 Chapter 8, Part 1 of Six Women and the Invasion. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Six Women and the Invasion by Gabrielle and Marguerite Yerta. Chapter 8, Part 1. The literature of the day then gave us little comfort. And every week the journal de guerre played the very same tune. Yet about the end of November we read in its columns a proclamation from the general governor of the place, which everyone was bound to acknowledge interesting, if not agreeable. This proclamation brought us the orders and prohibitions of the almighty authorities. It is expressly forbidden to give assistance and shelter to French or Allied soldiers. Owners of arms of all kinds, telegraphic and telephonic apparatus and bicycles are ordered to bring them to the military authorities. It is expressly forbidden to keep live pigeons of any breed. It is expressly forbidden to go without passport from one place to another. The tyrant who issued the orders concluded with these words. The population have nothing to dread as long as they submit the laws of war and comply with our orders. With our orders with this you may go far and they went very far. The general regulations did not concern us nearly. Unfortunately we never met wounded or struggling French soldiers. We possessed neither bicycles nor telephonic or telegraphic apparatus. We owned no pigeons whatever and we were content to assure our neighbours of our sympathy when, not without groanings and great sorrow, they slaughtered the inhabitants of their dove coats. This massacre aimed at the suppression of all carrier pigeons and in many farms the application had not waited for the law. But Madame Lantoises for instance an under officer and two men had dropped in unawares strangled and taken away as many pigeons as they were able to carry. Don't take the big white ones besought the farmer's wife. Naturally the Germans are too wise not to be suspicious those French people might be cunning enough to disguise their carriers as big white feather-legged pigeons. One night all the Prince heard a noise in his outhouse, half undressed he hastened out and met face-to-face four soldiers who in broken but energetic language ordered him back to his mattress. The old man watched the intruders go away, went to his dove coat and by the light of his lantern saw the floor bespattered with blood and scattered all over with pigeons' heads. But after the proclamation the slaughter surpassed any previous rates. It is easy to imagine the emotion that spread among the couping tribe famous for their attachment to family sentiments and home life. How many young ones just hatched were killed. How many loving couples severed from one another, bewildered, the poor things fled in bands throughout the country and made common course with the crows pecking corn in the fields. If a Prussian happened to pass he lifted his gun to his shoulder and fired at the white birds. If the frightened flock sought refuge on a roof the deuce take the pigeons, the angry peasant cried out, Am I going to pay fifteen hundred francs because two dozen birds have a lighted on my house? Then stones were thrown and off went the birds. The order was explicit for every pigeon saved. The owner was subject to a fine of fifty francs. Therefore all dove coats were shut up and no one dared to give asylum to the prescribed. The race of bicycles also persecuted was equally bewildered. The helpful bowels of the earth swallowed some of them, the mouth of a well engulfed a few others. Some I know spent two months in a brook and then let themselves fall to bits rather than serve the Germans. Through patriots were the bicycles. As to those which had not managed to escape the Germans' attention they were taken to the mayor's house and clearly showed they were out of temper by grating, creaking, gnashing the teeth of their wheels and screws the whole way long. This did not prevent the invaders from using them on the spot with great satisfaction. Of the regulations as to passports we had a proof before letters so to say. On a certain morning of November Yvonne and Antoinette attended by Pierrot went to Léon. For Yvonne a visit to the dentist was urgent. Pierrot wanted a Latin grammar. About five in the evening we began to feel uneasy. The night in the fog fell in concert and the travellers had not yet returned. At half-past five Madame Vallant and I ventured out ready for anything and at two miles distance from the house we saw the little group walking along very fast and with a candid air. Why here you are, frightened not to see us back? There was no reason at all. Look we have got the journal de guerre, a pound of chocolate and some sweets. We dined with a good appetite. Three days after we heard a loud ring of the bell and two German officers attended by the mayor were shown in. The young ladies who lately were arrested at the level crossing live here, don't they? We looked at one another, struck with amazement, Yvonne and Antoinette alone seemed to be acquainted with the circumstance and modestly acknowledged they were the young ladies in question. Well they are to be at the commander's office in Leon at two o'clock. You need not be afraid, thanks to the mayor, the affair is already settled. At two o'clock it was now past twelve, there was not a minute to lose. We were ready in an instant and on the way to Leon the offenders told the truth. Oh! They said to me we have been so frightened you know. You know we did not want to worry mother but you can imagine that we ourselves were terrified. We were already late said Antoinette. When at Sam Marcel we discovered that we had lost Colette's ring we went back to the town, found the jewel half crushed and hastened once more on the way home. It was about half past four the night was rapidly falling when we got to the level crossing. Passports we heard. But we have none, they have never been required. Then go back to Leon you are not allowed to pass. Impossible we have no house in Leon my mother is expecting us at Mourney. Wait a moment said a voice and riding on a bicycle an officer attended by two men came out of the fog. We explained the whole thing in our best German for he did not speak French at all. He was courteous and seemed inclined to let us go when he was struck by a sudden idea. Are you English he asked. Yvonne understood do you speak English and answered yes. So you are then you don't go come into the house. The soldiers gathered round and look curiously at us one of them carried a lantern which made all faces red our hearts beat violently. Sir please let us go home we are not English my sister mistook your question. You will explain this to me come in first the door was thrown open I stood on the threshold when Yvonne caught my arm don't go in don't go in I looked around me we were alone among these 10 men whose looks seemed very strange to me around us nothing but the lonely fields the darkness and the fog in front of us a row of untidy beds on a broken leg table a wretched lamp completed this picture of a disreputable house oh no I pray you let us go away let us return to Leon if you don't come in and quickly I will shoot you and the officer snatched up his revolver out of despair we went in the 10 men pushed us and rushed in after us you pack off post haste the officer said the soldiers disappeared except one to guard the door well you were wise to come in said the officer or I would have ordered my men to fire at you to exemplify his officer's words the facetious guard pointed his revolver at us Pierrot chose that very moment to shriek with terror oh I am so frightened so frightened we were frightened too I assure you yet we did our best to comfort the poor boy I explained our case to our judge and produced the twisted ring the cause of our being late we live in morning we're born in morning our anxious family is waiting there for us here are our papers you see we are French students and not English at last the interrogation was at an end Pierrot's tears were still falling fast when the officer a small dark-haired Roman knows nervous looking man more like a meridional than a German allowed himself to be convinced well I permit you to go on my own responsibility there was a piece of good luck you met me here or you would not have reached your home never go out at night for without a passport now go we had but waited for his permission and were off as soon as it was given Pierrot trotted along still shaken by his sobs poor Pierrot no more crying it is all over take this chocolate but you know you're not going to tell tales you may have one sweet more don't say a word of what you have seen madam Valin might be worried about it keep these cough losangers you will eat them tomorrow he took the bribe and consoled in his mind promised not to open his lips about the adventure so we came back with our heads high and without a tremor in our voices you throw off the mask now you had not relied on the solicitude of the Germans who wanted to know if you had come home safely in Leon the mayor read and Mary overflowing with fatness and self-importance told us simply that the thing was