ed the Major, taking the precious emblem in his
hand and pressing it to his heart.

"The very same."

"But how?"

"The boy here and I marked the spot where it fell. We took bearings,
as a sailor would say; we took them independently, and when we had a
chance to compare them we found that we agreed exactly. When I was
released from prison and discharged from the hospital as a
convalescent, we went back to Arcis, to the bridge, to the river side.
The boy here is an expert swimmer. The river was low. He dove into
the icy waters again and again until he found it. We were most
circumspect in our movements. No one observed us. I wrapped it up,
concealed it carefully, learned that the regiment was here, and I
surrender it into your hands."

"It is a shame," began Lestoype gloomily at last, laying the Eagle
gently down on his desk.

"What is a shame?"

"The order."

"What order?"

"The Eagles of all the regiments and ships are to be sent to Paris to
be destroyed."

"Impossible!"

"Nevertheless, it is true. They have taken them wherever they could
lay hands on them. It has almost caused a revolt."

"And are you going to send this Eagle to Paris?" asked Marteau
threateningly. "This Eagle for which I fought, this Eagle which I
rescued from the Elster and the Aube, for which hundreds of brave men
have died, this Eagle which has been in the forefront of every battle
in which the regiment took part since the Emperor gave it into our
keeping before Ulm?"

"What can I do?"

"I will throw it into the Isere first. I will destroy it myself before
that happens," cried Marteau, snatching it up and pressing it to his
heart. "I have taken no oaths. I am still the Emperor's man."

"Not so loud," said Lestoype warningly. "The men of the regiment may
not all be true. You may be overheard."

"You and all the others have taken the oath of allegiance to the King?"

"What else was there to do? Soldiering is my trade. They offered us
commissions; the Empire was dead; the Emperor banished. It was a
living, at any rate."

"But I am free, I am not bound."

"You must, you will take the oath," urged Lestoype.

"How if he should come back?"

"He will not come back."

"Will he not? It is whispered everywhere," said Marteau. "I have not
passed an old soldier who did not voice the hope. It's in the air.
'When the violets bloom,' they say. Even the peasants whisper it. The
imperial purple flower---- He wil