Madame Bulteel and Fleda put their arms round her, steadying her.
"This is not the way to act," said Fleda with a touch of sharp reproof.
Had she not her own trouble to face?
The stricken woman drew herself up and looked Fleda in the eyes. "I will
find the right way, if I can," she said with courage.
A half-hour later, as the old man sat alone in the room where he had
breakfasted, a rifle-shot rang out in the distance.
"The trouble begins," he said, as he rose and hastened into the hallway.
Another shot rang out. He caught up his wide felt hat, reached for a
great walking-stick in the corner, and left the house hurriedly.
CHAPTER XVI
THE MAYOR FILLS AN OFFICE
It was a false alarm which had startled Gabriel Druse, but it had
significance. The Orange funeral was not to take place until eleven
o'clock, and it was only eight o'clock when the Ry left his home. A
rifle-shot had, however, been fired across the Sagalac from the Manitou
side, and it had been promptly acknowledged from Lebanon. There was a
short pause, and then came another from the Lebanon side. It was merely
a warning and a challenge. The only man who could have controlled the
position was blind and helpless.
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