settled as our declarations had proved true he was sorry we have been disturbed to no purpose and we too to walk for three hours at full speed in order to listen to such rubbish I shall be believed if I say that ever since then we never felt inclined to travel without passports which besides was soon afterwards strictly forbidden the general regulations were increased by rules peculiar to every village differing slightly one from another according to the local commandant those inflicted on morning seem to us the most disagreeable they saw the light one after the other at any time of the day you might meet the rural constable in the street his drum by his side a scrap of paper in his hand he looked ashamed of his poultry function being used by the military authorities to announce to the world all kinds of nonsense order to stop all clocks and timepieces in all houses why who will ever pierce the mysteries of a German brain the kitchen of the farm seemed empty when the pendulums which for ages had animated the rustic oak clock cases suddenly stopped when in the best bedrooms the shepherds and shepherdesses who adorn the mantelpieces ceased their tic-tac yet in many a room a discrete murmur survived and the owner was ever on the lookout ready to stop the unwanted noise if any search impended then came another commandant who did not care for the order and little by little the people made their clocks go as before order to bring to the Maori now called commandant your one lamp out of every two a selection was made the best lamps were hidden and the rest given to the invaders it is forbidden to let dogs and cats go out poor pussy was astonished at the obstacles put in the way of her nocturnal adventures and it is said that every garden and field mouse danced three times in honor of the German Emperor but what seemed to us more ridiculous than anything was the latter part of this announcement it is forbidden to let the dogs go out it is forbidden to let them bark who indeed had invented this fantastic order some old grumbler may be who was prevented from sleeping by a loquacious bulldog and as we had relapsed into feudalism this temporary Lord thought that nothing should disturb him I'm surprised that he did not throw blame upon the frogs in the neighboring marshes as our fathers armed with poles were want to beat the ditches by night repeating as they did it peace peace you frogs let his lordships sleep so their sons of today might have beaten the marshes saying peace peace you frogs let his German lordships sleep prevent the dogs from barking really now we did our best and for a few days even for a few nights we nearly reduced them to silence in our house grass years a chatterbox by nature had a great many interviews with the cudgel which worked well and all about us the nights were still it was but the cannons turned to speak in vain for the moon appeared white and round and fascinating her four-legged admirers did not bait her in chains you may imagine the poor animals crouching down in their narrow kennels fastened with two tighter chain and two tighter collar lying squat in the dark and thinking with terror of the new and inexplicable severity or casting a sly look at the whip or the broom which the master snatched up if any sound came from their throats this lasted about a fortnight then one evening a pug dogs stirred up the others to mutiny by helping furiously the shepherd dogs followed then the hounds and the curse plucked up courage made their deep base heard until at last their muzzles lifted towards the sky their mouths distended from ear to ear the whole canine tribe began to bathe the moon it is forbidden to go out after five o'clock in the evening and before six o'clock in the morning it is forbidden to keep a light burning after eight o'clock in the evening how convenient it is moaned madame lantoise the dairy maid does not live at the farm and this will oblige us to milk the cows one hour earlier in the morning one hour later in the evening but the dispensers of orders did not mind putting the farmers out and everyone had to submit we can sold ourselves for imprisonment in our houses for 13 hours on end by thinking that in case of a nocturnal incident under every roof from every garret window would spring ahead with which one might exchange one's impressions what was something more of a hardship was to veil our lights after eight o'clock in the evening most of our neighbors go to bed shortly after the sun but to towns women as we are it seemed impossible to sleep before 11 our fruit our crops our wine were requisitioned well we understood why but for mercy's sake leave us our evenings for none can enjoy them if they are taken away from us on winter nights rooms are comfortable and warm furniture friendly and household gods favorable ideas float in the air and maybe turned into talk or dreams I warrant it is the vigil of thinkers that has civilized the world in the morning everything has a cold air inanimate objects are hostile a dull light reluctantly falls from the windows and for some hours you strive hard to tame life again and make it bearable I beseech you let me live in the evening the Germans did not allow us to live in the evening more than once when the bell had rung eight o'clock we heard fists hammer on the shutters and harsh voices cry go to bed French no light no light yet it took some trouble to discover that we were not sitting in the dark these people had to thrust their noses through the chinks of the wooden shutters to perceive that there was no light in the room the window curtains not being sufficient to mask the light we set our wits to work in order to conceal it Genevieve and I stuffed the shutters with two big cloaks Colette established a cleverly contrived screen all around her lamp and Yvonne hung up an extra blind every day when the lamps were lit one of us went out to supervise the windows while those within waited for information is my window all right at the top on the left side there is a tiny bright spot good now it is quite dark and in my room just a small streak at the bottom into the smallest details of our lives the Germans had managed to introduce something vexatious yet morning being a quiet village with a prudent mare at its head we were not so much to be pitted during the first months of the occupation it might perhaps be thought that we were too easily resigned to fate that we yielded too readily to the enemy's orders of course a rebellion followed by fearful punishment would look well in a story but to what purpose should we attempt what would certainly bring new harsh measures upon our neighbors are if the least of our actions might have been useful to the country we were burning to serve how eagerly we even the women would have risked all to be helpful and exposed our lives our liberty but alas we were persuaded that we were helpless useless even of no worth at all we were mere ciphers as unimportant to one army as to the other just like clods of earth in the fields I know that a well-placed Claude may cause a man to fall and you may be sure that when we found an opportunity we never failed to make a Prussian stumble but it would have been downright folly to think of an open rebellion and we knew it well though we sometimes talked of it the German soldier said French women not bad Belgian run after us with Hayfolks alas what a price poor Belgium paid for her heroism soon after their arrival the invaders took care to explain how they intended to be obeyed and to insist that the community would be responsible for all individual acts the hasars were very near burning chevrolet knee while we were there because someone evidently one of the French convoys escaped from the fight and hidden in the woods fired at a battalion passing on the road one man was wounded in the foot furious the commander talked of setting the whole village on fire and it escaped only because the priest proved that a soldier had fired the gun and not one of his flock end of chapter 8 part 1 chapter 8 part 2 of six women and the invasion this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org six women and the invasion by Gabriel and Marguerite Yerta chapter 8 part 2 at Leon a German soldier was killed by a civilian in a brawl after drinking French witnesses said while asleep the German report declared we have read the poster stuck up in Leon the end ran thus the house where the crime was committed has been set on fire and the guilty man will be shot if a similar deed occurs again the quarter where it takes place will be burnt and the town condemned to pay a million francs we did not require telling twice that it was not worthwhile bought one at a time the Prussians were really too expensive and invaded country could not afford them at such a price then all power of action have been taken away from us we could but try to the utmost of our power to save as much of our goods as possible to set bounds with cunning which is the arm of the weak to the ravages of the scourge if impotent anger often move the women into tears what shall we say of the men how shall we depict the fate of thousands