South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-11-01
cOpynsht, The BOsbsHsrrm Company.

Dufour?" demanded Pierrot Trem-
blay and the embryo F'renchmen
joined in a sarcastic All" and point
ed grimy fingers at the mortified
Henri
That's nothing" Henri threw back
sulkily. And / was not the only one
who was afraid / offered TO climb
the pole. anG was afraid after-but
none OF the others even offered. And
it was no great shame 20 me, for II IS
dangerous 10 climb that pole. IL is
twenty feet to the crOss-bars, and be-
1ond that il is fifty feet yet 10 the
small cross bars at the tOp-it is very
high in the air-seventy feet. Only
Francois Beaupre of all the village
has vet climbed that flagpOle, and all
the world knows that Francois is diff
ferent- His stomach is different; he
has no fear OF things inside him
Francois"
There was a murmur of assent. c..1
the hero put friendly hama on the
shoulder of the discredited Dufour.
Its nothing" he agreed. Its only
that I was born different. I do rot
feel inside my stomach that thing
which you say is being afraid. / do
not know that feeling. SO it is easy. II
was not much for me to Climb the
pole; it was just that I could do il"
And the boys, seeing their honor
saved. agreed heartily.
"AT the same" Achille DufOur sug-
gested ungratefully, Francois would
not dare climb that ladder TO the ball.
Dare you"
The great brown eyes Of Francois
turned about the group; the boys
waited eagerly for his answer. II ne
dared IL was almost as If they should
all do it: IL was always this one VINO
led into the dangerous places; always
this one who went a bit further when
planned il pleasantly by that fortunate
lack in Francois inside mechanism
which produced in the others the dis
comfort called fear, hindering bold
deeds.
'eHe has no judgment, Francois;
therefore he fears nothing, they
sometimes put the case.
But the fact remained that he was
afraid OF nothing. The boys waited
a minute. eyes and mouths stretched,
and at length came the decision.
Il dare" said Francois. Then the
dark heads came together in an un-
easy mass, and there was whispering.
At the 6inner-hour that day several
mothers OF the village remarked that
their small lads were restless, not
intent as usual on the Sblack bread
and the soup CT chopped vegetables
and the green beans-all anxious 10
finish and get away. Only the mother
Of Francois however, reasoned from
this that mischief was brewing.
When the slim, wiry, little figure slip
ped from the table and out through
the open door she rose and followed
and stood in the 81 eat entry watch
ing his race across the field toward the
church. But at that moment the baby
cried and she turned back into the
house and when she looked again
OF =
on her mind that something would
happen, and from time to time she
left her work and went to the door
way and shaded her eyes. looking for
her little lad. Meanwhile Francois
had veered but once in his straight
path-to turn 10 the PhilpOteaux cot
tage. where the glider lodged while
in Vicques.
How soon will one be at work up
there again ?" he asked through the
window of Auguste PhilpOteaux sit
ting al his dinner, and the man an
swered od-naturedly. enjoying the
publicity which made him the most
Interesting person of the villages
ct may be in half an hour, my
boy Not sooner" And Francois
raced on.
BY this time a boy here and boy
there had stolen from their dinner
tables and were gathering in groups
down the street, but the elders paid
no attention. Francois disappeared
into the church; the boys began to
grow breathlesS.
TT will take some minutes for the
stairs" one said. and they waited.
Two minutes, three, perhaps five
something rose out of the trap-door
leading TO the platform from which
the steeple sprang-a hgure. looking
very small so far up above them. In
stantly il attached itself. like a crawl
ing fiy. 10 the side Of the steeple il
moved upward. Henri Dufour. be-
low In the street, jumped as a hand
gripped his arm. He looked up
frightened at La Claire.
us that my Francois?" she de-
manded sternly. but the boy did not
need 10 answer.
with that, by degrees people came
from the cottages as at some mysteri-
Gus warning and stood silent afraid
TO breathe, watching the little figure
creeping UP, up the dizzy narrowing
peak OF the church steeple. a rider
galloped down the road; seeing the
groups. he pulled in his bay horse and
his eyes followed the upward glance
Of the whole village. In spite of the
distance. one could tell that il was a
child's not a mans figure. glued
against the fleche, almost, now. at the
top.
Who is To- he flung at the near
est knot of peasants; his voice was
abrupt and commanding.
The men pulled off their caps, and
one answered respectfully: TT is little
Francois Beaupre. my Seigneur; it is
n child who has no fear. ne is almost
AZ the top. but we dread il when he
descends. 1t is dangerous TO descend.
Yet the child is not afraid-we hope
ne will come down, and in that case
his mother should most certainly give
him the stick
Mon Dieu," the man on horseback
lgrowled. 'If he looks down he is
lost: the lad is born hero or a born
lunatic."
The crawling spot up there showed
dark ia the sunlight against the new
gliding Of the ball. 1t stopped: the
blot was fixed for a second: another
second. From the crowd rose gasps
and excited broken sentences.
He has the vertigo, He is lost
4 man spoke that plainly. and
Henri Dufour felt Clajre's fingers on
his arm loosen as If life had gone out
OF them. \ strange sound came from