1 files changed, 3201 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/4091.txt b/4091.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..533fb29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/4091.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3201 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The French Twins, by Lucy Fitch Perkins
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The French Twins
+
+Author: Lucy Fitch Perkins
+
+Posting Date: July 4, 2009 [EBook #4091]
+Release Date: May, 2003
+First Posted: November 21, 2001
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FRENCH TWINS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Lynn Hill.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+To all friends of the brave children of France
+
+
+Map of the Voyage
+
+
+THE FRENCH TWINS
+
+
+by
+
+Lucy Fitch Perkins
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+    I. THE CHURCH AND THE PEOPLE
+   II. ON THE WAY HOME
+  III. THE COMING OF THE GERMANS
+   IV. THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH
+    V. AT MADAME COUDERT'S
+   VI. THE BURNING OF THE CATHEDRAL
+  VII. HOME AGAIN
+ VIII. REFUGEES
+   IX. THE FOREIGN LEGION
+    X. FONTANELLE
+   XI. A SURPRISE
+  XII. MORNING IN THE MEADOW
+ XIII. CHILDREN OF THE LEGION
+
+
+
+I. THE CHURCH AND THE PEOPLE
+
+The sunlight of the clear September afternoon shone across the roofs of
+the City of Rheims, and fell in a yellow flood upon the towers of the
+most beautiful cathedral in the world, turning them into two shining
+golden pillars against the deep blue of the eastern sky.
+
+The streets below were already in shadow, but the sunshine still poured
+through the great rose window above the western portal, lighting the
+dim interior of the church with long shafts of brilliant reds, blues,
+and greens, and falling at last in a shower of broken color upon the
+steps of the high altar. Somewhere in the mysterious shadows an unseen
+musician touched the keys of the great organ, and the voice of the
+Cathedral throbbed through its echoing aisles in tremulous waves of
+sound. Above the deep tones of the bass notes a delicate melody
+floated, like a lark singing above the surf.
+
+Though the great church seemed empty but for sound and color, there
+lingered among its shadows a few persons who loved it well. There were
+priests and a few worshipers. There was also Father Varennes, the
+Verger, and far away in one of the small chapels opening from the apse
+in the eastern end good Mother Meraut was down upon her knees, not
+praying as you might suppose, but scrubbing the stone floor. Mother
+Meraut was a wise woman; she knew when to pray and when to scrub, and
+upon occasion did both with equal energy to the glory of God and the
+service of his Church. Today it was her task to make the little chapel
+clean and sweet, for was not the Abbe coming to examine the
+Confirmation Class in its catechism, and were not her own two children,
+Pierre and Pierette, in the class? In time to the heart-beats of the
+organ, Mother Meraut swept her brush back and forth, and it was already
+near the hour for the class to assemble when at last she set aside her
+scrubbing-pail, wiped her hands upon her apron, and began to dust the
+chairs which had been standing outside the arched entrance, and to
+place them in orderly rows within the chapel.
+
+She had nearly completed her task, when there was a tap-tapping upon
+the stone floor, and down the long aisle, leaning upon his crutch, came
+Father Varennes. He stopped near the chapel and watched her as she
+whisked the last chair into place and then paused with her hands upon
+her hips to make a final inspection of her work.
+
+"Bonjour, Antoinette," said the Verger.
+
+Mother Meraut turned her round, cheerful face toward him. "Ah, it is
+you, Henri," she cried, "come, no doubt, to see if the chapel is clean
+enough for the Abbe! Well, behold."
+
+The Verger peered through the arched opening, and sniffed the wet,
+soapy smell which pervaded the air. "One might even eat from your clean
+floor, Antoinette," he said, smiling, "and taste nothing worse with his
+food than a bit of soap. Truly the chapel is as clean as a shriven
+soul."
+
+"It's a bold bit of dirt that would try to stand out against me,"
+declared Mother Meraut, with a flourish of her dust-cloth, "for when I
+go after it I think to myself, 'Ah, if I but had one of those
+detestable Germans by the nose, how I would grind it!' and the very
+thought brings such power to my elbow that I check myself lest I wear
+through the stones of the floor."
+
+The Verger laughed, then shook his head. "Truly, Antoinette," he said,
+"I believe you could seize your husband's gun if he were to fall, and
+fill his place in the Army as well as you fill his place here in the
+Cathedral, doing a man's work with a woman's strength, and smiling as
+if it were but play! Our France can never despair while there are women
+like you."
+
+"My Jacques shall carry his own gun," said Mother Meraut, stoutly, "and
+bring it home with him when the war is over, if God wills, and may it
+be soon! Meanwhile I will help to keep our holy Cathedral clean as he
+used to do. It is not easy work, but one must do what one can, and
+surely it is better to do it with smiles than with tears!"
+
+The Verger nodded. "That is true," he said, "yet it is hard to smile in
+the face of sorrow."
+
+"But we must smile--though our hearts break--for France, and for our
+children, lest they forget joy!" cried Mother Meraut. She smiled as she
+spoke, though her lip trembled "I will you the truth, Henri, sometimes
+when I think of what the Germans have already done in Belgium, and may
+yet do in France, I feel my heart breaking in my bosom. And then I say
+to myself, 'Courage, Antoinette! It is our business to live bravely for
+the France that is to be when this madness is over. Our armies are
+still between us and the Boche. It is not time to be afraid.'"
+
+"And I tell you, they shall not pass," cried Father Varennes, striking
+his crutch angrily upon the stone floor. "The brave soldiers of France
+will not permit it! Oh, if I could but carry a gun instead of this!" He
+rattled his crutch despairingly as he spoke.
+
+Mother Meraut sighed. "Though I am a woman, I too wish I might fight
+the invaders," she said, "but since I may not carry a gun, I will put
+all the more energy into my broom and sweep the dirt from the Cathedral
+as I would sweep the Germans back to the Rhine if I could."
+
+"It is, indeed, the only way for women, children, and such as I,"
+grieved the Verger.
+
+"Tut, tut," answered Mother Meraut cheerfully, "it isn't given us to
+choose our service. If God had wanted us to fight he would have given
+us power to do it."
+
+The Verger shook his head. "I wish I were sure of that," he said, "for
+there's going to be need for all the fighting blood in France if half
+one hears is true. They say now that the Germans are already far over
+the French border and that our Army is retreating before them. The
+roads are more than ever crowded with refugees, and the word they bring
+is that the Germans have already reached the valley of the Aisne."
+
+"But that is at our very doors!" cried Mother Meraut. "It is absurd,
+that rumor. Chicken hearts! They listen to nothing but their fears. As
+for me, I will not believe it until I must. I will trust in the Army as
+I do in my God and the holy Saints."
+
+"Amen," responded the Verger devoutly.
+
+At this moment the great western portal swung on its hinges, a patch of
+light showed itself against the gloom of the interior of the Cathedral,
+and the sound of footsteps and of fresh young voices mingled with the
+tones of the organ.
+
+"It's the children, bless their innocent hearts," said Mother Meraut.
+"I hear the voices of my Pierre and Pierrette."
+
+"And I of my Jean," said the Verger, starting hastily down the aisle.
+"The little magpies forget they must be quiet in the House of God!" He
+shook his finger at them and laid it warningly upon his lips. The noise
+instantly subsided, and it was a silent and demure little company that
+tiptoed up the aisle, bent the knee before the altar, and then filed
+past Mother Meraut into the chapel which she had made so clean.
+
+Pierre and Pierrette led the procession, and Mother Meraut beamed with
+pride as they blew her a kiss in passing. They were children that any
+mother might be proud of. Pierrette had black, curling hair and blue
+eyes with long black lashes, and Pierre was a straight, tall, and
+manly-looking boy. The Twins were nine years old.
+
+Mother Meraut knew many of the children in the Confirmation Class, for
+they were all schoolmates and companions of Pierre and Pierrette. There
+was Paul, the sore of the inn-keeper, with Marie, his sister. There was
+Victor, whose father rang the Cathedral chimes. There were David and
+Genevieve, and Madeleine and Virginie and Etienne, and last of all
+there was jean, the Verger's son--little Jean, the youngest in the
+class. Mother Meraut nodded to them all as they passed.
+
+Promptly on the first stroke of the hour the Abbe appeared in the north
+transept of the Cathedral and made his way with quick, decided steps
+toward the chapel. He was a young man with thick dark hair almost
+concealed beneath his black three-cornered cap, and as he walked, his
+long black soutane swung about him in vigorous folds. When he appeared
+in the door of the chapel the class rose politely to greet him.
+"Bonjour, my children," said the Abbe, and then, turning his back upon
+them, bowed before the crucifix upon the chapel altar.
+
+Mother Meraut and the Verger slipped quietly away to their work in
+other portions of the church, and the examination began. First the Abby
+asked the children to recite the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten
+Commandments in unison, and when they had done this without a mistake,
+he said "Bravo! Now I wonder if you can each do as well alone? Let me
+see, I will call upon--" He paused and looked about as if he were
+searching for the child who was most likely to do it well.
+
+Three girls--Genevieve, Virginie, and Pierrette--raised their hands and
+waved them frantically in the air, but, curiously enough, the Abbe did
+not seem to see them. Instead his glance fell upon Pierre, who was
+gazing thoughtfully at the vaulted ceiling and hoping with all his
+heart that the Abbe would not call upon him. "Pierre!" he said, and any
+one looking at him very closely might have seen a twinkle in his eye as
+Pierre withdrew his gaze from the ceiling and struggled reluctantly to
+his feet. "You may recite the Ten Commandments."
+
+Pierre began quite glibly, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me,"
+and went on, with only two mistakes and one long wait, until he had
+reached the fifth. "Thou shalt not kill," he recited, and then to save
+his life he could not think what came next. He gazed imploringly at the
+ceiling again, and at the high stained-glass window, but they told him
+nothing. He kicked backward gently, hoping that Pierrette, who sat
+next, would prompt him, but she too failed to respond. "I'll ask a
+question," thought Pierre desperately, "and while the Abbe is answering
+maybe it will come to me." Aloud he said: "If you please, your
+reverence, I don't understand about that commandment. It says, 'Thou
+shalt not kill,' and yet our soldiers have gone to war on purpose to
+kill Germans, and the priests blessed them as they marched away!"
+
+This was indeed a question! The class gasped with astonishment at
+Pierre's boldness in asking it. The Abbe paused a moment before
+answering. Then he said, "If you, Pierre, were to shoot a man in the
+street in order to take his purse, would that be wrong?"
+
+"Yes," answered the whole class.
+
+"Very well," said the Abbe, "so it would. But if you should see a
+murderer attack your mother or your sister, and you should kill him
+before he could carry out his wicked purpose, would that be just the
+same thing?"
+
+"No," wavered the class, a little doubtfully.
+
+"If instead of defending your mother or sister you were simply to stand
+aside and let the murderer kill them both, you would really be helping
+the murderer, would you not? It is like that today in France. An enemy
+is upon us who seeks to kill us so that he may rob us of our beautiful
+home land. God sees our hearts. He knows that the soldiers of France go
+forth not to kill Germans but to save France! not wantonly to take
+life, but because it is the only way to save lives for which they
+themselves are ready to die. Ah, my children, it is one thing to kill
+as a murderer kills; it is quite another to be willing to die that
+others may live! Our Blessed Lord--"
+
+The Abbe lifted his hand to make the sign of the Cross--but it was
+stayed in mid-air. The sentence he had begun was never finished, for at
+that moment the great bell in the Cathedral tower began to ring. It was
+not the clock striking the hour; it was not the chimes calling the
+people to prayer. Instead, it was the terrible sound of the alarm bell
+ringing out a warning to the people of Rheims that the Germans were at
+their doors.
+
+Wide-eyed with terror, the children sprang from their seats, but the
+Abbe, with hand uplifted, blocked the entrance and commanded them to
+stay where they were.
+
+"Let no one leave the Cathedral," he cried.
+
+At this instant Mother Meraut appeared upon the threshold searching for
+her children, and behind her, coming as fast as his lameness would
+permit, came the Verger. The Abbe turned to them. "I leave these
+children all in your care," he said. "Stay with them until I return."
+
+And without another word he disappeared in the shadows.
+
+Mother Meraut sat down on one of the chairs she had dusted so
+carefully, and gathered the frightened children about her as a hen
+gathers her chickens under her wing. "There, now," she said cheerfully,
+as she wiped their tears upon the corner of her apron, "let's save our
+tears until we really know what we have to cry for. There never yet was
+misery that couldn't be made worse by crying, anyway. The boys will be
+brave, of course, whatever happens. And the girls--surely they will
+remember that it was a girl who once saved France, and meet misfortune
+bravely, like our blessed Saint Jeanne d'Arc."
+
+The Cathedral organ had ceased to fill the great edifice with sweet and
+inspiring sounds. Instead, there now was only the muffled tread of
+marching feet, the rumble of heavy wheels, and the low, ominous beating
+of drums to break the stillness.
+
+Mother Meraut and the children waited obediently in the chapel,
+scarcely breathing in their suspense, while Father Varennes went
+tap-tapping up and down the aisles eagerly watching for the Abbe to
+reappear. At last he came. Mother Meraut, the Verger, and the children
+all crowded about him, waiting breathlessly for him to speak.
+
+The Abbe was pale, but his voice was firm. "I have been to the north
+tower," he said, "and there I could see for miles in every direction.
+Far away to the east and north are massed the hordes of the German
+Army; they are coming toward Rheims as a thunder-cloud comes rolling
+over the sky. Between us and them is our Army, but alas, their faces
+are turned this way. They are retreating before the German hosts!
+Already French troops are marching through Rheims; already the streets
+are filled with people who are fleeing from their homes for fear of the
+Boche. Unless God sends a miracle, our City is indeed doomed, for a
+time at least, to wear the German yoke."
+
+He paused, and the children burst into wild weeping. Mother Meraut
+hushed them with comforting words. "Do not cry, my darlings," she said.
+"God is not dead, and we shall yet live to see justice done and our
+dear land restored to us. The soldiers now in the streets are all our
+own brave defenders. We shall be able to go in safety, even though in
+sorrow, to our homes."
+
+"Come," said the Abbe, "there is no time to lose. Our Army will,
+without doubt, make a stand on the plains west of the City, and it will
+not be long before the Germans pass through. You must go to your homes
+as fast as possible. Henri, you remain here with your Jean, that you
+may meet any of the parents who come for their children. Tell them I
+have gone with them myself and will deliver each child safely at his
+own door."
+
+"I can take cart of my own," said Mother Meraut. "You need have no fear
+for us."
+
+"Very well," said the Abbe, and, calling the rest of the children about
+him, he marched them down the aisle and out into the street.
+
+Mother Meraut followed with Pierre and Pierrette. At the door they
+paused and stood for a moment under the great sculptured arches to
+survey the scene before them. The great square before the Cathedral was
+filled with people, some weeping, others standing about as if dazed by
+sorrow. Between the silent crowds which lined the sidewalks passed the
+soldiers, grim and with set faces, keeping time to the throbbing of the
+drums as they marched. Above the scene, in the center of the square,
+towered the beautiful statue of Jeanne d'Arc, mounted upon her charger
+and lifting her sword toward the sky.
+
+"Ah," murmured Mother Meraut to herself, "our blessed Maid still keeps
+guard above the City!" She lifted her clasped hands toward the statue.
+"Blessed Saint Jeanne," she prayed, "hear us in Paradise, and come once
+more to save our beautiful France!"
+
+Then, waving a farewell to the Verger and Jean, who had followed them
+to the door, she took her children by the hand and plunged with them
+into the sad and silent crowd.
+
+
+
+II. ON THE WAY HOME
+
+For some time after leaving the Cathedral, Mother Meraut and the Twins
+lingered in the streets, forgetful of everything but the retreating
+Army and the coming invasion. Everywhere there were crowds surging to
+and fro. Some were hastening to close their places of business and put
+up their shutters before the Germans should arrive. Some were hurrying
+through the streets carrying babies and bundles. Others were wheeling
+their few belongings upon barrows or in baby-carriages. Still others
+flew by on bicycles with packages of clothing fastened to the
+handle-bars; and there were many automobiles loaded to the brim with
+household goods and fleeing families.
