Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-06-07
KAD0UR AND KATEL.


Kadour-ben-Cherifa, sergeant major in
native regiment Of tirailleurs, was al
most dying the evening they carried him
to Rippert's sawmill on the Sauerbach,
and for five long weeks, racked by the
pain Of his wounds and burning with
fever, he lived as though In q dream.
At times he thought himself still in the
thick of battle, shouting and leaping
through the faxfelds of Wissembourg,
or, again, he was away off in Algeria, in
the house of his father, the caid Of the
Matmatas.
At last one day he opened his eyes and
became vaguely conscious of bright,
calm, white curtained room, with green
branches swaying outside its windows in
the soft, tempered sunshine, and near his
bed silent little sister of charity, but
little sister without beads or silver cross
or blue veil; only two heavy braids she
had, falling down over a velvet bodice.
From time to time some one would call
out, ''Katell Katelp and the girl would
go away on tiptoe, and the wounded boy
could hear in the distance a sonorous
young voice, as refreshing to listen to as
the brook running under the sawmill's
windows.
Kadour-b -ben-Cherifa has been i'll long
time, but the Ripperts have taken such
good care Of him that his wounds are
healed, and they have hidden him so well
that the Prussians have not found him
to send him to die of cold in the Mayence
prisons. Now he commences to talk, to
show his white teeth and to take few
steps around the room, letting one Of his
sleeves-the one with wide, gaping
hole in the midst of its embroideries-
fall empty over well dressed and ban
daged but still impotent arm. Every day
Katel carries wicker chair down into
the little sawmill garden for the conva-
lescent and finds for him the sunniest
corner, along the wall, where the grapes
ripen quickest, and Kadour, who, being
caid's son, was educated at the Arabian
college in Algiers, thanks her in some
what barbarous French, we'll sprinkled
with bono bezeffs and macach bonos.
Without realizing it, the young Arab
is under q spell. This easy gayety Of a
Frankish girl, whose life is as free as a
birds, without enveloping wells out Of
doors or barred windows at home, aston
ishes and enchants him. So different
from this is the cloistered life of the
women of his land - the little white
masked, musk perfumed Moorish wom-
en-. Katel, on her side, finds Kadour a
trif1e too black, but he seems so good, SO
brave, and he does so detest the Prus-
siansl One thing only troubles her. Off
there in that Algeria of Africa men have
the right to marry several wives. Katel
cannot understand that at all, so when
the Algerian, to tease her, says in his
jargon: "Kadour marry soon. He take
four wives--fourI' Katel becomes very
angry.
"Oh, what wicked Kadourl What d
heathen!"
Then the Arab laughs hearty boys
laugh, but suddenly he becomes serious
again and is mute before the young girl
, opening upon her eyes SO wide-so wide
!, you would thing he wished to carry hel
, away in their gaze.
1t was thus that the loves of Kadoul
and Katel commenced.
Now that he is we'll, Kadour has re
turned to his father, and you can imag
= inc if there has been merrymaking il
) his honor in the land of the Matmatas
, The reed flutes and little Arab drum
. have played their prettiest airs to receive
. him. As the old caid, who was sitting
before his door, saw in the distance
coming down the cactus alley this be
. loved son whom he thought dead, h
shook under his woolen burnoose a
!, though with chill. For whole emontl
y there was an uninterrupted series of diff
: fas, of fantasias, in the tribe. The caid
and agas of the neighborhood disputed
with each other the honor of having Ka
dour-ben-C -Cherifa for their guest, and ev
cry evening In the Moorish cafes the,
would make him tell them over and owe
4 again of the great battles in which b
q had taken part.
" But all these honors, all this feasting
: do not make Kadour the happier. Il
- >, the paternal abode, surrounded thougl
:. he be by all the associations Of his boy
y y hood-his horses, his dogs, his guns
" - there is something always lacking-Ka
i" tells CHEEKY words and pleasant laughter
The perpetual chatter of the Arabial
y women, which used to cause his heart t.
- beat SO quickly, now wearies and annoy
p him. He no longer admires headdresse
y. % of coins nor wide trousers Of rose col
- ored satin. Talk to him rather of lon
:" braids falling down, without pearls o
:. gauze OF flowers, only intermingled wit
u threads of gold from the setting sun in
little Alsatian garden.
But if Kadour would2 In the mex
O. tribe to his there are beautiful blac
,t eyes watching him from behind tn
# barred windows of the aga's dwellin
"a beautiful eyes SO elongated with kol
that their every glance is an indolent CT
- ress. But Kadour no longer cares fc
- eyes like that. What he dreams Of, wha
~ 81 he longs for, is Katels kind look, whic
- used to make the tour of his room 6
- quickly to see that nothing was lackin
: for his comfort and in which the life ws
flnmnIovinn pFnenvvafS