Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1920-01-29

He was a very little Belgian whose
round blue eyes stared from a face too
thin and white. There among the
ruins he was digging. He paused and
regarded me curiously as l stepped
over the crumbling remainder OF what
once had been the wall of the house.
"For what are you s%earching?"
asked.
Treasures. You find them lots OF
times-all sorts Of things. It's fun to
dig" He smiled genially and picked
I'D his converted pick, a sharpened
piece of iron with a cross-bar near the
top. ~ found this over there where
there used to be a cemetery" he be-
gan to dig again in his sand pile"
"Where is your home?" l wondered
aloud.
He waved a free hand at the walls.
"Here. If you want tosee my grand
mother she's over there" and he point
ed more definitely toward the back OF
the house. Apparently u interview
was closed.
l went through a little passage,
cleared among the fallen masonry
past a space where moss grew over the
debris of a parlor.
To my knock at the half-open door
a 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
ful stiffness of age, came to meet me.
''Coffee?" she asked and motioned me
TO a round Observation-Disclosures table
zeal the window.
l AS she moved about preparing the
> coffee there was something dimly ia
miliar about her. "a long time ago /
', knew some people here in this town."
8 I remarked: "What has become of
> Madame Dupont"
The woman came over quickly and
peered into my face. "You-oh, let me
: think-so much of the past is blotted
8 out. You are" and then Madame
Dupon remembered me.
I slipped my coffee and watched hel
> old fingers make. the needles fly.
. . "Yes, we were here during the war
= She glanced out of the window at thu
little boy. jacques and | wen
through it together. This is what Il
left" Her nod indicated the loos'
II brick walls and the scanty. collection
le of furniture-some old chairs, an oal
ir cupboard, the table, and, in the fur
y ther corner, a narrow bed. my daugh
N ter had a fine home here but it's a
h. o Everything is gone now-bu
ne Jacques" She sighed.
ut ut is all so terrible-everywher
y about here. When did the German
reach this town." / didn't know hoy
s. to express the sympathy I felt. Word
), seemed so useless.
n "They came the twentieth of Octt
IL Der. When we heard they were con
or ing we shut ourselves in III home
NV daughter and her husband an
es Jacques and I were hiding there in tn
ng cellar when the Germans set ire
our house. We ran upstairs and
hurried to take Jacques outdoors, Of
Pierre and Elise did not follow" a
an she stopped talking and looked Dae
es over the FIVE hard years. the lint
re- deepened and drew about her mout
~ She caught her breath. mo they didn
of follow" she repeated sadly. "Sudde
q ly I saw them on the balcony outsit
ler their room on the second floor. Thu
mt had gone to try to save some thin
ed and the fire had trapped them.
ty, "There they stood. and through T
a door behind them fiared the leapil
ife flames. The timbers cracked a.
Sc. snapped in the house and the walls
re- gan to sway. Jacques chung to me a
he cried for his mother. Poor little I
a low, he didn't even know why ne "
IN SO frightened. Thank God he was 7
young to know what was happenir
ats Pierre called that they were going
jump-it wal the only chance. de y
ed Elise to lower her over the ruiss