# The Smart Set/Volume 14/Issue 1/Gran'father Coquesne

Extracted from The Smart Set, 1904 Sept, pp. 31–40.
GRAN'FATHER COQUESNE
By Cosmo Hamilton
ON the heights above the village of Givonne, occupied a fortnight before Sedan by squadrons of Prussian cavalry and many regiments of infantry, stood an ancient crucifix. The sun of innumerable summers had shone upon the stone image of the Man of Sorrows. Hundreds of winter storms had frowned upon Him. Spring flowers had sprung up year after year at His feet, and around Him there had been many harvestings as autumn had succeeded autumn.
The Prince of Peace looked down upon a scene which contained no suggestion of flowers or harvestings. In the once unbustling cobbled street stood groups of soldiers. The market-place had become a huge stable, the ancient church the quarters of the staff. A few feeble old villagers slunk here and there among the enemies of their country, a few children stood gazing doubtfully at the horses, a few pale-faced, despairing women hurried on domestic errands.
The Prince of War held the country in his grip.
On the outskirts of the village, a stone's throw from the Meuse, alone, stood the cottage of Gran'father Coquesne, cobbler.
With the war, its rights and wrongs, its horrors, its triumphs, I am not concerned. It is Gran'father Coquesne who concerns me—ex-Sergeant Antoine Marie Armand Coquesne, of the Imperial Guard, upon whose breast Napoleon had pinned with his own hands a medal for distinguished conduct in the field; Gran'father Coquesne, cobbler, the man who had lived too long.
Seated on a backless chair beside a tool-bench under the one window of the living-room, bent double over a woman's boot which was pressed between his trembling knees, was an old, gaunt man. His white hair hung down low upon his neck. His lips, beneath a straggling white mustache, trembled feebly. Upon the bridge of his eagle nose rested a large pair of spectacles through which his pale eyes peered uncertainly. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows and a leathern apron, battered and discolored, showed very little of his butcher-blue trousers, which ended at his ankles, bare above his dirty sabots. The strokes of his hammer, as he knocked the nails he took from his toothless mouth into the sole of the boot, were weak. One in three missed the nail and the hammer came down upon his fingers. And as he worked the tears trickled down his high cheek-bones and sunken cheeks, and he kept up a muttering, half-prayerful, half-irritable, wholly impotent.
The sun was setting upon an exquisite September day. Its red glow came in through the little window and fell gently upon the pathetic figure, upon the whitewashed walls of the room and its bare, clean floor. In the shade of the room, five feet from the bench and three from the wall, stood a low, wooden bed, with posts. At the other side of the window a low door stood half-open, and opposite the bed, in an angle of the room, was a short flight of stairs leading to the two bedrooms above. Its door opened into the room and was hooked back to the wall, which was broken here and there and showed lath and plaster.
A sudden bugle call rang out.
The old man raised his hammer with a gesture of passionate anger.
"Curse you!" he cried, "curse you! Thieves! Robbers! Cowards! Prussians!... Why am I too old, bon Dieu? Why am I too old? Why do I live to mend boots when my son bleeds for his country? Why am I allowed to linger about, peeling potatoes and carrying water, while our enemies burn our houses and murder our children?... Too old to fight—too old! Oh, bon Dieu, bon Dieu!"
He gave a shrill yell and his hammer fell feebly upon the boot. With an irritability intensely pathetic he flung the boot and the hammer away from him, buried his face in his hands and swayed himself backward and forward, weeping with rage and sorrow.
"Gran'father! Gran'father!"
The voice was merry, high-pitched and excited. The door was flung back and a hatless boy of eight, in ragged blouse and muddy sabots, dashed in and seized the old man's arm.
"Ah, ha! my little one," said the old man, a look of great affection and pride coming into his eyes. "Ah, ha! my Désiré!"
"Oh, gran'father, come quick!"
The child pulled the old man to his feet. "What is it, my brave one? What is it?"
"Soldiers! soldiers!" cried the boy, tugging the old man to the door. "Look! look!"
With sudden eagerness old Coquesne tottered out and looked back into the village. "Our soldiers? Mon Dieu, perhaps they have come, perhaps— But no, Prussians, always Prussians." He threw up his clenched hands and crept back to his chair.