+
+Doors were flung open and left swinging on their hinges as people
+escaped, scarcely looking behind them as they fled. These were refugees
+from Rheims itself. There were many others wearily plodding through the
+City, people who had come from Belgium and the border towns of France.
+Some who had come from farms drove pitiful cattle before them, and some
+journeyed in farm wagons, with babies and old people, chickens, dogs,
+and household goods mixed in a heap upon beds of straw. In all the City
+there was not a cheerful sight, and everywhere, above all other sounds,
+were heard the rumble of wheels, the sharp clap-clap of horses' hoofs
+upon the pavement, and the steady beat of marching feet.
+
+At last, weary and heartsick, the three wanderers turned into a side
+street and stepped into a little shop where food was sold. "We must
+have some supper," said Mother Meraut to the Twins, "Germans or no
+Germans! One cannot carry a stout heart above an empty stomach! And if
+it is to be our last meal in French Rheims, let us at least make it a
+good one!" Though there was a catch in her voice, she smiled almost
+gaily as she spoke. "Who knows?" she went on. "Perhaps after to-morrow
+we shall be able to get nothing but sauerkraut and sausage!"
+
+The shop was not far from the little home of the Merauts, and they
+often bought things of stout Madame Coudert, whose round face with its
+round spectacles rose above the counter like a full moon from behind a
+cloud. "Ah, mon amie," said Mother Meraut as she entered the shop, "it
+is good to see you sitting in your place and not running away like a
+hare before the hounds!"
+
+Madame Coudert shrugged her shoulders. "But of what use is it to run
+when one has no place to run to?" she demanded. "As for me, I stay by
+the shop and die at least respectably among my own cakes and pies. To
+run through the country and die at last in a ditch--it would not suit
+me at all!"
+
+"Bravo," cried Mother Meraut triumphantly. "Just my own idea! My
+children and I will remain in our home and take what comes, rather than
+leap from the frying-pan into the fire as so many are doing. If every
+one runs away, there will be no Rheims at all." Then to Pierre and
+Pierrette she said "Choose, each of you. What shall we buy for our
+supper?"
+
+Pierre pointed a grimy finger at a small cake with pink frosting.
+"That," he said briefly.
+
+His mother smiled. "Ah, Pierre, that sweet-tooth of yours!" she cried.
+"Like Marie Antoinette you think if one lacks bread one may eat cakes!
+And now it is Pierrette's turn; only be quick, ma mie, for it is
+already late."
+
+"Eggs," said Pierrette promptly, "for one of your savory omelets,
+mamma, and a bit of cheese."
+
+The purchases were quickly made, and, having said good-night to Madame
+Coudert, they hurried on to the little house in the Rue Charly where
+they lived. When they reached home, it was already quite dark. Mother
+Meraut hastened up the steps and unlocked the door, and in less time
+than it takes to tell it her bonnet was off, the fire was burning, and
+the omelet was cooking on the stove.
+
+Pierrette set the table. "I'm going to place father's chair too," she
+said to her mother. "He is no doubt thinking of us as we are of him,
+and it will make him stem nearer."
+
+Mother Meraut nodded her head without speaking, and wiped her eyes on
+her apron as she slid the omelet on to a hot plate. Then she seated
+herself opposite the empty chair and with a steady voice prayed for a
+blessing upon the food and upon the Armies of France.
+
+When they had finished supper, cleared it away, and put the kitchen in
+order, Mother Meraut pointed to the clock. "Voila!" she cried, "hours
+past your bedtime, and here you are still flapping about like two young
+owls! To bed with you as fast as you can go."
+
+"But, Mother," began Pierre.
+
+"Not a single 'but,'" answered his Mother, wagging her finger at him.
+"Va!"
+
+The children knew protest was useless, and in a few minutes they were
+snugly tucked away. Long after they were both sound asleep, their
+Mother sat with her head bowed upon the table, listening, listening to
+the distant sound of marching feet. At last, worn out with grief and
+anxiety, she too undressed, said her rosary, and, after a long look at
+her sleeping children, blew out the candle and crept into bed beside
+Pierrette.
+
+Silence and darkness settled down upon the little household, and, for a
+time at least, their sorrows were forgotten in the blessed oblivion of
+sleep.
+
+
+
+III. THE COMING OF THE GERMANS
+
+When the Twins opened their eyes the next morning, the first thing they
+saw was the sun shining in at the eastern window of the kitchen, and
+Mother Meraut bending over the fire. There was a smell of chocolate in
+the air, and on the table there were rolls and butter. Pierre yawned
+and rubbed his eyes. Pierrette sat up and tried to think what it was
+she was so unhappy about; sleep had, for the time being, swept the
+terrors of the night quite out of her mind. In an instant more the
+fearful truth rolled over her like a wave, and she sank back upon the
+pillow with a little moan.
+
+Her Mother heard and understood. She too had waked from sleep to
+sorrow, but she only cried out cheerfully, "Bonjour, my sleepy heads!
+Last night you did not want to go to your beds at all. This morning you
+wish not to leave them! Hop into your clothes as fast as you can, or we
+shall be late."
+
+"Late where?" asked Pierre.
+
+"To my work at the Cathedral, to be sure," answered Mother Meraut
+promptly. "Where else? Did you think the Germans would make me sit at
+home and cry for terror while my work waits? Whoever rules in Rheims,
+the Cathedral still stands and must be kept clean."
+
+It was wonderful how the dismal world brightened to Pierre and
+Pierrette as they heard their Mother's brave voice. They flew out of
+bed at once and were dressed in a twinkling.
+
+While they ate their breakfast, Pierre thought of a plan. "We ought to
+take a lot of food with us to-day," he said to his Mother. "There's no
+telling what may happen before night. Maybe we can't get home at all
+and shall have to sleep in the Cathedral."
+
+"Oh," shuddered Pierrette, "among all those tombs?"
+
+"There are worse places where one might sleep," said the Mother. "The
+dead are less to be feared than the living, and the Cathedral is the
+safest place in Rheims." She brought out a wicker basket and began to
+pack it with food as she talked. First she put in two pots of jam.
+"There," said she, "that's the jam Grandmother made from her
+gooseberries at the farm."
+
+She paused, struck by a new alarm. Her father and mother lived in a
+tiny village far west of Rheims. What if the Germans should succeed in
+getting so far as that? What would become of them? She shut her fears
+in her breast, saying nothing to the children, and went on filling the
+basket. "Here is a bit of cheese left from last night. I'll put that
+in, and a pat of butter," she said; "but we must stop at Madame
+Coudert's for more bread. You two little pigs have eaten every scrap
+there was in the house."
+
+"There are eggs left," suggested Pierrette.
+
+"So there are, ma mie," said her Mother. "We will boil them all and
+take them with us. There's a great deal of nourishment in eggs." She
+flew to get the saucepan, and while the eggs bubbled and boiled on the
+stove, she and the children set the little kitchen in order and got
+themselves ready for the street.
+
+It was after nine o'clock when at last Mother Meraut took the basket on
+her arm and gave Pierrette her knitting to carry, and the three started
+down the steps.
+
+"Everything looks just the same as it did yesterday," said Pierrette as
+they walked down the street. "There's that little raveled-out dog that
+always barks at Pierre, and there's Madame Coudert's cat asleep on the
+railing, just as she always is."
+
+"Yes," said Mother Meraut, with a sigh, "the cats and dogs are the
+same, it is only the people who are different!"
+
+They entered the shop and exchanged greetings with Madame Coudert. They
+had bought a long loaf of bread, and Mother Meraut was just opening her
+purse to pay for it, when suddenly a shot rang out. It was followed by
+the rattle of falling tiles. Another and another came, and soon there
+was a perfect rain of shot and shell.
+
+"It is the Germans knocking at the door of Rheims before they enter,"
+remarked Madame Coudert with grim humor. "I did not expect so much
+politeness!"
+
+Mother Meraut did not reply. For once her cheerful tongue found nothing
+comforting to say. Pierre clung to her arm, and Pierrette put her
+fingers in her ears and hid her face against her Mother's breast.
+
+For some time the deafening sounds continued. From the window they
+could see people running for shelter in every direction. A man came
+dashing down the street; dodging falling tiles as he ran, and burst
+into Madame Coudert's shop. He had just come from the Rue Colbert and
+had news to tell. "The Boches have sent an emissary to the Mayor to
+demand huge supplies of provisions from the City, and a great sum of
+money besides," he told them, as he gasped for breath. "They are
+shelling the champagne cellars and the public buildings of the City to
+scare us into giving them what they demand. The German Army will soon
+be here."
+
+In a few moments there was a lull in the roar of the guns, and then in
+the distance another sound was heard. It was a mighty song of triumph
+as the conquerors came marching into Rheims!
+
+"There won't be any more shooting for a while anyway," said the
+stranger, who had now recovered his breath. "They won't shell the City
+while it's full of their own men. I'm going to see them come in."
+
+All Pierre's fears vanished in an instant. "Come on," he cried, wild
+with excitement; "let us go too."
+
+"I'll not stir a foot from my shop," said Madame Coudert firmly. "I
+don't want to see the Germans, and if they want to see me, they can
+come where I am."
+
+But Pierre had not waited for a reply, from her or any one else. He was
+already running up the street.
+
+"Catch him, catch him," gasped Mother Meraut.
+
+Pierrette dashed after Pierre, and as she could run like the wind, she
+soon caught up with him and seized him by the skirt of his blouse.
+"Stop! stop!" she screamed. "Mother doesn't want you to go."
+
+But she might as well have tried to argue with a hurricane. Pierre
+danced up and down with rage, as Pierrette braced herself, and firmly
+anchored him by his blouse. "Leggo, leggo!" he shrieked. "I'm going, I
+tell you! I'm not afraid of any Germans alive."
+
+Just then, panting and breathless, Mother Meraut arrived upon the
+scene. While Pierrette held on to his blouse, she attached herself to
+his left ear. It had a very calming effect upon Pierre. He stopped
+tugging to get away lest he lose his ear.
+
+"Foolish boy," said his Mother, "see how much trouble you give me! You
+shall see the Germans, but you shall not run away from me. If we should
+get separated, God only knows whether we should ever find each other
+again."
+
+The music had grown louder and louder, and was now very near. "I'll
+stay with you, if you'll only go," pleaded Pierre, "but you aren't even
+moving."
+
+"Come, Pierrette," said his Mother, "take hold of his left arm. I will
+attend to his right; he might forget again. What he really needs is a
+bit and bridle!"
+
+The three moved up the street, Pierre chafing inwardly, but helpless in
+his Mother's grasp, and at the next crossing the great spectacle burst
+upon them. A whole regiment of cavalry was passing, singing at the top
+of their lungs, "Lieb' Vaterland, macht ruhig sein." The sun glistened
+on their helmets, and the clanking of swords and the jingling of spurs
+kept time with the swelling chorus. After the cavalry came soldiers on
+foot--miles of them.
+
+"Oh," murmured Pierrette, clinging to her Mother, "it's like a river of
+men!"
+
+Her Mother did not answer. Pierrette looked up into her face. The tears
+were streaming down her cheeks, but her head was proudly erect. She
+looked at the other French people about them. There were tears on many
+cheeks, but not a head was bowed. Pierre was glaring at the troops and
+muttering through his teeth: "Just you wait till I grow up! I'll make
+you pay for this, you pirates! I'll--"
+
+"Hush!" whispered Pierrette. "Suppose they should hear you!"
+
+"I don't care if they do! I wish they would!" raged Pierre. "I'm
+going--"
+
+But the German Army was destined not to suffer the consequences of
+Pierre's wrath. He did not even have a chance to tell Pierrette his
+plan for their destruction, for at this point his Mother, unable longer
+to endure the sight, dragged him forcibly from the scene. "They shall
+not parade their colors before me," she said firmly, "I will not stand
+still and look in silence upon my conquerors! If I could but face them
+with a gun, that would be different!"
+
+She led the children through a maze of small streets by a roundabout
+way to the Cathedral, and there they were met at the entrance by the
+Verger, who gazed at them with sad surprise. "You've been out in the
+street during the bombardment," he said reproachfully. "It's just like
+you, Antoinette."
+
+"Oh, but how was I to know it was coming?" cried Mother Meraut. "We
+left home before it began!"
+
+"It would have been just the same if you had known," scolded the
+Verger. "Germans or devils--it would make no difference to you! You
+have no fear in you."
+
+"You misjudge me," cried Mother Meraut; "but what good would it do to
+sit and quake in my own house? There is no safety anywhere, and here at
+least there is work to do."
+
+"You can go about your work as usual with the noise of guns ringing in
+your ears and the Germans marching through Rheims?" exclaimed the
+Verger.
+
+"Why not?" answered Mother Meraut, with spirit. "I guess our soldiers
+don't knock off work every time a gun goes off or a few Germans come in
+sight! It would be a shame if we could not follow their example!"
+
+"Antoinette, you are a wonderful woman. I have always said so,"
+declared the Verger solemnly. "You are as brave as a man!"
+
+"Pooh!" said Mother Meraut, mockingly. "As if the men, bless their
+hearts, were so much braver than women, anyway! Oh, la! la! the conceit
+of you!" She wagged a derisive finger at the Verger, and, calling the
+children, went to get her scrubbing-pail and brushes.
+
+All day long, while distant guns roared, she went about her daily
+tasks, keeping one spot of order and cleanliness in the midst of the
+confusion, disorder, and destruction of the invaded city. The Twins
+were busy, too; their Mother saw to that. They dusted chairs and placed
+them in rows; and at noon they found a corner where the light falling
+through one of the beautiful stained-glass windows made a spot of
+cheerful color in the gloom, and there they ate part of the lunch which
+they had packed in the wicker basket. During all the excitement of the
+morning they had not forgotten the lunch!
+
+When the day's work was done, they ventured out upon the streets in the
+gathering dusk. They found them full of German soldiers, drinking,
+swaggering, singing, and they saw many strange and terrifying sights in
+the havoc wrought by the first bombardment. As they passed the door of
+Madame Coudert's shop, they peeped in and saw her sitting stolidly
+behind the counter, knitting.
+
+"Oh," said Pierrette, "doesn't it seem like a year since we were here
+this morning?"
+
+Mother Meraut called out a cheerful greeting to Madame Coudert. "Still
+in your place, I see," she said.
+
+"Like the Pyramids," came the calm answer; and, cheered by her
+fortitude, they hurried on their way to the little house in the Rue
+Charly.
+
+Mother Meraut sighed with relief as she unlocked the door. "Everything
+just as we left it," she said. "We at least shall have one more night
+in our own home." Then she drew the children into the shelter of the
+dear, familiar roof and locked the door from the inside.
+
+
+
+IV. THE RETURN OF THE FRENCH
+
+One unhappy day followed upon another for the inhabitants of Rheims.
+Each night they went to bed in terror; each morning they rose to face
+new trials and dangers. Yet their spirit did not fail. Each day the
+roar of guns toward the west grew fainter and more distant, and the
+people knew with sinking hearts that the Germans had driven the Armies
+of France farther and farther back toward Paris. Each day the conduct
+of the conquerors grew more arrogant. "Our Emperor will soon be in
+Paris!" they said.
+
+On the public monuments and in the squares of the City appeared German
+proclamations printed upon green paper, warning the people of Rheims of
+terrible punishments which would befall them if they in any way
+rebelled against the will of the victorious invaders. It was only with
+great difficulty that Pierre could be dragged by these signs. Each
+morning as they went to the Cathedral they had to pass several of them,
+and Pierrette and her Mother soon learned to take precautions against
+an outburst of rage which might bring down upon his rash head the wrath
+of the enemy. The eye of the Germans seemed everywhere. One of these
+posters was fixed to the window of Madame Coudert's shop. On the
+morning that it first appeared, Pierre in passing made a dash for the
+gutter, picked up a handful of mud, and threw it squarely into the
+middle of the poster.
+
+Madame Coudert saw him, and winked solemnly, but did not move. His
+Mother instantly collared Pierre, and led him up a side street just in
+time to escape the clutches of a German officer who had seen him a
+block away, and came on the run after him. When, puffing and blowing,
+he at last reached the shop there was no one in sight except Madame
+Coudert behind her counter. The enraged officer pointed out the insult
+that had been offered his country.
