`` Perhaps students of the canals of Mars would not be so keenly sensitive to the significance of a few yards of trenches lost or won on the western front . '' `` I have read somewhere , '' said Mr. Meredith , `` that Ernest Renan wrote one of his books during the siege of Paris in 1870 and ` enjoyed the writing of it very much . ' I suppose one would call him a philosopher . '' `` I have read also , '' said Miss Oliver , `` that shortly before his death he said that his only regret in dying was that he must die before he had seen what that ` extremely interesting young man , the German Emperor , ' would do in his life . If Ernest Renan ` walked ' today and saw what that interesting young man had done to his beloved France , not to speak of the world , I wonder if his mental detachment would be as complete as it was in 1870 . '' `` I wonder where Jem is tonight , '' thought Rilla , in a sudden bitter inrush of remembrance . It was over a month since the news had come about Jem . Nothing had been discovered concerning him , in spite of all efforts . Two or three letters had come from him , written before the trench raid , and since then there had been only unbroken silence . Now the Germans were again at the Marne , pressing nearer and nearer Paris ; now rumours were coming of another Austrian offensive against the Piave line . Rilla turned away from the new star , sick at heart . It was one of the moments when hope and courage failed her utterly -- when it seemed impossible to go on even one more day . If only they knew what had happened to Jem -- you can face anything you know . But a beleaguerment of fear and doubt and suspense is a hard thing for the morale . Surely , if Jem were alive , some word would have come through . He must be dead . Only -- they would never know -- they could never be quite sure ; and Dog Monday would wait for the train until he died of old age . Monday was only a poor , faithful , rheumatic little dog , who knew nothing more of his master 's fate than they did . Rilla had a `` white night '' and did not fall asleep until late . When she wakened Gertrude Oliver was sitting at her window leaning out to meet the silver mystery of the dawn .
Her clever , striking profile , with the masses XXXXX black hair behind it , came out clearly against the pallid gold of the eastern sky .
at before during if in nearer of on through until