Désiré danced for joy on the step. "Oh, gran'father," he cried, with a thrill of excitement in his clear, piping voice, "aren't they fine, aren't they grand? And, oh, grandfather, their horses! And look at their helmets; they shine like gold. Hans's helmet shines like gold, too. Are they Prussians like Hans?"
He noticed that the old man had returned to his chair, and for a moment he stood looking at him with a comically solemn reproachfulness. "Don't you like the soldiers, gran'father?" A sob came from the old cobbler, and the boy, with a sudden childish tenderness, ran to his side and flung his arms round the old man's neck.
Gran'father Coquesne held the boy in a passionate embrace and laid his white head upon the slight shoulder. "My little one, my little one!"
"Gran'father?" There was a suggestion of fright in the young voice.
"I am too old, and useless, and worn out. Just when I should be strong and full of fire I am no more use than a little one—no more use than you."
Tears sprang into Désire's eyes. "I—I don't want to cry, gran'father, but if you hold me so tight, I——"
The cobbler let him loose and kissed his hands and face tenderly. "Ah, but I am sorry! Did gran'father hold him so tight? Ah, but gran'father loves his son's little son, my dearie, my dearie!" He patted the child in a kind of sing-song.
The shadow faded from the boy's face. Some of his excitement returned and he tried to pull himself away. "Gran'father, what do you think I've been doing? What do you think?"
"Ah, ha!" chuckled the old man. "But we take after our father. Mischief, as usual!"
"No, gran'father, only something that made Hans laugh. Gran'father," he whispered in a confidential way, "I was coming back from Mother Ducane's, where I left the boots——"
"Ah, ha!" encouraged Coquesne, as the boy stopped for breath.
"I didn't stop to talk to anybody, because you told me not to——"
"Good, good."
"Only to a cat that was bleeding from its leg."
"Those devils!"
"And as I came round the corner by the forge—why is nobody there now, grandfather? No fire, no sparks?"
"Lebœuf and his sons are better employed," cried the old man exultantly.
"Oh, well, as I came round the corner, who should I see but mama——"
"Your mother?"
"With—" The boy stopped and looked laughingly up into the old man's face. "Guess!"
"I cannot guess, dearie! Tell me. I thought your mother was upstairs, weeping."
"With Hans, gran'father."
"Hans?" cried the old man, startled and incredulous. "Hans Dorf?"
"Yes, gran'father. Hans, my dear Hans!"
The old man clutched the boy's shoulders and a sudden hoarseness came into his voice. "Where were they? Go on!"
"They were walking arm in arm by the river, and Hans's spurs jingled whenever he walked over a stone. I wish I had spurs, gran'father."
"Arm in arm?" The old man looked at the boy with horror in his eyes.
"Yes, gran'father, and I believe mama likes Hans as much as I do. This is the third time I've seen them out walking. I threw a small stone at Hans and he laughed as it hit his helmet. No wonder mama likes Hans. He gives me sweets."
Gran'father Coquesne rose up and pushed the child away. His face was contorted with anger. "Arm in arm with a soldier of the country her husband is fighting!" he muttered. "It's bad enough to be forced to feed this Prussian beast, but for my son's wife to make a friend of him—perhaps even——"
A woman's laugh drifted through the broken window. A man's deeper tones joined in.
"Désiré, I think I hear more soldiers coming. Run upstairs, my little one, and look out of the window. You will see better. Quick, then, quick."
"Oh, gran'father, how jolly!" The boy ran like the wind.
The old man followed him to the stairs. "But be careful, Désiré; do not lean out too far," he called.
The boy clattered up and could be heard crossing the room above. With an expression of fierce hatred and disgust the old man unhooked the door, almost closed it upon himself, and stood peering into the room from the lower stair.
Marie Coquesne pressed her pretty face close against the window for an instant and then stood in a coquettish attitude in the doorway. A big, good-looking Prussian touched her cheek with his finger.
"Don't, Monsieur Hans," said Marie; "someone may see."
"What do I care?" replied Hans, following her into the room and catching hold of her elbows. "Besides, there's no one to see. That's the best of being on the outskirts of the town—ha?"
Marie laughed—a bright, excited ripple. "You were in luck being billeted here, eh, m'sieur?"
"Was I? That remains to be seen."
