FRANCOIS OUTWITS THE PRUSSIANS
"This morning I shall tell you what little Francois did to the
Germans, as well as what the Germans did to Francois," began Captain
Favor at a following sitting on the lawn. "Joe, you will be thrilled
when you hear the story of the desperate chances this little French
boy of twelve took for his country.
"He, like all of his youthful friends, was a noble fellow and a hero,
quick-witted and very bright. You would soon learn, were you in
France, how keen and clever these French children are. Their wits have
been greatly sharpened since the war began. But to our story--.
"The Prussians had reached a point on the west bank of the River
R----, a narrow stream some distance back and to the left of the
battle front. On the right side of the river, a few miles from it, was
the little village in which Francois lived. A detachment of French
infantry had arrived at the town, having come there on word that the
Germans were threatening the village.
"'Where are the Prussians?' demanded the captain of the mayor. He was
eager to get at them.
"'On the other side of the river. Other French detachments have driven
them away twice, but each time the Boches return. We have not seen
them here in several days now,' the mayor informed him.
"'I must know their exact location and the size of their force. I
cannot send one of my own soldiers. Have you a man in the village who
can pass the lines and obtain the information I seek?'
"'I fear there are none, sir,' replied the mayor.
"Francis, who had been an eager listener to this conversation,
stepped forward at this juncture.
"'I will go, monsieur le Capitaine,' he said.
"'Ah! You know where they are?'
"'No, sir, but I know the country for many miles.'
"'But the Germans will catch you, and if they do you will be shot. I
cannot permit one so young as you are to sacrifice himself.'
"Francois smiled. 'I have a grandmother living in the other village
and she is sick. Should a lad not be permitted to visit his
grandmother who is ill?' he asked.
"The French captain saw the point and smiled. 'Go, then, if you will,
but be careful. If you succeed you truly will be a hero, my lad.'
"'Francois will find the Boches,' was the boy's confident reply.
"Without waiting for the captain to change his mind the lad set out
and was soon out of sight of the village. Reaching the river, he
crept along the bank until he found the bridge he was looking for.
Over this he crawled on hands and knees, and, reaching the other side
of the river, he dodged along until he came to the village where the
Prussians were supposed to be. Francois halted at a farmhouse where he
was known. The farmer's wife was feeding the pigs, and she did not see
him until he said:
"'Where are the Boches?'
"'Francois! What do you here?' she exclaimed.
"'I come to see my grandmother. But I see none of the enemy.'
"'Unhappy child, there are thousands of them over yonder. Do not go
on, I beg of you. You surely will be shot.'
"'I go to see my grandmother. Good day, madame.' Francois plodded on
across the fields in the direction indicated by the farmer's wife.
Suddenly he saw a troop of Prussian cavalry approaching him at a
gallop.
"'Halt!' commanded the captain of the troop when they drew up near the
boy. 'What do you here?'
"'Walking, sir. I go to see my grandmother who is ill.'
"The Prussian laughed. 'Do you not know that the villagers have been
ordered to remain at home and that he who disobeys this order will be
shot?' questioned the commander, sternly.
"'Ah, sir, that is well for the grown men and women, but for children
who go to see their sick grandmothers--'
"'The order is for all. About face! March! You will be shot for your
disobedience.'
"'But I must see my grandmother,' insisted the lad. 'She is ill, I
tell you.'
"Two soldiers swung him about and marched him to their camp. As he
neared the camp he saw many cannon and machine guns, large numbers of
cavalrymen and infantry. He estimated as best he could how many of
them there were. He saw, too, that the cannon were being placed so
their muzzles pointed toward the river. Francois nodded wisely.
"'It is to shoot over to our side of the river,' he said to himself.
'One would not think they could shoot so far as our village. But they
shall find our fine French cannon can shoot farther.'
"His reflections were broken in upon rudely when he was thrust into
what proved to be the guardhouse. In reality he was _thrown_ in by the
two soldiers who had picked him up and sent him sprawling on the
floor. 'What less could one expect from a Boche?' he muttered. For
aught he knew, he soon would get worse. A sentry was posted at the
door and Francois was informed that if he tried to escape he would be
shot then and there.
"The guard house also was used to store equipment in. There were, as
he observed, many rifles stacked in rows and heaps of knapsacks,
helmets and blankets. The only light in the cell-like room into which
he had been thrust came in through a narrow window high up and far
out of his reach, a window small like those in a prison cell.
"It was not a pleasant situation in which little Francois found
himself, but what fears he had were for the people of his village and
the French troops there. He already had used his eyes to good
advantage, and now had a very clear idea of the size of the German
force and its equipment. 'I shall make my escape and hasten back to
tell our brave captain what I have seen,' he promised himself.
"Escape, however, was not so easy. The window was too high by several
feet for him to reach and to go out through the door meant that he
surely would be shot or bayoneted. His bright little eyes swept the
room and instantly he saw a way of escape.
"'The bags!' he exclaimed, and straight-way began piling the knapsacks
and blankets underneath the window. The pile grew slowly. At last it
was high enough to permit the boy to reach the window sill with his
finger tips by standing on tip-toe on the pile he had built up.
