Monsieur Morissot is a Parisian jeweler, and he is an avid fisherman. Monsieur Sauvage is a maker of drapes on the Rue Notre Dame de Lorette (Our Lady of Lorette Street). He, too, is a passionate fisherman. These two men have become friends because of their love of fishing.
Because of the War of 1870, however, the fishing companions have not enjoyed their favorite pleasure and have become somewhat estranged. So, when they encounter one another quite by chance, the two friends greet one another with intense feeling, sorry that they must meet under such changed circumstances.
The men talk of the halcyon days of fishing, and they go into a bar where they drink absinthe, and then they walk a ways and enter a second bar and have another absinthe. Once outside again, the effect of the alcohol on their empty stomachs leads them to decide to go fishing together on this day. After they obtain the necessary passes for the outposts, the two friends make their way to the river. Strangely, the countryside seems deserted. Nevertheless, they hesitate to show themselves in such open country, so they make their way through a vineyard, crouched under the cover of the vines.
When the friends reach the water, they conceal themselves among the dry weeds. But after ascertaining that they are safe and alone, the men begin to fish and they catch several gudgeon. In their renewed joy of fishing with one another, they ignore the world. Suddenly, though, there is a terrible rumbling sound, and the two men know that the battles have resumed. Nevertheless, the two friends still feel safe because the deserted Ile Marante hides them from the other shore. They, then, placidly discuss the bellicose nature of man while
...Mont-Valerien thundered ceaselessly, demolishing the houses of the French with its cannon balls, grinding lives of men to powder, destroying many a dream, many a cherished hope, many a prospective happiness...
Unexpectedly, the fishermen hear the sound of boots stepping behind them. When they turn around, they see four bearded Prussian soldiers, who point rifles at them. The frightened men are seized, bound, and shoved into a boat. When they are taken before the commanding officer, he tells Morissot and Sauvage that he considers them spies:
Naturally, I capture you and I shoot you. You pretended to be fishing, the better to disguise your real errand. You have fallen into my hands, and must take the consequences. Such is war.
However, he tells them, if they will divulge the password that they were given in order to pass through the outpost, they can go free. "They stood motionless, and did not open their lips." Then, the officer pulls each man aside privately and whispers that if he divulges the password, he will go free and nothing will be said to the other. Still, they do not answer; they only say good-bye to each other. A firing squad fires their guns, and the two friends fall, one upon the other.
The Germans bind them and hurl their bodies into the river. The German officer makes a grim joke, saying that it is the "fishes' turn now!" As he looks down, he catches sight of the fish that the Frenchmen have caught. With the same cold-blooded tone in which he has ordered the men shot, he tells the cook named Wilhelm,
"Have these fish fried for me at once, while they are still alive; they'll make a tasty dish."
Afterwards, he calmly resumes smoking his pipe.
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