THE FIRE
"That's from a fire, Paul!" said Arthur. "And
it looks--"
"As if it came from Uncle Henri's house? It
certainly does, Arthur! Oh, but I hope it isn't!
That would be dreadful!"
They raced on now, and as they hastened, the sky
before them grew ever brighter. They could no
longer doubt that the glare they saw came from a
conflagration, and it grew more and more certain
every minute that it was their own summer home
that was burning. There was no other house in
that direction that would produce such a splendid
reflection were it afire.
And soon, too, they came in sight of the house,
and all hope that they were mistaken vanished.
It was M. de Frenard's house, and a single glance
showed that there was no hope of saving it.
Flames were spurting from every window, and
through the roof, even as they came into plain
sight of the house, there burst a great pillar of
fire. There seemed to be an explosion of some sort,
for a great mass of sparks shot upward toward
the heavens, raining down a moment later. In the
light of the fire they could see the men-servants
and some of the peasant neighbors busily engaged
in dragging a few pieces of furniture and some
pictures across the lawn--evidently what little
there had been time to drag from the burning
house. They could see also a group of women,
where Madame de Frenard was calming the
women-servants and trying to bring order out of chaos.
Dropping their bicycles, they ran quickly
toward her, calling her name. As she heard them
she turned, and they saw that her face was radiant.
"Oh, you are safe, then!" she cried. "Now
nothing else matters, since no one is hurt! No one
had seen you two since dinner--I was so frightened!"
"We're all right," said Paul, a little remorseful.
"There was something we had to do, that I
will tell you about later. But how did this fire
start?"
"No one knows," said Madame de Frenard, her
eyes darkening. "All that is certain is that we
were awakened by a cry of fire. There was
scarcely time for all of us to get out, and for the
men to save a few of the best pictures. It seemed
that oil must have been spread about, for the fire
to burn so quickly! I do not believe it was an accident."
Paul and Arthur looked at one another. The
same thought had come to both of them. It was
Arthur who voiced it.
"The Germans?" he said, doubtfully.
"Just what I was wondering," said Paul. "But
why should they?"
"Oh, I thought of them, too!" said their aunt.
"And I, too, asked why. There is war but, even
so, we have nothing to do with that. There is no
reason for them to burn our home!"
"I think a great many things are going to
happen for which it will be hard to find a reason,"
said Paul, thoughtfully.
"Well, the first thing to be done is for us to get
a roof over our heads for to-night," said Madame
de Frenard, with decision. "Your uncle is still
in Brussels, unless he has already rejoined the
army. I think we had better go into Liege and
stay at a hotel."
"We can get into Liege," said Paul, rousing
himself from his mood of reflection, "but I'm not
sure about staying there. I think you had better
take your maid and go to Brussels, Aunt Claire.
The rest of the servants ought to go home, I think."
It was curious to see how their positions were
reversed in this emergency. It was Paul who was
in command now, not his aunt.
"Do you think so?" she said. "Why, Paul?"
"Because I am afraid that there will be hard
fighting around Liege. I do not think the town will
be defended for very long; it cannot be. It is
supposed only to check the German advance, to gain
a little time, so that the French and the English,
if they come to our aid, may have time to mass
their troops to the west and the north. I am sure
Uncle Henri would say I was right, and I can
arrange it for you to be sent to Brussels, I am sure."
Madame de Frenard was a little inclined to
smile, in spite of the fire and all the woe it had
brought with it.
"Why, Paul, how can you arrange anything?"
she asked. "Have you, perhaps, suddenly
acquired influence with the army?"
"He certainly has!" interrupted Arthur, his
eyes shining. "Oh, Aunt Claire, we've done so
many wonderful things to-night!"
So he let the cat out of the bag, and, with so
much of a start, Madame de Frenard was not
satisfied until she had the whole story out of them.
She caught her breath when she heard of the shots
that had been fired at them, but she looked very
proud and happy, too.
"Oh, that was splendid!" she cried. "We may
be a little nation, we Belgians, but we can meet
them when even our boys can defy them and outwit
them so magnificently! Now I know that I can
trust you! Paul, it is as if your uncle were here!
You shall take his place, and I shall do whatever
you say is right."
Paul grew red, and embarrassment checked his
speech for a moment.
"It was just luck, of course," he said, confusedly.
"Anyone could have done what we did, you
know. But I'm glad you'll go on to Brussels,
Aunt Claire, and I think Major du Chaillu will be
glad to make the arrangements, before the railway
is interrupted. I will go now and get out the carriages."
"Very well, Paul, do so. It is lucky that we
have those left, at any rate."
Paul and Arthur helped the men to get out the
carriages and harness the horses, frightened by
the noise and confusion of the fire. And Paul and
Arthur, too, rode in the carriage that took their
aunt and her maid into Liege.
"I didn't think we would be coming back to
Liege quite so soon," said Arthur, a little ruefully.
