She kissed them tenderly, and, quite comforted, they nestled down
in their beds and soon were asleep. She herself slept but little
that night. Long after the children were quiet, she sat alone on
the kitchen step in the darkness with Fidel by her side, and
listened to the faint sounds of distant guns, and watched the red
light in the sky, which told her of the burning of Louvain.


VII

THE TIDAL WAVE OF
GERMANS

THE TIDAL WAVE OF
GERMANS

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and Mother Van Hove and
the Twins went about their work as usual. The sunshine was so
bright, and the whole countryside looked so peaceful and fair, it
was impossible to believe that the terrors of the night could be
true.

"To-day we must begin to gather the potatoes," said Mother Van
Hove after breakfast. "Jan, you get the fork and hoe and put them
in the wagon, while I milk the cow and Marie puts up some bread
and cheese for us to take to the field." She started across the
road to the pasture, with Fidel at her heels, as she spoke. In an
instant she was back again, her eyes wide with horror. "Look!
Look!" she cried.