"Come! stand up!" he said.
"I cannot. O God! I cannot!"
I clutched his arm. Tears streamed down his face. He tried to lift me, but he was too weak. I held fast to him, crying:
"Zébédé, do not abandon me!"
Captain Vidal approached, and gazed sadly on me:
"Cheer up, my lad," said he; "the ambulances will be along in half an hour."
But I knew what that meant, and I drew Zébédé closer to me. He embraced me, and I whispered in his ear:
"Kiss Catharine for me—for my last farewell. Tell her that I died thinking of God's holy mother and of her."
"Yes, yes!" he sobbed. "My poor Joseph!"