"So far, so good, Percy!" Ralph said, when they heard the street
door slam, as the orderly left. "Hitherto we have had the most
extraordinary good fortune and, as it's going to snow--for I felt a
few flakes, as we came along--I look upon it as good as done."
"It will take away from us risk of being hit, but I don't see that
it will make much difference in our risk of being drowned," Percy
said. "I own, Ralph, I am a great deal more afraid of that, than of
the other."
"But it does, Percy. It makes all the difference in the world. We
had agreed that we would put on life belts; but that we would blow
the smallest quantity of air possible into them, so that they might
give us some slight assistance, and yet not be too buoyant to
prevent us from diving. Now we can blow them up with wind, so as to
prevent the possibility of our being drowned. Once in the water,
and we are safe from everything except a stray bullet. In a
snowstorm, on such a dark night as this, they could not see our
heads five yards off."
"But what is worse, Ralph, we shall not be able to see five yards,
either; and should have no idea where we were swimming."
"I had not thought of that, Percy. Yes, that would be very
serious," and Ralph thought, for some time. "It seems a risk, this,
Percy; but I can see no plan, except to draw their fire."
"How do you mean?" Percy asked, puzzled.
"You see, Percy, our idea before was to get down to the shore, to
put our dummy into the water, and to let it float down a hundred
yards--the length of its string--and then to start ourselves,
holding the other end of the string, in hopes that--if the sentries
are really sharply on the lookout--they would see the dummy,
instead of us, as it will be a much more conspicuous object;
especially as we intended to do as much diving as we could, and our
movements forward would jerk the dummy's string, and make him bob,
like a man swimming. If they once caught sight of it, they would be
too busy firing at it to look about for anyone else.
"Well now, I think that instead of giving up the dummy
altogether--as we might have done, now that the snow has come
on--we must let it float gently down, for seventy or eighty yards;
and then throw a stone into the water by it, so as to draw the
attention of the sentry. Or--if the sentries are pretty far
apart--one of us might make a great splash in the water, when the
dummy is floating; and then run back before the sentry gets up, and
get into the water quietly, higher up. Their fire will act as a
guide to us."
"We had better start soon, Ralph. It may take us an hour, or even
two, to get down to the water; for we must go along like ghosts, so
as not to alarm the sentries; and we shall have walls to get over,
and all sorts of difficulties."
"All right, Percy. I do not see the use of waiting. We shall not
get any warmer, by stopping here. It's like having a tooth out.
One's got to do it, and the sooner it's done, the better.
"Now for our bundles."
They went downstairs into a cellar--where the light could not be
seen from outside--struck a light, and lit a candle. The first
thing taken out of the bundle was the dummy--a net, rather larger
than a man's head, tightly filled with corks; with a cord, a
hundred yards in length, attached. Next were two complete suits,
made of white calico; with caps, with long flaps of the same
material. Next were two large rolls of India rubber webbing, about
six inches wide, which they had brought from Tours with them.
"I can't think that that will be any good, Ralph."
"It will, indeed, Percy. The water will, of course, soak through;
but what gets in will remain in, and the heat of the body will warm
it, a good deal. I can assure you, it will be a great deal warmer
than having the icy water flowing past you."
Both boys now took off their coats and waistcoats, put on a warm
flannel jersey over their flannel shirts, and then wound the
bandages of India rubber round each other's bodies. They began
under the arms; drawing the webbing tight, as they wound it round,
so that its natural elasticity caused each turn to press tightly
upon the turn above, which it overlapped. This bandage was
continued down to the lower part of the body. Then they put on the
life belts. Over them they put their suits of white calico, white
shoes with India rubber soles, the white caps, and swimming gloves.
They then put the "dummy" in a pillow case, which they had bought
for it at Versailles. Before putting on their caps, they fastened
the quills with the dispatches in their hair. In a belt, underneath
their jackets, each carried a heavy revolver.
"This India rubber stuff regularly squeezes me, Ralph."
"All the better, Percy. You will feel the benefit of it, when you
are in the water, believe me."
