so
completely had the country people become her friend, Mrs. Burton
wondered what had given the French nation its present faith and courage.
Nothing approaching it has the world ever before witnessed! Then she
recalled that having paid so dearly for their freedom in those mad days
of the revolution, the French people would never again relinquish the
supreme gift of human liberty.

CHAPTER VIII

THE OLD CHATEAU

One afternoon the French farm house was deserted except for Sally
Ashton, Mere 'Toinette and Miss Patricia.

As a matter of fact, Miss Patricia was not in the house, but in the farm
yard which was separated from the house by a newly planted kitchen
garden. It was here that she spent the greater part of her time working
far more diligently than if she had been engaged for a few dollars a
week. Yet in Massachusetts Miss Patricia Lord's three-hundred-acre farm
was one of the prides of the state. In ordinary times she was accustomed
to employing from twenty-five to fifty men, although always Miss
Patricia acted as her own overseer.

As she had announced, for the present she had managed to secure the
services of an old French peasant, nearer seventy years of age than
sixty, to act as her assistant. But Jean was possessed of a
determination of character only equaled by Miss Patricia's. Not a word
of any language did he know except French, while Miss Patricia's French
was one of the mysteries past finding out. Also Jean was nearly stone
deaf. This misfortune really served as an advantage in his relation with
Miss Patricia, as he never did anything at the time or in the way she
ordered him to do it, there was consolation in the thought that he had
not understood the order. Jean had his own ideas with regard to farming
matters and an experience which had lasted through more than half a
century.

Therefore with the assistance of Peggy and Vera the outdoor work on the
Sunrise Camp Fire farm was progressing with surprising success. The
supply of livestock had been increased by a second shipment from the
United States. This shipment Miss Patricia had divided with her French
neighbors.

Beside old Jean there was at this time another rebel in Miss Patricia's
camp, Sally Ashton. The other girls were frequently annoyed by the old
lady, nevertheless, appreciating her gallant qualities and for the sake
of their Camp Fire guardian, they usually agreed to her demands when it
was impossible to evade them. But Sally