第 41 页

relapse, and was very ill, for some days. Then he began, steadily

but slowly, to gain strength. It was three weeks after his arrival

at the cottage before he could walk, another week before he had

recovered his strength sufficiently to think of moving.

One of his first anxieties--after recovering consciousness after

his first, and longest, attack of fever--had been upon the subject

of the terrible anxiety which they must be feeling, at home,

respecting him. They would have heard, from Colonel Tempe, that he

was missing and, as he would have been seen to fall, it was

probable that he was reported as dead. Ralph's only consolation was

that, as the Germans were at Dijon, the communication would be very

slow, and uncertain; and although it was now ten days since the

engagement, it was possible--if he could but get a letter sent, at

once--that they would get it nearly, if not quite as quickly as the

one from Colonel Tempe; especially if as was very probable the

colonel would be a great deal too engaged, during the week's

tremendous fighting which succeeded the day upon which Ralph was

wounded, for him to be able to write letters.

The first time that he saw the English surgeon, he mentioned this

anxiety, and the doctor at once offered to take charge of a letter;

and to forward it with his own, in the military post bag, to the

headquarters of the ambulance at Versailles, together with a note

to the head of the ambulance there, begging him to get it sent on

in the first bag for Dijon. In this way, it would arrive at its

destination within four or five days, at most, of its leaving

Orleans.

It was on the 2nd of January--exactly a month from the date of the

fight in which he was wounded--that, after very many thanks to his

kind host and hostess, and after forcing a handsome present upon

them, Ralph started--in a peasant's dress which had been bought for

him--for Orleans. He had still plenty of money with him; for he had

drawn the reward, of fifty thousand francs, in Paris. The greater

portion of this money he had paid into the hands of a banker, at

Tours, but Percy and he had kept out a hundred pounds each; knowing

by experience how useful it is, in case of being taken prisoner, to

have plenty of money. Ralph's wound was still bound up with

plaster, and to conceal it a rabbit-skin cap with flaps had been

bought so that, by letting down the flaps and tying them under the

chin, the greater part of the cheeks were covered.

The farmer had made inquiries among his neighbors and, finding one

who was going into Orleans, with a horse and cart, he had asked him

to give Ralph a lift to that place. The start had been effected

early, and it was three o'clock when they drove into Orleans. Here

Ralph shook hands with his driver--who wished him a safe journey

home--and strolled leisurely down the streets.

Orleans presented a miserable aspect. The inhabitants kept

themselves shut up in their houses, as much as possible. The bishop

was kept a prisoner, by the Prussians, in his own palace; troops

were quartered in every house; the inhabitants were, for the most

part, in a state of poverty; and the shops would have been all

shut, had not the Prussians ordered them to be kept open. The

streets were thronged with German troops, and long trains of carts

were on their way through, with provisions for the army. These

carts were requisitioned from the peasantry, and were frequently

taken immense distances from home; the owner--or driver, if the

owner was rich enough to pay one--being obliged to accompany them.

Many were the sad scenes witnessed in these convoys. The grief of a

father dragged away, not knowing what would become of his wife and

children, during his absence. The anguish of a laborer at seeing

his horse fall dead with fatigue, knowing well that he had no means

of taking his cart home again; and that he had nothing to do but to

return to his home, and tell his wife that the horse and

cart--which constituted his sole wealth--were gone.

Ralph waited until, late in the afternoon, he saw a long train halt

by one of the bridges. It was evidently intending to cross, the

next morning, and go down south. In a short time the horses were

taken out, and fastened by halters to the carts; two or three

soldiers took up their posts as sentries, and the drivers were

suffered to leave--the Germans knowing that there was no chance of

their deserting, and leaving their horses and carts.

The poor fellows dispersed through the town. Those who had any

money bought food. Those who had not, begged; for the Germans

allowed them no rations, and left them to shift for themselves--or

starve--as they liked. Ralph joined in conversation with a group of

these, who were relating their hardships to two or three

sympathetic listeners. An old man, especially, was almost

heartbroken. His wife was dying, and he had been forced from her

bedside.

"What could I do?" he asked, pitifully. "I was a carrier. My horse

and cart were all I had in the world. If I had not gone with them

they were lost for ever. What was I to do?"

No one could answer him but, when the party had broken up, Ralph

went up to him.

"How much are your horse and cart worth?" he asked.

"The horse is worth five hundred francs," he said. "The cart is an

old one--two hundred and fifty would pay for it. It is not much,

you see, but it is all I have."

"Look here, old man," Ralph said, "I am not what I look. I am a

French officer, and I want to get down near the Prussian outposts,

but without passes I could not get on. Besides I have been wounded,

and am too weak to walk far. I will give you the seven hundred and

fifty francs which are the value of your horse and cart, and will

take your place as driver; so that you can start back, at once, to

your wife. Do you agree?"

The old man was so affected with joy that he burst into tears.

"God bless you, sir," he said. "You have saved my life, and my poor

wife's life, too."

"Very well, it is a bargain, then," Ralph said. "Here is half the

money. You shall have the rest tomorrow.

"Now you must go with me tomorrow morning, at the hour for

starting; and tell the officer in charge that I am a nephew of

yours--living here, but out of work, at present--and that you have

arranged with me to drive the cart, as long as it's wanted, and

then to take it home again."

After a few more words, the peasant took him back and showed him

his cart; in order that he might know where to find him, in the

morning.

"We start at daybreak," he said, "so you had better be here by

half-past six."

"Where do you sleep?" Ralph asked.

"I? Oh, I don't sleep much. I lie down for a bit, underneath the

carts; and then walk about to warm myself."

"Take this warm fur coat of mine," Ralph said. "It will keep you

warm tonight, anyhow. I shan't want it; I shall get a bed

somewhere."