The boys now knelt down together, and asked for protection through
the peril which they were about to encounter. A few minutes later
they rose, grasped each other's hand; and then--blowing out the
light--groped their way upstairs, opened a window which led into
the garden, and stepped out.
The wind was blowing strongly. Snowflakes were being whisked hither
and thither, like spray from a wave. Had it not been for the gleam
from the snow-covered ground, it would have been impossible to see
ten paces, here. As it was, it was intensely dark.
"It's lucky that it's downhill, Percy, or we should never find our
way to the water's edge. If we keep descending, we must be there,
at last."
Before starting, the boys went a few paces from each other; and
were pleased to find that their white costumes suited admirably as,
between the driving snow and the white sheet upon the ground, they
could not make each other out at more than eight or ten yards, even
when they knew exactly where they stood. They now began to descend
the hill, very carefully, step by step. The snow upon the ground
made walking much more easy than it otherwise would have been.
Their footsteps--muffled alike by the India-rubber soles, and the
snow upon which they walked--were inaudible, even to themselves.
They had several walls to climb, and the noiseless India-rubber
soles were of good service, here. Several times they could hear the
sentries, beating their feet upon the ground to warm them; but in
no case were they near enough to see them.
At last, after an hour and a half--spent in passing the three
hundred yards which separated them from the river--they reached, in
safety, the wall of the road which runs along by the river. Here
the sentries were pacing along at distances of thirty or forty
yards apart. The white houses, upon the opposite side of the road,
could be faintly seen; and the boys moved along until opposite an
opening between them, by which they could get through to the river.
Looking over the wall, they could watch the sentries and--choosing
their time when one had just passed, so that his back would be
turned towards them--he no sooner disappeared in the darkness than
they dropped noiselessly into the road, ran across the street,
climbed a low railing, and stood in a garden which reached down to
the river.
They stood watching, for some time, to assure themselves that no
sentry was placed in the garden; but at last they stole forwards
and stood at the end of the garden, with the river at their feet.
The snow--which was at their backs--was falling faster than ever.
The river deepened rapidly from the wall; but the water was low
enough for anyone to get along on the sloping side--faced with
rough stone--between the foot of the wall and the water.
The boys got over the wall, took the dummy from the bag and,
holding one end of the cord, put it quietly into the water; and
allowed it to float down, about sixty yards.
"Now, Percy," Ralph said, "you get ready to slip into the water, as
quietly as possible, the moment you hear a splash. I will leave
this bag here, so as to know exactly where you have gone in and--as
the rope is plenty long enough--you keep hold of it here, at sixty
yards from the dummy; and I will fasten the slack end to the stone
so that, when I go in, I have only to hold the rope in my hand, to
be able to join you. I will take this heavy coping stone in my
hand; will crawl along on this shelving bank, till I arrive at the
dummy; and will then throw the stone in, and run back at full
speed, and be in the water a few seconds after you are."
"All right, Ralph, I understand. Keep your pistol cocked in your
hand, as you go."
Ralph crept quietly along, under the wall, until he saw the dummy
floating at the edge of the water, a few feet below him. He rose on
his feet, to throw in the stone; when he heard a deep exclamation
behind him and, looking round, he saw a dark figure within two feet
of him. Another moment, and the sentry would have brought his rifle
to his shoulder--for he sprang back, giving a loud shout--but
Ralph wheeled round instantaneously, threw up his revolver, and
fired at the sentinel's body.
He saw him fall; turned round, hurled the heavy stone with a loud
splash into the water, and then--crawling low under the wall--ran
at full speed back again. As he did so, two sentries in the garden
over his head fired, in the direction of the splash in the water;
and shouts were heard all along the bank.
In another instant Ralph grasped the line, and slid down the snowy
slopes into the water; entering so quietly that no sound, whatever,
betrayed his entry. It was icy cold, and almost took away his
breath. Twenty strokes, and he joined Percy.
"All right, old man, they can't see us now."
"You are not hit, are you, Ralph?" Percy gasped.
"No, it was my revolver. I had to shoot a sentry, to save my life.
It's lucky we have got these life belts on, for I am sure we should
never get across."
