"The general will receive you, my colonel," he said.
"Good!" He turned to Frank and Henri. "You are to meet the greatest man in France," he said. "Allons!"
They followed him into the room. By the window stood a man, not tall, but large rather than fat. He turned quiet eyes toward them. Colonel Menier saluted.
"Monsieur le General Joffre," he said. "I have the honor to present the Boy Scouts of whom you have heard—they who served General Smith-Derrien so well and who destroyed the Zeppelins near Abbeville."
"These are the ones?" said the general. "In the name of France, I thank you! And in the name of France, and by order of His Excellency the President of the Republic, I hereby decorate you! For each, the cross of the Legion of Honor! Which is Francois Barnes?" glancing from one to the other.
Frank stepped forward. General Joffre took the cross from his own breast and pinned it to Frank's. Then he turned to another officer, and received another cross from him. And this he affixed to Henri's breast. For a moment they were overcome. And then together they cried:
"Vive la France!"
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors have been repaired.