But he knew that it was folly to exhaust himself in such a manner for nothing.
Instead he told Johanna that he would go to the stable now and sleep.
Jacques, a stalwart hostler, was called to show him his quarters, and he departed with all their good wishes.
Jacques was a large brown peasant, and as he led the way to the stable he said: "They told me your name was Jean Castel from Lorraine ?" "Yes, back of Metz." "And the house is full of German officers." He pointed to the windows of the dining-room, which were ruddy with light.

Young men in tight-fitting uniforms, their blond hair pompadoured, were outlined vividly against the glow.
"Will they go forward or will they come back ?" asked Jacques in a hoarse whisper.

"Is the work of Bismarck to stand or is it to undo itself ?" John believed Jacques to be a French sympathizer, anxious for an opinion that would agree with his hopes, but one could not be sure in such times, and it behooved him above all, with Julie at the end of his journey, to be careful.

So he merely shrugged his shoulders and replied: "I know not.

I'm a simple buyer and seller of horses.