The old man peered into the room. His face was white and his eyes gleamed fiercely.
"Indeed! How?" asked Marie, struggling slightly.
Hans laughed. "I do not yet know, little sweetheart, how kind you are going to be!"
"Then I have not been kind?"
"Ah, yes, you have been kind—true. But not so land as I should like."
She looked into his face and made a move. "Are all Prussians so greedy?"
"I am greedy. Give me one more kiss."
"Will that satisfy m'sieur?"
"Yes." The Prussian tilted up her face and kissed it. "No. Another, and another, and another"—he kissed her each time—"and then I am not satisfied."
The old man stamped on the stairs, pretending to come down, and then pushed back the door. Beads of perspiration stood on his forehead and the veins on his temples beat hard.
Marie flung the Prussian's arms away and ran quickly to the table. Hans turned angrily.
"Ah, ha, my father," said Marie.
The old man made an effort to control his voice. "Ah, ha, my daughter!" he replied.
"Ah, ha, m'sieur!" Hans growled.
"It is a fine evening," the old man went on, going close to the Prussian in an oily, deferential manner, "and your soldiers arrive every moment."
"Oh!" said the Prussian rudely; "they do, do they?"
"When are we to lose you, my good friend?"
"Perhaps the end of the week; perhaps not. It doesn't affect you. There are quite enough of us in action to knock over your sorry fellows. They're a feeble, thin-livered lot, old man—poor fighting men, but good runners." He turned away and went toward Marie.
The old man lifted his arms to strike him, with an exclamation of hatred, and then altered his tone to one of banter. "Ah, you think so, m'sieur?"
"'Sssh!" said Marie to the Prussian. She had seen the gesture.
"'Sssh be hanged!" said the Prussian roughly. "What do I care for this interrupting old dotard!... Yes, old man, I do think so. And so will you, in a few short weeks, when our ring is complete and we have your Emperor and his army trapped like rats."
"We shall see, my soldier, we shall see!" replied the old man, trying to bring an easy smile to a mouth made hard with pain. He went over to his bench and shakily lighted a candle-end which stood in its own grease.
"Sst, quick!" said Hans, bending over Marie. "Another."
The woman evaded him deftly, darting a look at the cobbler. "Not now. Presently."
"But when?"
"When he and the boy are in bed."
Hans looked at her eagerly. "You will come to me?" The old man crept nearer, straining his ears. "You will slip down here?"
Marie put her finger on her lips and laughed softly. "Perhaps," she whispered. "But Désiré? Where is he, my father? Surely he is not out still?"
Hans turned away, rubbing his hands and smiling.
"No, no," said the cobbler, hardly able to speak. "He is upstairs. Listen; at this moment he comes down again."
The boy clattered down the bare stairs, calling, "Hans! Where is Hans?"
"Hello, little one!"
Désiré ran to him and jumped on his knee. "I have eaten those sweets you gave me, Hans. I have had no sweets before for a long time, Hans!"
"So, youngster!"
"They were nice—very."
Gran'father Coquesne bore the sight of his son's son on the knee of his enemy as long as he could. Then he shambled forward, with an oily smile, and put his hands on the child's shoulders. "But it is very kind of m'sieur to give the boy some sweets."
"Ah, yes, very kind," echoed Marie.
"Go away, old man."
"I like sweets," said Désiré.
Hans allowed himself a slight leer at the boy's mother. "And I, ha!"
The old man took the child away from the Prussian quickly. "But he is too heavy to nurse, eh, M'sieur Hans? He is growing into a little man now."
The Prussian rose, annoyed. "And I don't think he'll ever be called upon to fight us when he is one. If I know anything, his father will have had enough to last for a good bit." He swaggered to the door.
"Oh, Hans, don't go!" cried the boy.
"What? Oh, I'm going to smoke on the step till supper."
"It will not be long, m'sieur. I will go and get ready to cook it," said Marie.
"So?" replied Hans, smiling at her. "Good, good. I shall be ready."
Marie nodded to him and ran upstairs.
"Wait for me, Hans. I will come, too."
"No, no, Désiré," whispered the old man, clutching his arm. "I do not wish——"
"But, gran'father," whimpered the child, struggling, "I want to go."
"Ah, dearie, but gran'father would have you stay with him."