"There! There!" was shouted, in German. "I see his head bobbing up
and down," and eight or ten rifle shots were fired, from the garden
where the sentry had fallen, in the direction of the dummy.
The boys swam on desperately, then Ralph said:
"You can slip the string now, Percy. The dummy has done its work.
It must be quite out of sight from the bank.
"Do not you feel the benefit of the India rubber?"
"Yes," Percy said, "I am warm enough, in the body; but my legs are
in agony, from the cold. These gloves are helping us on, though, at
a great rate."
"Well, there is one blessing," Ralph said, "we can't miss the way,
now."
As he spoke, a heavy fire of musketry opened from the French, upon
the other side. Alarmed at the sudden fire on the part of the
Germans, they fired at the flashes of their guns and, fresh
reinforcements coming up on either side, a heavy exchange of
musketry shots took place across the river; partially over the
boys' heads, but principally a hundred yards lower down the stream,
in the direction where the dummy was seen by the Germans.
The boys swam with long, steady, noiseless strokes.
"We must be halfway across," Ralph said.
"I am getting deadly cold, all over, Ralph. I can't sink, of
course; but I shall freeze to death, before I reach the opposite
bank."
"No, no, Percy," Ralph said, as cheerily as he could; though he
felt, himself, that the intense cold was rapidly overcoming his
strength. "Keep up your heart. Strike as hard as you can. The more
you exert yourself, the better."
In another minute or two, Ralph found he was leaving Percy behind,
and slackened his speed.
"Goodbye, Ralph. My legs are all cramped up, and my arms are
numbed. I can't swim another stroke. It is all up with me," he
said, faintly. "God bless you. Don't stop with me; you can do no
good, and your only chance is to go on."
Ralph, however, put one hand upon Percy's life belt, and struck out
for shore; but he felt that it was hopeless. Frightful pains were
shooting through his limbs, and he breathed what he believed to be
a last prayer; when a boom like thunder, a few yards off,
galvanized him into life again--for he saw the gunboat, which they
had seen in the morning, only a few yards distant. She had just
fired a gun, loaded with grape, in the direction of the Germans who
were firing. She was still at anchor, and the stream was drifting
them down fast upon her.
"Help!" Ralph shouted. "Help! We are drowning, and have dispatches
Throw a rope, quick!"
"Where are you?" answered a voice.
"Here, close to you, just abreast," Ralph shouted.
In another instant a rope struck his face. He grasped it, twisted
it tightly round Percy's body and his own, tied a rough knot with
his last strength, and then lost consciousness.
When he recovered his senses, his first sensation was that of
intense pain--so intense that it extracted a groan from him.
"That's right, rub away; and pour some more brandy down his
throat," a voice said.
Then he became conscious that he was being rubbed with hot
flannels. He opened his eyes, and saw a gleaming of moving
machinery, and the red glare of furnaces.
"Where am I?" he asked, at last.
"In the engine room of the gunboat Farcey," a voice said.
"I am suffering agony," Ralph murmured, between his teeth.
"I daresay," the officer who was standing by him answered. "You
were pretty near frozen to death. Luckily your life belts kept you
from taking in any water, but it was a near squeak. Another three
minutes in the water, and the doctor says it would have been all up
with you."
"Where is my brother?" Ralph asked suddenly; sitting up, with a
full consciousness of all that had passed.
"He is coming round," the officer said. "He was farther gone than
you were; and his heart's action was altogether suspended, from the
cold. His limbs are twitching now, and the doctor says he will do.
"You call him your brother, but I suppose you mean your son?"
"Please lend me some clothes," Ralph said. "I can stand, now."
Some clothes had already been got in readiness, and warmed; and in
a couple of minutes Ralph was kneeling by his brother's side. Percy
was now coming to, and was suffering agonies similar to those which
Ralph himself had experienced, from the recommencement of
circulation in his limbs. He looked round, utterly bewildered; for
he had become insensible before the Farcey's gun had given notice
of her proximity. He smiled, however, when his eyes fell on Ralph's
face.
"It is all right, Percy, thank God," Ralph said. "We are on board
the gunboat Farcey and, in ten minutes, we shall be landed in the
heart of Paris."
