The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-09-13


of tears now. Etlenne. goodby" A
Sigh and he was gone.
l VIII not paint my grief to you; It
was terrible. And when Georges was
buried in the midst Of the beating Of
drums and the shouts OF victory, L
wept bitter tears, for felt that my
youth was lying in the coffin by my
friends side. Georges strange fare
well had impressed me profoundly. At
night hideous visions haunted my
sleep. For six months was as nervous
as woman, and. IL you will believe
me, major, l was positively afraid to
be alone In the dark.
But one year, two years passed
Georges memory, indelibly craven on
my heart, yielded, without becoming
effaccd. to the preoccupations Of the
war to my anxietics about my future.
My puerilc fears. positive disease,
vanished. Yes. the more look back
the surer l am Of 1t. I had quite be-
come myself once more. my mind and
brain were clear, when the event am
about to tell you OF struck me with
stupor. had just been made captain
en- second.
After rough aud, I may add. glorious
campaigns, returned with my regl.
ment to Alglers. Young, impetuous.
with ardent, almost virginia.. senses,
rich with the gold OF our first capture,
flung myself headlong into the midst
OF all the pleasures Of garrison life
day, evening, night, all were one long
orgy. 1 gambled madly, franticaily.
as one does at the first go. won at
the outset, and then suddenly my luck
turned. One night In q cafe Of Bah
Azoun street lost $4,000 francs-all
my own private funds, as well as my
share OF the booty money. The sum
was n large one, and its loss was com.
mented upon In Algiers.
Toward 10 o'clock in the morning I
was requested to call upon the colonel.
Pale and restless. hardly knowing why.
entered the col0nei's room. found
him paler and mora nervous than
myse!f.
Captain" he began. In q deep, De.
spairing voice, "my regiments strong
box was broken into this morning.
Fourteen thousand francs were taken
$4,000 francs. do you hear, sir?" And
the old officer stepped toward me, with
his arms crossed and his eyes lowering
under their bushy brows. I felt my
temples humping and my head split
ting. drew back With q cry OF In.
dignatiOn. "Here is q handkerchief
lost by the thief and found under the
treasurers chair. Look, sir, it is mark
ed with your initials, e. W" I took
the handkerchief mechanically. 1t was
mine without doubt. My knees
Quaked. tears sprang to my eyes. I
could not speak. "Ahd now, sir" the
colonel wound up. ego and blow your
brains OUT
l left the room without word, Is
crushed. as abject as If / had been the
thief. 1 did not try to justify myself
nor to claim an investigation. No!
went back to the officers cramped
quarters. took q loaded pistol out of
my saddle case, l cooked It, At this
point l stopped. Thick sobs choked
me- had rapid vision OF my happy
childhood, my first martial exploits,
my mother and Georges-Georges
above all! 'To die" murmured. ITO
die dishonoredw You must not die,"
said sonorous, vibrating voice. metal.
Tic and yet soft, with nothing human
about it The pistol dropped from my
fingers. Georges was standing before
me. Ills eyes were fixed. They glow
ed with an unknown tight illuminating
his face, as white and translucent as
alabaster.,
Explain this. mHjor. Az tell yc..
this terrible occurrence feel my hair
standing on end, my teeth chatter, my
voice shakes, whereas in Georges pres
ence l experienced only serene Joy,
ideal calm. unalloyed happiness. My
youth, my fair dreams Of love and of
glory surrounded me in all their ratli-
ance. Only the moment before crushed
under the weight Of an inconceivable
fatality. now felt myself under DOW
erfui, almost divine, protection. Shall
I say more? Georges presence did not
astonish me. accepted it as a simple.
natural fact. We talked like brothers,
like friends long separated.
"Etienne, what were you about to
do?" he asked me gently. my poor
boy! I've come to save you. Your
servant is the offender. He stole the
$4,000 francs, as he stole the handker-
chief found by the colonel. You have
trusted the fellow. He used to be hon.
est But he has mistress, Moorish
girl who sells her favors high It was
for her that he took the money. Two
thousand francs will be found in his
mattress and 1000 on the girls person.
Hurry to the colonel. have told you
what 1 had to say. Goodby." Georges
vanished, andI found myself alone.
The sentiment Of reality came back
to me. dashed my head against the
window panes. The glass, spl!ntering,
cut my brow and made the blood flow.
In the courtyard, between the daz-
cling, whitewdshed walls, below the
torrid sky, luminously blue, soldiers
were nonchalantly smoking. The white
minarets OF the Casbah rose above the
peaceful. silent scene, Far in the dis
tance the waters Of the blue Mediter-
ranean glittered like gems. I was ac-