Then it was covered in front with branches of trees and
bushes.
"There!" said the big butcher, when it was done to his satisfaction.
"Now we can take up our place behind that--and God help the German
pigs! Jean, do you and Marcel go up in the windows of Boerman's house,
there, and make holes in the shutters to shoot through. If they drive
us from this barricade we will take to the houses and the roofs, and do
what we can from there."
A cheer greeted his speech.
"Now we shall be safe!" said one woman. "Ah, if they had had one like
Raymond the butcher to show them how to fight, those poor people would
not have been driven from their homes! He is a man!"
"I think so, too, Paul!" whispered Arthur. "It's something to make a
fight like this, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is something," said Paul. "It's suicide, that's what it is!
How long can they stand against the Germans? They will throw their own
lives away and they won't save the village. Instead, they will simply
make it certain that it will be destroyed. The Germans won't fight
them on even terms. If they find that the place is to defended they'll
bring a couple of guns into action! and shell the place. In five
minutes every house will be on fire, and they will shoot down the men
as they try to run from the flames. Wait! I'm going to see what I can
do!"
Arthur did not seem to be convinced. But when Paul ran forward and
stood before the crowd by the barricade, Arthur was by his side.
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