"Yes, but why mayn't I go?"
"What!" cried the old man; "you love this Hans better than your gran'father?"
"Oh, gran'father!" With an infinitely tender smile the boy clasped his arms round the old man's knees.
"Then stay with me, dearie. See, I want you to help me play a funny joke upon your good friend Hans, that will amuse him. Will you, little one?"
"Oh, yes, gran'father."
The old man, with a gleam of cunning in his eyes, patted the boy's shoulder with a chuckle.
"Then bring me my hammer from the bench, and that large staple of iron you will see by its side."
The boy brought them back eagerly. "I've got them, gran'father. What are you going to do? Tell Désiré!"
"All in good time, my little one, all in good time. But it will be great fun—oh, great fun! He will enjoy it, your friend Hans. Ha! ha! What a joke! What a joke!... Now fetch the candle from my bench, and bring it quickly to me by Hans's bed."
"The candle? Yes." The boy darted away.
"But quietly, boy, quietly. We must be mice." He shuffled as he spoke to the space on the farther side of the bed, and with the air of a man almost delirious began hammering the staple into the beam in the wall, on a level with the pillow.
Désiré held the candle close to the wall, trembling with pleasure. "But tell me, gran'father, tell me."
"See, we first drive in the staple so—and so—and so——"
"Yes, yes."
"And then, the staple well and firmly in the wood, you give me the candle to hold."
"Here," said the boy, thrusting the piece of candle into the old man's hands.
The flame flickered in the old cobbler's unsteady grasp. "And then," he said, almost gaily, "you run—but quietly—to that coil of rope that is hanging to the nail yonder."
"I see it," said the boy.
"You then bring it to me; take the candle again——"
"I've got it, gran'father."
"And then," continued the old man, putting the hammer on the bed, "we tie a great, strong knot through the staple so—and so."
"Go on, go on!" laughed the child, jumping about in his excitement.
"What then, my brave boy, what then? Why then, just to tease your good friend Hans and make him laugh, we put the rope loosely over his pillow, leaving a large loop here, so."
"Yes, yes, gran'father."
"And we then let the rest of the rope hang down in the shadow—so—and there it is, ready for use." He laughed, rubbing his hands gloatingly.
"But is that all, gran'father? That won't make Hans laugh."
"No, my little one, that is only the beginning. The rest of the joke must wait until your good friend Hans goes to bed. Oh, it will be good fun! How your good friend Hans—who so kindly gave you sweets—will enjoy it! You see that coil on the pillow? When he is in bed, asleep—I shall take care that he sleeps soundly—you will creep up and you will very carefully put the rope round his neck, my little one."
"Round his neck?"
"Yes, my little one, yes. What fun! What fun! And then you and I will catch hold of the rope and we will wind it tight on my winch."
"Gran'father! It will hurt him."
"Oh, no, no, it will not hurt. It is only in fun—just a game to tease him—and then we will let go, and see what your good friend Hans will say. Oh, it's a good game, a merry game."
The boy still looked doubtful. "Will he like it?"
Gran'father Coquesne chuckled. "He is a merry fellow, your friend Hans. He will sit up and see us and burst out laughing. 'Ah, ha!' he will say, 'so it is you, youngster, and the old man, playing tricks. Ha, ha! Good. Very funny. You shall have some more sweets!'"
The boy's face lit up. "And he will give me more sweets?"
"Certainly, my little one, certainly."
"Oh, how nice! But, gran'father, mother will send me to bed."
"No," chuckled the old man, with the gleam of cunning again in his eyes. "I have thought of that. I will need you to hold the candle while I finish the boot. But not a word, dearie. You understand?"
"Oh, yes, gran'father. That would spoil everything."
The old man laughed. "It would, dearie, it would indeed. You will be a little mouse."
The child clasped his hands, leaped up and kissed his grandfather, turned to the door and ran toward it gaily.
The old man waited for the door to open and close. Then, with a little cry of senile excitement, he flung his arms up. "Too old to fight—yes! But not yet too old to save the honor of my name and account for one, at least, of the enemies of my country."
II
Marie came down stairs singing.
The old man pounced upon the hammer, hurriedly took the candle from the bed, and put it back on the bench. In cap and apron Marie entered, crossed the room lightly to the fireplace, and still singing, lifted the lids of the pots, stirring and tasting.
