patients.I will experiment a bit along this line，if you will help me，and we'll see what we can accomplish.""You must not think，"she said quietly，for she detecteda little bitterness in his tone，"that you are in any way repulsive to those who know you well.We all admire you as a man and are grieved ata the misfortunes that marredb your features.After all，Doctor，people of intelligence seldom judge one by appearances.""However they may judge me，"said he，"I'm a failure.
You say you admire me as a man，but you don't.It's just a bit of diplomatic flattery.I'm a good doctor and surgeon，I'lladmit，but my face is no more repellent than my cowardly nature.Miss Beth，I hate myself for my cowardice far more than I detest my ghastlya countenanceb.Yet I am powerless to remedy either defect.""I believe that what you term your cowardice is merely a physical weakness，"declared the girl."It must have been caused by the suffering you endured at the time of your various injuries.I have noticed that suffering frequently unnerves one，and that a person who has once been badly hurt lives in nervous terror of being hurt again.""You are very kind to try to excuse my fault，"said he，"but the truth is I have always been a coward—from boyhood up.""Yet you embarked on all those dangerous expeditions.""Yes，just to have fun with myself；to sneer at thecoward flesh，so to speak.I used to long for dangers，and when they came upon me I would jeer at and revile the quaking I could not repress.I pushed my shrinking body into peril and exulted in the punishment it received."Beth looked at him wonderingly.
"You are a strange man，indeed，"said she."Really，I cannot understand your mental attitude at all."He chuckled and rubbed his hands together gleefully.
"I can，"he returned，"for I know what causes it."And then he went away and left her，still seeming highly amused ather bewilderment.
In the operating room the next day Gys appeared with a rubber mask drawn across his features.The girls decided that it certainly improved his appearance，odd as the masked face might appear to strangers.It hid the dreadful nose and the scars and to an extent evened the size of the eyes，for the holes through which he peered were made alike.Gys was himself pleased with the device，for after that he wore the mask almost constantly，only laying it aside during the evenings when he sat on deck.