The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-06-15
CONTINUED from paee2.l
THE CURE AND LITTLE JEAN.

hopelessly again.
"Why should / kill your" was the
Cures cold comment. 1T is death
you have run away from
"No-no, not death-the horrors
the sights
1T is death you feared-why deny
it?" still coldly. Then as the boy
sobbed on heartbrokenly. the Cure
softened. ''Ah, Little Jean, was it
for this I trained and loved you, to-
flee ignobly from your country's
flag?"
DON'T" huskily. He looked up at.
the priest, his face showing deadly
white through the darkness. Listen.
War-it is not for Weddings such as
/. Oh, l know what you would say
1t is for. every one to defend his coun
try;I. but what could beaten, buff
feted, and trampled on by my own in
their mad rush-What could / do to
the enemy? Nothing. ! was worse
than useless-in the way, cursed,
abused, reviled at.
do you think | did not try?'' pas
sionately. Mon Dieu! every day
every minute. was forcing myself
to go on despite the misery. | was
ILL could not eat See, my shoes
are gone. | lost my extra pair. My
feet are cut and bleeding in the filthy
rags / found to wrap around them"
..You we're not wounded?'
NO" humbly.
"Ah!"
81 did fight sullenness creeping
into the tone. II bore all | could.
| know you blame me" The voice
fell away into tremulous sigh.
Silence, for long and agonizing
moment
s'Well,' it was the Cure that spoke
in a curiously expressionless voice:
''you have come home You have
borne all you could-for your coun,
try. So be it. | will go in your
stead"
A Mortified gasp in the darkness
; Monsieur lie Cure!" the boy cried
! "@No-nG-"
But the Cure had already disap-
peared, and moment later Jean
heard the house door close softly. He
! threw himself back on the grass in
paroxysm of despair, unable quite
| to sense the new horror that was
gripping him. He thought he had
run the gamut of all earthly misery
and suffering since he had left the
| 1>,1t n
something else--something keener,
sharper, more tearing. No--no-the
! Cure must not go! the good old Cure
he did not know what he was going
! into All! it all came over him again
in a submerging wave-the grisly hor-
rors of the days and nights-the
dreadful misery of the marches-the
soul-racking terror of the battles He
could not go back to it again-he could
! not-could not!
He drew himself slowly to his feet
and chung unsteadily to the tree.
| Every bone, and muscle, and nerve in
his body cried out for the rest they
so sorely needed, and the tears, until
now denied him, dropped one by one
i down his stained and haggard cheeks.
t'I am useless stick-a clod-a
! weak1ing, even as they said, he
moaned. "Why was not killed in
the first encounter instead OF the
captain? | could easily have been
! spared" His mind CROPPED back to
that narrowing incident. Some of the
men had tried to restrain the captain
1 in a perilous rush. What" he had
cried. 81 have but one life to give
Do you deny me then the privilege
of giving it for my country" And
he had given it in ten minutes.
But one life to give!" The words
| struck on Little jeans troubled mind
with new significance. But one
i life to give!" But what high, full
brave, vigorous life it had been-a
1 life that babe fair to carry him over
into a lusty, fine and wonderful old
age, such as the old men one saw
here in the hills, straight and strong
at seventy. Life was sweet to him
the handsome captain-and yet he
! was gone-at twenty-five. He had
given all without one qualm or one
backward glance. And he-Little
Jean, the weakling of the village, with
I no health or strength that he coule
i ever boast of-but broken anc
miserable bit of life left in his broken
and miserable body-he had denied
{ that bit to his country! All, how he
had deserved the scorn of his com
! rades, the contempt of the world, the
soaring pity of the Cure who was
Obliged to go and take his place!
i When the Cure came out Jean was
seated on the grass, his head in his
hands.
"Here is a good pair of shoes
4 the Cure said softly. In the morn
ing Julie will take care of your Other
4 wants." Bread, too, he handed him
and a cup of wine, from one of the
two baskets he had filled to take
with, him. They were filled mostly
with jars of the newly made cherry
conserve designed to hearten the sol
diers. Other Food, too, he secured
/ from the church where he had found
time for a comforting visit; for who
could say whether the chaplain coulc
roooI, OF hiC hnVS2