The Colorado statesman., 1920-01-10
BELGIUM SKETCHES
TREASURE

Copyright. 1920. Western Newspaper Union)
He was a very little Belgian whose
round blue eyes stared from face too
thin and white. There among the
ruins he was digging. He paused and
regarded me curiously as ! stepped
over the crumbling remainder of what
once had been the wall of the house.
For what are you searching?" l
asked.
Treasures You find them lots of
times-all sorts of things. It's fun to
dig" He smiled genially and picked
up his converted pick. sharpened
piece of iron with cross-bar near the
top. 81 found this over there where
there used to be a cemetery" He be-
gan To dig again in his ''sand pile"
Where is your homer" l wondered
aloud.
He waved a free hand at the walls.
Here. If you want to see my grand
mother she's over there" and he point
ed more definitely toward the back of
the house. Apparently our interview
was closed.
went through little passage.
cleared among the fallen masonry.
past space where moss grew over the
debris of parlor.
To my knock at the half-open door
n tired voice answered: Come in" 1t
was the voice of an old woman who
sat knitting in a low straight chair.
She carefully pushed the yarn to the
back of her needles, adjusted her
worn. black shawl and, with the pain
full stiffness of age, came to meet me.
"Coffee?" she asked and motioned me
to u round d-and-white-clothed table
near the window.
AS she moved about preparing the
coffee there was something dimly ia
miliar about her. "a long time ago i
knew some people here in this town."
remarked: "What has become of
Madame Dupon?"
The woman came over quickly and
peered into my face. "You-oh, let me
think-so much of the past is blotted
out. You are" and then Madame
Dupon remembered me.
! slipped my coffee and watched her
old fingers make the needles fly.
'Yes, we were here during the war"
She glanced out of the window at the
little boy. Jacques and l went
through it together. This is what is
left" Her nod indicated the loose
brick walls and the scanty collection
of furniture-some old chairs, an oak
cupboard. the table. and, in the fur
ther corner. narrow bed. my daugh-
har hut oil
gone. Everything is gone now-but
jacques" She sighed.
"It is all so terrible-everywher
about here. When did the Germans
reach this town." l didn't know how
to express the sympathy felt. Words
seemed so useless.
"They came the twentieth of Octo-
ber. When we heard they were COM
ing we shut ourselves in our homes.
My daughter and her husband and
Jacques and I were hiding there in the
cellar when the Germans set fire to
our house. We ran upstairs and
hurried to take Jacques outdoors. but
Pierre and Elise did not follow" AS
she stopped talking and looked back
over the FIVE hard years, the lines
deepened and drew about her mouth.
She caught her breath. mo they didn't
follow" she repeated sadly. Sudden
ly saw them on the balcony outside
their room on the second floor. They
had gone to try to save some things
and the fire had trapped them.
There they stood. and through the
door behind them fared the leaping
flames. The timbers cracked and
snapped in the house and the walls be-
gan to sway. Jacques clung to me and
cried for his mother. Poor little fel-
low, he didn't even know why he was
so frightened Thank God he was too
young to know what was happening.
Pierre called that they were going to
jump-it was the only chance. He lift
ed elise TO lower her over the railing