Immediately after he had entered the Prefecture, the German governor
levied a war contribution of one million francs. He also demanded that
the citizens furnish his troops with wine, cigars, and tobacco; drew
up a list of hostages; and arrested all the men between the ages of
seventeen and twenty years. Within twenty-four hours they were led
away under guard.
Nothing of all this surprised the brave Picard city. Proudly she
submitted to her fate. But one thing moved her, or rather angered her,
and that was the surety and speed with which the German authorities
went directly to all the places they should occupy. They did not
hesitate an instant about the street to follow or the door at which to
knock. The arrest of the fifteen hundred young hostages occurred with
an unheard-of rapidity. It seemed as if an invisible but exceedingly
clever hand guided each step, regulated each movement of the invaders.
Who could it be who directed, advised and commanded the Germans from
behind a veil?
Doubtless the mystery would never have been solved if, during the
second occupation, the citizens had not been warned that the next day
they would have to keep their shades down and close all shutters
because His Imperial Highness, Prince Eitel Friedrich, the Kaiser's
son, would then make a formal entry into the capital of Picardy.
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