"Be off, the rest of you!" she said. "I daresay the young gentleman is quite right! As if you could fight against the Germans here!"
Raymond's wife had given the rest a cue. In a few moments the barricade was being dismantled. In five minutes peace reigned. And Raymond, entirely subdued now, came to Paul.
"Need we give up our arms?" he asked.
"You know what the Germans order," said Paul. "Perhaps they have no right to do so, but they have the strength to enforce their orders, and that is what counts, after all. Believe me, I would like to fight. But when there is no chance of winning, the wise soldier saves himself for a day when things will be more even. Look, there are the Germans coming now!"
CHAPTER XIV
SUBMISSION
It was true. A dozen Uhlans rode into the village, trotting along on their big, rawboned horses, as coolly as if they had been on parade in Berlin. Only these men did not look like parade soldiers. Their uniforms were of the neutral gray that faded into the background at short distances, and they were dirty and travel worn, besides. Their horses, however, were still in fine condition, for it was a part of their training to see to it, wherever they were, that their mounts were properly cared for.
The soldiers ignored entirely the few people who still remained outside their houses. Most of the villagers, impressed by what Paul had said, or, like Raymond, the blustering butcher, more afraid of their wives than of the foreign enemy, had gone within, and the place was very quiet. But those who had not gone in greeted the Germans with sullen looks, which did not provoke so much as a smile.
One of the Uhlans, evidently detailed in advance for the duty, produced proclamations and orders, like the ones the refugees had described. These he affixed to posts and buildings in conspicuous places. Then he joined his fellows, and the little troop rode on, with a clattering of hoofs to the mairie, the official centre of Hannay. There stood the maire, a small, spectacled, frightened man, with the parish priest to support him, waiting for them. Paul and Arthur drew near to listen.