ntly, but he loaded his man in just the same and, red
of face, pushed the vehicle ahead of him and back to the first-aid
dressing station, where he slid his passenger to the ground, leaving
him for the surgeons to attend to and then trotted back to the field.

"Artillery had been brought up by both sides and shells were bursting
overhead, though none had fallen near the little Frenchman.

"Lucien picked up a wounded man near the edge of the battlefield and
began wheeling the victim down the road. The going was better there
and he was enabled to make more rapid progress. Pausing for a rest he
eyed his passenger suspiciously.

"'Who are you?' he demanded.

"'I am a Prussian officer.' The officer was so wounded in both legs
that he could not stand.

"Lucien's face flushed.

"'A Prussian officer!' he cried. 'I ought to dump you out and leave
you. A Prussian--bah!'

"'I am losing strength. Please give me help,' urged the officer.

"'Yes, Herr Officer, I'll help you. You are a human being even if you
are a Prussian. Here we go again.' Grasping the handles of the
barrow, the lad started on a run with the wounded man.

"A shell burst in the road just ahead of him. Quickly dropping his
homely vehicle, little Lucien ran for a tree and shinned up it without
loss of time. His passenger had slid out into the road when the barrow
tipped over on its side.

"'Herr Officer, who did that?'

"'It was a Prussian shell. Take me away before they hit me,' begged
the officer.

"'Why don't you tell them to stop? It's your people who are shooting
at you. They must want to be rid of you. I--'

"A shell struck the tree, well down toward its base. The jolt nearly
shook the boy from his perch in a crotch of the tree. Very slowly at
first, then with increasing speed the tree began to fall. It came down
with a mighty crash, hurling little Lucien some distance ahead of it.
He was bruised and shaken and for a few minutes he lay where he had
fallen, groaning.

"Suddenly he sprang to his feet and started to run toward the rear.
The faint voice of the German officer called to him to come back,
which brought Lucien to a standstill.

"'Maybe he is afraid, too,' reflected the lad. 'I must get him.' And
get him he did. Running back, he loaded the wounded man on the barrow
and ran with him all the way to the rear.

"'See! I have taken a Boche,' he cried, staggering up to the dressing
station. 'I shall now go get another one.' This he did. H