A Girl of the Commune

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER IX.

  "It is hardly worth while, Minette," Arnold said, when they reached thestreet, "the man has had his lesson."

  "I could not help it, dear," she said, in a voice so changed from thatin which she had spoken to Jean Diantre, that no one would haverecognized it as the same; "he had tried to kill you, to take you fromme. He thought it was you who had struck him and hated you worse thanever. It is not because he has failed once that he might fail anothertime. I should never have had a moment's peace when you were away fromme, but I think now you will be safe; he will remove his quarters and goto Villette or to the South side; he will not dare to show his face inMontmartre again. You are sure you always carry your pistol, Arnold?"

  "Yes, I promised you I would and I have done so. I have a small revolverin each pocket."

  "Then in future, when you are out at night promise me always to walkwith one hand in your pocket, holding the butt of your pistol, so thatyou can draw and fire instantly. He knows you have pistols and will notdare to attack you singly, and even should he find two or three villainsas bad as himself you would be a match for them."

  "I will take care of myself, Minette, but I do not think it likely thathe will renew the attempt. I could see that the man was a coward. He wasas pale as a sheet, partly with rage that he had been discovered andexposed, but partly, I am sure, from fear too. I know you meant well,dear, but I would rather that you had not done it. I love you best whenyou are gentle and womanly. You almost frighten me when you blaze outlike that."

  "I am sorry," she said, penitently; "but I felt for the time mad thatyour life should have been attempted. I scarcely knew what I was saying.Do you think that anyone could be gentle and mild when she had justheard that her lover, her all, had been almost taken from her by acowardly blow. Still I know I am wrong. Do not be angry with me,Arnold."

  "I am not angry, dear," he said, and truly, for no man can feel reallyangry with a woman for over-zeal in his own cause. "Do not let us sayany more about it; the fellow is not worth a thought. We shall probablynever hear of him again."

  "I hope not, Arnold, but after what he tried to do I shall never feelquite free from anxiety so long as you are in Paris. I wish your Englishfriend had handed him over to the police."

  "I have no doubt he would have done so, but, as he told me, the ideathat the fellow was anything else than a street-ruffian did not come tohim till afterwards. You know what a business it is bringing a charge ofany kind here, and Hartington having himself punished him prettyseverely did not care for the trouble of carrying it further."

  The news was rapidly spread in the cabarets by the men who had beenpresent at Minette's denunciation that Jean Diantre had endeavored toassassinate the American, and much indignation was excited. Had hedrawn a knife upon a fellow-workman over their wine, the matter wouldhave excited but slight reprobation, but that he should have crept up inthe dark to attempt to assassinate one who was a denouncer of tyrants, arepresentative of the great Republic, was voted to be infamous.

  Various punishments were suggested as appropriate for such a crime, butJean did not appear at his accustomed haunts in the morning, and inquiryshowed that he had paid his rent the evening before, had sold hisfurniture for a few francs to one of the other lodgers in the house, andhad left the quarter altogether. Resolutions were passed at the nextmeeting denouncing him as a traitor to the sacred cause of humanity, andthen the matter was forgotten altogether save by Minette.

  As time went on, the luxuries of life altogether disappeared from theshop-windows, but there was still no lack of the absolute necessaries.The stores of corn and rice turned out to be vastly larger than had beensupposed. The herds of cattle gathered under shelter of the guns of theforts had disappeared, but horseflesh was still fairly abundant.Vegetables were not dear, for numbers of people went out every morningto the gardens and fields surrounding Paris and returned laden withthem.

  The animals in the public collection were all killed and the carcassesof all the eatable creatures sold at high prices, and for a timeelephant steak, camel hump, venison, and other meats could be purchasedat restaurants, although no doubt the horse furnished the foundation ofthe greater portion of these dishes.

  The swans and other aquatic birds fetched fabulous prices, and theirpurchase was the occasion of many banquets in houses where suchentertainments had become rare. Still there were no signs that the timewhen Paris was to make its attempt to burst its bonds was at hand. Amongthe National Guard complaints at the long inaction were incessant, butthere was good reason for doubt whether the discontent was as general asit seemed.

  It was one thing to talk of sweeping the Prussians before them, quiteanother to take a part in the performance. Still the steady drillingthat went on had its effect. If the National Guard did not learndiscipline they at least gained the power to make a respectableappearance and to go through simple manoeuvres fairly.

