The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1890-11-01
KADOUR AND KATEL,

NAHUM AND hAlElE 4
Kadour- benz Cherifa, sergeant major Of
the Algerian sharpshooters, was believed
to be dying when he was carried into old
Rippert's sawmill on the Sauerbach. For
five long weeks he lived as in a dream,
parched with fever and racled with the
pain of his wound Sometimes he thought
he was in the battle again, shouting and
bounding across the fax fields and hor
gardens of Wissebourg; at other times
he fancied himself once more at home in
Algiers with his father, Che kaid of Matt
matas.
At last he opened his eyes and became
dinly conscious OF being in cool, clean
room, with white curtains at the win,
dows, and outside green branches wav
| ing, and light clouds passing before the
sun. Near his bed sat little sister OF
charity, watchful and quiet, wearing in
! deed no silver cross, no rosary, no veil,
but, instead, two long braids Of yellow
hair falling over a black velvet bodiceg
| From time TO time some one would call
'"Katel, Katel!" and the peasant girl
would so on tiptoe out OF the room, and
then the invalid would hear u clear Young
voice which seemed to him as refreshing
as the sound Of the brook that ran muir,
lnurng under the windows of the mill,
Kadour was i'll for a long time, but
the Ripperts took such good care of him
that his wounds healed, and they con
cealed him so cleverly that the Prussiahs
were not able to send him to die of cold
in casemate at Mayence Soon he be-
gan to talk, showing his white teeth; then
he took a few steps round the room, with
one sleeve hanging empty and great
gaping hole in the midst of the embroi-
derry, and his arm still bandaged and.
helpless. Then he went every day into
the little garden, and Katel would bring
out a little rug seated armchair for the
invalid, putting it down in the walmest
corner by the wall, where the grapes
ripened the earliest, and Kador, who,
being kaid's son, had studied in the
Arabian college at Algiers, would thank
her in French, which sounded a little
barbarous, mingled as it was with bono
bezeff and maeach bono.
Without suspecting it the young Turk
was falling under aspell, Tie easy gay
ETY. of the French maiden, who lived as
free as a bird, her face unveiled even in
the open air, and her window unbarred
astonished while it fascinated him. It
was so very different from the walled
up life Of his countrywomen, with their
white, lemon scented wells.
Katel, on her part, thought the
stranger little too dark skinned; but
he had such frank face and he hated
the Prussians sol One thing displeased
her terribly, and that was that over
there in Algeria man might have sew
ergl wives, She could not understand
that, and one day when Kadour, to tease
her, said in his foreign iargon, "KadouT
soon marly-have fonr wives four"
the girl exclaimed angrily, 0Fourwiyes:
Oh, the Villain, the pagan"
The Turk burst out laughing as glee-
fully as a child; then, suddenly growing
serious and silent, he fixed his great
dark eyes upon her face, Ihatwas the
: beginning.
Kadour, completely cured, went home
to his father, and one can imagine tine
j. festivities that were held in his honoi
in the land of the Matimatas. The reed
It flutes and the little drums PLAYED theil
sweetest airs to welcome him, and whel
n the old kaid, seated in his doorway, saw
= coming down the cactus walk the be
loved son whom he had thought dead he
hembled as if with ague under hii
white bulnous. For whole montl
there was an uninterrupted series Of diffa
and fantasas all the Kaids and Agas o
the neighhorhood disputed for the homo
ofcntertaining Kadour-ben-Cberifa, an,
every evening in the Moorish cafes HI
was entreatcd to describe the battles il
which he had fought,
But alas! all these fetes and honor
did not make him happy In -e mids
h., Of the souvenirs Of his childhood, mi
d. horses, his greyhounds, his arms an,
all the splendors of his fathers mansion
there was one thing wanting art
- less, merry laugh Of Katel The littl
d perpetual prattling Of the Arab women
10 which had once made his heart ben
with pleasure, now fatigued and an
noyed him he would not admire thei
orange flower wreaths and wide troascr
of a rose color satin, but thought onl
Of pair of long braids having no pcu
,
breads under the setting sun in a.littl
, Alsatian garden far away, And yet,
Kadour would but look about hul
he could see a pair of beautiful bao
eyes made languid with kohl watchin
e him from behind the grated windows {
an old Aga's house not far distant Ki
dour cared nothing FOR them what
longed for was Katels quick glauC
round the sick room to see if apythin
D were wanting for his comfort; he sighe
2 for the blue eyes in which the hgl
played as brightly as in drops Of cle'
I spring water
D, Little by little, however, the tend,
" charm of those blue eyes, mingled wit
| the memory Of his convalescence an
the soft tempered air of France, fade
from his mind. AT last Kadour had 70