Evening star., 1912-07-07
BY L. J. BEESTON


the great cathedral at Orleans when ten thousand
Frenchmen, prisoners, after the second battle
camped the stone floor and made fires with the
benches for fuel That to be forgotten spectacle!
With sleeping the high altar steps, and surgeons
red with blood working at the operating tables in the
side chapels! And the painted windows that preached
holy things danced with ames and hell spread out its
work, its fghtul evidence, in that place of prayer be-
come charnelhouse!
"This is so much trouble wasted said Bordenave,
the schoomaster, toing at the task of barricading
who knows3' answered Laporte, struggling. "Those
Blues were prowng about as if they did not know
where they were; yet all the while they came nearer
At any rate, the Captain has his doubts
Dagobert passed through an interior doorway that
opened into the tower Here hung the ropes that swung
the bell. ladder, almost perpendicular, went up to
wooden staging. When one stood upon this staging
he just alongside the bell which suspended from
beams. Its dome had the appearance of stone or lead
D'Ormonde following his leader, struck with bent
knuck1e upon the metal which growled at him,
Deep profound snarl of sound that seemed to creep
all over the surface and pershed through perceptble
degrees.
ing through hole just large enough to admit mans
body led to the floor of the tower low parapet
battlemented, extended round the top of the tower
waist high The francs-treurs, fiat on the rough stone
floor peered through the embrasures They saw the
brier hedge through which they had broken zgzagging
away northward, and beyond that, to the left, the
copse of birch trees and between the copse and the
hedge came the Prussians the troop OF Black Bruins
wckers, with deaths head and crossbones their
shakos.
And between the Germans and the church was the
artist, smoking his pipe, sketching with pains this
picturesque old tower.
The pale sun, which had but little life in it, draw
ing into the southwest mourully veiled with mists
and in its path followed the evening star the planet
Hesperus, silver point of light. The rumble which
sembed the peaceful rolling of lncessantly
from the eastern horizon Presently when the sky
darkened would be seen the Of sparks from the
fuses of shells tossed high from the guns.
Nothing could be placid than the spirit OF this
wnry eve which from the patient fields, and the
still trees and descended from the sky, and gored the
worn face of the tower.
DAGOBERT held up hand and uttered a low growl
= which meant "Hush!'
The Prussians had halted Two of them, standing
away from the rest, talked loudly together. One cned
"I told you These -reurs have the power of
dissolvng into air. But you quite that you
them?'
aBlitseni think that after ALL must have imagined
it. answered the other, also loud peerng all round
the horizon.
grim smile stirred Dagobert's mustaches He per-
ceived that either the Germans playing with him,
or, what more likely, they wanted to edge nearer
the church under of ignorance He gruned to
his wolves "Be ready-and waltz
The Germans looked at the artist wonderingly. They
could not ignore his presence They went up to him
boldly, and in that loud voice which meant to de-
ceive the enemy the first speaker demanded:
Il must trouble you for your papers, Mr.. Core
spondent.' This Prussian, who quartermasters
stripes, spoke in perfect English.
The Engishman put his pipe from one side of his
mouth the other dived into his long topcoat, and
produced his necessary credentials. He had fair,
freckled face, and blue eyes cold as the dawn
@On the staff of The Ilustrated cried the quarter
master. ave have complete set of volumes of your
paper at home,-bound in leather, tall and heavy and
nobody looks at them
The artist bowed ironically and resumed his sketch
4You have any francstireurs pass by here, Mr..
Correspondents
and me- Mr. Officer YOU do well shoot them without
trial They rob where they should protect, and are
disgrace