Their storehouses he placed under the strictest guard,
and no man could claim possession of his own goods.
"We are," he said in effect, with that grim Alsatian humour which
the Prussians were slow to understand; "we are one united family in
a narrow house, and it is I who keep the storeroom key."
Barlasch had proved to be no false prophet. His secret store
escaped the vigilance of the picket, whom he himself conducted to
the cellars in the Frauengasse. Although he was sparing enough, he
could always provide Desiree with anything for which she expressed a
wish, and even forestalled those which she left unspoken. In return
he looked for absolute obedience, and after their frugal breakfast
he took her to task for depriving herself of such food as they could
afford.
"See you," he said, "a siege is a question of the stomach. It is
not the Russians we have to fight; for they will not fight. They
sit outside and wait for us to die of cold, of starvation, of
typhus. And we are obliging them at the rate of two hundred a day.
Yes, each day Rapp is relieved of the responsibility of two hundred
mouths that drop open and require nothing more. Be greedy--eat all
you have, and hope for release to-morrow, and you die. Be sparing--
starve yourself from parsimony or for the love of some one who will
eat your share and forget to thank you, and you will die of typhus.
Be careful, and patient, and selfish--eat a little, take what
exercise you can, cook your food carefully with salt, and you will
live.
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