The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1903-05-07

III snowy cloud Of pigeons was
clrcllng down to take Its daily
aims from Cigarette where
her bright brown face looked Out
from the lattice hole Cecil, with sofne
OF the rough riders Of his regiment
was sent far into the interior to
bring In d string of colts, bought Of o
friendly desert tribe and destined to be
shipped to France. for the Imperial
Haras. The mission took two days,
Early on the third day they returned
with the string Of wild young horses,
that II had taken not a little exertion
and address to conduct successfully
through the country into Algiers. Cha
teauroy was himself present when the
colts we're taken into the stable yard,
and himself inquired, without the me.
dium of any third person, the whole
details Of the sale and Of the transit.
Il was impossible. with all his inclina.
tiot, to find any fault either with the
execution Of the errand or with the
brief, respectful answers by which the
corporal replied to his rapid and i'm.
perious cross Q~uestionings; hence the
inspection passed OF peaceably. As
the marquis turned on his heel. how
ever. he paused . moment.
"victor!"
my commander
IT have not forgotten your ihsolencc
with those ivory toys, but the prin.
cess herself has deigned to solicit that
It shatl be passed over unpublished.
She cannot, Of course, yield to your i'm
pertinent request to remain also I'M
paid for them. \ charged myself with
the fulHllment of her wishes. You de-
serve the lash. but since miladi herself
h lenient enough to pardon you you
nre to take this instead. Hold your
hand, sirr
Cecil put out his hnnd. He expected
10 receive a heavy blow from his com-
mander's saber that possibly might
break the wrist These little triles
were common In Africa.
Instead n handful of napoleons was
laid on his open palm. Chateauroy
knew the gold would sting more than
the blow.
For the monient Cecil had but n i'm
bulse-to dash the pieces in the giver's
face. In time to restrain the impulse
he caught sight of the wild. eager ha-
tired cleaning In the eyes Of Rake. Of
Petit Plcpon. or a score Of others who
loved him and cursed their colonel and
would at one signal from him have
sheathed their swords In the mighty
frame Of the marquis, though they
should have been shot down the next
moment themselves for the murder.
The warning Of Cigarette came to his
memory. His hand claspcd the gold.
He gave the salute calmly as Chateau
roy swung himself away. aud. his hour
of liberty being come. he went slowly
out Of the great court. with the hand
ful Of napoleons thrust In the folds OF
his sash.
Rather uhconsciously than by pre-
meditation his steps turned through
the streets that led to his old familiar
haunt. the AS du Pique. and. dropping
down on a bench under the awning.
be rsked for n DRIFT of water. 1t was
brought him It once. the hostess. a
quick. brown. little woman from Paris.
whom the lovers of Eugene Sue called
Rigolette. adding of her own accord a
lump Of Ice and a slice or two OF lemon.
for which she vIvacIously refused pay.
.Inenf. though generosity was by no
means her cardinal virtue. He did not
look Mt the newspapers she offered
him, but sat gazing out from the tawuy
awning. like the sail Of a Neapolitan
fclucca. down the %checkered shadows
and the many colored masses Of the
little. crooked. rambling. semibarbaric
lllcy. He was thinking of the napo-
Icons in his sash and of the promise
he had pledged to Cigarette. That he
would keep 1t he was resolved. Yet a
WEAKNESS. a bitterness. he had never
known In the excitement Of active
service came on him. brought by this
sting Of insult from the fair hand of an
aristocrat.
There was absolutely no hope pos
sible In his future. The uttermost that
could ever come to him would be a
grade something higher in the army
that now enrolled him-the gift Of the
cross or a post In the bureau. AL
gerine warfare was not like the cam
paign Of the armies Of Italy or the
Rhine. and there was no Napoleon
here to discern with unerring omnls'
cience . leaders genius under the uni
form Of q common trooper. The heavy
folds Of q Bedouin's haik. brushing the
papers on the bench. broke the thread
Of his musings. As he stopped fo'
them. be saw that one was an English
journal some weeks old. His own
name caught his eye-the name buried