you think, Henri?"

The lieutenant took his pipe out of his mouth and nodded.

"There will be trouble," he said. "I have been up to Belleville several
times. This spell of idleness is doing much harm. As soon as we have
done with the Prussians we shall have the reds on our hands."

"We are seven to one against them," Rene said, contemptuously. "The
voting the other day showed that."

"Ah, but the seventh know what they want. They want to be masters. They
want money enough to keep them without work. They want to set the
streets flowing with blood. The other six only want to be left alone.
They have no idea of risking their lives, and you will see, when it
begins, they will hold the butts of their muskets up; they will say,
'Don't let us irritate these demons,' and each man will hope that, even
if others are robbed, he will somehow escape.

"You cannot rely on the National Guard, it is no use to count them in,
and the mobiles only want to be off to their villages. If the troops had
a leader they might fight, but who is to lead them? Trochu is an
imbecile, the real fighting army is in the prisons of Germany, and when
it is released will not care to embark in another war. I think things
look bad."

"What should we do?" Pierre asked.

"We should paint," Henri said, "that is to say we should paint if things
go as I think they will, and the National Guard refuse to fight. If the
men who have something to lose won't lift an arm to defend it, why
should we who have nothing at stake?"

"You might paint, but who is going to buy your pictures, Henri?"
Cuthbert said, quietly. "As soon as the reds get the upper hand we shall
have the guillotine at work, and the first heads to fall will be those
of your best customers. You don't suppose the ruffians of Belleville are
going to become patrons of art. For my part I would rather fight against
the savages than level my rifle against the honest German lads who are
led here against us. I should think no more of shooting one of these
roughs than of killing a tiger--indeed, I regard the tiger as the more
honest beast of the two. Still, if you Frenchmen like to be ruled over
by King Mob, it is no business of mine. Thank God, such a thing is
never likely to happen in England--at any rate in my time. In the first
place, we can trust our troops, and in the second, we could trust
ourselves. Were there not a soldier in the land, such a thing will never
happen. Our workmen have sense enough