San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-15

his shoulder, fired-and saw the captain
suddenly twist, throw back his head, beat
the air for second with his two hands,
drop his sword and fall heavily on his back
Assassin cried, Selling the sergeant's
arm. But he threw me three PAGES from
him by blow on my chest.
Fool, prove that killed him..
81 rose in fury, but the rest of the COM
pany rose too. Our colonel was there,
bareheaded and on a smoking horse, point
ing with his saber TO the Austrian battery
and shouting at the top of his lungs:
Forward, Zouaves, with the bayOnetr
What could | do but charge with the
others? 1t has become famous, that charge
of the zouuves at Melegnano. Have you
ever seen the angry sea beat upon a rock?
Yes? Well, il was like that. Each com
pany swaTmed up like the surges on the
rock. Three times the battery was covered
with blue coats and red trousers, and three
times we saw the earthwork reappear with
its rows of cannon undisturbed, like the
rock after the receding wave
But the Fourth cOmpany-ours-mus
carry the place. In twenty bounds |
reached the redOubt. BY the aid of my
gun | mounted the slope. But had ouly
time to see pair of blonde mustaches, a
blue cap and the carbineer's gun, which
almost touched me. Then | felt such a
shock in my shoulder that | believed my
arm had been blown off. dropped my
gun, everything whirled around mel lfell
on my side near the wheel of powder
wagon and lost consciousness.
when | opened my eyes l heard only
the sound of distant firing. The Zouaves
were there, formed in a disordered semi
circle. They cried 'Vive rEmpereurr and
brandished their guns at arms length in
the air
An old general followed by his staff,
came up at Il gallop. He refined up his
horse, and, waving his gilded chapeau in
the air, he cried: Bravo, zouaves! You
are the first soldiers of the world
81 was sitting by my wheel, piteously
holding with my right hand my poor
broken paw, and recalled the frightful
crime of Thirsty-killing his officer from
behind on the field of battle.
Suddenly he came from among the
ranks and advanced toward the general
yes, he himself, Thirsty, the assassin of
the captain. In the fight he had lost his
cap, and his shaved head appeared ira
versed by a saber stroke from which a
stream of blood ran down his forehead
and on his cheek. Leaning with one hand
on his gun, he presented an Austrian
flag, tattered and with great red stains on
it-a flag which he had taken. The gen
eral seemed TO regard him with admira-
tion and find Linn superb. Say, Bricourt,'
said he, turning to one of his artillery
officers Look at that. What menu
ssni1 in
That's true, my general but you know
the First ZouaveS. There are enough of
them for more than one time
81 could embrace you for that phrase"
cried the general You shall have the
cross, you know"
"And repeating always, What men,
what men, he said TO his aide-de camp a
phrase which could not understand my
self am too ignorant. you know, but
remember it all the same-'Isn't it, Bri-
court' It's like Plutarch.'
But mt that moment my arm panied me
again, and fainting I saw and heard moth.
ing more.
You know the rest. have often told
you how they hacked off my arm and how
| was carried for two months in ambu-
lances, delirious with fever. In my sleep
less hours asked myself what should do
in regard to Thirsty. Denounce him?
Certainly that was my duty, but how?
What proofs had II Then would say to
myself, He is ascoundrel, but hero. He
killed Capt. Gentle, but he captured an
Austrian fiag. And | could not decide.
At last, when was convalescent, learned
that as reward for his brave action
Thirsty had been transferred with his
grade TO the Zouaves Of the guard, and
had received decoration. All, at first
that disguised me with my own cross,
which our colonel had Just attached to my
cloak at the hospital. However, Thirsty
merited his as well, after all; but his lie
gion of Honor should have served as a
target for q firing squad of soldiers. Well,
all that was long time ago. have never
seen the sergeant again, who is still in the
service, and am in civil life. But just
now, seeing that tunic with its bullet hole
God knows how it came there, hanging
at that old clothes dealers, two steps from
the barracks where the assassin isl
thought of his UNPUBLISHED crime, and it
seemed to me that the captain cried for
justice"
| did my best to calm Pere Vidal, who
had been much excited by his story. as
sured him that he had done everything for
the best, and the heroism of the sergeant
balanced his crime. But some days later
on arriving at the office | found Pere
Vidal, who handed me journal so folded
that but one column was visible, and who
said gravely:
What did tell you?"
took the journal and read rs follows:
Another Victim of Intemperance.-Yes-
terday afternoon on the Boulevard de
Grenelle a sergeant of the Imperial you
ayes by the name of Mallet, who bore
among his comrades the sobriquet