of soldiers ordered back home on the eve of the invasion they are soldiers they ought to fight for their country they watch from afar the different stages of the battle whose manifold in reaches them they stand panting with clenched fists they think this is going on such a thing is happening if I were with my brothers I would fall upon the enemy I would fight against the invaders their blood is burning they wish to kill they will kill some of them a sudden uproar imperious voices are heard be quick Prussians are at the door they are shown in even with a good grace to refrain so long from murder for which they would gladly have paid with their life more heroism was required from our men the natural defenders of molested women and famished children than is necessary to rush headlong into the thickest of a fight I have already spoken of the regulations the German authorities had decreed but what is impossible to explain and what people can never understand who have not lived among the invaders is the way the laws were applied and the thousand vexations that came from them we were constantly threatened with requisitions inquisitions perquisitions we never saw two soldiers walking together in the street without thinking where they going what do they want among those who were quartered in morning during October were a certain veterinarian surgeon pale faced and red-haired and a certain professor red-nosed and dark-bearded both with gold spectacles the excellent fellow spoke French as if they have been born in Pontoise obtruded themselves everywhere and took a great interest in everything they talked cattle with the farmers flour with the baker provisions with the housewives and sweets with the urchins they teased the young girls and patted the dogs after three weeks of such dealings they knew morning just as well as the elders of the place knew your income your family affairs and secrets better than you they had a large share in the writing of a guide for the use of the invaders and when every inhabitant have been duly analyzed both went away to their pleasant trade elsewhere you may guess how useful this was for the Germans if you consider what an advantage it would be to leeches to understand anatomy and to know the disposition of the blood vessels so much for inquisitions as to requisitions they were always going on and the farmers never got up at dawn without thinking what are they going to steal today so we continue to hide as well as we could all that we possessed think of our anxiety the day we heard they were said to search houses one morning about the end of November the street was suddenly filled with soldiers the word perquisition was hovering over our heads how anxious we were for the cheese and butter we have the luck to get the day before if they happen to notice it they would be sure to come back and fetch it so we rushed into the garden and with all possible speed thrust the three pounds of butter and the five pieces of cheese the hope of many a future meal into the box borders everything was ready on our features was a mask of carelessness then the bell rang we opened the gate come in gentlemen and may it please mercury the god of the thieves your patron to let you pass close to our hiding places without discovering them a soldier guarded the door two others came in with a sergeant as the saint so the altar from one room to another we followed the visitors they were careful not to forget the drawers which their hands searched and researched they disturbed the dresses hung in the cupboards to make sure that no french soldiers were hidden behind they shook the portiers to scare the carrier pigeons away ah this bed curtain is swollen a french soldier the iron cross for me flat down on his face lay the nave alas no feet were to be seen beneath the curtain nothing but the innocent frame of a picture forgotten there three months ago they went upstairs took a careful survey of the attics pried into the heaps of logs then catching sight of the roof whose shadow served as a screen to our bedding what is up there then asked the under officer up there it is an empty space between the roof and the ceiling the man seems satisfied with the explanation the big boots got down again they paused they had found nothing at length they made up their minds to go out they disappeared from sight they went to search the next house a week after these operations the villagers still talked about them has your house been carefully searched oh dear dear they have looked even into the saucepans they have gone through the papers in my desk they have climbed upon the beams of our roof the visitors seldom found anything worthwhile one or two pigeons which their owners had hidden in the attic and for which they had to pay fifty francs each other villagers were less happy for a trifle a man was considered suspect and taken into custody if a cartridge happened to be discovered in a house the owner was arrested and sent to leon her son or still father off and after the retreat of august what urchin had not a collection of french and belgian cartridges a gentleman farmer of the neighborhood was put into prison under the pretense that he talked german too much another was arrested all of a sudden without any apparent reason but why am i arrested go on you will know later the poor wretch came back from germany a year afterwards ill worn out done for only they had neglected to reveal to him why he had been imprisoned it is not difficult to imagine how these prisoners were hunted a man was arrested in baronton a gun had been found in his bed it would seem he was confined for a time at leon managed to escape and went right to morning where monsieur dunard his lifelong friend hid him in his house did anyone betray the runaways i do not know the two days after his arrival an under officer and four men came to monsieur dunard's one from the street the others from the garden turned the farmer his wife and the maid out of doors conscientiously searched the house found the fugitive and took him away we saw the poor man pass between two gendarmes on horseback he looked desperate his hands tied to one of the stirrups were quite blue but imminent justice dear to the Germans had a watchful eye here it was even imminent a good citizen of morney was just coming back from the forest with his donkey put to a cart loaded with wood the ass saw a procession which he thought unseemly and proclaimed his opinion in the way usual to his kind the horses frightened by the loud he-ho reared and fell back a military motor car which was approaching could not stop in time and gave a sudden lurch followed by a general confusion horses, gendarms, donkey, cart and logs fell topsy-turvy to the ground oh the poor prisoner with his tied up hands well he alone came off safe and sound he alone and the donkey of course gendarms horses and driver got up lame to the right and left and more or less injured after some bandaging the Germans took their prisoner away all the same but the interlude had given a few minutes of intense joy to many people for a long time we were afraid that the men of the village would be all taken away we knew that in many northern places the male population had been carried off to fill up German prisons when would they do the same in morning when the Germans withdraw was the general answer and the expectation of this day filled us with a mixture of joy and dread the day came and the Germans did not withdraw one morning all able-bodied men were summoned to the marie they were taken in herds to Léon and shut up in the citadel for two nights they slept on the floor and had to eat a nameless stew on the third day of their absence towards evening a joyful rumour spread in the village the men are coming back the men are coming back women and children rushed out to meet husbands sons and fathers and the noisy troop came back home and stayed there we thought ourselves crushed with grief what seemed to us most unbearable was the want of news every family had one or several of its members away at the front and we asked over and over again are they dead wounded ill and we knew no more of what happened in the invaded country in Lille San Quentin or Raquel than of what happened in San Francisco Paris or Peking every village was an island carefully isolated from the rest of the world and kept up very few relations with the nearest towns on the other hand we can think only with compassion of the everlasting threats hanging over our heads of the uninterrupted plunder of the vexatious measures which left us no rest yet all this was bearable compared with what we had still to support first the bad season was coming soon we should suffer from the cold since fuel was rare and even from hunger since bread was scarce one day Colette cried out oh mother look winter is coming the Christmas roses are in bloom on the very same day we heard that the village had a new commandant until then morning had given hospitality but convoys and troops of the reserve we should now have to deal with soldiers on active service about a hundred deaths head hasars settled themselves in the