or was hastily opened, and a man appeared on the
threshold. The woodcutters uttered a cry of surprise. The man was a
soldier, who leaned against the wall and did not speak.

Simon hurried forward. "You are welcome, comrade," he exclaimed.

The man turned pale, and but for Simon's support, he would have fallen
on the floor.

"Francoise, a chair!" cried the innkeeper.

The soldier had his head wrapped in a blue handkerchief, and drops of
blood were upon his cheek. His uniform was in rags, and a linen bandage
was wrapped around one leg.

The men looked on with terrified respect while Simon tried to make him
drink a glass of wine, and signed to Jacques to take off the soldier's
shoes, now covered with snow.

The soldier uttered a deep sigh of relief. He was a peasant of about
forty, although his moustache was gray. His features bore the traces of
suffering and privations.

"Some brandy!" he gasped.

Little Francinette carried the glass to him. He drank it, looking the
while at the child with admiration and sad envy. Then taking her on his
knee, he looked around him at the honest faces, and said:

"My name is Michel--Michel Charmoze. There are thirty of us down on the
road, all wounded, in a big wagon. The horses have fallen, one is dead,
and we have come for help."

The woodcutters looked from one to the other in amazement.

"What!" cried the soldier, "do you know nothing in this land of snow? I
have been fighting three months on the Rhine. The Emperor has deserted
us. All is over!"

The peasants listened in a stupefied sort of way. Only the vaguest
rumors had as yet reached the peasants that Napoleon's star had begun to
pale. Simon knew it, but he had held his peace.

"Where are the wounded?" he asked, quietly.

"A quarter of a league down the road."

"My friends," said Simon, "we have no horses, but your arms are strong.
You must save these Frenchmen!"

"We are ready!" shouted twenty voices.

"Father, may I go, too?" asked Jacques, eagerly.

"Yes," said Simon, kindly. "You may go, and take some brandy with you."

The woodcutters took also shovels, sticks and ropes.

"When they come back," said Simon to his wife, "you must have a good
meal ready. Carry straw into the school-room, tear up your old sheets
into bandages, and send to Wisembach for the doctor."

"But the child--what am I to do with her?" asked Francoise, timidly.

"Oh! I will look out for her," cried the soldier. "I had a little girl