South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-10-30
Continued From Wednesday,
CHAPTER III.
The Stranger.

The Stranger.
At the end of the long street of
Vicques, next the church, stood the
house Of Francois Beaupre. the faith
er of little Francois and Tomas and
the rest. The villagers called him
LIE Francois" and his wife La
Claire" this showed them of a GER
tain Importance, for one spoke as if
there were no others. The house was
the largest in the village, and its great
earth-floOred entry. leading at the
right into the living rooms, at the left
into the stable, was twenty feet
square. There, on sunshiny spring
days, the grandmother would sit on
the long bench against the wall, al
ways with her knitting, always with
the children about her. and the cows
would file past and into the wide door
way at the left, switching their tails,
with mild big eyes gazing gently at the
group. In front was the flower gar
den, and little Lucie's head was not
so tall as the patch of red peOnies
whose great blossoms the breeze toss
ed in one corner of it.
A beautiful garden it was, the fin
est in the village, yet this was not
the pride of La Claire" the wife of
lie Francois" She had two vani-
/ ties, the neighbors said: her tiny feet
| ann her garden, but not this garden
/ of flowers. Outside of the village.
| half a mile away, on the road to the
! old chateau, were the fields where,
| laid out in trim rows, flOuriShed all
| the vegetables OF all the villagers. The
! little houses sat in the long street, the
old vote Ramaine, the Roman road
/ built before the Christian IRA and still
! kept up. The houses were set too
closely TO allow space fol the great
beds of cabbages, beans, peas, tur-
nips. parsley, endive, chicory, carrots,
So the cottages nestled elbow TO ell
bow in the street, and the gardens IN
the fields outside-one might see
them by Notwithstanding even lone
fingers through the valley almost tc
the slope that led To the ruined cas-
tie.
Francois. the lad. liked to be sent
there with his mothers big basket t'
bring back vegetables for the family
meal. 1t was quiet in the long sun
shiny rows of growing things, and the
earthly smell was pleasant, and BOY
who had much TO think about cou41
think well as he broke off stems OF
chard or dug into the clean damn
brown earth for lettuce-"la salade.
Moreover, he would ask sometimes:
Must i hurry today mother
Might l go on TO the chateau FOR
little while?"
And often La Claire would smile a
the boy and answer: But yes M!
FRANCOIS, YOU may 81
hurry"
And then came hours TO be remem
; bered. Francois remembered theh
many years after. He would set IN
basket carefully in a safe spot al IN
very end of the row of whites grow
, lettuce heads. and then he would eros
, the field, brushing through the mn
lions OF scarlet peoples, higher thai
the blades of wheat. and CLIMB up IN
: steep hillside and scramble over IN
fence and be in the old castle. IL va
, a good road, because the people %
, Vicques used il often for going 10 am
from the pastures at the loot OF IN
, / mountain with the cows. At the en-
was a gate which closed the way Z
, wagons or cattle: however, peIsOl
on foot might open IL ana 20 oeSOiO
Inside were the ruins.
i on en- afternoon in July in the yea
/, OF 1920. Francois being ten years on
: land a dreamer. came alone lhToAsI
: the gate and sat down with MS shoi
legs dangling over an ancient VI
fifteen feet sheer down. lie sat lheI
quite comfortable and secure, an,
, kicked his heels and thouSht OF ~
z brilliant future. and also OF the s'"I
/ of the great dog and the treaSlr'
= This rain. the ancient chateau OF ' j.
ques. had a legend. Each child
/ the village knew IL before he coul
| rememo Der howl had been 50 VII
- az of them AWAY -Erandiathcrs ma
c heard ii from grandfathers Tor nun
= dreds OF years. The tradition ran thi
far back, in the time OF Caesar. fifi