Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-01-22

ly struggling hard to appear unmoved.
"'My word,'" he murmured. "This
urchin talks of my word as though
he were a knight of the Round
Table !"
He stopped abruptly in front of his
prisoner and asked in severe tone,
"Your name ?"
"Victor Oury."
cage ?"
"Sixteen on the 18th of July next"
"Where does your mother live ?"
"At Belleville."
"What made you leave her to follow
the Commune
"The 80 sous chiefly; one must eat !!
Then the neighbors and my comrades
threatened to shoot me if I did not
march with them. They said was
tall enough to carry a musket. My
mother was afraid of them, and wept
and prayed for me to obey them"
"You have no father, then ?"
"He was killed."
"And where ?"
CAT Bourget, fighting for his coun-
try"
The commandant turned toward his
staff as though he would consult them
at glance. All seemed moved to in
terest and pity.
"Well, then it is understood" the
officer said, gravely, after a moments
reflection. "You can 60 and see your
mother. You have given me your
word of honor to be back again in an
hour. C'est bein. I shall know then
whether you are a man of character
or simply a cowardly boy. I give you
until evening. If you are not here by
8 o'clock l shall say that you are a
braggart, and care more for life than
honor. Allons! Quick march %
~ thank you, mon commandant.
At 8 o'clock I will be here"
"You are sure?"
"Certain."
"We shall see when the time comes" !"
+ The boy would have thrown his
arms about the officer in his wild JOY
and gratitude, but the latter repelled
him gently.
"No, not now," he said. "This
evening, if you return, will embrace
you-in front of the firing party" he
added, grimly. "Off with you !"
Victor ran like hare. The officers
smiled as they watched him disappear.
Twenty minutes later he knocked at
his mothers door, and the neighbor
who was tending her opened to him.
She started and exclaimed when she
saw him, for, like every one else, she
believed him dead. He would have
rushed to his mothers room, but the
woman stopped him.
$50 very quietly" she said in low
voice; "she is asleep. She has been
very ill since you went away, but she
is a little better now. The doctor said
yesterday that if she could sleep she
would soon get stronger; she must not
be awakened. Poor thing she will
be glad to see you, for she has asked
for YOU so often. When she was not
calling you she was praying the Bon
Dieu to preserve you and to restore
peace in the land. Helas! one would
say he had abandoned us, the Bon
Dieu, and let men do just as they
liked. 1t is awful ~
But Victor, impatient, though he
heard bis name called in faint voice.
He moved on tiptoe toward bis moth
er's bed. He had not been deceived
the sick woman's eyes were opened
wide.
"Victor! my boy" she cried, in her
thin, weak voice. Without word he
lay down beside her and her arms
closed around him hungrily.
And now the boy who had faced
death so impassively could do naught
but sob. Now, in his mothers arms,
he became a child once more, timid,
despairiDg.
The sick woman, who seemed to
gain strength from his presence, sought
in vain to console him.
"Why do you distress yourself so, my
child, my best beloved ?" she asked.
I"You shall never leave me again. We
will throw that hateful uniform away ;
1 never want to see it more. l will
make haste and get we'll l feel so
much stronger since you came. Soon
you will 20 to work again, and you
will grow up and marry some good
girl. The past will only look like a
bad dream then, and we will forget it
completely; completely dear"
Poor soul, how should she know that
her picture of bright future only
deepened her boys anguish ? She
was silent, telling herself that the best
way to dry tears is to let them flow
freely. She kissed him and let his
weary bead fall back on the pillow,
and then she gave herself up to dreams
of happier days in store for both OF
them.
Victor's sobs grew frequent and less
violent, and soon nothing could be
heard in the little room but the regu-
lar breathing of the mother and her
child. Ashamed of his weakness, the
boy forced himself into self-control, and
then he raised his head from the pill.
low, once more believing himself stron-