big farm at the Leon road and their lieutenant became the supreme chief of the commune the invaders certainly organized their government every village was provided with a commandant who grew more and more powerful you can imagine how these people were puffed up with pride just think of a lieutenant a small country squire owning beneath the sky of pomerania three acres of barren unfruitful land who all of a sudden sees himself absolute master of a rich territory of 1500 souls it was enough to turn his head von Bernhausen was the name of the one we got he was of an historical family and gave himself out to be a rich cattlebreeder he was a huge fellow Genevieve and I reached to his waist aged about 26 boldly cleft from heels to chin he bore on his interminable legs a kind of shortened bust a gallows head with small eyes a little nose still less forehead a great deal of cheek and still more of a thick-lipped and ever damp mouth this ugly lieutenant was a thorough glutton and the poultry yards of morning had many proofs of it as he did not walk very upright his coat which was always greasy formed in front a mass of horizontal creases that might have aroused the jealousy of an accordion two days after his arrival he was nicknamed bouillot for short a diminutive of creux bouillot which means in the patois dirty self-confident conscious of the rights his title and name gave him this lordly personage went to lay on or received his superiors without any change for the better in his dress the peasants said he was the cousin of the emperor we shall be more modest and be content with saying that his forefathers are very well known in germany and other countries his faults were overlooked in high quarters and i leave you to imagine the benefit he reaped from his post and the way he understood comfort good cheer and service to begin with he requisitioned a capital cook of the place and told her that she was to exert all her skill on behalf of germany a salary was quite out of the question early in the morning he was often to be seen in a poultry yard busy selecting his birds among the few geese ducks and fowls that was still there and then i want this to be at the farm at 10 o'clock if the owner timidly asked for a note of hand the officer turned short round and shouted in his face i told you to bring me this at 10 o'clock once he came to miss youland twirs and said i want the carriage you've got bring it to me the farmer after a moment's hesitation dared to pronounce two the words note of hand i shall give none you don't want any your cart won't get lost suddenly the man went into a regular rage tore up and down the yard uttered yells of anger and bellowed i am the commandant of this village i can do everything i please you must give me all that i want he took the carriage away and two days later it was lying broken in a ditch thus we had nothing to do but suffer these exactions we had marched straight back towards the middle ages we were bondsmen attached to the soil as no one was allowed to leave the land the mighty and powerful lords had re-established all feudal rites they took toll for the shortest journeys sold our own flour in common mills from all men required villain's service they were careful not to forget certain prerogatives and thought they had a double right to the favor of all women and girls being at once lords and conquerors accordingly a house like ours seemed to them especially created for the pleasure of the king of Prussia's officers and yet how careful we were to hide ourselves from the moment that the hasars haunted the country madame v'land did not allow us even to go out and fetch the bread the bakehouse was deemed too far off and the garden sufficient for exercise madame l'antoise's farm monsieur la nette's house a hundred yards to the right a hundred yards to the left were the longest walks we were permitted to enjoy and before risking our nose in the street we took a rapid survey no prussian is to be seen good i will risk it despite these precautions we were forced to receive frequent requisitioners or perquisitioners and we soon heard that the soldiers called our habitation the house of the pretty girls fatal name no sooner had lieutenant von Bernhausen heard it than he dispatched to us his second self the sergeant marquis alias santae brute for as no one can doubt bouyo had about him worthy followers this sergeant sound brute as much dreaded as his master and a few other hasars he loved above all as victor hugo says was it for their great courage and their huge size i do not know but for their ferocity in any case their want of scruple their hatred of france among them he reckoned the black guard a vicious lad with a pink and white complexion rabbits poor who looked like a degenerate fool with a long bovine face and the japanese whose slanting spiteful eyes were always laughing one evening when all the inhabitants of the village had locked up their houses a loud ring was heard at our gate this made our hearts beat quickly so late oh heavens what do they want we ran out and soon showed in saint brute attended by two soldiers like a conqueror he walked up the steps and entered the dining room he showed his best graces his small moustache was curled up his cloak put on after the spanish fashion his cap roguishly set on one side a paper in his hands he made a show of his fingers he had well-kept nails i must acknowledge madame valin genevieve and i stood and waited a nightlight illumined the scene it is six o'clock the under officer announced everybody must be at home i want to see all the inhabitants of this house come along then let him count us set the family in a row it is fair day the germans are amusing themselves the girls came in reluctantly with fury flashing eyes sound brute thought the light too weak he pointed his electric lamp at us and one after another scanned our hostile faces then he declared the population say that you often go to leon without passports if the population say so it is lying in the last 10 days we have been but once to leon and here is the passport you gave us yourself hmm the population sound brute seemed to hesitate the blackard plucked him by the sleeve come come mind you have had your warning the sergeant concluded by saying it is strictly forbidden to travel without leave from the military authorities satisfied with his speech the man withdrew he took a careful survey of the lobby opened the kitchen door cast his light in every direction he seemed to take a great interest in the copper of the saucepans yet he went out followed by his acolytes their steps resounded in the street we bolted the door and an hour after had not recovered from the emotion what was the meaning of this visit the next day under the pretense that he wanted to see what lodging we might give to chance soldiers bullo himself came to see us with his train at his heels was a big hound personette did not believe his eyes a dog in his yard he flung himself on the intruder a furious fight began with his heavy boots the officer gave our poor collie many a hard kick and at length knocked him down brute cried collette in an indignant tone hair von burnhausen replied with a smile he was kind enough to believe the epithet was meant for the dog while yvonne was taking away the poor limping beast the lieutenant asked a few questions then turned on his heels and went away once in the street he lifted up his long arms as if to say there is nothing to do in this house he had pronounced our sentence the reign of terror had begun where i deliver hundred years i should never forget the weeks of mental torture i owe to the germans ten times a day terror sent all the blood of my veins to my heart and made my legs shake under me ten times a night terror awoke me panting from my sleep with my eyes swimming with tears is anyone coming in is there a knock at the door is the bell ringing for we had been officially chosen as butts and at any time under the most futile pretenses two or three hasars or a troop of them used to enter the house they well knife forced the gate open or broke the bell and roaring out horribly one day required harness we never had another maintain they would find in our garden their horses broken loose then at nightfall when our neighbors were all shut up in their houses they would come back and stay in front of the house more than once they arrived drunk and all the while they made a frightful uproar shouting calling after us kicking in the gates knocking up the shutters with their revolvers and trying to break them open if from upstairs we asked what they wanted they answered with threats insults and invitations to come down this life was a very hell for weeks we kept a ladder raised against the wall so that if the soldiers more intoxicated than usual managed to force a shutter open and entered the house we might escape thanks to a small penthouse built on the other side of the wall we could in a few steps be in madame lantoises orchard the farmer's wife had said to us do come in case of an emergency the doors overlooking the garden are never locked and if you were pursued my husband