Page:War's dark frame (IA warsdarkframe00camp).pdf/100

78 their refuge or roast. The men were bound and made to watch the welcome of their women. One finds it difficult to speak of such horrors. Then many of the men—old fellows, for the youngsters were all at the war—were tied in groups of five, and, while they questioned with eyes like the eyes of an animal one has accused unjustly, they were shot down. During many hours we heard the firing, and we muttered prayers for departing souls, while we worked over the wounded. One girl, rather than face such things, hid in the Mortagne with the water up to her neck. She was there all one day. It killed her, but she was more content to die that way."

We remained silent before the sad conviction of this woman of the church who spoke of what she had seen with her own eyes.

"In the night they came here. Their work of destruction had progressed so far.

I had many desperately wounded men, some German, and a few grey old fellows who had sought refuge at the hospice. The Bavarians came and fired and told us we must leave in order that the hospice might be destroyed like the rest of the town.

The officer in charge had a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other. I pleaded with him. "’The thought of your mother will not let you commit this crime. The building is full of the