The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-06-28
Beat the S8TgeaRt's Story,
a Storm Raised in a Little
French Town Worse Than
a Tonquin. Tornado.

~ 80 q OAAA " AC1IGiA
so said all the village-and was stay
ing at the inn, "too proud to speak to
any one"-so added those who envied
him the attention excited by his gor-
geous uniform.
But jules and CASTOR. jean and Emil,
said bluntly that they knew better, and
to show their faith in their old comrade
invited him to take soup with them as
he used to do before he went into the
army.
Behold, then, the five friends around
the table. What have they to talk of
after their long separation? We will
listen.
The sergeant is speaking:
Indeed, ! hardly know how one lives
at all in those tropics. Without boast
ing, I myself bear things as well as most
of my neighbors, butt confess it, my
friends, | have been frightened By the
tropics. Think of it, my boys, a French
officer afraid of the weather."
"Of the weather. asked Emil.
81 cannot see that" said Jules.
cit is nc more than the truth" re-
sumed the sergeant. ''In Tonquin we
have thunder and lightning-for l can
not otherwise name them-but not such
as come to these villages-little groans of
thunder here and sparks of lightning
there, but thunder storms to terrify a
bishopl"
"How SOP" asked CASTOR, curiously.
The sergeant had enjoyed his soup, and
truly his tongue talked OF itself.
"In Tonquin." said he, rising to his
feet flor so one gestures more easily,
t'the lightest of our thunder cracks can
nor balls in two, and one peal follows
another SO fast that there is never but
one, which, however, lasts as long as the
storm
Strange enough" said Jules, with his
mouth open, his spoon in the air.
Sand the l~ightningY' asked Jean,
quickly.
'sThe lightning?" repeated the SER
geant, ''much the same sort. 1t is never
seen. All the world stays indoors and
puts on green spectacles-one or two
pairsl"
ga curious customf' remarked Emil,
looking sidewise at the veteran.
GAS you say-curious indeed" replied
the sergeant, smiling. "You would en-
joy the oddity of it, I have little doubt.
But there is something more worthy of
notice. There is the rain. In Tonquin
the rain falls SO fast that it doesn't reach
the ground!"
"But, sergeant" Grid CASTOR, rising to
protest, your last statement is hardly
crediblei''
"Oh, you demand an explanation, /"
said the sergeant with some warmth,
and pounding the table with his stiff fin
ers, sit is because the raindrops fall so
fast they are dried up by the friction of
the air-that is, Of course, all but a little.
l do not mean to say that none of the
water falls to the ground-that would be
unreasonable"
$50 l thought" said Castor, nodding
his head wisely.
"You were right, Castor, said the SER
geant, grandly. always tell me if you
find my. stories incredible. lam a little
irritable, but not proud. And I know
(since |, too, lived in this little village
once-so long agoD how seldom you hear
such adventures"
"My word, but I have heard things as
stranger said CASTOR, dryly.
'"Then my stories do not surprise your"
asked the soldier, with some disappoint-
ment.
"Why should they?" replied CASTOR.
81 have never been in T~onquir. | have
heard of queerer things. however; yes,
and in this very town.
"Such as?'- said the sergeant, look
ing hard at the other and twisting his
mustache ends into two needle points.
"Some people would say your Tonquin
storms were not large" CASTOR said,
frankly. But l am not so foolish.
Freely l admit that such storms are rare
ia this village. But l do contend that
we have here the smallest storms that
can well be-"
The sergeant moved ~uneasily on his
four legged stool, and gazed at CASTOR
with his eyelids half closed.
"Did you never hear of them?" said
CASTOR. seeming to be much surprised.
"Never." said the sergeant. in a pecu-
liar voice.
1T is said that once at the inn, where
you are staying, a man who had been a
sailor-l. think it was a saiior-came
home from Algeria and told of many
wonderful experiences. Sea serpents.
land slides, u~nicorns, rocs' eggs and mer-
maids-such was his stock in trade.
Well, one morning, that solder
"Sailori" said the sergeant, frowniEg.
Sailor, of c~ourse-that sailor came to
breakfast telling of a terrible storm, a
thunder storm--a true TonCuin storm, if
you will permit me, sergeant" The SER
geant bowed, still frowning. "But,
strangely enough" CASTOR went on, mo
one else had seen any signs of a storm
whatever. 1t had seemed to every one
else a bright moonlight night Now, /
call that worthy Of remarkF"
"Truly So" said the sergent, uneasily,
"And. strangely enough" went on the
villager. "there is a legend that such
storms are the work of COLLINS, who thus
punish tellers OF big stories, as, it seems,
this sailor must have beeni"
The sergeant made no comment, but
drummed a ~quickstep upon the table,
whistling anoiseless fit sccompaniment
Emil. Jules and Jean had been listen
ing open mouthed and ~ransacking their
brains to find some trace of this wonder-