grave. Rashid
represented the dead man's kindred with much dignity. He held something
in his hand which he planted in the ground before going away. It was
that crescent of plain deal at the end of a stick which is still to be
seen in the midst of the worm-eaten crosses, in the shadow of the belfry
of L----.

There the same decay works towards the intermingling and the
reconciliation of ancient symbols and ancient dogmas.

XV

Nogue is courageous, but Norman; this gives to courage a special
form, which excludes neither reserve, nor prudence, nor moderation of
language.

On the day when he was wounded, he bore a preliminary operation with
perfect calm. Lifting up his shattered arm, I said:

"Are you suffering very much?" And he barely opened his lips to reply:

"Well... perhaps a bit."

Fever came the following days, and with it a certain discomfort. Nogue
could not eat, and when asked if he did not feel rather hungry, he shook
his head:

"I don't think so."

Well, the arm was broken very high up, the wound looked unhealthy, the
fever ran high, and we made up our minds that it was necessary to come
to a decision.

"My poor Nogue," I said, "we really can't do anything with that arm of
yours. Be sensible. Let us take it off."

If we had waited for his answer, Nogue would have been dead by now. His
face expressed great dissatisfaction, but he said neither yes nor no.

"Don't be afraid, Nogue. I will guarantee the success of the operation."

Then he asked to make his will. When the will had been made, Nogue was
laid upon the table and operated upon, without having formulated either
consent or refusal.

When the first dressing was made, Nogue looked at his bleeding shoulder,
and said:

"I suppose you couldn't have managed to leave just a little bit of arm?"

After a few days the patient was able to sit up in an arm-chair. His
whole being bore witness to a positive resurrection, but his tongue
remained cautious.

"Well, now, you see, you're getting on capitally."

"Hum... might be better."

Never could he make up his mind to give his whole-hearted approval, even
after the event, to the decision which had saved his life. When we said
to him:

"YOU'RE all right. We've done the business for YOU!" he would not commit
himself.

"We shall see, we shall see."

He got quite well, and we sent him into the interior. Since then, he
has written to us, "business letters," prudent letters which he signs "a