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Updated: May 8, 2025
On the first day of August, late in the afternoon, a peasant driving an exhausted horse pulled up at the Château Morteyn, where Jack Marche stood on the terrace, smoking and cutting at leaves with his riding-crop. "What's the matter, Passerat?" asked Jack, good-humouredly; "are the Prussians in the valley?" "You are right, Monsieur Marche the Prussians have crossed the Saar!" blurted out the man.
"I had been to Forbach, where my cousin Passerat is a miner in the coal-mines. This morning I left to drive to Saint-Lys, having in my wagon these sacks of coal that my cousin Passerat procured for me,
The man paused, overcome by emotions and eau-de-vie. "Well," said Jack, "go on!" "And I am here, monsieur," ended the peasant, hazily. "Passerat, you said you had taken too much eau-de-vie?" suggested Jack, with a smile of encouragement. "Much? Monsieur, you do not believe me?" "I believe you had a dream." "Bon," said the peasant, "I want no more such dreams."
He turned an amused yellow eye on Jack, but his face sobered the next moment, and he continued: "I heard the fusillade on the Saint-Lys highway; I did not go to inquire if they were amusing themselves. Ma foi! I myself keep away from Uhlans when God permits. And so these Uhlan wolves got old Tricasse at last. Zut! C'est embêtant! And poor old Passerat, too and Brun, and all the rest!
The circle of gaunt, sallow faces grew friendly, and, as Lorraine stood up, looking questioningly from one to the other, caps were doffed, rifle-butts fell to the ground. "Why, it's Monsieur Tricasse of the Saint-Lys Pompiers!" she said. "Oh, and there is le Père Passerat, and little Émile Brun! Émile, my son, why are you not with your regiment?"
"Are you going to inform the mayor of Saint-Lys?" asked Jack. "Of course," muttered Passerat, gathering up his reins; "heu! da-da! heu! cocotte! en route!" and he rattled sulkily away, perhaps a little uncertain himself as to the concreteness of his recent vision. Jack looked after him. "There might be something in it," he mused, "but, dear me! his nose is unpleasantly sunburned."
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