+
+Madame Coudert looked surprised and concerned. She followed the officer
+to the door, and gazed at the disfigured poster. "I will clean it at
+once," she said obligingly. She got out soap and a brush immediately,
+and when she had finished, her work had been so thoroughly done that
+not a spot of mud was left, but unfortunately the center of the poster
+was rubbed through and quite illegible, and the rest of it was all
+streaked and stained! "Will that do?" she asked the officer, looking at
+him with round, innocent eyes and so evident a desire to please that,
+in spite of an uneasy suspicion, he merely grunted and went his way.
+
+The first time they came into the shop after this episode Madame
+Coudert gave Pierre a cake with pink frosting on it.
+
+In this way a whole week dragged itself by, and, on the morning of the
+eighth day after the German entry into Rheims, Mother Meraut and the
+Twins left home earlier than usual in order to reach the Cathedral
+before the bombardment, which they had learned daily to expect, should
+begin. They found Madame Coudert in front of her shop; washing the
+window. A large corner of the poster was now gone. "It rained last
+night," she said to Mother Meraut, "and the green color ran down on my
+window. I had to wash it, and accidentally I rubbed off a corner of the
+poster. It can't be very good paper." She looked solemnly at Pierre.
+"Too bad, isn't it?" she said, and closed one eye behind her round
+spectacles.
+
+"The weather seems to have damaged a good many of them, I notice,"
+answered Mother Meraut, with just a suspicion of a smile. "The weather
+has been quite pleasant too,--strange!"
+
+"Weather--nothing!" said Pierre, scornfully. "I'll bet you that--"
+
+It seemed as if Pierre was always being interrupted at just the most
+exciting moment of his remarks, but this time he interrupted himself.
+"What's that?" he said, stopping short. Madame Coudert, his Mother, and
+Pierrette, all stood perfectly still, their eyes wide, their lips
+parted, listening, listening! They heard cannon-shots, then
+music--toward the west--coming nearer--nearer.
+
+"It is--oh, it is the Marseillaise!" shrieked Pierrette.
+
+Mother Meraut and the Twins ran toward the sound. Now shouts were
+heard--joyous shouts--from French throats! Never had they heard such a
+sound! People came tumbling out of their houses, some not fully
+dressed--but who cared? The French were returning victorious from the
+battle of the Marne. They were coming again into Rheims, driving the
+Germans before them! Ah, but when the red trousers actually appeared in
+the streets the populace went mad with joy! They embraced the soldiers;
+they marched beside them with tears streaming down their cheeks,
+singing "March on! March on!" as though they would split their throats.
+Pierre and Pierrette marched and sang with the others, their Mother
+close beside them.
+
+On and on came the singing, joy-maddened people, right past Madame
+Coudert's shop, and there, standing on the curb, with a tray in her
+arms piled high with goodies, was Madame Coudert herself. The green
+poster was already torn in shreds and lying in the gutter. It even
+looked as if some one had stamped on it, and above her door waved the
+tricolor of France! "Come here," she cried to Pierre and Pierrette,
+"Quick! Hand these out to the soldiers as long as there's one left!"
+
+Pierre seized a pink frosted cake, and ran with it to a Captain.
+Pierrette gave a sugar roll to the first soldier she could reach; other
+hands helped. Mother Meraut ran into the shop and brought out more
+cakes. Shop-keepers all along the way followed Madame Coudert's
+example, and soon people everywhere were bringing offerings of candy,
+chocolate, and cigars to the soldiers, and the streets suddenly
+blossomed with blue, white, and red flags. At the corner, near Madame
+Coudert's shop, Pierre had the joy of seeing the German officer who had
+tried to catch him surrender to the Captain who had taken the pink
+cake. Oh, what a moment that was for Pierre! He sprang into the gutter
+as the German passed and savagely jumped up and down upon the fragments
+of the green poster! It was a matter for bitter regret to him long
+after that the German did not seem to notice him.
+
+The whole morning passed in such joy and excitement that it was nearly
+noon when at last Mother Meraut, beaming with happiness, and
+accompanied by a radiant Pierre and Pierrette, entered the Cathedral.
+They were astonished to find it no longer the silent and dim sanctuary
+to which they were accustomed. The Abbe' was there, and the Verger,
+looking quite distracted, was directing a group of men in moving the
+praying-chairs from the western end of the Cathedral, and the space
+where they had been was already covered with heaps of straw. Under the
+great choir at the western end there were piles of broken glass. Part
+of the wonderful rose window had been shattered by a shell, and lay in
+a million fragments on the stone floor.
+
+Mother Meraut clasped her hands in dismay. "What does it all mean?" she
+demanded of the Verger, as he went tap-tapping by after the workmen.
+"What do you wish me to do?"
+
+"Gather up every fragment of glass," said the Verger briefly, "and put
+them in a safe place. The wounded are on the way, and are to be housed
+in the Cathedral. We must be ready for them. There is no time to lose."
+
+As Mother Meraut flew to carry out his directions, the Abbe' beckoned
+to the children. "Can you be trusted to do an errand for me?" he said.
+
+"Yes, Your Reverence," answered Pierre.
+
+"Very well," said the Abbe. "I want you to get for the towers two Red
+Cross flags. They must be the largest size, and we must have them soon.
+The wounded may arrive at any moment now, and the Red Cross will
+protect the Cathedral from shell-fire, for not even Germans would
+destroy a hospital." He gave them careful directions, and a note for
+the shop-keeper. "Now run along, both of you," he said. "Tell your
+Mother where you are going, and that I sent you."
+
+In two minutes the Twins were on their way, but it was more than an
+hour before they got back. First, the shop-keeper was out, and when he
+got back it took him some time to find large enough flags. At last,
+however, they returned, each carrying one done up in a paper parcel.
+
+"Here are the flags," Pierre announced proudly to the Verger, who met
+them at the entrance.
+
+"Yes," said Father Varennes, "here they are, and here you are. Come in,
+your Mother wants to see you." The children followed him through the
+door, and although they had been told that the wounded were to be
+brought to the Cathedral, they were not prepared for the sight that met
+their eyes as they entered. On the heaps of straw lay tossing moaning
+men, in the gray uniforms of the German army.
+
+Pierrette seized Pierre's hand. "Oh," she shuddered, "I didn't think
+they'd be Germans!"
+
+"They aren't--all of them," said the Verger, a little huskily. "Some of
+them are French. The Church shelters them all."
+
+Doctors in white aprons were already in attendance upon the wounded,
+and nurses with red crosses on the sleeves of their white uniforms
+flitted silently back and forth on errands of mercy. The two children,
+clinging to each other and gazing fearfully about them, followed the
+Verger down the aisle. As they passed a heap of straw upon which a
+wounded German lay, something bright rolled from it to them and dropped
+at Pierrette's feet. Pierre sprang to pick it up. It was a German
+helmet. Across the front of it were letters. Pierre spelled them--"Gott
+mit uns." "What does that mean?" he asked the Verger.
+
+"God with us," snorted Father Varennes. "I suppose the poor wretches
+actually believe He is."
+
+The Abbe' was waiting for them in the aisle, and he took from them the
+flags and the helmet. He had heard the Verger's reply, and guessed what
+the question must have been. "My boy," he said, laying his hand gently
+upon Pierre's head for an instant, "God is not far from any of his
+children. It is they who, through sin, separate themselves from Him!
+But never mind theology now. Your Mother is waiting for you. I will
+take you to her."
+
+The Twins thought it strange that the Abbe' should himself guide them
+to their Mother. They followed his broad back and swinging black
+soutane to the farthest corner of the hospital space. There, beside a
+mound of straw upon which was stretched a wounded soldier in French
+uniform, knelt their Mother, and the Twins, looking down, met the eyes
+of their own Father gazing up at them.
+
+"Gently! my dears, gently!" cautioned their Mother, as the children
+fell upon their knees beside her in an agony of tears. "Don't cry! he
+is wounded, to be sure, but he will get well, though he can never again
+fight for France. We shall see him every day, and by and by he will be
+at home again with us."
+
+Too stunned for speech, the Twins only kissed the blood-stained hands,
+and then their Mother led them away. Under the western arches she
+kissed them good-by. "Go now to Madame Coudert," she said, "and tell
+her your Father is here, and that I shall stay in the Cathedral. Ask
+her to take care of you for the night. In the morning, if it is quiet,
+come again to me."
+
+Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed. They found Madame Coudert
+beaming above her empty counter. "Bless you," she cried, when they gave
+her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay! There are no pink
+cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once
+more in Rheims! And to think you have your Father back again! Surely
+this is a happy day for you, even though he came back with a wound!"
+
+
+
+V. AT MADAME COUDERT'S
+
+The joy of the people of Rheims was short-lived. The Germans had been
+driven out, it is true, but they had gone only a short distance to the
+east, and there, upon the banks of the Aisne, had securely entrenched
+themselves, venting their rage upon the City by daily bombardments.
+From ten until two nearly every day the inhabitants of the stricken
+City for the most part sat in their cellars listening to the whistling
+of shells and the crash of falling timbers and tiles. When the noise
+ceased, they returned to the light and air once more and looked about
+to see the extent of the damage done. Dur ing the rest of the day they
+went about their routine as usual, hoping against hope that the French
+Armies, which were now between Rheims and the enemy, would be able not
+only to defend the City but to drive the Germans still farther toward
+the Rhine.
+
+When the Twins reached the Cathedral the morning after the return of
+the French troops, they found their Father resting after an operation
+which had removed from his leg a piece of shell, which had nearly cost
+his life and would make him permanently lame. Their Mother met them as
+they came in. She was pale but smiling. "What a joy to see you!" she
+cried, as she pressed them to her breast. "You may take one look at
+your Father and throw him a kiss; then you must go back to Madame
+Coudert."
+
+"Mayn't we stay with you and help take care of Father?" begged Pierre.
+
+"No," answered his Mother firmly, "the sights here are not for young
+eyes. I can wait upon the nurses and keep things clean: My place is
+here for the present, but tomorrow, if all goes well, we will sleep
+once more in our own little home, if it is still standing. In the mean
+time, be good children, and mind Madame Coudert. Now run along before
+the shells begin to fall."
+
+The Twins obediently trotted away, and regained the little shop just as
+the clock struck ten. The day seemed long to them, for their thoughts
+were with their parents, but Madame Coudert was so cheerful herself;
+and kept them so busy they had no time to mope. Pierrette helped make
+the little cakes, and Pierre scraped the remains of the icing from the
+mixing-bowl and ate it lest any be wasted. In some ways Pierre was a
+very thrifty boy. Then, too, Madame Coudert allowed them to stand
+behind the counter and help wait upon the customers. Moreover, there
+was Fifine, the cat, for Pierrette to play with, and the little
+raveled-out dog lived only two doors below; so they did not lack for
+entertainment.
+
+The next evening their Mother called for them, as she had promised to
+do, and they once more had supper and slept beneath their own roof. For
+three days they followed this routine, going with their Mother to
+Madame Coudert's, where they spent the day, returning at night. On the
+fourth day they were again allowed to visit the Cathedral and to see
+their Father. "It will do him good to be with his children," the doctor
+had said, and so, while Mother Meraut attended to her duties, Pierre
+and Pierrette sat on each side of the straw bed where he lay, proud and
+responsible to be left in charge of the patient.
+
+Pierre was bursting with curiosity to know about the Battle of the
+Marne. Not another boy of his acquaintance had a wounded father, and
+though his opportunities for seeing his friends had been few, he had
+already done a good deal of boasting; and was pointed out by other boys
+on the street as a person of special distinction. "Tell me about the
+battle, Father," he begged.
+
+His Father lifted his tired eyes to a statue of Jeanne d'Arc, which was
+in plain sight from where he lay. "Well, my boy," he said after a
+pause, "there is much I should not wish you to know, but this I will
+tell you. On the day the battle turned, the watchword of the Army was
+Jeanne d'Arc. Our soldiers sprang to the attack with her name upon
+their lips, and some have sworn to me that they saw her ride before us
+into battle on her white charger, carrying in her hand the very banner
+which you see there upon the altar. I do not know whether or not it is
+true, but certainly the victory was with us, and I for my part find it
+easy to be lieve that our blessed Saint Jeanne has not forgotten
+France." He raised himself a little on his elbow and pointed to a place
+not far distant in the nave. "There," he said, "is the very spot upon
+which she knelt while her king was being crowned here in our Cathedral
+after she had driven our enemies from French soil and had given him his
+throne! The happiest moments of her life were here! What place should
+be revisited by her pure spirit if not Rheims? My children, I wish you
+every day to pray that she may come again to deliver France!" Exhausted
+by emotion and by the effort he had made, he sank back upon the straw
+and closed his eyes.
+
+Pierrette took his hand. "Dear papa," she said, "every day we will pray
+to her as you say, and give thanks to the Bon Dieu that your life has
+been spared to us. If only your poor leg--" she stopped, overcome by
+tears.
+
+Her Father opened his eyes and smiled. "Ah, little one, what is a leg
+more or less;--or a life either for that matter,--when our France is in
+danger?" he said. "Is it not so, Pierre?"
+
+Pierre gulped. "France can have all of my legs!" he cried, in a burst
+of patriotism. "And when I'm big enough, I'm going to dig a hole in the
+ground and put in millions of tons of dynamite and blow up the whole of
+Germany! That's what I'm going to do!"
+
+His Father's eyes twinkled. "It seems a long while to wait," he said,
+"because now you are only nine, you see."
+
+Just then their Mother came toward the little group. "Magpies!" she
+cried, "it seems that you are talking my patient to death. Run along
+now to Madame Coudert." At the Cathedral entrance she kissed them, and
+then stood for a moment to watch them as they hurried down the street
+out of sight.
+
+
+
+VI. THE BURNING OF THE CATHEDRAL
+
+On the evening of the 18th of September, Mother Meraut was late in
+leaving the Cathedral, and it was nearly dark when she reached Madame
+Coudert's door. Pierrette sat on the steps waiting for her, with
+Fifine, the cat, in her arms. Madame Coudert was knitting, as usual,
+and Pierre was trying to teach the little raveled-out dog to stand on
+his hind legs. As their Mother appeared, the children sprang to meet
+her.
+
+"How is Father?" cried Pierrette. It was always the first question when
+they saw her.
+
+"Better," answered her Mother. "In another week or two the doctor
+thinks he can be moved."
+
+She was about to enter the shop to speak to Madame Coudert, when the
+air was suddenly rent by a fearful roar of sound. She clasped her
+children in her arms. "It's like thunder," she said, patting them
+soothingly; "if you hear the roar you know at once that you aren't
+killed. Come, we must hurry to the cellar." But before she could take a
+single step in that direction there was another terrible explosion.
+
+"Look, oh look!" screamed Pierre, pointing to the Cathedral towers,
+which were visible from where they stood; "they are shelling the
+Cathedral!"
+
+For an instant they stood as if rooted to the spot. Was it possible the
+Germans would shell the place where their own wounded lay--a place
+protected by the cross? They saw the scaffolding about one of the
+towers burst suddenly into flames. In another moment the fire had
+caught and devoured the Red Cross flag itself and then sprang like a
+thing possessed to the roof. An instant more, and that too was burning.
+
+"Father!" screamed Pierre, and before any one could stop him or even
+say a word, the boy was far up the street, running like a deer toward
+the Cathedral. Pierrette was but a few steps behind him.
+
+When she saw her children rushing madly into such danger, Mother
+Meraut's exhausted body gave way beneath the demands of her spirit. If
+Madame Coudert had not caught her, she would have sunk down upon the
+step. It was only for an instant, but in that instant the children had
+passed out of sight. Not stopping even to close her door, Madame
+Coudert seized Mother Meraut's hand, and together the two women ran
+after them. But they could not hope to rival the speed of fleet young
+feet, and when they reached the Cathedral square the flames were
+already roaring upward into the very sky. The streets were crowded by
+this time, and their best speed brought them to the square ten minutes
+after the children had reached the burning Cathedral, and, heedless of
+danger, had dashed in and to the corner where their helpless Father lay.