and son would take a hay fork to defend you colette who now slept in the big room upstairs had a hatchet nigh at hand oh she said if they got up to my room i would split two or three heads before i jumped out of the window of a certainty we had a very large share in the distribution of cares yet the sun shone or rather the wind blew for everyone it is useless to say that the hassas were prompt of hand and were not always satisfied with threats one day lieutenant von burnhausen had a mind to go to leon with his retinue he sent for the mayor of morney make haste i want three coaches put to at eleven o'clock be off bewildered the mayor hurried away to carry out the order where would he get three coaches whose wheels would hold together three horses whose legs would not shake under them whose backs would not be covered with bruises and scabs when the farmers were all eaten out of house and home besides the less sorry jades were out in the fields at that time of the day by dint of researches and efforts three decent coaches were got together at length but it was half past eleven for 13 minutes the commandant had been making the air echo with the thunder of his wrath and when he saw the mayor red in the face and out of breath he rushed towards him with a stick and vigorously beat the shoulders of the unfortunate magistrate such is the proper way to deal with french people let us be just the following day the same burnhausen dusted the jacket of one of his own soldiers who had ventured to kick a civilian yet it is worth remarking that the rascal did not get punished on account of the ill usage inflicted on a defenseless person but for the insolence he had shown by encroaching on his superior's rights gold lace alone empowers you to distribute hard thumps and blows one farm on the lay on road being in a conspicuous place had to suffer particularly from the plunderers and requisitioners who happened to pass by one day madame vialat could not succeed even in giving her sick child something hot as soon as anything was ready the soldiers rushed forward took it away and laughed at the thought that they had played a nice little trick they remained in the house a certain number of sheep skins carefully prepared and not less carefully hidden one day the hasas discovered and laid hold of the treasure the farmer lost his temper and tried to defend his goods too many things had already been stolen he required a note of hand but sound brute never gave notes of hand things were growing bad the farmer could not keep down his anger and gave the plunderers a piece of his mind the soldiers threw themselves upon him madame vialat and her niece ran to the rescue they might have killed him the young girl told us i came and stood before him the brutes gave her a sound slap on the face struck her aunt with the butt end of their guns and on their own private authority carried away the precious skins a young shopkeeper of the village ma'am was al-grillette objected to a close search into her own linen the soldiers had no chance of success as they were looking for a missing wheel but the sergeant pretended that no one dared withstand his will and with a horse laugh he rudely knocked the girl about indignant she struck him on the face she was directly knocked down her features belabored with clenched fists and justice was demanded of the commandant the poor girl was immediately sentenced to three days imprisonment we saw her taken to the marie she was shaken with sobs her bloody face all bruised and swollen she was guilty of having inflicted serious ill treatment on the person of the rosy smiling and triumphant sergeant who was accompanying her as to ourselves the witnesses of these chivalrous deeds we looked on with our fists clenched with our teeth grinding with tears of rage in our eyes and never uttered a word it was no use crying for help our very prayers seemed to rise to an unrelenting god and we could but murmur father father why hast thou forsaken us it was the rain of terror armadam said a woman all in tears whose husband owned america round they have just requisitioned our mechanical organ such a beautiful music for which we had given four thousand francs all our savings they have taken it to amuse themselves and how furious they were when they are well spoken i don't mind it so much but when they look so angry i tremble like a leaf it was the rain of terror when i see them coming another neighbor declared it makes my blood run cold monsieur lunette himself acknowledged that he never saw prussians enter his house without an inward thrill of fear whom will they harm today we thought people animals or things it was the rain of terror when the invaders alarmed strong and courageous men i who am not a thunderbolt of war how could i put a good face on the matter genoviv on the other hand was more indignant than frightened but as to myself i was frightened to death it was the rain of terror terror terror and you do not understand the meaning of this you who have not rushed to your light to blow it out for fear its pale glimmer would betray your presence who have not stopped panting in the dark to listen to angry yells uttered close to your windows to hear your shutters shake and creak under the assailants blows you who have not realized that you are a woman and weak and that a dozen brutes will seek more than your life if they succeed in their design you do not know what it is like but we know it from sad experience and if the horrors that have overwhelmed other places have been spared us at least we have felt their envenomed breath and our bodies and souls have not yet set themselves free from the poison end of chapter 8 part 2 chapter 9 of six women and the invasion this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Sandra Cullen six women and the invasion by Gabrielle and Marguerite Yerta chapter 9 thus ground down and sunk in grief we reached the end of the year you must not think that we were as yet urged to desperation the courageous inhabitants who after hours waiting got a passport to go to Leon always came back with the most comforting information the news is very good I should not be astonished if the Germans went away in a short time the farmer's wife of the Houshets who daily took milk to Leon so many bottles were requisitioned for the red cross mysteriously said with her forefinger lifted up I have good hope good hope that our French will be back before the 1st of January and the cannon was ever booming its voice cheered us we never got weary of listening to it and studying it once we even believed that it promised our deliverance it was the 21st of December at about 11 in the evening Genevieve and I were gloomily reading books held quite close to the light when Colette knocked at our door and appeared in her nightgown come come a battle is being fought just now don't you hear the cannon it is roaring louder than ever on tiptoe for fear we should arouse Madame Vallin from her sleep we went upstairs Colette's window was wide open we squeezed together in the narrow space both Genevieve and I got upon the windowsill and leaned against the frame whilst the others pressed against the rail in front and there half dressed unconscious of the cold we eagerly watched the horizon the action took place in the direction of Valli in fact the cannon was roaring with a rage never yet heard its near or distant rumbling never ceased for a second and the bursting shells succeeded one another uninterruptedly when certain pieces of ordinance were firing off full volleys we felt a quivering all about us and on the writing table the pen holder jingled against the crystal of the ink stand our bodies our souls thrilled with enthusiasm and the battle awoke an inward echo with our minds eyes we eagerly watched the place where great things happened our hearts flew onward to meet those who seemed to approach us oh come come our eyes were riveted on the horizon in flames wherever renewed flashes showed a red undulation marked with blue spots or streaked with the lights of five turning beacons we saw the shells burst above below to the right to the left the cannon aid seemed to slacken listen listen a soft breeze brought us the thrilling sounds of sharp firing the crackling of machine guns then the hollow voice began again and drowned the others oh colette cried ringing her hands to think that our brothers our hearts bludder over there they are fighting they sink to the ground they are wounded they are dying we trembled we bit our lips we said in a murmur if only they were going to break through if only they came back oh come come the whole village was wide awake through attic windows anxious faces were peeping restless people stood at their garden walls from house to house they exchanged impressions a young woman of the neighborhood had rushed to her coffee mill at the beginning of the action and by the time her old father went to the garden to unearth a precious bottle of muck she had ground all her small reserve so that our french might have hot coffee on reaching the village alas our hopes were once more hoped in vain little by little the firing