  They walked more erect and even assumed a military swagger and spokesomewhat contemptuously of the line and mobiles, whose discipline was aslax as their own, and among whom drunkenness was rife, for whatever elsefailed, the supply of wine and spirits appeared inexhaustible. Cuthbertwent not unfrequently to dine at the English restaurant of Phipson,where the utter and outspoken contempt of the proprietor for the Frenchin general, and the Parisians in particular, amused him greatly.

  "To see these fellows giving themselves military airs when they takecare never to get within gunshot of the enemy, it is enough to makeone's blood boil, Mr. Hartington. I believe that a couple of score ofstable-boys with pitchforks would lick a battalion of them, and it isworse still when one goes out on the Boulevards and sees them sitting atthe cafes drinking their absinthe as if there was no enemy within ahundred yards of the place. I have never liked them, sir, but I amdownright sickened by them now. I shall sell out as soon as this isover."

  "I don't think they are as bad as they seem, Phipson. If the Prussiansever do force a way into Paris, I think you will see that these fellowscan fight and fight desperately."

  "So will a rat, Mr. Hartington, if you corner him, but he will run aslong as he gets the chance. I think it will do them a world of good, andtake down some of their cockyness, if the Prussians did come in. I couldnot stand it, and as you see I have put my shutters up, and only let inEnglish customers I know. I tell you I can't bring myself to servinghorseflesh. I have got a few first-rate hams still hanging in thecellar. As long as they last and I can pick up anything fit for a humanbeing to sit down to, I shall go on, but I ain't going to give mycustomers grub that is only fit for hounds. I have not come down to bea cat's-meat man yet. As to drink, I have got as you know a goodishsupply of as fine whisky as ever was brewed, but it won't be long beforethat will be the only thing I shall have to sell. I see you still stickto your soldiering, Mr. Hartington."

  "Oh, yes, now I have begun, I shall go through with it, though it is notso pleasant as it was a month ago, for the nights are getting cold;still there is plenty of excitement about it, and we manage to keep thePrussians awake as well as ourselves. Whatever it may be with theNational Guard there is plenty of pluck among the students. I could notwish to have better comrades."

  "Well, there is one advantage, sir, in that uniform. You can go aboutwithout being suspected of, for being a foreigner is just the same inthe eyes of these chaps as being a spy. It is rum now that while thisplace is pretty nigh kept up by the money the English and Americansspend here, they don't like us not one bit."

  "How do you make that out, Phipson?"

  "I don't know that I can make it out at all. I take it it is because wehave always licked them, sir, and always shall do. There was the olddays when the Black Prince thrashed them. I am a Canterbury boy and haveseen his armor hanging up in the Cathedral many a time; that is how Icame to know about him, and then I have heard that Marlborough used tocrumple them up whenever he met them; and then there was Wellingtonagain. Why, they have never had so much as a chance with us, and on seawe have licked them worse than on
land. Well, it ain't in nature menshould like that."

  "Those are old stories, Phipson, and I don't think they have much to dowith the dislike the French have of us. I think it is more because theycannot help seeing for themselves that they are no longer the firstpower in the world, and that England has passed them in the race."

  "That may have something to do with it, sir, but from what I have heardthem say and from what I have seen myself, I think it is partly becauseFrenchmen find themselves but poor sort of creatures by the side ofmost Englishmen. I have heard them say that Englishmen walked about thestreets of Paris just as if the place belonged to them, and there ain'tno doubt that an Englishman does somehow or other put his foot down andsquare his shoulders in a way you never see a Frenchman do. I havenoticed it myself many a time, and then, if he does get into a row witha Frenchman, the fellow hasn't a chance with him. I expect that gallshim a bit. Anyhow they don't like it. They don't hate the Americans somuch as they do us, though why they shouldn't is more than I can see,for there ain't much difference between us, except that there are veryfew of them who know how to use their hands. Well, anyhow, I shall beglad to have done with the French, though I will say for them that thelot that uses my place is a good deal better than the generality. Forthe most part they dress as English; that is to say they get theirclothes made by English tailors, but lor' bless you, it ain't no use.They can't wear them when they have got them, not to look easy andcomfortable in them. I have scores of times wondered what the differenceis and I could not tell you to save my life, but for all that I can tella Frenchman the moment he comes in, no matter how he's got up. Thereain't no occasion for them to open their mouths. I can spot them as easyas one could tell the difference between a thorough-bred and a commonroadster."

