Flemish. Bibo first flapped his reins and then nodded enthusiastically. Words at the moment appeared to fail him, although he was usually voluble. "Then Gene is well?" Barbara continued. For after many difficulties Eugenia had acquired this informal title. In the beginning the children had struggled nobly with her name, but Miss Peabody was too much for them. Then "Miss Eugenia" was equally difficult for little Belgian tongues, so it became Madame Gene. Later, since Eugenia did not enjoy being called Madame, nor was she more fond of Mademoiselle, her name attained its simplest form among the younger children. [Pg 133] [Pg 133] But Eugenia was Bibo's altar saint and he was not inclined to take liberties. Saint Gene she had been to him in truth! "She is well," he answered briefly. Then he allowed his round eyes to leave his horse and turn ecstatically toward Barbara. "In a few days my mother is to be with us. She wrote that she need stay no longer in prison and that she wished to see me, but alas, there was no place for us to go! Our home near Louvain was burned and my father—" The tones of the boy's voice expressed his uncertainty of his father's fate. "But my friend has written that my mother may come to our home; she will help us look after the other children. All will be well!" Bibo's tone was so grown-up and he was so evidently quoting Eugenia that his companion smiled. But the smile was because Bibo could not possibly understand how one could cry over good news. How big was Eugenia's house and her sympathy these days? Certainly she seemed to wish it to include all who needed her help. [Pg 134] [Pg 134] "And Monsieur Bebé?" Barbara next queried. "Does he appear more cheerful since I left him with you a week ago?" The boy hesitated a little. "He laughed twice this morning and he sits all day in the sun and smiles now and then when Nicolete is beside him. But no one can be cheerful and blind."
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