St. Landry democrat., 1892-07-02

A1SAS
like a wound.
cob! oh!'' said I to Pere Vidal,
who had Immediately dropped the
garment and started off at a rapid
pace with his head down, "What a
villainous SCARF
And, foreseeing a story, I added in
order to excite my companion to re-
late it:
Usually, captains Of Zouaves are
not shot in the back!'
But he did not seem to hear me; he
was muttering words and biting his
mustache.
Glow did that get there? 1t is far
from the battlefield of Melegnano to
the Boulevard de Grenelle! Yes, |
have 1.-THE crows who follow the
army, the robbers of the dead-they
brought it! But why did they bring
it there, SO near the Ecole Militaire.
where the others regiment is in bar
racks ? He must have passed there,
he must have recognized it. Oh! its
like ghost!'
Come, Pere Vidal, - said T, great
ly interested and taking his arm,
you are not going to continue talk
ing in enigmas, are you? Won't you
tell me what recollection that riddled
tunic recalls to you?'
Iverily believe that had it not been
for the two absinthes / should have
learned nothing, for at this request
Pere Vidal shot distr1stful, almost
frightened glance at me but sudden
ly, as if taking a great resolution, ne
said to me in a jerky voice: =.
"Well, yes. I'll tell you about it.
AS you are an educated and upright
young man, have confidence in you,
and, when I have finished, you shall
tell me in all frankness, with your
hand upon your heart, it you think me
excusable for having acted as did:
But where shall | commence? On!
in the first place / cannot give you
the others name, as he is still
living, but I will designate him by
the aobriquet we gave him in the reg
iment-La Soif-yes, we called MN
La Soft, and he had a right to his
nickname, being one Of those who
hang around the cantine and toss OIL
twelve pony glasses Of liquor at the
twelve strokes Of noon.
"He was sergeant Of tho second
squad of the Fourth Company, IN
which was quartering officer, and
marched beside me at the end OF the
file. He was a good soldier, a very
good soldier, but drunken, thieving
and loving squabbles in short, with
all the African habits. He was as
brave as a bayonet, with eyes as blue
and cold as steel in his tanned and
red bearded face, from which one
could see at once that he was not
easy to get along with.
"When I arrived at the department
Of the war battalions, La Soft had
lust finished his term of service.
He re-engaged, received the bounty
and ran off for three days, during
which he rolled through the Sums OF
Algiers with four or five drunkards
like himself, piled in a caleche and car
rying a tri-colored flag on which was
painted: This won't last always!'
He was brought back to the barracks
with his head split by saber stroke.
He had fought with some artillery
men at the house of Moor. La
Soft got we'll; he was sent to the
guard house for fifteen days and had
his stripes taken from him.
"This was the second time he had
lost them. Without his bad conduct,
La Soft. who came of a respectable
family and had received some educa-
ton, would long before have been a
commissioned officer.
$50, after the affair at the Moor
house they took away his stripes, but
eighteen months afterward, when L
was promoted to the grade of quarter
ing sergeant, he had got them back
again, thanks to the indulgence OF
the captain, an old African, who had
seen him fight il kabylie.
But the old captain was made
chief of battalion and they sent us a
captain % years of age, a COrsican
named Gentle, from the Ecole Mill
taire, cold fellow, ambitious and
full Of merit. He was very exacting
in the service and hard toword the
men, giving one eight days in the
guard house for stain OF rust on the
gun or a button too few on the gal
tiers. Beside, never having before
served in Algeria, he would suffer
neither Notification nor even the
slightest lack of discipline.
"From the first Captain Gentle
took dislike to La Soft, which was
reciprocated, as could not fail to be
the case. The first time that the ser
geant did not answer to the evening
roll-call he got eight days in the guard
house, and the first time he was drunk
he received fifteen day. When the
captain "a dark little fellow as
straight as an arrow and with mus
tache like the hair of an angry cat
hurled the punishment into his face,
adding in sharp tone: L know
you and will take you down, my man ,
La Soft answered not q word and
went off with o tranquil step in the
direction of the guard house, but the
captain would have cooled little,
perhaps, all the same, had he seen the
fit Of rage which Redeemed the SER
geant's face as soon as he had turned
his head and the flash of fury which
shot from his terrible blue eyes.
about this time the Emperor de-
clared war against the Austrians and
we embarked for Italy. The cam
paign, however, has nothing to do
with this story, SO [ will come to the
point. On the eve of the battle of
Melegnano where left my arm,you
knOW-our battalion encamped in the
midst If small village, and before
breaking the ranks the captain made
us little speech-and he was right
to remind us that we were in friend
ly country, that we were on our honor
to behave well, and that whoever
caused the slightest annoyance to an
inhabitant would be suitably pun
ished. While he was speaking, La
Soft, who was somewhat unsteadily
leaning upon his gun beside me-he
had drunk since morning half the
contents of the cantiniere's keg-
slightly shrugged his shoulders, but,
fortunately, the captain did not see it.
In the middle of the night awoke
with a start. I sprang from the bun
die of straw upon which I had been
sleeping in farm yard and saw in