  As a rule the Franc-tireurs des Ecoles went out on the southern orwestern sides of Paris, but one morning they marched out to St. Denis.

  "There has been some pretty hot skirmishing on that side," the colonelsaid to his officers before starting, "and I have been asked to marchyou out in that direction, and to take up the outpost duties on aportion of the line there. The troops have been having a pretty hardtime of it, and have been pushed backward once or twice, though theyhave always ended by winning back the ground they had lost. We have areputation of keeping our eyes open, and the General told me thismorning that I might consider it as a compliment we were sent there."

  They were marched to a small cluster of houses and relieved twocompanies of the line who had been on duty there during the night. Itwas the first time a specific post had been assigned to them, and themen were in high spirits at what they considered an honor. Theauthorities treated the Franc-tireurs as being valueless for any realfighting: as being useful to a certain extent for harassing the enemies'outposts, but not to be counted upon for any regular work, and soomitted them altogether in the orders assigning the positions to beoccupied. The corps therefore considered it a feather in their caps tobe assigned a position by the side of the regulars. The fires of thetroops were still burning, and the men were soon at work cooking theirbreakfast, one company being thrown out in the front of the village.

  The houses all bore signs of the strife. Some were almost unroofed,others had yawning holes in the walls, the work of shell from thePrussian field-guns, while all were pitted with scars of bullets on theside facing the enemy. Scarce a pane of glass remained intact. Thefloors had been torn up for firing and the furniture had shared the samefate. A breastwork had been thrown up some fifty yards in front of thevillage and the houses had been connected by earthen walls, so that ifthe outwork were taken the place could be defended until reinforcementscame up.

  A hundred yards to the left there was a battery of six guns, and anotheron a mound four or five hundred yards to the right. In the daytime theirfire covered the village, and there was little chance of the Germansattempting an attack until after nightfall. The enemy occupied in forcea village of some size five hundred yards away, and had covered it withstrong earthworks. Their outposts faced those of the French with aninterval of some two hundred yards between them. The sentries on dutywere stationed at distances varying from ten to twenty paces apart,behind walls or banks of earth. The enemies' outposts were similarlyprotected.

  Shots were exchanged at intervals throughout the day between Frenchbatteries on the right and left and a redoubt the Germans had thrown upon a rise four or five hundred yards behind their village; the gunnerson both sides occasionally directing their fire upon the houses; theoutposts were for the most part silent, as it was seldom indeed thateven a momentary glimpse was obtained of helmet or kepi, and the orderswere that there was to be no useless firing.

  During the day the companies took turn at outpost duty, but when nightfell the line was strengthened, half the men being under rifles, whilethe rest lay down with their arms by their side, ready to fall in at amoment's notice. A dropping fire was kept up on both sides, but this wasrather for the purpose of showing that they were on the alert than withany idea of harming the invisible foe.

  At ten o'clock Cuthbert went out with the half-company to which hebelonged, to relieve their comrades who had been for the last threehours in the front line. They had been some little time on duty whenPierre Leroux, who was in charge of the half-company, said to DesValles, who commanded the whole of the outposts--

  "It seems to me that I can hear a deep sound; it comes in pulsations,and I think it is a considerable body of men marching."

  The captain listened with bent head for a short time.

  "You are right, Pierre, there is certainly a movement of some sort goingon in front, but I fancy it is some distance away; if they were marchingon the village in front we should hear it more plainly. You had bettersend out three or four men from your right let them go some distancealong before they attempt to creep forward. The Prussian sentries aretoo thick along there facing us, but the men might possibly crawl prettyclose up to their outposts farther along, they won't be so thick there.Pick four good men, it is a dangerous service. Tell them to get as nearas they can to their sentries without being observed, and then to lieand listen attentively. They will have a better chance of hearing therethan we have. There is no getting the men to lie perfectly quiet here."

  "Can I take three men and go myself with them, Des Valles?"

  "Yes, if you like. I will stop with the company until you return."