grew fainter the cannonless audible the flames and the lights died away and suddenly silence and peace fell upon the village the extinguisher was dropped on us again speechless and gloomy we went to bed at two o'clock in the morning with limbs and souls chilled and we did not even try to seek sleep the civilians were not the only ones who thought the french likely to come back the hasaas had spent the whole night on horseback ready if their brothers in arms withdrew to go at full speed to the north such were the orders in case of an alarm at least they said so officers under officers and soldiers were all the more grieved with the disturbance as they were going to feast to make merry all night in order to keep christmas and we're looking forward to such a junketing as they had never dreamed of in the marches of brandenburg the lieutenant had visited all the farms of the village felt a hundred fouls and chosen the plumpest and the tenderest the feathered tribe were waiting for their last hour in an adjacent shed but now to whom would the inheritance come my beautiful fouls the officer muttered between his teeth my beautiful fouls who will eat them how many a slip is there twix the duck and the lip the alarm over von Bernhausen had not yet recovered his serenity at break of day he summoned his host the farmer the cook and the cook's boy ordered them to slay pluck and roast directly all that bore comb or webbed foot at 11 he declared we shall eat them every one they ate them every one crammed to the brim greatly pleased with themselves the hassas strummed on their paunches tears so much gained there is no need to say that they began their feast again on christmas day in order to celebrate this godly day according to old customs soldiers of all arms and all localities had looked everywhere for fir trees they were not satisfied with small ones and in our wood near bucy they locked 18 beautiful norway pines they did the like in other private estates and even in a public place of leon where the beheaded trees cut a very sorry figure you may take my word for it their christmas eve supper was very merry at morni at least until a late hour of the night we heard the noise of dances laughter and shouts mingled with women's voices we civilians spent a poor trembling christmas whose bitter sweetness was made up of fond thoughts of the absent and sad remembrances of past years christmas peace on the earth christmas all the pleasures of our childhood recurred to our memory goodwill to all men christmas the feast of the one that said love one another and the strong still grind down the weak hatred and bloodshed prevail everywhere the irony of the day brought to our lips a bitter taste on the 31st of december everyone had gone to bed as usual the people were but slumbering as they were now want to when outburst a sharp firing accompanied by loud shouting everyone sprang up all windows flew wide open cries arose the french listen hawk hawk oh despair they were but the prussians cheering the new year even when they enjoy themselves these people are not harmless their guns were loaded with balls which passed through several shutters it was a miracle that no one was hurt if that new year's day was not a merry one it brought with it hope that is inseparable from everything at its beginning deliverance that was what we wished one another and we not only relied on the new year to bring it but to bring it without great delay fortunately this assurance gave us a moral satisfaction for our material rejoicings were very scanty in most houses in hours for instance meat did not appear on the table any more than it had for many a day only a few farmers succeeded in putting a chicken in their pot without the knowledge of the germans for it was understood that all fowls were requisitioned their owners had a right to look after them and to feed them but not to eat them at the butcher's horse meat was sold coming of course from animals killed at the front and sometimes some coarse beef which was obtained by large bribes from soldiers employed at the slaughterhouse rather than feast upon such unappetizing and expensive meat we preferred to eat boiled vegetables sometimes frogs legs varied the monotony of our daily menu some of our neighbors managed to buy venison poachers being not rare in the german army and soldiers there were who profited handsomely from robux which they killed when the officers turned their backs but these few windfalls did not make up for the lack of many things hitherto looked upon as indispensable and what was our alarm on hearing once that bread itself would run short on a certain Saturday the people who went to fetch flour came back with their carts empty likewise the following week no more bread this bad fortune had been long foreseen and to provide against it we had dried slices of bread in the oven and thus filled many and many a tin but seven persons are not long eating up a reserve of this kind so by a recipe which all the village knew a dough was made of mashed potatoes and a little flour everyone had managed to lay by a few pounds of it and these thin cakes baked in the oven bore some likeness to the food we missed other villagers were even less fortunate than ours and had no bread at all officially at least for a very long time the farmers who had contrived to hide corn had to grind it in a coffee mill or with the help of a mincing machine and the ovens long unemployed were again turned to account where no Germans were present on the whole our village did not starve now as it had starved during October and November a few peasants had mysteriously dug up their potatoes and sold them just as mysteriously besides through the mayor's clever management the Germans consented to are buying from them a certain quantity of rice salt and sugar these goods we heard were the remainder of provisions sent to the commissary of stores they were sold on stated days and every inhabitant was entitled to a kilo of rice a pound of sugar half a pound of salt once a fortnight it was a sheer pleasure to chaffer with the invaders they demanded gold as payment for their scanty revictualing but later on they had to content themselves with a sum partly in gold partly in silver they played hangdog tricks on the middlemen once the mayor was informed that such and such goods were to be had to the amount of 300 francs greatly pleased he paid in golden cash he was kept waiting one hour then two then three at length he was told that he had been deceived the provisions were not nearly so abundant as they were first thought there was scarcely a hundred francs were the difference was to be given back to the purchaser and indeed 200 francs were returned to him but the 200 francs were paid in german notes for three weeks we had no bread at all then the Germans vouchsafe us flour of their own so much a day a loaf made with this powder took the shape of a small flat brown and heavy crown which gave us such acute pains that we often preferred being hungry to having our fill of this dough we were all poor wretches and starflings and we were fellow citizens and we arranged to keep a certain level of the provisions but a hundred times more wretched and starving were the refugees who when their villages were burned to the ground had been shared among the communes throughout the country for months they had neither house nor home and about 40 of them had taken shelter in morni where they were huddled in one or two empty houses lived but scantily and slept on straw several died during the winter leon was also overrun with hundreds of those poor fugitives and throughout the town you were assailed and pursued by small ragged beggars who made you think of naples or marseilles the poor things moved your pity the more deeply as you were compelled to think such is perhaps the fate that is awaiting me indeed nobody was sure that a whim of the Germans would not turn him out of doors it was seen more than once so many things were requisitioned first of all the invaders laid the absent people under contribution and as long as their houses had window panes of furniture they were sufficient for the plunderers but afterwards a large manufacturer of the neighborhood monsieur verneur had built a castle a few years before in the Renaissance style and filled it with Renaissance furniture when the rumour of invasion came the owner took flight with his household the first soldiers quartered in the villa knocked off the sculptures of the cupboards with axes while others carried away what pleased them we saw a china bath taken away to the trenches it contained two small pigs in the luggage of an officer who lodged in our house there were damask curtains plates of olstrasberg ware and even children's clothes all of which came from that castle in the end what remained of the furniture was taken to the station loaded upon railway trucks conveyed from one place to another for a fortnight and then sent to an unknown destination to Germany or to the trenches some officers who lived in leon did not approve the costly furniture about them so they sent for three civil prisoners the