Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-09-07
HIS WORD OF HONOR.

T T = was only q boy. not yet SIX
~ teen, but they were going tc
u 4 shoot him, nevertheless.
The band Of insurgents to which he
belonged had been routed by the Army
Of Versailles. and. taken red-handed
with some ten Of his comrades, he had
been conducted to the Marie Of the
Eleventh ACCOMPLISHMENT.
Struck by his youthful appearance,
and also astoRishcd at the boys cool
ness In this hour Of extreme peril, the
commandant had ordered that the fatal
verdict should, 30 far as he was con-
cerned, be suspended for the moment.
and that he should be kept a prisoner
until his companions had met their fate
at the neighboring barricade.
Apparently quite calm and resigned,
his great eyes and his face-the pale
face Of a Partisan child-showed neith-
er emotion nor anxiety. He seemed to
watch all that was passing around him
as though they held 40 concern for him.
He heard the sinister report Of the
fusillade which hurled his companions
into eternity without moving q muscle;
his calm, 6xed gaze seemed to be look
ing into the great Afterwards" which
was soon to become the Present" to
him also. Perhaps he was thinking Of
his happy careless childhcod-he had
hardly outgrown II; perhaps Of his re-
latiOns and their sorrow when they
heard Of the chain of fatality which
had made him fatherless and had toss
ed him into the seething turmoil Of CIV
II war. and now demanded his life at
the hands Of fellow-cOuntrymen; and,
perhaps. he wondered why such thincs
were.
At the time war was declared he was
living happily with his father and
mother, honest working fOlk who had
apprenticed him to a printer; politics
never troubled that little household.
1t was not long, however, before the
Prussians had slain the head Of the
family. The privatIons Of the siege, the
long and weary waiting at the butch
ers' and bakers shops when the scanty
dole Of food was distributed In the rig
ors Of that terrible winter. had stretch
cd his mother on the bed Of suffering,
where she lny slowly dying.
One day wnen he had gone with 9th
ers to dig for potatoes in the FROST
bound plain Of st. Dents q Prussian
bullet broke his shoulder, and after
wards, driven partly by hunger, partly
by fear OF his companions threats, he
had enrolled himself In the Army Of the
Commune. Like many another, fear
and fear only had led him into and
kept him in the ranks; he had no heart
for a war Of brothers, and now that his
life was about to pay the penalty he
was glad that he could lay no mans
death to his charge. He was innocent
Of that, at any rate.
The things he had seen and suffered
during the few last months had given
him a dread Of life. He hated to think
Of leaving his mother In this terrible
mother whom he loved SO
dearly. who had always been 80 inex-
pressibly good to him; but he comfort
I'd himself with the thought that before
long she would come, too-she could not
have much more suffering to undergo,
she was 10 weak when he last saw her,
four days ago.
kiss me again, dear-again," she had
Iaid. for feel that may never see
you more"
"Ah." he thought, sadly. 'if they
would only trust him-wouid give him
only one hour of liberty-how he would
run to her and then come back and give |
himself up to the hands that hungered |
P0r hiS Hfn 10 u-ntrI1 civ arI
md he would keep II. Why not7 Save |