  The lieutenant went along the line, stopping at each man to ask hisname. He chose Cuthbert and two men, one from each of the principal artschools, as he thought it might look like favoritism if he took all fromamong his own comrades. The sentries became more and more scattered ashe went along, the main body being posted in front of the village. Thelast few men were warned that he was going forward, and that they werenot to fire until he returned. He sent the last man on the line tocommunicate with the outposts, furnished by the corps occupying theground farther to the right, that some men were going out toreconnoitre. Then he and his companions cautiously crawled forward.

  They were rather more than half-way across the ground, when Cuthbertuttered an exclamation as he came in sudden contact with a figureadvancing with similar caution in the opposite direction. It needed nota guttural oath in German to inform him that it was an enemy. Touchingas they were, neither could use their arms, and instinctively theygrappled with each other as they lay on the ground.

  "Look out, Leroux, I have got hold of a German," Cuthbert said in a lowvoice, while at the same moment his antagonist said something to thesame effect in German.

  The lieutenant and the other two men leapt to their feet, and as theydid so, four or five men sprang up close in front of them.

  "Fire!" Leroux exclaimed, and the two men discharged their pieces! Someshots flashed out in front of them but in the darkness none were hit,and in a moment they were engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with theirfoes.

  In the meantime Cuthbert and his antagonist were rolling over and over,locked closely in each other's arms. Seizing a moment when he cameupper
most, Cuthbert steadied himself, relaxed his hold of his opponent,and, half-kneeling, managed to free himself from his embrace, andgripped him by the throat.

  The fight between the others was a short one. The lieutenant had run oneof his opponents through the body, but a German had equalized matters bybringing the butt of his musket down on the head of one of theFranc-tireurs, and being now but two against four, Pierre called to theother to retreat. The Germans followed a few yards and then halted. Asthey passed him Cuthbert gave a final squeeze to his antagonist'sthroat, and, feeling sure that he would not be able to speak for sometime, he crept away for a few yards and lay still among the cabbagesthat covered the field.

  "Where is the sergeant?" one of the Germans said, in a low voice, asthey retraced their steps; "he must have been somewhere here when hecalled."

  After two or three minutes' search they came upon him.

  "He is alive," one of them said, stooping over him, "he is gasping forbreath. I think he is dying, but, anyhow, we may as well carry him in."

  They lifted the man, and as they did so several shots rang out from theFrench outposts. As soon as they had gone on Cuthbert sat up to listen.He could hear now the heavy tread of men who were, it seemed to him,crossing from the right towards the German village. He listened for aminute or two to assure himself that he was not mistaken, and thencrawled back towards his own outposts.

  "Don't fire," he said, when he knew that he must be near to them, "I amone of those who went out just now."

  "Don't fire," he heard a voice he knew to be the lieutenant's repeat,"It is Hartington. I was afraid he was done for." A minute later hejoined him.

  At this moment a sharp fire broke out from the German lines, showingthat their party had also returned to their outposts.

  "You will find Des Valles farther along, Hartington; if you haveanything to report you had better go to him at once, you can tell meafterwards how you escaped. I had quite given you up."

  "I suppose I had better go to him," Cuthbert said, "but I have not muchto report except that there is no doubt the noise we heard was caused bya heavy column of men marching into the village over there."

  Cuthbert found the captain and made his report.

  "Thank you, Hartington. We were pretty well convinced it was so, foreven before the firing between your party and the Germans began, thesound was loud enough to be clearly distinguished. I suppose you cangive no guess at their numbers?"

  "They were a strong body, but how strong I could not tell. A hundredPrussians marching will make as much noise as five hundred Frenchmen,but even allowing for that I should think there will be at least onestrong battalion, perhaps more."

  "If that is the case we must be on the lookout. Of course they may fancywe mean to attack them, but on the other hand they may intend to pushforward. I will go with you to the colonel; he ought to know what youthink about it. He was along here a few minutes ago, but the noise wasnot so plain then, and we did not estimate the force to be anything likeas strong as it is in your opinion."

  Cuthbert made his report to the colonel, and the latter at once wentforward with Des Valles to the outposts, after giving orders for the menin the houses to fall in at once and be ready either to advance tosupport the front line, or to man the barricades and houses and covertheir retreat. Reaching the outposts the sound of marching was no longerheard, but there was a faint continuous murmur which could be plainlymade out in the intervals of the fire kept up by the enemy.

