One after the other we pass over the wounded boy, careful not to step on him——
The attack progresses, but I have the vision of this child continually before my eyes. I replace my revolver in the holster, and with blows of my cane I stop a crowd of prisoners we have just taken, who attempt to flee, throwing down their rifles as they go——
We have attained our last objective. Without losing an instant, we begin to organize it and get ourselves settled. At the end of a few minutes, officers and poilus commence to feel the reaction of what we have just passed through.
Everyone talks at once. We comment on the missing ones. There are several versions on the death of the friends we have seen fall——
For example, several had seen the little boche. Many remarked about his youth and his childish face—he yet breathed——
Some hours later, I could not resist—I made my way back two miles to see if he still lived——
I found without difficulty the path which will forever remain solemn in my memory. From a distance I saw the trench and the indentation at the foot of which I was sure of finding him——