“I heard that England fought to save France from the damned Germans. That was enough, M'sieu', to make me march. Besides, I always liked to fight.”
“What did you do before you became a soldier?”
“I was a lumberjack.”
(What he really said was, “J'allais en chantier,” “I went in the shanty.” If he had spoken in classic French he would have said, “J'etais bucheron.” How it brought back the smell of the big spruce forest to hear that word chantier, in Oxford!)
{Illustration: “I was a lumberjack."}
“Well, then, I suppose you will return to the wood-cutting again, when this war is over.”
“But no, M'sieu', how can I, with this good-for-nothing arm? I shall never be capable of swinging the axe again.”
“But you could be the cook, perfectly. And you know the cook gets the best pay in the whole shanty.”
His face lights up a little.
“Truly,” he replies; “I never thought of that, but it is true. I have seen a bit of cooking at the front and learned some things. I might take up that end of the job. But anyway, Im glad I went to the war.”