ces of the stand which we made. And who can tell? There may have been
witnesses...."

Marthe turned her eyes on Philippe. He was listening to his father, with
a face so pale that she was astounded. She waited for a few seconds and
then, seeing that he did not speak, she said:

"There was a witness."

Morestal started:

"What's that, Marthe?"

"Philippe was there."

"Nonsense! We left Philippe at the Carrefour du Grand-Chene, at the
bottom of the hill, didn't we, Suzanne? You remained behind together."

Philippe intervened, quickly:

"Suzanne went off at once! and so did I ... but I had not gone two
hundred yards when I turned back."

"So that was why you did not answer when I called to you, half-way up
the hill?"

"I expect so. I went back to the Grand-Chene."

"What for?"

"To join you.... I was sorry I had left you."

"Then you were behind us at the time of the attack?"

"Yes."

"In that case, of course, you heard the shots fired!... Let me see, you
must have been on the Butte-aux-Loups...."

"Somewhere near there...."

"And perhaps you saw us.... From above!... With the moonlight!..."

"Oh, no!" protested Philippe. "No, I saw nothing!"

"But, if you heard the firing, you must certainly have heard Jorance
shouting.... They stuffed a gag into my mouth.... But Jorance kept on
roaring, 'We are in France! We are on French territory!' You heard
Jorance shouting, didn't you, now?"

Philippe hesitated before making a reply of which he vaguely felt the
tremendous importance. But, opposite him, he saw Marthe watching him
with increasing surprise and, near Marthe, he saw Suzanne's drawn
features. He said:

"Yes, I heard him ... I heard him at a distance...."

Old Morestal could not contain himself for joy. And, when he learnt
besides that Philippe had received the last words of Baufeld the
deserter, he burst out:

"You saw him? He was alive? He told you that they had set a trap for us,
didn't he?"

"He mentioned the name of Dourlowski."

"Capital! But our meeting with the soldier, the pursuit ... he must have
told you that all this took place in France?"

"Yes, I seemed to understand ..."

"We've got them!" shouted Morestal. "We've got them! Of course, I was
quite easy in my mind.... But all the same, Philippe's evidence, the
declaration of the dying private.... Ah, the brigands, they'll have to
let go their prey!... We were in France, kind friends! There has been a
violation of the frontie