The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-01-21
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 conscript, Claude Latapie, as SEN
try, on an eminence, under shelter of a
cottage, which had been half 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 a fantastic specter,
and he tremblingly recalled the ghostly
legends heard in his childhood, the worn-
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 pierre
ing its blackness, and the bleak north
wind prolonged the tremulous signs 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 his battling and hard
ship, to be long away, that he half for
got his duty of keeping watch.
Suddenly moaning sound arose IN the
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 on
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
strangling 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 heap of rub
bish and held down by the fragments of
the shattered roof the dark outline of
human form.
A bit of candle end CHANGED to be ~
ing near and Claude lighted this and
crept softly toward the corner; in the
dim light he discovered soldier, one Of
the enemy, who had evidently been
struck down by the falling joists, for
beam lay across his chest. The young
Frenchman uttered an exclamation ex
pressing fierce hate, and drew his bayo-
net threateningly; the other man looked
at him with haggard eyes. Claude was
ashamed and drew back; it was indeed
an enemy, but wounded one, and the
conscript lowered his musket, which
struck the frozen ground with a sharp,
clanking sound.
ssLet him de-" he muttered; but a
choking voice exclaimed imploringly:
'sDrink!'
ssYou want drink? Very likely" re-
tcrted the young trooper, laying his
hand on the canteen, which, before TAX
ing his place as sentry, he had filed with
warm coffee, generously seasoned with
brandy. every proper for me to warm
an enemy's stomach at the expense of
Frenchman's!'
He laughed sneeringly, and as if in de-
fance of the 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 off 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, OF not drop shall you
have. The creature thinks I 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 Claudes words, but his feverish
thirst made him change his mind. He
opened his mouth and the other man
poured into it stream Of warm coffee
from the canteen, then, standing up,
tossed off a bumper as his own share and
rushed out of the cabin in sudden terror
1T 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 the wounded
man was getting on and partly to shield
himself from the cutting wind which
dashed 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 filed 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 a
prisoner. Sounds of hushed footsteps,
rendered almost inaudible by the deep
snow, now approached, and body of
men came to halt. Their captain,
Bavarian, ordered the prisoner into the