The Portland daily press., 1885-09-04
THE PRESS.
FRIDAY MORNING, SEPT. A.
lFrom the French Of Alphonso Daudet.-
THE LITTLE SPY.

He was called Stenne, little Stenne He
was a child of Paris, thin and pale, who was
perhaps ten years old, perhaps fifteen; one
cannot tell the age of such midgets. His
mother was dead; his father, an old soldier
of the marine corps, had charge OF a square
in the Quarter du Temple. Babies, moth
er,s nurses, and old women, everybody who
frequented the square, knew Pere Stenne
and loved him. They knew that under that
grim mustache, the terror of dogs and tramps,
there lurked a good-humored smile, and to
see it one had only to ask:
"How is your little boy?"
Pere Stenne loved his boy so much. He
was so happy when, in the~afternoon after
his school, the boy came for him, and togeth-
er they made tour of the square, stopping
at each bench to speak to the occupants and
reply to their salutations.
With the terrible siege everything was
changed. Pere Stenne's square was closed.
1t was placed:underpatrol, and the poor man
forced to keep up an unremitting watch,
passed his days among deserted and ruined
walls, alone, and without his pipe, only see
ing his boy when he came home late at night.
You should have seen his mustache when he
spoke of the PruSSianS!
AS for little Stenne, he did not complain
of the new order of things A siegei 1t is
an amusement to children. No more school!
Vacation all the time, and the streets like a
fair ground. The boy was running out of
doors all day until evening. He followed
the battali0ns of the quarter on their way to
the ramparts, choosing from preference those
which had the best bands, and about that
lit tie Stenne was well informed He could
have told you that the band of the Ninety
sixth wasn't worth much, but that the band
of the Fifty-hfth was excellent. Sometimes
he watched the Mobiles at their drill; what
files of them there were! His basket under
his arm, he stood with the long rows of peo-
pie that formed in the shadows of the dark
winter morning at the grating of the butcher
or the baker There, standing with ones
feet in the water, one made acquaintance
and talked politics, and as the son of NJ.
Stenne, everybody asked his opinion. But
even more amusing than all were the parties
du b0uch0H, that famous play of gdtOche
which the Breton Mobiles had introduced
during the SIEGE When little Stenne was
not at the ramparts or at the bakers, you
might be sure to find him at the Place du
Chateau d Eau where they played gdLoche.
He didn't play, of course, that cost too much
money. He contented himself with watch
ing the players.
One Of them, a large boy in a blue coat
who never Staked less than a hundred sous,
excited his admiration. When he ran one
could hear the coin clicking in the pockets of
his coat.
One day in picking up piece. which had
rolled almost under the feet of little Stenne,
the large boy said to him in low voice:
THAT makes you squlnt, ehi Well, if you
want, I'll take you where you can find 'um."
The playing finished, he took him into a
corner and proposed that he should go with
him to sell newspapers to the PrussianS;
there were thirty francs trip to be made
AT first Stenne refused very Indignantly. He
waited three days without going to see the
players. Three terrible days! He neither
eat nor slept. AT night he saw set of ga
toche placed at the foot of his bed, and pieces
of hundred sous each lay glittering all
around him. The fourth day he returned to
the Chateau d Eau, saw the large boy and
yielded.
They set out one morning with sacks over
hat oh l1arC H..
their blouses. When they reached the Porte
de Flandres day was just breaking. The
large boy took Stenne by the hand and ap-
preaching the sentinel-a good old fellow
with red no e and kindly air-he said to
him in supplicatory voice: Let us pass,
bon monsieur, Our mother is sick and ia
Their is dead. We are going, my little broth
er and |, to pick up potatoes in the field. He
hung his head. The sentinel looked at them
moment and then looked out over the road
white and deserted
go on quick" he said to them, slipping
aside and they were ON their way to Auber-
villiers. The large boy laughed.