The coat was the one Ralph had worn on his night walk, after being

wounded. He had had all the braid, and the fur of the collar and

cuffs taken off; and had had it purposely dirtied, so that it was

no longer a garment which could attract attention, on the back of a

man with a cart.

After some difficulty, Ralph got a bed; and was at the agreed place

at the appointed time. The old man went up to the Prussian sergeant

in command, and told the tale Ralph had dictated to him. The

sergeant agreed to the arrangement, with a brief nod. The old man

handed Ralph his whip, and returned him the fur coat; which Ralph

was glad enough to put on, for the morning was bitterly cold, and

Ralph--enfeebled by his illness--felt it keenly. In another five

minutes, the carts were in motion across the bridge, and then away

due south.

For half an hour Ralph walked by the side of his cart and--being,

by that time, thoroughly warm--he jumped up in the cart and rode,

during the rest of the day; getting down and walking--for a short

time only--when he found his feet getting numbed with the cold.

In the afternoon they arrived at La Ferte, some fifteen miles from

Orleans. There they remained for the night. There were not very

many troops here, and Ralph could have obtained a bed by paying

well for it; but he feared to attract attention by the possession

of unusual funds and, therefore, slept in a hay loft; afraid, in

spite of his fur coat, to sleep in the open air.

The next morning the train was divided, twenty of the carts going

down towards Romorantin; while the rest--now fifteen in

number--kept on towards Salbris. Ralph's cart formed part of this

latter division. The night after they left La Ferte, they halted at

La Motte Beuvron, where there was a strong force of Germans. The

following day only four carts continued their route to Salbris,

Ralph happening again to be among them. He had regretted two days

before that he had not formed part of the division for Romorantin,

as from that place he would have been less than twenty miles from

Tours, which the Prussians had not yet entered; but as he had the

good fortune to go on to Salbris, he did not mind--as Salbris, like

Romorantin, was one of the most advanced stations.

They arrived late in the afternoon, and the carts were at once

unloaded. The sergeant in charge told them to wait, while he got

their papers for them; and in ten minutes he returned.

"You will have tomorrow to rest your horses, and the next day a

train will start for the north. Your work is over now, as there is

nothing to go back. Here are the passes for you, saying that you

have carried goods down here for the army; and are therefore to

return back, without your carts being further requisitioned."

Ralph put up his horse and cart for an hour in the village, while

he went to search for some farm house upon which no Prussian

soldiers were quartered. He was unable, for some time, to find one;

but at last, over a mile from the town, he found a small place

which had escaped the attention of the Prussian quartermaster, and

where there was a small, unoccupied stable. Ralph soon struck a

bargain with its owner; returned to Salbris, mounted his cart,

drove out; and was soon settled in the little farm house.

He anticipated no great difficulty in passing out through the

outposts; as there was no French force of any importance, near, and

the German troops interfered but little with the movements of the

country people. The affair, however, turned out more easy than he

had anticipated for, towards morning, he was awoke by the distant

sound of bugles.

"Something is up," he said to himself; "either a French attack, a

general advance, or a recall. If it should be the latter, I am in

luck."

It turned out to be as Ralph hoped. The peasant in whose house he

was stopping went into Salbris, early; and came back with the news

that there was no longer a German there. Orders had come for them

to fall back, towards Orleans.

"I am not at all surprised," Ralph said, when he heard it, "for

Orleans was emptying fast of troops. This sudden march of Bourbaki

for the east, and the necessity to reinforce Frederick Charles,

near Vendome must try even Prussian resources to the utmost."

Half an hour later, Ralph was jogging along on his way to Vierzon.

There he found that the railway was open to Bourges, from which

town he should have no difficulty in getting on to Dijon. He soon

found a purchaser for his horse and cart, at ten pounds, and the

next morning started on his way home.

Chapter 21: Home.

It was a long journey from Vierzon to Dijon. At Bourges Ralph had

taken advantage of a delay of some hours--necessitated by the fact

that no train was going--to get some suitable clothes, instead of

the peasant's suit in which he had traversed the lines. He had, of

course, brought his papers with him; so that he had no difficulty,

whatever, in getting on by the train. But the train itself made but

slow work of it. Bourbaki had passed west only the week before,

with all his army, upon his march to the relief of Belfort; and the

railway was completely choked. However, Ralph was not inclined to

grumble at the cause of his delay; for it was only upon Bourbaki's

approach that the Germans had evacuated Dijon--which was now held

by Garibaldi's irregulars, and a considerable force of Mobiles.

So great were the delays that it was evening when the train reached

Dijon. Ralph had scarcely stepped out on to the platform when Percy

bounded upon him, and threw his arms round his neck.

"Dear, dear old Ralph! Thank God you are back again."

"My dear Percy, where did you spring from?"

"I have been home five days. I was still down at Marseilles, when I

heard that Dijon was open again; and I came straight up.

"And how are you, Ralph?"

"Oh, I am getting all right again. How are they all, at home?"

"Well--quite well--but dreadfully anxious about you."

By this time the boys were out of the station, and were walking

homeward.

"But you have not told me how you happened to be at the station."

"Well, I was waiting there, just on the chance of seeing you. Mamma

was so dreadfully anxious about you that I wanted to do something.

At any rate, I could not sit quiet at home. There are never more

than two trains with passengers in a day, sometimes only one; so I

have been staying down in the town, most of the days since I came

home--having paid one of the railway people to send me word,

directly the train was telegraphed as starting from Dole."

"How long is it since my letter arrived?"

"Nearly three weeks, Ralph; fortunately it came four or five days

before a letter from Tempe, saying that he feared you were killed.

Not having heard again, they were terribly anxious."

"I had no means of writing," Ralph said. "The English

ambulance--through whom my letter was sent--moved down to Vendome,