"No, Master Hullin; it's very natural. King David himself, after his great victory over the Philistines, danced before the ark."
Jean-Claude, astonished at resembling King David, made no reply. "And you, Louise," he replied, after a pause, "were you not afraid during the last battle?"
"Well, I was at first; all that noise, and those cannon shots; but afterwards, I thought of nothing but you and Mother Lefévre."
Master Jean-Claude became silent. "I knew," he was thinking, "that that child had a brave heart. She thinks of everything, and fears nothing."
Louise then, taking him by the hand, led him in front of a regiment of saucepans all round the fire, and proudly pointed out to him all her cookery. "Here is the beef, here is the roast meat, here is the supper for General Jean-Claude, and here is the soup for our wounded. Ah! we've had to make haste! Lesselé and Katel can tell you. And here is our great batch of bread!" She went on pointing to a long row of loaves ranged on the table. "Mother Lefévre and I baked it."
Hullin listened, quite wonderstruck.
"But that's not all," she added; "come this way."
She took off the iron lid of the oven, at the other end of the wash-house, and the kitchen was immediately filled with an odour of delicious cake that rejoiced the heart. Master Jean-Claude was quite overcome.
At this moment Dame Lefévre entered the room. "Come," said she; "we must lay the table; everybody is ready and waiting. Come, Katel, go and lay the cloth."