+
+The place was swarming with doctors and nurses working frantically to
+move the wounded. The Abbe' was there, and the Archbishop also. Already
+the straw had caught fire in several places from falling brands. "Out
+through the north transept," shouted the Abbe.
+
+Pierre and Pierrette knew well what they had come to do. For them there
+was but one person in the Cathedral, and that person was their Father.
+They had but one purpose--to get him out. Young as they were, they were
+already well used to danger, and it scarcely occurred to them that they
+were risking their lives. Certainly they were not afraid. When they
+reached their Father's side, they found him vainly struggling to rise.
+
+"Here we are, Father," shouted Pierre: "Lean on us!" He flew to one
+side; Pierrette was already struggling to lift him on the other. As his
+bed was the one farthest from the spot where the fire first appeared,
+the doctors and nurses had sought to rescue those in greatest danger,
+and so the children for the time being were alone in their effort to
+save him.
+
+The flames were now leaping through the Cathedral aisles, devouring the
+straw beds as if they were tinder. In vain Father Meraut ordered them
+to leave him. For once his children refused to obey. Somehow they got
+him to his feet, and he, for their sakes making a superhuman effort,
+succeeded in staggering between them, using their lithe young bodies as
+crutches. How they reached the door of the north transept they never
+knew, but reach it they did, before the burning flames. And there a new
+terror appeared.
+
+The people of Rheims, infuriated by the long abuse which they had
+suffered, stood with guns pointed at the wounded and helpless Germans
+whom the doctors and nurses had succeeded in getting so far on the way
+to safety. Above the roar of flames rose the roar of angry voices. "It
+is the Germans who burn our Cathedral. Let them die with it," shouted
+one.
+
+Between the helpless Germans and the angry mob; facing their guns,
+towered the figures of the Abby and the Archbishop! "If you kill them,
+you must first kill us," cried the Archbishop. Kill the Archbishop and
+the Abbe'! Unthinkable! The guns were immediately lowered, and the work
+of rescue went on.
+
+Out of the north door crept Father Meraut, supported by his brave
+children. "Bravo! Bravo!" shouted the crowd, and then hands that would
+have killed Germans willingly, were stretched in instant sympathy and
+helpfulness to the wounded French soldier and his brave children. Two
+men made a chair of their arms, and Father Meraut was carried in safety
+to the square before the Cathedral, Pierre and Pierrette following
+close behind. At the foot of the statue of Jeanne d'Arc they stopped to
+rest and change hands, and there, frantic with joy, Mother Meraut found
+them.
+
+"A soldier of France--wounded at the Marne!" shouted the crowd, and if
+he had been able to endure it, they would have borne him upon their
+grateful shoulders. As it was, he was carried in no less grateful arms
+clear to Madame Coudert's door, and there, lying upon an improvised
+stretcher, and attended by his wife and children, he rested from his
+journey, while Madame Coudert ran to prepare a cup of coffee for a
+stimulant. From Madame Coudert's door they watched the further
+destruction of the beautiful Cathedral which Mother Meraut had so often
+called the "safest place in Rheims." As it burned, a wonderful thing
+happened. High above the glowing roof there suddenly flamed the blue
+fleur-de-lis of France!
+
+"See! See!" cried Mother Meraut. "A Miracle! The Lily of France! Oh,
+surely it is a sign sent by the Bon Dieu to keep us from despair!"
+
+"It is only the gas from an exploding shell, bursting in blue flame,"
+said her husband. "Yet--who knows?--it may also be a true promise that
+France shall rise in beauty from its ruins."
+
+
+
+VII. HOME AGAIN
+
+The next day, they were able to move Father Meraut to his own home. In
+spite of the excitement and strain, he seemed but little the worse for
+his experience, and the happiness of being again with his family quite
+offset the effect of his dangerous journey. Mother Meraut was a famous
+nurse, and when he was safely installed in a bed in a corner of the
+room which was their living-room and kitchen in one, she was able to
+give him her best care. There he lay, following her with his eyes as
+she made good things for him to eat or carried on the regular
+activities of her home. Pierre and Pierrette sat beside his bed and
+talked to him, or, better still, got him to tell them stories of the
+things that had happened during his brief stay in the Army. Pierre
+brought the little raveled-out dog, with which he was now on the
+friendliest terms, to see him, and Madame Coudert also came to call now
+and then, bringing a cake or some other dainty to the invalid.
+
+If only the Germans had gone from their trenches on the Aisne, they and
+every one else in Rheims would have been quite comfortable, but alas!
+this was not to be. The Germans stayed where they were, and each day
+sent a new rain of shells upon the unfortunate City. The inhabitants
+grew accustomed to it, as one grows used to thundershowers in April.
+"Hello! it's beginning to sprinkle," they would say when a shell burst,
+spattering mud and dirt upon the passers-by. Signs appeared upon the
+street, "Safe Cellars Here," and when the bombardment began, people
+would dash for the nearest shelter and wait until the storm was over.
+
+Pierre and Pierrette played out of doors every day, though they did not
+go far from their home, and had no one but each other to play with.
+Pierrette made a play-house in one corner of the court. Here in a
+little box she kept a store of broken dishes, and here she sat long
+hours with her doll Jacqueline. Sometimes Pierre, having no better
+occupation, played with her. He even took a gingerly interest in
+Jacqueline, although he would not for the world have let any of the
+boys know of such a weakness.
+
+When the shells began to fall, they would leave their corner and run
+quickly to the cellar. As Father Meraut could not go up or down, his
+wife stayed in the kitchen beside him. In this way several weary weeks
+went by. Mother Meraut went no more to the Cathedral. There was nothing
+there that she could do. The great, beautiful church which had been the
+very soul of Rheims and the pride of France was now nothing but a
+ruined shell, its wonderful windows broken, its roof gone, its very
+walls of stone so burned that they crumbled to pieces at a touch. Even
+the great bronze bells had been melted in the flames and had fallen in
+molten drops, like tears of grief, into the wreckage below. All the
+beautiful treasures--the tapestries, wrought by the hands of queens,
+and even the sacred banner of Jeanne d'Arc itself--had been destroyed.
+
+Mother Meraut knew, but she did not tell her children, that precious
+lives had also been lost, and that buried somewhere in the ruins were
+the bodies of doctors and nurses who had given their own in trying to
+save the lives of others, and of brave citizens of Rheims who had
+fallen in an attempt to save the precious relics carefully treasured
+there. Neither did she tell them that little Jean, the Verger's son,
+was one of that heroic band. These sorrows she bore in her own breast,
+but she never passed near the Cathedral after that terrible night.
+Sometimes, when a necessary errand took her to that part of the City,
+she would pause at a distance to look long at the statue of Jeanne
+d'Arc, standing unharmed in the midst of the destruction about her
+still lifting her sword to the sky. In all the rain of shells which had
+fallen upon the City not one had yet touched the statue. Only the tip
+of the sword had been broken off. It comforted Mother Meraut to see it
+standing so strangely safe in the midst of such desolation. "It
+stands," she thought, "even as her pure spirit stood safe amidst the
+flames of her martyrdom. But I cannot, like her, pray for my enemies
+while I burn in the fires they have kindled."
+
+There was yet another burden which she carried safely hidden in her
+heart. She had not heard from her father and mother since the Battle of
+the Marne. That the Germans had passed through the village where they
+lived she knew, but what destruction they had wrought she could only
+guess. It was impossible for her at that time to go to them; so she
+waited in silence, hoping that some time good news might come. The slow
+weeks lengthened into months, and at last Father Meraut was strong
+enough to get about on a crutch like Father Varennes. It was a great
+day when first he was able to hobble down the steps and out upon the
+street, leaning on Mother Meraut's arm on one side, and his crutch upon
+the other, with Pierre and Pierrette marching before him like a guard
+of honor.
+
+It was now cold weather; winter had set in, and life became more
+difficult as food grew scarce and there was not enough fuel to heat the
+houses. School should have begun in October, but school-buildings had
+not been spared in the bombardment, and it was dangerous to permit
+children to stay in them. At last, however, a new way was found to
+cheat the enemy of its prey. Schools were opened in the great champagne
+cellars of Rheims, and Pierre and Pierrette were among the first
+scholars enrolled. Every day after that they hastened through the
+streets before the usual hour of the bombardment, went down into one of
+the great tunnels cut in chalk, and there, in rooms deep underground,
+carried on their studies. It was a strange school, but it was safer
+than their home, even though there was danger in going back and forth
+in the streets. By spring the children of Rheims had lived so much in
+cellars that they were as pale as potato-sprouts.
+
+Mother Meraut watched her two with deepening anxiety. Then, one day in
+the spring, a corner of their own roof was blown off by a shell. No one
+was hurt, but when a few moments later a second explosion blew a cat
+through the hole and dropped it into the soup, Mother Meraut's
+endurance gave way.
+
+It was the last straw! She put the cat out, yowling but unharmed, and
+silently cleared away the debris. Then, when the bombardment was over,
+she put on her bonnet and went out. She came back an hour later, to
+find the Twins sitting, one on each side of their Father, holding his
+hands, and all three the picture of despair. Mother Meraut stood before
+them, her eyes flashing, her cheeks burning a deep red, and this is
+what she said: "I will not live like this another day. Life in Rheims
+is no longer possible. I will not stay here to be killed by inches. I
+have made arrangements to get a little row-boat, and to-morrow morning
+we will take such things as we can carry and leave this place. Whatever
+may happen to us elsewhere, it cannot be worse than what is happening
+here, and it may possibly be better."
+
+Her husband and children looked at her in amazement. She did not ask
+their opinion about the matter, but promptly began the necessary
+preparations and told them what to do. Clothing was brought to Father
+Meraut to be packed in compact bundles and tied up with string. Then
+blankets were made into another bundle; a third held a frying-pan, a
+coffee-pot, and a kettle, with a few knives, forks, and spoons, while a
+fourth contained food. The Twins were sent to say good-by to Madame
+Coudert, and to give her a key to the door, and then all the rest of
+their household goods were packed away as carefully as time permitted,
+in the cellar.
+
+Mother Meraut put the Twins to bed early, but she herself remained at
+work most of the night; yet when morning came and the children woke,
+she was up and neatly dressed, and had their breakfast ready. She did
+not linger over their sad departure, nor did she shed a tear as they
+left the little house which had been their happy home. Instead, she
+locked the door after them with a snap, put the key in her pocket, and
+walked down the steps with the grim determination of a soldier going
+into battle, carrying a big bundle under each arm.
+
+
+
+VIII. REFUGEES
+
+The Twins and their Father followed the resolute figure of Mother
+Meraut down the street, not knowing at all where she was leading them,
+but with implicit confidence that she knew what she was about. She was
+carrying the heaviest bundles, and the Twins carried the rest between
+them, packed in a clothes-basket. On her other arm Pierrette bore her
+dearly loved Jacqueline. Father Meraut could carry nothing but such
+small articles as could be put in his pockets, but it was joy enough
+that he could carry himself, and it was quite wonderful to see how
+speedily he got over the ground with his crutch.
+
+Not far from their house in the Rue Charly ran the River Vesle, which
+flows through Rheims, and as the Merauts knew well a man whose business
+it was to let boats to pleasure parties in summer, the children were
+not surprised to see their Mother walk down the street toward the
+little wharf where his boats were kept. He was waiting to receive them,
+and, drawn up to the water's edge was a red and white row-boat, with
+the name "The Ark" painted upon her prow. Mother Meraut smiled when she
+saw the name. "If we only had the animals to go in two by two, we
+should be just like Noah and his family, shouldn't we?" she said, as
+she put the bundles in the stern.
+
+In a few moments they were all seated in the boat, with their few
+belongings carefully balanced, and Jacqueline safely reposing in
+Pierrette's lap. The boatman pushed them away from the pier. "Au
+revoir," called Mother Meraut as the boat slid into the stream. "We
+will come back again when the Germans are gone, and in some way I shall
+have a chance to send your boat to you, I know. Meanwhile we will take
+good care of it."
+
+"There will be few pleasure-seekers on the Vesle this summer," answered
+the boat-man, "and the Ark will be safer with you than rotting at the
+pier, let alone the chance of its being blown up by a shell. I'm glad
+you've got her, and glad you are going away from Rheims. It will be
+easy pulling, for you're going down-stream, and about all you'll have
+to do is to keep her headed right. Au revoir, and good luck." He stood
+on the pier looking after them and waving his hat until they were well
+out in the middle of the stream.
+
+Father Meraut had the oars, and, as his arms had not been injured, he
+was able to guide the boat without fatigue, and soon the current had
+carried them through the City and out into the open country which lay
+beyond. Mother Meraut sat in the prow, looking back toward the
+Cathedral she had so loved, until the blackened towers were hidden from
+view by trees along the riverbank. They had started early in order to
+be well out of Rheims before the daily bombardment should begin.
+
+Spring was already in the air, and as they drifted along they heard the
+skylarks singing in the fields. The trees were turning green, and there
+were blossoms on the apple trees. The wild flowers along the riverbank
+were already humming with bees, and the whole scene seemed so peaceful
+and quiet after all they had endured in Rheims, that even the
+shell-holes left in the fields which had been fought over in the autumn
+and the crosses marking the graves of fallen soldiers did not sadden
+them.
+
+Mother Meraut sat for a long time silent, then heaved a deep sigh of
+relief. "I feel like Lot's wife looking back upon Sodom and Gomorrah,"
+she said. Suddenly her eyes filled with tears and she kissed her
+finger-tips and blew the kiss toward Rheims. "Farewell, my beautiful
+City!" she cried. "It is not for your sins we must leave you! And some
+happy day we shall return."
+
+There was a report, and a puff of smoke far away over the City, then
+the sound of a distant explosion. The daily bombardment had begun!
+
+"Your friends are firing a farewell salute," said Father Meraut.
+
+All the morning they slipped quietly along between greening banks,
+carried by the current farther and farther down-stream. At noon they
+drew the boat ashore beneath some willow trees, where they ate their
+lunch, and then spent an hour in such rest as they had not had for many
+weary months.
+
+It was then, and not until then, that Father Meraut ventured to ask
+his wife her plans. "My dear," he said, as he stretched himself out in
+a sunny spot and put his head in Pierrette's lap, "I have great
+confidence in you, and will follow you willingly anywhere, but I should
+really like to know where we are going."
+
+Mother Meraut looked at him in surprise. "Why, haven't I told you?" she
+said "My mind has been so full of it I can't believe you didn't know
+that we are going to my father's, if we can get there! You know their
+village is on a little stream which flows into the Aisne some distance
+beyond its junction with the Vesle. We could drift down to the place
+where the two rivers join, and go on from there to the little stream
+which flows past Fontanelle. Then we could row up-stream to the
+village."
+
+"It's as plain as day, now you tell it," answered her husband, "and a
+very good plan, too."
+
+"You see," said Mother Meraut, as she packed away the remains of the
+lunch, "I haven't heard a word from them all winter. I don't know
+whether they are dead or alive. I haven't said anything about it,
+because you were so ill and there were so many other worries, but this
+plan has been in my mind all the time. What we shall do when we get to
+Fontanelle I do not know, but we shall be no worse off than other
+refugees, and at any rate we shall not be under shell-fire every day."
+
+"If we can't find any place to stay there, why can't we go on and on
+down the river, until we get clear to the sea," said Pierre with
+enthusiasm.
+
+"It's just like being gypsies, isn't it?" added Pierrette.
+
+"So far as I can see," said Mother Meraut, "we've got to go on and on!
+Certainly we can't go back."
+
+"No, we can't go back," echoed her husband, with a sigh.
+
+All the pleasant afternoon they drifted peacefully along, and nightfall
+found them in open country. It began to grow colder as darkness came
+on. "We shall need all our blankets if we are to sleep in the fields,"
+said Mother Meraut at last. "It's time for supper and bed, anyway.
+Let's go ashore."
+
+"We'll build a fire on the bank and cook our supper there," said her
+husband.
+
+"What is there, Mother, that we can cook?"
+
+"There are eggs to fry, and potatoes to roast in the ashes," she
+answered, "and coffee besides."
