He walked across to the bedside and told his story. The curé basely
heard him out.

"It is right to obey," said he, "but here you can obey and disobey.
You can relieve Metz of your appetites, my friend, but you need not
desert." The curé reached up, and drawing Fevrier down, laid a hand
upon his head. "I consecrate you to the service of your country. Do
you understand?"

Fevrier leaned his mouth towards the curé's ear.

"The Prussians are coming to-night to burn the village."

"Yes, they came at dusk."

Just at the moment, in fact, when Fevrier had been summoned to Metz,
the Prussians had crept down into Vaudère and had been scared back to
their répli by a false alarm.

"But they will come back you may be sure," said the curé, and raising
himself upon his elbow he said in a voice of suspense "Listen!"

Fevrier went to the window and opened it. It faced the hill-side, but
no sounds came through it beyond the natural murmurs of the night. The
curé sank back.

"After the fight here, there were dead soldiers in the streets--French
soldiers and so French chassepôts. Ah, my friend, the Prussians have
found out which is the better rifle--the chassepôt or the needle gun.
After your retreat they came down the hill for those chassepôts. They