here at once. "We want to inspect your funds," replied
the officer. The Good Mother signed to him to follow, opened a cupboard,
pulled out a drawer, and said, "This is what we have." The box had
twenty-two francs in it. "Is that all?" asked the captain in a
suspicious tone.--"Nothing more, monsieur," she said; "besides, you can
look everywhere for yourselves." So the National Guards spread through
the house, opened the rooms, searched the cupboards and chests, and came
at last, without having found anything, to the dormitories, where the
Little Sisters' old nurselings were lying. Every head was upraised in
astonishment and fear, and all, stammering and trembling, began
jabbering out at once, "What are you doing here? You are not going to
hurt the good Sisters? It's a shame! It's infamous! Go away! It's
cowardly! My good monsieur, what will become of us if you take them
away?" The old women were furious, and the old men in lamentations.
Officer and men scarcely expected such a scene, and began to hesitate in
their search. "Well, well, my good people," said the officer, who had
been the most violent, and had now softened down, "we won't take the
Little Sisters away, and we won't hurt them either. There, there--are
you satisfied?"--and the men began to go downstairs again.--"My sister,
you have not shut your drawer," said the captain, as he passed the
cupboard.--"That is true, monsieur; I am not in the habit of doing it.
In our house, you see, it is quite useless."--"Never mind, shut it
to-day at any rate. How can I know all the men I have about me?" And as
he spoke, the captain turned back, shut the drawer himself, without
touching the contents, and gave the key to the superior. He seemed quite
ill at ease, and got out at last, "We didn't know ... if we had known it
was like this ... you see we had been told ... yes, yes, it is very good
of you to take care of those poor old folks upstairs." Now that the man
seemed embarrassed and showed some kindliness in his manner, a Little
Sister who had quite got over her fear, went up to him and told him how
frightened they had been for a whole month past; that they had been told
that the Reds wanted to take their house. Ah! it was horrible! But
monsieur would protect them, would he not?

"That I will," bravely answered the captain; "give me your hand. And
now, if any one wants to harm you, he will have me to deal with first."

A few minutes later, the National Guards were gone, the