With Those Who Wait

shortage of labour, and now that her head man had been mobilised it was necessary for some one to take direct

ng to persuade us

o town individually, so I get a list of their w

t I had my doubts as to our all fitting in, not to mention the word "comfortably." And when finally we did jog away it took every ef

auge road, whose locomotives were comic to behold, their vociferous attempts at whistling not even frightening the baby calves who stood

totally deserted, for not even a stray dog crossed our path. Far in the

d Aunt Rose, "taking advantage of the good weather. We

eat and oats, drawn by huge white oxen, who in turn were led by what seemed to me to be very small boys. The latter, stick in hand, walked i

sun shone down and bat

ll whistle. Women with bandana handkerchiefs tied down closely about their heads, unloaded the carts, and lifting the heavy sheaves in

he chaff. The breeze blowing through it would catch the wisps and send them dancing in the air, while t

corner of the square. Now and again a woman would leave her companions and wiping the perspiration from her

haste but with an impressive thoroughness. Here then was the very source of the country's vitality. Elsewhere the war might crush and destroy lives, cities and possessions, but this was the bubbling spring-head from whence gushed forth, unrestrained

o have done it, of tha

XE

was seven hundred and fifty. Of these, one hundred and forty men were mobilised, and forty-fi

d a shock of curly black hair, but lame in both legs, is certainly, when seated behi

remely small of stature, and though he regularly presents himself before the draft boa

e occasion to do their bit by helping their daughters or their sons' wiv

of his bones, and one is tempted to ask him not to stir for fear of suddenly seeing him drop to piece

ins seated, nodding like a big Buddha, half dozing over the harangues of his friend Chavignon, the tailor, whose first name, by the way, is Pacifique. But in order to belie this little war-like a

comes and goes at a lively pace-coughing, grumbling, mumbling-al

ular, his knowledge covering all the arts and sciences as resumed in the Grand Encyclopedia. He is a little man with spectacles, and a short grey

ciple) had led to his being strongly suspected. He was a poacher, as well, always ready to bring you the hare or

f scissors, put in a pane of glass, make over mattresses, shear a horse, a dog or a human, paint a sign, cover an umbrella, kill a pig or treat a sprain, Laigut never hesitates, Laigut is always found competent. Add to this his com

ht suppose, he bears no malice for the lack of esteem bestowed upon him in times gone by. Not at all. His breadth of character is equalled only by the div

illage without men. That is to say without valid men who care for the cattle, steer the plough, keep the furrows of equal depth and straight as a di

s reaped and brought to cover, the taxes and the rents have been paid, and down under the piles of linen in those big oak cupboard

this due?

ands' places and tell them what animals to keep and feed, at what time to sell, or at what price. T

eart a little bit ashamed when you speak to them

ar when we found there wasn't any one to take care of the gro

to do it, but I was afraid the others wou

ne day the news ran round like lightning that Anna was out ploughing her fields, with her kid and her grandfather to help her. Nobody took the time to go and see if it was true. Each one got out

k, and whom when night has closed in I have often come upon, bending over beneath her tallow candle, writing to the dear one at the front. To this task as to all the others she concentrates her every effort and attention, anxious that no news

mall a person, and it requires lots of courage to replace the missing muscle, to till the soil, care for the kitchen garden and the animals, and send three small children off to school on time, all of them washed and combed, without a hole in their stockings o

be bad if one were all alone in his trouble

es it is just the same-in other Provinces. From one end to the other of France such marvels

a gentleman in uniform (some say it was the Préfet) accompanied by two ot

bicycle to Anna Troussière's and Claudine Char

ill news had not unrolled their sleeves nor removed the handkerchief fro

wn pinned a medal on their heaving breasts. He thrust a diploma which bore their names into their trembl

around the two women. The medals

a wag. "I think they're made of bronze. Too bad t

home if we don't want to be teased to death. Goodness

ape of war prisoners. The proposition was tempting. A bourgeois who had several big farms said he would accept four. Th

about a farm. I don't know-I used to have a funny feeling when I saw them. But, poor souls, I don't suppose they wanted the war, they'd proba

inely until the Curate got up to preach, first reading the announcements for the week. When he asked that prayers be said for Jules Lefoulon and Paul Dupont, both from our parish and both killed on the Field of Honour, and we looked up we could see the four Boche sitting calmly in front of us-I c

ter who delivers the bread to all the numerous patrons, quite a complicated undertaking for so young a child, who must drive her poor o

dle. But Jupiter had decided to take a rest. Nothing could make him budge, nothing, neither

red with indignation, al

on. He does it on purpose, I do believe. He knows well enough I'll be late to school! It's already

id you start

al, Madame. But I'm sure

dame Dumont, the head mistress, the reason of her tardiness. She felt much

umont, and found the good woman alrea

were grouped together at one end of the garden, smiling blandly into the

Magloire, climb up on a chair. Hold yourself quite strai

plete lunacy. Joseph, her brother, at whom they fairly shrieked in order to make him smile, produced the most singul

ons, how he will gloat over his Magloire and his Joseph, his petite Marie and his bonne femme. Then, drawing away from the others, he will study them again, each one in turn. Nights when on duty, those cold nights of vigil, wa

m which protruded the edge of a precious photograph. A shiver ran down my spine as the brave mother a

ame Dumont.

stitute, and her husband at the front, she had become town clerk, and the quantity of paper and printed matter a village like this dail

this mail,

were you

uncing the death of some man in our community. Each time I leave the house, the eyes of every livin

e tricks I must resort to in order not to arouse false suspicions. Then, as soon as I open their door they kno

say things to, put their babies in their a

complains, M

all know that we've

e. But I had no time for musing after my arrival, for A

u mind walking around to the farms and telling them that Maxence will b

in the artillery, but during his quarterly ten-day permissions, he tries to cover all the work that is absolutely indispensable to the welfare of the commun

ast prepared by Madame Maxence, and in the me

to them joyfully. "Give me time to s

his sabots and his leather apron, and for ten lon

kes he would look up a

me to catch a mess of fish, or g

ool to be repaired, a

for a furlough! And every t

have seen return from the fro

children in their arms, and then five minutes later one can see Jean or Pierre,

hed the helmet, put new laces in the great thick-soled shoes. The children cling to their father, proud of his warlike a

at last,

splendid. When d

ross Lucien, and

t never of battle. I have even found a certain extraordinary dislike for discussion of th

hem, and those who catch them. We're doing the catching

they came, without

s gone back t

How quickly

ded down beneath their bundles. But they n

d my pick-axe, Maxence?"

r, but I've g

it'll be fo

time th

all such village conversations, just the sa

ly distant that no one dared give it open utterance. But each in his secret soul nurtured and c

the Ameri

ed in vain. The A

I