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.