In another five minutes, Percy was sufficiently recovered to begin
to dress. The commander of the Farcey now turned to Ralph.
"Your son has had a very narrow shave of it, sir."
"Son!" Ralph said, "He is my brother."
The officer looked surprised.
"How old do you take me to be?" Ralph asked.
"Forty-five or fifty," the officer said.
"I shall not be seventeen for some months," Ralph answered.
The officer looked at him with an air of intense astonishment, and
there was a burst of laughter from the men standing round. The
commandant frowned angrily at them.
"Quite so, my dear sir," he said, soothingly. "I was only joking
with you. It is evident that you are not yet seventeen."
"You think I have lost my senses, with the shock," Ralph said,
smiling. "I can assure you that that is my age. My beard and
whiskers are so firmly fixed on, with cobbler's wax, that I shall
have an awful trouble to get them off; and my hair the same. If you
feel along here, from one ear to the other, you will feel a ridge.
That is the cobbler's wax, that sticks all this mass of frizzled
hair on.
"Did you not notice that both my brother's and my face and hands
were much darker than the rest of our skin?"
"Yes, the doctor did notice that," the captain said--now beginning
to think that Ralph was not insane, after all.
Passing his finger where Ralph directed him, he felt the ridge of
the false hair.
"Who are you then, may I ask?" he said.
"My brother and myself are named Barclay," Ralph said. "We are
lieutenants in the army, and are both decorated for service in the
field. We left Tours four days ago, and are bearers of dispatches
from Gambetta to General Trochu."
A cheer broke from all who were standing within hearing; and the
boys' hands--for Percy came up at the moment--were warmly shaken by
the officers of the boat, one after another. Congratulations of all
sorts were heaped upon them, and those around were unable to make
enough of them.
"No pigeon has come in, for ten days," the commander said. "You
will indeed be welcome."
At this moment, a sailor came down to say that they were passing
the Louvre and, in another two minutes, the gunboat lay alongside
the wharf.
"You do not know, I suppose, where Trochu is to be found?" the
commander of the Farcey asked.
"No, indeed," Ralph said.
"I will go with you, myself," the officer said. "If the general has
gone to bed, we must knock him up. He won't mind, when he hears the
reason."
It was but a short distance to walk, but the boys had great
difficulty in getting there; for their limbs were stiff and aching,
and they felt a burning sensation all over them, as if they had
been dipped in boiling water. General Trochu had not yet gone to
bed and--upon the message being delivered by the orderly, "The
commander of the Farcey, with officers bearing dispatches, from
Tours,"--he ordered them to be instantly admitted.
"These are the Lieutenants Barclay, general," the commander of the
Farcey said. "A heavy firing broke out, suddenly, from the water
side at Lower Meudon. It was answered from our side and--thinking
that it might be someone trying to swim across--I fired a round of
grape into the Germans, and ordered a sharp lookout to be kept. I
had scarcely spoken the words before we were hailed for a rope; and
in another minute these officers--both insensible from cold--were
pulled on board. Thinking they might have dispatches, I at once
started up the river; and when they were brought round, by the
surgeon, they stated that they were the Lieutenants Barclay,
bearers of dispatches from Tours."
"Gallantly done, gentlemen! Bravely done!" the general said warmly,
shaking both boys by the hand.
The burning heat of Percy's hand struck him, at once.
"Where are your dispatches, gentlemen? You have preserved them, I
hope?"
Ralph produced the two quills.
"They are duplicate, general," he said. "We each carried one, in
case any accident might befall one of us."
"Thank you," the general said. "I need now detain you no longer. I
have work here for all night, and you had better go instantly to
bed. Your brother is in a high state of fever."
He touched a bell, and an officer in waiting came in.
"Captain Bar, will you kindly take these gentlemen to a hotel, at
once. The horses are, as usual, in the carriage I suppose;
and,"--he dropped his voice--"send a message from me to request
Doctor Marcey to see them, at once. The younger one is in a state
of high fever."
In another quarter of an hour the boys were in comfortable beds, in
rooms adjoining each other. Ralph--who was heavy and stupid, with
the effects of the cold--was asleep almost the instant his head
touched the pillow. He was roused a short time afterwards by being
shaken and, opening his eyes, he saw someone leaning over him.
