Then some one discovered the shining badge, pinned to the left breast of his dusty and torn blue coat, which bore many marks of the conflict through which he had so lately passed with such credit. Loud cries attested to their wonder. Jaques was called upon to explain the mystery, which he attempted to do, perhaps after the same fashion that he had in English given it to Thad and the others.
It was a picture well worth seeing. The four scouts sat there and looked on with the keenest of interest. Why, even Bumpus for the time being utterly forgot that he was in a terrible hurry; for he wanted to share in the triumph of Jacques.
So it sometimes happens that men, as well as boys, bear the name of coward when it is not at all deserved. Poor Jaques had so long been accustomed to hearing his neighbors call him timid and weak-hearted that he had come to take it for granted he was really lacking in moral fiber. But when the war came, and he actually found himself, he was not long in proving the falsity of the charge.
From the abject manner of the old men and the chattering women it was evident that the same Jaques would from that hour rank high as the greatest hero the little village in the environs of Paris could ever boast.
Thad was only waiting to get a chance to shake hands with the soldier before making a fresh start. The others felt just as he did about it, Giraffe in particular wanting to be able to say that he had actually gripped the fingers of a hero to whom had been awarded that highly prized Cross of the Legion of Honor, which is only bestowed on those who have shown exceptional valor on the battlefield, or in the service of France.
Managing to finally catch the eye of Jaques, Thad beckoned to him. Apparently the man understood, and his sense of gratitude caused him to push through the throng of admiring villagers until he reached the side of the car. His wife and children clung to him as though they feared he was about to be whisked out of their sight again before they had hardly seen him.
“We are going on, Jaques,” said Thad, “and would shake hands with you first.”
“Willingly, young M’sieu!” cried the soldier, “though my neighbors have almost taken the life out of my fingers already. If this is what it means to be reckoned a hero I do not know how much of it I may stand. But I owe you and your comrades a debt, for which I can only give you my thanks. Here then is this wife of mine who cannot yet believe what her eyes tell her, and that her Jaques is wearing a decoration. Tell me your names, if you please, that I may introduce you to her.”
This the boys did gladly. They were pleased to see that the brave Jaques had such a neat and adoring little wife, and such a healthy brood of children, the future hope of France.
After that there was nothing else to delay them, and so Thad made the start. The last they saw of Jaques he was waving his hat after them, standing happily there in front of his own little white gate; while the crowd still clustered around, eager to see, and if highly favored, even touch that wonderful badge of courage that decorated his torn and bloody coat.