The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-07-08
A TALE OF ALSACE.

pace. The horses, unusually excited by
the white wine that had been poured
over their oats, dashed through the air
which whistled past their ears. Their
hoofs resounded loudly on the hard fro
zen road. The two carriage lanterns
shone in the night like the glowing eyes
Of some huge, prehistoric monster.
This 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 a vessel in distress
on a raging sea, oscillated from left 10
right and from right to left.
When the vehicle, which had been fly
ing down the slopes of Ottrot, raced
through the village, passing like an ex-
press train the houses with their little
low roofs on which the moon cast a sill
very light, the good women, suddenly
frightened, made the sign of the cross
with a trembling of the knees and a
whispered prayer.
Mon Dieul What is going to become
Of us?"
The children crouched, terrified,
against the knee Of the older persons.
Everywhere there was a sense of depres-
sion and evil presentiment and-a char
acteristic sign Of general terror-the
fires in the huge, white stoves were al
lowed to sink low and go out, for no
one thought of keeping them alive.
The fact was the Prussians for several
weeks past had been cruelty ravaging
the country.
The flying carriage contained some
German officers who were the bearers of
secret orders to S.
Faster. faster" they cried, whip
ping up the poor horses, which were al
ready breathing fire and smoke out Of
their nostrils. The wretched driver, ter
rified, obeyed mechanically.
"Tonnerre!' he growled, my horses
will die when they reach their stable if
they do not break their necks going
round one Of these steep ~curvesr' And
the strokes of the whip redoubled, and
the dizzy course became still more reck-
less.
The trees seemed to fly past. Nature
herself protested against the wild, head
long career, for at this moment the
moon hid her face behind a cloud, as if
she did not wish to be a witness to the
scene. And still they flew onward.
y
That afternoon the enemy had taken
possession Of the village Of Ottrot, and,
as their custom was, had installed them
selves in the peoples houses.
-Four superior officers were domiciled
with the mayor. They sat there in the
middle Of his best drawing room, talk
ing 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, a tall old man,
with a white beard, served them with
drinks as graciously as he could. His
eye passed sadly from one to the other,
his venerable head shaking melanchol-
lily, as if to say: 1T 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, it may be, of the
time when his cOuntrymen, by one of
those spontaneous movements that the
French alone are capable of. would be
victorious and Offering mercy to these
very officers, his guests.
He ra' d his white head in a gesture
OF defiance, and his eyes shot fire. He
seemed to have grown 20 years younger,
and this TRANSPORTATION was evidence of
his tremendous internal agitation.
He was recalled to the present by a
gentle knock at the door, and almost
Immediately afterward he saw in the
porch the tall, powerful frame of Lux,
who was the foreman Of the mayors
servants and a modern Hercules. He
was agile as q deer and strong as an OK
and could break a sou between his fin
gers as he would break an eggshelL
The neck of a bull rose out of n fan
mel shirt, carelessly fastened across the
throat by a cotton necktie. He was a
man terrible in anger, but in rcpcse
gentle as a lamb and as docile.
What is the NATTER"
There is this the matter: Another
officer wants to quarter himself upon US
here. Shall l strangle him."
These words coming from such lips
made one shudder.
Non, my old Lux, keep calm. That
would do no good and would only bring
worse upon Us. Let him in. He proba-
bly, wishes to speak with his colleagues. -
Lux did as his master told him, much
against his inclination. 1t would have
given him such IA huge amount Of pleas
ure to twist one Of those German nccks
with his great sinewy fingers.
The new arrival burst into the draw
ing room. The four Prussian officers Ut
tered cries CT surprise.
They rose at once in u body and salut-