+
+"I am as hungry as a wolf," said Pierrette.
+
+"I'm as hungry as two wolves," said Pierre.
+
+They found a landing-place, and the Ark was drawn ashore. Pierre and
+Pierrette ran at once to gather sticks and leaves. These they brought
+to their Father, and soon a cheerful fire flamed red against the
+shadows. Then the smell of coffee floated out upon the evening air, and
+the sputter of frying eggs gave further promise to their hungry
+stomachs.
+
+Before they had finished their supper the stars were winking down at
+them, and over the brow of a distant hill rose a slender crescent moon.
+Pierrette saw it first. "Oh," she cried, "the new moon! And I saw it
+over my right shoulder, too! We are sure to have wonderful luck this
+month."
+
+Pierre shut his eyes. "Which way is it?" he cried. Pierrette turned him
+carefully about so that he too might see it over his right shoulder,
+and then, this ceremony completed, they washed the dishes and helped
+pack the things carefully away in the clothes-basket once more.
+
+They slept that night under the edge of a straw-stack in the meadow
+near the river, and though they were homeless wanderers without a roof
+to cover them, they slept well, and awakened next morning to the music
+of bird-songs instead of to the sound of guns and the whistling of
+shells.
+
+
+
+IX. THE FOREIGN LEGION
+
+Fortunately for our pilgrims the weather remained clear and unusually
+warm for the season of year, and they were able to continue their
+journey the following day in comfort. That night they slept in a
+cowshed, where no cows had been since the Germans passed through so
+many months before, and on the morning of the third day they reached
+the large market town which marked the junction of the little river
+upon which the village of Fontanelle was situated with the Aisne.
+
+Mother Meraut was now upon familiar territory, among the scenes of her
+childhood. She had often come here with her father when he had brought
+a load of produce to sell in the town market. Here they disembarked,
+bought a load of provisions, and once more resumed their journey.
+Progress from this point on was slower than that of previous days, for
+now the current was against them. Father and Mother Meraut took turns
+at the oars, and they had gone some four or five miles up the stream
+when they came in sight of something quite unfamiliar to Mother Meraut.
+Stretching across the level meadows beside the river, as far, as the
+eye could see, were rows and rows of tents. Companies of soldiers in
+French uniforms were drilling in an open field. Groups of cavalry
+horses were herded in an enclosure, and everywhere there were the
+activities of a great military encampment.
+
+"It's a French training-camp," cried Father Meraut, and he waved his
+cap on the end of an oar and shouted "Vive la France" at the top of his
+lungs. Pierre and Pierrette waved and shouted too, and Mother Meraut,
+caught by the general excitement, snatched up Jacqueline, who had been
+reposing in the basket, and frantically waved her. Some soldiers
+answered their signal, and shouted to them.
+
+Father Meraut looked puzzled. "That's not French," he said; "I can't
+understand what they say. But they have on French uniforms! I wonder
+what regiment it can be. I'm going to find out."
+
+"We're not far from Fontanelle now," said Mother Meraut; "don't you
+think we'd better go on?"
+
+"We can't get there without stopping somewhere to eat, anyway," said
+Father Meraut. "It's already eleven o'clock, and I'd rather find out
+about the soldiers than eat." So they tied the Ark to a willow tree and
+went ashore.
+
+In a moment more they were in a city of soldiers, and Father Meraut was
+making friends with some of the men who were lounging near the
+cook-house, sniffing the savory smell of soup which issued from it in
+appetizing gusts. Pierre and Pierrette sniffed too, and even Mother
+Meraut could not help saying appreciatively, "That cook knows how to
+make soup." Pierre laid his hand upon his stomach and smacked his lips.
+"Pierre," said his mother, reprovingly, "where are your manners, child?"
+
+At that moment two soldiers were passing--one a tall, thin man, and one
+much smaller. They paused and laughed, and the tall man laid his hand
+on his stomach, too, and smacked his lips.
+
+"Are you hungry, kid?" he said genially to Pierre. Pierre looked blank.
+
+The short man punched the tall man in the ribs. "Don't you see he's
+French," he said derisively. "Did you think you were back home in
+Illinois? Why don't you try some of your parley-voo on him? You're not
+getting on with the language; here's your chance for a real Parisian
+accent."
+
+"Oh, g'wan," answered the tall man. "Try your own French on him! I
+guess it won't kill him; he looks strong."
+
+The short man came nearer to Pierre and shouted at him as if he were
+deaf. "Avvy-voo-doo faim?"
+
+Pierre withdrew a step nearer his mother and Pierrette. "Je ne
+comprends pas!" he said politely. "Pardon."
+
+The tall man took off his cap and rumpled his hair. "Try it again,
+Jim," he said, "even if he is scared. They look to me like refugees,
+and as if a good bowl of soup wouldn't strike their insides amiss, but
+your French would stampede a herd of buffaloes!"
+
+"Try it yourself, then," said the short man, grinning.
+
+The tall man sat down on a box at the door of the tent and beckoned to
+Pierre. "I say, kid," he began, "avvy-voo-doo-fam--fam?" He rubbed his
+stomach in expressive pantomime.
+
+"Mamma," cried poor puzzled Pierre, "he asks me if I have a wife, and
+rubs his stomach as if he had a stomach-ache. What does he mean?"
+
+Mother Meraut came forward, trying hard not to laugh. "Que voulez-vous,
+Messieurs?" she said politely.
+
+The tall man was on his feet instantly with his cap in his hand. "You
+see, ma'am," he began, "we're from the States-des Etats-Unis! We've
+come here to fight le Boche--savez-vows?--combattre le Boche!" He waved
+his arms frantically and made a motion as if shooting with a gun.
+
+A smile broke over Mother Meraut's face, and she held out both hands.
+"Les Americains!" she cried joyfully, "des Etats-Unis, dans l'uniforme
+de la France! Mais maintenant nous exterminons le Boche!" She called
+Pierrette and Pierre to her side. "These are Americans," she explained
+in French, "come from the United States of America to fight with us.
+Shake hands with them."
+
+The Twins obeyed shyly, and when their Father rejoined the family a few
+moments later, their friendship had progressed to such an extent that
+Pierre was seated on one side of the tall man and Pierrette on the
+other, and they were all three studying a French phrase-book. The short
+man, called Jim, was gesticulating wildly, and talking to Mother
+Meraut, and she, good soul, looked so wise, and said "Oui" and "Non,"
+and nodded her head so intelligently to encourage him, that he never
+suspected that she did not understand one word in ten, and cast
+triumphant glances at the tall man to see if he was observing his
+success.
+
+At this moment a French Captain came by. The men sprang to their feet,
+clicked their heels together, and saluted. Father Meraut stiffened into
+military position and saluted also. The officer returned the salute,
+then stopped and spoke to him. "You are a soldier of France, I see," he
+said. "Where did you get your wound?"
+
+"With Joffre, at the Marne, mon Capitaine," answered Father Meraut,
+proudly. And then he told the Captain of his being brought wounded to
+the Cathedral in Rheims, of its bombardment and burning, and of his
+rescue by Pierre and Pierrette.
+
+The Captain turned to the Americans and said to them in English: "We
+have here three heroes of France instead of one! These children have
+lived under constant fire since last September, and they rescued their
+wounded father from the burning Cathedral of Rheims at the risk of
+their own lives." The Americans saluted Father Meraut, then they
+saluted Pierre and Pierrette, while Mother Meraut stood by, beaming
+with pride.
+
+"We will ask them to dine with us as our guests," said the Captain,
+and, turning to Father Meraut, he spoke again in French. "This is the
+Foreign Legion," he said. "It is made up of friends of France, brave
+men of different countries who came voluntarily to fight with us
+against the Boche. Here they receive special training under French
+officers before going to the front. These Americans have only just
+come. They do not know much French, but they wish you to dine with
+them."
+
+Ah, what a day that was for Pierre and Pierrette! Their story was
+passed about from one to another, and, instead of being homeless,
+wandering refugees, they found themselves suddenly treated as
+distinguished guests, by real soldiers. Pierre swelled with pride, and
+if he had only been able to speak their language, how glad he would
+have been to tell the Americans about the return of the French to
+Rheims, the green poster, Madame Coudert, and many other things! Alas,
+he could only eat his soup and gaze about him at all the activities
+that were going on in camp. When at last it was time for them to go, it
+was with the greatest difficulty that Pierre could be torn away from
+his new-found friends.
+
+"Come again, old pal," said the tall man, slapping Pierre cordially on
+the back as he said good-by. "Come again and see your Uncle Sam! Come
+and bring your family!"
+
+Pierre grinned, although he did not understand a word, shook hands, and
+ran down the river-bank to join his parents and Pierrette, who were
+already climbing into the boat.
+
+"Jim" and "Uncle Sam" looked after them as the Ark swung out into the
+stream. "Au revoir," shouted Pierre, waving his hand. "Vive la France!"
+And back came the reply like an echo, "You bet your life, vive la
+France!"
+
+
+
+X. FONTANELLE
+
+The shadows were beginning to lengthen across the valley as the Ark
+rounded a bend in the stream and the little church spire of Fontanelle
+came into view. "There it is--at last!" cried Mother Meraut. "Thank
+God, something of the village still stands!" She gazed eagerly into the
+distance. "And there is the Chateau," she added joyfully, pointing to a
+large gray stone building half hidden by a fringe of trees. "Oh, surely
+things are not going to be so bad as I had feared. Hurry! hurry! It
+seems as though my heart must take wings and fly before my body, now
+that we are so near!"
+
+Father Meraut bent to the oars. "I will stay with the boat while you
+and the children go to the village," he said, when, a few moments
+later, he found a favorable spot to land.
+
+Mother Meraut was out of the boat almost before it was beached, the
+Twins sprang out after her, and the three started up the road to the
+village on a run. Groves of trees just bursting into leaf lay between
+them and the one street of the little town, and it was not until they
+had passed it that they could tell how much damage had been done. The
+sight that met their eyes as they entered the village was not
+reassuring, but, hoping against hope, they ran on to the little house
+which had been Mother Meraut's childhood home. At the threshold they
+paused, and the tears which Mother Meraut had resolutely refused to
+shed when she had said good-by to her own home in Rheims fell freely as
+she gazed upon the ruins of the home of her parents. The house was
+empty, the windows were gone, the door was wrenched from its hinges,
+and the roof was open to the sky. The whole village was in much the
+same condition. Every house was empty, the street deserted.
+
+Neither Mother Meraut nor the Twins said a word. With heavy hearts they
+turned from the gaping doorway and started toward the Chateau, which
+lay half a mile beyond the village. Not a soul did they meet until they
+arrived at the great gate which marked the entrance to the park, and
+then they saw that the Chateau too had suffered. It had been partly
+burned out, but as its walls were standing and one wing looked
+habitable, their spirits rose a little. At the gate a child was
+playing. They stopped. "Can you tell me, ma petite," said Mother
+Meraut, her voice trembling, "whether there is any one here by the name
+of Jamart?"
+
+"Mais--oui," answered the child, surveying the strangers with
+curiosity. "Voila!" She pointed a stubby finger toward the Chateau, and
+there, just disappearing behind a corner of the wall, was the bent
+figure of an old woman carrying a pail of water.
+
+With a cry of joy, Mother Meraut sprang forward, and Pierre and
+Pierrette for once in their lives, run as they would, could not keep up
+with her. She fairly flew over the ground, and when the Twins at last
+reached her side, the pail of water was spilled on the ground, and the
+two women were weeping in each other's arms. An old man now came toward
+them and the children flung themselves upon him. "Grandpere!
+Grandpere!" they shouted, and then such another embracing as there was!
+
+Grand'mere kissed the Twins, and Grandpere hugged Mother Meraut, and
+then, because the tears were still running down their cheeks, Grandpere
+pointed to the overturned pail, and the water flowing in little
+wiggling streams through the dust. "Come, dear hearts," he cried, "are
+these your tears? Weep no more, then, lest we have a flood after our
+fire! This is a time to rejoice! Wipe your eyes, my Antoinette, and
+tell us how you came here. It is as if the sky had opened to let down
+three angels--and where, then, is Jacques?"
+
+By this time a group of people had gathered about them--the little
+remnant of the old prosperous village of Fontanelle. "Here we are, you
+see," said Grandpere, "all that are left of us. Every able-bodied young
+woman was driven away by the Germans to work in their fields--while
+ours lie idle. Every able-bodied man is in the army. There are only
+twenty-seven of us left--old women, children, and myself. There you
+have our history."
+
+Mother Meraut shook each old friend by the hand, looked at all the
+babies and children, and proudly showed her Twins to them in return,
+before she said a word about the sorrows they had endured in Rheims,
+and the desperation which had at last driven them from their home. The
+people listened without comment. They had all suffered so much that
+there was no room left in their hearts for new grief, but when she told
+them of the boat and her lame husband they rejoiced with her that she
+had the happiness at least of a united family. There was plenty of room
+in their hearts for joy! "Come with us," they said. "We cannot be
+poorer. Our cattle are driven away; we have no strong laborers to till
+our fields, no seeds to plant in them. We live in one wing and the
+outhouses of the Chateau, but hope is not yet dead, and your hands are
+strong. Your husband, too, can help, and we shall be at least no worse
+off for your being here."
+
+Grand'mere spoke. "We live in the cow-stalls of the stable," said she.
+"It is not so bad; there is still hay in the loft, and there are other
+stalls not occupied."
+
+Mother Meraut crossed herself. "If the Blessed Mother of Our Lord could
+live in a stable," she said, "such shelter is surely good enough for
+us."
+
+Father Meraut, sitting patiently in the boat, was surprise, a little
+later as he looked anxiously toward the village, to see a crowd of
+people coming toward him, waving caps and hands in salutation. Before
+the others ran Pierre and Pierrette, and when they reached him they
+poured forth a jumble of excited words, from which he was able to
+gather that Grandpere and Grand'mere were alive and well, and that
+there was a place for them to stay. He got out of the boat to greet the
+people, and their willing hands took the bundles and helped hide the
+Ark in the bushes, and the whole company then started back to the
+Chateau, Grandpere lingering behind the others to keep pace with the
+slow progress of Father Meraut.
+
+When Grand'mere, the Twins, and their Mother reached the stable they
+took their bundles from the hands of their friends, and went in to
+inspect their new home. The stable had been swept and scrubbed until it
+was as clean as it could be made. The large box stall served as a
+bedroom for Grand'mere and Grandpere. Above their bed of hay, covered
+with old blankets and quilts, was hung a wooden crucifix. This, with
+two boxes for seats, was all the furniture it contained. A few articles
+of clothing hung about on nails, and in the open space before the
+stalls a stove was placed, the pipe running through a pane of glass in
+a window near by.
+
+When Grandpere and Father Meraut arrived, Mother Meraut met them at the
+door. "Behold our new apartment!" she said, and she led her husband to
+one of the clean stalls, where she had already begun to set up
+housekeeping. The Twins were at that moment in the loft overhead,
+getting hay for their beds, and Jacqueline, exhausted by her journey,
+had been put to bed in the manger.
+
+Father Meraut looked about. "This is not bad for the summer," he said,
+"and who knows what good luck may come to us by fall? Perhaps the
+Germans will be driven out of France by that time, and surely we shall
+be able to do some planting even now."
+
+"We have dug up the ground for gardens as best we could with the few
+tools we have," said Grandpere. "The government would send us seeds,
+but the roads are very bad, and we have no horses, and supplies are
+hard to get even though we have money to pay for them. The nearest town
+where provisions can be obtained lies six miles below, at the mouth of
+the river, and it is very little one can carry on one's back."
+
+"Is there no way to get help from the soldiers' camp?" asked Father
+Meraut. "They must get supplies."
+
+"Yes, but they cannot of themselves at this time take care of the
+civilian population," said Grandpere. "There are many villages in the
+same condition, and the soldiers' business is to fight for France."
+
+"True," said Father Meraut. Then he exclaimed: "I have it! The Ark! It
+will indeed be our salvation as it was Father Noah's."
+
+Grandpere looked anxiously at Mother Meraut and touched his forehead.
