“At last the German line began to waver; it stopped, then began a retreat on the run, followed by the bullets of the machine gunners.  Mattia was yelling and whooping as he pumped away with his weapon, elevating its muzzle a little from time to time that he might be sure to reach the fleeing men.

“Shells had been bursting about him all the time and were still bursting.

“The French machine-gun fire from other trenches stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun.  Then something happened to little Mattia.  Another shell landed in his trench and burst with a deafening explosion.  The lad fell forward on his gun and lay still.

“They found him there later, unconscious, badly wounded, his hand still on the trigger of the gun he had worked with such success.  He was carried back to the rest billet and thence to a hospital.  Everywhere the story of the boy’s heroism had preceded him.

“One day as he lay in his cot, now well on the road to recovery, some officers, guided by an orderly, entered the ward where he lay and halted at his cot.  The officer in charge of the party, who proved to be a general, made a little speech to the wounded boy, then pinned the Cross of War on his breast and finished by kissing him on both cheeks.

“Mattia had won his reward, and though he would never fight again, he was a happy boy.  He had served his country well and had bled for her and had won an honor that comes to few.”

CHAPTER XIII

MARIE THE COURAGEOUS

“The Padre and his little niece, an orphan of twelve, lived on the outskirts of a French village that had been taken by the Germans,” began Captain Favor, resuming his story telling for the children.

“Marie, for that was her name, was a patriot if there ever was one.  Every fibre of her being was for France, and one could see the fires of patriotism flaming in her eyes.  That is the sort of patriotism, Joe, that no fear of death can dim.”

Joe Funk nodded approvingly.  His own patriotism had been stirred by these tales of the heroism of the children of France.

“While the French were in possession of the village in the early days of the war, an officer of that army made his headquarters with the Padre and his niece,” continued Captain Favor.  “He became very fond of the child.  Captain Grivelet was his name and, recognizing in Marie a true patriot, he had explained many things to her about the war, so that, for a child so young, Marie was able to form a very clear idea of the situation of the two armies.

“There were, of course, many army secrets of which Captain Grivelet never spoke.  He, too, was a patriot, you see, as he should be.  Having asked permission to store some of his personal equipment in the Padre’s cellar, they thought nothing of his going down there frequently.  Now and then Marie was certain she heard him talking to some one down there.