Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-01-21

tears rose to her eyes, and gf1ef invaded her
heart. One by one ideas came to her, fright
ening and torturfng her. Never mere would
she embrace har big child, her big boy
never morel The gendarmes bad killed the
father, the Prussians had killed tho son. He
had been cut in two by cannon ball. And
| it seemed to her that she saw the horrible
| sight-the head failing, the eyes open, while
| ne bit the corner of his big mustache, as he
had been wont to do when angry.
| But what had they done with his body! If
they had only restored her her child, as they
| had restored her her husband, with the bullet
| in the middle of his forehead.
But she heard the sound of voices. It was
the Prussians returning from the village. She
| quietly hid the letter in her pocket, and re-
reived them TRANQUILITY with her usual face,
having had time to wipe her eyes.
All four were laughing with delight, for
| they brought with them fine rabbit, stolen,
doubtless, and they made signs to the old
woman that they were going to have feast.
She began directly the preparation of the
| breakfast. but when it came to the killing of
the rabbit her heart failed her One or tie
soldiers hit it blow behind the ears with
| MS fist
Once the animal was dead, she succeeded
n skinning the red body, but the sight Of
.he blood that covered her hands, the warm
| blood that she felt cooling and CLOTHING, made
aer trenble from head to foot and always
| ,he saw her big boy cut in two, his body red
ilse like that of this still palpitating animal.
She sat down at the table with her Prus-
mans, but she could not eat single mouth
,ul. They did not heed, but devoured the
rabbit. She looked at them sidewise, saying
lot word, maturing an idea, her face so ex-
2ressionless that they noticed nothing.
Suddenly she asked: Here we have lived
month together, and l do not even know
-FOUR names" They understood, not without
difficulty, what she wanted, and told their
names. That did not satisfy her; she made
hem write them down ON piece Of paper,
With the addresses of their families; then,
resting her spectacles on her nose, she consid-
,red this unknown, after which she folded
he paper and put it in her pocket, on top Of
the letter which told of her sons death.
When the meal was over she said to the
men:
II am going to work for you"
And she began to carry hay into the garnet
where they slept.
They were astonished at this work. She
explained to them that they would not be SO
sold, and they helped her. They piled up
the bundles till they touched the matched
roof, and thus they made a sort Of chamber
with four grass walls, warm and perfumed,
N which they would sleep marvelously well
At dinner one of them became anxious on
,eeing that Mother Savage still ate nothing.
Then she lighted good fire to warm her
self, and the four Germans went up to their
lodging by the ladder which they used every
night.
As soon as the trap door was closed the
DID woman took away the ladder, then noise
lessly opened the outside door and went to
get some bundles of straw, with which she
filed her kitchen. She went barefooted In
the snow, SO softly that they heard nothing.
From time to time she listened to the I'M
equal snoring of the four sleeping soldiers.
When she judged her preparations suff-
rient she threw one of the bundles into the
fire, and when it was well afame she scat
tered it over the others, and went out and
watched.
In few seconds the entire interior Of the
cottage was Illuminated with raging light;
then it became frightful bed Of Goals,
gigantic glowing oven, from which CLEANS
shot through the narrow window and threw
dazzling rays upon the snow.
Then loud cry came from the top of the
house, followed by chorus of human
heartrending appeals of anguish and
fear Then, having burned through the trap
door. whirlwind of fire burst into the attic,
pierced the matched roof and rose to the
skies like an immense torch, and the whole
cottage was wrapped in flame
Nothing more was heard within but the
cracking of the fire and the crumbling Of
the beams The roof suddenly fell in, and the
cottages glowing carcass shot a great
shower of sparks into the air, amid cloud
of smoke.
The fields, lighted by the fire, shone like .
sheet of silver tinted with red.
A bell in the distance began to ring.
Old Mother Savage remained standing be-
fore her destroyed dwelling, armed with her
gun, her sons gun, for fear that one Of the
men might escape
When she saw that all was over she threw
her weapon into the embers A loud report
rang out.
People came hurrying up-peasants, Prus-
slams.
They found the woman sitting on tree
trunk, tranquil and serene.
A German officer, who spoke French like
son of France, asked her:
''Where are your soldiers"
She stretched out her thin arm toward the
red mass of dying fire, aud answered in
strong voice:
I'm there"
They pressed around her. The Prussian
asked:
How did it take firel'
She answered
Il set it on fire."
They did not believe her. They thought that
the disaster had suddenly made her crazy.
Then, as all surrounded and listened to her,
she told the story from one end TO the other,
from the arrival of the letter to the last cry OF
the men burned up with her house. She did
not forget single detail of what she had
felt, or of what she had done.
When she had finished she took from her
pocket two papers, and in order to distin-
guish them by the dying CLEANS of the fire,
she again adjusted her spectacles and then
said, pointing to one of them: THAT is the
death of Victor" Pointing TO the other she
added, at the same time deSa grating the red
ruins with an inclination of the head: These
are their names, that their relatives may be
informed. She quietly handed the white
sheet of paper TO the officer, who took her
by the shoulders, and she continued:
You will write them how it happened,
and you will say to the parents that did 1t,
Victoire Simon, the Savage! Don't forget"
The officer shouted some orders in German.
They seized her and hurled her against the
still hot walls Of the dwelling. Then twelve
men arranged themselves in front of her at