+"He is not mad?" he asked.
+
+She laughed. "The name of our boat is the Ark," she explained. "We can
+use it to go down the river to buy provisions if there are any to be
+had."
+
+Grand'mere, who had been listening, looked cautiously about, then felt
+under the straw of her bed and brought out a stocking. "See!" she said.
+"I have money. The others have money too, but of what use is money when
+there is nothing to buy and no place to buy it?"
+
+"We must find a place to buy things," said Mother Meraut with decision.
+"Grandpere and Jacques can take the Ark and go down the river on a
+voyage of discovery, and bring back the supplies that we most need."
+
+After supper the whole village gathered about the stable door to hear
+all the news which the Meraut family had brought from the outside
+world. For months they had not seen a newspaper, and there had been no
+visitors in Fontanelle. And when Father Meraut had finished telling
+them all the story of Rheims, of the burning of the Cathedral, of the
+miraculous safety of the statue of Saint Jeanne, of his own escape, and
+the final destruction of the roof over their heads, and their flight
+from the city, the pressing needs of the little village and his and
+Grandpere's proposed voyage were discussed, and it was very late when
+at last the people separated and the little village settled down for
+the night.
+
+
+
+XI. A SURPRISE
+
+The next morning the whole village was up early, and plans were
+perfected for the voyage of Father Meraut and Grandpere. A long list of
+necessary articles was made out, and the money for their purchase
+safely hidden away in their inside pockets. They were just about to
+start down the road to the river, when suddenly a wonderful thing
+happened. Right through the great gate of the Chateau rumbled a large
+motor truck with an American flag fluttering from the radiator! It was
+driven by a strange young woman in a smart gray uniform. Beside her on
+the driver's seat sat an older woman dressed the same way and carrying
+in her hand a black medicine-case.
+
+The girl stopped her engine, climbed down to the ground, and approached
+the astonished people of Fontanelle: "Bon jour," she said, smiling.
+Then in excellent French she explained her errand. "We are Americans,"
+she said, and at that name every face smiled back at her. "We have come
+to help you restore your homes. America loves and admires the French
+people, and since we women cannot fight with you, we wish at least to
+help in the reconstruction of your beautiful France. Your government
+has given us permission to start our work here, and has promised help
+from the soldiers whose camp is near. The money we bring from America
+will purchase materials, and with your labor and the help of the
+soldiers we shall soon see what can be done."
+
+For a moment after she had ceased speaking there was silence. The
+people of Fontanelle were too astonished for words. So much good
+fortune after all their sorrow left them stunned. It was Pierre who
+first found his voice. He took off his cap, swung it in the air and
+shouted, "Vive l'Amerique," at the top of his lungs, and "Vive
+l'Amerique," chorused the whole village, relieved to be able to vent
+their feelings in sound.
+
+Mademoiselle laughed. "Vive la France," she answered, and then, turning
+to the truck, she cried, "Come and see what we have in our little shop
+on wheels. But first let me introduce to you Dr. Miller. She is an
+American doctor who has come to take care of any who may be sick."
+
+The Doctor had already climbed down from her high seat and was opening
+the back of the truck. She smiled and shook hands with the people. "Is
+there not something here you wish to buy?" she asked. "The prices are
+plainly marked."
+
+Everybody now crowded about the truck, and in it,--oh,
+wonderful,--piled on the floor and hanging from the top and sides, were
+the very things for which they had been longing so eagerly! There were
+hoes, and shovels, and rakes, and garden seeds of all kinds. There were
+bolts of cloth and woolen garments and wooden shoes, and yarn for
+knitting. There were even knitting-needles! And, best of all, there was
+food, food such as they had not seen in many weary months. Ah, it was
+indeed marvelous what that truck contained!
+
+The buying began at once, and never before had any one been able to
+purchase so much for a franc! Soon there was nothing left in the truck
+but some bedding and other articles belonging to the Doctor and
+Mademoiselle, as the people at once began to call her.
+
+"Will you not come with me to my apartment in the stable?" said Mother
+Meraut cordially to the two women. "You must be tired from your
+journey."
+
+"We must first see the Commandant at the camp," said the Doctor, "and
+then we shall be happy if you will find some lunch for us. It is
+necessary to see at once if our houses have come."
+
+"Your houses!" cried Pierre, so surprised that he quite forgot his
+manners. "But, Madame, it is not possible that you carry your houses
+with you like the snails?"
+
+The Doctor laughed. "Not just like the snails," she said; "our houses
+have been sent on ahead of us in sections, with the army supplies, and
+are no doubt here in the care of the Commandant."
+
+"Go, my Pierre, conduct them to the camp," said his Mother, "and when
+you come back," she added, turning to the two women, "I will have ready
+for you the best that my poor house affords." The Doctor and
+Mademoiselle thanked Mother Meraut, and then, following Pierre, started
+down the river road toward the camp a mile or more away.
+
+The next few days seemed to Pierre and Pierrette, and indeed to all the
+inhabitants of Fontanelle, little less than a series of miracles. In
+the first place, the Doctor and Mademoiselle had scarcely finished the
+good lunch which Mother Meraut had waiting for them on their return
+from camp, when a great truck, loaded with sections of the portable
+houses, entered the great gate of the Chateau. It was followed by a
+detachment of soldiers from the Foreign Legion, sent by the Commandant
+to erect them. The soldiers were also Americans, and Pierre and
+Pierrette were delighted to find that both "Jim" and "Uncle Sam" were
+among them. Indeed Uncle Sam was in command of the squad, and when he
+presented himself and his men to the Doctor and Mademoiselle, he
+explained that the Commandant had detailed Americans to this duty, as
+he thought that they would more easily understand what the ladies
+wished to have done.
+
+The whole place now swarmed with people working as busily as bees in a
+hive. By night one house was fit to be occupied. The following night
+two more had been erected, and the soldiers had laid tent floors in all
+of them. The day after that six more young women in gray came, bringing
+more supplies. Under the generalship of the Doctor, Mother Meraut was
+installed in the carriage-house which opened from the stable, and here
+she prepared meals for her family and for all the new-comers as well.
+The Doctor established a dispensary in one room of the Chateau, and
+Mademoiselle opened a store in the basement, keeping there for sale a
+large quantity of the supplies which had been brought by the six young
+women. Father Meraut and Grandpere worked hard on the gardens, assisted
+by Pierre and Pierrette and any other person in the village who was
+capable of wielding a hoe. Soon people began to come in from the
+neighboring hamlets, bringing their sick babies to the Doctor for
+treatment. The great truck was loaded with supplies received through
+the Army Service and the Red Cross, and the young women took turns in
+driving the "Shop on Wheels" into other, less favored districts, to
+start there work similar to that begun at Fontanelle.
+
+Uncle Sam and Jim came so often to the village that they were soon on
+friendly terms with every one in it. They acted as emissaries between
+the camp and the village, and if anything was needed which was beyond
+the power of these determined women to supply, Uncle Sam and Jim seemed
+always by some miracle to accomplish it. One day the Doctor said to Jim
+"I wish there were some way of getting a good cow here. These little
+children cannot get rosy and strong without fresh milk, and they
+haven't had any since the Germans drove away their cows."
+
+A week later Jim appeared at the Chateau gate leading a cow! There was
+a card tied to one horn. The Doctor removed it and read, "To Dr. Miller
+for the little children of Fontanelle."
+
+"It's from the Commandant," said Jim, beaming with pride.
+
+The cow proved such a success, and the babies and young children showed
+at once such improvement, that the Doctor determined that they should
+have not only milk but fresh eggs, and Mademoiselle was sent to Paris
+to make investigations, and, if possible, place an order for more cows
+and some hens. Upon her return she announced that a load of live-stock
+from southern France would soon arrive at the nearest railroad station,
+five miles away.
+
+"It's going to be a regular menagerie," said Mademoiselle, when she
+told Mother Meraut about it. "There will be two more cows, two pigs, a
+pair of goats, ten pairs of rabbits, and sixty fowls."
+
+"Mercy upon us!" cried Mother Meraut. "Where in the world can we put
+them all? Must we move out of our apartment to admit the cows?"
+
+"No," laughed Mademoiselle, "we must find another way to take care of
+them. The cows can stay out of doors now, and there is grass to feed
+them and the goats. They can all be tethered by ropes, if necessary,
+but we must find a secure place to keep the pigs and the rabbits, and
+the chicken-house must be mended and put in order for the fowls."
+
+"But Madame Corbeille now resides in the chicken-house. What will
+become of her and her children?" cried Mother Meraut.
+
+"Easy enough," said Mademoiselle; "there is still room in your stable,
+is there not? For example, there is the granary! It will do excellently
+for the Corbeilles. Pierre and Pierrette will help build the
+rabbit-hutch, I know, and there we are, all provided for!"
+
+So it was arranged, and that afternoon another family came to live
+under the same roof with the Merauts. Grandpere, with his new hammer
+and some nails, mended the chicken-house, and then helped Pierre and
+Pierrette build enclosures for the rabbits and pigs out of stones and
+rubble from the fallen walls.
+
+At last the day came when all the creatures were to arrive, and
+Mademoiselle arranged that the Twins, Mother Meraut, and four of her
+own party of young women should go to the railroad station to get them.
+The great truck was brought out, ropes were then thrown in, and all the
+people who composed what Mademoiselle called the "Reception Committee"
+climbed in and sat on the floor, while Mademoiselle and the Doctor
+occupied the driver's seat. The soldiers had done some work on the
+roads, so they were not as bad as they had been earlier in the spring;
+but they were still bad enough, and the people in the truck were
+bounced about like kernels of corn in a popper.
+
+"Now," said Mademoiselle, when they arrived at the station, "the fowls
+and the rabbits will have to go back in the truck. That will be easy,
+for they came in crates; but the cows, the goats, and the pigs must be
+either led or driven."
+
+"It sounds simple enough," said the Doctor, "but have any of you ever
+known any cows or pigs? Do you know how to manage them?"
+
+
+"I have an acquaintance with cows," said Mother Meraut, "but to goats
+and pigs I am a stranger."
+
+"Very well," said Mademoiselle, "Mother Meraut shall lead the way with
+the cows. You, Kathleen and Louise," she said, turning to two of the
+gray-uniformed girls, "you shall attend the goats. Mary and Martha may
+tackle the pigs. Pierre and Pierrette will serve excellently as
+short-stops in case any of our live-stock gets away, and the Doctor and
+I will bring up the rear."
+
+"It's going to be a regular circus!" said Kathleen. "I feel as if we
+ought to wear spangles and be led by a band."
+
+"We haven't any clown, though," said Martha.
+
+"I shouldn't wonder," said Mary, "if we'd all look like clowns in this
+parade."
+
+The car with the creatures in it was standing on a side track, and the
+station agent, looking doubtfully at the girls, led the way to it, and
+after the rabbits and fowls had been loaded into the truck, placed a
+gangplank for the cows to walk down, and opened the door of the car.
+But nothing happened; the cows obstinately refused to step down the
+plank.
+
+"Here's a rope," said Mademoiselle, at last, throwing one up to the
+agent. "I hoped we shouldn't need it, but I guess we do."
+
+The agent fixed the rope to the horns of one of the cows, and threw the
+other end to Mademoiselle. "Now," said he, "pull gently to begin with."
+
+Mademoiselle, pale but valiant, pulled, quietly at first, then harder.
+The cow put her head down, braced her feet and backed.
+
+"Come on," cried Mademoiselle to the others, "we'll all have to pull
+together."
+
+Any one who could get hold of it seized the rope.
+
+"I never played 'pom pom pull away' with a cow before," quavered
+Louise. "I--I--don't feel sure she knows the rules of the game!"
+
+"She'll soon learn," said Mademoiselle, grimly. "Don't welch. Now,
+then, one--two--three--pull!"
+
+At the word, they all leaned back and pulled. The cow, yielding
+suddenly, shot out of the car like a cork out of a champagne bottle,
+and the girls attached to the rope went down like a row of bricks. The
+rope flew out of their hands, and the cow went careering down the track
+with the rope dangling wildly after her, while the other cow, fired by
+her example, came bawling after. When they found grass by the roadside
+they became reasonable at once. Mother Meraut then took charge of them,
+and, as Kathleen remarked, "that ended the first movement." The second
+began when the goats were unloaded. Mademoiselle took no chances with
+them. She got the agent to put ropes on them in the first place, and
+Kathleen and Louise, cautiously advancing to the plank, held up
+propitiatory offerings of grass.
+
+"That's right," laughed Mademoiselle, "leading citizens with bouquets!
+Perhaps a speech of welcome might help. They aren't the first old goats
+to be received that way."
+
+"Hush!" implored Louise. "My knees are knocking together so I can
+hardly stand up now, and suppose they should butt!"
+
+"In the words of the immortal bard 'butt me no butts,'" murmured
+Kathleen, as they reached the gang-plank.
+
+The agent, having attached the rope and released the goats from their
+moorings, stood back and gave them full access to the open door,
+holding the other end of the rope firmly in his hands. "You can take
+the ropes when they are safely down the plank," he cried gallantly.
+"They need a man to handle them."
+
+"Oh, thank you," said Kathleen and Louise with one voice.
+
+The goats accepted the suggestion of the open door at once and galloped
+down the gang-plank with such reckless speed that the agent lost his
+footing and came coasting down after them. "Mille tonneurs!" he
+exclaimed, as he reached the end of the gang-plank and struck a bed of
+gravel. "Those goats are possessed of the devil!"
+
+The Doctor was beside him in an instant. "I hope you are not injured,"
+she cried. "Is there anything I can do for you? I am a doctor."
+
+"No, Madame," said the agent, bowing politely, as he got himself on his
+feet again, "I am hurt only in my pride, and you have no medicine for
+that!"
+
+"Oh," cried Mademoiselle, "how brave it was of you! It's as you
+say--they need a man to manage them!"
+
+The station agent looked at the goats, who were now grazing peacefully,
+attended by Kathleen and Louise, and then, a little thoughtfully, at
+Mademoiselle. "It is indeed better that a man should take these risks,"
+he said, throwing out his chest. "And there are still the pigs! I doubt
+not they are as full of demons as the Gadarene Swine themselves!"
+
+"What should we do without your help?" said Mademoiselle. "The pigs
+cannot be roped!"
+
+"No," said the agent sadly, "they cannot." He considered a moment. Then
+he motioned to Pierre and Pierrette, who were standing with Mary and
+Martha at a respectful distance. "Come here, all of you," he said,
+addressing them from the top of the gang-plank; "pigs must be taken by
+strategy. I am an old soldier. I will engineer an encircling movement.
+Mademoiselle; will you stand here at the left, and, Madame la Docteur,
+will you station yourself at my right? The rest of you arrange
+yourselves in a curved line extending westward from Madame. Then I will
+release the pigs, and you, watching their movements, will head them off
+if they start in the wrong direction. Voila! We will now commence."
+
+He went back into the car, and in another moment the pigs, squealing
+vociferously, thundered down the gang-plank, gave one look at the
+"encircling movement," and, wheeling about, instantly dashed under the
+car and out on the other side into an open field. It was not until they
+had made a complete tour of the village, pursued by the entire
+personnel of the "encircling movement" that they were at last turned
+into the Fontanelle road.
+
+"This isn't--the way--this parade--was advertised!" gasped Kathleen, as
+she struggled with her goat in an effort to take her appointed place in
+the caravan. "The--cows--were to--go--first!"
+
+"Never mind," answered Louise cheerfully, as she pulled her goat into
+the road. "A little informality will be overlooked, I'm sure."
+
+Mother Meraut followed them with the cows, and last of all Mademoiselle
+and the Doctor climbed into the truck and brought up the rear of the
+procession, with all the roosters crowing at the top of their lungs.
+
+There is not time to tell of all the adventures that befell them on the
+eventful journey back to Fontanelle. One can merely guess that it must
+have been full of excitement, since the Reception Committee did not
+reach the village with their charges until some time after dark. Mother
+Meraut was worried because she was not home in time to get a hot supper
+for the tired girls, but when they arrived they found that Grand'mere
+had stepped into the breach, and had made steaming hot soup for every
+one. Grandpere and Father Meraut took charge of the live-stock, and
+Mother Corbeille milked the cows.
