Arizona republican., 1892-01-08
THE FRENCH SENTRY.

The enemy had retreated at last, leav- ing the French masters of the position. The sergeant had gone away, after plac- ing conscrpt, Claude Latapie, as sen try, on an eminence, under shelter of a cottage, which had been halt demol- ished by the grapeshot,
 Night was coming on, and in the deep- ening gloom the young soldier looked half fearfully at the wintry landscape. Each object was huge, weird silhou- cite, which his simple peasant fancy transformed into fantastic specter, and he tremblingly recalled the ghostly legends heard in his childhood, the wom- en crossing themselves, the men shud- dering and all drawing nearer the glow ing hearth, while the wind howled mournfully. Above him the sky grew more and more opaque, not star pierc- ing its blackness, and the bleak north wind prolonged the tremulous -sighs of the branches, as they softly rustled against each other.
 The sentry clasped his musket firmly and stood motionless, paralyzed with vague terror and almost numb with cold. His thoughts were so busy with the memory of his home and of days which seemed, after all bis battling and hard ship, to be long away, that he half tor got his duty of keeping watch.
 Suddenly n moaning sound arose in tn. darkness near him, Startled from his reverie, Claude shook himself, cooked his gun and looked about him anxiously with eye and ear and every muscle Oil the alert, remembering that his com. rades were asleep and that they trusted to him to awaken them in case of danger. The means continued with a sound of stranghng like death rattle; then a faint, hoarse cry of agony arose from the ruined walls of the house. Claude peered in at the doorway, struck a match and saw lying in corner on a heap of rub bish and held down by the fragments of the shattered roof the dark outline of a human form
 A bit of candle end chanced to be ly- ing near and Claude lighted this and crept softly toward the corner; in the dim light he discovered a soldier, one of the enemy, who had evidently been struck down by the falling joists, for a beam lay across his chest. The young Frenchman uttered an exclamation ex- pressing fierce hate, and drew his bayo- net threateuingly; the other man looked at him with haggard eyes. Claude was ashamed and drew back; it was indeed an enemy, but a wounded one, and the conscript lowered his musket, which struck the frozen ground with a sharp, clanking sound.
 "Let him die" he muttered; but a choking voice exclaimed imploringly;
 "Drinkl"
 You want drink? Very likely" re- tcrted the young trooper, laying his hand on the cauteen, which, before talk ing his place as sentry, he had filled with warm coffee, generously seasoned with brandy. "Very proper for me to warm an enemy's stomach at the expense of Grenchman'sp
 He laughed sneeringly, and as if in de- fance of tse wounded mans entreaty opened the canteen and put it to his own lips. But the first drop seemed to choke him; after all, this wretched German was fellow man! Claude leaned his gun against the wall, stopped over the suf- ferer, lifted of the heavy beam and then, kneeling down, held the canteen over the gasping mouth. The other man raised his hands eagerly to grasp the treasure.
 "None of that" cried Claude put down your paws, or not drop shall you have. The creature thinks l would be willing to drink after his beery lipsr'
 The wounded man understood, for he had lived in France before the war, and made movement as if to turn away from the look of disgust which accom- panied Claude's words, but his feverish thirst made him change his mind. He opened his mouth and the other man poured into it a stream of warm coffee from the canteen, then, standing up, tossed off bumper as his own share and rushed out of the cabin in sudden terror at the thought of having deserted his post.
 "That was hard tug" said Claude, between his teeth.
 At the end of half an hour, partly for the purpose of learning how tho wounded man was getting on and partly to shield himself from the cutting wind which lashed his face, the young sentry again entered the cottage.
 The poor German, still tortured with fever, stretched out his hand for the can teen, and filled with pity, Claude Lata- pie forgot his former repugnance, hur- riedly detached the gourd from his belt and handed it to the sufferer. As he went out again four armed men stood before him, and before he had time to give the alarm he was disarmed and prisoner. Sounds of hushed footsteps, rendered almost inaudible by the deep snow, now approached, and body of men came to halt. Their captain, a Bavarian, ordered the prisoner into the