第 34 页

for himself, in the Gazette, the promotion which General Trochu had

notified to him and, after doing so, he turned to another portion;

and there, among the lists of decorations given, were the names of

Percy and himself, as promoted to be commanders of the Legion for

having, with extreme gallantry, conveyed dispatches from Tours to

Paris, through the German lines.

It was after reading this newspaper that Ralph went out. His walk

was not a long one. He went first to a tailor, and ordered two

captain's uniforms; for Percy was so nearly his own size

that--except that his shoulders were an inch less in width--Ralph's

clothes fitted him exactly. He then went to the Palais Royal, where

there are several shops which sell nothing but medals, and

decorations; and bought two ribbons of the commander's rank, in the

legion of honor.

One terrible morning Ralph spent in a hairdresser's hands and, at

the cost of no little pain, got rid of all that mass of hair which

had so transformed him. The stain was now nearly worn off the skin;

and Ralph was quite surprised, when he again looked at himself in

the glass.

"I was about beginning to forget," he said, with a laugh, "that I

was a boy, after all."

The first day of Percy's convalescence, he dozed a good deal; but

the next day he woke, much brighter and better.

"Look here, Percy," Ralph said, laying the ribbon before him;

"that's better than medicine for you. There is the ribbon of a

commander of the legion of honor. You can safely boast that you are

the youngest who ever wore it; and earned it well, too, old man.

Won't they be pleased, at home? And we are both gazetted as

captains."

Percy smiled with pleasure. His attack had been a very sharp one;

but so short an illness, however severe, is speedily got over. The

doctor had, that morning, said that all he wanted now was building

up; and that, in a very few days, he would be about. Indeed, Percy

wanted to get up that day; insisting that he was quite strong. When

he once stood up, however, he found he was much weaker than he had

imagined; but sat up in an armchair, all the evening. The next day

he remained up all day and, three days after, he felt strong enough

to go to the governor with Ralph, to ask for their promised places

in the next balloon.

It was now the twenty-third of November. A carriage was sent for

and, after some difficulty, procured; for carriages were already

becoming scarce, in Paris. They drove up to the entrance, and went

in; but were told by an orderly--who could scarcely conceal his

surprise at these lads, in the uniform of captains of the staff,

and with decorations scarcely ever seen, except upon the breasts of

superior officers--that the general was out. They turned and went

out but, as they reached the steps, a number of officers rode up.

"There is General Trochu himself, with Vinoy and Ducrot," Ralph

said.

The generals dismounted, and came up the steps. As they did so

their eyes fell upon the boys, who both saluted. They paused, in

surprise.

"What masquerade is this, young gentlemen?" General Trochu asked,

sternly. "Allow me to ask how you venture to dress up as captains,

on the staff; and still more how you dare to put on the ribbons of

commanders of the legion of honor?

"It is no laughing matter," he said, angrily, as Ralph could not

resist a smile. "It is a punishable offence; and your impudence in

showing yourselves off, at my door, makes the matter the more

unpardonable."

"I see, general, that you do not remember us."

"I do not, sir," General Trochu said, looking at him sternly. "To

the best of my belief, I never set eyes upon you before."

The numerous staff of officers--who had accompanied the generals,

and who were scattered thickly around them--gave an angry murmur;

for scarce one among them wore the coveted decoration.

"I am Ralph Barclay, and this is my brother Percy," Ralph said,

respectfully.

"Impossible!" the three generals exclaimed, simultaneously; while

there was a general exclamation of surprise, from the officers

round--for the courageous deed of the Barclays, in making their way

through the enemy's lines, had been a general topic of conversation,

and all Paris was familiar with their names.

"It is so, general," Ralph said, respectfully. "I explained to you,

at the interview that I had the honor of having with you, in the

presence of Generals Ducrot and Vinoy, that it was the false hair

which made all the difference; and that I was but little older than

my brother."

The generals no longer doubted. They all shook both boys by the

hand.

"I am astounded," General Trochu said; "astounded that two such

mere boys, as I now see you are, should have accomplished what you

have done. However, courage is of no age; and I do not think that

there are any here,"--and he turned to the officers round him--"who

will not agree with me that these ribbons are worthily placed."

"No, indeed," was the general reply; and the officers all pressed

round, to shake hands with the boys, as they accompanied the

governor back into the house.

General Trochu went at once into his private study, and told the

boys to sit down.

"Now, what can I do for you, boys?"

"Monsieur Gambetta promised us that he would write, to ask for us

to have places in the first balloon which came out, after we

arrived," Ralph said. "Owing to my brother's illness, I have not

been able to ask, before; but I am now anxious to leave as soon as

possible, especially as the doctor says that change is desirable

for my brother, and that he ought to have at least a month's

nursing, at home, before he gets on horseback again."

"A balloon will start tomorrow morning," General Trochu said, "but

if you choose to stay here, I will promise you both places upon my

own staff; or upon those of Generals Ducrot or Vinoy--either of

whom would, I am sure, be very glad to receive you."

"You are very kind, indeed, sir--very kind; and we feel greatly

honored by your offer," Ralph said, gratefully. "Had we any

intention, whatever, of remaining in the army, we should accept it,

with many thanks; but it is not so. We are English; and at the end

of the war we leave France, and go back to live at home. We entered

the ranks with no thought of winning promotion, or favor; but

simply from a sense of duty to the country to which our mother

belonged, and in which we were born.

"There will, I suppose, be a great battle fought near Orleans,

shortly; and I should like to be present, if possible--and Percy

wants rest. Therefore, general, while thanking you most warmly for

your kindness, we would rather go out."

"Very well," the general said, "it shall be as you wish. There is

certainly more chance of your seeing stirring service, in the

field, than in here. I do not blame you for your choice. I will

send a note at once to Monsieur Teclier--who has charge of the

balloon--to say that you will accompany him.