+
+As they dragged themselves wearily to bed that night, Kathleen
+decorated Mademoiselle with a huge cross,--cut out of paper,--which she
+pinned upon her nightgown. "For extreme gallantry," she explained, "in
+leading your forces into action in face of a fierce charge by two
+goats, and for taking prisoner two rebellious pigs!" Then she saluted
+ceremoniously and tumbled into bed.
+
+
+
+XII. MORNING IN THE MEADOW
+
+As summer came on, life seemed less and less sad to the people of
+Fontanelle. With the coming of the Americans the outlook had so changed
+that, although the war was not yet over, they could look forward to the
+future with some degree of hope. The news brought from Rheims by
+occasional refugees was always sad. The Germans continued to shell the
+defenseless city, and the Cathedral sustained more and more injuries,
+but the beautiful stained-glass windows had been carefully taken down,
+the broken pieces put together as far as possible, and the whole
+shipped to safer places in France. The statue of Jeanne d'Arc within
+the church had also been taken from its niche, while the one before the
+Cathedral doors still remained unharmed by shot and shell.
+
+It comforted Mother Meraut to think of that valiant figure standing
+alone amid such desolation. She had other things to comfort her as
+well. With food and fresh air the roses bloomed again in the cheeks of
+her children. Soon, too, the gardens began to yield early vegetables.
+In the morning, instead of hearing the sound of guns, they were
+awakened by bird-songs, or by the crowing of cocks and the bleating of
+goats. These were pleasant sounds to the people of Fontanelle, for they
+brought memories of peaceful and prosperous days, and the promise of
+more to come.
+
+The rebuilding of the village was begun by the end of June, and the
+sound of saws and hammers cheered them with the prospect of comfortable
+homes before cold weather should come again. The work proceeded slowly,
+for the workers were few, even though their good friend the Commandant
+gave them all the help he could. There were now a multitude of little
+chicks running about on what had been the stately lawns of the Chateau,
+and there were twenty new little rabbits in the rabbit-hutch. As the
+rabbits could not forage for themselves, it was necessary for others to
+forage for them, and this work fell to the lot of Pierre and Pierrette.
+
+One summer morning one of the roosters crowed very, very early, and the
+Twins, having no clock, supposed it was time for them to get up and go
+for fresh leaves and roots for the rabbits, as they did every day. They
+rose at once, and the sun was just peering above the eastern horizon as
+they came out of the stable door. They went to the rabbit-hutch, and
+the rabbits, seeing them, stood up on their hind legs and wiggled their
+noses hungrily.
+
+"Rabbits do have awful appetites," said Pierre, a little ruefully, as
+he looked down at the empty food-box. "Just think what a pile of things
+we brought them yesterday."
+
+"There's nothing to do but get them more, I suppose," answered
+Pierrette.
+
+"I know where there's just bushels and bushels of water-cress," said
+Pierre, "but it's quite a long distance off. You know the brook that
+flows through the meadow between here and camp? It's just stuffed with
+it, and rabbits like it better than almost anything."
+
+"Let's go and get some now," said Pierrette. "We can take the
+clothes-basket and bring back enough to last all day."
+
+Pierre went for the basket, and the two children started down the road
+which ran beside the meadow toward the camp. It was so early that not
+another soul in the village was up. Even the rooster had gone to sleep
+again after his misguided crowing. One pale little star still winked in
+the morning sky, but the birds were already winging and singing, as the
+children, carrying the basket between them, set forth upon their quest.
+
+When they reached the brook, they set down the basket, took off their
+wooden shoes, and, wading into the stream, began gathering great
+bunches of the cress. They were so busy filling their basket that they
+did not notice the sun had gone out of sight behind a cloud-bank, and
+that the air was still with that strange breathless stillness that
+precedes a storm. It was not until a loud clap of thunder, accompanied
+by a flash of lightning, suddenly broke the silence, that they knew the
+storm was upon them. When they looked up, the meadow grasses were bend
+ing low before a sudden wind, and the trees were swaying to and fro as
+if in terror, against the background of an angry sky.
+
+"Wow!" said Pierre. "I guess we're in for it! We can't possibly get
+home before it breaks."
+
+"Oh," gasped Pierrette, as another peal of thunder shook the air, "I
+don't want to stay out in it. What shall we do?"
+
+Pierre looked about him. A little distance beyond the brook, toward the
+camp, there was a straw-stack with a rough straw-thatched shed beside
+it, half hidden under a group of small trees. Pierre pointed to it.
+"We'll leave the basket here," he said, "and hide under the straw until
+the storm is over. Then we can come back again, get it, and go home."
+
+Another clap of thunder, louder still, sent them flying on their way,
+and they did not speak again until they were under the shelter of the
+shed. The first big drops fell as they reached it, and then the storm
+broke in a fury of wind and water. The children cowered against the
+stack itself as far as possible out of reach of the driving rain.
+
+They had been there but a few moments, when they heard a new sound in
+addition to the roar of the wind and the patter of the rain upon the
+leaves. It was the dull tread of heavy footsteps, and they were
+surprised to see a man running toward the straw-stack, his head bent to
+shield his face from the rain, under the brim of an old hat. His
+clothes were rough and unkempt, and altogether his appearance was so
+forbidding that the children instinctively dived under the straw at the
+edge of the stack like frightened mice, and burrowed backward until
+they were completely hidden, though they could still peep out through
+the loose straw.
+
+The man reached the shed almost before they were out of view, but it
+was evident that he had not seen them, for he did not glance in their
+direction. He took off his hat and shook the rain-drops from it. Then
+he wiped his face and neck with a soiled handkerchief and sat down on
+the edge of a bench that had once been used for salting cattle. He sat
+still for a little while, with his feet drawn up on the bench and his
+hands clasping his knees, the better to escape the rain. Then he began
+to grow restless. He walked back and forth and peered out into the rain
+in the direction of the camp. The children were so frightened they
+could hear their own hearts beat, but they had been in danger so many
+times, and in so many different ways that they kept their presence of
+mind, and were able to follow closely his every move. Soon they heard
+the sound of more footsteps, and suddenly there dashed under the shed a
+soldier in the uniform of France. It was evident that the first man
+expected him, for he showed no surprise at his coming, and the two sat
+down together on the bench and began to talk.
+
+The wind had now subsided a little, and though they spoke in low tones
+the children could hear every word.
+
+"Whew!" said the soldier as he shook his rain-coat. "Nasty weather."
+
+"All the better for our purposes," answered the other man. "There's
+less chance of our being seen."
+
+"Not much chance of that, anyway, so early in the morning as this,"
+answered the soldier, looking at his watch. "It's not yet four o'clock!"
+
+"Best not to linger, anyway," said the other man. "That Captain of
+yours has the eyes of a hawk. I was up at camp the other day selling
+cigarettes and chocolate, and he eyed me as if he was struck with my
+beauty."
+
+"I wish you'd keep away from camp," said the soldier, impatiently. "It
+isn't necessary, and you might run into some one who knew you back in
+Germany. There are all kinds of people in the Foreign Legion. I tell
+you, it isn't safe, and besides, I can get all the information we need
+without it."
+
+"All right, General," responded the other, grinning. "But have you
+_got_ it? That's the question. I expect that buzzard will be flying
+around again over this field in a night or so,--the moon is 'most full
+now, and the nights are light,--and I've got to be able to signal him
+just how to find the powder magazine and the other munitions. Then he
+can swoop right over there and drop one of his little souvenirs where
+it will do the most good and fly away home. I advise you to keep away
+from that section of the camp yourself."
+
+"Here is the map," said the soldier, drawing a paper from his pocket,
+"and there are also statistics as to the number of men and all I can
+find out about plans for using them. Take good care of it. It wouldn't
+be healthy to be found with it on you."
+
+The first man pocketed the paper. "That's all, is it?" he asked.
+
+"All for this time, anyway," answered the soldier.
+
+The man looked at him narrowly.
+
+"Well," said the soldier, "what's the matter? Don't I look like a
+Frenchman?"
+
+"You'd deceive the devil himself," answered the man with a short laugh.
+"No one would ever think you were born in Bavaria. Don't forget and
+stick up the corners of your mustache, though. That might give you
+away. When do you think you can get over to see that fort?"
+
+"I don't know," answered the soldier sharply, "but I'll meet you here
+day after to-morrow at the same hour. Auf Wiedersehen," and he was gone.
+
+After his departure, his companion lingered a moment, lit a cigarette,
+looked up at the sky, and, seeing that the shower was nearly over,
+strolled off in the opposite direction.
+
+The children, looking after him, saw him come upon their basket near
+the brook, examine it carefully, and then look about in every direction
+as if searching for the owners. Seeing no one, he gave it a kick and
+passed on. They watched him, not daring to move until he turned toward
+the river and was out of sight. Later they saw a boat come from the
+shelter of some bushes on the bank, and slip quietly down the stream
+with the man in it.
+
+When they dared move once more they crawled out from under the straw,
+and Pierrette said, "Well, what do you think of that?"
+
+"Think!" Pierre said, choking with wrath. "I think he's a miserable dog
+of a spy! They are both spies! And they are going to try to blow up the
+whole camp! You come along with me." He seized Pierrette by the hand,
+and the two flew over the wet meadow toward the distant camp.
+
+"Whatever should we do if we met that soldier?" gasped Pierrette,
+breathless with running and excitement.
+
+"Look stupid," said Pierre promptly. "He didn't see us, and he'd never
+dream we had seen him; but, by our blessed Saint Jeanne, this is where
+I get even with the Germans! Let's find Jim and Uncle Sam."
+
+Reveille was just sounding as they entered the camp and presented
+themselves at the door of Uncle Sam's tent. During the weeks that had
+elapsed since their arrival in France, Jim and Uncle Sam had acquired a
+fair working knowledge of the language, and, though it still remained a
+queer mixture of French and English, they and the children managed to
+understand each other very well.
+
+"Bonjour, kids!" cried Uncle Sam in astonishment, when he saw the two
+children at the tent door. "What on earth are you doing here? Don't you
+know visitors are not expected in camp at this hour?"
+
+"Sh--sh!" said Pierre, laying his finger on his lips. "Nobody must see
+us! We have important news!"
+
+Uncle Sam sat up in bed. "Why, I believe you have," he said, looking
+attentively at their pale faces. "Just wait a minute while I get my
+clothes on. Here, you--Jim," he added, poking a recumbent figure in the
+adjoining cot. "Roll out! It's reveille!"
+
+Jim sat up at once and rubbed his eyes, and, after a hurried
+consultation, the two men turned the two children with their faces to
+the wall in one corner of the tent, while they made a hasty toilet in
+the other.
+
+"Now, then, out with it," said Uncle Sam a few moments later. "Que
+vooly-voo? What's up?"
+
+Jim sat down beside him on the edge of the cot, and the two men
+listened in amazement to the story the two children had to tell. When
+they had finished, Uncle Sam wasted no words. "Come with me to the
+Captain tooty sweet," he said. And Jim added, as he patted the Twins
+tenderly on the head, "By George, mes enfants, you ought to get the war
+cross for this day's work."
+
+A few moments more, and the children and Uncle Sam were ushered by an
+orderly into the presence of the Captain, who was just in the act of
+shaving. Uncle Sam's message to him had been so imperative that they
+were admitted at once to his presence, even though his face was covered
+with lather and he was likely to fill his mouth with soap if he opened
+it. Uncle Sam saluted, and the Twins, wishing to be as polite as
+possible, saluted too. The Captain returned the salute, and went on
+shaving as he listened to their story, grunting now and then
+emphatically instead of speaking, on account of the soap. When Pierre
+came to what the soldier had said under the shed, he was so much
+interested that he cut his chin.
+
+"So that's their program, is it?" he sputtered, soap and all, mopping
+his chin. "But how on earth did you happen to be in such a place as
+that at such an hour in the morning?"
+
+Pierre explained about the rabbits and the cress, and Uncle Sam added:
+"They're from Fontanelle. Their father is a soldier wounded at the
+Marne, and they lived under fire in Rheims for eight months before
+coming here. They're some kids, believe me! They know what war is."
+
+"Yes," said the Captain, "I remember them; they came up the river some
+weeks ago." Then he turned to the children. "Would you know that
+soldier if you were to see him again?" he asked.
+
+"Oh, yes," said the children.
+
+"Very well," said the Captain, "the men will go to breakfast soon. You
+stay with Sam and watch them, and if you see that man go by you step on
+Sam's foot. No one must see you do it. Be sure you don't make a mistake
+now," he added, "and if you really do unearth the rascal, it's the best
+day's work you ever did, for yourselves as well as for France. Sam, you
+report to me afterwards, and be sure you give no occasion for suspicion
+to any one."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Sam, and saluted. Pierre and Pierrette saluted also.
+
+The Captain returned the salute with ceremony. "You are true soldiers
+of France," he said to the Twins as they left his tent.
+
+
+If their comrades were surprised to see Uncle Sam standing with two
+children by his side while the others passed into the mess tent with
+cups and plates in hand, no one said anything. It was a little
+irregular to be sure--but then--Americans were always unexpected! For a
+long time the men filed by, and still there was no sign of the face
+they sought. At last, however, Pierre came down solidly on Uncle Sam's
+right foot, and at the same time Pierrette touched his left with her
+wooden shoe. There, right in front of them, carrying his plate and cup,
+and twirling his mustache, was the man they sought!
+
+The Twins stood still, and not by the quiver of an eyelash did they
+betray any excitement until the man had passed into the tent. Then
+Uncle Sam said to them, "Now you scoot for home, or your Mother will be
+worried to death! Tell your Father and Mother all about it, but don't
+tell another soul at present." The children flew back across the
+meadow, picked up their basket of cress, and when they reached the
+Chateau, fed the hungry rabbits. Then they found their Father and
+Mother and told them their morning's adventures.
+
+
+
+XIII. CHILDREN OF THE LEGION
+
+It must not be supposed, because things were more cheerful for the
+inhabitants of Fontanelle, that they had forgotten the war. They were
+reminded of it every day, not only by the presence of soldiers, but by
+the sound of distant guns, and by the visits of German airplanes. Often
+in the middle of the night an alarm would be given, and the people of
+the village would spring from their beds and seek refuge in the cellars
+of the Chateau--that is, all but Kathleen; she obstinately refused to
+go, even when the Doctor reasoned with her. "Let me die in my bed," she
+pleaded. "It's better form. Our best people have always done it, and
+besides when I'm waked suddenly that way I'm apt to be cross." So, when
+the sound of the buzzing motor was heard in the sky, she simply drew
+the covers over her head, and stayed where she was, while a strange,
+half-clad procession, recruited from stables and granary, filed into
+the Chateau cellar. These raids were likely to occur on bright nights,
+and as the time of the full moon approached, the people of the village
+grew more watchful and slept less soundly.
+
+On the night following the adventure of the Twins in the meadow, though
+the moon shone, no aerial visitor appeared, nor did one come the next
+night after. Neither did any news from camp come to the village. Pierre
+and Pierrette longed to tell Mademoiselle and the Doctor their secret,
+but Uncle Sam had told them to share it with no one but their parents,
+and they knew obedience was the first requisite of a good soldier; so
+they said nothing, and nearly burst in consequence. They went no more
+to the meadow after cress, however. Mother Meraut saw to that. If they
+had gone there on the morning of the next day but one after their
+encounter with the spies, they would have had a still more thrilling
+experience, for at midnight Uncle Sam, Jim, and the Captain had quietly
+stolen away from camp and hidden themselves in the straw. There they
+stayed until in the gray of the early dawn they saw a boat come up the
+river, and the slouching figure of the spy stalk across the meadow to
+his rendez-vous under the shed. They stayed there until the soldier
+appeared, and until they had heard with their own ears the plan for
+signaling the German airplane that night, and for giving information
+which would en able the aviator to blow up their stores of powder and
+ammunition. Then, suddenly and swiftly, at a prearranged signal, the
+three men sprang from the straw, and the astonished spies found
+themselves surrounded and covered by the muzzles of three guns. They
+saw at once that resistance was useless, and sullenly obeyed the
+Captain's order to throw up their hands. They were then marched back to
+camp, turned over to the proper authorities, and the next morning at
+sunrise they met the fate of all spies who are caught.