orders they gave them were simple take the furniture into the garden and break the hole in pieces with your axes it will serve as firewood the house thus cleared these gentlemen had but to look elsewhere for the wherewithal to furnish their rooms if uninhabited houses contain nothing useful they requisitioned what they wanted from those who had stayed at home von Bernhausen soon discovered that he might find many things in our house of which he could make a good use first he was sure that such people as we are overfed ourselves in fact boiled potatoes boiled carrots boiled beans boiled rice barley coffee and nut tree tea are everywhere looked upon as choice dainties so one day the street was ringing with drunken shouts we kept silent attentive to the least sound will they go by without worrying us oh no an angry hand rang a full peel whilst heavy boots beat rhythmical implications upon the gate the key had hardly turned in the lock when saint brute rushed in like a madman with two other hassas jennadine jumped to avoid the shock of the man oh he is drunk these words increased the fury of the non-commissioned officer drunk drunk i am drunk you dare say it again it is an insult to the german army you will see you will see jennadine with folded arms and head erect as white as her woollen jacket faced the non-commissioned officer she looked at him with such an air of scorn and defiance that the maniac broke into a new fit of rage bending forward his fists clenched his eyes starting from their sockets crimson faced he foamed at the mouth he spat out drunk you said i am drunk you will go to prison you'll be put on bread and water sleep on straw it will serve you right drunk drunk around us stood the frightened family the blackguard sneered and rabbits paw when the madman ceased took up the burden of abuse all of a sudden the sergeant altered his mind and sprang into the cellar his companions followed him and we heard them upsetting empty bottles and shaking casks you may seek for wine my fine fellows and if you find a single bottle i will pour it out for you myself in the depths of the cellar sound brute continued to breathe forth fury loading us with violent and obscene insults fortunately we did not understand much of his foul language then he came upstairs again in haste rushed into the garden and squeaked beans beans beans like one stupefied he stopped and gazed at the lawn as if he expected the beans to spring up at his call there was no sign of them then he turned round to me have you any beans good heavens there was a small sack of big white beans which we had bought last week and out of which we hope to get many a meal if i deny that we have any thought i these people will go to the attic and the first thing they see is the sack of beans white and fruitful of promise hmm yes we have a small quantity of beans but as we bought them they cannot be requisitioned how much have you the answer came reluctantly about 20 litres well they are requisitioned and you are forbidden to use them the callers were about to leave but the drunker man still wished to take jenovive away she must go to prison she has insulted the german army the blackard who was almost sober pulled him by the arm come away come away these people will make a fuss and it will be said that we are barbarians sand brute was loath to let himself be convinced at length his unsteady legs took him off and his acolytes followed him ah cried jenovive passing her hand over her forehead with a gesture as of madness to think that all our life we have been respected that we have met only polite and courteous people and now drunk and brutes may insult us in our own house why they talk of putting us in prison as though we were old rag pickers found trespassing the neighbours hastened to console with us for the shouts of the soldiers had been heard a mile off the next intrusion came the following day they returned to fetch the beans this time they were merry in their cups they asked for their pray with smiles and laying hold of it seemed vastly amused on leaving they burst out laughing and von Bernhausen who was waiting for them outside roared with merriment as he weighed the sack of beans in his hand the prussians are full of humor for three days running no offensive then one morning the hassas announced themselves as usual by shouting kicking at the gate and ringing violently at the bell they walked in went through the house and right on to the bathroom we want this bath it was no use protesting the bath was taken away three days after it was lying smashed to pieces in the yard of an inn which the hassas frequented and serving as a dustbin for the sluts of the place then came the turn of the piano sometime before christmas the non-commissioned officer who had previously searched the house presented himself very civilly you have a piano i want it for a few days we shall bring it back to you after christmas we could not say a word weeks glided by the new year saw many dawns break and no one brought back the piano this harmonious piece of furniture was the finest ornament of a house which the guard voire had made their home you saw nothing but black coats there no hassas no convoys the guard voire are territorial's elderly sedate men fathers of families whose stoutness their uniforms cannot conceal they smoke pipes as big as beer glasses and drink beer out of glasses as big as kegs they look scornfully on those who stay at the farm whose drunkenness and rakeish habits are a cause of scandal to them therefore they kept aloof searched houses and requisition goods for their own account had their private rejoicings and spent their evenings amid tobacco smoke and the smells of beer while they listened rapturously to patriotic songs or even playful ditties hammered out on our good-natured piano one day a rumour spread the guard voire are going away the sergeant is already off in fact the non-commissioned officer had left our parts unmindful of the various pieces of furniture he had borrowed from the inhabitants it was the moment to go and claim what belonged to us the house is about to be cleared under the superintendent's of a corporal who kindly authorised us to have the piano conveyed home he did not care for it anymore he was going away and the instrument was put back into our drawing room it did not stay there for a great while that very evening von Bernhausen came around greatly incensed that piano which the guard voire had i hear you took it away without asking my leave but it is our piano it was agreed we should have it back i want it i will come for it tomorrow at 10 you had no right to fetch it without orders from me buyo withdrew proud of himself the following day he came back followed by a vehicle and eight men chosen among the strongest of the band all flocked around the piano pushing pulling to no purpose i think said my mother-in-law that it would be better for the walls and for the piano if you passed it directly into the street by the window hold your tongue answered the kind officer you know nothing about it the piano will go through the passage it went through and took with it much of the wane scott the hasaars made a great deal of bustle sweating blood and water pio yvonne whispered in my ear those fellows have no muscles they are but that two years ago when we moved to passy the same piano was carried in by a single small hunchbacked man but look at that buyo acted the busy body moved to and fro gested with his men and by way of encouragement gave them sound slaps in the small of the back it was easy to see that these people or at least their forefathers had tended the swine in the forests of old germany at last by dint of effort the instrument was taken out of the house carried along the pavement and hoisted into the cart the hasaars served as horses g ho they rushed forward but in the courtyard the carriage gave a start and the piano with intent to commit suicide bounded out and fell to the ground after a few convulsions and one last rive of agony it lay quiet oh my beautiful play l cried yvonne some fragments of wood had been knocked off buyo picked them up it will be easy to mend they gave the piano a lift and made for the farm all along the street we saw it skip along in its jolting car the ravishers scoffingly waved their hands and mocked at us until they were lost sight of behind a screen of snow two days after a new joke of the same kind buyo and his whole gang broke in noisily i want chairs all right my mother-in-law answered i will give orders for them to be brought down no i will choose them myself the hasaars maria schoolboys on a holiday came tumbling one over the other into the rooms meddled with everything poked their noses everywhere von Bernhausen went right to the drawing room those he wanted were two easy chairs in the style of louis the fifteenth ancient silk is matchless for wiping filthy boots upon this was carrying things too far now an officer had installed himself in our house that very morning taking the place of babu and cruffler could we not appeal to him as a last shift antoinette rushed forward and knocked empirically at