"Drink this," the gentleman said, holding a glass to his lips.
Ralph mechanically did as he was told; and fell off again into a
heavy sleep, from which he did not awake until late the next
afternoon.
His first impulse was to look at his watch. It had stopped at
eleven o'clock, the night before--the hour at which he had entered
the Seine. Then he rang the bell.
"What o'clock is it?" he asked, when the servant entered.
"Just struck five, sir."
"What, five in the afternoon?" Ralph exclaimed.
"Yes, sir."
"I have slept," Ralph said, with a laugh. "However, I feel all
right again, now.
"Is my brother up?"
"No, sir," the man said.
"Percy!" Ralph shouted, "It is five o'clock in the afternoon. Get
up."
"The other gentleman is not in the next room, sir," the servant
said.
"Is he not?" Ralph said, puzzled. "I was desperately sleepy last
night, certainly; but not too sleepy, I should have thought, to
have made a mistake about that. I feel sure he was in the next
room."
"He was, sir," the servant said, "but Doctor Marcey, when he came
to see you--just after you got into bed--ordered him to be carried
at once into another room, in order that he might not disturb you.
He said it was essential that you should have your sleep out,
undisturbed."
"But why should my brother disturb me?" Ralph asked, anxiously. "Is
he not well?"
"No, sir, he has got fever. He has been calling out, a great deal.
He has got two sisters with him, and the doctor has been every
hour."
By this time Ralph was out of bed.
"Here are some clothes, sir," the man said, handing them to him.
"The landlord thought you would want some at once, when you woke;
and ordered three or four suits for you to try."
Ralph seized the first that came to hand, and threw them on.
"All Paris was talking about your getting through the enemy, last
night, sir. There have been hundreds of people here to call."
Ralph did not even hear what was said.
"Now," he said, "take me to him, at once."
The servant led Ralph along a passage and stopped at a door, at
which he knocked. A Sister of Mercy opened the door.
"This is the other gentleman."
The sister opened the door for Ralph to enter.
"He is quiet now," she said, in a soft, compassionate tone.
Ralph went into the room. Percy lay in the bed, with his head
surrounded with ice. His face was flushed, and his eyes wild. He
was moving uneasily about, talking to himself.
"It is that schoolmaster who is at the bottom of it," he muttered.
"He was a traitor, and I thought we hung him, but I suppose we
didn't. Perhaps he got down, after we had gone off. If not, how
could he have betrayed us again?
"I have heard of liquid fire, but that was liquid ice. It got into
my veins, somehow, instead of blood. I tell you, Ralph, it's no
good. I can't stand it any longer; but I will pay off that
schoolmaster, first. Let me get at him," and he made an effort to
rise.
The sister tried to restrain him, but so violent were his efforts
to rise that Ralph--who was looking on, with tears streaming down
his cheeks--was obliged to assist to hold him down. When he became
quiet, the sister forced some medicine between his lips--Ralph
holding up his head.
"Shall I speak to him?" Ralph asked. "He may know my voice."
"Better not, sir," the nurse said, "it would probably only set him
off again."
"What does the doctor say about him?" Ralph asked.
"He says it is brain fever," the nurse said. "He only said it might
be some days, before the crisis came; and that he could not give
any decided opinion, at present. But he seemed to have hope."
"Thank God, at least, for that!" Ralph said, earnestly.
Percy, turning his head round again, caught sight of Ralph.
"Ah, there is that schoolmaster again! If no one else will hang
him, I will do it, myself. Let me get at him!"
And he again made desperate efforts to get out of bed.
"You had better go, sir," one of the sisters said, urgently. "The
sight of you makes him worse, and you can do him no good."
Seeing that it was so, Ralph reluctantly left the room; his only
comfort being that Percy was as carefully tended, and looked after,
as it was possible for him to be. He had scarcely returned to his
room, when an officer was shown in.
"I daresay you hardly remember me," he said. "I came here with you,
last night."
"I am very glad to see you again, and to thank you for the trouble
you took," Ralph said. "I was too sleepy to do so, last night."
