Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-05-27
MIGNONNE.

TINS old soldier was a certain air OF fraul,
ness and OF gayety which always wins my
favor
He.was doubtless one of those old troop
ers whom nothing can surprise: who find
food for laughter in the dying spasms of a
comrade. who gayly bury and despoil him:
who challenge bullets with indifference
though thei. arguments are short enough
and who would hob-nob with the devil.
In few moments we had struck up an
acquaintance, aud went to dine at the first
restaurant at hand At dessert bottle of
champagne completely cleared the mem
DRY Of this strange old soldier. He told
his story.
During the expedition undertaken in
Upper Egypt by General Desaix, a Pro
vencal soldier, who had fallen into the
hands Of the Maugrabins, was taken by
these Arabs into the desert beyond the cat
aracts Of the Nile. In order to put be
tween them and the French army a dis
lance to assure their safety, the Mau-
grabins made a forced march and did not
halt till night.
They then camped by the side of well
surrounded 10y a clump of palm trees.
where they had before buried some pro
visions. Never dreaming that their pris-
oner would think OF flight, they merely
bOhHA itiN aAhAAtAS. anu dlA Oh them, dIl&r
eating A few dates and giving barley TO
their horses went to sleep
When the bold Provencal saw his enc
mics incable of watching him, he picked
up scimetar with his teeth, and then,
with the blade fixed between his knees,
cut the cords that dashed his wrists, and
found himself at liberty.
He at once seized a carbine and a dag
ger, provided himself with some dry dates
and small bag of barley, powder and
balls, girded on the scimetar, sprang on a
horse and pressed forward in the direction
where he fancied the French army must
be found. Impatient to gain the bivouac,
he so urged tue weary horse that the poor
beast fell dead, its sides torn with the
spurs, leaving the Frenchman alone in the
midst of the desert.
After wandering for some time amid
the sand with the desperate courage of an
escaping convict the soldier was forced to
stop. Night was closing in. Despite the
beauty of the eastern night he IA d not
strength sufficient to go on. Fortunately
he had reached "A height on the top of
which were palm trees, whose leaves, for
some time visible far off, had awakened in
his heart a hope of safety. He was so
weary that he lay down on a granite stone,
oddly shaped like a camp bed, and went TO
sleep, without taking the precaution to
protect himself in his slumber
He was awakened by the sun, whose pitt
less rays falling vertically upon the granite
made it intolerably hot.
Far away the horizon was marked off, as
on summer day at sea, by line of light
as bright and narrow as a aber's edge.
The Provencal was twenty-five years old.
He went down in the direction opposite
n thai which be- had faEpp he he had
climbed the hill the night before. Great
was his joy on discovering a kind of grotto,
naturally cut out of the enormous frag-
ments of granite that formed the bottom of
the hill. The remnants of a mat showed
that this retreat had once been inhabited
Then, few steps farther, he saw palm trees
with a load of dates.
At length, wearied by the heat, he fell
asleep beneath the red roof of his murky
grotto.
In the middle of the night he was dis
turbed 10y "A strange noise. He sat up. In
the profound silence he could hear a
creature breathing-a savage respiration
which resembled nothing human. Terror,
intensified by darkness, sill ence and the
fancies of one suddenly awakened, froze his
blood.
He felt the sharp contraction of his
scalp when, as the pupils of his eyes di-
lated, be saw in the shadow two faint and
yellow lights. At first he thought these
lights were some reflection of his eyeballs
but so1u, the clear brightness of the night
helping him to distinguish objects in the
grotto, he saw lying at two PAGES from
him an enormous beast.
Was it a lion, a tiger, a crocodileg The
Provencal was not sufficiently educated TO
know the species of his enemy, but his ter
assisted his Imagination. He bore the
cruel torture of listening, OF marking the
caprices Of this awful breathing, without
losing "A sound Of it or venturing to make
the slightest movement.
Presently the moon, now sinking lighted
up the den, and i'll the moon rays gradu-
ally shone out a panther's spotted skin.
The lion of Egypt was sleeping, curled
up like a great dog who is the peaceable
possesSor of a sumptuous kennel at a man
sion door; its eyes, which had been opened
for one moment. were now closed again.
It's face was turned toward the French
man.
\ thousand troubled thoughts passed
through the mind of the panther's prison
er. At first he thought of shooting it, but
there was not enough room between them
to adjust his gun; the barrel would have
reached beyond the animal. And what ii
he awoke it! This supposition made him
motionless. Listening in the silence to
:he beating of his heart, he cursed the loud
pulsatiOns, fearing to disturb the sleep
that gave him time to seek some means Of
safety. Twice he placed his hand upon
his scimetar with the intention of cutting
off the head of his enemy, but the difficulty
Of cutting through the short, strong fur
compelled him to abandon the idea. To