Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-06-29
THE TWO MARAUEERS,
ADAPTED Bv ISABEL sMITHsoN FROM THE
FRENCH OF EDMOND THERY.

A revolt beng expected in the neigh
borhood of Tiaret, the Governor Gen
erai of Algeria, sent a company of
foot-soldlers and artillerymen to the
town. The little troop arrived at
U-Bou-ZiZi at noon and pitched their
tens, intending to stay there forty
eight hours. The horses were IN
harnessed, and an Arab farmer was
called upon to furnish fodder. The men
went to the barn, and while rolling out
the trusses of hay, they glanced into
the vegetable garden where the water
melons Law, large and ripe. One of
the men, a tall fellow with black hair
and long moustacbe, looked SO often
and so longily at the tempting fruit
that the officer in command remarked
t, and said:
"Artilleryman Corniflard, if you will
attend to your work instead of eying
those melons, you will not get the
,olic."
The Marseillais bowed his head and
seemed to be absorbed IN tying up the
hay, but his brain was in reality busy
with plans for capturing one of those
delicious melons.
When the horses were munching
their fodder, the Commsndant gave the
order to the bugler, and at sound of
the welcome call the soldiers rushed to
mess. 1t was served in the open air,
and the scene was a curious one. One
man complained of the small size of
his portion; another, not finding
enough vegetables in his bowl, tried
to distract the attention of his neigh
Dor IN order to purloin some from
him; one grumbled that the soup was
too salt; the next man called the cook
a thief, and so on, all the remarks be
ing seasoned with those forcible ep-
ithets so often heard from the lips of
French trooper, especially in the army
Of frica.
Two artillerymen, bedfellows and
chums, sat leaning againt the same tree
eating their dinner in silence. One
had the black hair, bright eyes and
bronze hued skin of the Children of
the Desert; the other was Corniflard,
the lover of watermelons. When they
had finished their meal, and the smoke
from their pipes was rising in white
curls, the Frenchman broke the ST.
'ence, saying:
"Do you like watermelon, Sidi?"
NO." replied the Arab dryly, and
the other, knowing his comrades
weakness changed his mode of attack
by saying:
What do you think of the brandy
they give us?"
There was no reply in words, but a
smacking of the lips from the laconic
Arab told Corniflard that his shot had
taken effect, and after a pause he said
slowly:
Don't You think, my friend, that a
quart of that, is worth more than a
slice of watermelon?"
"You need my help" said the acute
native.
''What would you give to have my
ration of brandy every morning?"
asked the MarseIllais, aud his com
rade's eyes glistened with eagerness.
"You will ask too much" he said.
s'No indeed" returned the other,
| ''if YOU want to drink my brandy
every day until we reach Tiaret, you
have only to go with ne tonight to the
watermelon field which we saw this
morning"
There was pause, but Sidi alas!
had often during his last five years
service in the French army forgotten
the verses in the Koran forbidding
| drunkenness.
''That will be four good rations
earned in half an hour" urged the willy
Marseill ais, and then S1di's passion for
strong drink carried the day against
the fear of punishment, as well as the
Prophets prohibition, and he nodded
his head in token of assent.
The French camp was plunged In
darkness. and dead silence reigned
where a few hours before there had
been so much animation. Nothing was
moving except the sentinels who
marched with their guns ready, their
eyes fixed on the blackness round
them, their ears on the alert.
Two dark figures came out of tent
and glided toward the sentry's Gordon.
| Hidden by the tall bushes which sur
rounded the camp, they waited until
| the sentiners back was turned and
then darted away, hurrying, silently
| through the darkness, and feeling no
| fear at the sound of the wild beasts
which roamed in the woods. AT last
| they reached the farm. 1t was sur
rounded by wall and the gates were
| locked, but in two bounds the Maraud-
ers were on top, and after assuring
| themselves that nither the owner nor
his dog was on the watch, they drop
, ped into the garden, and with wolf
| like tread turned towards the water
| melons.
Cornillard, who was a good Judge,
| tapped on the rind of several melons
to test their ripeness, and was about to
| cut off a fine large one, when his COM
rade suddenly raised his head and
whispered,
"Listenr'
The cry of an owl was heard at a
! short distance.
"That is nothing said the French
man carelessly, but at the same instant
the mournful sound was echoed from
within the farm.
"The Jakoubias are coming" MUIR
INJURED Sidi, and even as he spoke the
call was repeated close by, AMI the two
intruders had barely time to hide
| themselves in a hay-rick, when the
gate was thrown open. Six tall Arabs
! of mountain-tri1e entered, each one
clad in long white burnous, and with
| hem was the proprietor of the farm.
They sat down on the ground in q
circle at only few PAGES from the
| hay-rick, crossed their hands on their
breasts, and then, having invoked
Allah and Mahomet, began discus
sion to which Sidi, who understood
their language. listened snxlously. The
farmer had sent information of the ar
rival of a French column at O-Bow-
Zizi to the chiefs of the Jakoubias
Ah hinsurrection was already planned,
but in spite of the assurances of sue
oess-which they held out to their CO.
reiigionists, these chiefs remembered