The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-10-22
THE HEART Of FORT ICHEU.
BY E. and H. HERON.
Copyright, 1899, by Hasketh Pritchard)

whitewashed pillars at the further end
of the veranda. He gave her quick
look from his brown eyes as he came
up to the table before he shook hands
1.-The French are in the bay, says the
Shan Van Voght," he quoted, laughing.
Are the French officers coming ashore
at once?" asked Cordelia with quite I'M
necessary interest. How delightful. You
know / like the French.
Col. Leonard stared a little at this,
but he had not been the father OF n
pretty grown-up daughter for the last IL
months without learning that there are
things in heaven and earth not dream
ed If in male PHILOSOPHERS
''Look at this, Cannon" Col. Lennard
halued a letter across the table. BRA
sl says the French are at us again. and
that we must hulnoc them i'll one way
or another. There Is, it appears, little
soreness among them at present, and he
thinks if we could give EN- show III
here andssoothe 'em down bit 1t might
serve our interests at moment When
some blamed idiot has been Saying that
Fort Tcheu is being placed on war
footing. How anything has leaked out
| can't imagine. but it's Internally awk-
ward / really don't see how we are to
please them.
Cannon raised his alert red head after
a moments thought.
Faith, I'd show them round, sir. That
would crafty them anyway"
The commandment rose abruptly from
the table.
Don't be a FOOL Pat" he said testify.
Il rather relied upon YOU for sugges-
ton. / tell you it seems to me just one
of those stupid dilemmas that little
tact should help one out of. Yet | can't
see my way to it,
Just so. sir wouldn't show EN-
round all at once. Ia let them see
things by degrees--round the northeast
batteries, for instance"
|. You don't mean. Why, they will
see"
Il can arrange all they will be inter
ested in seeing in 4S hours, sir. They IL
be off in a week-after that
Lennard suddenly burst into a great
laugh as his subaltern's meaning grew
clear to him.
Cad yes, Pat--show EN- round
Many things fell out as Cordelia Len
nard had foreseen, also some other
things, which She had not-openly at
least-predicted. The formal visits were
exchanged, the formal invitations to the
customary dinner were sent out 10 the
Loup-garou by yellow messenger in
little white boat. And meantime Pat
Cannon sweated and shaved and swore,
and hardly gave himself time to
sleep while he worked continuous gangs
of men along the galleries of the old
northeast front The mound for three
days was as busy as an anti-hill, al
though from the outside it appeared
empty and placid enough, and Capt
Merovinge remarked to Francois that
nothing was more offensive about the
English than their arrogant folly, which
allowed them to take matters with SO
easy an indifference that they Were abb
solutely doing nothing to strengthen an
important station such as Fort Tcheu,
while the mob in Paris were shouting
a has Albion.' "Conspuez Albion!' and
the papers teemed with hatred and mem
ace. He confessed the British fleet to
be sufficiently formidable organization.
but the army-what of that? Contempt
bly, small, broken and fragmentary, al
ready dispersed to the four winds of the
empire-could not the gallant soldiers of
France pick them off the face of the
earth as fowl swallowed insects on a
rainy day? In these and many more
telling SMILES did Capt. Moroyinge in
dulge. In fact, had Britain been pre-
pairing herself at all points for war, she
would but have given another evidence
of her ancient and inalienable perhdy
yet, since she seemed to be merely going
about her own business as usual and
with serenity, the imaginary insult flung
in the face of France appeared doubly
bitter and unforgivable in the eyes OF
the officers of the Loup-garou
But that is the way of Erenchmen.
Ignorance is the mother of a nulner-
Gus family of wrongs, thus Pat Can
mons energetic days and nights went
by entirely unappreciated by those who
watched and waited in the bay under
the very mouths of the guns which
claimed so much of his beauty sleep.
But whatever it might be to the others.
there was one person to whom the week
was a time of feverish pleasure and ex-
element Francois went ashore with
Merovinge and was agreeably disappolnt-
ed in the daughter of the commandment
of Fort Tcheu She was blonde, and her
teeth were not in evidence except when
she smiled, and then-Francois pressed
one hand to his heart and blew away a
kiss with the other when he recalled it.
She was distractingly pretty, and pos
sessed of a soft frankness of manner
which is not to be met with on the
! southern side Of the English channel.
He found that his inclinations and his
| duty to- France led for once to the same
direction. He paid Condelia the most
| adorable compliments and admired him
| self prodigiously in the process. In fine,
he did everything to ingratiate himself
| with Mile. Leonard that could be expect
ed even from one of his gallant nation.
The dinner party ashore was a grand
affair for the place and CLINE. Old
wines came up from the bowels of The
fort Capt. Merovinge spoke wlttlly o.
the arts, of Paris, with an airy pointed
ness of Cairo, and then passed on witt
! a fine enthusiasm to dwell on the twin
services and their affection for each
other While Francois, speaking into
| small. shell-like ear, dwelt at length
upon the sad beauty of the night OF
music ON song, -well-amatory prob
LENS His original desire to ingratiatt
himself Into the good graces of the Eng
+, Hsh girl for time, had by the conclu
/ sion of the evening merged into re
\ hnn fa al 1