Part 11 (2/2)
”I did, after you had all gone, and I have not got over the interview yet. His remarks on the design, conception, and the drawing were equally clear and decisive. He more than hinted that I was a hopeless idiot, that the time he had given me was altogether wasted, that I had mistaken my avocation, and that if the Germans knocked me on the head it would be no loss either to myself or to society in general. It is true that after he had finished he cooled down a bit and made a number of suggestions from which I gathered that if the whole thing were altered, my idea of the background altogether changed, the figures differently posed, the effect of light and shade diametrically reversed, and a few other trifling alterations made, the thing might possibly be hung on the top line. Ma foi, I feel altogether crushed, for I had really flattered myself that the sketch was not altogether without merit.”
When the laugh had subsided Cuthbert said--
”Courage, Rene, Goude's bark is always worse than his bite, and I have no doubt he will take a much more favorable view of it as you get on.”
”It is all very well for you to say so,” Rene said, ruefully. ”You are a spoiled child, Goude has never a word of reproof for you.”
”Probably because he knows very well that I shall not break my heart over it. We must hold a committee of inspection on your work to-morrow; none of us have seen your design yet, and we may be able between us to make some useful suggestion.”
”No, no,” Rene exclaimed. ”Heaven protect me from that. Do you come, Cuthbert; none of us mind what you say about our pictures. Your criticisms do not hurt. One would no more think of being angry with you for using your knife than with a surgeon for performing an operation.”
”Very well, Rene, I will come round early. I have no doubt your sketch is a very good one on the whole, and after a few little changes it will satisfy even Goude. By the way, have you heard we are to elect our company officers to-morrow?”
”Will you stand? I am sure you would have all our votes--that is twenty-five to start with, and as we know most of the fellows in the company we certainly could secure all those who have not any candidate they want to run; besides, there are, of course, to be three officers, so we should be able to traffic votes.”
”No officering for me,” Cuthbert laughed. ”In the first place I have no greater qualifications for the post than anyone else, and in the second place, I am English, and though I might be elected--thanks to your votes--I should never be liked or trusted; besides, I have not a shadow of ambition that way. I am going to fight if necessary. I shall have my note-book in my pocket, and I have no doubt that when we are lying waiting for our turn to come, I shall have lots of opportunities for jotting down little bits that will work into the great battle picture which is to have the place of honor some day in the Salon. I think it will certainly be pleasant to have one of our own number among the officers, and I propose that each of us puts down on a slip of paper the name of the man he thinks will make the best leader and throw it into a hat; then, whoever gets the most votes, we will all support, and, as you say, by a little traffic in the votes, we ought to be able to get him in among the three.”
”Are you absolutely determined not to stand?”
”Absolutely and positively. So please do not any of you put my name down, two or three votes thrown away like that might alter the decision.”
He tore up a sheet of paper into small slips and pa.s.sed them round.
”Before we begin to write,” he said, ”let it be understood that no one is to vote for himself. I don't mind telling you who I am going to vote for. It is Henri Vancour. This is a matter in which it should be no question of personal liking. We should choose the man who appears to us best fitted for the post.”
The name came as a surprise upon the others, for Henri was one of the last whom it would have occurred to them to choose. Pencils were already in their hands and they were on the point of writing when he spoke, and almost all would have given their votes either for Rene Caillard or Pierre Leroux, who were the two most popular men among the party. There was a pause for some little time before the pencils went to work.
They had not thought of Henri, but now they did think of him they acknowledged to themselves that there was a good deal to be said in his favor. He was a Norman--quiet, hard-working, and even-tempered. His voice was seldom heard in the chorus of jokes and laughter, but when asked for an opinion he gave it at once concisely and decidedly. He was of medium height and squarely built. His face was cast in a rough mould and an expression of resolution and earnestness was predominant. He had never joined either in the invective against the Emperor, or in the confident antic.i.p.ations of glorious successes over the Germans.
He listened but said nothing, and when questioned would reply, ”Let us see some one do better than the Emperor before we condemn him. We will hope for the best, but so far predictions have been so wrong that it would be better to wait and see before we blow our trumpets.” He had but little genius, this young Norman, but he had perseverance and power.
M. Goude scolded him less than others with far greater talent, and had once said, ”you will never be a great painter, Henri. I doubt if you will ever be in the first line, but you will take a good place in the second. You will turn out your pictures regularly and the work will always be good and solid. You may not win any great prizes, but your work will be esteemed, and in the end you will score as heavily as some of those who possess real genius.”
Yes, Henri was, they all felt, now they thought it over, one they could rely upon. He would not lose his head, he would be calm in danger, as he was calm at all other times, and he certainly would show no lack of courage. Accordingly when the papers were opened he was found to have received a considerable majority of the votes.
”Thank you for choosing me, comrades,” he said, quietly. ”I can only say that if elected I will do my best. A man can't say more than that. Why you should have fixed upon me I cannot think, but that is your business.
I think I can promise at any rate that I won't run away.”
When the Franc-tireurs des ecoles a.s.sembled the next morning, half an hour was given for consultation; then the vote was taken, and Henri Vancour was declared elected first Lieutenant of the company composed entirely of the art students, the Captain being Francois des Valles, who belonged to an old provincial family, a tall, dark, handsome young man, extremely popular among his comrades.
”I think he will do very well,” Cuthbert said, as the company fell in.
”There is no fear of his leaving us when under fire; his failing, if he has one, will be that he may want to keep us there too long. It is quite as necessary when you are fighting by the side of fellows who are not to be relied on, to know when to retreat as it is to know when to advance.”
This was their first parade in uniform. This had been decided upon at the first meeting held to settle the const.i.tution of the corps, and a quiet gray had been chosen which looked neat and workmanlike by the side of many of the picturesque but inappropriate costumes, selected by the majority of the Franc-tireurs. They had already had three days'
drill and had learned to form from line into column and from column into line, to advance as skirmishers and to rally on the centres of the companies. They now marched out through the gates and were first taught to load the cha.s.sepots which had been bought by a general subscription in the schools, and then spent the morning in practising, and skirmis.h.i.+ng, and advancing and retreating in alternate files.
When they were formed up again the old colonel said, ”You are getting on well, men. Two more mornings' work and we will go out and complete our lessons in the face of the enemy.”
When dismissed at the end of the third day, they were told to bring next morning, the gray greatcoats and blankets that formed part of their uniform. ”Let each man bring with him three days' provisions in his bag,” the colonel said, ”ammunition will be served out to you and you will soon learn how to use it to advantage.”
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