The Children of France | Page 3

his time watching his uncle's comrades drill--watched until
he knew every command, every evolution so well that he himself could
have drilled the company of his uncle.
"As you children perhaps already have surmised, it was Remi's plan to
go to war and fight for his country. The order for the Territorials to
move came suddenly, as such orders most always do. They came while
the lad was having a supper of black bread and cheese with a friendly
housewife of the neighborhood. The Territorials were to march within
an hour.
"Remi's eyes grew bright. He stowed what was left of his meager
supper into his blouse and strolled out. Once clear of the house, he ran
swiftly to the edge of the village, and from the end of a hollow log
drew forth a canvas bag. He inspected the contents, which included a
knife, some string, a clean pair of stockings and one change of
underwear. He had picked up an old pack discarded by a soldier, and
made it his own, secreting it for just such a moment as this. The child
stowed his belongings back in the pack, added the cheese and bread,
and, swinging the pack over his shoulder, started at a brisk trot for the
gathering place of the Territorials. The men of his uncle's company
already had reached the scene, loaded down with equipment, rifles
brightly polished, looking very warlike with their outfits and tin

derbies--"
"What's a tin derby?" interjected Joe Funk.
"There, you have interrupted me," rebuked the Captain. "Remember, a
soldier's first duty is to obey orders. A tin derby is a steel helmet or hat
which is used as a protection against the splinters thrown off from an
exploding shell. Where was I?"
"In a tin derby, sir," reminded Joe Funk.
"Little Remi," continued the Captain, "kept in the background and, in
the excitement of the moment attracted no attention. Shortly after his
arrival the Territorials fell into line and started away. Remi melted
away in the darkness, and might have been observed legging it across a
field in a short cut to a point where he knew the soldiers would pass.
And, after they had marched by he fell in at a safe distance behind and
trudged along on his way to war.
"Daylight came; the men halted for breakfast, and the boy, secreting
himself by the roadside, munched his bread and cheese and waited for
the soldiers to resume the march. All day long he followed them as
closely as he dared, but early in the second evening he made bold to
draw up to the rear rank and plodded along behind it until they halted
for rest. Suddenly the lad felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He found his
uncle frowning down upon him.
"'What are you doing here?' demanded the uncle severely. 'Home with
you as fast as you can go!'
"'But, uncle, I wish to be a soldier. I am little but I am strong. See, I
have marched a day and a night and you, my uncle, are weary, while
Remi is still fresh as the morning flowers.'
"'Yes, but what can you do in the Army, my Remi?'
"'I can fight,' answered the child simply, whereat the uncle shrugged his
shoulders in token of surrender.

"At first the officers were for sending the lad home, but he was making
himself so useful in many little ways, and his patriotism was so deep
and true that he finally was permitted to remain.
"What most disturbed Remi was that he had no rifle. The soldiers
laughed at him when he demanded one, so he determined to get one for
himself at the first opportunity.
"By this time they were well within sound of the big guns. The sound
reminded him of a distant thunderstorm. It grew louder as the hours
passed and the men neared the front. All understood what the sound
meant. To Remi that distant roar was the sweetest music he ever had
heard.
"The Territorials finally were halted in a shell-torn village for a brief
rest. Men were urgently needed at the front, and Remi's companions
soon entered a communicating trench that began under a house in the
village, and started for the firing line, a short distance from the German
trenches. Remi was sternly ordered to remain behind. This order nearly
broke his heart and, when he more fully realized that he had been left
behind, he sat down and gave way to, bitter tears.
"A peculiar whistling sound in the air suddenly attracted his attention.
The strange sound grew louder. He stood up. Then, with a mighty crash
and roar, the earth about him rose up and darkness overwhelmed him.
A German shell had landed fairly in the village street hard