The old man watched her with a look of supreme disgust and contempt. "My daughter is merry to-night," he said cringingly.
"It is time, father. Mon Dieu! but we have been dull enough since the war, in all conscience."
The old man peered at her with a queer, sneering expression. "You are merry because you have a feeling that your husband is safe and unhurt?"
"Hey? Oh, Jacques is all right. He'll take care of himself, never fear."
"Ah, but how glad he will be to come back to his little house, and his child and his old father—and his faithful wife!"
Marie dropped a lid from the stove with a clatter. "Oh!" she cried petulantly, "don't keep talking to me when I'm busy. You only make me upset things."
"Ah, but I am sorry, my child. It is good to chat with you once again. For the past few days you have been so busy I have but seldom seen you."
"Well," said Marie shortly. "I've been in all the time, as usual, cooking and scrubbing—always cooking and scrubbing."
"I am not grumbling, my daughter. These are dreadful times, and our poor country bleeds itself to death. It is good to hear you sing again; even I am happier tonight, although I am too old to fight." He chuckled and murmured under his breath, "What fun! What fun!"
"The soup is steaming, father."
"I will light the lamp, my daughter," said the old man, shuffling to the table. "Our friend the enemy is hungry."
"M'sieur Hans! M'sieur Hans!" called Marie, turning the soup into the four plates.
"He is talking to the little one; I will call him."
Going to the door, the old man stood for a moment looking at the stout young Prussian. A glint of fiendish joy was in his eyes. "M'sieur Hans," he said, with an air of great cordiality, "supper, my friend."
The Prussian swung the boy on his shoulder. "About time, too. It's half an hour late tonight, as it is. We're more than hungry—not so, youngster?"
"I am always hungry now, Hans. Mother, mother! Look at me!"
"Hungry or not," said Hans, putting the boy down, "he's heavy. What a pity he's not old enough to fight, eh, old man? Who knows—he might have put me away, hey?"
"Oh, Hans, I wouldn't shoot you!"
With a little cry he couldn't suppress, the cobbler dropped a spoon upon the table. He instantly turned it into a quavering laugh.
"Marie," broke in the old man, with feeble jocularity, "we will give our good friend here a treat. Shall we, Marie?"
"Meaning me, old man?"
"Yes, yes," cried Désiré.
"How, father?"
"I have one bottle of the excellent spirits which Jacques won at the regatta last year. Good, warm spirits, M'sieur Hans. You have been kind to the little one; you shall have it. Yes, but you shall."
"Sssh!"
A sound of galloping horses drifted in through the window.
"Poor devils," said Hans, "they're making a night of it. They'd envy me if they only knew—hey?" He looked at Marie and laughed uproariously.
"But yes, M'sieur Hans," piped the old man, placing the bottle upon the table, having carefully drawn the cork. "Although the fare is poor here we mean well. A glass, my daughter, a glass."
"Brandy, by Bismarck! A glass, my daughter, a glass." He gave an insolent imitation of the old man's treble. "Old man, you're my friend for life."
"I hope so, m'sieur, I hope so."
"This is the first brandy I shall have put in my stomach since we entered your curs country. This is luck. A glass now, quick."
"M'sieur is dry," said Marie, handing one.
"M'sieur is always dry, my dear. Go on, old man, raise the elbow. Brandy is an old friend of mine."
"Water, M'sieur Hans?" asked Marie.
"No, no!" cried the old man.
"Water? Get out," scoffed the Prussian. "I never play tricks with a friend." He raised the glass to Marie. "Hoch!" he said, and drank with enormous relish. "Ah, but that's the stuff. Why, father, it's as old as you are. How old are you? A hundred?"
The cobbler winced. "A good joke, hey, Désiré?" he said, filling the soldier's glass again and looking at him queerly. "A good joke. How our good friend m'sieur loves his jokes."
"So do we, gran'father." The boy turned to the Prussian, as though about to blurt out the old man's plans.
"Finish the soup, dearie," said the grandfather, touching him on the arm quickly. "It will get cold."
The boy caught the meaning look and laughed uproariously. "Oh, gran'father, what a joke!"
"Why, father," said Marie, "you haven't touched your plate."