"Not at all," the officer answered. "However, I am here with a
message from the general, now. He would have asked you to dine with
him but, hearing of the state of your brother, he could not ask you
to leave him for so long a time; but he would be glad if you would
come to see him, for an hour, this evening. He wishes to know how
you managed to pass through the German lines; and he also desires
to be informed, as far as you can give such information, of the
number and position of the enemy.
"What surprises us all, more than anything, is that the dispatches
are dated the morning of the thirteenth instant; and you were
picked up, by the Farcey, upon the evening of the sixteenth. It
seems incredible that you should have done the distance, and
managed to get through the German lines, in the time. Only one
other messenger has got through; and his dispatches were more than
ten days old, when they reached us, and had been forestalled by
some pigeons. Your news is six days later than any we have
received."
"We slept, on the night of the thirteenth, at Montargis," Ralph
said; "on the fourteenth at Melun, on the fifteenth at Versailles;
and last night--as you know--here."
"I must not get the information before the general," the officer
said, with a laugh. "It is half-past six, now. The general dines at
seven. At what time will you be with him? Shall we say nine?"
"I will be there at nine," Ralph said, "but the general will, I
hope, excuse my coming either in uniform, or full dress of any
kind. I have, of course, nothing with me."
"General Trochu will of course understand that," the officer said.
"Goodbye."
Ralph now went back to Percy's room. The doctor had just come. He
was accompanied by another medical man. Ralph stood by, in silent
attention, while the doctor felt Percy's pulse, and asked a few
questions of the nurse. They then gave some orders, and said that
fresh medicine should be sent in, in a quarter of an hour; and that
they would come in again, at ten o'clock, to see how he was going
on.
"What do you think of him, sir?" Ralph asked, as the doctor came
out.
"He has a sharp attack of brain fever," the doctor said, "but he is
young, with an excellent constitution. I trust we shall pull him
through. I cannot say anything for certain, at present--till the
fever takes a turn, one way or the other--but I have strong hopes."
Ralph ordered some dinner to be sent up to his room, for he began
to be keenly awake to the fact that he had eaten nothing, for more
than twenty-four hours. After he had taken the meal, he sat in
Percy's room, until it was time to go to General Trochu's; keeping
himself, however, in a position so as to be hidden by the
curtain--for the sight of him evidently excited the patient. Percy
was, as far as his brother could see, in just the same state as
before: sometimes talking to himself, in disconnected sentences;
sometimes raving wildly, and imagining himself repeating the scenes
through which he had passed, since he left home.
At nine o'clock, exactly, Ralph sent in his name to the governor;
and was at once shown in. The general had already left the table,
and was smoking in a small study. With him were Generals Ducrot and
Vinoy. General Trochu rose, and shook him cordially by the hand;
presented him to the other generals, and asked him to take a cigar,
and sit down.
"Generals Ducrot and Vinoy are surprised, I see, at your
appearance, Captain Barclay," General Trochu began.
"By the way," he interrupted himself, "you are in the Gazette, this
morning, as captain."
Ralph bowed, and expressed his thanks.
"No thanks are due at all, Captain Barclay," the old veteran said.
"You have well earned your promotion; and Gambetta--who speaks of
you, I may say, in the highest terms--tells me that he promised you
the step, if you got in. I need not say that, whether he had done
so or not, I should have given it to you.
"But I was saying, I see Generals Vinoy and Ducrot are
surprised--as I am, myself--at your appearance. Gambetta, in his
letter, twice uses the expression young officers. Once he said,
'these young officers have greatly distinguished themselves, and
have gained the cross of the legion of honor;' and again he says,
'these young officers have volunteered to carry dispatches.'
"Naturally, my friends were looking for a younger man; and having
only seen you for an instant last night, and not having observed
your features, specially, I confess that I was expecting a younger
man.
"You see," he said, with a smile, "we can quite understand
Gambetta's calling your brother a young officer, for he is a mere
lad; but one would hardly have applied the same term to yourself."
Ralph had flushed crimson, at the commencement of this speech.
