"A smile that was radiant with happiness appeared on the face of the dying boy.
"'Lucien is no longer a coward,' he repeated several times. 'No longer a coward. Vive la France!' he cried, half raising himself.
"The surgeon gently laid him back and kissed the lad on both cheeks, but Lucien did not know. He was beyond the touch of human sympathy."
CHAPTER XII
THE HERO OF THE GUNS
"The patriotism of nearly all these children of France is something that you boys and girls cannot fully understand. No one can unless he has seen it displayed, as I have, in many instances," said Captain Favor.
"For instance, there is a little story of 'The Hero of the Guns,' as he was called. His name was Mattia, and though only twelve years old, he was determined to go to war and fight for France. This boy had only his mother left, his two brothers being already in the war and his father having fallen a victim to the Prussians when they raided the village in which Mattia's parents then lived.
"For a long time the lad had been studying a map of France until he possessed a very clear idea of the territory held by the Germans, as well as that where his countrymen were fighting. He talked over these things with the old men of the village and learned much from them.
"One day when he thought he knew the country well enough, this little patriot ran away from home and was well on his way to join his brothers when his absence was discovered.