"No, no," said the old man, fidgeting about the Prussian's chair, "there are others who need it more than I. I am too old. I do not count. If M'sieur Hans——"
"Try M'sieur Hans," said the soldier, reaching out.
"Mine is all gone, too," said Désiré pathetically.
Hans stopped drinking the soup. "Share this, my youngster. I never expected it."
"No, no," cried grandfather. "M'sieur is too kind."
Hans shook off the feeble hand. "Come on, youngster," he said. "Here you are." He poured half the soup into the child's plate, and turned to his glass to find it filled again.
"What! more? I wish all my hosts were like you, old man." He drank it at a draught, and put the glass down empty with a bang.
"Isn't Hans thirsty?" cried the boy.
The old man began stroking the Prussian's sleeve. "Ah, M'sieur Hans, it would have pleased me to have given you a bottle of this every day you are with us."
"Not half so much as it would have pleased me," retorted Hans; and then he broke out into a German song, and beat time on the table with a spoon. Gran'father Coquesne watched him with a growing smile; his fingers twitched convulsively, like the mouth of a cat before it springs upon an unconscious bird.
Marie drew the old man angrily aside. "Father," she whispered emphatically, "take the bottle away. He will make himself drunk."
"Tush, my child. Prussians cannot get drunk. They have no heads."
"But he is already tipsy."
The old man chuckled. "No, no," he said; "merry, my daughter, only merry."
"Well," said Marie, with a bright spot of anger on each cheek, "I warn you! If you let him finish the bottle I shall be very angry."
The old man broke into a kind of whine. "My Marie couldn't be angry with her poor old father. He means well, he means well."
Marie swung round on her heel, with her head in the air. "Come, Désiré. We will go to bed!"
"Spare the child to me for ten minutes," broke in the old man. "I need his help with a job that must be finished by the morning."
Hans staggered to his feet. "You're not going, sweetheart?"
"Sst! Quiet, stupid!"
"Oh—ah—yes," whispered Hans. "I understand, I understand. Mum's the word. You'll come—mind!"
"Yes, I'll come." Marie went up to the staircase. "Good night, father."
The grandfather had watched and listened eagerly. He stood with twitching fingers, looking sideways at the rope. "God's blessing, my daughter," he cried cordially.
"Good night, M'sieur Hans."
Hans waved his hand. "God's blessing, my daughter," he chuckled.
"Send Désiré soon, father."
"Yes, yes, Marie. A little while. A few short minutes."
The woman's steps echoed through the cottage. Then a door closed.
Désiré, bubbling with pleasure and excitement, made a little run for his grandfather. "Oh, what a joke!" he cried.
"Quietly, my little one, quietly."
"Hans, you must go to bed now."
"What's that, hey! Bed? All in good time, all in good time. Finish old man's bottle first." He drank again, and the glass fell on the floor. Hans kicked it into a corner, and sat on the edge of the table. "Here, old 'un," he shouted, "take off my boots."
Désiré ran forward. "Let me, Hans; I know the way."
"You one, boy. Old 'un t'other. Here, old 'un."
"But yes, my good friend, instantly." The old man, with a twitch of pain, bent over the thrust-out leg. "They are good boots indeed," he said.
"They're Prussian boots. All good things come from Prussia. No French work for me. These boots never run away."
A rush of blood flooded the old man's face and neck, and a snarl of rage gurgled in his throat. But with a superhuman effort he mastered himself. "M'sieur is right," he said. "M'sieur is always right."
Désiré clapped his hands. "Now, Hans, go to bed."
In a stupid kind of way Hans looked from the old man to the child.
"Hello," he said, with a cunning smile, "you seem devilish anxious for me to go to bed. Washup, hey?"
"Nothing, Hans, nothing," laughed the boy wildly.
Hans lurched across the room toward the bed. "Shouldn't be bit surprised if youngster hasn't made me apple-pie, hey? Oh, I know these youngsters. Was youngster myself once. Hey?"
The old man shuffled quietly in front of him. "The bottle, m'sieur, the bottle. A sin to waste the rest."
Hans stopped and turned around. The old man breathed less heavily. "No intention of wasting, old 'un. Fill my glass. Ho! no glass? Alri', drink out of bottle. Ho! ho! Not first time, hey?" He lifted the bottle to his lips and drank. Then, finding it empty, he flung it with a roar of laughter at the old man. It missed his head by an inch, and fell with a thud against the soft wall.
