The inward struggle had been made more intense
by the arrival the day previous of a train load of
mangled men from Chateau-Thierry and by the
tragic death upon the flying field that very morn-
ing of two of his closest companions.
The moon was full and high up in the heavens.
A mellow light flooded the sky and earth. Fleecy
clouds, tinted with pale amber, floated lightly
overhead, while the sleeping fields breathed deeply
as life pulsed upward into growing clover, trees
and flowers and gently moving grain. The dis-

126



WAR AND THE WORLD ORDER 127

cordant babble of human sound was hushed. Ton-^
der the bearded pines cast short shadows across the
new-made graves and threw into sharp relief the
silhouette of the sentinel keeping watch. Prom far
away over the hills came the wail of the whip-poor-
will. Mother Nature held us in her mystic spell.
For a short space we walked in silence, each wrapt
in deep thought, then my friend exclaimed with
youthful yearning :

"What I want is a Christ who is big enough to
reconcile the love of God with a universe governed
by blind, passionless law. A Christ whom a man
can follow into the battle of life with the same pas-
sionate devotion with which we follow our flag
in this war."

Just then we heard the faint whirr of an air-
plane, and, looking up, beheld an aviator crossing
the track of the moon. Like a winged bird, he
skimmed the sea of light. Like some joyous spirit
liberated from the bondage of earth, he floated in
and out amongst the clouds, as though at home
in the higher ether.
