passed into the other room, the windows of which commanded a view of
the Meuse and the intervening meadows, and saw that the cause of his
obstructed vision was the morning mist arising from the river. In the
distance, behind the veil of fog, the guns were barking more fiercely
across the stream. All at once a French battery, close at hand, opened
in reply, with such a tremendous crash that the walls of the little
house were shaken.

Weiss's house was situated near the middle of the village, on the
right of the road and not far from the Place de l'Eglise. Its front,
standing back a little from the street, displayed a single story with
three windows, surmounted by an attic; in the rear was a garden of
some extent that sloped gently downward toward the meadows and
commanded a wide panoramic view of the encircling hills, from Remilly
to Frenois. Weiss, with the sense of responsibility of his new
proprietorship strong upon him, had spent the night in burying his
provisions in the cellar and protecting his furniture, as far as
possible, against shot and shell by applying mattresses to the
windows, so that it was nearly two o'clock before he got to bed. His
blood boiled at the idea that the Prussians might come and plunder the
house, for which he had toiled so long and which had as yet afforded
him so little enjoyment.

He heard a voice summoning him from the street.

"I say, Weiss, are you awake?"

He descended and found it was Delaherche, who had passed the night at
his dyehouse, a large brick structure, next door to the accountant's
abode. The operatives had all fled, taking to the woods and making for