"Bad shot, my son," laughed the old man.
"Not so much of that 'son,' old man. Praise God, there's nothing French about me." He yawned. "I say, but I'm sleepy. This brandy has gone to my head, and no mistake. Better snatch forty winks until she—" He pulled himself up and turned blusteringly. "Here, you, get to your beds. Can't have any hammering here to keep me awake." He lurched over to his bed, pitching his tunic on the foot of it.
"Gran'father." cried Désiré, "he's going, he's going!"
"Quiet, little one, quiet." The old man caught the child's eager hand. "We must be mice.... No, no, friend Hans, no hammering tonight. You will sleep well tonight, my Prussian, very well.... What a joke, hey, little one, what a joke!"
The Prussian, breathing heavily, growled. Désiré tugged eagerly at the old man's hand, pulling him to the table. Even more excited than the boy, the old cobbler blew out the lamp. A long shaft of moonlight streamed in through the window and fell upon the staircase.
Marie opened her door and called, "Désiré, Désiré!"
"Coming, my daughter, coming." He led the boy to the bed, and peered at the snoring soldier, touching him here and there to test the soundness of his deep. "Hans," he cried, bending low, "Hans, my friend, there is still a drop of the brandy in the bottom of the bottle.... No, he sleeps. What a joke, what a joke! Now, little one, the noose. Quietly—we are mice. Over head and round neck, so! Ha!"
The boy stood on tiptoe and slipped the rope over the Prussian's head, lifting it with an effort to do so. A growl was the only result.
"It's round, gran'father. Pull, pull!"
Marie came to the bottom of the stairs and stood, annoyed to find the old man and the boy still up. She was about to call when she saw Gran'father Coquesne slip the rope round the winch and with a feeble yell of triumph wind it madly. Then, with her hands held convulsively to her mouth to press back a shriek of horror, she heard her lover give a great gurgle, saw his hand drawn against the post of the bed and his legs kick spasmodically.
"Oh, gran'father," cried the boy, clapping his hands, "what a joke! what a joke! Look at his legs! Look at Hans's legs!"
The old man laughed deliriously, and then flung up his hand in salute, with an almost superb gesture. "For the honor of my country and my son!" he cried, and crossed himself. And then, breaking into feverish laughter again, he shuffled his feet about in a kind of dance.
"You've hurt him, gran'father!" cried the child fearfully.
"Ah! ha! What a joke! Your good friend Hans, he likes a joke. Ho! ho!"
"But, gran'father, he does not sit up and say, 'Ah, ha! You are clever, you are funny!'"
The old man shuffled across to the bed and touched the twitching body. "Not tonight, my dearie. He is too tired. He sleeps well."
"Oh, gran'father," whimpered the boy, "but where is the joke?"
The old man stifled a chuckle, and turned the boy away from the bed to prevent his catching sight of the staring, glazed eyes, the bulging lips of the strangled man. "But you shall have your sweets, my little one. Oh, yes, you shall have them, never fear. Run to bed now, and pray for your father—your father whose good name is saved!"
As he bent down to kiss the child's cheeks the woman tottered forward and went behind the door.
"Goodnight, dear gran'father."
"Good night, my little one, good night. The holy Virgin and all the angels guard your rest."
He waited in the middle of the room until the boy's step reached the top stair and he heard the door above open. Then, exultantly, he made his way to the bed, and began to untie the rope round the neck of the dead Prussian.
"Now, now, old man, aged a hundred, you who are too old to fight—we shall see. You may be too old, old man, but you have satisfactorily accounted for one of your country's enemies. Ah, ha!... Rope under the arms, tight, so—and now, with all your strength——"
He pulled at the heavy body. It fell off the low bed upon the floor with a thud.
"And now, to the river—to the river. What a joke, what a joke! Ha! ha! ha! ha!"
Chuckling like a child, and pulling like a maniac, the old man got the body to the door of the cottage. Opening the door he pulled the body out, and shut it. The latch fell with a snap. The Last Post sang through the air from the village. The woman fell flat upon her face in the shaft of moonlight. A faint chuckling drifted in through the broken window.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1942, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 81 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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