, now gone silent forever, his real and
imaginary battles all fought, his work done, his life honorably closed
and completed.

"And think of his luck!" burst out Noel, with his eyes full of tears.
"Always the pet child of luck!

"See how it followed him and stayed by him, from his first step all
through, in the field or out of it; always a splendid figure in the
public eye, courted and envied everywhere; always having a chance to do
fine things and always doing them; in the beginning called the Paladin
in joke, and called it afterward in earnest because he magnificently
made the title good; and at last--supremest luck of all--died in
the field! died with his harness on; died faithful to his charge, the
Standard in his hand; died--oh, think of it--with the approving eye of
Joan of Arc upon him!

"He drained the cup of glory to the last drop, and went jubilant to his
peace, blessedly spared all part in the disaster which was to follow.
What luck, what luck! And we? What was our sin that we are still here,
we who have also earned our place with the happy dead?"

And presently he said:

"They tore the sacred Standard from his dead hand and carried it away,
their most precious prize after its captured owner. But they haven't it
now. A month ago we put our lives upon the risk--our two good knights,
my fellow-prisoners, and I--and stole it, and got it smuggled by
trusty hands to Orleans, and there it is now, safe for all time in the
Treasury."

I was glad and grateful to learn that. I have seen it often since, when
I have gone to Orleans on the 8th of May to be the petted old guest of
the city and hold the first place of honor at the banquets and in the
processions--I mean since Joan's brothers passed from this life. It will
still be there, sacredly guarded by French love, a thousand years from
now--yes, as long as any shred of it hangs together. (1) Two or three
weeks after this talk came the tremendous news like a thunder-clap, and
we were aghast--Joan of Arc sold to the English!

Not for a moment had we ever dreamed of such a thing. We were young, you
see, and did not know the human race, as I have said before. We had been
so proud of our country, so sure of her nobleness, her magnanimity,
her gratitude. We had expected little of the King, but of France we
had expected everything. Everybody knew that in various towns patriot
priests had been marching in procession urging the people to sacrifice
money, property, eve