The man he recognized at once as the workman he had succoured in the
accident to the driving-band.

"Monsieur Dubec--he would come in," explained the servant deprecatingly,
as she withdrew and closed the door.

The man looked furtively at Max, twisted his cap nervously in his hands,
and stood gazing down at the floor in sheepish silence. His wife was
less ill at ease, and, after nudging her spouse ineffectually once or
twice, blurted out rapidly:

"He has come, Monsieur, to thank you for saving his life, and to tell
you that he will work for you and serve you so long as he lives. He is
my man, and I say the same, Monsieur, though I do not work in the shops,
and cannot help. But if ever ye should want aught done, Monsieur, send
for Madame Dubec, and she will serve you with all her heart in any way
you wish."

The woman spoke in a trembling voice, and with a deep and earnest
sincerity that showed how much she was moved. Her emotion, indeed,
communicated itself to Max, and he felt as tongue-tied as the man Dubec
himself. It had somehow not occurred to him that he would be thanked,
and the whole thing took him by surprise. Still, he had to say
something, and he struggled to find something that would put them at
their ease.

"I am sure you will, Madame Dubec, and I will remember your offer
indeed. But make not too much of what I have done. I was near at hand,
and came forward first, but many of your husband's comrades were as
ready, though not quite so quick. It was the aid of one comrade given to
another, and one day it may be my turn to receive and your husband's to
give."

The man shook his head vigorously in dissent, and in so doing seemed to
find his tongue.

"Nay, sir, 'tis much more than that. Some there are who would have
helped; but the more part of my fellow-workmen would not lift a hand to
help another in distress. As ye must have noticed, sir, there are two
classes of men in your father's works. There are the Belgians born and
bred, who loved your father and hated, and still hate, the tyrant Schenk
and the German-speaking workmen who have joined in such numbers of late
that we others fear a time will soon come for us to go. The Belgians are
good comrades, and would have come to my aid had they the quickness to
have known what to do. The others would have seen me die unmoved--I know
it."

"But they, too, are Belgians, are they not?"

"Aye, sir, they are Belgians so far as the law can tell; but they spe