The Redwood gazette., 1901-06-26
CHAPTER ".

CHAPTER ".
1 IS - AH-HE! We are queer lot,
NJ o very queer lot sweep
E1lEa| ings Of Europe" " said
D Claude de Chanrellon. dash
4 ing some vermuth of bis golden mus
taches where he lay full length on
i three chairs outside the cafe in the
i Place du Commencement, where the
lamps were just lighted.
Diamonds are often found in the
ragpicker's sweepings," growled a gen
pral Of division. who was the most ter
1 Eible martinez in the whole Of the
4 french service, but who loved his men
i with q great love, and who would new
/ er hear another disparage them, how
4 ever he might order them blows or ex-
i lie them to Beylick himself.
4 4 You are poetic, my general said
a Claude de Chanrellon, sbut you are
/ true We area furnace in which black
4 guardism is burned into daredeFilry
and turned out as heroism. A fine
manufacture that and one at which
France has no equal.
4 .We have right to praise the black
/ guards, groWled the general. With
cut them our conscrtpts would be very
! poor trash. The conscript fights be-
cause be has to fight; the blackguard
i fights because he loves to fght-a great
difference that"
i The colonel Of tirail1eurs lifted his
i eyes-a slight, pale, efeminate, dark
i eyed Partisan, who looked scarcely
stronger than hothouse flower, yet
4 who, as many an African chronicle
i could tell, was as swift as fire, keen as
steel, unerring as a leopard's leap, IN
tiring as an Indian on trail once in the
{! field with his Indigenes.
i TN proportion as one loves powder
8 one has been scoundrel, my general,
he murmured. What the catalogue OF
/ your crimes must be!''
The tough old campaigner laughed
j grimly. He took it as a high compli-
,ment.
.sThe cardinal virtues don't send any.
body, guess into African service
And yet II don't know. What fellows
8 have known! have had men among
my Zephyrs and they were the. wild
est scoundreis, too that would have
ruled the world. have had more wit
more address. more genius, more devo-
a ton, in some headlong scamp of a pri-
4 vate soldier than all the courts and
/ cabinets could furnish. Such lives
4 such lives too!''
Faith" laughed Chanrellon, '.if we
4 all published our memoirs the world
would have a droll book The real re
cruiting sergeants that send us to the
ranks would be soon found to be-
Women groWled the general
Cards, sighed the colonel.
Absinth," muttered another.
A comedy that was hissed."
The spleen.
THE dice =
Il tsThe roulette
sThe natural desires pf humanity tc
kill and get killed"
"Morb1eu!'' cried Chanrel1on as the
voices closed. ''.All those mischiefs
beat the drum and send volunteers tc
the ranks, sure enough, but the general
named the worst Look at little Cora
The minister of war should give hel
the cross. She sends us ten times more
fire eaters than the conscription does
/ Five fine fellows Joined today because
she has stripped them OF everything
and they have nothing for it but the
service. She is Invaluable, Cora. II
was Cnur a 'Acier who was the rage in
4 my time. She ate me up. that woman,
in three months. had not hundred
francs left. She stripped me as bare
as a pigeon. Her passion was emer-
4 aids uncut just then Well emeralds
made an end Of me and sent me out
4 here. Cnur d'Acier was wonderful
woman, and the chief wonder of her
! was that she was as ugly as sin. Hell
/ 10! There is the handsome corporal
listening. All, Bel-a-faire- -peur, you fell,
will warrant. =
The chasseur, who was passing paus-
ed and smiled a little as he saluted.
| Occurs d'Acier are to be found ii all
ranks of the sex, monsieur, fancy" SIS
Bah! You beg the question Did
not q woman send you out here, Ell ~
., monsieur only chance,
"a fig for your chancei Women are
the mischief that casts us adrift to
chance. Z a
Monsieur, we cast ourselves some
times.
doubt that We should go straight
enough II It were not for them. z
The cllasseur smiled again
Monsieur 1e Vicomte thinks we are
sure to be right, then, if for the key to-
every black story we ask, Who was
she r =
"Of course do Well. who was she7
We are al quoting our tempters to-
night Give us your story, mon brave
Monsieur, you have IT ii the military
records as well as my sword could
write Il !"
i