roup they were unable to hear the whispered, broken replies of the woman. That the story was a sad one, one of the uncounted tragedies of the invasion of a cruel and heartless enemy, they could easil

reached up and drew the thin shawl away from her breast. There was a wound there; a cruel death wound that she had stanched as best she could and had covered from the eyes of the two babies. As though her story was all ended, the pitiful eyes fixed themselves on the face of the officer who held her. Rapidly he ma

e to his feet. And while the group stood with bare

wo hundred years her people had lived in sim

and up to the time of her meeting with young Pierre Duval. Pierre had a good farm of his own down the valley, and there they lived in si

swept down, burning and destroying all that lay in their path. She escaped with her children under cover of the darkness and made her way back to her father's house. For a long tim

ve for the sake of the little ones. Already she could see that the agony and terror of it all was

lines until one awful day a horde o

tortured and killed, his old wife kept alive just long enough to see him die. The oldest grandchild was with her. He too was tortured whil

e rode away after his troop. She became unconscious, and for days the two little children must have lived on the vegetables stored about them. When she regained consciousness she found strength to drag herself to the shelves where the family provisions were stored. All that was not spoiled she fed to the children, but they were with

es to their fate. She prayed that they might die first, and she was glad to note their f

ted her and promised that she should soon be free to be with him. The little martyred son clasped her in his loving little arms, assuring her that he no longer suffered.

officer bow

deliverance from all her pain and anguish.

unger child in his arms, but it screamed and struggled while the other one fought off the friendly hands

He made another effort to take the older child but the little fellow fought with the fury of a little wildcat

group, watched the proceedings with growing uneasiness

answer, he sat down beside the dead mother, and for a long time, as it seemed to the w

s, they crept to Porky like a couple of starved kittens. He showed them the rest of the chocolate and hitched off a few feet. Beany came after. The children followed, and Porky broke off another small bit for each. Some one brought water from t

arms sagged on his shoulder and seemed

mally. "Say, did you see

ky. "Didn't everybody? I'd like

ny. "Oh, gosh, they didn't h

other. "Why, it's all like th

ink we can't do much of anything! I want to get even

ild. "What's worrying me now is what is going to be done with these poor little kids. Isn't the one you have a pret

hem anything from across, it would be something good and worth while? They didn't want German helmets

nny, but do you suppose Mom wants to start in bringing up another lot of children! You know

all right!" grinned M

ink, no, I know she would be tickled to death to do something as real and important as tak

has made a lot of money. And he could affo

wants is what Mom

"but perhaps some of those officers

eady he felt a tenderness for the starved,

he said, loo

rl, though,

nted to

l, we can draw straws to s

rned if I know what to do with a girl, though! Can't teach her to

earn to swim and dive and ride and shoot, and it will be pretty handy to have her round th

ow up to button size," said Beany,

erosity in accepting the care of the little girl worried him. He had

asked. "I don't want you to be stung wi

se 'Huh, it's a girl, too bad!' I never could see it. Course when they get our size they mostly are silly pills, but if I have a hand in bringing up this girl, wh

ean to make a scrapper

grow up just as much

oys all right," wa

n in the same seat with them or any of that. She isn't that kind. You can see she isn't." And Beany

ng an assortment, only I didn't want you to feel

bit, and I'll lend you my girl to lo

an't help thinking it might be a goo

't notice. Suppose you go back th

are sort of boarding up a place to put the youngster's mother

everything all right. He will fix it just as well as ever he

the baby, and we don't want

s settled. The pair is our

we can have them,"

me!" said P