the door of the newcomer sir sir she was answered by a growl then the door opened slightly and a ruffled head appeared sir an officer is there who wants to take our furniture but at that very moment buyo appeared in a whirlwind he stopped short at the sight of his brother in arms the two men eyed one another ah hum you hear they shook hands coldly they were face to face the one immense the other small both had the same rank the same decoration our guest had been aroused from his afternoon nap it was three o'clock the right time for honest men to sleep his eyes were swollen his dress untidy and his toes vexed at being incorrect wriggled about in his socks yet he undertook our defense he did not refer i need hardly say to justice or to the conventions of the haig he advanced a single argument but it struck home i am quartered in this house yet this house is one of the best furnished in the village it is but right we should fetch here what is wanting these are my quarters i want the furniture that is here at the beginning of the conference the soldiers became serious and one after another vanished on tiptoe Bernhausen at last resigned himself and went after them it was our turn now to laugh at the hazards when we saw them go away crestfallen and heard their chief stammer explanations a few days after lieutenant bubenpeche whom our roof had the honor to shelter was appointed commandant in place of buyo by right of seniority thus ended the persecution of which we have been the victims for two months the guests of the farm continued their misdeeds and their extortions but they avoided our house which sheltered a power the rival of their own we even had the pleasure of seeing the black guard come to our house on duty a bashful blushing black guard and more than that as polite as a chamberlain in presence of his sovereign however in the beginning of february we again had difficulties with soldiers coming from the trenches twice a week they went through morning with heavily laden carts oh these convoys Monday and Thursday as early as four in the morning the carts rattled through the village and noisily shook their empty sides on the pavement they stopped at the station where there were large stores of straw and a few hours later went back to the front full to the brim the farmers took great interest in these personages loads drivers and carts and grossed their attention whatever those lazy bones do cried an old peasant is badly done and ought not to be done to tell the truth there is an art of loading carts with straw the first layers should be well placed and should make a solid foundation according to time honored rules the Prussian's loads always stood awry and threatened ruin as soon as they were erected first one bundle tumbled over a second followed then at a turn of the road the whole pyramid sank to the ground hurling the listless drivers headlong into a ditch nearly every time they came to fetch straw the loaders managed to let it fall and we watched them rebuild carelessly another tottering heap of course these men were thirsty after their hard toil and they stopped at every fountain to refresh their horses as to themselves they drank anything but water such is then the way 15 soldiers happened to come to our house to draw water from our pump many buckets have been pulled up and the men did not go they went up and down laughed opened one door then another ventured into the garden peeped in at the windows Genevieve went to encounter them do you want anything nothing at all we are pleased to stay here because there are pretty girls in the house answered the sergeant in very good French then if there is no need for you to stay here you had better go away I want to lock the gate we never keep it open and the men withdrew Colette who watched the scene from upstairs said afterwards it was very funny you'd have thought that our sister was driving these 15 big louts before her no sooner were they in the street than the Germans gazed at one another did it not look as if they had been kicked out of doors hello we are not people to be trifled with they soon gave proofs of it suddenly they flung themselves upon the windows doors walls we were forced to give way and my mother-in-law opened the gate this compliance with their wishes did not abate the assailants anger they rushed into the yard and poured forth worse volleys of abuse than ever an Apache of Montmartre could invent ah cried the sergeant grinding his teeth in anger you are not tamed down here you do not know what the Germans are come to lia val you will see there how the people have been curbed they don't say anything now they hold their tongues i warrant you one of his men drew the moral of this discourse by aiming his ganitas franzus all shot they stayed two hours strolling about the yard muttering insults between their teeth to complete our misfortune the convoy spent the night in mourning the men came back in the evening and the commandant being away they made the most fearful row we had ever heard from nine to eleven and yet the hasa's were not bad at rough music they were not bad at many other jobs they were acknowledged the most skillful hunters of hiding places and saint brute with his acolytes spent many a day in wandering through fields and gardens they sought for holes that might conceal potatoes corn or generally near to the houses wine which they were so fond of the conventions of the haig it would seem allow the invaders of a country to requisition wine for the use of the wounded so when the soldiers emptied a cellar or discovered a cash they declared with gravity that it was all for the red cross i suppose the Germans bear a likeness to zoo fights what one of them absorbs is profitable to the others and when wine had been unearthed for the wounded the whole pack were drunk for days together and these creatures took all all they destroyed systematically what they could not take away after having spoiled us of our money they seized corn straw vegetables wine milk eggs poultry cows oxen the very horses which the peasants had bought of them in a bad condition and taken good care of belonged to them and they alone were entitled to dispose of them all that was on the earth and beneath the earth all that was growing and living including the people were their own property they carried off the very paving stones heaped up on the wayside to repair the roads if they stay long enough they will carry away cart after cart the rich fat earth of our soil to spread over and fertilize the barren ground of prusher if they could find a means with the help of their alchemists who have made a pact with the devil they would take away our deep blue sky in panels they would drag along our bracing and mild air to purify the mists of the north as they cannot despite their bargain with the devil perform such feats of skill they wreak revenge on us by spoiling our beautiful country our farmers were furious when they saw the Germans the first winter after their arrival plough up fields throughout the land unmindful of the limits and value of the soil and what splendid tillage was theirs their laziness turned up about 10 centimeters of earth they sowed seed and put no manure before they leave they want to exhaust the soil of which they are jealous and which they would like to annihilate they cut down nut trees to make butt ends of guns and fruit trees to amuse themselves in the forest they committed downright murder where it is worthwhile they cut down trees of reasonable growth at regular intervals anywhere else they break off saplings about one yard from the ground in the wood of festeur i know an immense beach tree its trunk can hardly be encircled by four men without stretched arms in its boughs a nobleman of the neighborhood lived for several weeks at the time of the revolution as they found no means to fail this giant the invaders have hewn pieces out of it all round and cut off its upper branches the poor tree will not outlive the invasion on the outskirts of the villages along the roads and brooks the Germans cut down the beautiful trees poplars maples chestnuts which gave a poetical charm to the country to spoil the land is the aim of our malignant foam truly it will be long before songs and laughter are heard again in the wasted country the nymphs of our groves seek in vain their verdant shades along the treeless rivulets and flee away sighing their allergies can anything be sadder than this no epic could be more tragical no ode could exalt our hearts more than this call more than this immense wailing we are ever hearing it is the very breath of our sullied bruised wounded country and it will not cease until the day when her sons return and striking her soil with their feet will say mother oh mother thy cause is avenged we come back from the country of thy foes part three there is no one in the jungle so wise and good and clever and strong and gentle as the bandalogue we are great we are free we are wonderful we are the most wonderful people in all the jungle we all say so and so it must be true the monkey people Rudyard Kipling the jungle book end of chapter nine