CHAPTER IV The Road to Paris
With so extraordinary a combination of vehicles the journey of the CampFire girls and their guardians to Paris became necessarily a slow andfrequently interrupted one.
In contrast with a recently built American motor car, Miss Patricia'spresent equipage suggested nothing more modern than Noah and hisadmirable Ark.
Yet the two groups of friends and refugees wished to keep withinreasonable distance of each other. They both appreciated that if everthey were separated for any distance, they might never be able to makeconnections again.
The roads were becoming constantly more crowded with an increasing streamof vehicles and travelers afoot, yet among them all no equipage was soremarkable as Miss Patricia's, or excited more interest.
Upon leaving the Chateau Yvonne, a quarter of an hour after MissPatricia's belated arrival, there had been opportunity for only a hastilyarranged program.
At that time the plan had been for Mary Gilchrist, following YvonneFleury's instructions, to drive straight ahead. At any point in the road,where a change of direction should be made, or any special instructiongiven, Mary was to draw her car aside out of the way of the othervehicles, there to await Miss Patricia's slower approach.
The program possessed a good many obvious weaknesses and yet in the fewmoments at their disposal before their departure, no one of the Camp Fireparty had a better plan to suggest.
Rather surprisingly well it succeeded in the beginning.
Even without the knowledge of Miss Patricia's clumsy caravan in thebackground, Mary Gilchrist would not have been able to drive rapidly.
When her car reached the main road, it was found to be not merely filledwith refugees seeking safety further behind the line. Reinforcements werebeing rushed from the opposite direction to stem the German tide.
Advancing slowly the Camp Fire automobile took its place in the long lineof other vehicles. Now and then this line was halted by an officer, whenheavier trucks and wagons were to be allowed to pass.
Finally, at a convenient crossroad, where she did not interfere with theother traffic, Mary halted.
Within less than half an hour Miss Patricia reached them. There sheinsisted upon alighting, ostensibly to make certain inquiries and tooffer her usual advice, but in reality to discover the state of Mrs.Burton's health. No one was in the least deceived.
However, as Mrs. Burton insisted she was bearing the journey remarkablywell and was far more interested than frightened and that the Camp Firegirls were in the same state of mind, Miss Patricia returned to her wagonand the pilgrimage was resumed.
Toward late afternoon, the effort at a second reunion was lesssuccessful.
It was now between four and five o'clock. A great wave of weariness anddepression appeared to be engulfing not only the Camp Fire travelers, butthe entire band of French refugees.
When they spoke at all to one another, it was only to tell somedepressing story. Surely the Germans would capture Paris with this latestvictorious assault. Some one reported that the Germans had perfected along-range gun which would bombard Paris at a distance of seventy miles.
The Camp Fire girls became subject to the same state of despondency. Theytalked very little; moreover, it was plain to all of them that Mrs.Burton was reaching the end of her reserve strength. Some time before,she had ceased to have anything to say.
Without discussing the question, each one of the girls now understoodthat they could not travel much further until morning. Some arrangementmust shortly be made for the night.
At five o'clock Mary Gilchrist and Yvonne Fleury, who were on the frontseat of the motor, discovered a small private road which led from themain road into the yard of a small cottage. Here they concluded to awaitthe second coming of Miss Patricia.
Mrs. Burton they established on the tiny veranda in the front of thehouse, to rest and at the same time to watch for the approach of theothers, while the girls went to make investigations. The house they hadchosen seemed to be entirely deserted.
Too tired to care what was going on about her, for some time Mrs. Burtonsat huddled in her heavy fur coat. She was too exhausted even to carewhat became of herself or of anyone else.
At first she scarcely noticed that the Camp Fire girls had left her along time alone, or that Miss Patricia had failed to appear. But whenmore than half an hour went by she began to feel nervous.
One could readily imagine that Miss Patricia's collection of farm animalsmight have given out from their long march and be unable to continue thejourney.
Mrs. Burton also began to worry over Sally Ashton and Vera. She had notbeen able to exchange a word with either of them on their arrival at thechateau, and knew nothing of their experiences in the last few days sincethey had said goodby at the farmhouse on the Aisne.
