The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1899-02-07
THE CHILD SPY

VI diisy pd4S dhu tulus VINO u1lBn1 nave
been 10 years old, perhaps Is; one can
never tell the age of these children.
His mother was dead; his father, an old
soldier, patrolled q square in the
neighborhood of the Temple. Babies,
nurses, old women, all those helpless
persons who ran the risk of being
trampled On in the crowded streets,
knew Pere Stenne, and loved him, too.
They knew that that fierce mustache,
the terror Of dogs and piciepockets, con-
cealed lips that could smile, and that to
provoke that smile one had only to say:
How is your little boy to-day7"
And how he loved that little boy,
How proud he was when in the evening
the little fellow came to join him and
the two made the rounds together,
greeting everyone they met.
With the siege, everything was
changed. Pere Stenne's square was
closed to the public. He was com
PEELED to keep constantlookout, with
out bis pipe or his son. When he spoke
of the Prussians his mustache was a
sight to see. Littlc Stenne did not find
the new life SO disagreeablc, however
siege! That meant fun for gamins.
No school, no duties; vacation all the
time, and the streets as lively as on
gala days. The boy stayed cut Of doors,
running about until night. He fol-
lowed the detachnents of troops to
the Notifications, choosing those which
had good music; he was very particu-
lar on that point At other times he
watched them at their drill.
The most interesting of all, though,
were the games OF chance the Breton
troops made popular at this time.
When little Stenne vas not at the ram
parts or at the shops. you would be
sure to find him watching crowd play
galoche at the Place du Chateau d Eau.
He never played it; it took too much
money. lie contcnted himself with
wntching the others, and with such ex-
.pressionl One in particular, great
fellow with blue coat, who staked
only 1oo-sou pieces. excited his admira-
ton.
One day, as little Stenne wac stoop-
ing down to pick up piece which had
rolled under his feet, the fellow said, in
low voice:
That makes you squint, hey? Well.
il you want me TO, will tell you where
TO get plenty of them"
The offer was accepted, and, leading
Stenne aside, be asked the boy to go
with him to sell French newspapers to
the Prussians, adding that they could
make 30 francs trip. Stsnne indiR-
Eant.y refused, and for three DAYS he
remained away from the place. Three
dreadful days: he could neither eat nor
sleep. At night he seemed to see The.
pile Of galoches at the foot OF his bed.
and the 1eo-sou pieces cleaning in the
faint light. The temptation proved too
strong. The fourth day he returned
TO the gaming place, saw the big fel-
low, and agreed TO go with him.
They etout one snowy morning with
sacks on their shoulders, and the pa
pers hidden under their jackets. When
they reached the Flanders gate il was
scarcely daylight. The large boy took
little Stenne's hand. and, approaching
the guard, who had red nose and a
kindly manner, he said, in a whining
tone: PLEASE let us pass, kind sir.
Cur mother is sick and our father is
dead. We are going TO see If we can
find some potatoes in the field outside"
Confusedly, as in a dream, little
Stenne saw the factories transformed
into barracks, the tall chimneys, pierre
ing the fog, partially broken off. From
time to time they came upon sentinels.
pfftpRrs who xyarn
with field glasseg and little tents, wet
with snow. standing before dying fires
The large boy knew the way. and went
across the fields, being careful to avoid
the military outposts. Notwithstand-
ing his precautions, they suddenly
came upon a squad of riflemen. The
troops were partly hidden in a ditch
which bordered the Scissors railroad.
This time they were not allowed TO
pass so readily, though the large boy
told his story in the mostpathetic man
ner. While he was weeping. an old,
white-haired sergeant came out Of one
of the little tents and said:
Don't cry, little fellow; we will let
you so to hunt for your potatoes. But
come in first and warm yourselves a
bit: the little one looks frozen"
Alas! it was not the cold that made
little Stcnne shiyer so. 1t was fear and
shame. Inside the tent they found sol
diers huddled together around little
IRE, baking biscuits on the points of
their bayonets. They made room for
the children, and gave them a drop OF
their warm coffee; while they were
drinking it an officer appeared at the
door, called the sergeant and, after
few words with him in low tone, went
quickly away.
Boys said the sergeant, on reen-
tering, there will be fun tonight. We
have found out the Prussian counter
sign. believe at last we are to capture
that cursed Bourget."
Then followed an explosion Of braves
and shouts. The soldiers danced and
flourished their bayonets. Taking adj
vantage of the tumult the boys slipped
away. On leaving the trench they saw
before them n plain. bordered one side
by long, white wall, deiaced by bull
let's. II was toward this that they d.
rected their footsteps, stopping often,