Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1895-06-14

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AmnA past their ears.
Their hoofs resounded loudly on the
hard frozen road. The two carriage
lanterns shone in the night like the
glowing eyes of some huge, prehistoric
monster.
The mad, furious course in the dark
ness had something strange about it,
something mysterious, sinister, and
all the more so, perhaps, that it was
taking place in the aimee terrible
the terrible year when the Germans
were in Alsace.
The carriage, like vessel in dis.
tress on raging sea, oscillated from
left to right and from right to left.
When the vehicle, which had been
flying down the slopes of Ottrot, raced
through the village, passing like an
express train the houses with their
little low roofs, on which the moon
cast silvery light, the good women,
suddenly frightened, made the sign
of the cross with trembling of the
knees and whispered prayer.
"Mon Dieu! What is going to be-
come of us?'
The children crouched terrified
against the knees Of the older persons.
Everywhere there was sense of de-
preston and evil presentmegt and-a
characteristic sign of general terror
the fires in the huge, white stoves
were allowed to sink low and go out,
for no one thought Of keeping them
alive.
The fact was the Prussians, for sew.
eral weeks past, had been cruslly raw.
aging the country.
The flying carriage contained some
German officers. who were the bearers
of secret orders to S.
"Fnster, faster," they cried, whip.
ping up the poor horses, which were
already breathing fire and smoke out
of their nostrils. The wretched
driver, terrified, obeyed mechanically.
"Tonnerre!" he growled, "my
horses will die when they reach their
sable if they do not break their necks
going round one Of these steep curves |"
And the strokes of the whip redoubled
alu thc uiAAS CouiSc pcCauo Stll more
reckless.
The trees seemed to fly past. Ma.
ture herself protested against the
wild, headloug Greer, for at this mo-
mcnt the moon hid her face behind q
cloud, as if she did not wish to be q
witness to the scene. And still they
flew onward.
X
That afternoon the enemy had taken
possession of the village of Ottrot,
and, rs their custom was, had installed
themselves in the peoples houses.
-Four superior officers were domi.
ciled with the Mayor. They sat there
in the middle OF his best drawing
room, talking loudly in their gutteral
jargon and smoking their long pipes
of porcelain while they dried their
boots at the hot fire blazing in the
CRATE.
Their unwilling host, O tall old man,
with white beard, served them with
drinks as graciously as he could. His
eye passed sadly from one to the
other, his venerable head shaking
melancholy. as if to say: "It is the
right OF the strongest, what can one
do against a hundred?"
Perhaps his mind was dwelling on
the past. Perhaps he was looking
forward to revenge Thinking, il
may be, OF the time when his country
men, by one of those spontaneous
movements that the French alone are
capable of, would be victorious and of.
fering mercy to these very officers,
his guests.
He raised his white head in ges.
ture of defiance and his eyes shot
fires. He seemed to have grown
twenty years younger, and this trans
figuration was evidence OF his tre-
mendous internal agitation.
He was recalled to the present by O
gentle knock at the door and almost
Immediately afterwards he saw in the
porch the tnl', powerful frame of Lux,
who was the foreman of the Mayors
servants and u modern Hercules. He
was agile as deer and strong as au
OK, and could break a sou between his
fingers as he would break an egg.
shell.
The neck of bull rose out of {
flannel shirt, carelessly fastened across
the throat by cotton necktie. HI
was man terrible in anger, but il
repose gentle as lamb and as docile.
"What is the matter?"
"There is this the matter: another
officer wants to quarter himself upon
us here. Shall l strangle him?"
These words coming from such lip'
made one shudder.
'Non, my old Lux, keep calm, tina
would do no good and would only