Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1895-11-26
THE RED FIFER.

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Well ilttle 1lfer, what are you DOING
sheres' cried sergeant La hamee, VINO was
gong 10 5he helghporlng village 10 seek
a pork roast Ior the colonels $ "reveiilon.
Ihis IS 10, monsieur sergeant repned
the ilttle Ilor' t1ls majesty the klng Do
ing IN urgeht need OF money ana wishing
10 maze pfesent OF prand new castie 70
ms beile anne IL mas peen aecloeo py
the couro u AFFAIRS c,li'S ohe Iesliheho liu-
slcians anu solulers snall noo touch cehe
OF thelr pay ohls ihohth. 20 as grahoInoCh-
er Is very poor anu nave not a sou, nave
come OUT 10 DreaN the ice III 1he poha anu
see II can eaton mess OF frogs 1or am
ner.n
Don't count on that, said La Ramee.
The frogs sleep In winter ~
know that, replied the little 1ter,
"but the sky is so blue today ! thought
perhaps the sun would awaken them.
So as Sergeant La Rance passed on,
grumbllng, the little fellow set to work
again trying to break the ice
lie proceeded In his frog fishery with as
much ardor as he gave to his warlike mu-
SIC When the ice was broken, the hole
cleared OF rubbish and clear round spot
OF water shone forth ne lmproVlsed nsh-
ing Jackie with olt OF unread ana Ohe
long thorn from a rosenush. All was
ready now e4cepc Che palo. ihao woulu
not usually nave caused our hsner inc leas0
anxiety. A scarlet poppy wouid nave serV-
ed, put poppies 90 not nourish unoer ths
snow, ana ne looked IN vain ror plt OF
RED 10 attract the frogs
lie was apouS TO turn away IN dlsgus1
when suddenly Irog showeu lts heao
above the water. Sleepliy, lazliy ne puo
MS fore legs IN tne oank' opened ms goloen
eyes one after the other, pilnkeo at tne
sum- then, sweiiihg out ms Whlte ohroaI,
gave utterance to aquick' hoarse 'croak'
TO winch, down IN tne water unoef the lce
througn tne grea5 oody OF the pond' r.
sponaea at once o1ner croaks lro1h iar
ana near
Ihat must pe the motner OF the Irogs'
said the little nier TO himself. He hao
never seen such Dig frog. what achance,
and what a shame II ne let MN escape.
suddenly ne had an lnsplratlon. why
not use for bait piece OF the req pei9
onaO nous up my oreeonest ~ AZ - :,, reu
o,uiinnco cio'ii anu surrey 'iio iros' WIZ
pi.e'
NO sooner SAID than done, ana soon Uhe
piece Oh red flannel danced over Uhe cieal
water, lit up by Joyous sunbeam rlghu
over the frogs nose. ne plt; the hsnel
the frog plunged lnto the Water' carrying
the bait with him: fortunately there was
more One could Try again. Inc 1rog
reappeared at the SURFACE, DIG again. Again
the !lne proKe, ana the second piece Joiheo
the nrst. -
"Bahr thought the nsner. What
harm to take piece OF the pack OF my
trousersv NO one Will looK unoer ene
back OF my coat. Drawing out ms KniIe'
ne cut out little piece OF cloth that, alas,
the frog carried on again as tne otners'
and still another ana announcer tili TO MS
CONSERVATION he beheld the tail OF MS shlft
through the enormous mole that ne hao
made llttle by LITTLE. y,
sergeant La hamee, returning Win q
loao OF Vlctuais, pehelo 1he 1lcCie Aier sic-
Ting down on tine grounu weeping piGteriy.
"What Is the matter! a soldier weep
ing!
For reply the little fifer rose and turn
ed his back to the sergeant.
"a bad business, y murmured old LA
Rance after looking long and carefully at
the disaster. "Abuse OF goods, equipment
or clothing furnished by the governmcnt
Is a case for court martial" Then having
pronounced these words he walked OIL pull
ling his mustache.
The little ffer wept still harder. lie be-
held himself already in arrest as ne passed
the bridge, carried off to dark dungeon
between two gendarmes, who should be his
judges. He tried in vain to move them,
saying: 1T was not for myself. 1t was to
provide dish for my poor old grandmoth-
er, who has nothing for supper" Tho
military code was inflexible. They dis
graced him, broke his life, his little sword
led him off In disgrace to place he had
but two minutes before marched bravely
past at the head Of the soldiers.
Then, thinking of his grandmother, stiff
with cold, he lost his consciousness, and
wishing to die at once drew his body pain
fully over the frozen ground toward the
pond Of black water where already the
stars were reflected
In what marvellous country did the
little flfer find himself! Softly the brill
liant light was reflected into the icy vaults.
Long grass covered with crystal rose in
fine columns and mingled with the MOSES
on the borders like fine silvery boards,
forming thousand promenades and the
most magnificent architecture he had ever
seen. To the right and left along the
rocks in little grottoes-the homes of the.
water rats, and crevasses that form under
the water the valleys of the subterranean
world-slept innumerable frogs Of all