在船上，伊丽莎白心急如焚地向帕齐仔细询问丹顿的伤势，帕齐试图安慰她，无奈她泪眼蒙眬、不住啜泣。同行人当中还有冒充伊丽莎白的胖女人克拉瑞特。船刚刚靠岸，克拉瑞特就认出了莫里，莫里则疯狂地朝她跑了过去。原来，这个人就是莫里失散的妻子。大家会合后，莫德高兴地告诉伊丽莎白，丹顿的情况很好……
So it was toward evening of the fourth day that the launch finally sighted the ship Arabella.Delays and difficulties had been encountered in spite of government credentials and laissez—passera and Patsy had begun to fear they would not reach the harbor of Dunkirk before dark.
All through the journey the Belgian woman and her children had sat sullenlyb in the bow，the youngsters kept from mischief by the stern eye of Henderson.In the stern seats，however，the original frigidc silence had been thawedd by Patsy Doyle's bright chatter.She began by telling the countess and Elizabeth all about herself and Beth and Maud and Uncle John，relating how they had come to embark upon this unusual mission of nursing the wounded of a foreign war，and how they had secured the services of the clever but disfigured surgeon，Dr.Gys.She gave the ladies a clear picture of the hospital ship and told how the girls had made their dash to the firing line during the battle of Nieuport and brought back an ambulance full of wounded—including Andrew Denton.
Patsy did not answer very fully Elizabeth Denton's eager questions concerning the nature of her husband's injuries，but she tried to prepare the poor young wife for the knowledge that the wound would prove fatal.This was a most delicate and difficult thing to do and Patsy blundered and floundered untilher very ambiguity aroused alarm.
"Tell me the worst！"begged Elizabeth Denton，her face pale and tensely drawn.
"Why，I cannot do that，you see，"replied Patsy，"because the worst hasn't happened yet；nor can I tell you the best，because a wound is such an uncertain thing.It was a shell，you know，that exploded behind him，and Dr.Gys thought it made a rather serious wound.Mr.Denton was unconscious a long time，and when he came to himself we eased his pain，so he would not suffer.""You came to get me because you thought he would die？""I came because he asked me to read to him your letters，and I found they comforted him so much that your presence would，I knew，comfort him more."There was a long silence.Presently the countess asked in her soft，even voice：
"Will he be alive when we get there？"
Patsy thought of the days that had been wasted，because of their detention at Ostend through Colonel Grau's stupidity.
"I hope so，madam，"was all she could reply.
Conversation laggeda after this episodeb.Elizabeth was weeping quietly on her mother's shoulder.Patsy felt relief in the knowledge that she had prepared them，as well as she could，for whatever might wait upon their arrival.
The launch made directly for the ship and as she camealongside to the ladder the rail was lined with faces curious to discover if the errand had been successful.Doctor Gys was there to receive them，smiling horribly as he greeted the twowomen in black.Maud，seeing that they recoiled froma thedoctor's appearance，took his place and said cheerfully：
