er then examined her handkerchief, made her stand up and
shake her clothing, turn her pockets inside out, empty her baskets and
her handbag; and still not willing to trust the thoroughness of his
predecessors he would begin looking all over the immediate vicinity,
match in hand. So presently nearly two hundred men, forgetting their
soreness and fatigue, were down on their knees scouring every nook and
cranny. The sleepers were awakened, the drinkers routed out and put to
work, scanning every inch of ground.

A loud and persistent ringing of an electric bell sounded on the air.

"Hey there, fellows!" called a tall Zouave. "Get together, the train
is announced, and since we can't find grandma's ticket we can't leave
the old girl alone in the dark, so come on, chip in--we'll make it up
to her. She says it cost forty-two francs and ten centimes. Are you
ready?"

And removing his helmet he started to make the rounds. In an instant
coppers and silver rang in the steel recipient.

"Stop! that's enough."

They retired to count.

"Chic--there's some left over!"

"Never mind, she'll buy something for the kid with it."

Some one purchased the ticket.

"There now, grandma, a new ticket and enough to buy your boy a cake
with, so you should worry! But as you're too young to travel alone,
we're going to take you in with us. We just happen to be going your
way. Here Ballut, Langlois! Quick there--take her baskets. Now then,
don't let go my arm--here comes the train. Sh! don't cry, there's
nothing to bawl about, we're all good fellows--all of us got grandmas
who'd make just as big fools of themselves if they had to travel."

And with infinite care and tenderness a dozen hands hoisted their
precious burden into the dimly lighted wooden-benched compartment.

Yes, travelling in France under such circumstances is to me more
interesting than ever, for when it is not one's fellow passengers who
hold the attention, there are always those thousand and one outside
incidents which the eye retains involuntarily. War factories and
munition plants sprung from the ground as though by magic; immense
training camps in course of construction, aviation fields over which so
cleverly hover those gigantic, graceful war birds, who on catching
sight of the train fly low and delight the astonished passengers by
throwing them a greeting, or, challenging the engineer, enter into a
race.

But above all, there is the natural panorama; t