Joifre had said, "I nibble them." But to nibble a hole in the Germany
Army might take years. They had sent Sara Lee for a few months. How
about keeping her there indefinitely?
Oddly enough, it was Harvey's sister Belle who made the only protest
against the recall.
"Of course, I want her back," she said slowly. "You'd understand better
if you had to live with Harvey. I'm sorry, Mrs. Gregory, that he spoke
to you as he did, but he's nearly crazy." She eyed the assembly with
her tired shrewd eyes. "I'm no talker," she went on, "but Sara Lee has
done a big thing. We don't realize, I guess, how big it is. And I
think we'll just about kill her if we bring her home."
"Better to do that than to have her killed over there," some one said.
And in spite of Belle's protest, that remained the sense of the meeting.
It was put to the vote and decided to recall Sara Lee. She could bring
a report of conditions, and if she thought it wise an older woman could
go later, to a safer place.
Belle was very quiet that evening. After dinner she went to Harvey's
room and found him dressing to go out.
"I'm going with a crowd to the theater," he said. "First week of the
summer stock company, you know."
He tied his tie defiantly, avoiding Belle's eyes in the mirror.
"Harvey," she said, "they're going to bring Sara Lee home."
He said nothing, but his hands shook somewhat. "And I think," Belle
said, "that you will be sorry for what you have done--all the rest of
your life."