Prussians. He helped himself to a rifle and a helmet, both of which he
threw out into the garden. After a keen, sweeping glance about, the
boy crawled out head first and let himself go. Francois nearly broke
his neck in the fall to the ground, landing as he did on his head and
shoulders. For a moment he lay where he had fallen, then staggered to
his feet, dizzy and a little weak from the jolt. He started away
without, as yet, having a clear idea as to which was the right
direction for him to take. The boy dodged from bush to bush and,
reaching a hedge, bored his way through it and skulked along the other
side of it, dragging the rifle behind him, the German helmet tightly
clutched under one arm.

"'Where am I? Ah! The village is to the left. I must turn back and
start again,' he decided. This was risky, but there seemed no other
course for him to follow. Retracing his steps for some distance he
finally struck off in the right direction. When he came in sight of
the stream he discovered that the bridge was so far away that he could
not hope to reach it without being discovered.

"'But Francois can swim,' he told himself. 'He shall yet fool the
Prussians. Look out! There they go!' German soldiers already were
running toward the bridge, and he knew that his escape had been
discovered. He believed, however, that he was far enough away so they
would not see him.

"Francois swung the rifle over his shoulder and secured it there by
its carrying strap, jammed the helmet tightly over his head and rolled
down the bank into the river. The water was warm and the child was
full of joy that he had outwitted his captors.