But new fears came to him: if he should meet any country people, he was sure that they would kill him with their scythes and pickaxes and their shovels; and the guerrillas would shoot him just to have a good time and see him leaning against the wall.
In the midst of these terrible reflections he fell asleep, and when he awoke he saw the sun shining almost above his head. He was so hungry that his stomach pained him, and the thought of the good sausage which he used to eat as a soldier made his mouth water. The idea came to him to attack a rustic who was alone, take away his shovel from him, and dig the ditch still deeper in order to hide himself better; then he felt that he was going mad, and finally he resolved to start for the château in the distance rather than suffer longer.
In the lower windows, which were open, he saw lights, and he smelt the pleasant odor of cooked meat, and without a moment's reflection he opened the window and entered the room. All the servants were dining around the large table, and seeing the German soldier they uttered horrible cries and rushed toward the door at the end of the hall. The chairs were overturned, and in three seconds the room was empty.
Walter did not know what to think; but hunger spoke louder than his other emotions, and he sat down at the table and began to eat and drink. He emptied all the plates and all the bottles, and he could scarcely breathe; slowly his eyes closed in spite of him, his head dropped on the table, and he fell asleep.
Some hours afterwards a great noise was heard; the windows were broken in and fifty men, armed to the teeth, rushed in, seized the German, and bound him hand and foot. He was scarcely awake, but he was glad to be a prisoner, smiled, and kept on saying, "Ja, ja." The colonel took a notebook from his pocket and wrote: "After a terrible combat the Prussians beat a retreat, leaving many wounded and prisoners in our hands."
They ordered Walter to go with them to the prison in the town, some miles from the château, and the colonel was decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor for his bravery.
L'ONCLE SAMBUQ.
THE truth of all this story is that a bad fellow, the black sheep of his family, had embarked as cabin boy on an American schooner, had gone to New York, and there died, poor and unknown. But in the country around Marseilles they thought that he was rich and that his nephew would get his property.
One day a sailor who was returning from the United States met Tréfume, and told him that he had seen Uncle Sambuq on the docks at New York, and that he had lost in a shipwreck the presents which had been entrusted to him. At first people said that Uncle Sambuq was rich; then that he had slaves and gold mines and everything else. Everybody envied Tréfume, and the latter was happy, believing himself rich.
One day they received a letter from the French ambassador in the United States, saying that Uncle Sambuq was dead; that was all; not a word about his property. They cried a little, then the wife asked: "Why does he not speak about the money?" "That would not be proper," answered Tréfume. "He will soon write another letter." The days passed and nothing arrived; at last Tréfume took it into his head (had the idea) to embark at Le Havre and to go to America. The immense ship, with its splendid cabins and its passengers, caused in him a religious awe, and he did not speak for a week; then, toward the end of his voyage, he remembered the object of his journey, and he asked the purser, who was very busy on the eve of landing, where he should go. "Those gentlemen will give you better information than I," said he, "for they are Americans, and are well acquainted with New York." The purser said this to get rid of Tréfume. These gentlemen were always alone and spoke to no one, and did not take kindly to the attempts of Tréfume to speak with them. Every time he approached them they turned him their backs. But they, too, made curious by the appearance of the strange man, asked the purser who he was, and the latter, a practical joker, answered: "You know that he is a detective disguised as a Marseilles fisherman, to get on the track of some robbers."