Confused as in aldream, little Stenne saw
factories transformed into barracks, barri-
cadeS with wet rags clinging to them, long
chimneys which pierced the fog, and mount
ed toward heaven, empty and broken. From
time to time they passed a sentinel or officers
with their heads mutfied up, who looked out
across thesfelds through their lorgnettes, or
little tents that were soaked by the snow
which was melting before the dying fires
The large boy knew the way, and went
across the fields to avoid the outposts Pres
emily, before they could escape them, they
came upon guard of trGncs-tireurS. The
trdncS-tireurS with their tents, were camped
In a f0SSe by stream of water along the
railroad to Scissors.
This time the large boy told his story in
vain. They would not let him pass. Then,
while he cried, there came out from the
hOnCn IN nj inf
white and wrinkled, who looked like Pere
Stenne. ''Hullo there, bratsi Don't terry" he
said. to the boys. ''They will letyou go after
your potatoes. But hold on, come in and
warm yourselves bit, the little chap looks
frozen
Alas, it was not from cold that little Stenne
trembled. 1t was from fear and shame. In
side they found some soldiers covering
around small fire, veritable widows fire,
ever which they tried to thaw out some bis
cults which they had fastened on their bayo-
nets: They. gave them little coffee to
drink. While they drank an officer came to
the door, called the sergeant, spoke to him
in a low tone, and went out. "Why boys"
said the sergeant coming back radiant, ito
night we shall have tobacco. They havegot
the Prussian countersign. l believe this
time we shall retake that cursed Bourget."
There was an explosion of braves and
laughter. They danced, they sang, they
tioHrised their sabre bayonets, and, profiting
by the tumult, the boys disappeared. Once
past the trench there was nothing before
them but the plain, and at the end of it, a
long white wall pierced with l0Opholes, To-
ward the wall they directed their way stop
ping at every step to pretend to pick up pota-
toes.
"Don't let's go. Let's 90 back" slittle
Stenne kept saying all of the time
The other shrugged his shoulders and went
on, Suddenly they heard the click of the
cooking of gun.
Lie down. said the large boy, throwing
himself
Once down he whistled Another whistle
answered his across the snow. They adj
vanced, crawling upon the ground. Before
the wall out of the smooth ground, appeared
a pair of mustaches under dirty cap. The
large boy jumped into the ditch by the side
of the Prussian.
This is my brother" he said, pointing to
his companion
laughed at seeing him, and was obliged to
take him in his arms to lift him up to the
opening in the wall.
On the other side of the wall were great
entertainments of earth, fallen trees and black
holes in the snow, and from each hole looked
out the same dirty cap and yellow mustaches
that laughed at the boys as they passed
In one corner was a gardeners house case
mated with trunks of trees. Below were
crowd of soldiers playing cards or making
soup over great fire. How good it smelled,
the cabbages and the bacon! How different
from the bivouac of the Jfrdncs-tireurs. Be-
yOuu W6I6 GHe OlIC6IS. VIC COulu u6dI Lltll
playing the piano or drinking champagne.
When the Parisians entered hurrah of joy
met them. They gave out their papers.
Then they gave them something to drink
and make them talk. All of the officers had
proud and disdainful air, but the large boy
amused them with his impudence and his
slang. They laughei, and repeating the
words after him, rolled with delight in the
dirt of Paris which he had brought them
Little Stenne wanted to say something too,
to prove that he was not stupid, but some
thing held him back. Before him, apart
from the others, stood a Prussan, older and
more serious than the others, who read him.
or seemed to do So Tor his eyes never quilted
him. He looked at him with tenderness and
reproach as if he had at home a little boy of
the same age as Stenne, and would say: Il
this"
At that moment Stenne felt as if hand
had been laid upon his heart to stop its beat
ing.
To escape from his torment he began to
drink Presently everything whirled around
him. He heard vaguely, in the midst of loud
laughter, his comrade hooking the National
Guard, their drills a passage-at-arms, night
guard on the ramparts. Then the large boy
lowered his voice, the officers approached
him and were grave. The wretched boy was
telling them of the intended attack Of the