as good.

Phrase No. 2 meant "The moderation of the Germans in not
billeting more troops upon the hotels." I wondered why they had
not commandeered quarters in more of the big empty hotels
instead of compelling men to sleep in railway stations and in the
open air. That was good.

Phrase No. 3 meant "German officers never refused to contribute
to the Belgian Relief Funds." These boxes were constantly shaken
before them in every cafe, and not once was a box passed to an
officer in vain. For all this I was very grateful and everything went
on very merrily until I came to phrase Number 4.

"If Bel I wld join posse Ger myself"; which, being interpreted,
reads, "If I were a Belgian, I would join a posse against the
Germans myself." That looked ugly, but I wanted to record for
myself the ugly mood of resentment I had felt when I saw Belgians
compelled to submit to certain humiliations and indignities from
their invading conquerors.

German or non-German--it makes no difference; any one who had
seen those swaggering officers riding it rough-shod over those
poor peasants would have felt the same tide of indignation
mounting up in him. In that mood it would have given me genuine
pleasure to have joined a little killing-party and wiped out those
officers. Now these self-same officers were gathered round me
trying to decide whether they were to have a little killing-party on
their own account.

There was sufficient justification for inciting their wrath in that one
sentence as it stood, and they were all combining to entrap me by
every possible means. Furthermore, they were hankering for a
victim. I had only my wits to match against their desires. I cudgeled
my brains as I never did before, but to no avail. Almost panic-
stricken I was ready to give up in despair and throw myself upon
the mercy of the court when, like a flash of inspiration, the right
reading came. I transcribed that ugly phrase now to read: "If I were
among the Belgians, I would join possibly the Germans myself."
What more could the most ardent German patriot ask for? That
met every abbreviation and made a beautifully exact reversal of
the intended meaning. Not as an example in ethics, but as a
"safety first" exhibit I must confess to a real pride in that piece of
work. I handed it over with the cherubic expression of the prize-
scholar in the Sunday School.

Javert had figured on finding incriminating data in it. It was to be
his chief evidence. He read