Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-06-28

cafe that opened early for the accommoda-
ton Of the neighborhced. Here she enter
ed, and seated herself at a table near the
door. The fresh morning air blew In upon
her face as she sat there, and she felt as II
that alone kept her from fainting. Never
In all her life before had she entered such a
place alone, or sat alone among such COM
pany. Her girlhood and brief married life
had been as closely guarded as IL she had
been a duchess. To sit alone among rough
blouses and Versaillais soldiers In their
stained uniforms was a new experience.
She ordered some coffee, and the waiter
brought her q roll and butter. She had
eaten nothing except n piece OF bread
since she had left home. The coffee and
the food revived her, and she was able to
look about her, and listen to the eager
voices of the blouses and soldiers, as they
sat eating and talking, smoking, drinking
all at once, as it seemed to her, with their
elbows on the table, seen i~ndistinctIy In a
cloud Of tobacco.
He, e pore, two little glasses OF cognac,
one of abslnthe," called a blouse.
"Gdrcon, une CONNIE" drawled another
blouse, with sublime affectation, initiating
the expired, or temporarily obliterated,
race of foplings, the pettts creues of the
Empire, known afterwards as gommeuL,
elegant consumers Of absinthe considerably
diluted with gum arabic. And then came
a name which riveted Kathleen's attention
TO the next table. The name was Serizier.
They were discussing the delegate Of the 18th
reimbursement, the commander OF the 101st
battalion.
''They say that he has decamped, this
,anA Carf,fa~ Aha harn ~ A,x h.tsJna ~ all
one Of the men.
ut was time" answered a soldier; "our
cavalry were at the end of the street when
cette bette took 10 his heels. They have been
hunting for him ever since, but the rat has
run into some hole where he is not easily
found. We shall have him, though. Nom
dun chen, such butchers must not be al
lowed 10 escape. Those good Dominican
Fathersl No, the cdnditle shall not get off -
"He is a man Of yesterday, this Serlzier.
a creation OF the 18th March, is he not?'
asked the other.
"He is Communard, crdpule among the
Communards. He Is a currier by trade, but
he got into trouble under the Empire, and
was a refugee in Belgium up TO the 4th of
September. He hates all priests with a
diabolical ferocity, and has prided himself
upon Decorating the churches by his brutal
orgies. He is more tiger than man: but we
shall cut his claws and draw his teeth when
we find him."
"When we find him, yesr' answered the
I other, lolling over the table, and, eating his
/ soup with an air Of luxurious repose.
His hands and face were alike blackened
by gunpowder; his hair was clotted with
dust and blood. There had been no leisure
yet for the victors TO make their toilet.
"You think he has taken the key of the
feldsP'
II should say he was across the frontier
by this time, or on board one Of the Ameri-
can steamers at Hayre. He would not let
the grass grow under his feet"
mot so easy to get out Of Paris, my
friend. Look at Raoul Rigault. He tried
to hide himself yesterday afternoon, but
they unearthed him, and set him with his
back to the wall-his ~fayorite attitude for
other people. And this Serizier is a mark
ed man. lie commanded twelve battalions
at Chatillon and at Issy. All the army
know him. He will never be able to pass
our outposts unrecognised."
II hope not" answered the other. ''They
say that some Of the communist dogs-the
leaders OF TIE snctp-daNe pTONlueu lhein-
selves with balloons, and that, as soon as
they have burned Paris, they mean to set
sail for England or Belgium"
There was no more said about Serizier,
and Kathleen left, after paying for her re-
freshment, and walked homeward slowly,
feebly, in the bright cool morning. The sun
was rising over the heights beyond Paris.
II was shining on the faces Of the dead, on
the dreadful crimson dye which stained the
streets, OF rags and taiters, and fragments
of arms strewed thicker than autumn leaves
on roadway and pavement.