"Goodbye, lads, goodbye; you are fine young fellows, and your

father has every right to be proud of you. Tell him so, from me."

The boys rose, and bowed; but the general held out his hand, and

shook theirs warmly.

Upon leaving the room, they found several of the officers of the

staff waiting outside; who begged them to stay, and have a chat

with them. Ralph at once accepted the invitation; upon the

condition that Percy should have a sofa upon which to lie down, for

his brother was looking pale, and faint. They were most warmly

received, in a large drawing room, in which were over a dozen

officers of different ranks. Some bottles of champagne were opened,

cigars were lit and, while Percy lay quietly upon the sofa, Ralph

chatted with the officers; relating, at their earnest request,

several of their adventures in the Vosges, as well as the story of

their entering into Paris.

His new friends warmly pressed them to stop and dine with them; but

Ralph pleaded that the balloon was to start at five in the morning,

and that he wished Percy to lie down, and get a good night's sleep

before starting. The carriage had been discharged, hours since; but

one of the officers ordered a carriage of General Trochu's to the

door and, after a hearty leave taking, the boys returned to their

hotel.

"What a curious scene it is, Percy," Ralph said. "Who would think

that we were in a besieged city? Everything looks very much as

usual: the shops are open; people walk about and chat, and smoke,

and drink their coffee or absinthe, just as usual. The only

difference is, that everyone is in some sort of uniform or other.

One does not see a single able-bodied man altogether in civilian

dress; and at night the streets are very dismal, owing to there

being no gas."

"How much longer do they seem to expect to hold out, Ralph?"

"Another two months, anyhow; perhaps three, or even more. There

seems to be a large stock of everything, and everyone is put on to

a regular allowance--just enough to live upon, and no more."

"I seem to have everything I want, Ralph; lots of beef tea, and

soup, and jelly, and so on."

"Yes, Percy; but you obtain your food from the hospital. The hotel

could not furnish anything of the kind, I can tell you.

"Here we are. Now you lie down at once, and get to sleep. I will

wake you in plenty of time."

At ten minutes before the appointed time, the boys arrived at the

Northern Railway Station; which presented a very different appearance

to that which it ordinarily wore. No whistle of locomotives, or

rumble of heavy trains, disturbed the silence of the station. A smell

of varnish pervaded the whole place; and several empty balloons hung

from the roof, undergoing the process of drying. The official--who

had received them at the entrance--conducted them outside the station;

and there, in the light of some torches, a great black mass could be

seen, swaying heavily to and fro. The aeronaut was standing beside it.

"Here are the gentlemen who accompany you," the officer said to him.

"How are you, gentlemen?" he said, cheerily. "We have a fine night,

or rather morning; the wind is northerly. I suppose this is your

first ascent?"

"Yes, indeed," Ralph said, "and I own I hope it will be the last.

Have the dispatches arrived?"

"No; I have the mail bags, but not the dispatches Hush! There are a

horse's hoofs."

A few minutes afterwards a railway official brought a note, which

he delivered to Monsieur Teclier.

"Bah!" he said, in an annoyed tone, "why cannot they be punctual?"

"What is it, sir?" Ralph asked.

"A note from the general, to say that the dispatches will not be

ready for an hour. That means an hour and a half; and by that time

it will be light enough to be seen, and we shall have to run the

gauntlet. However, I suppose it cannot be helped.

"The best thing will be to pass the time as cheerfully as we can;

and that certainly will not be in waiting out here, in this bitter

cold. I have, fortunately, a few bottles of excellent wine in the

car; so I propose, gentlemen, that we go in to a fire, have a glass

of wine, and smoke a cigar, tranquilly."

Monsieur Teclier gave a few directions concerning the balloon; and

they then adjourned to a work shed near, where a good fire was

blazing, for the use of the men employed in filling the balloon.

Here the hour and a half of waiting passed pleasantly.

At a quarter to seven, the dispatches arrived. They were hastily

placed in the car, in which everything else had already been

packed. The Barclays took their place, the word was given, "Let go

all!" and, in another instant, the earth seemed to sink away from

under them, and they were rising over the tops of the houses.

The dawn had already broken, gray and uncertain. Light clouds were

floating overhead. For two or three minutes, not a word was spoken.

The scene was so wonderful--the effect so extraordinary, to the

boys--that they were unable to utter a word. Every instant, the

earth seemed to sink away from them; every instant, their view

extended farther and farther; and the distant fields, villages, and

hills seemed actually to spring into sight.

"It is wonderful!" Ralph said, at last.

"Magnificent!" Percy responded.

"I wonder whether they see us?" Ralph said.

"We shall soon know," Monsieur Teclier said. "We have crossed the

river, and over the walls already. In another five minutes, we

shall be over their lines."

There were good telescopes in the car, and the boys directed them

upon the immense panorama below them.

"What fort is that, immediately beneath us?" Ralph asked.

"That is Vanves. The village you see there is Chatillon. Look out

now, we may expect visitors, in a minute."

He had hardly spoken before they heard a faint sound, followed by

others similar.

"That is musketry," Monsieur Teclier said. "Listen."

They did listen, and heard a peculiar whistling sound; which seemed

below, around, and about them.

"That is a whistle of bullets; there is no mistaking them," Ralph

said.

"We are too low," Monsieur Teclier said. "Throw out that bundle of

newspapers; we will go up a little."

Ralph did so.

"What would be the consequence, if a bullet hit the balloon?"

"No consequence at all, except that a slight escape of gas would

take place.

"There, we are going into the clouds now, and they will not trouble

any more about us."

"I thought that we were going to have wind," Ralph said. "The

barometer at the hotel had fallen a good deal; and the clouds,