Young Scott laughed.

"I believe the earth has ceased to be your natural element," he said.
"You're happiest when you're in the _Arrow_ about a mile above our
planet."

Lannes laughed also, and with appreciation. The friendship between the
two young men was very strong, and it had in it all the quality of
permanence. Their very unlikeness in character and temperament made them
all the better comrades. What one could not do the other could.

As they walked along now they said but little. Each was striving to read
what he could in that great book, the streets of Paris. John believed
Lannes had not yet told him his whole mission. He knew that in their
short stay in Paris Philip had spent an hour in the office of the
military governor of the city, and his business must be of great
importance to require an hour from a man who carried such a fearful
weight of responsibility. But whatever Lannes' secret might be, it was
his own and he had no right to pry into it. If the time came for his
comrade to tell it he would do so.

When they reached the Seine the city did not seem so quiet. They heard
the continuous sound of marching troops and people were still departing
through the streets toward the country or the provincial cities. The
flight went on by night as well as day, and John again felt the
overwhelming pity of it.

He wondered what the French generals and their English allies would do?
Did they have any possible way of averting this terrible crisis? They
had met nothing but defeat, and the vast German army had crashed,