The March winds were growing piercingly cold now that the sun was dyingdown. Still the little groups of refugees kept moving on past the yard ofthe cottage where Mrs. Burton sat waiting.
Finally the travelers seemed to be growing fewer in number; they too musthave become exhausted by their long pilgrimage and be taking shelter orelse resting along the roadside.
Stiff from the cold and having remained seated so long, as no one of theCamp Fire girls came back to join her, Mrs. Burton at length rose andwalked out of the yard of the cottage toward the main road. It might bepossible that catching sight of Miss Patricia's approach she would berelieved of her anxiety.
After strolling on for a few yards, Mrs. Burton observed a crowd ofrefugees who must have halted to rest. They were seated in small groupsalong either side of the road. Drawing nearer, Mrs. Burton saw that theirfaces wore that look of patient endurance, which in the past few monthsshe had witnessed so many times in the faces of the French peasants. Theywere not uncheerful, now that they were resting. Eating their eveningmeal life seemed to hold out fresh hope. After all, had they not beenassured that the United States was each day landing thousands of freshtroops in France? Soon the enemy would be driven out of France forever!
Then, a little further on, Mrs. Burton beheld a familiar and well belovedfigure.
Passing between the groups of refugees, most of them old men and womenwho had been traveling on foot, pushing perambulators or else drawingwagons laden with tiny children or their few household possessions,marched Miss Patricia Lord.
She appeared to be dispensing food to her fellow travelers, as on one armshe was carrying a large pail and on the other a basket.
Discovering Mrs. Burton she set both the pail and the basket down in themiddle of the road and strode forward, and for once in her life MissPatricia appeared apologetic.
"Polly, my dear, forgive me for keeping you waiting so long. I hope youare not utterly worn out; I am extremely worried about you and yet Icould not resist what I am doing at present. I have had no opportunity totell you that I brought away with me from our farmhouse nearly all thefood supply we had in our possession. It was my intention then to feed asmany refugees as possible along the road to Paris. I presume I shouldhave thought of you first, but I believed you would feel obliged to waitfor me somewhere and that you had journeyed far enough for today. Comewith me."
Meekly following Miss Patricia, who had by this time picked up her nowempty basket and pail, Mrs. Burton walked on a few yards more.
In a little patch of grass, springing up near the roadside under the fewwarm rays of the March sun, Mrs. Burton found old Jean, the Frenchpeasant, milking one of Miss Patricia's cows. Beside him and engaged in asimilar occupation was a young French boy.
Drawn up out of the way of the other vehicles, that were still passingalong the main road, Miss Patricia's horses and wagon were waiting.Standing beside the wagon, was Vera Lagerloff. She was bestowing a smallpackage of food upon anyone who requested it, but at the same timekeeping careful watch on the main supply.
Not until a second glance, did Mrs. Burton discover what had become ofSally Ashton. Then she saw Sally stand
ing listlessly a few feet away,making no effort to help either Vera or Miss Patricia and scarcelyappearing to notice the people about her.
As her Camp Fire guardian approached, Sally tried to express a properdegree of enthusiasm and affection, yet Sally's appearance frightened andpuzzled Mrs. Burton.
She did not look at her directly, yet one could see that the expressionof her eyes had changed. They had lost their childish look of dreamingand were wide open and startled. Her face had ceased to possess itsformer softly rounded curve and there were tiny hollows in her cheeks andlines about her mouth.
"Sally, I am tired, won't you come with me? I do not feel strong enoughto walk alone. The other girls and I have found a little cottage not faraway which we think deserted. I believe we had best spend the nightthere. We are all too weary to go on any further and besides, darknesswill be upon us in another hour. I will explain to Aunt Patricia, and sheand Vera will join us later when they have finished feeding the littlemultitude."
After a few words of explanation to Miss Patricia, Sally and Mrs. Burtonwent on toward the abandoned cottage, neither of them attempting anyconversation.
Approaching them a few yards from the house were Alice Ashton and BettinaGraham. At once Alice took charge of her sister and Bettina of their CampFire guardian.
Both girls reported that the house they had discovered was entirelyabandoned and that they had taken possession of it for the night. Supperwas ready and waiting.
An hour after the entire party was asleep.
The Camp Fire Girls in Glorious France Page 4
