Fusille_'! Bien! so I am to be shot! and wherefore, Monsieur le
Capitaine?"

"Some one has fired upon us," said the officer, "one of your dirty
fellows; you must pay for it."

"And the order?" asked the _maire_ sleepily; "you have the Commandant's
order?"

"Never mind about the order," said the officer reassuringly, "the order
will be forthcoming at eight o'clock. Oh yes, we shall shoot you most
authoritatively--never fear."

The officer knew that nothing could be done until eight o'clock, for he
dared not wake the Commandant, but he did not see why he should deny
himself the pleasure of waking up this pig of a _maire_ to see how he
would take it. The _maire_ divined his thoughts, and without a word
turned over on his side and pretended to go to sleep again. From under
his drooping eyelids he saw the officer gazing at him with a look in
which dislike, disappointment, and pleasurable expectation seemed to be
struggling for mastery. Then with a click he extinguished his torch and
withdrew.

At eight o'clock the _maire_ awoke to learn with mild surprise that he
was not to be shot. Beyond that his guard would tell him nothing. It was
only afterwards he learnt that one of the drunken revellers had been
prowling the streets, and, having given the sentries a bad fright by
letting off his rifle at a lamp-post, had expiated his adventure at the
hands of a firing party in the cemetery outside the town.

For two days the _maire_ was unmolested. He was allowed to see his
_adjoint_,[25] who came to him with a troubled face.

"The babies are crying for milk," he said, "the troops have taken it
all. I begged one of the officers to leave a little for the inhabitants,
but he said the men did not like their coffee without plenty of hot
milk." The _maire_ reflected for a moment, and then dictated an _avis_
to the inhabitants enjoining upon them to be as sparing in their
consumption of milk as possible for the sake of the "meres de famille"
and "les petits enfants."

"Tell the _commissaire de police_ to have that posted up immediately,"
he added. "We can do no more."

"They have taken the bread out of our mouths," resumed the _adjoint_,
"and now they are despoiling us of our goods. They are like a swarm of
bailiffs let loose upon our homes. Everywhere they levy a distress upon
our chattels. There is an ammunition waggon outside my house; they have
put all the furniture of my _salon_ upon it."

"You should make a protest to the