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"I hope she may," said Madame Dujardin, tears twinkling in her eyes. "I'm sure she will," said Marie. "You see everybody is looking for her. There's Granny, and Mother and Father De Smet, and Joseph, and the people in Rotterdam, and the people in England, too; and then, besides, Mother is looking for herself, of course!"
"I couldn't leave her behind and I wanted to get to the Antwerp docks as soon as possible. This was the quickest way. You see," he went on, "I don't know where I shall be going next, but I know it won't be up the Dyle, so I am going to keep Netteke right where I can use her any minute." There was no time for further questions, for Father De Smet had to devote his attention to the tiller.
When Father De Smet returned, supper was nearly ready. He sniffed appreciatively as he appeared under the trees. "Smells good," he said as he held out the milk and eggs toward his wife. "Sie haben recht!" Father De Smet was so startled that he dropped the eggs. He whirled about, and there stood the German soldier who had told Netteke to halt. With him were six other men. "Ha!
"Would you like to drive the mule awhile?" he asked. "Oh, wouldn't I!" cried Jan. "Have you ever driven a mule before?" Father De Smet asked again. "Not a mule, exactly," Jail replied, "but I drove old Pier up from the field with a load of wheat all by myself. Mother sat on the load."
"Come along!" shouted Father De Smet to Joseph, and in a moment the gangplank was out and Jan and Joseph had changed places. "May I go, too?" asked Marie timidly of Father De Smet as he was about to draw in the plank. "The babies are both asleep and I have nothing to do." Father De Smet took a careful look in every direction.
When Father De Smet came back to the stern of the boat, Jan expected a scolding, but perhaps it seemed to the good-natured skipper that Jan had troubles enough already, for he only said mildly, "Stick to your job, son, whatever it is," and went on covering his potatoes with empty boxes and pieces of sailcloth.
"Neither did I," answered his father; "and neither did the Germans for that matter. There was no one in sight." "Oh," cried Mother De Smet, "it was as if the good God himself intervened to save you!" "As I figure it out," said Father De Smet, "we must have stopped very near the trenches, and our own men must have seen the Germans attack us.
"Yes," sighed Granny; "if I would let it, my old heart would break over the sights that I see every day on my way to Malines. But a broken heart won't get you anywhere. Maybe a stout heart will." "Who are the children you have with you?" asked Mother De Smet. Then Granny told her how she had found Jan and Marie, and all the rest of the sad story.
"How did you find things up the Dyle?" asked the merchant who had bought the potatoes. Father De Smet shook his head. "Couldn't well be worse," he said. "I'm not going to risk another trip. The Germans are taking everything they can lay their hands on, and are destroying what they can't seize. I nearly lost this load, and my life into the bargain.
Ten minutes later, they were in Ninon's cabin. When Father de Smet looked at her he knew she was dying. He had seen the Indians like that many times during the winter. It was the plague, but driven in to prey upon the system by the exposure. The Parisienne's teeth were set, but she managed to smile upon her visitor as he threw off his coat and bent over her.
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