36.
"I must tell you, madame and mademoiselle," began the little soldier, "that my name is Evariste, and that Zidore and I are a true pair of friends. We knew it as soon as he joined the infantry to be with Lieutenant de Grand-Air. The day he arrived, he said to me, 'I like your head.'"
"I told him in return, 'Yours pleases me equally.' We shook hands, and there was a feeling between us that it was for life and for death. I could have been jealous, seeing as he was to replace me as the Lieutenant's orderly, but jealousy is not among my number of faults."
"It was settled. We each polished one of the Lieutenant's boots. When one mended his jacket, the other repaired his trousers. Sometimes the Lieutenant said to us, 'This isn't regulation. I have no right to an orderly, and I've got two.'"
"We let him talk, and we enjoyed working for him, as Lieutenant de Grand-Air is as good an officer as you could find. When we were at the divisional rest station, we cooked up meals together that would make you lick your fingers. Oh, those were good times!"
"One day, a few weeks after the wedding of Monsieur de Grand-Air, Zidore told me, 'We're going to have to part, my friend. The Lieutenant is being sent to the Grand Chiefs, and he's taking me with him.' We embraced, and I confess, though it's peculiar for soldiers, we cried fountains."
It this point in Evariste's story, Bécassine suddenly interrupted. "Since you love my little Zidore so," she said, "you are my friend, and I must embrace you as he would." Evariste let her kiss him.
After this touching interlude, he continued. "For me, the following weeks were the worst of the war. We were in the trenches, near the Somme, very close to the Boches. It never stopped raining. There was nothing going on, not even the smallest attack to distract us. We didn't even shoot."
One day, I was trying to get some sleep in the shelter to forget about my boredom. Suddenly, I heard a shout, some laughter and a voice that reminded me of Zidore. As you can imagine, I wasnpt slow about getting on my feet and running along the trench."
"It was my pal. We fell into each other's arms, and then he told us that his lieutenant was nearby at the English headquarters, and that he would use the opportunity to come and see us often. And suddenly he added ..."
37.
"'We should play a trick on the Boches.' You know how jokes are his strong point. In no time he assembled a mannequin and lifted it up over the parapet. In the other trench they took it for one of us. I don't know how many rounds they fired at it. It was fun to see them waste so much ammunition for nothing."
"But they weren't long in discovering the joke, and they followed up with one of their own. We saw appear over the edge of their defences a small replica of a soldier that jumped around this way and that. We couldn't get a clear view of it, though, because of the ground fog."
"We had our guns to our shoulders when Zidore shouted, 'Don't fire, it's a dog!' And that proved once again the heartlessness of those Boche bandits. Our joke was funny but not cruel. Theirs could have ended in the shooting and injuring of a poor animal.'
"But then something surprising happened. The dog suddenly broke away from them and ran towards us. It jumped into our trench. It greeted us with boundless affection and, since then, it hasn't left."
"Probably the conduct of its previous owners set it off. It's angry at them. Whenever we take a prisoner it jumps at him and bites his calves. Other times, it leaps onto the parapet and barks furiously at the Boches."
"Then Zidore told me, 'This will end with the dog getting shot. The next time you get leave, take him to Mam'zelle Bécassine.' I have done the job, and now I ask you, mam'zelle, if you'll look after the dog."
The story recounted by Evarists entirely changed the feelings of the brave girl. She caressed Hindenberg, who allowed it with the greatest politeness.
But, a moment later, he jumped up, ran to the door and barked joyously. "Funny," said Evariste. "That's what he does whenever he hears Zidore, who of all of us is the one he loves best. But Zidore isn't on leave."
As he said these words, the door opened, and there was Zidore. "Greeting, one and all," he cried. "We leave for England. The orders arrived this morning. Madame will accompany us. You, too, Bécassine. Quick, pack the trunks. It seems it's forbidden to take dogs to England. Still, we should at least try to take Hindenburg."
38.
It was a real hurly-burly preparing for the move. Monsieur Bertrand said that the trunks must be ready to go by dinnertime. We all worked at it, Monsieur, Madama, Zidore, I, and even Madame Ferluyr.
It's not that she was that much help. She had the will, but not the energy, and she loved so much to see that everything she touched was neat and tidy, that she stopped to brush, shine and sew. I don't blame her, but it wasn't the time for all that.
And then, suddenly, she even stopped brushing and shining. She collapsed on a pile of Madame's dresses that I had just folded -- just think if that made them neater and tidier -- and burst into tears. We asked her what was the matter.
She groaned through her tears, "Sorrow and calamity! To think that I will never see you again, because surely the Boche U-boats will sink your vessel." When you're trying not to worry, that's something to hear the day before departure.
Happily, Monsieur assured us that there was nothing to fear. And Zidore, who at that moment was stuffing I don't know how many cigarette packs into the Lieutenant's bag, said, "These are cork-tipped, just what you want in the event of a shipwreck." That little guy always knows when to make you laugh.
The work was finished about seven o'clock. I was heading down to the kitchen to eat, when Zidore detained me. He had a conspiratorial air, and he said, "Now that it's just us, let's do something about Hindenburg."
I had completely forgotten about him. On hearing his name, he came over to rub against us and get patted. He's not much to look at, but he's a good dog.
"Look," continued Zidore. "Here is how we can get him into England without anyone suspecting. See, I'll put him in one of these baskets we use at the Front. If things get dangerous we can close the lid."
39.
"Do it like this, and the customs men will be in the dark." We shut the lid and stood watching. At first Hindenburg was as crazy as a devil inside it, but soon he calmed down. Lady! In the trenches he had learned how to sit still and put up with discomforts.
Next I tried carrying the basket. I put the strap over my shoulder. It was heavy, but Zidore lent a hand. After that, we went to dinner.
Departure came at eight the next morning. There were people of every kind at the station to say goodbye to my mistress and master: Nurses, friends of Madame, officers, Monsieur's comrades, and even a general!
As a matter of course, we stayed respectfully to one side. Then I had a surprise -- I saw Major Tacy-Turn. That filled me with happiness. He's so courageous and fine, despite his cold exterior! I gave him a warm greeting.
He came right over to me. He was just as stiff as ever, and he spoke haltingly. He's like that whenever he is feeling his emotions. He said to me, "Arrived ... for you. Give me your hands." And he took them in his with a crushing grip.
He went on: "When you are in ... London ... bring greetings to Miss Grace ... my fiancée ... Address is on the envelope ... Please give her ... this." It was a tiny little flower that he took from the envelope, and as he looked at it he seemed to fill with emotion.
He continued: "Picked it for her ... on the field of battle ... I'm afraid it would be lost in the mail." And then once again he shook hands with me, and with Zidore whom I introduced. And he walked off with his long, unworried strides.
I was left amazed and moved by that little scene. But the train was pulling into the station. I barely had time to collect my bags and climb with Zidore into our second class car, which was just behind the first class carriage of my master and mistress.
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