Page:Canadian poems of the great war.djvu/215

 Robert W. Service

And there was darkness and despair, grim death on every

hand; Red fields of slaughter sloping down to ruin s black

abyss ; The wolves of war ran evil-fanged, and littte did they

miss. And on they came with fear and flame, to burn and loot

and slay, Until they reached the red-roofed croft, the home of

Jean Desprez.

Rout out the village, one and all! the Uhlan Captain

said. Behold ! Some hand has fired a shot. My trumpeter is

dead. Now shall they Prussian vengeance know ; now shall they

rue the day, For by this sacred German slain, ten of these dogs shall

pay. They drove the cowering peasants forth, women and

babes and men, And from the last, with many a jeer the Captain chose

he ten; Ten simple peasants, bowed with toil; they stood, they

knew not why Against the grey wall of the church, hearing their

children cry ; Hearing their wives and mothers wail, with faces dazed

they stood. A moment only. . . Ready! Fire! They weltered

in their blood.

But there was one who gazed unseen, who heard the

frenzied cries, Who saw these men in sabots fall before their children s

eyes ;

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