When Monsieur Bernier spoke of the liberty of his compatriots, the poor Armenians could not suppress a sigh of envy, and Mrs. Pagratian would wipe away a secret tear, for she lived in constant dread of a fresh massacre.
These evenings were a blessed influence for Archag; he threw himself into his work with new ardor.
“Something seems to have changed that boy entirely,” said Mr. Piralian to Professor Pagratian. “I never could do anything with him before, but since that famous affair of the butterflies he has grown polite, studious, and attentive in class, whereas formerly he was always thinking about something else. I actually believe I shall succeed in correcting his horrible accent.”
“That would almost make up for the loss of your collection,” replied his colleague, laughing.
“Yes; only if I had to gain the progress of each of my pupils at the cost of one of my collections, I should soon be ruined!”
Archag, for his part, saw that Mr. Piralian no longer retained his former prejudice against him, and he even came to like the English lessons. His classmates, seeing that he was reinstated in the good graces of the masters, left off tormenting him. But Archag still avoided them; he was constantly with Garabed; they prepared their lessons together, and then went off on long walks, exchanging ideas about every subject that came into their heads. But their favorite topic of conversation was Armenia, so cruelly oppressed and tried.
Archag had never thought very much about his country. He loved it, to be sure, and pitied it, but that was all. Garabed, who was older and more reflective by nature, made him feel ashamed of his ignorance. He showed him Armenia, wasted by continual massacres, but yet alive; he described the deplorable condition of their fellow-countrymen, the better and more intelligent of whom had fled to America; he told him the story of the heroic siege of Zeitoun—how the town held out for seven months against the Turkish forces which had come to exterminate it; or again, of the great achievements of Andranick[1] the revolutionary leader, who had dared resist the Kurds, and had been victorious.
Archag’s eyes were opened; as his love of country increased, it became the central force in his life. Together the two boys studied the history of their country, and took pleasure in speaking Armenian, although Garabed insisted that they must always speak Turkish in the presence of the other boys. The reason for this we shall see presently.
[1] Andranick, a popular hero of song and story, and a revolutionary leader in Armenia for the past thirty years. During the Great War, he organized Armenian troops and led them against the Turks. Knowing the topography of the country so well, his troops were always in the advance parties of the Russians with whom they were fighting. Andranick was commissioned Major-General by the Russians and was six times decorated by them for gallantry. He rescued and cared for thousands of Armenian refugees, who clung to his army for months for protection; though they impeded his progress, he could not forsake them. His career has been one of remarkable romance and adventure. At the present time, January, 1920, it is said that he is the only person on whose head the Turks have set a price.