The Irish standard., 1898-02-05
5 A Hair-Breadth Escape. 5
BY CHARLES SE2vEY. &

as they are commonly styled, pupils,
OF the military college Of ST. Cyr was
CASTOR dc Langcas. Tie was the last
representative of ali ancient family in
brittany, whose traditional obstinacy
and impatcnce OF control he had in
heritcd to an extent which rendered
him more popular with his comrades
than with the authorities
Not TINT he was especially rcmarka-
bic for turbulence or insubordination,
OF that his infractions Of rules were
moro frequent than those of the major
ity of his fellows. On one point alone
he was intrac,able, and exercised all
his ingenuity in repeated attempts to
escape regulation which was inexpres-
sibly rcpugnant to him. Gifted by
nature with an abundance of luNuriant-
ly-curling hair, of which The was inordi-
nately vain, the prescribed necessity OF
having it cropped short was perpetual
grievance to him, and he looked anxious
ly forward to his second year at st.
Cyr, and his consequent emancipation
from the too close scrutiny to which
he had hitherto been periodically SUBJ
jectcd.
I'm two months" he said. cNultingly,
to one of his intimates, "my time there
will be up, and once named officer I
shall be free as air, and no longer
ashamed to show myself to. my Cousin
Louise. For you see" lie added, lifting
his cap, and displaying a thick growth
Of short curls carefully f!attcncd down,
II have still some hair LETT"
Castles in the air, however, are apt to
collapse; and Gaston's visionary prof.
Gets were, to say the least, premature.
A few mornings later, at the usual
hour of parade, the corps Of youngsters
nverc unexpectedly summoned to un-
dergo the inspection of the infantry
lieutenant, Bouchard, Il lynx-cyed mar.
tient, by no means favorably disposed
toward pupils destined for cavalry regi-
ments, whom he contcmptnously dcs-
ignated as "coxcombs." DE Langcais,
as the recognized leader Of the band,
was particularly obnoxious to him, and
his keen eyes twinklcd maliciously as
he stopped short before the young man
and examined him curously.
"Takc off your cap" lie said.
Castor obeycd with al inward >Gliver
Of apprehension.
II thought as much!" growlcd the
lieutenant. of that surernuous hair
has not disappeared by this time to-
morrow you will pass hcncxt fourdays
in the sale de police"
"1ou are in for it now" whispered
his sympathizng comradc, when the
terrible Bouchard had passed on.
''Not bit of it," replied dc Ian.
geais.
"Why, what on earth can you do?"
II don't exactly know; but intend to
put off the evil day as long as possibly
can"
Next morning, with the aid of
couple of brushes well soaked in water,
he succeeded in leve,ing the rcbellious
locks so as to deceive even practiccd
eye and appeared on parade with his
wonted jaunty air, although not n little
nervous as to the result of his coming
ordeal. Presently the lieutenant ar
rived with an ominous,y slow step, and,
pausing as before, exactly in front Of
CASTOR, repeated the order of the pre-.
vious day.
'Take off your capt."
For moment Bouchard seemed puz-
zled by the apparently smooth surface
of the pupils" head; but, bent on as
certaining the real state of the ease, he
unccrcmonionsly, lifted portion of
the 1lattencd hair with his forefinger,
thereby disclosing substratum of tiny
curis. Then, turning to the adiutant
who accompanied him, he briefly con-
signed the offender for four days to the
"salle dc police" and continued his
round Of inspection with Il sclf-satis-
fled grin.
During the last day of his enforced
scclusion CASTOR practically employed
lis leisure in decorating his knee, by a
judicious mixture of blue and green
paint, and with tolcrably exact imita-
ton Of bruise, which he showed to the
regimental doctor, pretending that the
confusion had been caused by his COM
ing in contact with post in the riding
school, Whether nc implicitly believed
the statement or not, tho good-natnrcd
medico put him ON tIhe sick list, and
thus "a hours We're gained. His reap
pearance on parade. however, became
at length matter Of necessity; and
This time his continued diSobcdcnce
entailcd on him weeks further con-
finemcnt, at the expiration OF which he
was again consigned to durancc vile for
an entire fortnight.
"This will never do" thought dc Lar
geais. "The earthcnwara Eot must, in
the long run, be smashed by the iron
one, and I shall have to give in at last.
| had better try old Grison once more"
Where,lpon. having previously, by
way OF precantion, added few artistic
touches to the pictorial establishment
ofhis knee, he limprd intothc consulting
room OF DR.. Grison. who was Fortunate
~ too much engaged with other pa
ticnts to bestcw more than very cur
sorry glance at the brrise; and not
knowing precisely what to make of the
case, gave the newcomer an order CT
admission to the infrmary, then under
The charge CT half Il dozen sisters Of
charity. presided over by lady superb
Or.
CASTOR had hardly exchanged his or
binary attire for tr1e regulation loose
grey coat and cotton night-cap when
Pitrot, the barber Of the establishment,
was announced. bearing an enormous
pair of scissors and laconic note,
which ran as follows:
1.-THE pupil do 1angcais' hair is 10 be cut
off Immediately TOECHAFD"