Maurice Leblanc

“ And you, Philippe! And you, Marthe! ... And you too, my pretty Suzanne: once for myself and once for your father! ... Don't cry, my child.... Daddy's all right.... They're coddling him like an emperor, over there ... until they let him go. And that's not far off. By Heaven, no! I hope the French government ..."
He was talking like a drunken man, too fast and in an unsteady voice. His wife tried to make him sit down. He protested:
"Rest? Quite unnecessary, mother. A Morestal never rests. My wounds? Scratches! What? The doctor? If he sets foot in this house, I'll chuck him out of the window!" ”

“ He knew that Jorancé and I would take the frontier-road in the evening; and the passing of the deserter was contrived to take place at that moment, in connivance with the German detectives! One of them whistles as soon as we come up; and the soldier, who has been told, of course, that this whistle is a signal from the French accomplices, the soldier, whom Dourlowski or his confederates hold in a leash, like a dog, the soldier is let go. That's the whole mystery! It was not he, the poor wretch, whom they were after, but Jorancé and Morestal. ”

“ The examining-magistrate's enquiry is most important. It will serve as a basis for later enquiries. It seems to me that we ought to reflect and give our evidence with a certain reserve, with caution.... We must behave prudently...."
"We must behave like Frenchmen who are in the right," cried Morestal, "and who, when they are in the right, fear nobody and nothing in this world!"
"Not even war?"
"War! What are you talking about? War! But there can't be war over an incident like this! The way things are shaping, Germany will yield." ”