"I must apologize very greatly, general," he said, when the
Governor of Paris stopped; "for the mistake is certainly due to my
own forgetfulness."
His hearers looked surprised.
"I slept until five o'clock this afternoon," Ralph continued;
"owing, I believe, to a powerful opiate that the doctor you kindly
sent us gave me. Since I woke, my thoughts have been entirely given
to my brother; and the thought of my singular appearance never
entered my mind. I have become so accustomed--in the few days since
I left Tours--to this beard, mustache, and hair, that I never
thought of them, for a moment. Had I thought of it, I could not
have presented myself before you, this evening; for I should not
have presumed to do so, in my present state; and it will take me
some hours of hard work, and not a little pain, before I get rid of
them--for they are fastened on with shoemaker's wax and, I fear,
will not come off, without taking a considerable portion of skin
with them."
The three generals laughed heartily at Ralph's apology, and their
own mistake; and General Trochu then asked him to give them a full
account of what had happened to him, what he had seen, and what
information he had gained since he left Tours. Ralph told the story
unaffectedly, from beginning to end, and received warm commendation
from his listeners.
"Your story began at Tours," General Trochu said; "where had you
last been, before that?"
"We had only arrived, ten days before, from a German prison," Ralph
answered.
The generals all laughed.
"You are adventurous fellows, you and your brother," General Vinoy
said. "How did you get taken, and how did you get out?"
Ralph again told his story.
"You are cool hands, you Barclays," General Ducrot said. "How did
you get commissions first? Were you at the Polytechnic, or Saint
Cyr?"
"No, general," Ralph said, modestly, "we had no such advantages. We
won our commissions--and the cross of the Legion--in the Vosges, as
franc tireurs."
"In which corps?" General Trochu asked, a little sharply. "They
have not done any very great things, the franc tireurs."
"We were in the franc tireurs of Dijon," Ralph said, a little
proudly. "We several times beat superior forces. We blew up the
bridge of the Vesouze; and should have blown up the tunnel of
Saverne, had it not been for treachery."
"Yes, yes," General Trochu said; "I remember Gambetta has once or
twice mentioned your corps, especially. You see, we don't hear much
from outside.
"Let us hear of the affairs you have mentioned. Your account will
give us a better idea of the state of things, in the Vosges, than
fifty dispatches would do."
Thus asked, Ralph gave an account of the doings of the corps; from
the day they arrived in the Vosges, to the day he had left
them--reduced to a fourth of their original strength. The three
generals sat and smoked their cigars while he spoke, asking
questions occasionally.
"Very good," General Trochu said, when he finished; and the other
generals cordially assented.
"But how come you to speak German so well?" General Trochu asked;
"and how was it you understood the English in which the officer
spoke, at Saverne?"
"We are English," Ralph said; and his hearers gave a simultaneous
start of surprise. "That is to say, our nationality is English,
though we are half French. Our father--an officer in the English
army--was wounded, left the service, married a French lady, and
settled in France for a time. We have been educated partly in
England, Germany, and France; so that we speak the three languages
nearly equally well."
"Well, Captain Barclay," General Trochu said, "I am almost sorry
that you are not French; for you would be a credit to any country.
"And now, I think it is time to be going to bed," and he drew out
his watch. "Bless me, it is one o'clock! I had no idea it was so
late. Good night.
"I will not ask you to call again, for a day or two; as your
brother will naturally occupy your attention, and care. I trust
that I shall soon hear good news of him."
"Good night, Captain Barclay," the other generals said, cordially,
each giving him their hands; and Ralph made his way across the dark
streets--for there was no gas--back to his hotel.
He went at once up to Percy's room; and found that, if not
decidedly better, he was at least no worse; and the Sisters of
Charity, who were nursing him, said that the doctors had spoken
hopefully at their last visit. Ralph had intended to sit up all
night, but the nurses assured him that he could be of no use,
whatever; and indeed, that he would be worse than useless, as his
presence excited Percy. They themselves were keeping watch, by
turns.
Accordingly Ralph--who still felt the effects of the cold
immersion--went off to bed and--in spite of the late hour at which
he had risen--was in a few minutes sound asleep.