A cheer greeted his speech.
"Now we shall be safe!" said one woman. "Ah, if they had had one like Raymond the butcher to show them how to fight, those poor people would not have been driven from their homes! He is a man!"
"I think so, too, Paul!" whispered Arthur. "It's something to make a fight like this, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is something," said Paul. "It's suicide, that's what it is! How long can they stand against the Germans? They will throw their own lives away and they won't save the village. Instead, they will simply make it certain that it will be destroyed. The Germans won't fight them on even terms. If they find that the place is to defended they'll bring a couple of guns into action! and shell the place. In five minutes every house will be on fire, and they will shoot down the men as they try to run from the flames. Wait! I'm going to see what I can do!"
Arthur did not seem to be convinced. But when Paul ran forward and stood before the crowd by the barricade, Arthur was by his side. He was like a good soldier, obeying his superior officer, as he felt Paul was, even though he neither understood nor approved the orders he received.
Now, indeed, the khaki uniforms of the scouts attracted their share of attention. There was a murmur of surprise; one or two lads laughed aloud. But the chief emotion of the crowd was one of curiosity. As Paul walked up to the big self-satisfied butcher, the noise behind the barricade died away.
"Are you the leader here?" asked Paul.
"Yes—chosen by the Garde Civique of the village of Hannay, in this time of danger!" announced the butcher, swelling up with pride.
"Then it is your duty to save the people entrusted to your care by ordering them to go to their homes and to stay there quietly if the Germans come," said Paul. "Also to call upon your guards and all others in the village to give up their arms and on no account to fire a shot against the Germans if they come."
"Eh?" said the astonished Raymond. "Is that the way to save the village from the Germans?"