sigh of relief as he delivered the last of his
cargo to a purchaser late in the afternoon; "that load is safe from the
Germans, anyway."

"How did you find things up the Dyle?" asked the merchant who had
bought the potatoes.

Father De Smet shook his head.

"Couldn't well be worse," he said. "I'm not going to risk another trip.
The Germans are taking everything they can lay their hands on, and are
destroying what they can't seize. I nearly lost this load, and my life
into the bargain. If it hadn't been that, without knowing it, we
stopped so near the Belgian line of trenches that they could fire on
the German foragers who tried to take our cargo, I shouldn't have been
here to tell this tale."

"God only knows what will become of Belgium if this state of things
continues," groaned the merchant. "Food must come from somewhere or the
people will starve."

"True enough," answered Father De Smet. "I believe I'll try a trip
north through the back channels of the Scheldt and see what I can pick
up."

"Don't give up, anyway," urged the merchant. "If you fellows go back on
us, I don't know what we shall do. We depend on you to bring supplies
from somewhere, and if you can't get them in Belgium, you'll have to go
up into Holland."

Mother De Smet leaned over the boatrail and spoke to the two men who
were standing on the dock.

"You'd better believe we'll not give up," she said. "We don't know the
meaning of the word."

"Well," said the merchant sadly, "maybe you don't, but there are others
who do. It takes a stout heart to have faith that God hasn't forgotten
Belgium these days."

"It's easy enough to have faith when things are going right," said
Mother De Smet, "but to have faith when things are going wrong isn't so
easy." Then she remembered Granny. "But a sick heart won't get you
anywhere, and maybe a stout one will," she finished.

"That's a good word," said the merchant.

"It was said by as good a woman as treads shoe-leather," answered
Mother De Smet.

"You are safe while you stay in Antwerp, anyway," said the merchant as
he turned to say good-bye. "Our forts are the strongest in the world
and the Germans will never be able to take them. There's comfort in
that for us." Then he spoke to his horses and turned away with his load.

"Let us stay right here to-night," said Mother De Smet to her husband
as he came on board the boat. "We are all in need of rest after
yesterday, and in Antwerp we can get a good