The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-01-08
A STRANGE SIGHT.
"Corporalv


10 tell
wait minute till put my booes on I"
Tssreupoc :he corporal closed the win
low on the ground floor at which Picar-
dan, the policeman, had Knocked, and To-
appeared on the pavement In 'front.' OF the
barracks, no longer in nightcap. but en-
compassed By shoulder belt, with three
,ornered bat on his head
The two went of together In silence.
They had passed the last houses, when
Roquevaire had become nothing bus .
black mass, overtowered by the square
clock tower Of the village clock, against
the deep blue Of the starry sky.
A dull sound. like that OF q muf.ed
drum, came across from the other side OF
the hill It ceased and recommenced al
regular intervals, becoming more and moro
distinct and stronger as the policeman
and the soldier mounted the Hill.
They had left the high road and were
making their way across an uncultivasea
piece of ground, guided by the sound.
Look cut" said the corporal The
devils work is beginning
And indeed down among the olive trees
strange things were going on.
Among the tree trunks stepped into the
vague light of the stars four men-or rath-
er four phantoms-and moved along in
single file Suddenly, as II obeying word
OF command, the procession stopped.
The first phantom, the bearer Of bulls
eye lantern, threw beam of light from
the right TO the left slowly and In a circle.
At the same time the second beat bis
drum. The third, balancing n utensil
which aN3e 10 he N L..
shower of liquid diamonds fall on thu
ground, while the fourth, who was armed
with a basket, fell on mis- knees.
After completing this incarnation every
thing sank back into silence and darkness
till another roll of the drum and another
beam Of the light told that the four strange
things had moved farther on in the plain
What do you think of it, corporal'"
"We must lie down on our faces Ike
sportsnen and wait and sec
Had the phantoms heard the voices of the
soldier and the policeman. Had they seen
the shadows ON the groundp In less time
than 1t takes to ask these questions the
drum had been silenced, the light vanish
ed, and when the two men arrived on the
spot they found nothing but n number Of
footmarks about round damp place.
The corporal slept no more that night,
and his wife was terrified. Were they
phantoms' No. Soldiers do not believe
In phantomo.
Treasure seekers, perchance But the
drum and tho watering can were discon-
certing
Were they sorcerers, them Supposins
they were. IL they were. everything could
be explained.
Then he reflected that, after ALL tho
mystery might be solved by the aid of .
little diplomacy. The footpath, bordcred
by crumbl.Eg stone walls, by means Of
which the rovers must have fed, aimee
there was no other escape, led straight to
the Mas de lAgasse. This Mas do Agasss
belonged to NJ. Baculas, o jolly fellow,
who was fond of playing joke on the po-
lice, and OF whom the police kept their
eye.
NEXT day-it was fine Sunday-the
corporal, newly shaven and very smart
In his best uniform, turned toward the
Mas de gasse. The chimney was smok-
ing.
One rapid glance into the interior Of the
hut through the open door told him every
thing, for there no saw, hung up against
the wall like q trophy, q large basket, q
watering can, bullseye lantern. To say
nothing Of the drum covered with towel
The criminals, however, showed no con-
sternation at all On the contrary, they
shouted:
''Hellol Is that the corporal' How are
you, corporal Come In, corporal, unless
you are afraid Of a bottle OF new wine"
The corporal entered, determined TO OBJ
serve men and matterx
Three saucepans were bubbling under
A.
fully watched the red embers The fourth,
Baculas himself, with bare arms and the
perspiration standing In beads on his forc-
head, was crushing the sacred aioli In the
corner
Suddenly and with n berculean gesture,
he put down the mortar, planted the wood
en- pestle IN the midst on tho odorouA
wabbllng mass, and cried out: Every
man 20 the table. The aioli il readyl''
what Is the matter, corporal, You
seem preoocupied. You eat with one eys
on your plate and tho other on the lantern
and the drum, and only last night you
and that brigsn6 Picardan tracked our
steps on the Font-Seohe hill And when
We have revealed all things TO you, cor
pOral, swear TO us that you will NOS be-
tray US"
The corporal WAS alone, without kis
sword He swore.
Now, let me tell you, corporal, BAcu-
las began In a voice Of thunder, that the
sons OF the Provence, like their foresathers
the Rornans-have always roasted snailG
Especially Is this the cas-. az Roquevairs
for nowhere else il the snail held in such
high estimation. Unfortunately the snail
Is capricious beast, choosing its own
hours. II never shows ia horns exceps
after the rain. Now, think Of cur misery
when there is no raini
Meanwhile" Baculss went on, there
Il a why by means Of which tho snail esa
be induced 70 leave Us underground for
tress and take . walk On the surface Of ths
soil But 4. required eli the native ings-
nuity Of TIRE PrOyencxl In general. and the
ROqUevairois Ia particular. 90 End cat this
way. II would be no Use II you tried. COR
poral, for you are not PrOvsncal The
is the way Ia which the Proven
cal organizes his nocturnal snAu sxpncs-
tons:
-Four men 20 together, walking hshtnA
zach other with q uniform step, - roo
saw us walk Las; night The frst carries
. hEllseye lantern, the second q drum, the
bird watering can and the fourth
wicker basket. Thus ne lose Ourselves
s-oong the olive trees
when we come 20 . propi.ious spoA
,be man with the lantern throws The light
about. The drummer beats rnussei march,
and he with the watering can begins 20
water the ground Tbs foolish snail,
thinking thA; tbs lantern is . aash OF
lightning and tie sound Of The drum
peal q thunder, crsvls Gu; Of his strong
MID Ard "a ffer CNIfca-e4v dstfxs-~l srso