INTRODUCTION

In this little volume are set down the stories of many devoted little French boys and girls, some of whom have offered their lives for their country, others of whom have passed through perils that would try the strongest and bravest of men, and yet lived to be honored by a grateful government for their deeds of heroism.  How Remi the Brave, a lad of ten, won the Cross of War; the story of Little Mathilde who saved the French garrison from the Uhlan raiders; Marie the Courageous, who remained at home when the Germans captured the town in which she lived, and kept the French informed, knowing that if caught she would surely be shot as a spy; how the Hero of the Guns saved the day by working the machine guns when nearly all their crews were dead or wounded; the story of the Little Soldier of Mercy who, though a timid lad, forgot his fears, and working under fire saved the life of many a wounded man; how Little Gene locked the Bavarian Dragoons in the cellar of her home and captured the lot of them, are a few of the thrilling tales of the patriotism and heroism of the Children of France that form one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of the great world war.  They will make the heart of every boy and girl beat faster, they will grip the heartstrings of all who read and bring them to a better realization of their duty to their Flag and to their Country.

CHAPTER I

THEIR FIRST HERO

Before the “Squire’s” son went away to war, the neighborhood children knew him only by sight and by hearing their parents speak of him as the son of “the richest man in Titusville,” who never had done a day’s work in his life.

Perhaps the parents were not quite right in this, for, even if Robert Favor had not gone out in the fields to labor, he had graduated from high school and college with high honors.  He never spoke to the village children nor noticed them, and was not, as a result, very popular with the young people of his home town.  The neighbors said this was all on account of his bringing up.

It was therefore a surprise to them when, at the beginning of the great war, after Germany swept over Belgium, Robert Favor hurried to Europe.  It was later learned that he had joined what is known as the “Foreign Legion” of the French Army.  Titusville next heard that he had been made a lieutenant for heroic conduct under fire.  But Titusville did not believe it; it said no Favor ever did anything but run away in such circumstances.  But they believed it when, later on, they read in the newspapers how Lieutenant Favor had sprung out of the trenches and ran to the rescue of a wounded private soldier who had lain in a shell hole in No Man’s Land since the night before.

The village swelled with pride and the eyes of the children grew wide with wonder as they listened to the story of the heroism of the Squire’s son.  But this was as nothing to what occurred later.  “Bob” Favor was brought home one day to the house on the hill, pale and weak from wounds received in battle.