A LITTLE SOLDIER OF FRANCE
The children were eagerly waiting to give the Captain a welcome when
he limped out to meet his young friends on the lawn next morning.
There were no tardy ones at these sittings, in fact so interested were
they in the wonderful stories they were hearing, that they nearly
always were ahead of time.
"We shall begin at once with a story that I know will thrill you all,"
said the Captain, as Joe Funk assisted him into his chair.
"The little hero that I shall tell you about today is one of the most
remarkable of the child patriots of France. I think you will agree
with me in that after you have heard the story.
"His name was Rene. Rene had been with the army for some time, though
he was only fourteen years old, making himself useful in many ways and
fighting when he had the opportunity, which was more than seldom. For
valiant service he had been made a corporal, so you may know he
was brave and courageous, for the French do not encourage children
to join their army, much less do they give them men's work and
responsibilities.
"At the time to which I refer, the colonel of Rene's regiment had need
of a man of courage and resource to carry certain important orders to
the commanders in front-line trenches. This was early in the war when
communication had not been worked out as scientifically as it has been
since. For this duty the child offered his services.
"'This mission, I need not tell you, will prove a most perilous one,'
warned the colonel.
"'I know it, my colonel. I am ready. I have but one life and that
belongs to France.'
"'Bravely spoken. Now take careful heed to what I have to say to you
so that you forget not the slightest detail of it.' Rene was then
given final and detailed orders added to which was an urgent request
to be careful of himself, for his own sake as well as for that of his
country.
"After repeating his orders, showing that he had them well in mind,
the lad left headquarters, his face radiant with joy at being
entrusted with a mission such as this, a mission that would take him
where he knew death would face him at every step. He had not far to go
before reaching the zone of fire. Shells soon were bursting about him
and machine-gun fire was sweeping the field with a perfect rain of
steel.
"'Bang away all you like,' jeered the little fellow. 'Your voices I
have heard before, but the French have stronger and more deadly voices
than have you.'
"He finally arrived safely at the first trench. You understand he had
been above ground all the time, while the fighters were in the
trenches, where they had more protection. It was the over-fire that he
was obliged to plod through, and you who have never seen a battle do
not realize what a fierce thing this over-fire is. His orders having
been safely delivered, Rene proceeded on his troubled way to the
trench where he was to deliver the second orders.
"The first part of this leg of the journey was more or less screened
from the view of the enemy, but now a wide barren space, swept by
shell fire, lay before him. It was almost certain death to venture
into that open field. Rene knew it, but did not hesitate. It was not
that he feared for his own life, but that he did not wish to lose it
before he had fulfilled his mission.
"For better protection the lad dropped on hands and toes and ran along
like a dog, thus far untouched by bullets, though they were thick as a
nest of liberated bumble bees about his head.
"'The worst is about over now and I shall soon be in the trenches,'
he told himself encouragingly. He already could see the tops of the
helmets of the soldiers in the trenches.
"A shell exploded close by at this juncture and a shell splinter
struck him in the leg, leaving a wound. Rene rolled over on his back
and grabbed the leg with both hands, then, with his first-aid bandage,
bound the leg tightly above the wound so that he might not bleed to
death. He was already much weakened from loss of blood.
"Having done all he could for himself, Rene started off again,
dragging himself along with great effort, determined to reach the
trench and deliver his orders, which he finally succeeded in doing.
"'You have been wounded. You shall not go on,' declared the commander
after reading the orders and understanding fully what was still before
the brave lad. 'You should go back to the hospital. I will send a man
on to deliver the other orders.'
"'Monsieur le Capitaine, I have been ordered to this duty. I must go
on until I have fully obeyed my orders. Time enough for others to
carry them after I am killed. But I shall not be--not until the orders
are in the hands of the commanders in the trenches on this sector.'
"'You cannot walk; you have lost much blood,' protested the captain.
"'It matters not, sir; I can creep. That once was the only way I knew
how to walk.'
"'Then go, my brave lad, and God be with you.'
"Rene saluted formally, though the effort of raising his hand sent
shooting pains all through his body. He climbed laboriously from the
trench and emerged into the bullet-swept plain once more. It was with
a great effort that he even dragged himself along. He felt himself
growing weaker with the moments. Every few yards he was compelled to
lie over on his back for rest and to gain fresh strength for the next
spurt. It required the most heroic courage for one in Rene's condition
to go on. But he grimly stuck to it, creeping wearily along.
"The end of the journey was now in sight, though the way still seemed
long. No longer able to creep, the little messenger began to roll. It
was slow progress and he suffered agonies, but every roll brought him
that much nearer to his destination and the fulfillment of his
mission. At last an officer in a front-line trench discovered him.
Rene made a signal to the officer.
"Just then another huge shell struck the ground near the boy and burst
with a terrific crash and roar that shook the earth for a long
distance all about. The brave child was again hit by a splinter and
this time mortally wounded. He knew that the end was near and his
thoughts went back to his parents, to his home in the little village
which he had left to go to war only a short time before.
"Rene roused himself with a supreme effort and again began to roll
toward the trench.
"Stretcher bearers, observing his plight, ran to his rescue,
themselves unmindful of the storm of steel that was sweeping the plain
back of the trenches. They tenderly picked the child up and bore him
safely to the trench, where he was placed in a first-aid station in a
bomb-proof dugout.
"'Tell monsieur le Capitaine that I have orders for him--important
orders,' gasped the little soldier. 'Tell him to come quickly, for I
shall not long be able to tell him what I have to say.'
"The captain, having been hurriedly summoned, hastened to the dugout.
He gathered the dying lad tenderly in his arms, and, placing an ear
close to the boy's lips, received from Rene the orders of the colonel,
down to the last detail.
"The final word of these orders was Rene's last. He died in the arms
of the captain, who tenderly laid him down.
"'Thus dies another hero of France,' murmured the officer, striding
from the dugout, making no effort to hide the tears that were
trickling down both cheeks.
"This little hero, my friends, offers a lesson in courage and devotion
that each of you will do well always to remember," said Captain Favor
in conclusion. "Tomorrow I shall tell you another story, if the
weather permits of my coming out here. Au revoir, little friends."