It was like going into battle. Arriving at
the edge of the wood he sat down on a boulder, holding the other orange
in his hand, and thought that he had come ridiculously early on the
ground. Before very long, however, he heard the swishing of bushes,
footsteps on the hard ground, and the sounds of a disjointed loud
conversation. A voice somewhere behind him said boastfully, "He's game
for my bag."
He thought to himself, "Here they are. What's this about game? Are they
talking of me?" And becoming aware of the orange in his hand he thought
further, "These are very good oranges. Leonie's own tree. I may just as
well eat this orange instead of flinging it away."
Emerging from a tangle of rocks and bushes, General Feraud and his
seconds discovered General D'Hubert engaged in peeling the orange. They
stood still waiting till he looked up. Then the seconds raised their
hats, and General Feraud, putting his hands behind his back, walked
aside a little way.
"I am compelled to ask one of you, messieurs, to act for me. I have
brought no friends. Will you?"
The one-eyed cuirassier said judicially:
"That cannot be refused."
The other veteran remarked:
"It's awkward all the same."
"Owing to the state of the people's minds in this part of the country
there was no one I could trust with the object of your presence here,"
explained General D'Hubert urbanely. They saluted, looked round, and
remarked both together:
"Poor ground.
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