This resulted in few wounded being taken to the _Arabella_, as the Americans confined their work largely to assisting the injured on the field of battle.

The girls were not to be daunted in their determined efforts to aid the unfortunate and every day one of them visited the trenches to assist the two doctors in rendering first aid to the wounded.
The work was no longer arduous, for often entire days would pass without a single casualty demanding their attention.

The cold weather resulted in much sickness among the soldiers, however, and Gys found during this period of military inactivity that his medicine chest was more in demand than his case of surgical instruments.
A slight diversion was created by Clarette, who came to the ship to demand her husband from the Americans.

It seemed almost impossible to convince her that Maurie was not hidden somewhere aboard, but at last they made the woman understand he had escaped with the German to Ostend.

They learned from her that Maurie--or Henri, as she insisted he was named--had several times escaped from her house at night, while she was asleep, and returned at daybreak in the morning, and this information led them to suspect he had managed to have several secret conferences with Lieutenant Elbl previous to their flight.