The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-10-15

chc6- AS TO his exploits IN h sub
urbs at the head of his "Zouaves Of
Death they passed all belief. "The
enemy could do nothing With my
five thousand wolves at my back /
made a BREACH" etc.
Nine. Durand listened to this rho.
domontade with complaisance, Du-
rand with undisguised admiration.
AS to the poor militiaman, Victor, his
existence seemed totally erased in the
presence of this blusterer.
1 invented a pretext to leave i'm
mediately after the coffee, for / was
oppressed by the Dragging of the
leather-lunged Gascon, whom | hoped
never to see again. But in vain, tor
on the following Sunday I found him
In the same place, again on Friday,
and finally a cover was placed for him
every evening. The entire Durand
family seemed fascinated by him.
NORM had captured Nine. Durand by
his Joviality, and papa Durand by the
interest he seemed to take in the mill
tary operations conducted in LIE
Temps. Victor lost more ground at
every dinner.
The discredit into which he had
fallen became plainly apparent after
the bloody fight at LIE B~ourget, where
the poor lad had done his duty nobly
and received a painful wound in the
forearm. He narrated the whole af-
fair to US, the retreat and the sad end
ing OF that heroic combat, with so
lamentable an air of disbursement
that the captain began to treat him
as If he were a deserter and q coward.
With what noble Indignation he dem
onstrated that if the "Zouaves of
Death" had been there things would
have been very different. There
upon, warming to the subject, he
sketched out for us a plan for a sortie
by the passage of the Disc, q march to
Rouen and a final triumphant arrival
at Havre SO clearly and wildly that
he aroused Durand to great enthu.
siasm. And all this time, poor humili-
ated Victor was suffering from his
still bleeding wound.
The next day Victor had a fever
and kept his bed, and for some weeks
he did not appear at the table. The
Captain, meanwhile, energetically
established his pretensions to the
hand of Gertrude. The evening that
Victor reappeared among US, weak
and paler than ever, it seemed to me
that Gertrude's eyes were very red
and that some skirmish had taken
place between her and her mother,
who seemed more taken up with
NORM than ever. | saw that it was
time to interfere in the interest of
L fhnDn yNnnn nhal1rnVz IL xrvn Ahn In0E
day of the year, and as we were talk
ing OF the new year we decided to cele-
brate the anniversary together.
"Egad, Mime. Durand, SAID the Cap
tain, 81 have a surprise for your New
Years present"
This put an idea liz my head.
On New Years Day Durand received
us, radiant with open arms. The
strategical editor of LIE Temps had
just struck a terrible blow at Prince
Charles in the neighborhood of Ev-
reaux. Durand offered us this good
news for our New Years present. Vic
tor brought a hare which he had
trapped beyond the Notifications. As
to the Captain, he presented Nine.
Durand with a bag of marrons glaces
in the Uhlan's helmet.
"Madame," said he, magnificently,
81 am sorry did not bring it in the
head of its owner"
WHAT" cried Nine. Durand, almost
~speechless with emotion, Ibid you kill
him?"
Gay, to get this bonbon box, mad
ame-a performance which, | make
bold to say, would not have been at
tempted by many men,"
I will pass over the recital of this
adventure, of which you may be sure
our Bombastes did not spare us the
smallest detail. Crouched down be-
hind a cask, he had watched for. sur
prised, and knocked down the wearer
of the cap, O. solitary sentinel, and
had strangled him, in order not to
arouse the attention of the enemy by
using his revolver. What apoor show
ing the hare, ~strangled, too, made be-
side this glorious triumph
"Well,' said /, IL would net think
OF rivaling such a hero as the captain;
but / also have my little surprise.
But it has not yet arrived, and Ihope
you will dine without waiting for it,"
; We sat down to table, and a very
pleasant dinner it was. We had just
reached the coffee, when q servant in
formed us that an artilleryman had
just deposited my present in the draw
ingroom. Repairing thither, wefound
the object on the table, wrapped in
br~ight-colored paper and tied up with
gay ribbons.
what in the world can it be?" ask
ed Mime. Durand.
Don't try to guess, my dear mad
anne; it is a bombshell."
"a bombshell?"
"Durand has often expressed to me