She fairly flew over the ground, and when the
Twins at last reached her side, the pail of water was spilled on
the ground, and the two women were weeping in each other's arms.
An old man now came toward them and the children flung themselves
upon him. "Grandpere! Grandpere!" they shouted, and then such
another embracing as there was!
Grand'mere kissed the Twins, and Grandpere hugged Mother Meraut,
and then, because the tears were still running down their cheeks,
Grandpere pointed to the overturned pail, and the water flowing
in little wiggling streams through the dust. "Come, dear hearts,"
he cried, "are these your tears? Weep no more, then, lest we have
a flood after our fire! This is a time to rejoice! Wipe your
eyes, my Antoinette, and tell us how you came here. It is as if
the sky had opened to let down three angels--and where, then, is
Jacques?"
By this time a group of people had gathered about them--the
little remnant of the old prosperous village of Fontanelle. "Here
we are, you see," said Grandpere, "all that are left of us. Every
able-bodied young woman was driven away by the Germans to work in
their fields--while ours lie idle. Every able-bodied man is in
the army. There are only twenty-seven of us left--old women,
children, and myself. There you have our history."
Mother Meraut shook each old friend by the hand, looked at all
the babies and children, and proudly showed her Twins to them in
return, before she said a word about the sorrows they had endured
in Rheims, and the desperation which had at last driven them from
their home.
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