surrender of conscience so far as to say, "No help for it, madame! It's
a military order, so it's no use trying to understand it."

She leads us into the store-room. Three fat barrels occupy it in
impressive rotundity. "Is this your little private store?"

"She knows her way about, the old lady," growls Barque.

The shrew turns on her heel, truculent: "Would you have me ruin myself
by this miserable war? I've about enough of losing money all ways at
once."

"How?" insists Barque.

"I can see you're not going to risk your money!"

"That's right--we only risk our skins."

We intervene, disturbed by the tone of menace for our present concern
that the conversation has assumed. But the door of the wine-cellar is
shaken, and a man's voice comes through. "Hey, Palmyra!" it calls.

The woman hobbles away, discreetly leaving the door open. "That's all
right--we've taken root!" Lamuse says.

"What dirty devils these, people are!" murmurs Barque, who finds his
reception hard to stomach.

"It's shameful and sickening," says Marthereau.

"One would think it was the first time you'd had any of it!"

"And you, old gabbler," chides Barque, "that says prettily to the
wine-robber, 'Can't be helped, it's a military order'! Gad, old man,
you're not short of cheek!"

"What else could I do or say? We should have had to go into mourning
for our table and our wine. She could make us pay forty sous for the
wine, and we should have had it all the same, shouldn't we? Very well,
then, got to think ourselves jolly lucky. I'll admit I'd no confidence,
and I was afraid it was no go."

"I know; it's the same tale everywhere and always, but all the same--"

"Damn the thieving natives, ah, oui! Some of 'em must be making
fortunes. Everybody can't go and get killed."

"Ah, the gallant people of the East!"

"Yes, and the gallant people of the North!"

"Who welcome us with open arms!"

"With open hands, yes--"

"I tell you," Marthereau says again, "it's a shame and it's sickening."

"Shut it up--there's the she-beast coming back." We took a turn round
to quarters to announce our success, and then went shopping. When we
returned to our new dining-room, we were hustled by the preparations
for lunch. Barque had been to the rations distribution, and had
managed, thanks to personal relations with the cook (who was a
conscientious objector to fractional divisions), to secure the potatoes
and meat that formed the rations for all the fi