+
+That was not the end of the affair, however, for, knowing that the
+airplane which the spy had referred to as the "Buzzard" was to be
+expected that night, and that the German aviator would look for signals
+from the straw-stack, plans were made for his reception, and this part
+of the drama was witnessed from the village as well as from the camp.
+The night was clear, and at about eleven o'clock the whirr of a motor
+was heard in the distance. The Doctor, who had returned late from a
+visit to a sick patient in an adjoining village, heard it, and at once
+gave the alarm. Out of their beds tumbled the sleepy people of
+Fontanelle, and, wrapping themselves in blankets or any garment they
+could snatch, they ran out of doors and gazed anxiously into the sky.
+
+Pierre and Pierrette, with their parents and grandparents, were among
+the first to appear. They saw the black speck sail swiftly from the
+east, and hover like a bird of ill omen over the meadows. No alarm
+sounded from the camp, but suddenly from the shadows three French
+planes shot into the air. Two at once engaged the enemy, while a third
+cut off his retreat. The battle was soon over. There were sharp reports
+of guns and blinding flashes of fire as the great machines whirled and
+maneuvered in the air, and then the German, finding himself outnumbered
+and with no way of escape, came to earth and was taken prisoner.
+
+"Three of 'em bagged, by George," exclaimed Jim to Uncle Sam, when the
+aviator was safely locked up in the guardhouse, "and all due to the
+pluck and sense of those two kids. If it hadn't been for them, the
+chances are we'd all have been ready for cold storage by this time.
+They've saved the camp--that's what they've done! There are explosives
+enough stored here to have blown every one of us to Kingdom-come!"
+
+"Right you are, Jim," replied Uncle Sam with hearty emphasis, "we
+surely do owe them something, and that's a cinch. Let's talk with the
+boys."
+
+That night Uncle Sam and Jim made eloquent use of all the French they
+knew as they sat about the camp-fire, and told the story of Pierre and
+Pierrette to their comrades in arms. Not only did they tell of their
+finding the spies and saving the camp from destruction, but of their
+Father, wounded at the Marne, of their experience in the Cathedral at
+Rheims, and of all they had suffered there, and especially of their
+plucky Mother whose spirit no misfortune could break. And when they had
+finished the tale, the men gave such a hearty cheer for the whole
+Meraut family that it was heard in the village a mile away, though no
+one there had the least idea what the noise was about.
+
+The next day Uncle Sam and Jim appeared in Fontanelle and told the
+story of the spies to the Doctor and Mademoiselle, and then they held a
+long private conference with Mother Meraut. The children were on pins
+and needles to know what they were talking about, and why Mother Meraut
+looked so happy afterward, but she only shook her head when they begged
+her to tell them, and said, "Someday you'll find out."
+
+Two days later an orderly rode into the Chateau gate on horseback, and
+inquired for Pierre and Pierrette Meraut. At the moment he arrived the
+Twins were feeding the rabbits, but they came running to the gate when
+their Mother called them, and the orderly handed them an envelope with
+their names on it in large letters. The Twins were so excited they
+could hardly wait to know what was inside. They had never before
+received a letter. Their Mother opened it and read the contents to the
+astonished children. This was the note:--
+
+"The Commandant and men of the Foreign Legion request the pleasure of
+the company of Pierre and Pierrette Meraut, and of all the people of
+Fontanelle at a birthday party to be held at Camp (of course the exact
+name of the camp has to be left out on account of the Censor) on July
+14th at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. R. S. V. P."
+
+The eyes of Pierre and Pierrette almost popped out of their heads with
+surprise. "Why, Mother," they cried, "that's our birthday! And it's
+Bastille Day too! Do you suppose it is the birthday of the Commandant
+also?"
+
+"Maybe," said their Mother, smiling. "Anyway it is the birthday of our
+dear France."
+
+The orderly smiled, too, and touched his hat. "Is there an answer?" he
+asked.
+
+"There will be," said Mother Meraut, "but first the others must be
+told."
+
+The Twins ran with their wonderful letter to the dispensary and told
+the Doctor. Then they found Mademoiselle, who, with Kathleen's
+assistance, was putting a new tire on one wheel of the truck. They
+found Louise mending a chicken-coop, and Mary and Martha sorting
+supplies in the storeroom. They found all the other people of the
+village, some in the garden and some working elsewhere, and every
+single one said they should be delighted to go.
+
+"Now," said Mademoiselle, when they returned to her and reported, "you
+must write your acceptance."
+
+The Twins looked blank. "Can't we just tell him?" they asked anxiously.
+"We can't write very well--not well enough to write to the Commandant."
+
+"Oh, but," said Mademoiselle, "I'm sure he will expect a letter, and
+you must just write the very best you can, and it will be good enough,
+I'm sure. Get writing-materials, and I will help you."
+
+At her direction Pierre brought paper and ink from her little house,
+and the two children sat down on the ground beside the truck.
+
+"Now, what shall we say?" asked Pierrette.
+
+"I know," said Pierre; "let's say: 'Thank you for asking us to your
+party. We are all coming. Amen!' Don't you think that would do?"
+
+Mademoiselle bent over her tire. "Yes," she said, "I think he will like
+that, but I'd both sign it if I were you."
+
+So the Twins signed it and put it in an envelope and gave it to the
+orderly, who promptly put it in his pocket, saluted, wheeled his horse,
+and galloped away toward camp.
+
+The days before the party were full of excitement for the Twins. They
+thought of nothing else, and how strange it was that Bastille Day and
+the Commandant's birthday both should be the same as theirs. Mother
+Meraut bought some cloth, and made Pierrette a new dress, and Pierre a
+new blouse, to wear on the great occasion, and when the day finally
+came, the children searched the fields to find flowers for a bouquet
+for the Commandant; since they had no other birthday gift to offer him.
+
+At three o'clock in the afternoon the whole village was ready to start.
+Mademoiselle drove the truck with the old people and little children
+sitting in it on heaps of straw. Kathleen was the driver of the Ford
+car, and had as passengers Father Meraut, because he was lame, and
+Grandpere because he was Grandpere, and the Twins because it was their
+birthday; and everybody else walked.
+
+When they reached the camp, they found Jim and Uncle Sam ready to act
+as guard of honor to conduct them to the Commandant, who, with the
+Captain beside him, waited to receive them beside the flagstaff at the
+reviewing-stand of the parade-ground. It seemed very strange to Pierre
+and Pierrette that they should walk before their parents, and even
+before the Doctor and Mademoiselle, but Uncle Sam and Jim arranged the
+procession, and placed them at its head. So, carrying their bouquet of
+flowers, they followed obediently where their escort led. "Now, kids,"
+said Uncle Sam in a low voice as they neared the reviewing-stand, "walk
+right up and mind your manners. Salute and give him the bouquet, and
+speak your piece."
+
+"We haven't any piece to speak," quavered Pierrette, very much
+frightened, "except to wish him many happy returns of his birthday."
+
+Uncle Sam's eyes twinkled. "That'll do all right," he said; only of
+course he said it in French.
+
+The regiment was massed before the reviewing-stand as the little
+company came forward to meet their host, and when at last Pierre and
+Pierrette stood before the Commandant, with the beautiful flag of
+France floating over them, though they had been fearless under
+shell-fire, their knees knocked together with fright, and it was in a
+very small voice that they said, together, "Bonjour, Monsieur le
+Commandant, accept these flowers and our best wishes for many happy
+returns of your birthday."
+
+The Commandant took the flowers and smiled down at them. "It is not my
+birthday, my little ones," he said gently, "it is the birthday of our
+glorious France and of two of her brave soldiers, Pierre and Pierrette
+Meraut, as well, and the Foreign Legion is here to celebrate it! Come
+up here beside me." He drew them up beside him on the reviewing-stand
+and turned their astonished faces toward the regiment.
+
+"Men of the Foreign Legion," he said, "these are the children who
+discovered two spies, and by reporting them saved our camp from
+probable destruction." Then, turning again to the children, he said:
+"By your prompt and intelligent action you have prevented a terrible
+catastrophe. In recognition of your services the Foreign Legion desires
+to make you honorary members of the regiment, and France is proud to
+claim you as her children!" Then he pinned upon their breasts a cockade
+of blue, white, and red, the colors of France, and kissed them on both
+cheeks, the regiment meanwhile standing at attention.
+
+When he had finished the little ceremony, the men, responding to a
+signal from the Captain; burst into a hearty cheer. "Vive Pierre! Vive
+Pierrette! Vive tous les Meraut," they cried.
+
+For a moment the Twins stood stunned, petrified with astonishment,
+looking at the cheering men and at the proud upturned faces of their
+parents and the people of Fontanelle. Then Pierre was suddenly
+inspired. He waved his hat in salutation to the flag which, floated
+above them and shouted back to the regiment, "Vive la France!" and
+Pierrette saluted and kissed her hand. Then the band struck up the
+Marseillaise, and everybody sang it at the top of his lungs.
+
+It was a wonderful golden time that followed, for when the children had
+thanked the Commandant, all the people of Fontanelle were invited to
+sit on the reviewing-stand and watch the regiment go through the
+regular drill and extra maneuvers in honor of the day, and when that
+was over, the guests were escorted back to the mess tent, and there
+they had supper with the men. Moreover, the camp cook had made a
+magnificent birthday cake, all decorated with little French flags. It
+was cut with the Captain's own sword, and though there wasn't enough
+for the whole regiment, every one from Fontanelle had a bite, and
+Pierre and Pierrette each had a whole piece.
+
+When the beautiful bright day was over and they were back again in
+Fontanelle, the Twins found that even this was not the end of their joy
+and good fortune, for Mother Meraut told them that the regiment had put
+in her care a sum of money to provide for their education. "Children of
+such courage and good sense must be well equipped to serve their
+country when they grow up," the Commandant had said, and the men,
+responding to his appeal, had put their hands in their pockets and
+brought out a sum sufficient to make such equipment possible.
+
+More than that, Uncle Sam and Jim had two small uniforms made for
+them,--only Pierrette's had a longer skirt to the coat,--and on parade
+days and other great occasions they wore them to the camp, with the
+blue, white, and red cockades pinned proudly upon their breasts.
+Indeed, they became the friends and pets of the whole regiment, and
+were quite as much at home with the soldiers as with the people of
+Fontanelle.
+
+Then one day Uncle Sam had a letter from home in which there was
+wonderful news. It said that the city of Rheims had been "adopted" by
+the great, rich city of Chicago far away across the seas, and that some
+happy day when the war should be over and peace come again to the
+distracted world, Rheims should rise again from its ashes, rebuilt by
+its American friends.
+
+In this hope the Twins still live and work, performing their duties
+faithfully each day, like good soldiers, and praying constantly to the
+Bon Dieu and their adored Saint Jeanne that the blessings which have
+come to them may yet come also to all their beloved France.
+
+
+
+PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY
+
+KEY
+
+ale, care, am, arm, ask; eve, end; menu, ice, ill; old, obey, orb, odd;
+food; zh = z in azure; N = the French nasal. ' An apostrophe indicates
+a short sounding of the preceding consonant.
+
+_Proper Names_
+
+  Aisne
+  Amerique
+  Boche
+  Charly
+  Corbeille
+  Coudert
+  Fifine
+  Jacqueline
+  Jacques
+  Jeanne d'Arc
+  Marseillaise
+  Meraut
+  Pierre
+  Rheims
+  Varennes
+  Vesle
+
+
+_French Words and Phrases_
+
+Abbe
+
+Bon Dieu (Heavenly Father)
+
+Bonjour (Good-day; hello; how do you do?)
+
+chateau (castle)
+
+combattre le Boche (fight the Boche)
+
+grand'mere (grandmother)
+
+grandpere (grandfather)
+
+"Les Americains des Etats-Unis, duns l'uniforme de la France. Mais
+maintenant nous exterminons le Boche." ("Americans from the United
+States, in the uniform of France. Surely now we shall crush out the
+Boche.")
+
+Mille tonneurs! (Great heavens!)
+
+Que voulez-vous? (What do you wish?)
+
+Verger
+
+Vive (Long live)
+
+Vive la France (Long life to France!)
+
+Vive tous les Meraut (Long life to all the Meraut family.)
+
+"Auf Wiedersehen" (German: "Till we meet again," or "Good-bye.")
+
+"Lieb' Vaterland, macht ruhig sein" (German national anthem: "Dear
+Fatherland, be tranquil.")
+
+
+
+SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
+
+The French Twins offers a valuable supplement to the study of current
+events. In the first place, there is no problem of arousing interest in
+the nation which this book represents. France and the French people
+have from the outbreak of the Great War compelled new and intense
+interest and sympathy from all Americans; and each fresh insight into
+the character, life, and ideals of the country is eagerly welcomed.
+Moreover, in any class there will be few children who cannot claim
+either a relative or a friend who has served in the War; and many, like
+Pierre and Pierrette Meraut, will have had soldier fathers, thereby
+creating a bond between themselves and the Merauts strong enough to
+guarantee the pupils' interest throughout the reading of the book. Like
+the other books of the "Twins Series," _The French Twins_ adapts itself
+readily to dramatization.
+
+In providing adequate background for the story, the teacher will find
+fertile resources in newspapers and magazines. _The Red Cross
+Magazine_, _The National Geographic Magazine_, the Boy Scout and the
+Girl Scout publications, are readily accessible and contain much
+valuable supplementary material for classroom use. The Foreign Legion,
+the Battles of the Marne, Joffre's visit to the United States, Rheims
+Cathedral, important events near the scenes of the story, etc., can be
+made clear and real to the children by the aid of maps, illustrations,
+and articles in these magazines, and by means of picture post-cards,
+and other material from other sources. The story of the founding of the
+Red Cross, the origin of its flag, etc., will help to vivify the
+incidents connected with this organization.
+
+As for French history, the two focus points are the stoniest of Joan of
+Arc and Bastille Day. Both furnish abundance of colorful detail and
+incident upon which to build the pupils' conceptions of the spirit and
+ideals of the French people. In the case of Bastille Day, correlation
+should be made between that day and our own Independence Day, comparing
+the French and American Revolutions and indicating the similar
+circumstances in the two movements. Lafayette's part in our War of the
+Revolution and America's payment of our debt to France in the Great War
+form another means of making familiar to the children the story of our
+historic friendship with France.
+
+While _The French Twins_ is a war story, soldiers and trenches and
+battle-fields are nevertheless not the main features; on the contrary,
+_The French Twins_ depicts the necessary part played by women,
+children, and old people during the War, and shows how the spirit and
+aims of the soldiers' families have been the same as those of the
+soldiers themselves. Self-control, endurance, and cheerfulness at home
+are proved to be as much a part of true bravery as fearlessness in
+battle. Since the soldier's part in the War has been held closely to
+everyone's attention, the reading of this story will supply a balancing
+view of the other side of war; and the pupils' perspective of the whole
+cannot fail to gain in scope.
+
+Books which may be commended to the teacher, for descriptions of
+various aspects of the Great War, are: Hay's _The First Hundred
+Thousand_; Nicolas's _Campaign Diary of a French Officer_; Aldrich's _A
+Hilltop on the Marne_; Hall's _High Adventure_ and _Kitcheners Mob_;
+Buswell's _Ambulance No. 10_; Haigh's _Life in a Tank_; Stevenson's
+_From "Poilu" to "Yank"_; two anonymous books, _The Retreat from Mons_
+and _Friends of France_; Paine's _The Fighting Fleets_; and Root and
+Crocker's _Over Periscope Pond_.
+
+For children's reading, we suggest Mrs. Perkins's _The Belgian Twins_,
+Sara Cone Bryant's _I am an American_, Thwaites and Kendall's _History
+of the United States_, Tappan's _Little Book of the War_, and such
+compilations as _Stories of Patriotism_ and _The Patriotic Reader_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The French Twins, by Lucy Fitch Perkins
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FRENCH TWINS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 4091.txt or 4091.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/4091/
+
+Produced by Lynn Hill.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.