Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-02-01

"Ah!" said 1 to Father Vidal, who,
instantly dropping the garment, had
passed on with quickened step and
dropping head. .that is IN ugly mark!'
Expecting a story, and to induce my
friend to relate it, / added:
"Ordinarily it is not in the back that
a Captain of Zouaves is shot,"
But apparently he did not hear me,
but biting his mustache he muttered to
himself:
elbow did it get there? tits a long
distance from the battlefield of Mel
egnano to the Boulevard de Grenelle.
Yes, I remember we'll. Those crows
who follow an army-despoilers of dead
bodies. But why there, only a few steps
from L'Ecole Militaire, where his regi-
ment is in barracks, and the other? He
must have recognized it when passing
by here. Oh! it is like an apparition!h
"Come, Father Vidal,' said 1, much
interested and taking his arm, .'you
shall not continue talking in enigmas,
so you must tell me plainly what memo
ries this old coat recall"
1 verify believe that excepting for
those two glasses of absinthe he would
not have told me anything, for upon
this Father Vidal regarded me with sus-
plcion, almost fear; but suddenly, as
with a firm resolution, he said: "Ah,
well! yes, 1 will tell you about it.
Moreover, you are an intelligent, honest
young man, whom l can trust, and when
1 have finished you must tell me frankly
if you think me eXcusable for acting as
[ have. Let me see, how shall l begin?
In the first place, 1 cannot tell you his
name-the others name-for he is still
living, but l will mention him by his
nickname in the regiment, La Soft (Old
Thirsty). Yes, We called him La Soft,
and well did he deserve his name, being
one of those who are not sparing of the
canteen, and could quaf twelve small
glasses of brandy to the twelve strokes
Of noon. He was Sergeant in the fourth
company of the Second Regiment,
where l was Quartermaster, and
marched by my side at the end of the
file. A very good soldier, although dis
sipated, t%reacherous and quarrelsome-
traits common to Africa; but brave as a
lion, with blue eyes, as cold as steel, set
in his tawny face, which was partly COW
cred by a reddish beard. One perceived
at first glance that he was not an easy
person with whom to deal. About the
time when ! arrived with provisions at
the post of war, La Soft was just ending
his term Of service. Re-enlisting, he re-
ceivcd his pay, and consequently led a
riotous life for three days, during which
time, accompanied by four or five revel-
ers like himself, he drove through the
low quarters of Algiers, waving a tri-
colored banner on which We're these
words: This will not last forever!' He
was carried to the barracks with Il sword
cut in his head, received in a quarrel
with one of the Moors. On recovering,
La Soft was sentenced to prison for fif-
teen days, and for the second time lost
his stripes. Indeed, excepting for his
bad conduct, La Soft would have been
an officer long ago, for he was of a
burgher family and well educated. AL
though after the affair with the Moor
his stripes were taken away, he recov-
cred them again eighteen months later,
thanks to the indulgence of the Captain,
an old African who had seen his fighting
in Kabyha.
''But behold! when this Captain was
promoted to the rank of Major, a man
only t~wenty-eight Years old was sent to
our command. He was a Corsican
banned Gentle, just out Of school, and a
mere boy, cool, clever and ambitious, SC
people said, but a very exacting COM
mander, unreasonable with the soldiers,
and one wdo would sentence a man to a
week in the ,.uard room for a spot of
rust on his gun Dr. q missing button on
his gaiter; besides, never having served
in Algeria, he would not tolerate the
slightest act of insubordination or ca
price. From the very first, Capt. Gentle
dislikedL La Soft, and the feeling was nat
urally reciprocated. The first time that
the Sergeant missed roll-call, eight days
in the guard room on the first charge.
If drunkenness. fifteen days. When
the Captain-a short, dark-complexioned
man, with whiskers like those of a
frightened cat, and as stubborn as a
mule-pronounced his sentence of pun
ishment and added, sharply: L know
what you are, and I will master you, my
precious one! La Soft would never
answera word, but pass quietly into the
guard room. The Captain might have
relented somewhat, had he seen the flush
of rage spreading over the Sergeant's
face, as o 0 as he turned his head, and
the angry flash of his terrible blue eyes.
* r
About that time the Emperor declared
war against Austria, and we embarked
for Italy. But as l need not here speak
of the campaign, l will come at once to
the point Of my story. The night before
the battle of Melegnano-where l lost
my arm, you remember-our battalion
encamped in the midst of little village,
and before breaking ranks the Captain,
quite wisely, addressed us briefly,
reminding us we were in a friends
country, and for our honor's
sake we should behave properly,
and that whosoever should cause the
slightest annoyance to any i~nhabitant OF
the village would be punished in ah ex
emplary ann While he was speak
ing, La Soft, who had nearly emptied
his canteen since morning, and was
consequently somewhat unsteady as
he leaned upon his gun beside him,
shrugged his shoulders Slightly; but for
tunately the Captain did not notice him.
'In the middle of the night 1 was sud
denly awakened by a noise in the farm
yard, where I had slept on a box OF
straw. Jumping up, I saw in the moon.