conquer him, the old Lion of Flanders, so long as he has claws!"
she sang, and the Twins, looking up into her brave and inspired
face, sang too.


VI

AT THE CHURCH

AT THE CHURCH

Several days passed quietly by in the little village of Meer. The
sun shone, and the wind blew, and the rains fell upon the
peaceful fields, just as if nothing whatever had happened. Each
day was filled to the brim with hard work. With the help of the
Twins, Mother Van Hove kept the garden free of weeds and took
care of the stock. She even threshed the wheat herself with her
husband's flail, and stored the grain away in sacks ready for the
mill. Each evening, when the work was done, the three went down
the village street together. One evening, just at dusk, they
found nearly the whole village gathered in front of the priest's
house next to the church. Leon, the Burgomeister's oldest boy,
had been to Malines that day and had brought back a paper.

The priest was reading from it to the anxious group gathered
about him. "Oh, my children," he was saying, as Mother Van Hove
and the Twins joined the group, "there is, no doubt, need for
courage, but where is there a Belgian lacking in that? Even
Julius Caesar, two thousand years ago, found that out! The
bravest of all are the Belgians, he said then, and it is none the