The Children of France Part 11

"'So?' The officer consulted a map. 'You speak truly. I thank you, my son. Now, would you like to lead us, to show us the way?'

"'Yes, monsieur.'

"'What if we are surprised by the Germans--what will you do in that event?'

"'I shall climb a tree,' replied the lad promptly. 'I do not fear the Boches so long as there are trees to climb.'

"This caused a great laugh, but the officer was satisfied that Lucien could do all and more than he had promised.

"'You shall show us the way,' he decided, and ordered his men to fall in and proceed. They pa.s.sed through the village, which they now observed had been much abused by the Prussians, and on out into the country, with the lad marching beside the captain with a swagger that amused all who saw him.

"'See, the road is there to the left,' finally said the little guide.

It leads to the bridge which we shall cross and take a short cut in that way. Thus, my officer, we may reach Etain before the Boches do.'

"'That will be fine,' said the captain.

"'Yes, monsieur. But what if the Boches should change their mind and wait for us? Surely you will not blame the little Lucien? He cannot read the mind of a Boche when the Boche is out of sight.'

"'No, we shall not blame you. You have told us well and we are grateful, but what you say gives me a thought. We shall halt and send out scouts.'

"This was done immediately. A short distance ahead of them were a number of farm buildings. Trees were scattered all about, giving plenty of shade, which the troops were quick to take advantage of.

"A scout came running back toward the resting detachment.

"'The Prussians are coming!' he shouted.

"Lucien made a mad dash for a tree nearby, up which he shinned and hid far up in the foliage. There were brief smiles, but the soldiers had other things to think of at that moment. The French moved forward about five hundred yards and began digging themselves in; in other words, digging temporary trenches.

"The Germans already had begun shooting, the French quickly retaliating. The former were in larger numbers than the French captain had believed them to be. Lucien was still up the tree, peering out, his eyes large and frightened. Bullets were clipping the foliage all about him. He did not realize this at first, but finally, when he did, he slid down the tree in a hurry and hid behind it.

"Scouts were hastening back to the rear with messages from the captain, who had sent for a.s.sistance, seeing that the German force was too large for him to hold off indefinitely.

"Night came on and the firing died down. There had been very few losses. During the night a large detachment of French troops joined the captain's force and early on the following morning the battle was resumed with great fury. Lucien had slept in a tree all night. His captain told him to go back home, but this the boy, for some reason of his own, did not care to do.

"Early in the day the Germans, who also had entrenched themselves, came over the top and drove the French back, taking some prisoners and killing many. Lucien, who was hiding up in a tree, found himself between the lines, high and dry, as it were. He made himself as small as possible up there and gazed wonderingly at the furious battle that was being fought beneath him. Late in the forenoon the French drove the Prussians back. The boy took advantage of the opportunity to get down from the tree and get behind his own lines. It was observed, however, that he kept always within reach of a tree.

"Men were falling out there on the field. Plucking up courage, Lucien went out with some stretcher bearers and helped gather up the wounded, but there were not enough of the stretcher bearers to properly care for the wounded; even stretchers were scarce. In the excitement of the work Lucien forgot his fears. The lad was resourceful and, recognizing the necessity for getting the wounded from the field, began to cast about for some means of solving this problem.

"'Ah! A wheelbarrow. The very thing,' he cried. The wheelbarrow belonged to the farmhouse near the field, from which the occupants had run away when the troops came. Lucien quickly possessed himself of the barrow and proudly marched out on the field pushing the barrow ahead of him. By tipping it up on one side he was able to roll a wounded man in, not very gently, but he loaded his man in just the same and, red of face, pushed the vehicle ahead of him and back to the first-aid dressing station, where he slid his pa.s.senger to the ground, leaving him for the surgeons to attend to and then trotted back to the field.

"Artillery had been brought up by both sides and sh.e.l.ls were bursting overhead, though none had fallen near the little Frenchman.

"Lucien picked up a wounded man near the edge of the battlefield and began wheeling the victim down the road. The going was better there and he was enabled to make more rapid progress. Pausing for a rest he eyed his pa.s.senger suspiciously.

"'Who are you?' he demanded.

"'I am a Prussian officer.' The officer was so wounded in both legs that he could not stand.

"Lucien's face flushed.

"'A Prussian officer!' he cried. 'I ought to dump you out and leave you. A Prussian--bah!'

"'I am losing strength. Please give me help,' urged the officer.

"'Yes, Herr Officer, I'll help you. You are a human being even if you are a Prussian. Here we go again.' Grasping the handles of the barrow, the lad started on a run with the wounded man.

"A sh.e.l.l burst in the road just ahead of him. Quickly dropping his homely vehicle, little Lucien ran for a tree and shinned up it without loss of time. His pa.s.senger had slid out into the road when the barrow tipped over on its side.

"'Herr Officer, who did that?'

"'It was a Prussian sh.e.l.l. Take me away before they hit me,' begged the officer.

"'Why don't you tell them to stop? It's your people who are shooting at you. They must want to be rid of you. I--'

"A sh.e.l.l struck the tree, well down toward its base. The jolt nearly shook the boy from his perch in a crotch of the tree. Very slowly at first, then with increasing speed the tree began to fall. It came down with a mighty crash, hurling little Lucien some distance ahead of it.

He was bruised and shaken and for a few minutes he lay where he had fallen, groaning.

"Suddenly he sprang to his feet and started to run toward the rear.

The faint voice of the German officer called to him to come back, which brought Lucien to a standstill.

"'Maybe he is afraid, too,' reflected the lad. 'I must get him.' And get him he did. Running back, he loaded the wounded man on the barrow and ran with him all the way to the rear.

"'See! I have taken a Boche,' he cried, staggering up to the dressing station. 'I shall now go get another one.' This he did. He was taking a new interest in his work, and thereafter made no distinction between Germans and Frenchmen in his work of mercy.

"All during that desperate fighting little Lucien was a familiar figure on the battlefield. He really performed many heroic deeds. Now and then, overcome by fright, he would dash for a tree, but these flights were becoming fewer. He began to feel a pride in the work he was doing and this pride of achievement and the new spirit of patriotism that had been aroused within him served to keep him up and gave him new courage. Before that day of suffering came to an end there was none on the battlefield more heroic and courageous than little Lucien.

"How many wounded men the lad had rescued from the field of battle no one knew, but there were many of them, among them two majors and three captains.

"Just before nightfall the French made a great charge. Lucien was well out between the lines when the charge started. The Germans put down a 'curtain of fire,' hoping in this way to stop the charge. And little Lucien and his wheelbarrow were fairly caught in it. A sh.e.l.l hit the barrow and blew it, with a wounded soldier, into bits. Lucien was hurled into the air and fell several yards away. His own comrades charged right over him as they pa.s.sed. Those near enough to hear caught a faint cry from the lad.

"'Vive la France!' were the words they heard him utter.

"Stretcher bearers, following the charging men, picked the lad up and tenderly bore him back. They saw that he was mortally wounded. While they were dressing his wounds, Lucien tugged feebly at the surgeon's blouse. The surgeon leaned over, for the little fellow's voice was very weak.

"'Lucien will climb no more trees,' murmured the lad.

"'No, my brave boy,' answered the surgeon.

"'Is Lucien brave, monsieur?'

"'There are no braver. The deeds of valor you have this day performed will live long after you, little soldier.'

"A smile that was radiant with happiness appeared on the face of the dying boy.

"'Lucien is no longer a coward,' he repeated several times. 'No longer a coward. Vive la France!' he cried, half raising himself.

"The surgeon gently laid him back and kissed the lad on both cheeks, but Lucien did not know. He was beyond the touch of human sympathy."