t of the
snow six men, six Prussian soldiers, the same who had visited the house
the day before.

"What are you doing here at this time of night?" she asked dauntlessly.

"I lost my bearings," replied the officer; "lost them completely. Then
I recognized this house. I've eaten nothing since morning, nor my men
either."

"But I'm quite alone with my mother this evening," said Berthine.

"Never mind," replied the soldier, who seemed a decent sort of fellow.
"We won't do you any harm, but you must give us something to eat. We are
nearly dead with hunger and fatigue."

Then the girl moved aside.

"Come in;" she said.

Then entered, covered with snow, their helmets sprinkled with a
creamy-looking froth, which gave them the appearance of meringues. They
seemed utterly worn out.

The young woman pointed to the wooden benches on either side of the
large table.

"Sit down," she said, "and I'll make you some soup. You certainly look
tired out, and no mistake."

Then she bolted the door afresh.

She put more water in the pot, added butter and potatoes; then, taking
down a piece of bacon from a hook in the chimney earner, cut it in two
and slipped half of it into the pot.

The six men watched her movements with hungry eyes. They had placed
their rifles and helmets in a corner and waited for supper, as well
behaved as children on a school bench.

The old mother had resumed her spinning, casting from time to time a
furtive and uneasy glance at the soldiers. Nothing was to be heard save
the humming of the wheel, the crackling of the fire, and the singing of
the water in the pot.

But suddenly a strange noise--a sound like the harsh breathing of some
wild animal sniffing under the door-startled the occupants of the room.

The German officer sprang toward the rifles. Berthine stopped him with a
gesture, and said, smilingly:

"It's only the wolves. They are like you--prowling hungry through the
forest."

The incredulous man wanted to see with his own eyes, and as soon as the
door was opened he perceived two large grayish animals disappearing with
long, swinging trot into the darkness.

He returned to his seat, muttering:

"I wouldn't have believed it!"

And he waited quietly till supper was ready.

The men devoured their meal voraciously, with mouths stretched to their
ears that they might swallow the more. Their round eyes opened at the
same time as their jaws, and as the soup coursed down their throats it