"This isn't as exciting as the first trip we made
to-night, either."
"No, but I think it's safer," said Paul, rather
dryly. "And there'll be more than enough excitement
to make up for it when the Germans come, Arthur."
"Oh, I suppose so!"
"I am going to take you two boys to Brussels
with me," said Madame de Frenard, suddenly.
Paul was quiet at that; it was Arthur who cried
out in vigorous protest.
"Oh, no, Aunt Claire!" he exclaimed. "There's
so much for us to do here!"
"There will be plenty for you to do in Brussels,"
she said, with decision. "It's settled. I
can't allow you to stay here if it isn't safe for me."
Arthur looked to Paul for help, but Paul only
smiled. His aunt looked at him curiously.
"So you are willing to go without arguing,
Paul?" she asked.
"You said it was settled, Aunt Claire," he
replied. "If a thing is settled, there is no use in
arguing about it, is there?"
She smiled faintly. She knew Paul well enough
to know that when his mind was made up he never
was willing to admit that a thing was settled until
it was settled as he wished. She wondered what
he had up his sleeve, for she was sure that he was
quite as anxious as Arthur to stay in or around Liege.
As a matter of fact, Paul was the only one of
them all who had even a remote idea of what was
coming. He could not foresee all the horrors of
invasion and battle. No one can do that, or wars
would never be begun. But he did realize that
dire trouble was in store, and that a good many
civilians, and especially women and young
children, would be sent away from Liege before there
was any fighting, if that were possible. There was
something else that Paul grasped better than
either Arthur and his aunt, and that was the
probable course of the invasion.
He knew that in a few days Liege, strong
fortress though it was, would be engulfed. It might
hold out for a long time; he thought it probably
would. But the Germans would be all about it.
The Uhlans would sweep along, far beyond the
range of the guns of the forts, cutting communications,
interrupting railways, blocking the roads,
and Liege must depend upon itself for food, for
ammunition, for all the things that would be
needed. For that reason, he thought, General
Leman would encourage all who could to get out
of the city before the actual siege began. And he
had an idea that there was no real question of his
going, or Arthur; that they would have to wait
their turn, at least. That was why he submitted
so quietly to his aunt's declaration that he and
Arthur were to go with her.
When they arrived in Liege he found that, late
as it was, the city was still awake and stirring.
Outside of the railway station there was a great
crowd. There were women there with children
clinging to their skirts. They carried odd-shaped
bundles. Plainly this was a sudden flight for most
of them, and they had snatched up their greatest
treasures, and wrapped them as best they could.'
"Why, it looks like a regular panic!" said
Madame de Frenard. "I don't see what there is
to be afraid of yet, at any rate. I don't see how we
are going to get away, either, Paul."
"I'll try to find Major du Chaillu," said Paul.
"Arthur, will you stay here while I go?"
He went off when Arthur nodded, and threaded
his way through the confusion and the crowds to
General Leman's headquarters. There, after a
good deal of difficulty, and after he had been
turned away several times by impatient sentries,
he succeeded in finding his friend the major. To
him he explained the situation.
"Your aunt and her maid?" said du Chaillu.
"Yes, I shall be able to manage that."
"My cousin and I cannot go, I suppose?"
"Not to-night, I'm afraid, my boy. The orders
are very strict." He looked a little puzzled, but
went on: "I'd like to make an exception in your
case, for you have done so much for Belgium--"
"Oh, I don't want to go and neither does
Arthur!" cried Paul, with a laugh. "It's just as
I thought. Only my aunt wants us to go, and I
was afraid that perhaps we could."
The major laughed, too.
"That's more like what I had expected from
you," he said. "Yet it would be better if you did
go. However, women and children first. We've
made the rule, and we must make no exceptions,
or it would be impossible to enforce it at all."
"Oh, we'll get along all right," said Paul.
"And--well, I have an idea that may not be of
any use, so that I'd better not say anything about
it yet. But I hope that Paul and I can still do
something for Belgium and Liege."
"I've no doubt that you will try to do that,"
said du Chaillu. "Come, show me where you left
your aunt, and I will see that she is allowed to go
out on the next train. I will take her into the
station by a private entrance for there is little chance
of getting through the crowd in any other way."
He was as good as his word. Madame de Frenard
listened to his explanation of how impossible
it was for Paul and Arthur to be allowed to go
on the train, and glanced at Paul. She thought
that she understood his submissiveness better now!
"But--women and children?" she said.
"Surely these boys?"
"We are not children!" protested Paul and
Arthur in one breath.
Major du Chaillu smiled rather sadly.
"No, they are not children in such times as
these, Madame," he said. "We have not quite
come to the point of calling upon boys to fight,
but we cannot treat them as children. Still, I
shall see that they are looked to, as well as I can,
be assured of that, Madame de Frenard."
And with that assurance she had to be content.