Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1886-05-15

leather lunged Gascon, whom I hoped
never to soc again. But in vain, for
on the following Sunday J 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 j~oviality. and papa Durand by the
interest he seemed to take in the mill
tary operations conducted by lie
Temps. Victor lost more ground at
every dinner.
The discredit into which he had fall
len became plainly apparent after the
bloody fight at LIE Bourget, whore the
poor lad had done his duty nobly and
received a painful wound in the fore.
arm. He narrated the whole affair to
us, the retreat and the sad ending Of
that combat, with so lamentable an air
of encouragement that the captain be
gan to treat him as il he were a dc.
serter and q coward. With what noble
indignation he demonstrated that if
the ''Zouaves of Death" had been there
things would have been very different.
Thereupon, warming to the subject. he
sketched out for US q plan for q sortie
by the passage Of the Disc, a march to
Rouen, and a final triumphant arrival
at Havre. so clearly and wildly that
he aroused Durand to great enthusi-
asm. And all this time poor, humili-
ated Victor was suffering from his still
bleeding wound.
The next day Victor had u fever aud
kept his bed, and for some weeks he
did not appear at the table. The cap
tain, meanwhile, theoretically estab-
lished his ~pretensions to the hand Of
Gertrude. The evening that Victor re-
appeared among Us, weak and paler
than ever. it seemed to me that Ger.
trude's eyes were very red and that
some skirmish had taken place be-
tween her and her mother, who seemed
more taken up with NORM than ever.
l saw that it was time to interfere in
the interest of these poor children. 1t
was tho last day in the year, and as
we were talking Of the new year
we decided to celebrate the a%nniver-
sary together.
"Egad, Nine. Durand," said the cap
tain, 81 have a surprise for your New
Years present."
This put an idea in my head.
On Now Years day Dursnd received
US, radiant and with open arms. The
strategetical editor of LIE Temps had
just struck a terrible blow at Prince
Charles in the neighborsood of Evreux.
Durand offered US this good news for
our New Years present. Victor
brought q hare which he had trapped
beyond the Notifications. As to the
captain, he presented Nine. Durand
with a bag of marrons glaces in a
Uhlan's helmet.
"Madame," said he, magnificsntly,
81 am sorry l did not bring in it the
head of it's owner"
"What!" cried Nine. Durand almost
speechless with emotion; did you kill
himp"
LAY, to get this bonbon box. mad
anna performance which, 1 make
bold say, would not have been attempt
cd by many men,"
l 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-
J hind a cssk he had watched for, sur
prised and knocked down the wearer
of the cap, a solitary sentinel, and had
strangled him, in order not to arouse
the attention OF the enemy by using
his revolver! What a poor showing
the hare, strangled, too, beside this
glorious triumph!
"Well," said /, II would not think
of rivaling such a hero as the captain;
but l also have my little surprise. But
it has not yet arrived, and | hope you
will dine without waiting for it,"
We sat Gown to table, and a very
pleasant dir ii was. We had just
reached the coffee, when a servant in
formed us that an artillery-man had
just deposited my present in the draw
ing room. Repairing thither, We found
the object on the table wrapped in
bright-colored paper ard tied up with
gay ribbons.
what in the world can it bep"
asked Nine. Durand.
Don't try to guess. my dear mad.
anne; it is a bombshell,"
IA bombshellP"
"Durand has often expressed to me
| a desire to possess a bombshell, one
that has seen SERVICE and at my re-
quest my friend Roland. c~ommandant
| of a battery, has sent me this. 1t is
I from the Avron plateau, where it fell,
but failed to explode"