When the hour for opening the ceremonies arrived, Father Duprey and two other priests moved to the table for prayers of thanksgiving. Then the mayor of Ste. Mère, and the mayors of other villages made speeches. These over, the music master blew his pitch pipe and M. Blanc raised his arm to give the beat for the singing. High and clear, the children’s voices sang out the beloved old songs of triumphant France. When the last song died away the children settled down on the grass, and M. Blanc rose. “We are now about to have a special pleasure,” he announced. “André Gagnon will express the feeling of comradeship we all have for our friends, the Americans.” André had been carefully carrying his trumpet under his arm. His knees shaking, he stepped forward and put the trumpet to his lips. He played first a gay little Normandy tune. This was loudly applauded and he waited for the noise to die down. When he again trilled out a trumpet call, every Frenchman present grew silent and listened with puzzled eyes. The tune was one they didn’t know. Suddenly, from the back of the crowd, men’s voices began to sing the words. André’s heart gave a great leap. But he kept on playing. The voices were growing louder. The men were moving toward the green. André swept into the chorus, and powerfully the American words, punctuated by clapping hands at the proper time, swelled out over the crowd. A French voice took up the words. Another and another, until the entire gathering was singing. Many of the Americans stood beside André now, and Slim, his hard hands beating the clap-clap of the chorus, sang the loudest. “_Deep in ze ’eart ohff Tayxsas_,” sang the French. “_Stars at night are big and bright,_ (clap-clap, clap-clap,) _Deep in the heart of Texas,_ _Remind me of the one I love,_ (clap-clap, clap-clap) _Deep in the heart of Texas,_” sang Slim and Weller and Captain Dobie, dragging out the last long notes at the thought of home. [Illustration] André dropped his trumpet to his side. As the babble of happy voices rose and became bedlam, Captain Dobie shook hands with the French officers. André started at the sight of a Royal Air Force uniform and ran across the square. Standing beside Marie, Ronald Pitt was laughing with the Maquis over the escapade of the strange “nun.” Ronald grabbed André’s arms and swung him merrily around. “How did _you_ get here, Ronald?” André asked. “Well,” Ronald replied, “I’m on my way to the British lines to chauffeur a general around--” “Oh-ohh,” André giggled. “I saw this celebration going on down here,” Ronald Pitt went on, “and I wanted to see what was happening in Ste. Mère. So I landed in a field and trotted over--and look what I found!” Slim and Weller joined them then. “Didn’t we tell you we’d come?” demanded Weller. Softly, a song began to tremble from different points among the crowd. André lifted his trumpet and began to play.