Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-03-21

| pared to follow my example, and as he
saw me light my cigar he shouted:
..Give me one; have been trying to
light cigarette all the morning, but
it is so windy I can't do it have
wasted all my matches.
gave him cigar and as / had .
spring-lint-wheel and steel and used
scrap OF finder, l called him over to
me and handed him the apparatus
As the flint-wbeel revOlved and pro-
duced light shower of sparks. my
horse reared and danced away about
half dozen yards. and there stayed
waiting until Maxine got light As
he did so. the white cloud which ac-
companies shell appeared over our
heads. I shouted to him: ''Shell!'
and ducked Immediately behind my
horse, but he did not. The report
came, and as my horse turned sharp
and fled l saw poor Maxine struck
fully in the chest by fragment of the
she'll. His horse fell at the same time,
and poor little Durand was dead. /
thought Immediately of our converse
ton of the previous night, went back
to the spot, and took from the poor
mangled body the chain, the locket
and the image for Marie. The CHASTITY
horror of the task battles description,
but for safety put the chain round
my own neck and wore itthere during
the rest of the war.
The Servo-Bulgarian campaign of
'85 and '86 terminated, as you know,
rather suddenly in the spring of the
latter year, and as my mother, the only
person interested in my movements,
had received continual news of mo
through the editor of our paper and I
had no sweetheart longing for sight
of me. before returning to America I
went to Paris and from there took the
train to Douai to perform the commits
sion of poor little Maxine Durand. l
arrived there on an exquisite spring
morning and on my way passed the
sign of "Larreze Restaurateur." Here,
thought I, is where Maxine dined the
night he came to say goodbye. l went
in and while breakfasting engaged the
old Breton in conversation. Could he
direct me to the house of Nicholas
Sterelle, asked. Certainly, but Nicho-
las was dead; his daughter, however,
Nine. Dufoure, lived next door to
where Nicholas Sterelle had died, and
no doubt l should like to see her. l
asked who she was. 1t seemed that
she had been engaged to young
Partisan journalist. a war correspond
He had run away and had not returned.
They did not know what paper he
served or they would have inquired
about him at its Office. Meanwhile.
Marie Sterelle had married his rival.
rose and sought Marie and found,
as Maxine had told me, a little
narrow street, towards the top of
which the name of 'Sterelle" was in
scribed over shop whose shutters
were closed. Next door to it mil
liners store inscribed "Dufoure" was
brilliant with Paris novelties of two
seasons ago. l went in to buy some
crdvates. and, whilst l was being served
by brisk and certainly most attract
i've little Frenchwoman, said:
'Have l the pleasure of addressing
Nine. Dufoure, nee Sterelle?' She
answered in the affirmative. ''Your
name, Madame" said l, has been
mentioned to me by M'sieu Durand,
whom l met recently in the East"
She grew very white and hard
look settled over her features as she |
answered.:
"Ah, you knew Maxine Durand,
who went out to the war. He has
stayed there, understand"
"Yes,' l replied, ''he has stayed
there
1 found some difficulty in inducing
her to permit me to talk about Max
ime at all. When said that he had
once spoke to me of her it seemed only |
to anger her the more. Finally
said, with American bluntness: "You |
did not return. Maxime's regard, his |
affection"
II do not know" she interrupted.
whether he is a friend of yours, but |
for four years, M'sieu, 1 was devoted
to that man; he was to have married |
me when his position on his paper,
of which l do not know even the name |
(for he never told me about himself). |
would justify him in doing so, but |
when his position became good one !
and would have enabled him to marry |
me, he flung me aside like an old
glove"
And though the little woman's bos-
ON heaved with rage, the tremor of
her lip told me that she was not SO
callous about it as she would have me
believe. l asked her If might be SO
indiscreet as to ask her the history of |
this event, as I had met M'sieu Du- |
\