  "What do you think it is, Des Valles?" the colonel asked, afterlistening some time.

  "I should say, sir, that the column has broken up in the village, andthe men are making their way to the front in open order. If I were tosuggest, Colonel, I should say it would be as well to send off men tothe two batteries to tell them that the enemy are mustering in force inthe village opposite to us and that we expect to be attacked, and alsoto the officers commanding the troops on either side of us."

  Four men were at once despatched, and ten minutes later the batteriesalmost simultaneously opened fire on the village. As if it had been asignal a crashing volley was fired from the line held by the Germanoutposts.

  "Here they come!" the colonel shouted, "steady, men, wait till you seethem; then open fire upon them as quickly as you can load, but aimsteadily. Captain Des Valles, will you warn the line to the left thatthey are, when the word is given, to retreat at the double, bearing awayfirst to the left so as to clear the ground for the fire from thehouses. As soon as they are abreast of them they are to enter at therear and aid in the defence. Captain Rainault, will you take similarorders away to the right? Ah, here they are."

  As he spoke a storm of musketry broke out all along the line as a darkmass could be seen approaching. But the enemy were too strong to beresisted, and in a few seconds the colonel shouted the orders toretreat. Then at the top of their speed the Franc-tireurs ran back, andthe instant they cleared off from the front of the houses the colonelshouted to the officer in command there to open fire.

  In half a minute the Franc-tireurs were in the enclosure. Each companyhad already had its position in case of attack assigned to it. For ashort time only those on the side facing the enemy were engaged, but thePrussians speedily overlapped the position and attacked it on all sides.Several times they rushed up close to the barricades, but the fire wasso hot that they were compelled to fall back again. The circle of fireafforded the gunners in the battery sufficient indication as to theposition of the defenders, and their shell fell rapidly both in frontand behind it.

  The fight had lasted but a few minutes when a crashing volley was firedfrom the left. The attack on the houses at once slackened, as thePrussians turned to oppose the reinforcements that had come up; butwhen, shortly afterwards, the regiment from the other side also reachedthe scene of action their commander felt the surprise had failed, andthe Prussians retired to their former position, and the affair was over.Four companies of the line were left to strengthen the position shouldthe enemy try another attack before daybreak, and then, aftercongratulating the colonel of the Franc-tireurs on the vigilance thathad prevented his being taken by surprise, and the sturdy defence he hadmade, the officers of the line withdrew their men to the positions theyhad before occupied.

  The loss of the Franc-tireurs was small. The volley that had precededthe attack had done no execution whatever, and as they had fought inshelter they had lost but eight men killed and a score wounded. It wasthe sharpest affair in which they had as yet been engaged, and the oldcolonel was highly pleased with the result. After the outpost hadresumed their former position Cuthbert related to his comrades theparticulars of his struggle with the Prussian sergeant.

  "We were pretty well matched," he said, "and I suppose were equallysurprised when we found each other grappling in the dark. Of courseneither of us knew how many supporters the other had close at hand, butthe first thought that struck me was that I must silence him if possiblebefore his comrades came to his assistance. I was only afraid that Ishould not be able to shake myself free from his grip so as to get tohis throat, but fortunately he relaxed his hold the moment he felt thatI had loosened mine, and as I was on the top of him the rest was easy."

  "Well, you got well out of it anyhow, Hartington," Pierre said. "You didnot see anything of the man who was knocked down by a musket, did you?"

  "No, it did not occur to me to look for him, but if you like I will goout with you and bring him in."

  "That is a very good idea, Hartington, probably he was only stunned. Iwill go and get leave for us to do so."

  However, just as he turned to go a call was heard in front, and a minutelater the man came in.

  "He had," he said, when he recovered consciousness, "heard a tremendousfire going on, and as soon as he could collect his thoughts becameassured that the enemy must be attacking the village. He thereforeconcluded that the best thing was to lie still, which he did until thefire ceased and he could hear the Prussians retreating. Then he hadcrawled in until close to the line of outpos
ts."

  "I am heartily glad to see you back again," Pierre said, shaking him bythe hand. "It would always have been a subject of regret to me if theexpedition that I proposed had lost you your life. As to those who fellin defence of the village I have no personal responsibility, but Ishould certainly have felt that your death always lay at my door."