"He drew himself up easily, for Francois was strong, and peered out.
"'It is well that Francois is little, for the window is small even for
a dog to squeeze through,' he muttered.
"Peering out to see what lay before him, he saw a garden in the rear
of the building and beyond that fields with hedges and bushes, but
there was not a soldier in sight on that side. The Prussians were busy
on the other side of the building preparing for action.
"'All is well,' said Francois. A new idea came to him. He would take a
German rifle and helmet with him as souvenirs and to prove to the
French captain that Francois really had been in the camp of the
Prussians. He helped himself to a rifle and a helmet, both of which he
threw out into the garden. After a keen, sweeping glance about, the
boy crawled out head first and let himself go. Francois nearly broke
his neck in the fall to the ground, landing as he did on his head and
shoulders. For a moment he lay where he had fallen, then staggered to
his feet, dizzy and a little weak from the jolt. He started away
without, as yet, having a clear idea as to which was the right
direction for him to take. The boy dodged from bush to bush and,
reaching a hedge, bored his way through it and skulked along the other
side of it, dragging the rifle behind him, the German helmet tightly
clutched under one arm.
"'Where am I? Ah! The village is to the left. I must turn back and
start again,' he decided. This was risky, but there seemed no other
course for him to follow. Retracing his steps for some distance he
finally struck off in the right direction. When he came in sight of
the stream he discovered that the bridge was so far away that he could
not hope to reach it without being discovered.
"'But Francois can swim,' he told himself. 'He shall yet fool the
Prussians. Look out! There they go!' German soldiers already were
running toward the bridge, and he knew that his escape had been
discovered. He believed, however, that he was far enough away so they
would not see him.
"Francois swung the rifle over his shoulder and secured it there by
its carrying strap, jammed the helmet tightly over his head and rolled
down the bank into the river. The water was warm and the child was
full of joy that he had outwitted his captors.
"Fortunately the river was not wide at this point, and on the opposite
side was plenty of cover in the way of trees and bushes. But discovery
came at about the time he reached the middle of the river. The sun,
reflected from his bright metal helmet, had attracted the attention of
the soldiers. A bullet splashed in the water to the right of him.
"'Huh!' he grunted. 'The Boches cannot shoot. Francois could shoot as
good as that with his eyes shut. Bah! Shoot again.' O-u-c-h! A bullet
had gone through the helmet, so low that it raked the top of his head.
It felt like a red-hot iron being drawn across the top of his head,
and made his head swim dizzily.
"'It was a chance shot,' observed the boy. 'No Boche could shoot so
true on purpose. I shall yet fool them.'
"Reaching the opposite shore he ran up the bank, not trying to conceal
himself there. A bullet struck him in the shoulder, spun him around
and laid him flat on the ground. He was on his feet almost instantly,
shaking a fist at the Germans.
"'Shoot! I fear not your bullets,' he shouted. The boy then ran
skulking from shrub to shrub until he reached the forest, into which
he dashed. Both wounds were by now bleeding freely and his face was
covered with blood from the scalp wound. He dashed on, not wholly
certain of his direction, but, reaching the other side of the forest,
found himself not far out of his way. From then on he trotted, keeping
himself up by sheer pluck, for he was getting weak.
"Francois saw nothing more of the enemy, and finally he staggered into
his village. A sentry, recognizing the German helmet, halted him some
distance away, and after questioning him sent the lad to the captain.
"'Here, monsieur le Capitaine, see what I have taken from the Boches,'
he cried, upon espying the commander. 'Thick-heads, all of them! It is
easy to fool the Boches.'
"'But, my boy, you are wounded. What has happened?' demanded the
captain.
"'It is nothing; it was an accident. The Prussians hit me by mistake.'
"The officer called a surgeon and while the lad's wounds were being
dressed Francois related to the captain all that he had seen in the
Prussian camp.
"'And they plan to come here soon,' he added.
"'What makes you think that?' asked the commander.
"'Because they have made the villagers stay in their homes. For what
reason other than that do they wish to keep the villagers in? Again,
they are fast making preparations to go into battle!'
"'You are a clever boy and a brave one,' cried the captain,
enthusiastically. 'You may keep the rifle. You will be proud some day
that you own it.'
"'I am proud now, monsieur le Capitaine, but I shall be more proud
after you have whipped the Boches.'
"'That is good, but what can we do to reward you?'
"'Whip them quickly, that I may go to see my sick grandmother. I am
much put out, sir, that I did not see her.'
"There was loud laughter at this, and at the earnest way in which it
was said, but Francois never changed the sober expression of his face.
"'It shall be done. Reinforcements are coming and early this evening
we shall go out to meet the Prussians. I promise you that you shall
soon see your grandmother, Francois.' And he did, for, acting upon his
information, the French forces were enabled to inflict heavy losses
upon the Germans and drive them from that part of the country. A few
days later Francois made the trip again, and this time did see his
dear grandmother, but she was not so ill but that she could work in
her garden.
"And that, my dear little friends, is the story of another little hero
of France," concluded Captain Favor.