Finally he began to ask questions.  “Was I afraid?” I was not.  “Did I live alone?” I did.  As soon as I had said it, I thought it was stupid of me, especially as he at once said,—­“If you are, yer know, I’ll come back here to sleep to-night.  I’m perfectly free to come and go as I like,—­don’t have to report until I ’m ready.”

I thought it wise to remind him right here that if his corps was at the foot of the hill, it was wise for him to let his commanding officer know that the Germans, for whom two regiments had been hunting for three days, had come out of hiding.  I fancy if I had not taken that tack he’d have settled for the day.

“Put that thing on,” I said, pointing to his pistol; “get your wheel out of the barn, and I’ll take a look up the road and see that it’s clear.  I don’t care to see you attacked under my eyes.”

I knew that there was not the slightest danger of that, but it sounded businesslike.  I am afraid he found it so, because he said at once, “Could you give me a drink before I go?”

“Water?” I said.

“No, not that.”

I was going to say “no” when it occurred to me that Amelie had told me that she had put a bottle of cider in the buffet, and—­well, he was Irish, and I wanted to get rid of him.  So I said he could have a glass of cider, and I got the bottle, and a small, deep champagne glass.  He uncorked the bottle, filled a brimming glass, recorked the bottle, drank it off, and thanked me more earnestly than cider would have seemed to warrant.  While he got his wheel out I went through the form of making sure the road was free.  There was no one in sight.  So I sent him away with directions for reaching Couilly without going over the part of the hill where the Uhlans had hidden, and drew a sigh of relief when he was off.  Hardly fifteen minutes later some one came running up from Voisins to tell me that just round the corner he had slipped off his wheel, almost unconscious,—­evidently drunk.  I was amazed.  He had been absolutely all right when he left me.  As no one understood a word he tried to say, there was nothing to do but go and rescue him.  But by the time I got to where he had fallen off his wheel, he was gone,—­some one had taken him away,—­and it was not until later that I knew the truth of the matter, but that must keep until I get to the way of the discovery.

All this excitement kept me from listening too much to the cannon, which had been booming ever since nine o’clock.  Amelie had been busy running between her house and mine, but she has, among other big qualities, the blessed habit of taking no notice.  I wish it were contagious.  She went about her work as if nothing were hanging over us.  I walked about the house doing little things aimlessly.  I don’t believe Amelie shirked a thing.  It seemed to me absurd to care whether the dusting were done or not, whether or not the writing-table was in order, or the pictures straight on the wall.